Opinions please

[goofy78]

Hi there! We are flying in to MCO on May 24. Should be landing around 5:30-5:45 pm. I reserved Disney Magical Express but was wondering if we should take an Uber/Lyft or another type of private transportation. I’ve used Tony Hinds a bunch of times so maybe have him pick us up. I’m not concerned about the price but just want to get to AKL-Kidani as quick as possible. Thanks!

 

[Donna M]

MDE will not be the quickest way possible since there are other people involved.

 

[rwdavis2]

What's the actual difference in time? That's how I would look at it and weight it against the cost.

 

[Nick6300]

I'm normally not in a big enough rush to pay for uber from MCO, but we usually expect something like 45 min for ME because of the loading up the bags and such. And we sort of enjoy the Disney buildup by boarding a ME bus. I do try to get plane aisle seats and be towards front of plane, go to the bathroom when descending, go straight to ME, and try to be one of the first to line up in order to be on the next bus. I'd guess that you could probably shave 15-25min for the $10 bucks for Uber? I believe you can Google Uber time estimates to compare.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We use DME all the time as it's part of the excitement and build-up for us. Unless you are in a real hurry to get to your resort, it's an added expense that may not be necessary. I've never waited an extremely long time for DME and the past few times we've walked right on to a waiting bus.

 

[katmatry]

I hate using ME when we land. I like to get to the resort as quickly as possible so we always use Tony Hinds.

 

[goofy4tink]

My shortest time, gate to resort, has been 45 mins. Carry on bags only, nothing checked. With a car service.
My longest time was 85 mins...nothing went my way.
Using a car service, with checked bags, took 60 mins.
Most of my trips on DME have been about 70/75 mins.
Only you can decide what your time is worth.

 

[Minnesota!]

To us, DME is an extension of my vacation/resort. As soon as I see that white mickey hand, I am on vacation. I don't care if it takes me 45 minutes or 105 minutes to get to the next stage of my vacation... It's still "free", so it's for me.

 

[leebee]

Ugh, I am debating this same thing. We land at 5:45pm and are hoping to make it to Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom at 8:45pm. I think 3 hours is just enough time to get from MCO-ASMu-AK, as long as we step lively and the planets align... but this is the only night on our trip that we can see RoL. I'm usually too cheap to pay for something unnecessary (like Uber when there's a "free" bus), but I really don't want to miss RoL. UGH. OH well, not traveling until August so I have plenty of time to decide (aka, agonize over the decision!).

 

[maxiesmom]

I pay for a car service when I'm in a hurry. I've had DME take more than 2 hours to get me to my resort. Granted that was around 11 pm at night, but we were the 4th stop on that run. It was not fun.

 

[sam_gordon]

Ugh, I am debating this same thing. We land at 5:45pm and are hoping to make it to Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom at 8:45pm. I think 3 hours is just enough time to get from MCO-ASMu-AK, as long as we step lively and the planets align... but this is the only night on our trip that we can see RoL. I'm usually too cheap to pay for something unnecessary (like Uber when there's a "free" bus), but I really don't want to miss RoL. UGH. OH well, not traveling until August so I have plenty of time to decide (aka, agonize over the decision!).

If it's that important, I would look into a car service AND see if they'd wait for you to check in, drop bags with bell hops, then take you to AK. I think that would be the fastest.

 

[NJ Goofy]

We have been using DME lately for all our trips, best time was 50 minutes from stepping off the plane to resort (all the stars lined up). Our average time has been an hour and 20 minutes. When we've used a car service in the past it's taken about 45 minutes, so if that extra 30 to 45 minutes is important to you, use a service.

 

[AngiTN]

Ugh, I am debating this same thing. We land at 5:45pm and are hoping to make it to Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom at 8:45pm. I think 3 hours is just enough time to get from MCO-ASMu-AK, as long as we step lively and the planets align... but this is the only night on our trip that we can see RoL. I'm usually too cheap to pay for something unnecessary (like Uber when there's a "free" bus), but I really don't want to miss RoL. UGH. OH well, not traveling until August so I have plenty of time to decide (aka, agonize over the decision!).

If it were me, in your shoes, I'd use ME to the resort and then Uber to AK from ASMu.

 

[kandb]

Make sure you don't collect your checked luggage. We landed in MCO a few years ago and were doing a few days in Orlando before WDW, so were getting a rental car and getting our own checked luggage. We waited almost 2 hours because of lighting and the luggage being on the plane that the handlers could not get to because of the lightning. It was a long wait.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I pay for a car service when I'm in a hurry. I've had DME take more than 2 hours to get me to my resort. Granted that was around 11 pm at night, but we were the 4th stop on that run. It was not fun.

Exactly. We often fly after work/school and have a late arrival. Sometimes it's 30 mins just sitting on the bus waiting for more flights to arrive. Also it seems no matter which resort we're staying, ours is always the 4th stop. Since we have to pick up our bags from baggage claim anyway, we might as well get a private service and request a quick grocery stop.

I will have to time it next time. We'll have a 7pm arrival next visit so I'm wondering if it's worth paying extra for a private ride.