Disney Magical Express

[roger watson]

We are thinking of using this service for the first time this year. Has anybody used it and if so did it all go smoothly?

We will be staying at CSR.

Many thanks.

 

[Gagesmom314]

Worked great for us this past week. It was super easy to use and the fact that they handled our baggage was a great perk. If you have any other questions about it feel free to ask.

 

[mitchk]

I've used it for my past 3 trips, and it has always gone very smoothly (knock on wood), never had any problem with lost, or late luggage :sohappy:

 

[raven]

Didn't work well the first time we used it but it was fine the 2nd time we did. Just be aware that the driver's may feed you a bunch of bull about the parks so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[mouselvrmom]

It has worked great for us! We have used it twice and had no problems. I think the biggest plus for us is that with four kids we don't have to haul them to baggage pick up and wait for our luggage to arrive. We just get in line and hop on the bus! I know some people don't trust dme to pick up their bags, but for me even if my luggage was late it is worth it. We always go to the parks right away so we are not even in the room to know when our luggage arrives. And we always pack a carryone with essentials we might need the first couple of hours.

 

[Lucky]

We had no problems at all with it, and will use it again in September.

The only way we wouldn't use it is if we were in a major hurry - because it's likely to stop at other resorts before yours - or if we wanted to stop at a grocery store on the way.

 

[ThinkTink721]

We are thinking of using this service for the first time this year. Has anybody used it and if so did it all go smoothly?

We will be staying at CSR.

Many thanks.

My experience w/ Disney's Magical Express was great!
They took us from the airport to our resort in less than 1 hr.
Our luggage was in our room w/in 3 hrs. or less.
And this was in the busy summer season!
I hope it goes as smoothly this year!
:wave:

 

[CleveRocks]

We had no problems at all with it, and will use it again in September.

The only way we wouldn't use it is if we were in a major hurry - because it's likely to stop at other resorts before yours - or if we wanted to stop at a grocery store on the way.

But the funny thing is that whether you go by DME bus or by car service you arrive at about the same time. The time taken up by the possibility of one or two stops before yours is made up for by not having to wait at baggage claim. If you are doing ONLY carry-ons and don't have to wait for checked luggage, then yes, a car service should be quicker on average.

The reported average time from plane exit to resort drop-off is 70 minutes. I timed mine both times. First time was 63 minutes, second time was 56 minutes.

I can't imagine in my wildest dreams how a car service could've gotten me to POFQ in less than 56 minutes from the time I stepped off the airplane. A 10 minute walk and monorail ride from plane to baggage claim, a 10-15 minute wait at baggage claim until you have all your bags in hand, a 5 minute wait for the driver to get the car, 2 minutes to dispense with loding the car and paperwork, and a 25 minute drive to the resort. That makes it 52-57 minutes, and that's if there's no delay at baggage claim.

And if you're in a hurry, making a grocery stop with a car service REALLY slows things down. You can use one of three area delivery services to have groceries delivered to your resort.

I wouldn't advise deciding on DME or car service or rental car based on time, since it'll all be about the same any way you go.

Instead, choose the level of service you want and how much you wish to pay. A car service provides a private ride and personalized attention. With tips it'll run about $120 round trip. DME provides a shared ride on a plush motorcoach, no personalized attention. It's free. If privacy and personalized service are important to you and you're willing to pay for it, then the car service is for you. But if you are fine with riding in a plushly upholstered bus with a bunch of other people AND not paying a dime for it, then DME is for you.

 

[AEfx]

When I fly (which hasn't been in awhile, I drive now) and stay on-site I use DME, but I won't give them my bags. Twice I've checked into rooms and found other peoples bags left there because DME forgot to pick them up. So these poor people are on an airplane and their luggage is still in their room at Disney when some stranger (me) walks in.

I just don't see the convenience of them taking my bags worth the risk; then again I don't pack ridiculous amounts of stuff either. Just one rolling suitcase and a shoulder bag do it for me, so I don't find much trouble getting my own stuff and going to DME then. I just don't see the need of putting more people in between me and my bags.

AEfx

 

[Tinkerbella16]

Used DME twice, and will a third time this year. It is great....not having to sit impatiently at the baggage claim & just hop on the bus to your resort is great. We always arrive to the resort around 11am, so we check-in, eat lunch, and head to the parks. It truely saves you more time. We have'nt had any luggage problems...everything has run smoothly.

 

[TTFN-Tiggger]

I have used DME on three of my trips and not had a problem yet. It is is nice perk for staying on property. My next trip in Nov is set up to use this service again.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Always was a perfect experience for me! And I don't think DME is supposed to pick up from rooms, but please correct me on this if I am wrong.

 

[mpoppins76]

Have used it for 2 different trips w/ no major problems. Only minor problem was when we used it a few weeks ago on our trip. They loaded us on a bus that they said was for Coronado (where we were staying), but right as we were leaving the driver said "Welcome aboard! Next stop Boardwalk!". They'd mis-boarded us and a few other passengers and our bus had already left. They ended up letting us stay on and the bus stopped at both Boardwalk & Coronado. Took a little longer but it wasn't a problem. I would recommend it. It was nice not having to pick up our bags at the airport and then not have to lug them around on the last day.

 

[Gagesmom314]

Always was a perfect experience for me! And I don't think DME is supposed to pick up from rooms, but please correct me on this if I am wrong.

DME is not supposed to pick up from the rooms. You may check your baggage at the airline desk in the lobby of your resort and they will transport your bags if your airline is one that they have.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

I thought so...SO anyone finding luggage in their room really DOES need to think "those poor people", becuase they didn't understand the system and didn't even realize what was going on until it was too late.

 

[DisneyBride94]

Love it love it love it. We have three small children...so the biggest benefit has been just being able to check our luggage through at the airport and not seeing it again until it shows up at our hotel... and then on the return flight to be able to check our luggage in at the hotel and not see it until we get to our home airport... greatest thing since sliced bread... It's stressful enough traveling with three children...to not have the burden of dealing with our luggage has been wonderful...



I found that the buses loaded up and transported us quickly and efficiently...My only gripe is that I think DME route buses should drop guests staying at the deluxe resorts first, moderates second, and values last... sorry...but that should be an added perk of forking out more money for your hotel room/location... A "you get what you pay for" type of thing...

I must say that I greatly preferred being on the DME than waiting in line for a rental car while trying to keep and eye on my luggage piled high and overflowing on an EZ Cart AND my chidlren who are anxious to GET TO DISNEY....

Once on the DME it's like you are already there...they have monitors playing Disney Theme park clips and featuring the Disney characters telling you what's going on and you'll be there soon--this thoroughly entertains my three small children and keeps them engaged during the short trek to the hotel... they love the novelty of being on the bus...

When we get the hotel there's no waiting for your luggage to be unloaded from the bus and then waiting for it to be taken by a bellman... you just check in and go... There's no need to get on one of those silly bellman carts to be driven to your room (unless you need it)... No awkward moment as you figure out what to tip the bellman and realize you either have to give him more or less than what would be an acceptable tip because you don't have but $20s, a $5 and two singles in your wallet... (never mind that I have a husband that would rather wrangle all the luggage himself than bother with a bellman).

We always pack a daybag to take on the plane with whatever we need for he first day (toothbrush, bathing suit, shorts, jammies) so that we can go straight to the parks and get started first thing...whenever we've returned to our room our luggage was waiting... Magical!

So much nicer than having to cope with luggage...

We used to rent a car... now we don't feel the need....

 

[ypcat]

When I fly (which hasn't been in awhile, I drive now) and stay on-site I use DME, but I won't give them my bags. Twice I've checked into rooms and found other peoples bags left there because DME forgot to pick them up. So these poor people are on an airplane and their luggage is still in their room at Disney when some stranger (me) walks in.

That's because DME does not pick up bags from the room for return trips. You must either take your luggage to the bus pickup, or use the resort airline check in (for those on the partner airlines).

We've never had a problem with DME handling out bags.