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Magical Express Question

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I am staying at Pop Century. For those whom have stayed there, how long does it normally take to get from the airport to the hotel? I read the bus can make up to four stops.
 

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
When I was at Pop it took under an hour and a half from landing to resort check-in. That included taxiing, getting to DME check-in, riding the bus and all.
 

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This is great! My flight arrives at 1131am. I have been estimating arriving at Pop Century by 1pm and getting checked in (I already did online) by 1:30pm. Then get my mug and a snack from the food court and board the bus to Magic Kingdom for the afternoon parade. As the park clears out, I will get heading to Splash Mountain, BTMR!!
 

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have another question - should I let DME handle my luggage or not? I understand I will not get my luggage until 10pm that night. What do you suggest?
 

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Your luggage should get to your resort sometime between 1:30pm and 5:30pm...

You have 2 choices:

1 - let DME take your luggage; you pack whatever you need in your carryon to be able to survive until your luggage gets to you; you can stow your carryon with bell services when you check in and go to the parks.

2 - don't put the yellow DME tags on your luggage and you go and claim your bags yourself and then take them to the DME bus. They will put the bags under the bus and they will go with you to the resort.

The choice is yours.
 

disneygirl1

Well-Known Member
I would totally have them handle your luggage, especially if you are arriving that early... It will be in the room by the time you get back from MK! We have used the service several times and loved it! Unfortunately we won't be able to used the bag part this trip b/c we don't arrive till after 930p!
 

wdwCC

New Member
I am staying at Pop Century. For those whom have stayed there, how long does it normally take to get from the airport to the hotel? I read the bus can make up to four stops.

We stayed last year. The bus went straight to Pop, took maybe 30 minutes actual travel time. Arriving in the morning, luggage shouldn't be a problem.
 

Mickey'n'Minnie

New Member
getting our luggage was never a problem either until last year...

last year we arrived at 1 pm and we had to go down to the pop storage room to track down our luggage at 10 an night!

none the less, we were not impressed! but our other 3 years we've never had a problem at all!

how long does it take to go through baggage claim at MCO?? because of last year's issues, we're thinking of claiming our luggage ourselves this time but we're not sure if it takes a long time...
 

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
getting our luggage was never a problem either until last year...

last year we arrived at 1 pm and we had to go down to the pop storage room to track down our luggage at 10 an night!

none the less, we were not impressed! but our other 3 years we've never had a problem at all!

how long does it take to go through baggage claim at MCO?? because of last year's issues, we're thinking of claiming our luggage ourselves this time but we're not sure if it takes a long time...

This will be my 1st time using the service. The other 25 times I have been, I have always rented a car. But the time from arrival to baggage and getting luggage usually is less than 45 minutes (including bathroom/smoking break). So it probally equates out.
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
One of the nice things about Pop's location is that it's pretty much *the* closest Disney resort to the airport. So it will almost always be the first stop on the way to WDW when you arrive, and the last stop before heading to the airport when you leave, no matter which other resorts were combined with it. (It wouldn't make much sense to drive PAST it to drop someone else off, and then backtrack to go back to Pop...)

Personally, I'd suggest that you use the luggage service. Yes, it has its hiccups every once in a while, but for the most part it efficiently transports your luggage worry-free. I've stood around in baggage claim for 10-15 mintues waiting for my plane's luggage to even START to come out. (And invariably my bag is one of the last ones out...)

Plus, Central Florida is very prone to thunderstorms. When there is lightning anywhere in the viscinity of the airport, the airport ground crews do *NOT* work. So if you happen to arrive in the middle of a thunderstorm, you may be waiting around for quite a while for the storm to pass and the luggage crews can get back to work and bring your luggage into baggage claim.

But if you'd used the DME luggage tags, even if the luggage was delayed getting off the plane, you'd still be able to go and check in for the bus, get on a bus, and perhaps be halfway to WDW before the storm clears and your luggage is actually being taken off the plane. From there, DME takes over with the bags.

-Rob
 

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
One of the nice things about Pop's location is that it's pretty much *the* closest Disney resort to the airport. So it will almost always be the first stop on the way to WDW when you arrive, and the last stop before heading to the airport when you leave, no matter which other resorts were combined with it. (It wouldn't make much sense to drive PAST it to drop someone else off, and then backtrack to go back to Pop...)

Personally, I'd suggest that you use the luggage service. Yes, it has its hiccups every once in a while, but for the most part it efficiently transports your luggage worry-free. I've stood around in baggage claim for 10-15 mintues waiting for my plane's luggage to even START to come out. (And invariably my bag is one of the last ones out...)

Plus, Central Florida is very prone to thunderstorms. When there is lightning anywhere in the viscinity of the airport, the airport ground crews do *NOT* work. So if you happen to arrive in the middle of a thunderstorm, you may be waiting around for quite a while for the storm to pass and the luggage crews can get back to work and bring your luggage into baggage claim.

But if you'd used the DME luggage tags, even if the luggage was delayed getting off the plane, you'd still be able to go and check in for the bus, get on a bus, and perhaps be halfway to WDW before the storm clears and your luggage is actually being taken off the plane. From there, DME takes over with the bags.

-Rob

And, just to add to this list

When you have DME handle your luggage, they handle your luggage.

On the chance that the AIRLINE looses your luggage, DME takes care of it. They call the airline, they track it down, they get it routed, and then they bring it to you.

If you happen not to use DME, and your luggage heads in a different direction, guess who gets to spend vacation time on the phone with the airline.

-dave
 

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
How about to CBR? How long of a ride is it to there?
Drive time is about 25 minutes MCO-WDW, then it depends on how many stops you make before your resort. Number of stops is not always the same, so it's hard to be more specific. Safe to say you'll be at your own resort within an hour after leaving the airport in a worst-case scenario, but normally faster.
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
On our trip two weeks ago, we stayed at Pop Century. On the DME bus we were grouped with CBR, Swan and Dolphin. (Mears puts Swan/Dolphin paying passengers on the DME buses) Pop was the second stop.

We stopped at CBR first, and then we drove *through* CBR to the back exit that the Disney transportation buses use near the Jamaica section. This exits out onto Victory Way, where it was a quick left turn to drive down to Pop.
At first it confused the heck out of me, because after we pulled away from the Customs House I glanced up and realized we were not driving out the way we came in. But after I thought about it, it made sense because it cut two traffic lights out of the drive, where we'd be making a left turn at each.

-Rob
 

Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
Do you have to pick up your luggage from the hotel by any certain time or just before the time the bus leaves to take you back to the airport?
If you are not using [or not eligible] for Resort Airline Check-in, you can leave your luggage with Bell Services and pick it up when you return to the resort to catch DME back to the airport. You should try to be there at least 20 minutes before your scheduled pick-up, sometimes it can take a few minutes to retrieve your luggage and sometimes the bus is a little early.
 

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