DME = Mears?

[jjgoo]

Hi All,
I did look around the forums to see if there was any discussion on this, but it was minimal and I have a real concern and would like opinions.

I happened to read somewhere that Disney's Magical Express is run by Mears. I'm wondering iis this true? If it is I would really like to know if it is really any different from Mears.

My experience with Mears was first of all expensive ($45 a person for two people pretty much equals a limo ride, I do know DME is currently free) and then the service stunk. It took forever to get on the bus, they stopped at no less than 4 other hotels before ours (CBR) and ours was not the last, they were less than friendly (the whole trip from the airport to the hotel probably took 2 hours) and on the way back we had to catch a bus 3.5 hours before our flight.

I would like to use DME because I have read a lot of reviews that seem somewhat favorable and I would like to save the $120 (ride plus tip) it would cost for a limo and use it for more fun. However if DME is run by Mears I just don't know.

Thanks for your opinions/info!:wave:

 

[ypcat]

From what I understand, DME is run by Disney. The busses and drivers are contracted by Mears. I would say go ahead and use DME, we have used it multiple times and never had a problem.

 

[dave2822]

As aforementioned, the buses and drivers are Mears, but in my experience I've found it to be quite pleasant. The buses are nice, they show welcome videos, and it is far better than paying for a shuttle service, and I've never had a problem with the drivers or the staff. Plus, you don't have to worry about your luggage.

You WILL however, be on a bus with others traveling to different resorts. If you stay at a MK area resort, for example, the bus will make stops at GF, Contemporary, Poly, so you may or may not be the first stop off the bus. I didn't find that to be that big of a deal, however.

You WILL also have to board a DME bus 3 hours before your flight. But, if that's a big deal, you could always just use the DME service for your arrival, and rent a car or take a shuttle for your return.

Overall, it is a great perk for staying on site and I would recommend you take advantage of it.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

We used to ride Mears before disney started DME. And we will never use mears again. You dont have to wait at baggage claim for your luggage. We have never had a problem yet, using DME. I think its great. And it is one of disneys best ideas. Others may say or think differently. But from my own experience, it is the way to go. :wave:

 

[OneLuckyMom]

As others have said, Disney contracts with Mears to provide the service, but Disney calls the shots.

You may have to stop at other hotels before getting to yours, but I believe the limit is 3 hotel stops for any bus. And in case it's not obvious - the buses stop only Disney hotels, not any of the offsite properties. So they are all relatively close together.

From the time we landed at the airport, until the time we got to our hotel on our last trip it was close to an hour. The longest part of the delay was waiting at the airport for the bus to fill up enough for them to let it go. I did think that was a pain - there was some sort of mix up where at first we were directed to one bus that left just minutes after we got there, but then the driver of that bus wouldn't let us get on and made us get on a different, completely empty bus. I'm not sure what that was all about - the driver of the bus and the person directing the people out to the busses seemed to disagree about something...

We got to our hotel about 6pm. Our luggage finally made it to our room about 11pm. Again, I wasn't thrilled, since I just wanted to sleep at that point and not have to stay up waiting for luggage.

But heck, it was all free. So all in all, it was well worth the money :lol: and we'll be using it again this next trip.

 

[jjgoo]

From what everyone has said so far it seems like even though Mears drives the buses Disney ensures the quality of service. I think we will give it a try then.

I was just afraid it was the same old Mears with DME slapped on the side and there is no way I would use that even for free. It was good also to hear from people that do not like Mears but had good experiences on DME.

Maybe we can use some of the money we are saving by not using a limo to buy some new outfits for our Pal-Mickey.:sohappy:

 

[sherylemomof2]

Dme

We just returned from Disney and used DME. There was about a 20 minute wait at the airport not bad at all and trip to our hotel the Polynesian. After arriving at the airport we were in Epcot less then 1 hour later!!! Our luggage all arrived by the time we returned around 6 because of a bad storm. The ride was nice with a disney video. We traveled with twin infants and the bus driver was very helpful in helping us board. For us we will definatly use this service again.:animwink: