Mears questions

[ClaraOswald]

So we're heading to WDW in January. We haven't been since 2012! Back then, we used Magical Express.

We will be staying at the Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge.

Does Mears always do drop offs/pick ups in the same order? If so, where does WL tend to fall in that order? Any idea on how long the actual ride will be from MCO to WL? And WL to MCO? Just wondering what to prepare for and if it's something our son will tolerate. He's autistic and stuff like this can be tricky for us.

We will be flying Southwest. I have pretty much ZERO memory of the airport so I pulled up the map. It says Southwest is in Terminal A, level 3. From there....we'd get our bags. But then where would we go for Mears exactly? I see it listed on Terminal A and B.

Are they still doing hotel pick-ups roughly 4 hours before flight departure?

Now that Mears and Sunshine Flyers are merged, does reliability seem better or worse? I've read some horror stories that worry me a bit.

Thanks!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I haven't been back since the merge but...pick up for Mears is still Side B where Magical Express was. From Southwest gates, you need to take the faux monorail to the main building. You will come out on side A. You need to head down to level 2 on side A to pick up luggage (if you checked any). Then you go back up to level 3 and across the terminal to side B and down to level 1. It is then a hike to the end of the terminal building to the Mears check in/lines.

The last time I flew down there and used Mears, domestic pick up was roughly 3 hours before your flight.

I haven't stayed at WL so I don't know the order of pick up/drop off for that. Hopefully, someone else can let you know. (And correct me if I have wrong information from 2 years ago.)

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I will try to give my Mears experience soon. I will be using them on 9/21 to get to Coronado Springs Resort.

 

[georgina]

I've only used them once. I arrived around 8:45 on Wednesday morning (the day the hurricane hit). I was the first one on the bus, waited maybe 20 minutes for one other group, then we headed over to terminal C to pick up another group. Order of dropoff was Saratoga Springs, POR, then Grand Floridian. So took maybe 75 minutes overall to drop me off after I boarded the bus. I'm going to guess when it is not busy you get stuck on a bus with random resorts. I used rideshare to get back to MCO so I could control the time.

 

[PrincesCJM]

I used Mears last month and flew on Southwest. As someone else has said, you land in terminal A. If you checked bags, you'll need to go down to A baggage claim, then go back up a level, walk across pass security, then go down to transportation/rental cars to get to Mears, in the old ME location. They group hotels together by location so you'd be riding with folks staying at other MK area resorts. I don't know if there is an exact route - it does get determined by what hotels they need to visit for that particular bus ride.

To return to MCO, Mears picked us up 3.5 hours ahead of scheduled departure. If you are flying F-M (certainly a weekend thing - maybe during the week too), Southwest does have a location to check bags near where Mears will drop you off. It was very convenient to use. They even printed our boarding passes for us, since I prefer to have them on paper. It is operated through BAGS so be prepared with a tip for them if you use it.

I was ok with the 3.5 hour pick up. I would much rather be killing time at the airport then feel my anxiety raise that we would be late. I have pre-check which does make security much easier. My boys and I were able to get over to our terminal, get food and have plenty of time to sit and eat it without feeling rushed.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Thanks, that really helps a lot. Our flight leaves at 12:15pm so we were planning to eat an early lunch at the airport so arriving early is probably best for us anyway.

Does the bus have a restroom?

Thanks for the info on tipping the check in outside of the airport.
Do we tip the Mears people as well? If so, how much? We will likely have 2 suitcases.

 

[Mle8308]

Thanks, that really helps a lot. Our flight leaves at 12:15pm so we were planning to eat an early lunch at the airport so arriving early is probably best for us anyway.

Does the bus have a restroom?

Thanks for the info on tipping the check in outside of the airport.
Do we tip the Mears people as well? If so, how much? We will likely have 2 suitcases.

If the Mears driver helps with your luggage, tip a few dollars for each bag. Most of the time the drivers are very helpful and appreciative of the tip.

 

[Debbie Jean]

The actual order can fluctuate depending on passengers. If boarding at Terminal B, you will stop at Terminal C if they need to pick up anyone arriving there.

When I arrived last Saturday afternoon going to GF, I boarded at Terminal C and WL was the second stop. The driver was great, very efficient and we made excellent time. I tipped accordingly.

The order you experience will vary, though they do try to group resorts together to minimize travel time.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I will try to give my Mears experience soon. I will be using them on 9/21 to get to Coronado Springs Resort.

I should have taken a picture of the resorts our bus had posted but I'm pretty sure it was Coronado and all the All Stars and one other resort. We were the first stop (CSR) , about 35 minutes,which was great , but I have no info on how the continuing route went. ONE THING THAT occrred that I have never experience before was a 45 minute delay getting luggage because of LIGHTNING. We could see this huge rain burst as we were landing. By the time we got off the plane and down to baggage claim there was a big storm over the airport unbeknownst to most of us. My one suitcase and 1 of 2 of my sister's made the carousel, but not her 2nd one. Most traveler's had to wait and they could not give us an ETA. I completely understood that the workers are not allowed to be outside in those conditions for their safety! It was simply an event I had never had happen to me.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I decided to email Mears to ask if there's anywhere to guarantee a bus and not a van. I explained our son's situation. They said that leaving the airport, we could always request/wait for a bus. But leaving the hotel is trickier and he said that Wilderness Lodge isn't one of their more popular ones, implying the odds of a van were higher. But he said they wouldn't really know until the week of our travel. So I guess I'll just have to wait and see. And if they show up with a van, we might say "no thanks" and call and Uber or something instead.