Best method of airport transportation?

[BippityBoppityMagicHour]

Hello!

My family is going to WDW in 25 days!!! I can hardly contain my excitement! But I'm running into a small dilemma. My brother and I work full-time and are flying out on a Friday night from St. Louis. We don't get into Orlando until 10:30 PM that night. We are staying at Old Key West. My parents and sister, who will get there earlier on Friday, will most likely already be asleep, and the Magical Express bus only runs until 10:00 PM. At least that's what I've read online. My brother and I will not need to rent a car since our family will pick one up earlier in the day when they arrive. I have signed up for Uber and will get $20 off our first ride but I just plugged in the addresses and it's saying it will cost around $70. I was a little surprised at how expensive it was but I guess it is a long drive from the airport.

Can anyone give us advice on the best and cheapest way to get to our Old Key West villa on Friday night? We both work good jobs but really don't want to spend a ton of money to get to the hotel!

 

[Schneewittchen]

Um, when I fly to Orlando, I stand in the line outside baggage claim and catch a Mears taxi. I have their app and it works for me for getting around otherwise.

$70 sounds like the same price as a taxi fare.

I am tempted to try Uber but it's never worked out for me yet. I've heard Uber can be weird at airports and when I attempted to use it to get from an off site resort to an on site resort in April, the app told me no one was available in my area, so I ended up using Mears again......

 

[DisneyJoe]

You can use Magical Express 24 hours a day, just let them know by calling in, otherwise you cannot use Magical Express, it must be on your reservation, even though it is a complimentary service. You will just need to claim your own luggage since you are arriving after 10pm

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/magical-express/

"If you arrive before 5:00 AM or after 10:00 PM, please collect your luggage at baggage claim on Level 2 and bring it with you to the motorcoach. Your luggage will travel with you on the motorcoach to your Disney Resort Hotel."

 

[oceanbreeze77]

ya I thought the same thing when I currently went. No the bus will take you, you just have to get your own luggage.

 

[BippityBoppityMagicHour]

This is such great news! Thank you for letting me know! That's $70 we can use for souvenirs!

 

[BippityBoppityMagicHour]

For those who may be reading this wondering the same thing as me, it's very easy to sign up. I just did it and it took maybe 5 minutes total. Make sure you have your hotel reservation number and your flight number handy.

And we won't be checking any luggage anyways, so getting there after 10:00 is not an issue at all!

 

[BippityBoppityMagicHour]

Does anyone know if there are normally any stops before OKW?

 

[mimitchi33]

Renting a car is the cheapest option. I think my parents paid $25 last time?

 

[gobstoper27]

Be aware that there are restrictions for using uber for pickup at Orlando airport. I would definitely research that before you decide.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Does anyone know if there are normally any stops before OKW?

Most likely there will be some other resort stops before and after OKW on the Magical Express. But I don't know for sure their schedule. Stops before your resort are a little bit of a hassle, but usually they are quicker than pick ups because people are ready to get off the bus and get moving to their vacations.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Quicksilver Transportation car service. I think around $75 to get you from the airport to the lodgings. They meet you at the bottom of the escalator, grab your luggage for you and as long as you let them know you want them to when you make the reservation they will make a 20 minute stop at Publix for you to stock up for the week on beer, wine, water, sunscreen, snacks and whatever else you want to grab instead of getting bent over at the resorts/parks having to buy onsite. Just the money you save on these items alone pays for the car service and the luxury is kind of nice as well. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Goofyque']

Does anyone know if there are normally any stops before OKW?

At that time of night, you could even be the only people on the bus. We have done both ways, waited a bit for people to board, and taken off immediately. Even if there is another stop, it is quick and painless. LOVE Magic Express!!!

 

[Chef Mickey]

If money is no object, a taxi will get you there the fastest. Magical Express is 24hrs/day as others have said. The 10pm thing only applies to luggage (which I'd grab myself anyway to avoid problems).

 

[Rob562]

One thing to make sure of with late-night Magical Express service is to make sure that they have your accurate flight numbers. (Don't worry about times, they only need the flight numbers to track them) The MDE desk isn't staffed 24 hours. They do have a scheduled closing time (11pm, I believe) but if they know they have late flights arriving, or an earlier flight delayed getting in, they keep a skeleton crew on duty to handle those late arrivals.

If they didn't have you flight info and your plane got in at 11:30pm, you could (theoretically) find yourself arriving to a closed DME desk and have to arrange your own transport.

-Rob