So how long does it REALLY take DME to get to the resorts?

[goofy4tink]

On my first ever trip to WDW, back in '99, we used Mears to get to, then, DxL. We got off the plane and headed down to the transportation area. After standing in a longish line, a lady started screaming at us (okay, maybe scream is the wrong word but she was really loud).."If you're going to DxL you had best move it...the bus is leaving!!!" Okay, my mother, 5 y/o dd and I started hauling all our luggage, at a rapid pace, to the 'bus'...it was a van, that already had about 6 people on it!!! They crammed us in, we sat with our feet on some of our luggage. It took us about an hour, but that was only because the other occupants of the van were going to DxL also.

So....now, I deplane, head to the DME desk (about 10 minutes tops), wait in line (haven't waited longer than 8 mins to date), head to the bus line (again, no longer than 7-8 mins), then onto the bus (longest time on the standing still bus was 13 mins), then off to the resort. I have been the first dropped off, the second and the third. The only time I was actually on a bus that had four stops was when I was at BCV...that bus stopped at the S/D (obviously they had booked some paying Mears customers), then YC, then BC and then BW after I got off.
Other than the fact that Mears owns the buses and Mears drivers drive the buses, all similarity ends. Disney makes the rules, Mears follows them. It's a system that works quite well....I'll give up 70 mins of my time in order to save about $140 on every trip.

 

[simzac]

65 minutes from the time we stepped off the plane until we stepped off the bus at POP. This was on January 1st of this year. We love the service and will continue to use it in the future.

 

[Lewisc]

Your were clear, those of us who used DME and Mears disagree with you. Tyler gave a detailed comparison.

It's not "the same lines". Mears picked up at 4 places in the airport. It's not the same loop. Mears made multiple stops before even leaving MCO and then stopped at many resorts, some not near each other, some not even on property. DME stops at 3 or 4 resorts, all at WDW and all in the same general area. Mears generally waited until a bus or van were filled, DME dispatches the buses every 15-20 minutes. Many of us wind up riding in a half empty bus. Mears could take hours to get to your resort, DME generally takes about an hour.

I think we are saying the same thing, I just wasn't clear enough. In my opinion, Disney took what Mears was doing and added Disney Magic to it. They were able to use their ability to handle people and "stuff" and add it as a free service. It intrigues me how peolpe who took the same service before and waited in the same lines and took the same loop before DME now seem to think the lines are so long and the loops are so long, etc etc. It's a free service that I think is well worth not having to rent a car or wait for my luggage and I will happily wait a few minutes for.