Can I give ‘fake’ flight info for departure day for DME??

[lorenae]

Or, do the RAC in the morning, and just Uber to the airport when you are ready.

 

[Lewisc]

DME scheduling allows an extra 30 minutes to account for traffic and bus delays. The schedule allows 5 minutes between stops. That's 5 minutes to load luggage under the bus, load passengers and drive to the next resort. Waiting for stragglers. Waiting for stragglers to get luggage checked with bell services. DME is designed to get you to MCO 2 hours before your flight. Not that much time if you have to check luggage and clear security. TSA pre took me 20 minutes one trip.

People who want to maximize their time should use private transportation.

 

[holden]

MCO TSA is notoriously slow. Just an FYI.

 

[bumbershoot]

Last time we had a 5:45pm flight and they said our DME would depart at 2:30pm. I just don't want to end up sitting at the airport for 2.5 hours.

You were assuming that you would be the last stop, everyone would be there or the driver wouldn’t wait for stragglers, and there would be no traffic at all.

Unfortunately, that combo isn’t a given. Apart from the flight I took one early morning, couldn’t sleep, got to DME early and got on the earlier bus, I’ve never had to wait that long at the airport. Worst was a pickup at Bay Lake with three resorts after it. Traffic everywhere.The driver stopped to talk and wait for stragglers and wait more for some unknown reason. He then drove under the speed limit the whole way there.

My cousin was catching a bus shuttle to Daytona and totally missed it. I was approaching missing my flight (had to leave my cousin to sort things out so I didn’t). It was not good.

Evrn when I drive myself I leave at 3 hours. It’s a busy airport and I want to be walking in those doors 2 hours before. Even if I’ve used RAC and even though I have Precheck. Its an interesting airport with lots to see.

 

[DL1WDW2]

The line for A side snaked thru entire normal wait plus all the way thru the interior entire length of that hallway that passes the food court and wound around to make a U turn... New Years Day tho...

 

[Lewisc]

You were assuming that you would be the last stop, everyone would be there or the driver wouldn’t wait for stragglers, and there would be no traffic at all.

and if you're the last stop, POP for example, your bus might be 15-20 minutes late.

 

[Wendy1985]

My concern would be if the "fake " flught was canceled the the ME would be canceled

 

[Ralph&Pam]

For the future, there is a toll-free direct line to DME reservations in this forum (search for 877 in this forum only, or maybe somebody who has the number will post it). You can reserve through them, and they won't press for a flight number.

Actually 866-599-0951. Very efficient booking agents.

 

[AndreaDM]

I have a similar question. We are extending our WDW trip with a few days at the beach after we check out. My plan is to take DME back to the airport to rent a car for those days, but don't have a flight home until a few days later. Do I just give a random flight number, or do I call DME and tell them the circumstances?

 

[kaytieeldr]

No n eed to fake anything. Just call the number @Ralph&Pam o kindly provided, above. Tell the CM when you would like to arrive at the airport and that you don't have a flight if they as.

 

[sam_gordon]

I have a similar question. We are extending our WDW trip with a few days at the beach after we check out. My plan is to take DME back to the airport to rent a car for those days, but don't have a flight home until a few days later. Do I just give a random flight number, or do I call DME and tell them the circumstances?

Better option (IMO)... at least check the prices for picking up the rental car on Disney property (car care center, Dolphin(?)) or one nearby. Then you just head out when you want. You don't have to:
*Wait for the bus
*Wait for it to make other stops
*Drive slow to get to MCO
*Schlep you and your bags from the departure side of the airport to the rental cars.

Heck, even if there is a price difference to return the car at MCO, it may be worth it to eliminate some of the hassle.

 

[Lilsia]

I am wondering what everyone is doing for that extra half hour that they want to "save" by taking a later bus. I don't risk going to the parks in the morning because, with our luck, the bus system would be delayed and we miss our ME bus. Not to mention paying for the extra day of tickets for a couple of hours. We live in the middle of the Country and always have to change planes so our flights are always leaving MCO late morning/early afternoon. That gives us enough time to get up and ready, packed up and take our bags to the RAC. Then we grab some food and walk around a bit for some last minute stuff that we just "have" to have and then it is about time for our pick up. A half an hour is just going to have us wait at the resort a half hour more. I rather not be stressed possibly being late because of traffic, long TSA lines, etc. It's really not any different to sit at the airport for a half an hour as opposed to sitting at the resort and waiting.

 

[GPC0321]

I am wondering what everyone is doing for that extra half hour that they want to "save" by taking a later bus. I don't risk going to the parks in the morning because, with our luck, the bus system would be delayed and we miss our ME bus. Not to mention paying for the extra day of tickets for a couple of hours. We live in the middle of the Country and always have to change planes so our flights are always leaving MCO late morning/early afternoon. That gives us enough time to get up and ready, packed up and take our bags to the RAC. Then we grab some food and walk around a bit for some last minute stuff that we just "have" to have and then it is about time for our pick up. A half an hour is just going to have us wait at the resort a half hour more. I rather not be stressed possibly being late because of traffic, long TSA lines, etc. It's really not any different to sit at the airport for a half an hour as opposed to sitting at the resort and waiting.

I was wondering the same thing. It's 30 minutes. Does it really matter if you're spending an extra 30 minutes at the airport? Grab something to eat, get some last minute stuff from one of the Disney stores in the airport, read a book, whatever. I wouldn't go through all of this for 30 minutes.

We fudge on our arrival flight often because we like to get in the night before our WDW resort stay starts and stay at the Hyatt in the airport. Then we get up early the next morning and walk down to DME. There are usually very few people there, and we ride on a very uncrowded bus to our resort. Drop bags with bell services and we're off to a park. I actually talked to a DME person about this on the phone and they said that was no problem. Obviously we don't put our DME tags on our luggage on the way down.

But for our return, we use our real flight. We do RAC, which is so nice and makes the sad return to the airport a little easier without needing to worry about our luggage. I'd be afraid that giving a "fake flight" on that end of things would screw up RAC and I'd never see my luggage again.

 

[FCDub]

I was wondering the same thing. It's 30 minutes. Does it really matter if you're spending an extra 30 minutes at the airport? Grab something to eat, get some last minute stuff from one of the Disney stores in the airport, read a book, whatever. I wouldn't go through all of this for 30 minutes.

We fudge on our arrival flight often because we like to get in the night before our WDW resort stay starts and stay at the Hyatt in the airport. Then we get up early the next morning and walk down to DME. There are usually very few people there, and we ride on a very uncrowded bus to our resort. Drop bags with bell services and we're off to a park. I actually talked to a DME person about this on the phone and they said that was no problem. Obviously we don't put our DME tags on our luggage on the way down.

But for our return, we use our real flight. We do RAC, which is so nice and makes the sad return to the airport a little easier without needing to worry about our luggage. I'd be afraid that giving a "fake flight" on that end of things would screw up RAC and I'd never see my luggage again.

RAC and DME are not connected. You don’t even need to use DME to use RAC.

 

[GPC0321]

RAC and DME are not connected. You don’t even need to use DME to use RAC.

I guess that makes sense. I still wouldn't worry about 30 minutes difference between DME pick-up times. If the flight is on time, we've found the timing of DME to be pretty ideal. By the time we shop (polishing off the gift cards at the Disney stores) and browse and eat and go through security, and use the restroom one last time, we have at the most a 30 minute wait at the gate before we start lining up to board. I wouldn't want to cut it much closer than that. Leaving WDW is already enough of a bummer, I wouldn't want to feel rushed at the airport. Kind of gives us a chance to "let down" and ease back into the real world.

But it's good to know it's possible for those who want to do it.

 

[AndreaDM]

Better option (IMO)... at least check the prices for picking up the rental car on Disney property (car care center, Dolphin(?)) or one nearby. Then you just head out when you want. You don't have to:
*Wait for the bus
*Wait for it to make other stops
*Drive slow to get to MCO
*Schlep you and your bags from the departure side of the airport to the rental cars.

Heck, even if there is a price difference to return the car at MCO, it may be worth it to eliminate some of the hassle.

Thank you! I totally forgot about the option to rent a car there!

 

[Erica Ladd]

It will be getting dark by the time we would need to drive and since I’m not familiar enough with the area roads driving is out of the question for us

 

[Lilsia]

It will be getting dark by the time we would need to drive and since I’m not familiar enough with the area roads driving is out of the question for us

GPS! Really great invention. I used to have pre-plan all of my routes and print out maps when I traveled. Now I just use the GPS navigation on my phone and it just tells you exactly where to go. So much easier and less stressful.

 

[realestateanddisney]

We were earlier than needed for our pickup once and they let us on the bus, I just asked the driver.

I know this isn't what you asked, but you could always take a Lyft or an Uber to the airport. Also, Minnie Vans are available by appointment to take you to the airport, but they are costly!

 

[Bjkandma]

I would just plan on taking the ME at your scheduled time. I require the wheelchair lift and an loaded first. Last time the bus driver, didn't realize he needed to use the lift (new driver). The way the bus was pulled up, the lift was blocked by a pole. Guests were already crowded to board bus from front. It took a good 20 minutes to move people out of the way, move the bus fo rward, load me, other guests and luggage to be on our way.

I know that something like this happening was a fluke but it did happen!

if you prefer take an uber or lyft. Disney Minnie vans are available for $150 trip to the airport, plus tip. Not sure it's worth 30 minutes of extra time!