Magical Express???

[JusticeDisney]

In all the times I've visited Disney World over the past several decades, I have never used the Magical Express. Not sure why, but I haven't. In fact, I'm sad to say I don't even know how it works. Can anyone here give me the cliffs notes version of it? Specifically, 1) how do you book it? 2) what arrangements, if any, do they make for your luggage? 3) does it add a lot of time onto your trip from the airport to the hotel? And any other tidbits or advice that you might have would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks very much in advance for your help!

 

[Thecorsi4]

In all the times I've visited Disney World over the past several decades, I have never used the Magical Express. Not sure why, but I haven't. In fact, I'm sad to say I don't even know how it works. Can anyone here give me the cliffs notes version of it? Specifically, 1) how do you book it? 2) what arrangements, if any, do they make for your luggage? 3) does it add a lot of time onto your trip from the airport to the hotel? And any other tidbits or advice that you might have would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks very much in advance for your help!

Ok, to book call Disney and give them your flight info- they will send you some tags for your luggage- this tells the peeps at the airlines how to route luggage. Once in Orlando you don't go pick up your bags head straight to busses- bags will meet you at resort.

As for added time ? Kind of a moving target once we waited almost an hour for bus- the next year we waited abkut ten minutes to be on bus

 

[BigRedDad]

1. You can book in the MDE app or call them. You can only use it if staying onsite.

2. It is very simple. Provide the people coming in and the flight #'s. Luggage has 2 options. If you put the luggage tags on your checked bags, Disney picks them up for you and delivers them to your room ~3 hours later. If you don't want them to get the luggage, you go to baggage claim, get your luggage, and wheel them down to the DME location where they travel with you under the bus.

3. From the time you debark the plane to resort, it is ~75 minutes. That is an estimate. If you are the first stop, then maybe a little less. If you are the last stop, maybe a little more.

This is something I witnessed with checked bags and letting Disney get them. A family was staying at AKL it was Day 4 of lost luggage. They did not have to do anything to search for it. The DME team took care of it and sought compensation for them. They took the family to get clothes, toiletries, and everything else. They were the ones that fought with the airlines for the compensation and payment on receipts. The family did not have to do anything other than enjoy their vacation. They were inconvenienced one morning because they had to go shopping for clothes. On Day 6, the luggage for this family was finally located. There was no arguments or fights with the airlines on repaying for their purchases. Airlines do not want to be on Disney's bad side. They were told when they got back to MCO, they would be given the compensation.

If you do not use the luggage tags, you are the one that has to deal with the airlines for any lost luggage and all the junk that goes with it.

 

[felipenor]

If you do not use the luggage tags, you are the one that has to deal with the airlines for any lost luggage and all the junk that goes with it.

I'm from Brazil and I'm flying Rio-Chicago, Chicago-Orlando. I'll be using the Magical Express, but I assume I won't be receiving the luggage tags, right?

 

[BigRedDad]

@felipenor I am not sure about international travelers. I think I can post this since it is from the Disney site itself.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/f...gical-express-international-luggage-claiming/

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I'm from Brazil and I'm flying Rio-Chicago, Chicago-Orlando. I'll be using the Magical Express, but I assume I won't be receiving the luggage tags, right?

Did you book one trip from Rio to Orlando with a connection in Chicago, or did you book two separate one-way reservations?

 

[felipenor]

@felipenor I am not sure about international travelers. I think I can post this since it is from the Disney site itself.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/f...gical-express-international-luggage-claiming/

Thanks! So, I guess this applies to me:

"If you have already completed the U.S. Customs & Border Protection process by entry into the United States through another United States city and would like to use our luggage delivery service, proceed directly to Disney's Magical Express on B side, Level 1 and be prepared to provide us with your airline baggage claim numbers. For airport arrivals after 10:00 PM, claim your luggage and bring it with you to Disney’s Magical Express. Your luggage will accompany you on the motorcoach."

My flight is scheduled to arrive at 9:49 pm. Then I should proceed to Magical Express and request them to claim my baggage, is that it? Would I be better off claiming it myself? Could time be an issue since it's so close to their 10 pm deadline?

 

[felipenor]

Did you book one trip from Rio to Orlando with a connection in Chicago, or did you book two separate one-way reservations?

One trip (with a 11 hour layover in Chicago).

 

[BigRedDad]

At 9:49PM, I would personally just get it myself. The reason is you will get to your resort about 11-11:30PM. If you are asleep, you may get a knock on the door around 2AM with your luggage being delivered.

 

[Bender123]

It also varies by arrival time. If you get there at 9:00AM you will likely have a fleet of buses waiting and dispatching frequently, they will grab your bags and the time comes down to where in the route your hotel is (and it never seems like the same route, so you may be first, you may be last, who knows).

If you are traveling and arriving between 9:00PM-ish and 5AM, just get an Uber. I have made this mistake once and you will need to wait for your baggage (they will not get them for you between these hours), they have one bus that they wait to fill before dispatch, so if you are on the first flight of the group coming in, you can wait in excess of 1.5 hours waiting for other people to board and then have to do the whole trip to get to your hotel. Arriving at your hotel, with bags and misery in tow at 130AM is a nightmare and almost completely ruins your first touring morning.

We decided to leave after work one night, with the kids (8/5/5), for a 10PM arrival (not an issue with the kids as they were well rested and used to staying up a late). What we were not ready for was 35 minutes at baggage, over an hour sitting on the bus waiting for another flight that had been delayed, then being last to be dropped off (POR ). By the time we made it to our room, it was past 2AM.

 

[dmatt87]

Thanks! So, I guess this applies to me:

"If you have already completed the U.S. Customs & Border Protection process by entry into the United States through another United States city and would like to use our luggage delivery service, proceed directly to Disney's Magical Express on B side, Level 1 and be prepared to provide us with your airline baggage claim numbers. For airport arrivals after 10:00 PM, claim your luggage and bring it with you to Disney’s Magical Express. Your luggage will accompany you on the motorcoach."

My flight is scheduled to arrive at 9:49 pm. Then I should proceed to Magical Express and request them to claim my baggage, is that it? Would I be better off claiming it myself? Could time be an issue since it's so close to their 10 pm deadline?

If you want a good night of sleep - I recommend picking up the baggages yourself. That way you will be able to check-in and go to bed without worrying of someone knocking at 2am.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

At 9:49PM, I would personally just get it myself. The reason is you will get to your resort about 11-11:30PM. If you are asleep, you may get a knock on the door around 2AM with your luggage being delivered.

If you want a good night of sleep - I recommend picking up the baggages yourself. That way you will be able to check-in and go to bed without worrying of someone knocking at 2am.

While I agree with the advice, you can have bell services hold the bags if it's going to be that late. That said, I'd still pick up my own bags because I'd want my toothbrush and whatnot.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

Most of the time my sister and I take the 6:15 am out of Baltimore and arrive around 8:15-8:30. The wait for MDE is pretty quick. When I get my husband to go we take a later flight and arrive around noon. The lines for MDE are very long and the wait slow to get on the bus but the bus fills fast and we leave. Once went down after work got in around 11:00 and waited until 12:15 for the bus to leave the airport. We found how long it takes to actually get to the resort is a timing issue.

 

[JusticeDisney]

Thank you all so much for your responses! I really appreciate your guidance!

 

[JusticeDisney]

Follow up question for everyone. Do you have to request the luggage tags a specific number of days in advance of your trip? My trip is less than 3 weeks away, so I'm wondering if it's already too late for me to do this?

Thanks again!

 

[GCTales]

We have used DME on every single one of our 5+ trips when staying on site.

We have had friends go with us on the same flight who refused to use DME and always rented a car... On average, we were there faster than them or not very long after... and in general, it was much less stressful. IMO - the "magic" started when you check in for DME and climb on your bus.... you enter the bubble... I could see the excitement in my son build as it got closer and closer to getting on the bus.

a couple of things missed in the above posts..

always look at the friendly airlines... Most airlines allow you to check in at your Disney resort... meaning you don;t have to deal with anything when you get to the airport... just go to security and your gate...

DME Still uses paper transportation notices... so make sure you keep your paper notice for both inbound and outbound travel on DME.

arriving:

1. If you have Disney pick up your luggage, since your luggage is not immediately delivered to your room (as noted ~3 hrs), pack your essentials in a carry on (contact lens solution, medications, etc). We usually arrive in the morning (early flight out of Philly) and check in at the hotel (if room is ready) and go right to a park. If room is not ready, leave extra carry ons with bag check
2. If you don't want disney to deliver your luggage.. you can just handle it like normal... DO NOT put the DME tag on the luggage and simply claim it at baggage claim.. go to DME and put it in the under buss storage.. get it at your resort. you can do this at any time of day - not just late in the day.

Departure

1. Disney will leave a note under your door the day before your day of departure (e.g., you leave Sat.. you will get it Fri). It will tell you when and where your bus departs for the airport. this is typically ~3 hrs (~4 for international) before flight. you still need to keep an eye on your flight time (sometimes they may change). DME will not change your departure from the resort if your flight is delayed..
2. When you check in for your flight at the resort (something I recommend doing), you can check your luggage back in with DME (or Depression Express as we call the outbound ride). The DME staff secures your luggage and will take it to the airport and get it on your flight.
   • Per Disney - Resort Airline Check-In is open 7 days a week from 5:00 AM to 12:00 noon. If you are unable to check in during these hours, you will need to do so at your airline’s check-in counter at Orlando International Airport prior to your flight.
   • Participating Airlines (per Disney): Alaska Airlines American Airlines, Delta Air Lines (U.S. Domestic Flights Only), JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines

1. If you are not on a flight where you can check in at the resort, place your luggage with Bell Service and simply get it before your bus departs and stow it yourself... you then check in at the airport like normal..

 

[GCTales]

Follow up question for everyone. Do you have to request the luggage tags a specific number of days in advance of your trip? My trip is less than 3 weeks away, so I'm wondering if it's already too late for me to do this?

Thanks again!

Did you book directly or use a Disney Travel Agent?

If direct, call Disney.. even if you can't get the tags in time, you can still use DME - just handle your luggage yourself.
If through a TA.. they should be able to tell you if they reserved it or not (they should have done so when they set up your trip)

 

[nickys]

If you don't have tags, either because you book too close to get them, or you're coming from overseas and change planes elsewhere within the US, you can just hand over your luggage receipts and DME will collect them.

You CAN also do this if you arrive direct from overseas, but you would still have to collect your luggage, go through customs and then put the bags back on the carousel! Why anyone would do this I'm not sure, but it is mentioned by Disney as an option .

 

[Rob562]

I'll throw in one additional bit of advice:
If your flight itinerary is anything other than everyone in your group arriving and departing on the same flights (ie for people on three different flights), I highly suggest contacting the Magical Express people directly rather than Central Reservations.

They can be reached at 866-599-0951.
They're also the best people to call if you'll need more than 1 luggage tag per person.

-Rob

 

[Rogue21]

Mind if I jump in with a question? Can you take DME just one way? Traveling with my sister to Orlando together, renting a car, but leaving on different days.

Thanks!