Off Kilter
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2005
- Messages
- 8
I'm not sure if anyone is interested in a detailed report - but hope this helps someone going to Disney and ME in the future.
- Flew into MCO from DFW early afternoon (American Airlines). Note: There was no sign of any Disney employees directing people to the ME check-in.
- Found the ME check-in on the same level with the car rentals. It is located on the far end of the car rental area.
- Stood in line 10 min., got to the counter and the computer went down. This bogged down the check-in and the line started to back-up. The Disney employee checked us in by hand and we went to the bus area for a bus to Wilderness Lodge / Contemporary Resort.
- The bus driver took our one carry on and voilently threw it into the underside of the bus. We cringed when we watched the way he handled our one small (and not heavy) piece of lugguge.
-We sat on the bus for close to 30 minutes, waiting to leave. We did not leave until the bus was close to being full. FYI - this must be the protacol - buses do not depart until full (or close to it).
- Our driver drove extremely slow. Other ME busses passed us - lots of them. Other people in the bus agreed that we were going well under the speed limit - not sure why - bus trouble maybe???
- Our driver did not show the on-board "movie". There were drop-down screens - but no movie. More bus problems??? Who knows - he never said a word on the trip.
- The trip from MCO to the Wilderness Lodge took just under an hour. (BTW - it stopped at the Contemporary first).
- The driver again - tossed our carry-on off the bus - wham! on to the ground.
Sorry - No tip for him - those slams & tosses were very unnecessary. I repeat - it was a small carry-on and pretty light.
Our luggage did arrive in our room sometime while we were at DTD. Not sure when they exactly got there. And we DID have the yellow luggage tags.
As for the transportation during a visit - that's a whole 'nother post. The boats, busses and monorail were in slow-motion the whole week. Definately will rent a car the next time.
THE RETURN TRIP - July 4th
That was excellent. The info for catching a shuttle was on our door the day before departure. The next morning, we checked our luggage "ala curb-side check-in" right at the Wilderness Lodge. Never saw it again until we pulled it off the baggage carousel at DFW.
The bus came exactly on time. We gave him our vouchers - very simple. We were the only pick up at WL, the driver went on to pick up guests at the Grand Floridian. He was friendly and courteous and handled on carry-on bag professionally. The drive to MCO seemed very short - maybe 35 minutes?? (And yes - we did generously tip him!
Bottom line: We would probably use the ME again, if it continued to be "free". But if they were to start charging - then probably not. We have used Mears for transporation before and the ME really didn't offer a lot more, other than luggage handling.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Karen
- Flew into MCO from DFW early afternoon (American Airlines). Note: There was no sign of any Disney employees directing people to the ME check-in.
- Found the ME check-in on the same level with the car rentals. It is located on the far end of the car rental area.
- Stood in line 10 min., got to the counter and the computer went down. This bogged down the check-in and the line started to back-up. The Disney employee checked us in by hand and we went to the bus area for a bus to Wilderness Lodge / Contemporary Resort.
- The bus driver took our one carry on and voilently threw it into the underside of the bus. We cringed when we watched the way he handled our one small (and not heavy) piece of lugguge.
-We sat on the bus for close to 30 minutes, waiting to leave. We did not leave until the bus was close to being full. FYI - this must be the protacol - buses do not depart until full (or close to it).
- Our driver drove extremely slow. Other ME busses passed us - lots of them. Other people in the bus agreed that we were going well under the speed limit - not sure why - bus trouble maybe???
- Our driver did not show the on-board "movie". There were drop-down screens - but no movie. More bus problems??? Who knows - he never said a word on the trip.
- The trip from MCO to the Wilderness Lodge took just under an hour. (BTW - it stopped at the Contemporary first).
- The driver again - tossed our carry-on off the bus - wham! on to the ground.
Sorry - No tip for him - those slams & tosses were very unnecessary. I repeat - it was a small carry-on and pretty light.Our luggage did arrive in our room sometime while we were at DTD. Not sure when they exactly got there. And we DID have the yellow luggage tags.
As for the transportation during a visit - that's a whole 'nother post. The boats, busses and monorail were in slow-motion the whole week. Definately will rent a car the next time.
THE RETURN TRIP - July 4th
That was excellent. The info for catching a shuttle was on our door the day before departure. The next morning, we checked our luggage "ala curb-side check-in" right at the Wilderness Lodge. Never saw it again until we pulled it off the baggage carousel at DFW.
The bus came exactly on time. We gave him our vouchers - very simple. We were the only pick up at WL, the driver went on to pick up guests at the Grand Floridian. He was friendly and courteous and handled on carry-on bag professionally. The drive to MCO seemed very short - maybe 35 minutes?? (And yes - we did generously tip him!
Bottom line: We would probably use the ME again, if it continued to be "free". But if they were to start charging - then probably not. We have used Mears for transporation before and the ME really didn't offer a lot more, other than luggage handling.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Karen
