Magical Express Question

[Raven66]

Hey everyone!! :wave:

OK..........I just called to make another payment on my reservation. I asked the woman on the phone what she knew about the Magical Express. Her answer was nothing (seriously). She told me to call Mears because they are the ones doing it. So I did. I asked them the same question and their answer was "all we know is to get the bags". So here it is...........Does anyone know, when you get to the bus to be taken over to your resort, do you have to wait for others as well? I mean if we get off of our flight at 11:00 AM are we going to have to sit there and wait until maybe 11:30 AM for someone else? I hope I'm making sense. And I know it doesn't actually start until May 5th, but I'm just trying to get a feel for what's going to be happening when we get off of our flight.

I'm hoping that maybe someone else has tracked down this answer for themselves and would be willing to share.

Thanks to everyone in advance.

 

[BRER STITCH]

Good Question!

I imagine there will be a schedule like "Bus leaves every half hour" or so, as it would not be very cost effiecient to send a whole bus with only one family on it!

The only way anyone will know for sure is to wait until May 5th and see how they do it!

I signed up for it too and have no idea what to expect until we get there!

 

[wildbill]

Unfortunately this question probably won't be answered correctly until after may 5th.

That said my opinion is Disney does very little half way and even less without testing and reviewing the operations. They didn't have to worry about the guest complaints about Mears since they were not involved with it. I think the system they are rsponsible for will work with the typical Disney effeciency.

Happy customers spend more $$$$$

JMHO

Bill

 

[gboiler1]

If you do a search you'll find alotof info regarding the Magical Express. From my understanding when you give your flight info, the folks at reservations will have a very good idea of how often they will run busses based on how many people will be flying into Orlando within a given time segment.
My general feeling is that the wait will be 30 minutes or less from the time one lands, which sounds pretty good.
I'm hoping that the stops will be reduced based on the same reservation info given at the time of booking.
Again, do a search and you'll get some more info. As for me, I think I'll also book from MCO to Pop Century in September, but am waiting till May to see some actual results to come in first.
Good Luck!

 

[Simba One]

That's the way Mears is set up...you just tell them the flight number you are arriving on and they have buses/vans ready to run to whichever area you tell them you need to be dropped off. I assume the Magical Express will work about the same way.

(Go Boilers! :sohappy: )

 

[Rcoaster809]

I would call CRO back. That is who you make the reservation through. We talked to 2 cast members on the phone, and both knew about the service. We booked it for our June trip. I think the service will be better than Mears. We were told the bus will stop at 2-3 resorts, or you can be dropped off right at the parks.

 

[pooh071567]

Hey everyone!! :wave:

OK..........I just called to make another payment on my reservation. I asked the woman on the phone what she knew about the Magical Express. Her answer was nothing (seriously). She told me to call Mears because they are the ones doing it. So I did. I asked them the same question and their answer was "all we know is to get the bags". So here it is...........Does anyone know, when you get to the bus to be taken over to your resort, do you have to wait for others as well? I mean if we get off of our flight at 11:00 AM are we going to have to sit there and wait until maybe 11:30 AM for someone else? I hope I'm making sense. And I know it doesn't actually start until May 5th, but I'm just trying to get a feel for what's going to be happening when we get off of our flight.

I'm hoping that maybe someone else has tracked down this answer for themselves and would be willing to share.

Thanks to everyone in advance.

When I made my reservations the other night, the CM I talked to told me that it could take up to 2 hours to get to your resort once you've landed because the shuttle bus will be make stops along the way.

 

[stuart]

When I made my reservations the other night, the CM I talked to told me that it could take up to 2 hours to get to your resort once you've landed because the shuttle bus will be make stops along the way.

What stops are these going to be? Surely it would just be a direct service to the resorts. I dont think that guests on the whole would be pleased if there are to be a number of stops en route which could take up to transit time to 2 hours. It can take less than that coming from Sanford. Ah well we will just need to wait to May 5th and see how folk got on with it. I dont think ill be too happy if there is stops en route.

 

[Kirstin's Mom]

I booked this for my sister the other day. We're driving down, but she's flying in from NY because of a business meeting. The cm I talked to told her to just look for the bus that says Wilderness Lodge. Hopefully that means that there won't be too many stops, although I can't imagine each resort would have their own bus. We'll be there May 18-23, I'll post when I get back and let you guys know how it went.

 

[Figment1986]

Those busses looked nice.. (I was on SR 50.. and passed a bus company.. and their were 5 of those busses parked...)

Wonder how the rides will be....

 

[DebbieB]

I read somewhere that there will be a maximum of 3 stops.

I'm sticking to renting a car. I got a rate of $109 total for a full size from National, May 7 to 13.

 

[InsideOtherPark]

Disney Magical Express.... After arrving at the Airport you would be greated by a costume Cast Member. They will take you to the Disney Welcome Center located at the airport (I belive it's located at 1A) From there you board the "Disney" bus. Depending on where you are staying the bus may make more then one stop at another resort. When you get to the resort. Your bags should be waiting for you in your room. This will happen by you placing the luggage tags... sent to your family.....on your luggage. They will have a barcode on them. This has already been tested with the Disney Cruise line. So yes it does work. No Disney is not just tossing the idea out there. I belive my sources on this are pretty good.

 

[Raven66]

I want to thank everyone for their replies. I'm very excited to use the new system. I'm just wondering how long we will have to sit and wait to go to the resort. I know that sounds "impatient" but I don't mean to be. I'm just trying to get everything planned out before we leave. I'm sure someone will post their experience before we leave on May 19th. I can wait until then.

 

[Invero]

The biggest problem with this new service is not that the details have not been released to cast members, but rather the cast members don't read the information, or don't pay close attention to it. Many cast members (and consequently guests) think that this is just a Mears Shuttle with a Disney painted bus. FAR from it.
With the Mears Shuttle, you have to wait for your bags, and then head to the check in area. With DME, you head straight to the check in area. Check in will take on average 90 seconds, and you'll be directed to the boarding area.

With the Mears Shuttle, people just walk up to the shuttle and get a walk in reservation. With DME, you MUST have a reservation 10 days out. This way, DME will know approximatly when people will be arriving, and where they are going. With DME, they will know that no more guests for a certain route will be arriving anytime soon, so they can dispatch the bus earlier without waiting for it to fill up.

With the Mears Shuttle, the driver has to load and unload a lot of luggage. With DME, just carry on items & strollers.

With the Mears Shuttle, the bus will make 4 stops at the airport. With DME, the bus will only have ONE pickup location at the airport.

With the Mears Shuttle, the bus will stop at a few offsite resorts, and then a few onsite resorts. Who knows where they will go. With DME, there will be 5 routes, 4 with three stops, and 1 with four stops. I don't know the exact routing just yet, but for the most part, the resorts will be lumped together based on proximity. (ie: All three All-Stars on one route, the MK resorts on another route, ETC)

With DME, the resorts will be sent a message letting them know you will be arriving. This way, they can prepare for a shuttle dump, and staff the front desk better.

With DME and selected airlines, you can check your bags and recieve boarding passes right at your resort. DME will pick you up approximatly 2hrs 45 mins prior to your boarding time (give or take). This is no longer than if you were taking any other form of transportation. Orlando International Airport recommends that you arrive to the airport 2hrs prior to flight time. And it could potentially take 45 minutes to get to OIA from a MK resort.



So let's summarize this comparison:

Not waiting for bags saves you time.
Having a reservation, and knowing when best to dispatch the buses saves you time.
Only making one stop at the airport saves you time.
On average, you will only have one other stop before reaching your resort, which saves you time.

Sounds a heck of a lot better than the Mears Shuttle to me

 

[Kirstin's Mom]

Hi Tyler! I didn't know you posted here too! Thanks for the great info, as always....could you post it on the DIS too? There's been lots of people asking questions over there!

 

[InsideOtherPark]

From what I heard the dry runs for the routes are going well.