Question About Magical Express Crowds

[CJLove79]

Me and my girl will touch down into MCO at 6:13am, I'm going to say 6:30am in case there's a delay and to be more realistic. When we get down there, will there be a HUGE crowd? Or will it be dead as a door nail? And how long of wait is it before the bus driver leaves? If its really early and there's not that many passengers coming, will they drive off with a half empty bus? I was going to assume that it would be extremely slow because its really early in the morning. But Orlando is a major destination and who knows how many early flights will be arriving during our timeframe so I decided to ask you guys. I'm asking because, we want to get to our resort, which is the Contemporary, get checked in, grab a quick breakfast & head to the Magic Kingdom extra early for Rope Drop.

 

[stevehousse]

If you are arriving that early I don't think you will encounter crowds leaving for resorts at that time for the DME.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

before I had my daughter I always took early flights and always arrive before 7 I usually shared a Bus with 4-10 people it's dead!

 

[Rob562]

In theory, once a DME bus starts to load at the airport, it's only supposed to wait a maximum of about 15 minutes before leaving. I've heard in practice this isn't always the case at the very end of the night and they're talking about the last couple of buses to leave, but I've never heard a problem with early morning buses sitting around and waiting.

-Rob

 

[CJLove79]

Thanks a lot guys, I figured that it shouldn't be too long of a wait since it's so early in the morning. But of course, I wanted to verify with everybody first for peace of mind and reference. ☺

 

[KordovaJD]

In theory, once a DME bus starts to load at the airport, it's only supposed to wait a maximum of about 15 minutes before leaving. I've heard in practice this isn't always the case at the very end of the night and they're talking about the last couple of buses to leave, but I've never heard a problem with early morning buses sitting around and waiting.

-Rob

Thanks for this response. I actually had the same question as OP. Our flight hits the ground at 10:25 am. Was trying to figure out how long it would take us to get to the parks.

 

[Rob562]

Thanks for this response. I actually had the same question as OP. Our flight hits the ground at 10:25 am. Was trying to figure out how long it would take us to get to the parks.

I've found (and I've read many others who have the same experience) that I average 70-80 minutes from the time I physically walk off the plane to the time I step off the DME bus at the resort. If you're heading right for a park, you'll have to add in that additional travel time.

-Rob

 

[KordovaJD]

I've found (and I've read many others who have the same experience) that I average 70-80 minutes from the time I physically walk off the plane to the time I step off the DME bus at the resort. If you're heading right for a park, you'll have to add in that additional travel time.

-Rob

We're staying at the POLY next go round. I know check in isn't until 3:00, so we'll go straight to the park. With the new straight to the room checkin, I assume that we'll just be able to go back directly to our room number and our bags will be there. Anyone have experience with the bypass checkin yet?

 

[Rob562]

We're staying at the POLY next go round. I know check in isn't until 3:00, so we'll go straight to the park. With the new straight to the room checkin, I assume that we'll just be able to go back directly to our room number and our bags will be there. Anyone have experience with the bypass checkin yet?

Though checkin isn't officially until 3, if your room is ready when you arrive you can go right to your room. There's no need to wait until 3.

-Rob

 

[BrerWayne]

I've found (and I've read many others who have the same experience) that I average 70-80 minutes from the time I physically walk off the plane to the time I step off the DME bus at the resort. If you're heading right for a park, you'll have to add in that additional travel time.

-Rob

I would agree that this is an accurate assessment.

 

[Mouse_Trap]

I can't imagine they will hang around for long before leaving at that time as they will have a schedule to maintain for pickups for the return journey.

What time is MK opening that day? I think you may be pushing it to make rope drop if you plan on checking in and getting breakfast before the park.

 

[CJLove79]

I can't imagine they will hang around for long before leaving at that time as they will have a schedule to maintain for pickups for the return journey.

What time is MK opening that day? I think you may be pushing it to make rope drop if you plan on checking in and getting breakfast before the park.

We're going from Oct 16th-Oct 24th, the plane touches down at around 6:13am EST. According to the calendar, Magic Kingdom opens at 9am and yeah we're pushing it but its worth a shot. LOL. We might actually decide to go to the Magic Kingdom the next day and simply explore and play at the Contemporary for the first day we're there. That way, we have a better shot at being at rope drop extra early since we're a 5-10 minute walk from there.

 

[Disney4family]

We usually land somewhere around 9am and we've never had huge crowds or waited too long. They do try to move people efficiently without a lot of waiting. The bus usually stops at the GF, Poly and Wilderness before the Contemporary.

We stay at Bay Lake so with the DME we check in at the Contemporary. We goop up with sunscreen, leave our stuff with the bag dudes and walk (jog, sprint, run) to the park. By 11am we're at the Lunching Pad having a dog, listening to the TTA/Peoplemover go by and smiling.

The Contemporary is fun to explore. The grounds are beautiful. Inside you have the Contempo Cafe right next to Chef Mickey's. Bay View Gifts is a great place to spend a mortgage payment or two. And the monorail is flying overhead the whole time. It's exciting and classic.

There's a coffee place called Contemporary Grounds in the Contemporary right near check in. You could grab a quick bite there for breakfast if you want.

 

[CJLove79]

We usually land somewhere around 9am and we've never had huge crowds or waited too long. They do try to move people efficiently without a lot of waiting. The bus usually stops at the GF, Poly and Wilderness before the Contemporary.

We stay at Bay Lake so with the DME we check in at the Contemporary. We goop up with sunscreen, leave our stuff with the bag dudes and walk (jog, sprint, run) to the park. By 11am we're at the Lunching Pad having a dog, listening to the TTA/Peoplemover go by and smiling.

The Contemporary is fun to explore. The grounds are beautiful. Inside you have the Contempo Cafe right next to Chef Mickey's. Bay View Gifts is a great place to spend a mortgage payment or two. And the monorail is flying overhead the whole time. It's exciting and classic.

There's a coffee place called Contemporary Grounds in the Contemporary right near check in. You could grab a quick bite there for breakfast if you want.

We're staying in the 14th Floor Theme Park View Tower Suite when we get there and plan on using the Direct To Room Service. Hopefully, the Suite will be available when we touch down cause I want me and my girl to be able to drop our things and go. We finally decided that we're going to make the first day our "Resort Day" where we'll play arouund all over the resort. We plan on going to the pool, do some parasailing, jetskiing, trying out those Sea Racers I've read about, etc.

The Contemporary seems like an outstanding place to explore, it better be with the amount of money we spent. LOL. Its funny that you mentioned Bay View Gifts, we decided to get our very first Disney souvenirs there and get some more at the Fantasia Store. We might check out the Contemporary Grounds but from what I've read, its better to get coffee and some breakfast pastries from our Lounge area in the 12th or 14th floor. What do you think? Should we try both?

 

[Disney4family]

We're staying in the 14th Floor Theme Park View Tower Suite when we get there and plan on using the Direct To Room Service. Hopefully, the Suite will be available when we touch down cause I want me and my girl to be able to drop our things and go. We finally decided that we're going to make the first day our "Resort Day" where we'll play arouund all over the resort. We plan on going to the pool, do some parasailing, jetskiing, trying out those Sea Racers I've read about, etc.

The Contemporary seems like an outstanding place to explore, it better be with the amount of money we spent. LOL. Its funny that you mentioned Bay View Gifts, we decided to get out very first Disney souvenirs their and get some more the Fantasia Store. We might check out the Contemporary Grounds but from what I've read, its better to get coffee and some breakfast pastries from our Lounge area in the 12th or 14th floor. What do you think? Should we try both?

We've never experienced the lounge area so I can't compare. Sorry. I can say that you pay for the convenience of the Contemporary Grounds. I think the donut I got my daughter once was $3. It was huge like the price.

You'll find a wide variety of adult gifts at BVG. The Fantasia Store in the middle has kiddie stuff -toys and coloring books - and adult stuff - pins and tech stuff.

If you want to grab something for your room, hit the Fantasia Market. They have a wide variety of goodies to enjoy. Maybe a nice bottle of Cabernet while enjoying the fireworks on your balcony? You can get the fireworks music on your room tv.

If you're enjoying the water sports during the day, you may want to also consider a nighttime special. The Pirate and Pals Wishes! Fireworks Cruise leaves from the Contemporary dock at night. You can enjoy the fireworks over Cindy's while anchored in the 7 Seas Lagoon. You'll also have a perfect spot for the Electrical Water Pageant.

 

[Disneyyaddictedd]

Unfortunately the chances of your room being done that early are slim to none

 

[stevehousse]

Depending on when you go during the year and how crowded your resort will be it's really a toss up wether the room will be ready when you arrive or not. We have gotten to the resort as early as 8am and have had our room ready.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

Just to be clear, since someone posted stuff that does not apply...
The OP asked if they arrive at 6:15 am will it take a long time -- NO, it will be dead. You'll get to your resort in 45 minutes to an hour even with a potential wait at the airport in line or on the bus.
Someone else said they are arriving at 10:25 am -- that is a COMPLETELY different story and you are likely to find long lines at DME. The bulk of morning flights arrive between 10 am and 11 am and then remain heavy throughout the day until after 6:00 pm...From 10 am on estimate 70-80 minutes to your resort, unless they are SO busy they send out some express DME busses for particularly heavy resort bookings.

 

[zakattack99]

Bump.... dose the day of the week change how busy ME is? Our flight touches down at 10am on a Monday morning Nov 9, should I expect long lines?

 

[JAG107]

Friday, sat and Sun will be busier on average than mon-thurs for DME arrivals. 10am though, will probably have a line.
For the OP: 2 Januarys ago, we arrived at 5:30, got straight onto DME, waited maybe 5-10 mins before leaving for Contemporary, checked in, ate breakfast at Contempo Cafe, and walked to MK rope drop at 9am and was on Peter Pan by 9:10. The DME terminal in the wee early hours is a ghost town, we have done this twice. Not a lot of west coast red-eyes arriving at MCO bringing WDW guests that early