Possible to do this with Magical Express?

[minniemickeyfan]

Basically my question is, can you use magical express from the airport to your resort on a day you start a disney resort reservation although you didn't technically fly in that day?

Longer story:
We are staying at Pop the first 10 days and renting a car that my husband got through work so we're not using ME upon arrival. We have to return the car to the airport at the end of our Pop stay and then we're moving to AofA for 4 days. Is it possible to use ME for a ride back to Aof A after dropping off the car at the airport since you have a reservation starting this day? Would this be right?
Technically we will only be using ME for 1 ride each way if this works(arriving and departing AofA). Would you just explain this to Disney? Or would it be easier to just pick a flight from my home city that arrives in Orlando about the time we drop off the car? We won't have any luggage with us returning the car since we can just roll that over the bridge from Pop.

Any ideas or your opinion would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Mawg]

We have done the opposite and taken the bus back to the airport to rent a car and go to the beach for a few more days. I believe it is not a problem, Just call the ME number and explain it to them. I believe you will not use the luggage tags since you will be picking up your luggage yourself for the first part of your trip. You may have to give them an arrival time (time you are dropping off your car) to reserve your spot on a bus.

 

[Rob562]

Burks is correct. You won't have a problem using DME even though you're not arriving on a plane.

A few things to consider:
-Don't bother trying to explain to a CM at Disney Central Reservations what you're trying to do. I've found that they're great when everyone in a party is arriving on the same day and same flight, but have problems with complicated or out-of-the-ordinary scheduling. Instead, call DME at 866-599-0951 and explain to the person what you're doing. They'll ask approximately what time you'll want to get on the bus at MCO.

-Rather than returning the car at the airport, look into returning it at/near WDW. If it's Alamo or National, they have desks at the Car Care Center and the Dolphin. From the CCC they have a van that will bring you back to a Disney hotel or to any of the parks. From the Dolphin you can easily walk or boat to Epcot or the Studios.
Most other rental companies have desks at the hotels along Hotel Plaza Blvd. Some may have free shuttles, or it's a short walk to the bus stops at the Marketplace.

-Rob

 

[thomas998]

We have used the ME before on trip where we had flown in days prior to going to Disney, we didn't even bother to try and explain anything complicated, just said our arrival was delayed. They didn't care, all they wanted to know was which resort we were going to so they could put us on the right bus.

I would suggest that you will find it easier if you use the car to drop off your bags and yourself at the AofA when you leave the pop... maybe even have everyone but the driver just stay there so the driver is the only one that has to deal with the ME. It isn't always that quick and whoever is using it could find themself stuck in line for an hour or more waiting. They tend to get you from the resorts to the airport efficiently but for some reason they aren't as good about dealing with arrivals.

 

[minniemickeyfan]

Thanks all for the great ideas