Not doing Magical transportation...

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Eyorefan

Active Member
We always get a town car. Yes, you have to wait for your lugage, but really once you stop at the bathroom, make your way from the gate to the baggage claim that wait had never been more than 10 minutes, then the driver is always there to great you and help take the luggage to the car.

I don't think it has ever taken us more than an hour to get from the airport to the hotel that way.

I'm sure ME is a great servious, but I just like knowing I have my luggage with me and I also like going straight to the resort without having to stop at other hotels along the way.
 
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YankeeMouse

YankeeMouse

Well-Known Member
The only thing that bothers me about ME is the return back to the airport. I think they schedule you to be picked up so that you are at the airport 3 hours before flight time, a bit of a long wait. Is that still the practice? We usually do a rental car.
 
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wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
You are generally picked up 3 hours prior to your flight time. You are supposed to be at the airport 2 hours prior to your flight so this gives you plenty of time to make sure you get there in time allowing for traffic messup, other hotel stops ( which usually arent that long) and then of course the process within the airport itself, including checking your bags, getting through security etc. Belle
 
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YankeeMouse

YankeeMouse

Well-Known Member
Thanks, Belle. We never check luggage, so we leave 2 hours before flight time and always have plenty of time. THat means 1 extra hour in the Magic Kingdom before we leave, so I'll stick with the rental car :)
 
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jjgoo

jjgoo

Member
We usually use a Town Car (Quicksilver has been our choice) as we like the privacy, to have our bags with us and being able to stop at the grocery store.

However in terms of time, like others have said, unless you have all carry-ons, are somehow able to have a rental car waiting for you and are willing to risk a speeding ticket most forms of transportation are going to take the same amount of time.

Relax, you are on vacation. Take the transportation that feels best for you.

If you want to know why we are happier with a Town Car please PM me. Nothing against ME just our preference. I don't want to feed the fire of this being another Town Car vs. ME thread.
 
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luckyeye13

luckyeye13

New Member
I can't really tell you my experiences with either renting a car or taking DME, as I have never done either. However, after having worked for an airline at MCO for a year, I can tell you that if you rent a car, it is absolutely vital that you allow enough time to return the car, whether it is at the airport or a shuttle ride away. I cannot begin to tell you how many times passengers had cut it too close with with the time that was needed and nearly missed the flight. In a few cases, they actually became early for the next day's flight as it took them longer than they had expected for the return. At my airline, if a passenger said anything that even remotely suggested that they were leaving the airport for any reason, including returning their rental car, their bags would be tagged to go into a different area of the baggage hold and their check-in records would say that they left the airport and specify the location of their bags. This way, if there was a risk that they would cause the flight to be even a minute late, their bags would be whisked off the plane and the passenger would need to be rebooked. (At some airlines, including mine, the doors and cargo hold now need to be closed a certain number of minutes before departure in order for the flight to be considered on-time by corporate, so the window for making it to the gate before it closes is even shorter.) Keep in mind that if you are late for a flight, the airline technically does not have to even rebook you under most ticket fares and has every right to make you purchase a new ticket. Unless you have a fully flexible ticket, such as the ones that are usually held by first or business-class passengers, you might be out of luck. Depending on your destination, there might only be one flight a day or just a few a week. Even if the airline does choose to rebook you, as you were late, they will not reroute you via another carrier to get you to your destination and you may need to spend an extra night or several nights at your expense. If the next flight is full, you will find yourself on standby and might not get on that flight.

Also, if you still have your car with you while you are checking in, do not leave it outside unattended. Despite all of the signs and announcements that are made, passengers still seem to think that doing this is a good idea. The nice towing folks at MCO don't wait very long before they hitch up the car and take it away. There was an Italian family that had checked in with us and left their car outside a few months back. As there was no line inside, the whole process took them all of about five minutes. When they went outside, their car had already been towed away! Since they spoke little English, it took us a few moments to figure out what they were so upset about when they came back to us and then they had to work out something with the rental car company. This almost caused them to miss our flight.

I am not saying that renting a car is a bad idea or that it is worse than DME or anything like that. As I mentioned, I have never done either. I did want to make sure, though, that anyone weighing the two options or planning on renting a car is fully aware of the time it takes to return that car because, while we love our passengers, my colleagues and I really did not enjoy having to run like we had never run before with our passengers and their hand bags from the train to the gate.
 
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UberPlannerMom

UberPlannerMom

Well-Known Member
Just to throw an extra thought in there- I have discovered that some airlines do not participate in the magical express as far as the luggage situation so you might want to check about that.
 
Upvote 0
Club Cooloholic

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
I was under the impression, that one could check their bags to be forwarded aloung to the Disney Resort, but not have to take the bus, and rent a car if you chose to do so.

From everything I have read, your checked bags aren't necessarly going to be on the same bus you take to the resort, they get checked into a central warehouse or something, and are then sent out.

So, could someone clarify for me, if I wanted to check my backs with the disney tags so they are taken to the hotel without me picking them up, do I HAVE to ride the Disney bus, or am I allowed to rent a car?
 
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MousDad

MousDad

New Member
luckyeye13 said:
I can't really tell you my experiences with either renting a car or taking DME, as I have never done either. However, after having worked for an airline at MCO for a year, I can tell you that if you rent a car, it is absolutely vital that you allow enough time to return the car, whether it is at the airport or a shuttle ride away. I cannot begin to tell you how many times passengers had cut it too close with with the time that was needed and nearly missed the flight. In a few cases, they actually became early for the next day's flight as it took them longer than they had expected for the return. At my airline, if a passenger said anything that even remotely suggested that they were leaving the airport for any reason, including returning their rental car, their bags would be tagged to go into a different area of the baggage hold and their check-in records would say that they left the airport and specify the location of their bags. This way, if there was a risk that they would cause the flight to be even a minute late, their bags would be whisked off the plane and the passenger would need to be rebooked. (At some airlines, including mine, the doors and cargo hold now need to be closed a certain number of minutes before departure in order for the flight to be considered on-time by corporate, so the window for making it to the gate before it closes is even shorter.) Keep in mind that if you are late for a flight, the airline technically does not have to even rebook you under most ticket fares and has every right to make you purchase a new ticket. Unless you have a fully flexible ticket, such as the ones that are usually held by first or business-class passengers, you might be out of luck. Depending on your destination, there might only be one flight a day or just a few a week. Even if the airline does choose to rebook you, as you were late, they will not reroute you via another carrier to get you to your destination and you may need to spend an extra night or several nights at your expense. If the next flight is full, you will find yourself on standby and might not get on that flight.

Also, if you still have your car with you while you are checking in, do not leave it outside unattended. Despite all of the signs and announcements that are made, passengers still seem to think that doing this is a good idea. The nice towing folks at MCO don't wait very long before they hitch up the car and take it away. There was an Italian family that had checked in with us and left their car outside a few months back. As there was no line inside, the whole process took them all of about five minutes. When they went outside, their car had already been towed away! Since they spoke little English, it took us a few moments to figure out what they were so upset about when they came back to us and then they had to work out something with the rental car company. This almost caused them to miss our flight.

I am not saying that renting a car is a bad idea or that it is worse than DME or anything like that. As I mentioned, I have never done either. I did want to make sure, though, that anyone weighing the two options or planning on renting a car is fully aware of the time it takes to return that car because, while we love our passengers, my colleagues and I really did not enjoy having to run like we had never run before with our passengers and their hand bags from the train to the gate.
Click to expand...

All your points are valid and appreciated. But I just would like to add that it has been my experience at MCO that dropping of the rental car has been extremely fast and efficient. You basically pull straight in to the drop off line, the guy checks your mileage, and you're out of there. Takes maybe about 2 minutes. They'll even cart your bags to the counter for you.

Again, I'm talking about the in-terminal companies here. I've used 2 different companies in-terminal and had the same experience with both.
 
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wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
pjkdog said:
I was under the impression, that one could check their bags to be forwarded aloung to the Disney Resort, but not have to take the bus, and rent a car if you chose to do so.

From everything I have read, your checked bags aren't necessarly going to be on the same bus you take to the resort, they get checked into a central warehouse or something, and are then sent out.

So, could someone clarify for me, if I wanted to check my backs with the disney tags so they are taken to the hotel without me picking them up, do I HAVE to ride the Disney bus, or am I allowed to rent a car?
Click to expand...

You Must ride the DME bus if you want your bags to be transported. If you dont get on the bus, your luggage will not leave Orlando International Airport. Belle
 
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wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
luckyeye13 said:
I can't really tell you my experiences with either renting a car or taking DME, as I have never done either. However, after having worked for an airline at MCO for a year, I can tell you that if you rent a car, it is absolutely vital that you allow enough time to return the car, whether it is at the airport or a shuttle ride away. I cannot begin to tell you how many times passengers had cut it too close with with the time that was needed and nearly missed the flight. In a few cases, they actually became early for the next day's flight as it took them longer than they had expected for the return. At my airline, if a passenger said anything that even remotely suggested that they were leaving the airport for any reason, including returning their rental car, their bags would be tagged to go into a different area of the baggage hold and their check-in records would say that they left the airport and specify the location of their bags. This way, if there was a risk that they would cause the flight to be even a minute late, their bags would be whisked off the plane and the passenger would need to be rebooked. (At some airlines, including mine, the doors and cargo hold now need to be closed a certain number of minutes before departure in order for the flight to be considered on-time by corporate, so the window for making it to the gate before it closes is even shorter.) Keep in mind that if you are late for a flight, the airline technically does not have to even rebook you under most ticket fares and has every right to make you purchase a new ticket. Unless you have a fully flexible ticket, such as the ones that are usually held by first or business-class passengers, you might be out of luck. Depending on your destination, there might only be one flight a day or just a few a week. Even if the airline does choose to rebook you, as you were late, they will not reroute you via another carrier to get you to your destination and you may need to spend an extra night or several nights at your expense. If the next flight is full, you will find yourself on standby and might not get on that flight.

Also, if you still have your car with you while you are checking in, do not leave it outside unattended. Despite all of the signs and announcements that are made, passengers still seem to think that doing this is a good idea. The nice towing folks at MCO don't wait very long before they hitch up the car and take it away. There was an Italian family that had checked in with us and left their car outside a few months back. As there was no line inside, the whole process took them all of about five minutes. When they went outside, their car had already been towed away! Since they spoke little English, it took us a few moments to figure out what they were so upset about when they came back to us and then they had to work out something with the rental car company. This almost caused them to miss our flight.

I am not saying that renting a car is a bad idea or that it is worse than DME or anything like that. As I mentioned, I have never done either. I did want to make sure, though, that anyone weighing the two options or planning on renting a car is fully aware of the time it takes to return that car because, while we love our passengers, my colleagues and I really did not enjoy having to run like we had never run before with our passengers and their hand bags from the train to the gate.
Click to expand...

Great points Martyn!!! Thanks for the reminder!!! Belle
 
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mousefan1972

mousefan1972

Well-Known Member
UberPlannerMom said:
Just to throw an extra thought in there- I have discovered that some airlines do not participate in the magical express as far as the luggage situation so you might want to check about that.
Click to expand...


This is only the case for certain guests leaving their resort and going back to the airport. ALL arrivals into MCO can participate in Disney's Magical Express, including luggage delivery to their resort. If you want Disney to pick up your bags, simply put on the yellow ME tag that you will receive approx. 1 month before you leave.

The return service is called Resort Check In, and only those guests who are flying to a domestic location on a participating airline may use it. Once again, ALL guests flying from MCO back home are able to ride the ME bus back to the airport. The only difference is guests who can't use Resort Check In will have to take their luggage on the bus and check it in at the airport. For any ME service, you must have a reservation in advance.
 
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Rob562

Rob562

Well-Known Member
I'll finally be able to be able to weigh in on the DME debate in a couple more weeks!

For my two trips in 2007 I rented a car from Alamo (an in-terminal company) because I was staying at a friend's house near WDW. So I'm well aware of the time involved there, even including speeding past the check-in line at Alamo by using the often-ignored self-serve kiosks.

For our upcoming trip, two of us are using DME (both bus and luggage transfer). We wanted to give it a try and see just how easy and convenient it is. This, despite having the option of a third friend picking us up at the airport in his rental car. (He arrives in Florida a few days before us to visit family, so will have a rental car for the week. He'll just meet up with us at the hotel) It'll also give the third friend time to sleep in that morning, because we arrive at MCO at 11:30AM, and he's driving from the Gulf Coast north of Clearwater. (Over a 2-hour drive, according to my GPS)

So it'll be interesting to compare the two experiences.

-Rob
 
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JimboJones123

JimboJones123

Well-Known Member
Use DME for your luggage, then "accidently" forget something important that you need to use a cab to get to the resort instead.

There are dozens waiting at the airport.
 
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