Travel time from arrival - Mears to WDW

[markpenske]

Any idea on the time from when your plane arrives to the time you will be at the front desk at your resort? I'm guessing close to 2 hours? I have no idea but I would think there is some wait time and the shuttle will make other stops along the way.
We are looking at an early flight that lands at 8:50am. I know we will arrive at our resort too soon to check in. Just trying to get an estimate on how much time we'll have before check in

 

[scrappinginontario]

90 mins to 2 hours is typical.

 

[LRdismom]

Same answer here, 90 mins to 2 hours.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Yeah from exiting the plane to arriving at your resort I'd say a good 2 hours since you'll need to get your luggage unless you do carry on luggage.
And depending on your resort you could be the first they drop off or the last.
Its really not much different than magical express always was.

I'd say expect to be at your resort by about 11am.

Also just because you're there before official check in doesn't mean your room won't be ready.
You could always ask if there's anything available yet.

 

[markpenske]

thanks for the feedback. It would be great in our room was ready early

 

[CarolynFH]

thanks for the feedback. It would be great in our room was ready early

If you do online checkin via MDE, there’s a place in the Requests section to indicate that you’d like your room ready early. No guarantee but it might help.

 

[ironz]

Our most recent trip with Mears took 1 hour, 45 minutes from checking in at Mears counter to resort, and it was probably the longest it has ever taken. But definitely less than 2 hours. I think quickest has been about 1 hour to 70 minutes from Mears checkin to resort.

Timeline from our visit (January 2025):
1:22 pm--check in at Mears
2:00 pm-- on bus
2:09 pm--bus pulling out
2:36 pm-- first stop at Gaylord Palms
2:46 pm--second stop at Art of Animation
2:52 pm--third stop at Pop Century (I might have switched which of these we went to first-- my notes had Pop for both stops, so I made a typo somewhere)
3:07 pm--last stop at Riviera, and our room was ready (got the text about 2:50 pm)

The 40 minute wait from checkin to getting on bus felt unusual for us-- usually we are on the bus in less time, but we were almost at the front of that line, so a full bus must have left just before we got to Mears.
Hope that helps.

 

[jimmymc]

90 minutes to 2 hours is my experience as well.

 

[OKW Lover]

Our most recent trip with Mears took 1 hour, 45 minutes from checking in at Mears counter to resort,

Any idea how long it took you to de-plane, get your bags and then walk to the Mears counter?

 

[ironz]

We didn't go straight to the Mears checkin this time, as we wanted to get lunch when we landed.
Though, I would say it took about 10-15 minutes to get off plane, another 10-15 to get to baggage claim. Our bags came out pretty quickly. If we had gone to Mears, say another 15 minutes.

We don't normally check bags, but we were going on a cruise. We've gotten from plane to Mears checkin in less than 30 minutes before.

 

[SwanVT2]

Not to hijack the thread, but if one wanted to avoid the two hour haul using Mears shuttle, do they have a more direct service right to hotel? Thank you!

 

[Kesohio63]

Mears has private car options as well, you can book on their website. It’s expensive but convenient. There are lots of private transportation companies in Orlando. I have only used Mears.

 

[sam_gordon]

Not to hijack the thread, but if one wanted to avoid the two hour haul using Mears shuttle, do they have a more direct service right to hotel? Thank you!

As mentioned, Mears has a private, more expensive shuttle, and there are many other private companies plus ride share/taxi.

But, realistically, from when the door opens on the plane...
5-10 minutes (depending on where you're sitting on the plane) to get off
10-15 minutes to get to baggage claim
10-15 minutes to wait for luggage
5-10 minutes to get to waiting vehicle
30-45 minutes to get to hotel.

So you're looking at 60 to 90 minutes (can shave some if you don't have checked bags) if everything goes perfectly. Using two hours as a "budget" time is a good plan IMO.

If you're worried about making some kind of reservation at a specific time, don't forget planes could be delayed, connections missed, and baggage lost, which can add LOTS of time.

 

[SwanVT2]

As mentioned, Mears has a private, more expensive shuttle, and there are many other private companies plus ride share/taxi.

But, realistically, from when the door opens on the plane...
5-10 minutes (depending on where you're sitting on the plane) to get off
10-15 minutes to get to baggage claim
10-15 minutes to wait for luggage
5-10 minutes to get to waiting vehicle
30-45 minutes to get to hotel.

So you're looking at 60 to 90 minutes (can shave some if you don't have checked bags) if everything goes perfectly. Using two hours as a "budget" time is a good plan IMO.

If you're worried about making some kind of reservation at a specific time, don't forget planes could be delayed, connections missed, and baggage lost, which can add LOTS of time.

so it sounds like we might as well use Mears bus that also goes to other properties like we always do?

 

[sam_gordon]

so it sounds like we might as well use Mears bus that also goes to other properties like we always do?

Using a shared shuttle would probably add 20-30 minutes, maybe 45, depending on how many stops it makes, plus waiting for the bus to pull out of MCO. Only you can decide if the cost savings is worth it.