Was your ME experience good or bad??

[Suzanne74]

I am curious to know how ME has been handling the past month or so. Would you do it again? What resorts are packed together? Thanks

 

[Suzanne74]

 

[katypop]

Well, I can't do the poll because I have two answers, one good and one bad. I used ME for my trip May9-23 and it worked very well for me, even though I didn't receive my tags. I only waited 5 min for my bus to depart MCO. It stopped at SSR and OKW then POFQ. I returned from CSR and the bus left right on time and only stopped at PC so took about 40 min to MCO.

My friend joined me from May12-19. She waited about 20 min for her bus at MCO and said it made two stops, but she never received her luggage the entire trip She is still waiting! WDW and the airlines have yet to agree on who lost the luggage, however, even if it was the airlines, we reported it missing 6 hours after her arrival...no one at wdw even knew they were missing it If it wasn't there to be picked up they should have reported that to her? On her return to MCO the bus was 35 min late leaving because the driver did not know how to work the door to load someone in a wheelchair. I felt so bad for the person in the wheelchair. I don't know how many stops they made after they finally figured out the door.

I am really interested in hearing of recent experiences too, I have another trip planned for Oct and after seeing both sides really don't know if I should trust ME again or not.

Katypop

 

[Suzanne74]

 

[Tissa]

I used ME on June 4th for arrival and June 11th for departure. We got our tags a week before so no problem there. When we got off the plane we just looked for the people with Mickey hands and they directed us to the check in desk. We checked in and went to the line for our bus. It took less than 10minutes from check in time to the time our bus pulled out. We were staying at POP and were the 1st stop so it only took 30min to get to the resort. I say around 45min total time. On the return trip our scheduled time was 10:00am and the bus pulled up on time and we were off to the airport. We used the resort airline check in and the only thing I have to say is to come out early to check your bags. We left on a Saturday and there was a line to check our bags which wasn't a problem because I packed up everything and went down 1 1/2 hours early. Some people came up 10 minutes before their bus was to arrive and they didn't have enough time to check in so they had to take their bags with them. I checked them then we were off to play in the arcade. Great service and the $100 we saved went for more souvies.
I forgot to add it took about 3 hours to get our luggage to our room but we were out and didn't need the luggage yet anyway.

 

[CleveRocks]

Used DME May 8 and 14, loved it! Free. convenient, courteous, FAST. Seriously! Got in the DME line at 9:37 a.m., arrived at CBR 10:30 a.m.

I ALWAYS pack 24 hours of supplies in my carry on (no matter where I travel, just in case THE AIRLINE loses my luggage), so even though our luggage didn't arrive until 2:30 p.m. it didn't matter one bit to us -- I was in the pool with my kids when our luggage magically arrived in our room.


And remember, I traveled on the 4th day DME was running, and it was that good then!

-- Eric

 

[dizagain]

Hi! Wonderful and don't forget...free! Our arrival and return trips went off without a hitch - both were very fast and easy! Would most definitely use it again and save the $$$ for more fun at WDW!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

but she never received her luggage the entire trip She is still waiting! WDW and the airlines have yet to agree on who lost the luggage, however, even if it was the airlines, we reported it missing 6 hours after her arrival...no one at wdw even knew they were missing it

Okay we leave for the airport in a few hours and you have me now officially TOTALLY freaked out. I know this happens sometimes... but I just can't imagine spending 10 days at WDW without any of our luggage and only our carryons! We'd swim all day every day I guess- either that or wear the same clothes every day? ugh

 

[katypop]

Oh Bibbity, didn't mean to freak you out I'm just letting you know what happened to my friend.While we talked to enough people to know we weren't the only ones with problems, I'm sure this is not the norm. There have been a lot of great reports too. Sending pixie dust your way for a wonderful trip
katypop

 

[Suzanne74]

 

[LeftCoaster]

I didn't vote either as my results were a bit skewed as well too.
My flight arrived at 6:00 am and I was in my room at Old Key West at 7:30 am. So far, so good. I took a nap and left for the parks at a little after 10:30 and my bags still had not arrived. When I came back to meet up with friends that were arriving, they were in my room. I estimate they arrived around noon.
The return to MCO went well. They picked me up a little less than 3 hours before my departure time and the ride was comfortable and uneventful. So, it was a solid effort for me.
Here's why I won't be using it on my next trip. Boy, Disney transportation truly sucked this trip. I was often waiting 30 minutes for a bus. If I waited only 20 minutes, it was a victory. I also had a lot of new drivers that were still trying to figure out the routes. I had dinner at Jiko one night and was going to Pleasure Island afterwards. I waited 30 minutes for the bus to arrive and it took the driver 45 minutes to drive from AKL to PI. Yes, you read that right. So, for me, it's back to car rentals and I'll sparingly use a bus.

 

[LeftCoaster]

I am really interested in hearing of recent experiences too, I have another trip planned for Oct and after seeing both sides really don't know if I should trust ME again or not.

Katypop

ME worked fine for me and my friends. We were 3 people on 3 flights from 3 different parts of the country. I would use it again if I were travelling solo, or on a budget

 

[katypop]

Thanks LeftCoaster That's what I'm hoping to hear...lots of good reviews before my Oct trip.Sorry the rest of the transportation didn't work for you, I have always had great luck with busses between parks but hate waiting for the DD ones, although I felt they were a little better this past trip. I definately won't be renting a car, so my choice is between ME or booking a towncar.
Katypop

 

[Suzanne74]

 

[judydvc]

We never got our tags but that didn't matter. When you get off the plane go straight to the ME counter-- not to baggage claim. We wasted time doing that and it was not necessary. Everthing went smoothly after we went to the ME counter and the way back. Actually, yesterday at this time we were on thw ME bus.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

Our trip was perfect. We didnt get tags, Im sure it would have been fine but we claimed our suitcase and went to ME checkin. Got on a bus within 5 minutes, made stops at the all stars before CSR, it didnt take too long. We were checked in at CSR and eating less than 2 hours after we landed.

On the way back, we hopped our bus at 3:25, stopped at Pop and took off for the airport. The only snag was when we went to the airport check in at the resort, it wouldnt print our passes. We went and ate breakfast and came back and they had our passes ready.

There is one thing that was bugging me about the ME service. I know that the drivers are Mears employees. On the way to our resort, our driver mentioned that 4 times and she kept saying "My children and I thank you for any gratuity you may want to leave." It just seemed like she was begging or trying to make us feel like we HAD to tip her. Which we did since she loaded and unloaded our suitcase. Then on the way back we got the same thing. Only this guy was flat out rude about Disney. It wasnt a very good way to end our trip. All in all, we would use this service again, I thought it was great.

 

[cabowser]

We were well prepared to wait in long lines, but there were none. We didn't get our tags and I just went and claimed our luggage ourselves. They put us in lines and we waited about 15 min for our motorcoach. It was a fairly short trip to our resort, Ft. Wilderness. they made two stops and then came right to ours. We went from the motor coach to checkin at the resort and that was very quick with no lines - this was at 5:00 pm. So I felt it was fine.

We had express checkout with a pickup from magical express. No problems there either. They got us to the airport in plenty of time. All in all it was fine.

We did tip the ME driver and also the van driver at the resort, there were discrete signs saying that gratutities were permitted. But the drivers that we had never mentioned it.

Very magical. I will use it again next time.

Jan

 

[tiggerzpalz]

My brother and sister arrived a few days after us and their experience was not so great. They never got their tags but after much assurance that it would be no problem it was. They were directed to the ME counter where they waited in line and after getting to the front were told to go get their own luggage and then come back to the line. After waiting in line for a second time with all their luggage they were then directed to the a bus, where they waited, loaded their own stuff and boarded. They were disappointed that this so-called fast and easy service was really neither. Their ride back was fine. We figure they are just still working out the kinks.

 

[cabowser]

When we were going through MCO we saw the mickey hand guys and they told us to claim our bags so we just did that. They told us it would be easier to claim it and then return to them for further instructions - it was easier too. Plus I have to hand it to MCO, they had those bags off the plane FAST! In Pittsburgh we had to wait about 40 minutes before they made it off. In FLA they were off before we even got there. I was just amazed. I think that ME has made MCO's baggage handling easier in that they are having to put less out for the baggage carosel. It was super fast. And I liked that the airport is laid out better than PIT.

Jan

 

[mrscoobs]

I had to give it an average for when we used it May 10th-14th our arrving trip with tags was awesome, very short lines, and left the airport in just ten minutes after checking in to the disney desk and our bags were in our room waiting for us when we got back to our room after afternoon tea at the GF.

Going back though was another issue in itself, the bus was 45 minutes late picking us up and then proceeded to the WF, POLY, and GF before then leaving for the airport. Thank goodness our confirmed time to be ready to go was three hours before returning, plus we had the benefit of allready checking our bags, those who did not had faces of worry going to the airport (granted the bus driver knew this and we were going the fastest I have ever gone on one of those 55 passenger buses in my life, I just laughed when we passed a total of three other DME buses on the highway to the airport). Our bags arrived safe and sound to our airport, so other than the small stress factor on getting to the airport on time it was a decent experience and the money we saved using the service allowed us to splurge on a meal at cali grill.