Regarding Pre-Nights at MCO Hyatt

[MomOTwins]

We've opted for the night at the Hyatt this time, I can't mentally justify the hassle of moving 2 adults, 2 little people and luggage for a week long cruise to a WDW resort this time. I have done the transfers from Hyatt, but not in a decade so I'm sure things have changed since then. (Back then they took the luggage from the room that morning)





I think this probably depends on the resort/sailing/assortment of cruisers. We filled an entire bus at POR. But it was a lot of hurry up and wait, they started checking people in for the bus waaaaaaaaaaaaay before the bus got there, and then we had to line up and check in at the bus...again...it was wacky.

That's a really good point I didn't think of--we usually stay at WDW on DVC points which tend to be smaller resorts in terms of total guest occupancy. I could definitely see how the larger hotels like POR would be just as crazy as the Hyatt.

 

[Vicky68]

why does it matter if your transfer says MCO or Hyatt? Do you get picked up in different places? I assumed we would all end up at the ground transportation area

 

[sponica]

why does it matter if your transfer says MCO or Hyatt? Do you get picked up in different places? I assumed we would all end up at the ground transportation area

Hyatt transfers are assigned a PAT (and I think they now do their check in at the lobby by CC level?). MCO transfers you still need to pick a PAT.

 

[lanejudy]

why does it matter if your transfer says MCO or Hyatt? Do you get picked up in different places? I assumed we would all end up at the ground transportation area

Yes it IS a different pick-up location. One is at the Hyatt lobby and the other is the old Magical Express location in the airport.

And PP mentions other differences for PAT and boarding groups.

 

[Vicky68]

i didn't realize that, thank you. is there any reason why i couldn't go the magical express location to avoid any cluster of confusion in the lobby?

 

[sponica]

i didn't realize that, thank you. is there any reason why i couldn't go the magical express location to avoid any cluster of confusion in the lobby?

If you're staying at the Hyatt, you can book your transfers from MCO and use that pickup location.

 

[auntlynne]

i didn't realize that, thank you. is there any reason why i couldn't go the magical express location to avoid any cluster of confusion in the lobby?

This was last fall before the switch to getting bus assignments by CC level:

I was in no rush to get to the port. We waited until later in the window for getting a bus assignment - as I had read about a long queue.

So we went down closer to the end of bus check-in. The line was pretty short (5-10 minutes, max).

I had not checked out if the hotel, so we went back to the room, where I got a 45 minute nap.

We are Platinum, so cruise check-in at the port was extremely fast. And, again, we were processed at the Concierge desk because there was one family in front of us and no Concierge guests being processed (this happens to me a lot).

Despite being one of the last buses from the Hyatt, we still had to wait for them to call our Boarding Group. I think it was 6. Maybe 4. Not a long wait. But the lower BG numbers did not get called before we got there. So they had to wait in the Terminal.

Bottom Line: there may not be a cluster of confusion at the Hyatt Lobby. I thought the entire procedure was very smooth and controlled. Lots of workers keeping the flow.

If you must be the first in line, you may see confusion. Or perhaps just a long line.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Hey, everyone-

I'm debating staying one night at the MCO Hyatt v. a WDW resort before our upcoming cruise, but for us it's going to come down to how easy it is to get to the port on embarkation day. From what I've seen and read, I have two very specific questions I'd love answers to:

1. If we arrive at MCO and don't leave the airport, when we wake up on Embarkation day will we need to clear TSA before checking in for our cruise?

2. My understanding is that once we drop our bags at the check-in at the Hyatt/DCL desk, we won't see those bags again until they arrive at the staterooms that night. In other words, we don't have to drag them from the bus to the terminal once we arrive at Port Canaveral. Is this correct?

Thank you in advance!

We have stayed at the Hyatt many times over the years. We stay there if our arrival is around 4pm or later. If you think your kids will be bored hanging out in an airport or in a hotel room for a few hours, or if you have an arrival before late afternoon, you might want to stay at WDW and make the most of your arrival day.

 

[jimmymc]

Hey, everyone-

I'm debating staying one night at the MCO Hyatt v. a WDW resort before our upcoming cruise, but for us it's going to come down to how easy it is to get to the port on embarkation day. From what I've seen and read, I have two very specific questions I'd love answers to:

1. If we arrive at MCO and don't leave the airport, when we wake up on Embarkation day will we need to clear TSA before checking in for our cruise?

2. My understanding is that once we drop our bags at the check-in at the Hyatt/DCL desk, we won't see those bags again until they arrive at the staterooms that night. In other words, we don't have to drag them from the bus to the terminal once we arrive at Port Canaveral. Is this correct?

Thank you in advance!

1. You won't need to clear security on embarkation day. The hotel and bus pickup are outside of security.

2. That is correct. You drop your bags when you check in for the transfer and don't touch them again until they show up at your cabin.

 

[RangerPooh]

There's a lot of valuable information in this thread, thank you! We're staying at the Hyatt at MCO and have been debating adding bus transportation. What times have others arrived to PC with Silver status? Is it before or after 11:30am? We currently have an 11:45 PAT and don;t want to arrive later than that. Thanks!

 

[auntlynne]

There's a lot of valuable information in this thread, thank you! We're staying at the Hyatt at MCO and have been debating adding bus transportation. What times have others arrived to PC with Silver status? Is it before or after 11:30am? We currently have an 11:45 PAT and don;t want to arrive later than that. Thanks!

But what Boarding Group do you have?


This was the schedule before it went to filling buses based on CC status.

I’m going to say this schedule is probably still in use for loading and departure times.



This is from info I put in a post last year. Somewhat modified.

*(We were on Goofy; it was the last bus that day). But there are provisions for handling more guests than our day had. Your time will depend on how many higher-level CC guests there are.

We left in schedule (10:40) and had no traffic issues. We used the Platinum line and were processed by Concierge. Essentially no line; immediate processing. I think we had a separate scanner, too.

* It’s about a 45 -50 minute drive. Puts arrival ~ 11:30

11:40 Upstairs
11:45 Group 1 called
11:47 Group 2
11:52 Group 3
11:58 Group 4
12:02 Group 5

We moved to the queue area and started walking in as they called Group 6 (Our assigned Group). It wasn’t later than 12:05.

If we had a lower BG number, we could have arrived at the terminal and sat around, waiting.


…

You could end up after 11:45 when using the a Hyatt bus.

Do you have an option that has you scheduled to arrive at 11:45?

>> If using DCL bus, you enter the lobby and queue from a different door. Possibly putting you in front of those waiting on the other side.

 

[lanejudy]

If we had a lower BG number, we could have arrived at the terminal and sat around, waiting

I think you mean if you'd had a higher boarding group you would have sat and waited. Lower BG boards earlier, higher BG boards later.

But regardless, open boarding is typically called around 12:30ish (give or take 15 minutes) at which point the Boarding Group no longer matters and anyone can board.

 

[ray3127]

There a dozen hotels on Augusta National Drive just off the airport property that are less expensive, offer a free shuttle from the airport and the next day to the DCL bus pickup point at MCO, and most offer free breakfast. But yes, you do have to lug your luggage around.

I was going to mention this. There are plenty of MCO area hotels with free shuttles for well below half the price of the Hyatt, plus free breakfast.

Rather than dealing with the bus, just hire a private car to pick you up directly from your hotel and take you to the port at your desired time. For our family of 4, this is actually cheaper than doing the Disney bus thing. Your driver will load your bags, and at the port the porters take them right when you unload. Could not be easier.

We've done the Hyatt + Disney Bus thing once before. It was fun, and maybe for the same price I'd do it again. But at nearly double the cost, I don't see the value. YMMV, but I'd encourage you to at least price out the other option.

 

[auntlynne]

I think you mean if you'd had a higher boarding group you would have sat and waited. Lower BG boards earlier, higher BG boards later.

But regardless, open boarding is typically called around 12:30ish (give or take 15 minutes) at which point the Boarding Group no longer matters and anyone can board.

Actually, I meant that when I arrived on the last bus that day, with a BG 6, it was a short time until they called our number.

Those guests on the earlier buses had arrived starting around 10:30. But boarding for Group 1 did not begin until 11:45. So they sat and waited for over an hour. Versus my 20 minute wait.

 

[kiford]

If I stay at the Hyatt again I would probably book the transfers out of MCO rather than the Hyatt and just lug my bags down myself. But I know OP said they wanted to avoid handling luggage.

We will do the same thing next time. I didn't like being down at the lobby early and then couldn't choose my time. I know many people want to get to the ship early, but I don't like that. We waited in the port terminal (90 minutes or so last time - chairs are NOT comfortable), then wandered around the ship with my carry-on bag for 2 hours. I want to pick when I show up and I prefer to show up after open boarding and late enough to drop my bags in my stateroom right away but early enough to get lunch when it's not crowded. I also want to sleep in and have a proper breakfast before I leave.

i didn't realize that, thank you. is there any reason why i couldn't go the magical express location to avoid any cluster of confusion in the lobby?

Note that the "magical express" was the complimentary shuttle to WDW from the airport that no longer exists. If you are looking for that signage, you'll not see it. They used to pick your luggage up, and then you'd decide when to get the bus to the airport, but now if you tell them you're at the Hyatt, they'll pick up your luggage, but they'll decide when you get the bus, and you check in at the Hyatt lobby. But, you can book the DCL transfers and not tell them you're coming from the Hyatt so then you just go to the airport bus area instead. You'll have to bring your luggage with you to the bus and drop it off with the porters - you won't get your luggage picked up in your room.

 

[auntlynne]

We will do the same thing next time. I didn't like being down at the lobby early and then couldn't choose my time. I know many people want to get to the ship early, but I don't like that. We waited in the port terminal (90 minutes or so last time - chairs are NOT comfortable), then wandered around the ship with my carry-on bag for 2 hours. I want to pick when I show up and I prefer to show up after open boarding and late enough to drop my bags in my stateroom right away but early enough to get lunch when it's not crowded. I also want to sleep in and have a proper breakfast before I leave.
…

This sounds more relaxing!

If you use the general DCL bus from MCO, is it first-come, first-serve?

 

[TheRichFam]

I was going to mention this. There are plenty of MCO area hotels with free shuttles for well below half the price of the Hyatt, plus free breakfast.

Rather than dealing with the bus, just hire a private car to pick you up directly from your hotel and take you to the port at your desired time. For our family of 4, this is actually cheaper than doing the Disney bus thing. Your driver will load your bags, and at the port the porters take them right when you unload. Could not be easier.

We've done the Hyatt + Disney Bus thing once before. It was fun, and maybe for the same price I'd do it again. But at nearly double the cost, I don't see the value. YMMV, but I'd encourage you to at least price out the other option.

Thanks for this! I appreciate the suggestion. I haven't done a non-DCL arrival to Port Canaveral since 2014, so I didn't really remember how all that went down.

 

[kiford]

This sounds more relaxing!

If you use the general DCL bus from MCO, is it first-come, first-serve?

Yes but it moves quite quickly. You check in and then have a seat and they'll call you. I think we waited 20 minutes the last time we did it.