Magical Express Wait Time

[21stamps]

The day of the week (and time of day) can make a big difference. We're arriving mid-afternoon on Monday 11/14 (not on a weekend), so I'm hoping our wait won't be crazy long. If it looks like the picture above, you can be certain we'll be Ubering our way out of there!

We arrive the day after Thanksgiving. Hoping that maybe it's a non travel day for a lot of people.

 

[Weather_Lady]

We arrive the day after Thanksgiving. Hoping that maybe it's a non travel day for a lot of people.

I'm afraid that from what I've read, Disney World will be absolutely slammed that day. The good news is that it's expected, so the buses and staffing will likely have been increased appropriately. In my experience, Disney transportation (both DME and on-property) sometimes runs MORE smoothly when there are higher crowds anticipated. I've seen the worst waits at lower crowd times of year, when a small unexpected bump in crowd levels can more easily overwhelm the skeleton crew on staff...

 

[21stamps]

I'm afraid that from what I've read, Disney World will be absolutely slammed that day. The good news is that it's expected, so the buses and staffing will likely have been increased appropriately. In my experience, Disney transportation (both DME and on-property) sometimes runs MORE smoothly when there are higher crowds anticipated. I've seen the worst waits at lower crowd times of year, when a small unexpected bump in crowd levels can more easily overwhelm the skeleton crew on staff...

I'm hoping that most will already have arrived prior to Thanksgiving! Maybe it's wishful thinking I guess I'll download the Uber app just in case.

 

[HurricaneHanna]

It varies so much. I always plan 2 hours from gate to resort just in case (when considering ADRs etc). We used DME 3 times this year and 3 times in 2015. Twice it did take 2 hours. The first of those looked like the pic @Tuvalu posted. The second time it took two hours, we boarded a bus immediately, which left immediately, but then had to divert all over Orlando TWICE because accidents were blocking our way. The other 4 trips have varied from 45 minutes to just over an hour. In general it's actually fastest if you're put on an already almost full bus because those leave right away. The first time we boarded an empty bus I thought it was great because we had our pick of where we sat, but then we waited forever while the bus filled, so in actuality not so great Also keep in mind that depending on where you're going your bus will likely make other stops. For example, we usually stay at either Yacht Club or Beach Club so we always have to stop at Caribbean Beach and Boardwalk Inn first.

 

[HurricaneHanna]

You can change your mind at the last minute and use Uber instead of DME. It will not affect your return trip or your luggage delivery. If you put the yellow tags on your bags they will make it to your resort whether or not you board a DME bus.

I'm glad to know this. I've wanted to bail from DME a couple of times but wasn't sure how it would affect our luggage.

 

[Ralphlaw]

To make everyone feel better, we've never waited more than 15 minutes. Usually we arrive either very early morning or very late at night. Nevertheless, a wait of an hour or more, and I'm calling uber, a taxi, or renting a car. I don't go on vacation to spend undue time waiting for a bus.

 

[rob45]

our wait was @ 2 hours also