Magical Express vs. paying for a car???

[krueg66]

OK...i've read some horror stories about DME and I'm wondering what my fellow disney freaks think? We are going down in Jan. and there are four of us. We were thinking about s__________g it up and just paying for a car so we could get there on our own schedule. How often do the buses leave the airport? I would imagine it't the luck of the draw on what resorts they stop at when?

I think we just want to arrive in Orlando, get in a car/van and get to Boardwalk ASAP to start the fun! Plus, we want to stop at the store and get some beer/liquor/etc...

Thoughts?

 

[krueg66]

Garden Grocer (the URL should be pretty obvious) is the way to go if you want beer and liquor delivered. I know that Gooding's will not deliver alcohol.

I didn't see alcohol on their website...do you have to call for "adult beverages" of something?

 

[IMPoppins]

We take DME and get groceries, and beer, delivered from Garden Grocer. When we used them in December of '07, I placed my grocery order online and then called to inquire about a case of beer. We'll be using them again in 50 days :sohappy: It's a great service!

 

[Goofyque']

ME all the way for us! Free=more money to spend in the parks, Fast=more time to spend in the parks.

 

[katnmouse]

We've used DME twice now and the service was great! It's nice especially if you are arriving late at night or leaving early in the morning as you don't have to worry about standing in the rental line with 100's of others or getting there early enough to do your car return. The last two years we've used DME and then rented a car the next day from the car care centre near MK. There is Alamo and National and they provide complimentary pick up shuttles. Also you can rent a smaller car as you do not have to accomodate your luggage. We then return it the day before departure and then use DME back to the airport. Also, you could rent for a shorter period if you do not think you would use your car for the entire trip. We rented last year and used it 3-4 times for shopping as my oldest DD insisted on using the Disney buses which from SSR were great!:wave:

 

[katnmouse]

The only problem with DME is if you come in late to your resort. If that is the case, then like us arrange DME but DO NOT put the tags on your bags. Go to the carosel get them yourself and put them on the bus. Because if you don't they will be knocking on your room door at 3 or 4 in the morning with big smile with your bags.

We've never had them bring our bags in the middle of the night as we have requested that they not be brought up until morning. We make sure that we have everything that we need for our first day at MK (always the first stop!) in our carry on bags. After a day at the park our luggage is waiting for us.

 

[NJDVCMembers]

Save the cash, use DME. We didn't use it initially, but now we highly recommend it. We've used over 15 times, we have never waited more than a few minutes to board and a few more to leave. We have never used the luggage service, we either collect it from the carousel or have carry-on, so we can't testify to its ability to work.

We were regular customers with a town-car service, but when they couldn't compete for the wider customer base, they raised the rates on regular customers. It was no longer worth the money for the grocery stop, which we used for longer stays.

 

[hansel1]

Use DME!

I have never waited longer than 5 minutes to get onto a bus and 10-15 for it to leave for the resorts.

The busses don't always wait to fill up before they leave. I have ridden DME from MCO when there were just 8 people on board and once when there was 23 people on board.

The busses are nice, convenient and free. Plus they know where they are going.

My advice on the groceries is to pre-order from gardengrocer. They will deliver to any resort and their selection is excellent.

 

[Clark Griswold]

My family and I will use Disney's Magical Express when we arrive down in Orlando in July...we have never used the DME before, however, I did fly down to Orlando International Airport in March and saw tons of DME busses. It seemed that once one left the terminal another was on the scene. Although, we are renting a car at the airport since we are traveling to the coast for a couple of days before going to Disney...on the way back we are going to use the DME service, so hopefully things go smoothly.