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Has anyone had a good experience with magic Express?
- Thread starter d'Isigny
- Start date
stuart
Well-Known Member
Well once we phone up and book it will be good to finally have the wait over and be able to use it in July. Hopefully there will be no problems when we use it, especially after travelling for around 17/18 hours by the time we get to MCO. And i do have faith in this service and i also have faith in Mears having never had a problem with them in the 10 years we have been coming to WDW. Ah well...roll on july!!!!!!!
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We just got back yesterday and had a great experience with DME! Don't know how long it took the bags to get to our rooms, we were at the Studios as quick as we could hit the bus stop, but they were there when we got back. We had gotten our tags, people who hadn't (and had tossed or lost their baggage receipts) were having a tougher time getting through the checkin process. We loved it though!!
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dixiegirl
Well-Known Member
d'Isigny said:
WEll we got in from our flight around 10:30 from the airport to the resort probably took about 35 min..not really long though...put it this way..from our flight..checking in with magical express..transfer to port orleans..checking in..had bite to eat...unpacked..went to magic kingdom around 2:30....got there in time to get a seat for the parade..i thought that was'nt to bad...
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I'm happy to hear that Disney is straightening things out with ME. It was a total nightmare when I went to the press event last week. There were a LOT of angry people in Disney because of ME.
I don't know that I will ever use it though, I am kind of loyal to QuickSilver. I like having someone waiting for me at baggage claim, taking my bags and getting me to my resort ASAP.
Pam
I don't know that I will ever use it though, I am kind of loyal to QuickSilver. I like having someone waiting for me at baggage claim, taking my bags and getting me to my resort ASAP.
Pam
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wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
I predict not a problem!!!! From 9 oclock?? Oh yeah not an issue!!!! Belled'Isigny said:
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wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
huh?? You plane lands at MCO at 8:53 am yes? I then figured an hour or so to get to the hotel, check in and stuff maybe another hour and be all wrapped up by 11. Change if you want to get more comfortable, bathroom break, get to a bus stop and head off to a prak by noon shouldnt be an issue!!! Belled'Isigny said:
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Our DME experience had quite a contrast each way. Arriving was fairly painless. IMO there were almost too many CMs pointing the way. Some looked pretty bored. We arrived in the late afternoon, and there was no wait at the ME check in. I gave them a copy of my luggage tags and we were off to the busses. Maybe 20 people there, but they have queues set up for much larger crowds. We were staying at All Star Sports, and were the only ones waiting at any of the AK resorts...everyone else was in the Carribean Beach line. They loaded us on the same bus, even though I think it wasn't on the route. We were even the first stop. From landing to check in was probably an hour at most.
Checked in, went to our room, no bags there as I expected. Went to grab some dinner, still no bags...starting to get worried, are my bags coing around at baggage claim? We packed swim suits in our carry-on, so go swimming. When we came back, there was our bags. So they were there within 3 hours.
Heading back was another matter. We got a note on our door the day before we left that they did not have our flight info...even though I had given it to them 2 other times. I call and get a bus assignment. 4:25 for a 7:30 flight. A little earlier than I would like to leave but better than rushing at the airport.
As I said we were staying at All Star Sports, which is the first of the DME stops apparently. There were maybe a dozen or so of us waiting. We all get on and head to Music. Another dozen get on. Now its off to Movies. As we pull in, I tell the DW to put our DS on her lap and move over. She looks out the window to see about 100 or so people waiting. Apparently, some had been scheduled for the 3:00 bus and been waiting since then. Needless to say some very angry people got left behind.
The ironic part is that at least us and 3 other families were all on the same flight out. Our flight was delayed for almost 2 hours, so we sat around in the airport while I am sure someone missed there flight due to the bus being full.
So apparently, you do not really get a spot on the bus reserved when you give your flight info. We overheard someone say that the DME system was created by someone from Indiana University. Being a Purdue grad, I can easily see where the problems came from
But overall, it wasn't bad. We will probably use it again on our next trip.
EDIT: Oh, and another dissapointing thing was that they drop you off on the arrival level, so we had to rent a cart to lug our bags upstairs to check in. Not a problem if you are on the partner airlines and check in at the resort though.
Checked in, went to our room, no bags there as I expected. Went to grab some dinner, still no bags...starting to get worried, are my bags coing around at baggage claim? We packed swim suits in our carry-on, so go swimming. When we came back, there was our bags. So they were there within 3 hours.
Heading back was another matter. We got a note on our door the day before we left that they did not have our flight info...even though I had given it to them 2 other times. I call and get a bus assignment. 4:25 for a 7:30 flight. A little earlier than I would like to leave but better than rushing at the airport.
As I said we were staying at All Star Sports, which is the first of the DME stops apparently. There were maybe a dozen or so of us waiting. We all get on and head to Music. Another dozen get on. Now its off to Movies. As we pull in, I tell the DW to put our DS on her lap and move over. She looks out the window to see about 100 or so people waiting. Apparently, some had been scheduled for the 3:00 bus and been waiting since then. Needless to say some very angry people got left behind.
The ironic part is that at least us and 3 other families were all on the same flight out. Our flight was delayed for almost 2 hours, so we sat around in the airport while I am sure someone missed there flight due to the bus being full.
So apparently, you do not really get a spot on the bus reserved when you give your flight info. We overheard someone say that the DME system was created by someone from Indiana University. Being a Purdue grad, I can easily see where the problems came from
But overall, it wasn't bad. We will probably use it again on our next trip.
EDIT: Oh, and another dissapointing thing was that they drop you off on the arrival level, so we had to rent a cart to lug our bags upstairs to check in. Not a problem if you are on the partner airlines and check in at the resort though.
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Dwarful
Well-Known Member
Well, I already posted our experience on another thread about the baggage tags. We arrived on May 6th at 805pm. the lines were short for checking in, but it took 4 hours to get our luggage and even though I requested at Pop for them NOT to bring us our luggage at 2am they brought it at 220am, pounding on the door waking us all up. Husband wasn't too darn thrilled about that with a four year old.
We too missed our return bus, a 12:10 bus, but that was because the CM's at Pop couldn't find it in the storage area. They found it about 2 minutes after the bus pulled out. So we had to wait until 12:40 and by that time quite a crowd had gathered. You can be sure my husband had us to the front of the line immediately. We had no time to spare at the airport. so the poor kids ate only breakfast at 7am and didn't get to eat again until about 630pm, aside from the peanuts and crackers on the flight.
Our travel dates were the 6th-15th and I hope that these problems were due to the newness of the process. I must note that we too had reconfirmed our return flights several times and the paper work on the door said they didn't have our info. so i had to call 3 different numbers to speak to the right person about it. But at least we all made it home with our luggage intact and nothing missing, misplaced or broken!
We too missed our return bus, a 12:10 bus, but that was because the CM's at Pop couldn't find it in the storage area. They found it about 2 minutes after the bus pulled out. So we had to wait until 12:40 and by that time quite a crowd had gathered. You can be sure my husband had us to the front of the line immediately. We had no time to spare at the airport. so the poor kids ate only breakfast at 7am and didn't get to eat again until about 630pm, aside from the peanuts and crackers on the flight.
Our travel dates were the 6th-15th and I hope that these problems were due to the newness of the process. I must note that we too had reconfirmed our return flights several times and the paper work on the door said they didn't have our info. so i had to call 3 different numbers to speak to the right person about it. But at least we all made it home with our luggage intact and nothing missing, misplaced or broken!
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ypcat said:Our DME experience had quite a contrast each way. Arriving was fairly painless. IMO there were almost too many CMs pointing the way. Some looked pretty bored. We arrived in the late afternoon, and there was no wait at the ME check in. I gave them a copy of my luggage tags and we were off to the busses. Maybe 20 people there, but they have queues set up for much larger crowds. We were staying at All Star Sports, and were the only ones waiting at any of the AK resorts...everyone else was in the Carribean Beach line. They loaded us on the same bus, even though I think it wasn't on the route. We were even the first stop. From landing to check in was probably an hour at most.
Checked in, went to our room, no bags there as I expected. Went to grab some dinner, still no bags...starting to get worried, are my bags coing around at baggage claim? We packed swim suits in our carry-on, so go swimming. When we came back, there was our bags. So they were there within 3 hours.
Heading back was another matter. We got a note on our door the day before we left that they did not have our flight info...even though I had given it to them 2 other times. I call and get a bus assignment. 4:25 for a 7:30 flight. A little earlier than I would like to leave but better than rushing at the airport.
As I said we were staying at All Star Sports, which is the first of the DME stops apparently. There were maybe a dozen or so of us waiting. We all get on and head to Music. Another dozen get on. Now its off to Movies. As we pull in, I tell the DW to put our DS on her lap and move over. She looks out the window to see about 100 or so people waiting. Apparently, some had been scheduled for the 3:00 bus and been waiting since then. Needless to say some very angry people got left behind.
The ironic part is that at least us and 3 other families were all on the same flight out. Our flight was delayed for almost 2 hours, so we sat around in the airport while I am sure someone missed there flight due to the bus being full.
So apparently, you do not really get a spot on the bus reserved when you give your flight info. We overheard someone say that the DME system was created by someone from Indiana University. Being a Purdue grad, I can easily see where the problems came from
But overall, it wasn't bad. We will probably use it again on our next trip.
EDIT: Oh, and another dissapointing thing was that they drop you off on the arrival level, so we had to rent a cart to lug our bags upstairs to check in. Not a problem if you are on the partner airlines and check in at the resort though.
Thank you...I might reconsider...
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dixiegirl
Well-Known Member
\Dwarful said:
wow!!! i can understand with trying not to wake the liitle one up..it sometimes is hard enough trying to get them to go to sleep in a place other than their own bed!! i can't believe that they did that!! why not just wake till morn...i mean i really would hope at that time that you would say "hay lets unpack"!! we just came back last week and judging from other people we had a great experience...i wonder how long it might be till it all runs smoothly..we go back in sept so lets see how it is the..
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shakes20
Active Member
I know that every experience is different, and I'm gald to hear so many people say that things went smoothly for them, but I have to report some major problems with the service...
First of all, we arrived on May 1st, too early to take advantage of the service from the airport, so we used Quicksilver (they were great!). We had friends joining us while there, and that's where thing's started going badly. Their luggage took 17 hours to get to them (they did not have tags) other than that, things were o.k.
Our trip back to the airport was another matter all together. Without going into all of the details, one of our passengers needs a wheelchair. Five seperate times we called to confirm our reservation, and all five times no one could find any record under our name. Everytime we called we had to repeat our need for a bus with a lift on it for the wheelchair. Yesterday, the day we left, they again could not locate our reservation. Eventually they did, under my 2 year old son's name (he was going to have to sign us in!) and the bus did finally arrive (15 minutes late, but with a lift). The real problem was that the bus driver had no idea how to handle the wheelchair. It took nearly 20 minutes for him to load the wheelchair, but he had not properly cleared the back seats and never attempted to strap the chair to the bus. While our party was efforting to secure the chair, the driver started moving, throwing the wheelchair, and the person in it about three feet across the bus. When we told the driver to stop, he slammed and the brakes, sending the chair three feet in the opposite direction. Then the driver came back to accuse us of doing something wrong!!! It was a horrible experience, and we almost missed our flight because of it.
That being said, the majority of our problems were with the Mears service.
My advice? If you are going within the next month, DO NOT USE Disney's Magical Distress (as some around our resort were beginning to call it). Call someone else and pay the money to get there safely. If you're trip is further out, wait and see. I'm sure they will iron out many of the wrinkles and it will be a fine service. If anyone in your party has special needs, avoid it at all costs! Again, this is an issue with Mears, not Disney, but as we were told several times during our problems, Disney contracts out to Mears and can not control them.
First of all, we arrived on May 1st, too early to take advantage of the service from the airport, so we used Quicksilver (they were great!). We had friends joining us while there, and that's where thing's started going badly. Their luggage took 17 hours to get to them (they did not have tags) other than that, things were o.k.
Our trip back to the airport was another matter all together. Without going into all of the details, one of our passengers needs a wheelchair. Five seperate times we called to confirm our reservation, and all five times no one could find any record under our name. Everytime we called we had to repeat our need for a bus with a lift on it for the wheelchair. Yesterday, the day we left, they again could not locate our reservation. Eventually they did, under my 2 year old son's name (he was going to have to sign us in!) and the bus did finally arrive (15 minutes late, but with a lift). The real problem was that the bus driver had no idea how to handle the wheelchair. It took nearly 20 minutes for him to load the wheelchair, but he had not properly cleared the back seats and never attempted to strap the chair to the bus. While our party was efforting to secure the chair, the driver started moving, throwing the wheelchair, and the person in it about three feet across the bus. When we told the driver to stop, he slammed and the brakes, sending the chair three feet in the opposite direction. Then the driver came back to accuse us of doing something wrong!!! It was a horrible experience, and we almost missed our flight because of it.
That being said, the majority of our problems were with the Mears service.
My advice? If you are going within the next month, DO NOT USE Disney's Magical Distress (as some around our resort were beginning to call it). Call someone else and pay the money to get there safely. If you're trip is further out, wait and see. I'm sure they will iron out many of the wrinkles and it will be a fine service. If anyone in your party has special needs, avoid it at all costs! Again, this is an issue with Mears, not Disney, but as we were told several times during our problems, Disney contracts out to Mears and can not control them.
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wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
Hey there Shakes I Am sorry to hear that the end of your trip was so non-magical!!! The last part of the story is the part I disagree with. Disney contracts them so therefor they absolutely CAN control them!!!! When someone is paying the money, the services provided have to meet standards. In your case, that driver would be lucky to be suspended without pay, I personally would have fired them on the spot. They are a SERIOUS liability to Disney, in terms of a lawsuit!!!! Id definitely send a copy of what you wrote here to guest services!!!! That is totally NOT Cool that you had to deal with that kind of attitude. Your family and friends risked injury ( and could well be due to the stopping short thing) because of DME. I would definitely make my experience known. Belleshakes20 said:
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