Second thoughts about M.E.

[maxiesmom]

I have made many trips to WDW, and quite a few of them using Magical Express. However, the more I use it the more nervous it makes me. And I am really thinking hard about if I will use them again, at least on the way back to the airport. Let me explain.

This time, my scheduled resort pick up time for ME was 2 hours 50 minutes before my flight. Which is usually plenty of time. The first issue was that along with me at the bus stop was a nice lady in a wheelchair. And even though the ME driver apparently should have known she was in a wheelchair, he did not. So there was a bit of a delay while he called someone (back to base?) and then loaded this lady and her child onto the bus. We were the second stop, btw.

From my resort (the Music) we then went to Sports. And then on to Coronado Springs, where it was painfully obvious there were waaay more people waiting than there were seats on the bus. So again the driver had to radio back to base for a bus to come pick up the extra people. Then the driver had to explain to those people who couldn't fit onto the bus what was happening, and then finally we were off. A bit behind schedule.

Then at the airport my airline was located at the second stop. Only about 50 minutes before my flight was scheduled to leave I was at security. Shockingly enough, security was a breeze! Very little wait, time to grab a burger, and then head over to the gate. I didn't find out until I was boarding that they had made an announcement that they had changed planes and I had a new seat assignment. But that worked out fine.

Anyway, while this may sound to some like an ideal time line, looking back I think I was very lucky. If I had run into what I think of as a typical security line at MCO I could have very well missed my plane! And what if I was one of the people who couldn't get on their scheduled ME bus and had to wait? I would have been totally out of luck then! And that was not the first time I have seen that happen!

I don't understand why Disney can't count heads better and know how many people they need to pick up. Or why they have so many resorts thrown onto the same bus. Even being picked up almost 3 hours before my flight there was very little time cushion left. I would much rather sit at the airport for an extra hour then be counting on getting thru security quickly at MCO.

I really think I may look into a towncar for my trip next year.

Thoughts?

 

[clkelley]

You are always free to have your pickup time moved earlier. When you get your pickup time on your door the day before you leave, if you are in the 2:50 range instead of the 3:15 range, then go to the front desk and asked to be moved to an earlier pickup time. At most of the values, there is a bus every 1/2 hour, but you do have to be scheduled.

 

[goofy4tink]

DME 'usually' does a fine job counting heads. I have to wonder why that bus was so overcrowded. It shouldn't have been. They know full well how many guests will fit on a bus..and if there are more guests that need the ride than there are seats, they should put another bus into service.
It really shouldn't take more than 45-50 mins to get from resort to airpoirt.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

I feel you totally right as the the fact the ME should know how many people to expect!....there should be enough buses there at the proper time.

However that said!.....I am always amazed how people always plan just enough time to get to the MCO and make the flight.then when there is a issue.....they are here complaining....sorry folks..but you need to give yourself MORE........more........and more time when flying these days.....if you leave just in time or with what is perceved as normal time..you will have a problem!


Just my opinion.....not trying to flame anyone!

AKK

 

[Jestocost]

Of course there's no way to tell if it was a problem with DME or with user error. DME could have miscounted heads, or there could have been people there who should have been there for an earlier bus and decided to reschedule themselves. There also could have been people there early for a later scheduled pick up or maybe an earlier scheduled bus missed the stop.

The reality is that something can go wrong no matter what method of transportation you use.

Rental cars can break down. A rush of convention guests heading out to dinner could use up all the cabs just when you need one. A scheduled town car can fail to arrive.

I don't know that problems are any more common or likely using DME.

 

[maxiesmom]

The reality is that something can go wrong no matter what method of transportation you use.

Rental cars can break down. A rush of convention guests heading out to dinner could use up all the cabs just when you need one. A scheduled town car can fail to arrive.

I don't know that problems are any more common or likely using DME.

Good points.

I guess what concerns me most is the number of stops the bus made on the way to the airport. We were not even the first people on the bus. Those people probably had very little time to make their flights. Disney either needs to cut down on the number of resorts they pick up on the way to the airport, or they need to pick people up even earlier. And I shudder to type that. But if they plan on picking up 4 resorts they should know that they are not giving those people first on an adequate time cushion in the case that something goes wrong.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I agree with Jestocost. Likely a number of the people at Coronado Springs were actually scheduled for the next bus - but your bus ended up (probably) running a bit behind schedule because of the wheelchair. Couple that with everybody needing to be waiting for the DME bus fifteen minutes early, and I bet there were some people trying to board the wrong bus without being aware of it.

 

[seashoreCM]

But one thing struck me as questionable. Someone reported here that his normaly scheduled resort bus pickup time was 2:45 before his flight and the bus made at least two more stops. THe first stops should be in the 3:15 to 3:00 time frame, not the 3:00 to 2:45 time frame.

Those of you who may feel encumbered with luggage, children, etc. can always get a bus still earlier (3-1/2 hours or more in advance) upon request made at least the day before checkout.

 

[Jestocost]

But one thing struck me as questionable. Someone reported here that his normaly scheduled resort bus pickup time was 2:45 before his flight and the bus made at least two more stops. THe first stops should be in the 3:15 to 3:00 time frame, not the 3:00 to 2:45 time frame.

Those of you who may feel encumbered with luggage, children, etc. can always get a bus still earlier (3-1/2 hours or more in advance) upon request made at least the day before checkout.

On our last trip we were scheduled for a pick up at POFQ just 2 hours and 50 minutes before our flight time, so I assumed we would be one of the later stops. However, we made three stops after our on-time pick up. Maybe Disney is tightening the DME pick-up window now that they have more experience?

 

[IlovePiglet]

It's still 3 hours prior to your flight and as previous posters have mentioned, you can change your pickup time to something earlier.
As far as having too many bodies for the bus, unfortunately some people tend to just show up. They are either unaware that reservations are needed or they have been told they don't need one, just be at the bus stop at a particular time. There are two pickup times for DME buses at each resort scheduled every hour. However, if there are no reservations showing at a particular resort there's a good chance there won't be a bus dispatched to that location for that particular time frame.
The other problem is that some guests ask about Disney transportation, meaning DME, and are inadvertently told that all buses are wheelchair accessible. This is true for Disney Transport, this is not true for Disney's Magical Express. So it is quite possible that the driver did not know about the guest needing special assistance.
DME is not foolproof but I think Disney and Mears both do a pretty good job of keeping things moving.

 

[Megan07]

During a trip this summer, we checked our bags with RAC at All Star Music and sat on the bench and waited. One bus went by, then another came. One of the RAC guys asked the bus driver if there was room for us (we didn't ask we were just patiently waiting and people watching - and we got on an earlier bus. We then headed to Movies and Cornado Springs where I think there were a lot of people and they may have had to call another bus or we just got every seat full. I think they need to have pickup times listed somewhere on the bus so people can know. The bus just pulls up, people get on, and some people don't know if it's there bus or not.
Granted we thought, hey, we'll just go shop around the airport during the extra time. Unfortunately we had a 6 hour delay because of Tornados in Chicago...
I think they could tweak Magical Express just a little bit.

 

[Turtleship]

That's why I rent a car.

 

[maxiesmom]

It's still 3 hours prior to your flight and as previous posters have mentioned, you can change your pickup time to something earlier.
As far as having too many bodies for the bus, unfortunately some people tend to just show up. They are either unaware that reservations are needed or they have been told they don't need one, just be at the bus stop at a particular time. There are two pickup times for DME buses at each resort scheduled every hour. However, if there are no reservations showing at a particular resort there's a good chance there won't be a bus dispatched to that location for that particular time frame.
The other problem is that some guests ask about Disney transportation, meaning DME, and are inadvertently told that all buses are wheelchair accessible. This is true for Disney Transport, this is not true for Disney's Magical Express. So it is quite possible that the driver did not know about the guest needing special assistance.
DME is not foolproof but I think Disney and Mears both do a pretty good job of keeping things moving.

This driver at least made an announcement when he pulled up about what pick up time his bus was for. If too many people are trying to get on an earlier bus, then maybe there should be a better way of keeping track of who gets on the bus. Such as they scan your pass and if you try to get on an earlier bus than the one you are scheduled for, it beeps and you are denied boarding.

Also, in the case of the wheelchair guest, she stated to the driver that she had told Disney when making her DME reservation that she was in a wheelchair. It seems they plain neglected to pass that information along.

I think DME is a decent service, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

 

[Missytara]

I can say this time at POR, we had a person who was most likely supposed to be organizing the ME bus pick-ups, but she seemed ultimately overwhelmed in this capacity.

We had a pick-up time of 2:30 pm. One bus came at 2:10 pm and every one ran toward it. One group was actually three families and they had their entire sets of luggage with them - four carts of it. It only added to the confusion of the poor girl trying to get control of everything.

I have to say though she did an excellent job of holding back the three families pushing their way to the front of the line, to take a family with a young boy in a wheelchair. She made sure they were the first ones on the bus, as well they should be.

I was all by myself with only one carry-on, so I held back.

Sure enough, the second 2:30 pm bus showed up at 2:20 pm. About 11 of us got on the bus and it was smooth sailing. We did not make any other stops at any other resorts, and we took off before the 2:10 bus was even ready to leave. They were still loading luggage under the bus.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

When we stayed at WL, our pick up time was exactly 3:00 before the flight. The bus arrived 5 min late, but only took a few minutes to load everyone (there were only 3 other families, and only carry on luggage. There were no other stops before going to MCO. And, there was no traffic.

We didn't get to MCO until 1:30 before our flight left. yes, it took him almost an hour and a half to get there! (this was the 2nd stop at MCO, so it took 1:15 to get to the first MCO stop).

I didn't pay attention to the route he took (I had DS1 on my lap), but I did notice that the ME video was almost over before we got on the highway! I don't know what route he took, or why, but that was very strange, I thought.

 

[Megan07]

I noticed that our driver took a very weird route back to MCO also. It was a route where there was like no cars and I saw horses or what looked like cows haha. Seemed very long!

 

[IlovePiglet]

This driver at least made an announcement when he pulled up about what pick up time his bus was for. If too many people are trying to get on an earlier bus, then maybe there should be a better way of keeping track of who gets on the bus. Such as they scan your pass and if you try to get on an earlier bus than the one you are scheduled for, it beeps and you are denied boarding.

Also, in the case of the wheelchair guest, she stated to the driver that she had told Disney when making her DME reservation that she was in a wheelchair. It seems they plain neglected to pass that information along.

I think DME is a decent service, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

That doesn't surprise me about the info not being passed along. I've seen that happen as well and been in the situation myself. Believe me, it's just as frustrating for the drivers as it is the guests.
No, DME is not foolproof, unfortunately there is no way for the drives to tell who has a ressie at what time, hopefully everyone is honest.
I think for the most part it does run smoothly. But as I stated in my earlier post, nothing is perfect. Not even DME.

 

[IlovePiglet]

I noticed that our driver took a very weird route back to MCO also. It was a route where there was like no cars and I saw horses or what looked like cows haha. Seemed very long!

No, that sound right. You can see cattle from that road.