The longest you've ever waiting for a bus?

[laughinplace2]

So...I'm just a little paranoid...I haev a short 4 day trip this weekend and we booked a late flight back home for Sunday (7 PM) so I want to get some park time that day. I know Magical Express will probably pick us up at the hotel around 4-4:30, so if I go to the parks, I should probably wait for a bus by like 2:30 at the latest. Right? I'm just paranoid that something might happen and I could be waiting there for over an hour for a bus and then miss the ME bus at my resort!!

 

[Strawberry's mom&dad]

We usually leave park 1 hour before ME pick up time. Have never missed ME yet.
Have fun this weekend

 

[jandersonlj]

I don't think it would take that long, but I am like you and would definitely play it safe! You can always do a little last minute shopping in the gift shop at your resort or sit down and have a snack or drink before you leave. Is this first trip for bf? I noticed it was your first together. Hope you have a blast!

 

[canopynut66]

So...I'm just a little paranoid...I haev a short 4 day trip this weekend and we booked a late flight back home for Sunday (7 PM) so I want to get some park time that day. I know Magical Express will probably pick us up at the hotel around 4-4:30, so if I go to the parks, I should probably wait for a bus by like 2:30 at the latest. Right? I'm just paranoid that something might happen and I could be waiting there for over an hour for a bus and then miss the ME bus at my resort!!

We leave a park usually hour before to get back to resort. However we were in DTD once and buses were really slow and we did miss ME....just took next ME but had to call etc.

 

[maxiesmom]

So...I'm just a little paranoid...I haev a short 4 day trip this weekend and we booked a late flight back home for Sunday (7 PM) so I want to get some park time that day. I know Magical Express will probably pick us up at the hotel around 4-4:30, so if I go to the parks, I should probably wait for a bus by like 2:30 at the latest. Right? I'm just paranoid that something might happen and I could be waiting there for over an hour for a bus and then miss the ME bus at my resort!!

I'm right with you on the paranoia thing. Two hours sounds good to me. Gives you plenty of time in case you just miss the resort bus. And you can always spend the time at your resort taking pictures and shopping.

 

[goofy4tink]

For a 7pm flight, DME will give you a time of about 4pm, give or take 15 mins either way. You need to be at the bus stop, all ready to go, no less than 15 mins before your pickup time. The time you are given is the time the bus leaves your resort, not the time you should walk over at.

So, with that in mind, plan to be back at your resort by 3:15. This will give you time to use the bathrooms, get any carryon bags from Bell Services, and make a last gift shop run. This means you need to leave the parks by 2ish. Will it take you an hour to get back to your resort? Most likely not, but it's so much better to be early than worrying about being late.
Which resort are you staying at??

 

[keishashadow]

when we use ME, we aim to be @ park bus stup a good 1-1/2 hours before our scheduled pick up time.

If at MK i bump it up to 2 hours and same w/AK which imo always seems to have the worst bus service back to 'whatever' resort.

Often we'll grab a bite to eat @ resort or do some last min shopping to fill our time before ME pickup.

note if it looks as though it might rain, head back earlier, the lines tend to get long.

 

[laughinplace2]

Thanks everyone! I'm staying at all star music which I know can sometimes take even longer if the all stars are sharing a bus...so i guess I'll plan to leave MK by 2

 

[kwdw]

I'd be at a bus stop at a park 1.5 hours before your scheduled ME time. (Note - at the stop - not starting to walk to the bus stop from Italy in Epcot!) An hour -- too close, IMO. 2 hours - I've done that and been bored out of my mind waiting for the ME..... How long can one spend in the resort gift shop when you've likely already been through it earlier in the trip?

Now - if you have kids that are going to need to eat back at the resort, use the arcade one last time, and visit the bathroom three times - then maybe two hours is correct!