When does DME at MCO get crowded?

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We flew into MCO at 12:20 last year on Dec. 12 (a Saturday), and the line for DME went all the way down the terminal. When we came off the elevator, we had to make a right, and it was a 2 minute walk to the end of the line! We then had to wait for the 3rd or 4th bus that went to POR (the lines for the other resorts were just as long). The busses did come every 5-10 min, so we got to POR by 1:30.

This year our flight comes in at 10:50 (also on a Saturday). Will DME be just as crowded?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Honestly, it'll depend how many other flights arrive around then, how many buses are operating, how many people actually use Magical Express that morning...

 

[goofy4tink]

We flew into MCO at 12:20 last year on Dec. 12 (a Saturday), and the line for DME went all the way down the terminal. When we came off the elevator, we had to make a right, and it was a 2 minute walk to the end of the line! We then had to wait for the 3rd or 4th bus that went to POR (the lines for the other resorts were just as long). The busses did come every 5-10 min, so we got to POR by 1:30.

This year our flight comes in at 10:50 (also on a Saturday). Will DME be just as crowded?

Your flight arrived at 12:20 and you were at the resort by 1:30 and it was that crowded??? That's pretty incredible. The average time, from gate to resort, is about 70 mins. I doubt you'll get to your resort much quicker than that.
This is my breakdown for times...
gate to DME area.....about 10-15 mins

in line at DME counter....10 mins (average..could be 1 min but it could be 25..the longest I've waited with a huge line back to the car rental counters)

in bus line...1-20 mins, but never more than 20.

on the bus....5-20 mins, but usually about 10 mins

ride to the resort......30-50 mins, depending on which stop you are.

I guess if all the stars lined up against you , it could take almost 2 hrs. but that just isn't going to happen. You will find that some waits will be longish, but others will be shorter..it averages out. My longest time was 90 mins...a ton of luggage to be loaded under the bus, the driver waited forever to leave MCO and we were the third stop, and at each of the two stops before us there was a ton of luggage to be unloaded and the driver standing around waiting to be tipped.

Usually, if it is a less than busy time, you may find longer waits. there seem to be fewer CMs on duty when it's less busy. But, at busier times, the counters are 100% manned, the buses run more frequently. So, it's a trade off.

 

[Edd]

Disney and Mears are cutting back on employees. The busses are waiting longer and if you notice the castmemers are not on the baggage floor to help out as much. I am not sure if they are gone permanently, but in the past month every time I have been at the terminal there have been no castmembers on the 2nd floor (baggage).

The Mears bus drivers are talking about the cut back in hours so I would imagine there are not as many busses on the road as passengerrs coming in. The "Q" for the busses also doesn't seem to be as many waiting to go to the terminal.

 

[seashoreCM]

We flew into MCO at 12:20 ... so we got to POR by 1:30.

This year our flight comes in at 10:50 (also on a Saturday). Will DME be just as crowded?

(Ph.D. in math needed) Quick! How many minutes was that?

Seems like Magical Express did a pretty good job of predicting the number of people arriving and scheduling the buses, cutbacks in employees notwithstanding.

Did it look as if entire families were in line stretching to the rental car counters? While only one person has to stand in line to register for DME, all the sitting space along the windowsills may have been taken.

When DME began, in 2005, there were 36 buses purchased and painted up and equipped with video screens for the operation. Scheduling suggested although did not adhere to four routes. Additional buses, usually solid white, from Mears' fleet were used as needed.

Meanwhile on another DIS thread a few months ago (I forget where) some folks complained about, having arrived ca 11 (PM) they said that the bus sat so long waiting to fill up that they didn't get to their resort until 1:30 (AM). Oh, the horror, the crowds!

 

[Edd]

There were 90 busses purchased for DME, 36 busses would have never made it, in 2005. The number has dwindled. If you are arriving in the evening after 10:00 pm it is a gamble because most of the busses are at the barn or headed that way. There have been some stories about waiting after 11:00 pm and that certainly applies after 10:00. The daytime usually is good for the avaerage because the full fleet of busses are coming and going.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

I think some of you misinterpreted what I was asking.

I was NOT complaining about the service, time to the resort. We were very happy with the 70 minutes! (Apparently, a BA in math is sufficient to answer this, phD not required)

But, we were completely suprised by the line to check in, and the size of the crowd. In fact, in terms of number of people, that was probably the longest line I was in all trip.

I just wanted to know what to expect when we got there, crowd wise, if what we experienced was usual, or unusual. Also, we didn't check in at the counter. They had a podium set up in the line where they checked people's express folder, and everyone in the party had to be there.

BTW, that day, only a small percentage of the busses they were using said Disney's Magical Express, the rest were yellow and black Mears busses (I was disappointed our bus didn't say Disney on it, I felt cheated somewhat)

 

[kaytieeldr]

(Ph.D. in math needed) (not funny and PLEASE stop thinking/posting that a Ph.D. in any particular subject is needed to answer any particular question) Quick! How many minutes was that?

Seventy. Simple subtraction, no degree needed.

 

[kaytieeldr]

But, we were completely suprised by the line to check in, and the size of the crowd. In fact, in terms of number of people, that was probably the longest line I was in all trip.

Well, on this point, seashoreCM is more or less correct - many, many times, entire parties get in line, making the line SEEM longer than it actually is. Once you get to the greeting kiosk, they try to weed out the families and send just ONE person to the Welcome Center.

While, again, there's no way to predict how many Guests will arrive at a given time - the procedure has changed a bit. When you get to that kiosk, if you have all your paperwork, you get sent directly to your resort's bus line. If I had to guess, though, I would guess there would be fewer people arriving at 10:30, even on a Saturday, than at 12:20.

And forget the Ph.D - I did the math with just a high school diploma! And, okay, various community college courses but NO advanced degree whatsoever

 

[goofy4tink]

I think some of you misinterpreted what I was asking.

I was NOT complaining about the service, time to the resort. We were very happy with the 70 minutes! (Apparently, a BA in math is sufficient to answer this, phD not required)

But, we were completely suprised by the line to check in, and the size of the crowd. In fact, in terms of number of people, that was probably the longest line I was in all trip.

I just wanted to know what to expect when we got there, crowd wise, if what we experienced was usual, or unusual. Also, we didn't check in at the counter. They had a podium set up in the line where they checked people's express folder, and everyone in the party had to be there.

BTW, that day, only a small percentage of the busses they were using said Disney's Magical Express, the rest were yellow and black Mears busses (I was disappointed our bus didn't say Disney on it, I felt cheated somewhat)

Okay.....now I see exactly what you're asking. Sorry for the long convoluted answer that was a 'non-answer'!!
I think you will find a lot fewer people at DME if you are arriving at 10:30. I have arrived at that time, many times, and have not found there to be too many others waiting with me.

But remember...the fewer guests there are, the fewer CMs there are.
And Edd...while I have no reason to disagree with you (what you say may be100% correct), I hope Disney doesn't do something that will come back to bite 'em in the 'backside'. If they take away too many buses and drivers, it will lengthen the wait times for guests..and those guests will decide that 'free' really isn't in their best interests anymore. I know that if it's going to take me two hours to get to WDW, using DME, I'm going to say 'no thank-you' and either rent a car or hire a car service. I use it primarily because it gets me to my resort in a decent time frame. Lenghten that time frame too much more and I'm done with it.

 

[seashoreCM]

I hope Disney doesn't do something that will come back to bite 'em in the 'backside'. If they take away too many buses and drivers, it will lengthen the wait times for guests. ... I know that if it's going to take me two hours to get to WDW, using DME, I'm going to say 'no thank-you' and either rent a car or hire a car service.

I hope it doesn't bite guests in the 'backside'. Many a transit system spiraled to its death because ridership dropped off and then service dropped off and then more ridership dropped ... etc.

Yes I will go to some length to get cheap public transportation*, but I don't look forward to the thought that DME might stop altogether after 10 PM some day.

Hmmm. Would the airline have any responsibility in the matter if your flight arrives really late and you miss the last bus or shuttle out of the airport?

* Lynx from MCO up to Orlando, transfer, and then down to WDW would be too much, though.

 

[kaytieeldr]

* Lynx from MCO up to Orlando, transfer, and then down to WDW would be too much, though.

Wouldn't be necessary. I'm in NO way a Lynx expert, but I'm aware of the Route 111 bus that runs from the airport to Downtown Disney and Magic Kingdom $2 per person each way, direct 'change', luggage allowed (but no more than the passenger can handle, since the driver isn't required to assist).