Would you gamble on Magic Express?

[pbnjrockette]

After reading about all the goofs and delays of this free service I'm wondering if I should take the gamble and go with it or take a Limo. Our flight arrives at 1:30 and we need to be to dinner in Epcot by 5:30. Does luggage ever arrive on time? I keep reading about 6 hour delays! And with the limits of carry-on....

Opinions??

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

After reading about all the goofs and delays of this free service I'm wondering if I should take the gamble and go with it or take a Limo. Our flight arrives at 1:30 and we need to be to dinner in Epcot by 5:30. Does luggage ever arrive on time? I keep reading about 6 hour delays! And with the limits of carry-on....

Well... Considering how you've worded your question, I think you might be better off with a livery service (towncar, limo, or SUV). It sounds as if you've already decided the DME is a gamble, prone to "all the goofs and delays."

I don't know what you mean by, "Does luggage ever arrive on time?" DME luggage takes longer than DME passengers because there are more steps involved. Most DME guests pack a carry-on with anything they'll need right away, as Disney recommends — so it doesn't matter if their luggage arrives one hour or six hours after they do. Those people are out having fun when their luggage is delivered. Disney pays the inbound tip, so they don't have to wait in their room. But some DME guests put everything in their checked luggage and then wait in their rooms in their winter clothes for a couple of hours, upset because it's 90 degrees outside; and then they complain on this board.

Keep in mind that just because your plane is supposed to arrive at 1:30 p.m. doesn't mean it actually will. If it arrives on time, you should be able to make it to at 5:30 p.m. dinner regardless of whether you take a livery service or DME. If the plane is delayed a couple of hours, you won't make it either way.

DME is used by 5-10 thousand guests per day. Because DME guests bypass baggage claim, they can be out of the airport more quickly than livery customers who must first wait for their checked bags to appear on the baggage conveyor. But DME is a shared service. Some guests get out of the airport more quickly than others. Some guests are the first stop; some are the third stop.

The reviews of DME on this board have been overwhelmingly positive, but there have also been complaints — some of which were legitimate, and some of which were due to unrealistic expectations or bad planning.

Towncar services aren't perfect either. I've had absolutely great towncar service. And I've had to call because the driver didn't show up (on three different occasions with two different companies).

Good luck either way.

 

[bicker]

The reviews of DME on this board have been overwhelmingly positive, but there have also been complaints — some of which were legitimate, and some of which were due to unrealistic expectations or bad planning.

That's really a good point. I think that one of the down-sides of a great service like the DIS is that it tends to magnify the significance of things. People rarely rush to the computer when they get home from a trip and post a message saying, "Magical Express is great," (though that does actually happen). Rather, we either don't hear about every great experience, or the great experience is buried in a large trip report, where the Magical Express experience wasn't really even highlighted because nothing went wrong -- it worked exactly as it was expected to (because both the guest had reasonable expectations, and nothing unfortunate happened).

 

[stemikger]

I used the service twice and loved it.

Both times my luggage got to my resort earlier then I expected.

On both occassions, I didn't wait. Going back to the airport went just as smooth.

This was two years in a row, so I don't think it was a fluke.

Also, I hate to admit it but Bicker made a good point, Disney is held at such a high standard, that if everything dosen't go perfect - people seem to get disappointed. I dare you to try to find a better vacation destination.

I just got back from a non-Disney vacation and I can't wait to get back to the Magic next year.

 

[aubriee]

I used DME in May '05 just a week or so after it started. I enjoyed it so much that I used it again Sept '05, Dec 05', Jan '06, and May '06. We'll also be using it again in about three weeks. We've never had a problem with it. We usually arrive at MCO around 9:30am and are in the parks for lunch by 12:30-1:00pm. In fact we have a lunch ADR at Sci Fi Sept 22nd and have every expectation of being able to make it. We won't have our checked luggage, but know they will be waiting for us in the room when we get back to the resprt that night. Anything we might need we just make sure is in our carryons.

If I didn't have faith in DME you better believe I wouldn't be using it for the sixth time in just 1 1/2 years.

 

[havencruiser]

I would gladly wait - not that I've had to - for my luggage a few hours to enjoy the luxury of not having to wait for it at baggage claim and lug it to the bus, shuttle, etc. We were just there this week-end and the luggage came within an hour of us getting to the resort. To reiterate a prior comment, the downside of such a popular service gets magnified here. You can very well have luggage nightmares with the airport, regardless of how you get to the resort. I would pacj what I HAD TO HAVE in a carryon and enjoy the extra time I had at WDW that I didn't have to wait spending at baggage claim.
ENjoy!!!

 

[CleveRocks]

After reading about all the goofs and delays of this free service I'm wondering if I should take the gamble and go with it or take a Limo. Our flight arrives at 1:30 and we need to be to dinner in Epcot by 5:30. Does luggage ever arrive on time? I keep reading about 6 hour delays! And with the limits of carry-on....

Opinions??

I love DME. Used it when it was brand new, using it again in November. No gambling involved. I live next-door to Atlantic City, I know from gambling, and DME is not gambling.

The negatives you've read have been exceptions. If DME weren't so successful AND so popular with guests, it would have died in October of this year, at the end of the 50th Anniversary/Happiest Celebration on Earth, like it was supposed to. Instead, it's been loved by guests and Disney suits alike, and will be around and FREE until at least the end of 2011.

Now, as to your travel plans. I don't travel and pack the same way you apparently do. Let me try to convince you to start packing the way I do. First of all, there aren't limits on carry-ons, only banned items. Last I checked, nice dinner attire hasn;t made the TSA's banned list. Second, no matter where I was flying, I would NEVER pack my suitcase with clothes I intended to wear three or four hours after scheduled arrival. WHAT IF THE AIRLINE DELAYS MY LUGGAGE??? I ALWAYS pack my carry-on with the things I'll need for the first 24 hours (sans most toiletries now, of course) just in case the airline delays my luggage. Believe me, there are MANY more horror stories about delayed airline luggage than there are about delayed DME luggage (and thus, SOME of the DME luggage stories are the result of bags that were misdirected by the airlines at the originating city!).

My packing a well-stocked carry-on has nothing to do with DME. Let's say I had a 1:30 p.m. flight into, oh, I don't know, let's say San Francisco. I'd be staying at a downtown hotel, and let's say I had a 5:30 dinner reservation near Fisherman's Wharf or Ghiardelli Square, about a 30 minute or so excursion from the hotel by bus (including waiting time) to the restaurant. I would pack my dinner clothes in my carry-on. Even if the airline delays my luggage and I have to wait for it to be delivered by courier, I can still enjoy my dinner out. I'd also have packed bedclothes as well as a change of clothes for the morning so I could enjoy the beginning of my vacation while the airline tries to find my suitcase in MCI (Kansas City) or MCD (Mackinac Island, Michigan)

The above scenario is pretty analogous to your situation of a Disney resort and getting to Epcot. EVEN IF YOU TAKE A CAR SERVICE, I RECOMMEND YOU DON'T GAMBLE ON THE AIRLINE GETTING YOU YOUR LUGGAGE ON TIME. BRING A WELL-PACKED CARRY-ON.

 

[goofy4tink]

Not a gamble at all. Let's put it this way...you can pay over $100 for a private towncar. You will go to baggage claim, your driver should be there waiting for you. He/she will then help you out with your bags. You will go from level 2 to level 1, where the driver will direct you to a slot to wait while he/she goes off to retrieve the car. Then, when they get back, he/she will load your luggage into the trunk. Then off to WDW and your resort, where he/she will unload your bags and you will tip the driver and off you go to checkin. This usually takes about 50 minutes give or take, depending on how quickly your bags get to the carousel.

Or, you can take DME, for free. You deplane, head directly to level 1, go to the checkin desk, there you will get your vouchers stamped, you will be directed to the appropriate bus line for your resort. You will then hop on the bus and head to your resort for checkin. For my 3 experiences this has taken about 70 minutes. Then, you will have to wait, in the area of 3-4 hrs., for your bags to get to your room.
Or, you could not put those yellow tags on your bags, then when you get to MCO, go to baggage claim, grab your own bags, and then head to the DME checkin desk, where the rest of the above applies, except that the bus driver will stow your luggage underneath the bus. When you get to your resort, he/she will take it out for you. You wil then, hopefully, tip about $1 or so a bag, and head into the resort to checkin, with your bags. This would all take about 90 minutes, depending on when your bags got to the carousel.

So....you decide....50+ minutes, with baggage for $140 (approx)......70 minutes, with a wait for bags, for zip....or 90 minutes, with bags for zip.

I have used towncars about 3-4 times....I have only beat the DME time to my resort once....that was when I had only carryon luggage with me, and my driver was right there, waiting. That one time I got to my resort in 45 minutes. Otherwise, DME has taken me only about 20 minutes longer than a towncar (with checked baggage).

 

[abner1776]

Having used DME this past Jan, I give it big thumps up. We were off the plane, into the bus and on the road within 15 minutes and WL was the first stop so I certainly have no complaints. Maybe a limo would have arrived faster, but a car rental would certainly have been longer.

We dropped our carry-on bags in our room and took off for a few hours at Epcot..when we returned 3 hours later (around 4pm) our bags were in our room.

No service is going to be 100% satisfactory and problems will arise no matter how hard WDW tries. Remember - people always complain about bad service and we all hear about it - few people talk up good service and we never hear about it.

 

[dudspizza]

Well... Considering how you've worded your question, I think you might be better off with a livery service (towncar, limo, or SUV). It sounds as if you've already decided the DME is a gamble, prone to "all the goofs and delays."

I don't know what you mean by, "Does luggage ever arrive on time?" DME luggage takes longer than DME passengers because there are more steps involved. Most DME guests pack a carry-on with anything they'll need right away, as Disney recommends — so it doesn't matter if their luggage arrives one hour or six hours after they do. Those people are out having fun when their luggage is delivered. Disney pays the inbound tip, so they don't have to wait in their room. But some DME guests put everything in their checked luggage and then wait in their rooms in their winter clothes for a couple of hours, upset because it's 90 degrees outside; and then they complain on this board.

Keep in mind that just because your plane is supposed to arrive at 1:30 p.m. doesn't mean it actually will. If it arrives on time, you should be able to make it to at 5:30 p.m. dinner regardless of whether you take a livery service or DME. If the plane is delayed a couple of hours, you won't make it either way.

DME is used by 5-10 thousand guests per day. Because DME guests bypass baggage claim, they can be out of the airport more quickly than livery customers who must first wait for their checked bags to appear on the baggage conveyor. But DME is a shared service. Some guests get out of the airport more quickly than others. Some guests are the first stop; some are the third stop.

The reviews of DME on this board have been overwhelmingly positive, but there have also been complaints — some of which were legitimate, and some of which were due to unrealistic expectations or bad planning.

Towncar services aren't perfect either. I've had absolutely great towncar service. And I've had to call because the driver didn't show up (on three different occasions with two different companies).

Good luck either way.

That's really a good point. I think that one of the down-sides of a great service like the DIS is that it tends to magnify the significance of things. People rarely rush to the computer when they get home from a trip and post a message saying, "Magical Express is great," (though that does actually happen). Rather, we either don't hear about every great experience, or the great experience is buried in a large trip report, where the Magical Express experience wasn't really even highlighted because nothing went wrong -- it worked exactly as it was expected to (because both the guest had reasonable expectations, and nothing unfortunate happened).

Saved me a lot of typing.... I totally agree. These boards do over-magnify things....

Duds

 

[kaytieeldr]

You can very well have luggage nightmares with the airport, regardless of how you get to the resort.

Believe me, there are MANY more horror stories about delayed airline luggage than there are about delayed DME luggage

Oh. You two know my brother? The one who, despite completing his luggage checkin transaction at a kiost 45 minutes in advance was told 45 minutes really means 46 minutes, and not only did he not get on that flight and had to travel standby all day, his luggage NEVER got on a flight and was waiting for him when he got home? Had NOTHING to do with DME, he didn't even fly over Florida

 

[jenelope]

I could enjoy the beginning of my vacation while the airline tries to find my suitcase in MCI (Kansas City) or MCD (Mackinac Island, Michigan)

Off-topic, but I'm kind of enjoying the mental image of a bag mis-routed to Mackinac Island. KMCD is served by one charter airline and flights arrive from three Michigan cities (Traverse City, St. Ignace, and Pellston) carrying a maximum of five passengers per plane. I'm having fun imagining what kind of odyssey a bag would undergo to end up on Mackinac!

 

[Andrew Bichard]

there aren't limits on carry-ons, only banned items.

Unless, of course, you are flying from the UK as I am. (one small carry on per person - mine will be mostly filled with items I don't want to lose like my camera, so little space for a change of clothing - one pair of shorts only)

But then, I haven't received my DME luggage tags either, so I will have to get my own luggage from the carrousel at Orlando and take it over to the DME coach. My luggage will therefore arrive at the Grand Floridian with me.

I suppose if you were really worried about your luggage arriving late, you could just leave off your DME tags too!

Andrew

 

[scanne]

Just wanted to add that I agree with all posters here and have to say that our 2 experiences with DME have been flawless. In July, we were off the plane, on the bus and checking into the WL within 50 minutes!!! It was awesome!!!!

 

[havencruiser]

I was told that if you take your luggage claims ticket to the DME counter, they will collect and deliver your luggage.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We used DME last September and again in 3 weeks with no major problems. Its free thats already a BIG plus in my book.

DH and I used a limo service last November on our solo trip . We stayed at the Swan and couldn't use DME. I was less than impressed. Driver finally showed up after I called the main number twice. By the time he arrived, DH and I already had our own luggage and were waiting by the escalator for him.

So just because you pay $100.00 doesn't mean the service will be sigificantly better. Actually we had a better experience with DME.

 

[kaytieeldr]

But then, I haven't received my DME luggage tags either, so I will have to get my own luggage from the carrousel at Orlando and take it over to the DME coach. My luggage will therefore arrive at the Grand Floridian with me.

No, you won't have to get your own luggage off the carousel; although yes, if you expect it to arrive at your hotel with you, yes - but you'd have to do that even if you do get the DME tags.

I was told that if you take your luggage claims ticket to the DME counter, they will collect and deliver your luggage.

Absolutely correct!

 

[pbnjrockette]

Geez...I wish there was a board like this for every place I travel to!!!! We have traveled many times with a travel company that takes care of all the details so we are spoiled rotten. Maybe it is reading all the negatives that scares us Disney-newbies!!

Thanks for all the input---DME sounds like the way to go. I think I pack a pretty good carry-on (minus my toothpaste and cosmetics now) and could survive a few days without luggage but hubby is hard to convince (even though he went without clean underwear in Hawaii for awhile!!!)

Gotta relax and remember this is supposed to be fun!!!!

 

[CleveRocks]

Thanks for all the input---DME sounds like the way to go. I think I pack a pretty good carry-on (minus my toothpaste and cosmetics now) and could survive a few days without luggage but hubby is hard to convince (even though he went without clean underwear in Hawaii for awhile!!!)

Enjoy your trip!

Please come back and post your experiences, good or bad.

And here's hoping your husband has better luck with his underwear!

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Here's my two cents on the whole "My luggage took 6 hours to get to my room" deal.

Who's to say that DME is the reason the luggage took 6 hours? It's very likely that the airline delayed the luggage, and it showed up on a different flight.

The airlines would have then had to hire a courier to bring the bag to you... often on thier schedule, and not yours. Instead, DME acts as the courier, and gets you your bag much quicker.