Magical Express

[stitch's mom]

I WAS WONDERING EVERYONE'S EXPERIENCES ABOUT MAGICAL GATHERINGS. WE WILL BE GOING IN OCT 2006 AND I KNOW IT WILL STILL BE OFFERED AND MY QUESTIONS ARE 1. IS IT WORTH IT, DOES IT REALLY SAVE AND TIME. 2. HAS ANYBODY EVER HAD THE LUGGAGE LOST, AND IF SO WHAT DOES DISNEY DO ABOUT IT. THANKS ANY THOUGHTS WOULD BE HELPFUL.:dazzle:

 

[Teddy1]

Hello everyone. New here so please bear with me. Also, I have been reading these boards awhile and want to thank everyone for alot of great information. I also have a question about magical express. We are heading down over spring break (second busiest time of year?) and I was wondering if any of you who went over the holidays used magical express. I was not sure if the service was hampered by the crowds. We have gone during this time before so I am very aware of the crowds, but not sure about this service. Thanks for any info.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Never had missing luggage...it just sometimes takes up to 4 or 5 hours for it to arrive. It definitely saves time over Mears and the price is right...I would say I am usually at the hotel an hour after landing, not 2 or 3 hours later as was often the case with Mears. While it is certainly slower during crowded times, the fact that everyone has a reservation in advance allows them to know exactly how many people to expect and have enough buses ready.

 

[bears163]

we used it in december & loved it. it was great. when we got there the bus was waiting. the luggage was kind of late but our room was nt ready till 4pm anyway. worth using for sure

 

[wannabeBelle]

I have been using this service since its inception in May of last year and I think it is pretty awesome. I havent ever had my luggage lost or unreasonably delayed. In most cases I have made it from my plane to my resort in slightly over an hour which blows away Mears service. In addition it is a free service with a Disney Resort Reservation. Belle

 

[dzlandSr]

We used magical express on our trip this past October 22-30. It was great! Everything went smoothly and the cast members were terrific! We beat our bags to our room, but then went to the Magic Kingdom and when we got back later that evening, our bags where there. A great free service!

 

[Stinkler]

We are going from 2/12-2/19 and our plane isn't supposed to arrive until around 6-7pm. If our bags don't come into around midnight or so, do they still try to deliver them or do they wait until the next morning? Has this ever happened to anyone?

 

[rolm]

I used it back in November but wanted my luggage with me right away for changing. I picked up my luggage in Orlando, went over to the Magical Express desk, gave them my coupons for transfer, went outside and handed my luggage to the bus driver. I wasn't alone, others had their luggage too. It's free and it's great. Coronado then helped us to the room with luggage when checked in.

 

[swimmom]

We used DME in December. Since our flight was arriving around 10:00 p.m. we decided to get our own luggage from baggage claim. (We actually got to Orlando about 2:00 a.m. due to flight delays because of snow in Chicago.)Everything ran very smoothly even with our late arrival. We were at the WL within an hour of our arrival, but there was hardly any cars on the road at all either. We used the baggage check-in at WL for our departure which was great! If there is a charge for DME in 2007, we will consider using it again if the cost is reasonable. The only negative comment I have was locating the check-in counter at the airport. We came down an escalator at the opposite end of the location and there were no signs directing you to DME, but that is an issue with airport most likely.

 

[phishken]

The service was excellent, my family enjoyed the video of the parks the driver played on the way there. It does take about an hour to get to the hotel. For me it was nice not having to worry about renting a car, or struggle with directions and driving. Disney transportation was great and made the trip so much more enjoyable.

 

[SewIn2Disney]

Personally I loved it. I went from Jan 5-11th. My only complaint was getting the bus to the hotel. You have to stand in this (huge...at the time for me) line to check in. I just assumed you'd show the driver your voucher and hop on a bus. You have to check in, then you get into another line based on your hotel. Some hotel lines were huge....we lucked out and they took our hotel next so we got on within 15 minutes. We got to our hotel within an hour of landing at Orlando, about 4:00, went to MK, and our luggage was there when we got back.

Coming home was excellent. We checked in our luggage in the AM before we left for the park, went to the MK, came back, layed out at the pool, and our ME bus was right on time to take us back to the airport. They showed this cute video on the way back, showing upcoming things at Disney (I knew everything, but it was still nice), it had the characters showing you what to do when you get to the airport, and then they sing...Mic...see ya real soon! It was so cute, and if anyone taped it or knows where I can download it, let me know!

I'd suggest using it...it's free, and great!

 

[ErickainPA]

We used ME Christmas Eve. But like others here, we picked up our bags since our flight got in around 7:30 and we wanted to make sure to have our luggage since we had some Christmas items in it that we wanted to set up in our room. We got our bags (2nd off the claim) and went to the counter, they directed us to the right line for our bus to Pop and we were on in a matter of mins and off to the resort, it was great.

We got a rental car on the next to last day of our trip because we were not flying home for a few days but we were leaving Disney after only a few days to head south more.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I wonder what the charge for this will be once the Happiest Celebration ends...they could charge like $5 less than the other shuttles and really make a killing...

 

[SewIn2Disney]

I was wondering the same thing. It says on all of the promotional material "Free until September 30, 2006." I didn't think they'd discontinue the program, they already invested in the busses, but I hope the price isn't too steep. Not having to lug around or worry about luggage was awesome!

 

[I luv WDW]

Travel magic

We used Magical Express last May. There were five of us, with a bunch of luggage. Nothing was lost, although we had a long wait in the airport, with three sweet but fidgety kids (and two fidgety adults). We will use the service again when we return Nov. 23, 2006.:wave:

 

[RonAnnArbor]

I am using Magical Express for the third time this coming March. Last time (at thanksgiving with hige crowds) there was no problem and no major delay in luggage arriving. My flight came into Orlando at 9:30 pm. I was at POFQ by 10:30and the luggage arrived at midnight. It worked perfectly. The busses are convenient, clean, and fast. THe lines are worse during the day, but not extraordinary. They DO schedule the busses so that they try to meet reservation needs - i.e. if there are 40 people going to all-star resorts, and only 6 to Port Orleans, they will get the All Star bus out first, and they night double or triple hotel the Port Orleans bus. Still, it should never take more than 90 minutes to get to WDW even with the wait at the airport. I have never heard of anyone saying their luggage had not arrived. I am sure it could happen, just like any airline problem...NOTE: When you get your luggage delivered to your room, it is one of the resort bell hops - you ARE expected to tip them a few bucks.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Hey Ron, Technically the tip for the luggage service is built in for the delivery when you arrive. It is NOT however included for your departure. I believe that Disney has started putting that on the printed material you receive regarding your departure information ( DME Pickup time etc) that you receive a day or two before you leave. Belle