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airport transfer
- Thread starter kev1000
- Start date
CleveRocks
Active Member
Lots of people pay for private transportation. It is worth it if the privacy and individual attention are important to you.
If you are staying at a Disney owned-and-operated resort, keep in mind that you are entitled to FREE bus transportation through Disney's Magical Express. Even though this is a shared bus service, the reported drop-off times are about the same as with private transportation.
If you are staying at a Disney owned-and-operated resort, keep in mind that you are entitled to FREE bus transportation through Disney's Magical Express. Even though this is a shared bus service, the reported drop-off times are about the same as with private transportation.
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kirst_al UK
Member
We are also visiting from the UK in April and looked at this type of transfer however as there would only be two of us visiting it stated that we may have to share i.e with another family or couples - i wouldnt mind paying that to travel in luxury to and from the airport but not if i have to share with other people !! Perhaps it is only like this with the UK tour operators - might be different if you can organise it privately via the US?
I would look at the small print if i was you - :lookaroun .
I would look at the small print if i was you - :lookaroun .
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kirst_al UK
Member
Oh well then thats great - we also have booked with virgin and if they have told you that then i dont know what we have seen (or where we have seen it for that matter!)
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tigsmom
Well-Known Member
Many people here use a car service instead of the bus transfer to WDW.
We have a nice sponser here ,Quicksilver, that has a good reputation. You do not share and they will make a grocery stop...Not sure of the exchange rates, but you might want to look into it.
http://www.quicksilver-tours.com/
Keep in mind that if you use Disney's bus service from the airport, you will not have access to your luggage right away, so pack a change of clothes and anything essential in a carry on to take with you.
No matter which you try, enjoy your trip! :wave:
We have a nice sponser here ,Quicksilver, that has a good reputation. You do not share and they will make a grocery stop...Not sure of the exchange rates, but you might want to look into it.
http://www.quicksilver-tours.com/
Keep in mind that if you use Disney's bus service from the airport, you will not have access to your luggage right away, so pack a change of clothes and anything essential in a carry on to take with you.
No matter which you try, enjoy your trip! :wave:
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sarahwiggles99
New Member
i just have a quick question about the luggage. in april im using the magic express. how ong does it take to get your luggage?
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wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
I would also recommend Quicksilver as a town car option. I have used them in the past and they are pretty wonderful!!! Beautiful cars, great drivers etc!!!
Sarah, that all depends on if you are using the luggage transfer service. If you are it can take up to three hours. I have heard stories of longer and one time my luggage beat me to my room!!! I would pack a carry on bag with all of the stuff you would need for a few hours after your trip begins and anything that cant be replaced easily if it is lost such as money, jewelery, prescription medications, eyeglasses/ contacts, any camera equipment etc.
If you arent comfortable with the luggage transfer, simply DONT tag your luggage. When you get to Orlando go to Baggage claim, get your stuff and go to the DME Counter and check in. Your luggage will be put on the bottom on your coach to travel with you to your resort. I have used this service many times and REALLY enjoy not having to mess with my luggage in Orlando. Hope this helps! Belle
Sarah, that all depends on if you are using the luggage transfer service. If you are it can take up to three hours. I have heard stories of longer and one time my luggage beat me to my room!!! I would pack a carry on bag with all of the stuff you would need for a few hours after your trip begins and anything that cant be replaced easily if it is lost such as money, jewelery, prescription medications, eyeglasses/ contacts, any camera equipment etc.
If you arent comfortable with the luggage transfer, simply DONT tag your luggage. When you get to Orlando go to Baggage claim, get your stuff and go to the DME Counter and check in. Your luggage will be put on the bottom on your coach to travel with you to your resort. I have used this service many times and REALLY enjoy not having to mess with my luggage in Orlando. Hope this helps! Belle
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tigsmom
Well-Known Member
One member posted here it took 7 hours for them to arrive (at 5 am) others shorter or longer. I knew one couple whose bags could not be located for almost 12 hours and they will never use the service again.
If you do a search here you will pull up some threads and read thru and decide what is best for you.
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j&bconnecticut
New Member
Sarahwiggles99,
I was worried about my luggage being lost by magic express. I called them and asked them if it was possible for me to check and claim my own luggage and bring it with me to magic express. They said there was no problem doing that and just don't use the luggage tags that they gave you. When the plane lands, go to luggage claim, get your bags, and then head down to the magical express counter to check in. It might look like a huge line that will take forever to get through, but remember this is disney and they will get you through the line very quickly. Once the bus leaves for the resorts, it takes about as long as any car service would. If you don't want to pay for a car service, I would recommend using magical express the way I described. If you do decide to use a car service, I would recommend Tiffany Town Car. They are very good and will make a stop for groceries if you would like. It's about $95 round trip. Just something to consider.
Hope this helps.
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Tiffany Town Cars is great
My boyfriend and I just returned from a trip and used Tiffany (www.tiffanytowncars.com; there's a $5 coupon on the website also) and it worked very well and we'll definitely use them again. We stayed at the Disney Dolphin hotel so could not use the free bus. At $95 roundtrip (minus coupon, plus tip), it was a little more expensive than a cab but they pick you up in baggage claim, have nice cars and drivers, and also give you a set time they will pick you up at your hotel to return you to the airport. No waiting for a cab, no sharing the ride. It was worth the money to us.
My boyfriend and I just returned from a trip and used Tiffany (www.tiffanytowncars.com; there's a $5 coupon on the website also) and it worked very well and we'll definitely use them again. We stayed at the Disney Dolphin hotel so could not use the free bus. At $95 roundtrip (minus coupon, plus tip), it was a little more expensive than a cab but they pick you up in baggage claim, have nice cars and drivers, and also give you a set time they will pick you up at your hotel to return you to the airport. No waiting for a cab, no sharing the ride. It was worth the money to us.
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We have used Quicksilver on our last 3 trips. I love being picked up at the airport, just the 3 of us. We can stop at the store and pick up milk, juice, and snacks. Then we go straight to our hotel. No waiting for other dropoffs. We can stay and play atleast 30-45 more than with DME.
Enjoy your trip!
Enjoy your trip!
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CleveRocks
Active Member
I wouldn't let a handful of luggage delays sway my opinion.
First of all, it's a handful of problems out of about 4 million users. Any and every system has occasional problems.
Now, regarding luggage delays THAT long ... it's entirely possible the delay was caused by the airline, and DME saved the guests a lot of hassle and worry and time. Please allow me to explain.
Airlines can and do misdirect and delay luggage. When this happens to you under normal circumstances, you wait and wait and wait at baggage claim, and then realize your bags are missing, and then wait in line at the airline's baggage office, and then fill out forms, and then get to your resort perhaps hours later than planned, plus you're stressed by the circumstances, etc. On top of that, once the airline locates your bags and gets them to MCO where they belong, they will use a third-party courier to get your bags to you, which may or may not be delivered in a timely manner.
If you are registered with DME and the airline doesn't fly your bags to MCO on your flight like it's supposed to be, DME actually takes the responsibility to track down and find your bags. Once they get to MCO, DME will deliver them to you just like any other DME luggage.
I'm sure there have been some circumstances when a couple's luggage arrived via DME 12 hours after they did. I'm also sure that at least SOME of those circumstances involved an airline accidentally routing the luggage to, for example, MCI (Kansas City) instead of MCO, and then flying it from MCI to MCO, and then DME delivering it.
But I'm also sure there have been some circumstances when DME plain old fouled things up. Like I said, no system is perfect. The imporant thing to realize is that these excessive delays are EXTREMELY rare. If they weren't, DME wouldn't be as popular or successful as it is. Once when I rode Space Mountain, the ride broke down and we were stuck on the ride for about an hour (at least we got to see it with the lights on!!!). Have I heard of this happening to other people? Yes, a few here and there. Does it stop me from waiting in line to ride Space Mountain? Of course not.
I've used DME twice, and found it to be fabulous and convenient both times. The first time, we got to our resort 63 minutes after landing, and the second time we got to our resort 56 minutes after landing.
The first time, our luggage arrived about 3.5 hours after we did. I don't know exactly when it arrived because we were enjoying the pool at the time (we always bring smartly-packed carry-ons). The second time, it arrived about 2.25 hours after we did, and we happened to be in the room at the time.
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CleveRocks
Active Member
I forgot to mention how Disney knows if your bags arrive at MCO or not. Between airplane and the inside of your resort room, each piece of luggage (or rather, it's bar-coded DME luggage tag) is scanned 5 separate times in the process. If you have checked in at the DME Welcome Center at MCO, but your luggage doesn't show up in the database in a reasonable amount of time, the search for the luggage begins. In addition to all of that, the DME luggage delivery trucks are tracked by GPS. Disney knows where the luggage is at all times. I have some more details about exactly how this system works (like at what points the scans take place), but I won't bore you with it unless requested.
From what I've read, if there is any weakness in the system it is at the resort level. After the trucks deliver the luggage, it's up to a resort's Bell Services department to handle and deliver the luggage. I have read of occasional delays at that point, when Bell Services is swamped or not at the top of their game, and luggage sits and waits even though it is ready to be delivered to the inside of the guest room (whether the guest is in the room or not).
From what I've read, if there is any weakness in the system it is at the resort level. After the trucks deliver the luggage, it's up to a resort's Bell Services department to handle and deliver the luggage. I have read of occasional delays at that point, when Bell Services is swamped or not at the top of their game, and luggage sits and waits even though it is ready to be delivered to the inside of the guest room (whether the guest is in the room or not).
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CleveRocks
Active Member
I'm a big believer in paying for convenience, or just paying for whatever I want if I want it and can afford it. So, what I'm saying is I'm not disagreeing with anyone's choice to use private transportation, but I do want to clarify something.
Waiting for luggage at baggage claim and then waiting for the driver to retrieve the vehicle from where he had to park it can be seen as a trade-off for the wait for a DME bus and the wait (if any) for other drop-offs before yours.
But if you stop for a grocery stop for 20-30 minutes, there's almost no way that you get to your resort quicker than if you rode the DME bus. Remember, I'm just talking speed, not privacy or pampering or personalized service.
For both of my past 2 trips, I got a grocery delivery. And Bell Services stored it for me each time (even keeping the cold stuff cold) so that I didn't have to take the time to be in my room when the delivery arrived at the resort. The grocery delivery saved me time because I didn't have to stop anywhere and shop in an unfamilair store between the airport and my resort.
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