To use Magical Express or not???

[jaiminee krikit]

For me, DME is part of my WDW vacation! I thoroughly enjoy it. If you have no set plans for the evening, just take DME. I enjoy the trivia that plays on the bus while waiting to leave. I actually like when we swing by other resorts to drop off, I like seeing the property if I've never stayed there. I enjoy the cartoon shorts and the video (Gus, lol). I've started grabbing my own luggage every trip now. It doesn't take that much longer, and I can relax knowing my bags are with me.
Heading back to MCO I also prefer using DME. MCO is hit or miss, I've walked right through security, and I've waited over an hour. Better safe than sorry. And they have decent dining options past security, we always grab our last meal at the airport.

 

[Yarbogash]

Arriving, yes. Departing, no way. Last December we had a 7:30 am flight. DME picked us up 4 hours prior. We then toured a bunch of resorts very slowly and sat in a near empty airport for hours. Never again.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Arriving, yes. Departing, no way. Last December we had a 7:30 am flight. DME picked us up 4 hours prior. We then toured a bunch of resorts very slowly and sat in a near empty airport for hours. Never again.

They stopped doing the 4 hour pick up in January. It was only due to construction at MCO. I do agree it's a long time to wait at the airport, though.

We always take DME for departures just to be safe.

 

[Yarbogash]

They stopped doing the 4 hour pick up in January. It was only due to construction at MCO. I do agree it's a long time to wait at the airport, though.

We always take DME for departures just to be safe.

Ty for the heads up and yay! At 3 hours I’d give it some thought.

That trip was the first one where we didn’t rent a car and we kept running into transportation problems. The 4 hour early pick up, grocery delivery messing up our order especially diaper size and I couldn’t just drive somewhere to sort it out, kids loved Typhoon Lagoon and it was a long 2 bus ride transferring at Disney springs, split stay at the 2 resorts with imho the worst internal bus loops (OKW and FW).

So next time car for us. But that MDE arrival, that was great. Great staff, beautiful immaculate coach, easy relaxing experience that felt like a magical welcome for everyone right from the start.

 

[lambdabeta]

Ty for the heads up and yay! At 3 hours I’d give it some thought.

That trip was the first one where we didn’t rent a car and we kept running into transportation problems. The 4 hour early pick up, grocery delivery messing up our order especially diaper size and I couldn’t just drive somewhere to sort it out, kids loved Typhoon Lagoon and it was a long 2 bus ride transferring at Disney springs, split stay at the 2 resorts with imho the worst internal bus loops (OKW and FW).

So next time car for us. But that MDE arrival, that was great. Great staff, beautiful immaculate coach, easy relaxing experience that felt like a magical welcome for everyone right from the start.

I agree about the transportation issues. I like having my own car because even leaving 3 hours early for a trip that takes 20-30 mins is excessive and I can track my flight to change my departure time from the resort. I also like going directly to and from the airport and my resort. I also like being able to stop at the store before arriving to save money on various things.

DME works great for some people's touring styles and not for others. That is why you get many different answers when you ask these kind of transportation questions.

 

[Sparkly]

We fly internationally, so I would rather be there with plenty of time to get through security, eat and use the restroom one last time before we depart on a long flight. We left by car at 3:30pm for a 7:50pm flight on Tuesday, made it through security by 6 and then sat at our gate for almost 2 hours. DME would have picked us up about then anyway.

 

[DallasQ]

I've used Magical Express many times, it's always been great. Ya it's a pain to get picked up so early to go back to the airport but better to be early than running late.

 

[dmband]

Maybe we have been lucky but the only time it's been 90 mins from stepping off the plane to getting in our room was when you stood in line forever trying to check in.
Generally it's 60 mins overall.
I also wouldn't be concerned with the later flight. The longer times seem to be earlier in the day.
Luggage always comes faster at night for us but if you are concerned about the kids sleeping just ask them to hold it till morning or text you so you can be looking for them and they don't have to knock.
Speaking of luggage, I do t think the people saying uber and you are there in 30 mins are taking into account you getting your luggage. A close hotel is a solid 20/25 mins plus a few to get the uber. No way imo are you getting your luggage in less then 15 mins. I say uber or town are is still going to be 45 mins.
Of course you could always uber and let dmb get your bags to save time

 

[_19disnA]

Basically the same pros/cons discussion takes place on here each time this question is asked.

 

[StageTek]

Basically the same pros/cons discussion takes place on here each time this question is asked.

And it's always interesting to read people experiences and opinions, isn't it?

Maybe we have been lucky but the only time it's been 90 mins from stepping off the plane to getting in our room was when you stood in line forever trying to check in.
Generally it's 60 mins overall.
I also wouldn't be concerned with the later flight. The longer times seem to be earlier in the day.

When you arrive or depart sure makes a difference. We arrive at MCO around 6:30AM. So we never see a line at DME. Have waited on the bus as long as 20 minutes and as short as 10. On my Sept trip I landed at 6:10AM and was in the lobby (POFQ) at 7:20AM - total of five people on the bus. I read stories here about MUCH longer wait/travel times and crowded buses that make me shudder.

We leave late, too. Typically an 8:45PM flight. Five trips in a row we got on DME at around 5:30 and ended up at MCO around 6:30 meaning two hours in the airport. I'm considering telling DME my departing flight leaves at 9:45PM on my upcoming Feb trip - get picked up at 6:30 and at MCO by 7:30/45. With luggage checked at the resort and preCheck it should mean less time sitting in the airport...

 

[_19disnA]

And it's always interesting to read people experiences and opinions, isn't it?

It was the first few times, but now all the comments just rehash prior discussions.

These threads mostly seem to result in arguments when someone doesn't agree with the opinion being expressed, which I find annoying.

 

[StageTek]

It was the first few times, but now all the comments just rehash prior discussions.

These threads mostly seem to result in arguments when someone doesn't agree with the opinion being expressed, which I find annoying.

I'm sorry these discussions annoy you.

 

[mommyrosa2]

And it's always interesting to read people experiences and opinions, isn't it?


When you arrive or depart sure makes a difference. We arrive at MCO around 6:30AM. So we never see a line at DME. Have waited on the bus as long as 20 minutes and as short as 10. On my Sept trip I landed at 6:10AM and was in the lobby (POFQ) at 7:20AM - total of five people on the bus. I read stories here about MUCH longer wait/travel times and crowded buses that make me shudder.

We leave late, too. Typically an 8:45PM flight. Five trips in a row we got on DME at around 5:30 and ended up at MCO around 6:30 meaning two hours in the airport. I'm considering telling DME my departing flight leaves at 9:45PM on my upcoming Feb trip - get picked up at 6:30 and at MCO by 7:30/45. With luggage checked at the resort and preCheck it should mean less time sitting in the airport...

Until the day comes that you don't leave 3 hours in advance and there's an accident and major traffic on the highway and you either arrive with barely enough time to get on your flight or you arrive too late and miss your flight entirely - Believe me it can and has happened!!

 

[StageTek]

Until the day comes that you don't leave 3 hours in advance and there's an accident and major traffic on the highway and you either arrive with barely enough time to get on your flight or you arrive too late and miss your flight entirely - Believe me it can and has happened!!

Thank you for the warning. Tell me about when this happened to you.

 

[nkereina]

It comes down to whether getting to the resort 30-45 minutes early is worth spending $40 for. For the way back, is having an extra 30-45 minutes at the resort worth another $40. IMO, neither is worth the money. I'd only consider spending the money if I wanted to maximize park time, which you are not doing either day.

 

[mommyrosa2]

Thank you for the warning. Tell me about when this happened to you.

Happened during our last trip in Oct. 2016. We had the last SW flight out of MCO that night and Magical Depress picked us up 3 hours ahead from the BC and no sooner we got on the highway there was a massive traffic jam. By the time we arrived and got thru the massive security line, we were literally running to our gate. Sucked because we missed our boarding group and were one of the last ones to board the plane just before they shut the door. Friends of ours went last year for F&W and missed their flight completely because they didn't give themselves enough time when they used Uber back to the airport.

 

[StageTek]

That sure can be stressful. We've had such great experiences on every Magical Express trip that I'm going to take the chance next February.

This is why I love these discussions. Hearing the experiences of my fellow Disney travelers doesn't annoy me at all they make me think about my own experiences. So many people like you, mommyrosa2, have poor experiences (Magical Depress LOL) that it makes my experiences seem even more magical. I must be crazy lucky!

 

[mommyrosa2]

Thank you for the warning. Tell me about when this happened to you.

Now the year before that trip, DH & I made it to MCO with plenty of time but unfortunately were seated next to a guy that we are pretty sure was a terrorist!! Fastest flight we ever had (made it to Providence in less than 2 hours), Flight attendant making a weapon out of a can, me having to speak directly to the pilot from the back of the plane. All while trying not to create panic amongst the other passengers. Yup, THAT is quite the story straight out of a movie

 

[Tempty]

We just took an Uber to and from the hotel to be honest.
However the main reason for that was because we had a reservation at California Grill we needed to get to (and didn't have 3 hours to wait for DME, get on, get to Pop Century, change clothes, and get to the Contemporary).. and we wanted to maximize time at the hotel before going back to the airport lol
It was around $60 for both trips combined
Kind of expensive but time is money!

 

[Bmath]

After our last experience with DME, I don't know if we will ever do it again. Granted this trip we are staying at Dolphin but last trip we landed around the same time as you 7:15PM then we had to take the 3 mile trek to the DME line. There was 0 line when we got there... except it was because all of the buses JUST left. We then waited 20 minutes till we got on a bus then 20 minutes while the bus loaded with everyone else. By the time we pulled out of MCO, we had been on the ground 1hr+. We were also the last stop so the whole trip ended up being almost 2 hours from when we landed.

The icing on the cake was that our bags didn't come until 1AM and even then, I had to call 3 times and then go down to bell services to ask them if they had our bags. We were getting up early the next day for EMH too.

It was a disaster all around for us.