What time should I get to magical express?

[katyringo]

So I am flying in the night before my trip technically starts. My plane lands at 11pm and I have a reservation at the Hyatt there inside MCO. Once I decided to come in a night earlier instead of a very early am flight my resort was sold out.

I have epcot reservations that day with early entry at 930am. So I would like to be in the bus line at all star movies for Epcot by 8-830.

what time should I go to magical express? I called them to tell them I would be staying at the hotel there and the lady just said to come over when I'm ready to go..

I've also heard phone service in the magical express area is bad so I don't necessarily want to be stuck there at 7 when I'm trying to get lightning lane Lolol..

Would 6 be too early/crazy?

 

[Firepath]

I did exactly as you did last week (fly in late, stay at Hyatt) but we planned to take the ME around noon. I was amazed. The line ran almost to the other end of the terminal. It took about 2 hrs. before we got on a bus. It looked like a park at opening, with luggage. I would ask ME what time (if any) is slower, and try to go there then. Have fun and good luck.

 

[sam_gordon]

8-830 IMO is WAY too late if you want to get to a park at 930. Keep in mind you'll need to go to your resort first, do something with your bags, THEN get transportation to the park. For budgeting time, I'd assume:
45 minutes to get from resort to park (that includes wait time for a bus)
15 minutes to deal with luggage
45 minutes to get from MCO to resort (assume other stops)
60 minute wait for a bus at MCO.

So, using those times, if I want to get to a park at 930, I'd get to DME around 645.

 

[Lewisc]

Taxi or rideshare from the Hyatt will be faster and easier. Using PP math you'll save over an hour

 

[Shellyred8]

I think 6am would be fine to get to the DME line. That actually might be a good time to get there since there probably aren't as many flights landing at that time. The time of day and/or the day of the week can have a pretty big impact on your wait time for DME. On our last trip (Sept 2021), we arrived early on a Monday afternoon (1pm-ish?). The line to get checked into DME was only about 5 minutes (maybe 8-10 families in front of us). We waited about 20 minutes for the next bus. On our previous trip (May 8, 2021), we arrived early on a Saturday afternoon (1pm-ish) and it took about 30 minutes to get checked into DME (the line was back to the second set of elevators!). The wait to get on the bus was 15-20 minutes.

My one word of advice to all DME users: have your magic bands or DME paperwork out and ready to go by the time you get to the check-in stand. I've seen sooooooo many people getting to the check-in stand and then start digging their magic bands or paperwork out. This is one of the things that causes the line to move slowly at times.

Have a great trip!