Magic Express - how long does it take to get to the resort

[kniquy]

I'm just curious -- when you arrive at the orlando (MCO) airport -- just how long does it take to get to the bus and then to the resort. We will be arriving around 11:30am on a tuesday (new years eve) and then heading to the Caribbean beach resort.

If our flight is on time do you think we would be at the resort by 12:30 or are my expectations too high?

 

[Tinkerbell397]

In a word....Yes.....your expectations are too way....way...too high and No....you will not get to your hotel an hour after landing.
MCO is a huge airport. Once you deplane, you need to walk to DME and wait for your bus. The busses need to be loaded with luggage because some people do those to take their own luggage. The busses are shared.....they stop at a few hotels. When you stop at each hotel, the luggage needs to be taken off the bus. The drivers do pack the luggage according to the order of their stops to minimize the amount of time at each hotel.
I would say, from past experience, that you will arrive at your hotel closer to 2 hours after you reach MCO. Sorry is this changes your plans but having such high expectations for arrival will only lead to disappointment and stress. You are on vacation....relax and let Disney take care of you. Have a Magical Trip!

 

[officialtom]

^ what Tink said!

 

[Tinkerbella16]

When we were just there, arriving on the 12th, our flight landed at 9:30am. We were on DME shortly after since there were no lines at all for DME and that usually never happens when we arrive. Its usually packed. We were dropped off at our resort at 11:15am. DME also has multiple stops. We stayed at POFQ and there were four stops total on our ride. OKW, SSR, POFQ and POR.. in that order.

 

[PHS79]

Our last trip was the first since DME has been in service. When we got down to DME it was like a ghost town there was maybe 6-7 people, 1 or 2 buses and probably 8-10 employees. We were the first ones in line for our bus, once the bus was there we had to wait until they bus had enough people aboard to leave. Luckily we were staying at AoA and it was the first stop, but it still took us almost 1:45-2 hours from the time we walked off the jet way until we were dropped off at the resort. Then by the time we got checked in and to the room it was another 30-45 minutes.

On our next trip in February we are scheduled to get into MCO at 7PM, so I am anticipating getting into our room at CBR around 10pm.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Your expectations are not reasonable, but what you mention has happened to me twice. It requires considerable luck, but twice for us, we got off the plane, went to Magical Express, got right on a bus ready to leave, and we're the first stop. We were to our hotel 1 hour after landing. Usually, it's more like 90 minutes. 2 hours if you are unlucky.

 

[tigger1968]

I can remember when they first rolled out DME and the CMs seemed to be more focused on getting guests out and on their way in short order. Now there is much more emphasis on full loads on a bus before it departs. We have had trips where we arrived and basically walked onto a bus, but the last two trips have both involved waits of 20 or so minutes to board. I think that planning for a minimum of 90 minutes to two hours would be a good start. That way, if you luck up and get there early, it's kind of a bonus.

 

[MissingDisney]

^^^^^This 100 times over. Our flight arrived on time, we were at DME within minutes, were directed immediately to a bus and then sat....and sat....and sat.....for nearly 50 minutes. We had an evening flight but the bus was nearly full and they still wouldn't leave. Finally, a bunch of people started getting pretty angry and complaining. A couple of people got off the bus and said they wanted to speak with a supervisor. We were on our way after a couple of minutes after that. But seriously, who wants to start their vacation with a confrontation with Mears/DME people? And once we got going, we were told we were stopping at a total of seven resorts. Ridiculous.

 

[kniquy]

Ok with all the above being said- does it make more sense to just grab a cab to our hotel? I love the convenience concept but the time wasted waiting on the bus and then making additional stops. If we do carrying luggage and can grab a cab I would guess be to the resort in less than an hour. I did google the distance from the airport to the hotel and it looks like it is a little over 20 miles -probably a pretty pricy cab ride. Guess we will have to see what happens.

 

[MissingDisney]

Comes down to...how much is your time worth? We just plan for the delay but I will admit each trip has gotten longer and longer.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Only once have we gotten onto a DME bus that was ready to leave. All other times, we've sat there for a good 20+ min waiting on more passengers to arrive. And we've never been the first stop. We were at WDW a couple of weeks ago...and here's how it went...

Landed just after 9am...
Got lucky that the DME bus we boarded (probably around 9:25am) was ready to go...
Then you have the drive to get onto WDW property...
Two stops before our resort...
Got to our resort around 10:45am

 

[JasonDeyoung]

Wow I've been on DME many times and went straight to the loading area usually no lines or moderate and never had to wait or at least nearly as long as all above. I think the longest I ever sat in a bus was maybe 5-10 mins before we were off and from there the ride was around 45 mins.

 

[alissafalco]

I had a bad experience as well. When we landed on time at 9:30am, we waited in line for 45 minutes before the bus even came. Then it stopped at the GF first, then when we finally got to Poly, we sat in the bus for another 20 minutes because there was some kind of problem with the bus in front of us so we couldn't pull up to the entrance. It was after 12 by the time we actually stepped foot into the Poly. I was really annoyed.

 

[mm121]

90 minutes doesn't sound all that bad

i just think people complain too much, wanting everything NOW, NOW, NOW

Guess those people will have to wait for teleporters to be invented.

my biggest complaint and a reason I personally dont use the service is I like keeping my luggage under my control

and i would get annoyed not having my bags for several hours, as I typically travel in clothes that are different than what I wear to the parks

and arrival day can sometimes be a waterpark day so swimsuits/towels are needed as sometimes the day is pretty much wasted after traveling, then catch a late fireworks at mk or fantasmic at dhs

 

[MickeyMomV]

We usually plan 2 - 2 1/2 hours from the time we land to the time we are walking in our room. If it happens sooner awesome. If it happens to be longer we just roll with it. We never plan anything for the day we arrive. We usually have dinner at Casey's and hang out at MK.

 

[Bparso87]

It takes awhile but does not seem that long we have got to our resort in a hour before but that was only once. If u r the first stop maybe an hour other then that no longer then 2.

 

[TXDisney]

If you're landing at 11:30 I'd say you will probably be at your resort around 1:30. It'll take you around 15-30min just to get to magical express once you land. Factor in waiting a ill while for a bus to arrive to go your route and drive time I'd say that's another 45-60min. We landed at 9:30 and were staying at the Boardwalk. I think we arrived at the Boardwalk at 11:00. And our resort was the 2nd stop. But we knew exactly where we were going and such. Plus we have no kids, which makes us move faster.

 

[MorganKelly]

It has been a mixed bag for us on several dozen ME trips. We arrived at Side A on our most recent trip and ME is on Side B. So a good stretch of the legs for starters. If there is a line - in our experience always a toss-up - it is hurry up and wait. Perhaps there is more staff during busier times? Who knows. The one constant for us is that OKW - our home resort, where we stay 90% of the time - has always been the first stop from the airport. I keep telling myself ---- it is free and we are on vacation. I am in no rush (we typically make no plans for the first day; travel is stressful enough without worrying about missing an ADR or something). But waiting around is a bummer and not very magical.

 

[surfsupdon]

We cab to Resort, then ME bus back to airport.

Late night flights take forever to finallly fill the ME bus up. So you sit and wait, and wait, and wait.

Then Yacht Club is always last stop. Caribbean, BoardWalk, Beach, Yacht. Sometimes with Pop thrown in for good measure.

 

[surfsupdon]

I'm just curious -- when you arrive at the orlando (MCO) airport -- just how long does it take to get to the bus and then to the resort. We will be arriving around 11:30am on a tuesday (new years eve) and then heading to the Caribbean beach resort.

If our flight is on time do you think we would be at the resort by 12:30 or are my expectations too high?

Just so you are aware, Caribbean Beach is typically stop number 1.

Even though it should be last, after the 3 Deluxe Resorts also on that bus.