To use Magical Express or not???

If it takes 30 mins to get through regular security at that time of day at MCO then why do I need to be there 3-4 hours early? I don't want to be sitting waiting for my flight for 2 hours. Airlines tell you 1.5 hours early for domestic flights and 3 hours early for international flights. Even if it takes me 60 mins to get through the regular security line I would think 2 hours would be plenty of time. Once through security the only thing to do is wait for your flight at the terminal. Am I missing something?

Airlines tell u three hours early - even my emails from delta tell me to be at the airport 3 hrs early to deal with security, and there’s is always the potential that a flight will leave early.

During busy times of year, me will pick u up 4 hrs early instead of 3 just due to sthe unity

But to each his own
 
Airlines tell u three hours early - even my emails from delta tell me to be at the airport 3 hrs early to deal with security, and there’s is always the potential that a flight will leave early.

During busy times of year, me will pick u up 4 hrs early instead of 3 just due to sthe unity

But to each his own
Exactly. For domestic flights I get to the airport 2 hours early. Then I am not sitting around waiting.

As far as ME picking you up 3-4 hour early that is because if you are at the first resort they stop at it may take them an hour to get to the airport. Last year when they were picking people up 4 hours early there were many complaints of long waits at the airport for flights after people went through security.

We were there last year in Dec and got to the airport about 2 hours before our flight and had plenty of time. My daughter who doesn't have pre check made it to her plane with time to spare even though her security line was longer. I won't use ME back to the airport for that reason. My time is valuable to me. So exactly to each his own.
 
Last December we rented a car (needed one regardless of our Disney trip), drove from MCO to the CR, during rush hour, and avoiding toll roads. Even at rush hour that trip took us ≈35 minutes.

I also took an UBER last December from the airport and the trip was ≈35 minutes including the wait for the car to arrive.
This is travel time, not overall time from the plane to the resort. Seventy to ninety minutes via DME is the complete timeline. Unless one is jumping into the private vehicle directly from the plane, ghe comparison is invalid.
However, if it is a 60 minute drive DME isn’t magically going get there any faster.
Nor slower.
Traffic and tolls affect all modes of transportation equally so it’s actually irrelevant.
Not the time to get through the tolls. The additional cost of said tolls.
So, if we start from the time I check-in at DME and compare that to starting from when I call the UBER/LYFT, it is very likely that the UBER/LYFT will be half the time of DME to arrive at my resort...and I will already have my luggage.
You will not have contacted the rideshare until you were at the pickup point with your luggage. Additional twenty-ish minutes. Forty minutes vs sixty.

Look, don't use Magical Express if you don't want. It's not mandatory. But please don't misdirect.


If it takes 30 mins to get through regular security at that time of day at MCO then why do I need to be there 3-4 hours early?
You. Don't.
(A) being picked up is the oposite of arriving.
(B) nobody is required to use Magical Express.
 
It depends on the airport - we ALWAYS have a flight out of Orlando at 5:30 or 5:45 and even 3 hours early the regular security line was about a 30 min wait - we have TSA Precheck free and its a time saver depending on how many people are in line.

Always plan to be at the airport a minimum of 3 hours early - Orlando - plan 4 hours prior

No way. Our home airport is O'hare, never there before 90 minutes for domestic flights, and now with TSA pre-check even 90 minutes is too early.

OP if you have pre-check 2 hrs is plenty of time to get to MCO for flight home (unless holiday or something).

To answer about ME - I think it's just such a great way to start the vacation! You get to be on a cute bus, the drivers are normally fun, everyone cheers when you arrive under the Disney sign and like someone else said I like seeing other hotels. Plus a fun video.
We always take our own luggage, just tip the driver. :)
 


Last year when they were picking people up 4 hours early there were many complaints of long waits at the airport for flights after people went through security.
Long wait for one's flight still being preferable longer wait for a replacement fligh after missing the reserved one.
I won't use ME back to the airport for that reason. My time is valuable to me.
Okay :confused3? DME is a service, not a command.
 
Taking magical express to resort is fine. Going back offered us a challenge one time with the the 3 hour window. Not all our bags could be resort airline checked, so we had to have some tagged at the airport. The lines were long and we barely made our flight back home. I don’t anticipate that happening again, but know you could encounter a time crunch going back.
 


On arrival:
DME: figure 90 min from getting off plane and arrival to resort. Don't take your own bags. Take what is needed for kids for the night in carry on. I'd thought are having dinner at resort, there's a good chance your bags will be delivered before you finish eating. Ours always have been.

If you stop for bags and then take Uber, you would get to resort at most 15-20 faster (waiting for and schlepping bags will eat most of time savings). That little time savings is not worth extra cost and hassle.

Return to airport:
Need to arrive at MCO 2 hours before flight. You would have to call for uber (and be at pick up point) only 15-20 min earlier. Not worth extra money.

For both trips, ME is also more comfortable and more fun than uber
 
I have to disagree with most of this. Currently, Google maps has 26 minutes from MCO to the Poly...31 minutes if you avoid toll roads.

Last December we rented a car (needed one regardless of our Disney trip), drove from MCO to the CR, during rush hour, and avoiding toll roads. Even at rush hour that trip took us ˜35 minutes.

I also took an UBER last December from the airport and the trip was ˜35 minutes including the wait for the car to arrive.
This is travel time, not overall time from the plane to the resort. Seventy to ninety minutes via DME is the complete timeline. Unless one is jumping into the private vehicle directly from the plane, ghe comparison is invalid.
Your comment is correct. However, I didn’t say nor imply that it was anything but a discussion of travel time. Specifically, it was a reply to your previous post where you stated that Bing shows a travel time of 31 minutes but you thought it would likely be “longer around then hour. Sixty to 75 minutes. Plus tolls.” The point of my reply was to disagree with your stated driving times. I would respectfully request you include the complete quote of my post (which I have done above) rather than take me out of context.
It’s not very likely that the trip would take 60-75 min with traffic and tolls. However, if it is a 60 minute drive DME isn’t magically going get there any faster. Traffic and tolls affect all modes of transportation equally so it’s actually irrelevant.
Nor slower.
You are absolutely right. But, I never said nor implied it would be so I’m not sure what you’re trying to say here.

Again, I would much appreciate it if you would have included the whole portion of my post. It would have been easy to see I was discussing your assertion that the driving time would be “Sixty to 75 minutes.”
Traffic and tolls affect all modes of transportation equally so it’s actually irrelevant.
Not the time to get through the tolls. The additional cost of said tolls.
The toll costs don't have anything to do with driving times but, IIUC, the tolls are likely to be different for each of the modes of transportation; which is already included in the cost of the rideshare and the use of DME. I believe the larger shuttle bus used by DME will have a higher toll than the average rideshare vehicle. All of which is actually irrelevant to the topic.
What is relevant is how long the wait is load all the families on the DME; how many resorts it stops at before it gets to mine, and how long I have to wait for my luggage to arrive. So, if we start from the time I check-in at DME and compare that to starting from when I call the UBER/LYFT, it is very likely that the UBER/LYFT will be half the time of DME to arrive at my resort...and I will already have my luggage.

The overwhelming majority of the time, paid transportation will be faster than DME even allowing for the time to wait for my luggage at the carousel. That is a fact. The only thing that matters is whether someone believes it’s worth the cost.
You will not have contacted the rideshare until you were at the pickup point with your luggage. Additional twenty-ish minutes. Forty minutes vs sixty.
Once again, it would be greatly appreciated if you would have included the whole portion of my post. Had you done so you would have seen I specifically factored waiting for my luggage into the total travel time. Although, I'm not sure what you mean by "Forty minutes vs sixty. Are you talking about rideshare vs DME or just total time with and without waiting for luggage?

However, I should have been clearer in my original post. Sorry about that. I should have included that I would have called UBER/LYFT while I was waiting for my luggage which would shorten the overall time...IOW, once I have my luggage it’s very likely I will immediately get into my ride share which will pick up on level 2 right outside of baggage claim. So, your statement that I would wait to contact the rideshare until I was "at the pickup point with [my] luggage" is a poor assumption on your part.

Additionally, the original poster specifically said they were picking up their own luggage so that added time is irrelevant to the current topic.
Look, don't use Magical Express if you don't want. It's not mandatory. But please don't misdirect.
I never said not to use DME. My reply to you was based solely on your assertions of "Sixty to 75 minutes". I apologize if I wasn’t clear about that. Further, I’m not sure I understand what you mean by misdirect. I endeavor to be as accurate as I can in my posts. Please help me out here. What in my post was incorrect and what does "misdirect" mean in this context?

Mike
 
Thank you guys so much for all the input! I think we are going to use MDE. It doesn't seem like taking a Lyft would be that much more convenient. There is something to be said for the fun ride to the resort too.

I do have one more question. I've decided to go ahead and let them deliver our bags and we'll just bring PJs and essentials on the plane with us. With that said, if our bags aren't delivered by the time we go to bed, will they hold them over night so that we don't get woken up in the middle of the night? Then we could just grab them when we get up in the morning. Didn't know if they would do that or not.

Also, to the poster that said I should've put this in the transportation forum, you are so right. I totally forgot that there was a transportation forum. I honestly just thought about MDE going to the resort, which is why I picked here. I really appreciate everyone's input though, even though I was in the wrong spot. :)
 
Thank you guys so much for all the input! I think we are going to use MDE. It doesn't seem like taking a Lyft would be that much more convenient. There is something to be said for the fun ride to the resort too.

I do have one more question. I've decided to go ahead and let them deliver our bags and we'll just bring PJs and essentials on the plane with us. With that said, if our bags aren't delivered by the time we go to bed, will they hold them over night so that we don't get woken up in the middle of the night? Then we could just grab them when we get up in the morning. Didn't know if they would do that or not.

Also, to the poster that said I should've put this in the transportation forum, you are so right. I totally forgot that there was a transportation forum. I honestly just thought about MDE going to the resort, which is why I picked here. I really appreciate everyone's input though, even though I was in the wrong spot. :)

Yes to holding your bags - if you haven't received your bags by the time you want to go to bed just call down to bell services and ask them to hold the bags for the morning. Then put the room occupied sign on the door and call for your bags when you wake up in the morning.
 
When we arrive in the evening we stop at the food court at MCO to eat before heading to the Magical Express. Then we don’t need to worry about how long the bus will take to get us to the resort and THEN have to eat. My kids are 5 and 10.
 
The toll costs don't have anything to do with driving times but, IIUC, the tolls are likely to be different for each of the modes of transportation; which is already included in the cost of the rideshare and the use of DME. I believe the larger shuttle bus used by DME will have a higher toll than the average rideshare vehicle. All of which is actually irrelevant to the topic.
Tolls were mentioned because they are, or should be, considered as part of the transportation options. People driving directly pay tolls, aka additional cost that DME riders don't. Rideshare users pay the same tolls as a surcharge to the basic fare; it not being billed separately notwithstanding. DME riders pay nothing additional either directly or via rideshare fees.
Sorry about that. I should have included that I would have called UBER/LYFT while I was waiting for my luggage which would shorten the overall time.
So, your statement that I would wait to contact the rideshare until I was "at the pickup point with [my] luggage" is a poor assumption on your part.
Apparently you have never had a problem with cancelled fires due to not being ready and waiting for your driver, as repeatedly recommended by actual rideshare drivers on the Everything About Über/Lyft thread on the Transportation forum.
 
I love magical express. For me it is part of the whole Disney experience.
My daughter likes watching the cartoons they play.
 
Tolls were mentioned because they are, or should be, considered as part of the transportation options. People driving directly pay tolls, aka additional cost that DME riders don't. Rideshare users pay the same tolls as a surcharge to the basic fare; it not being billed separately notwithstanding. DME riders pay nothing additional either directly or via rideshare fees.
The rideshare fare already has the tolls baked into them. It's irrelevant considering it's not going to cost any more than already discussed.

Further, I drove from MCO and didn't use a single toll road making tolls irrelevant to driving directly.

IMHO, tolls don't matter because they're either avoidable or already included in the discussed fares. It simply doesn't affect the current discussion.

Apparently you have never had a problem with cancelled fires due to not being ready and waiting for your driver, as repeatedly recommended by actual rideshare drivers on the Everything About Über/Lyft thread on the Transportation forum.

While I've never had a fire cancelled, I have paid a surcharge for a driver who arrived to pick us up within two minutes of ordering the ride and having to wait. No really, the driver literally arrived at the HRH at Universal within 2 minutes. We ordered the driver when we had everything ready to leave our room. It seems there are drivers staged near MCO, Universal, and WDW. That I didn't count on and it cost me extra. That's something to consider when thinking about using rideshare.

Although, since the app tells me where the driver is at all times I shouldn't be surprised when they arrive. And, these kinds of problems can be avoided by setting up a scheduled pickup time when I would like the driver to arrive. Barring a problem with my luggage I should have no problem meeting my driver. Although, if something did go wrong with my luggage I would miss my ride...and well, I've got other problems then.

There is no right answer here. All we can do is be open minded enough to consider all the options.

I'm still wondering what you meant by misdirect.

Mike
 
I would love to use ME, but the lost time, waiting for the bus and if I'm one of the last resort to pick up or drop off just isn't worth it.

Mid you really want to use it, use it. Decide to relax during the possible lost time. Read a book if you don’t get carsick.

You’ll never know ahead of time where your spot in dropoff or pickup is, so just choose to sightsee. :)

Long wait for one's flight still being preferable longer wait for a replacement fligh after missing the reserved one.

Yep.

Even with pre I am walking in the door to mco at 2 hours out. Even with pre and rac (though I haven’t yet had that combo) I would be.

I've decided to go ahead and let them deliver our bags and we'll just bring PJs and essentials on the plane with us.

Bring 24+ hours worth of stuff in carryons. Be prepared for that full next day.

And yes they’ll hold your bags.

Also, to the poster that said I should've put this in the transportation forum, you are so right.

Eh, your getting a bunch of us “from”
there answering anyway. :)
 
The Magic Express is super slow. A week ago we left Pop Century, and the bus waited for over 25 minutes at the Pop Century. Because some idiot begged the driver to wait for his wife and daughters, who arrived 20 minutes after the buses' announced time. I always take the Magic Express because my kids like it. They consider it part of the Disney Experience. The ride is comfortable, just long because they waste so much time both ways.
 
You. Don't.

(A) being picked up is the oposite of arriving.

(B) nobody is required to use Magical Express.

You have taken this question and answered it totally out of context. It had nothing to do with me getting to the airport 3 hours early nor was verleniahall talking about DME in the post that I am responding to here. verleniahall and I had already resolved this issue amicably by agreeing to disagree. So by pulling a sentence out of context and making an offhand remark this answer is then moot.

Last year when they were picking people up 4 hours early there were many complaints of long waits at the airport for flights after people went through security.

Long wait for one's flight still being preferable longer wait for a replacement fligh after missing the reserved one.

Again pulling quotes out of context is not a great practice, you lost the point of my post. The first quote is just a fact, not my opinion. My opinion is that I don't feel the need to be at the airport 3 hours before my flight. I am not the only one that feels it is unnecessary. I don't actually know what your opinion is about what time you should be at the airport. All I can gather from this answer is that you disagree with people who became angry that DME started picking them up 4 hours early instead of 3 hours early for their flights. OK but that has nothing to do with my original post you quoted.

Okay
OVQlHDBzKEuBhptddlxI2PK9vyRryWPlXmqV_9glnjboCi_hVibhex1YxssF7pPb23x7-kWgXHm3i86M7W0KogjV2ln6jJqJ68roFE_6ORGJjkfaoxLeh7nKpJ2tw6QCMUmeFdFJ
? DME is a service, not a command.

I was giving my opinion in my post of why I don’t use DME so I am obviously aware that it's not mandatory or a command. I don’t understand your need to repeat yourself or the comment at all.:confused3
 

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