Using Magical Express for the first time

[tink33]

Hi! We are flying this year to Disney for the first time in many years. We normally drive from the Northeast. The last time we flew we had to use the Mears shuttle. It made multiple stops ( including non Disney hotels) and took a while to get to the Disney resort we were staying at. My question is... Do we need to go to our resort first or can we get off at first resort the Magical Express stops at and take a bus to Magic Kingdom? I'm not sure if our Magic Bands will work without checking in at our resort first. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tom 55]

When you get to airport. Go down to the Magical Express area. Your magic bands should work and they will tell you what bus to get on. They take you to only Disney resorts. They may stop at the other resorts that are close by. Last time when I was staying at POFQ they stopped at DVC first then went on to POFQ then PORS. There all on the same road nearly side by side. They only check when you get on. So if you want to get off with all your carry on luggage and go to any of the parks you probably could. We always check in and then go to parts. That way we do not have to carry any luggage.

 

[71dsp]

^ +1. That's what we always do. The check-in process has always been fairly painless for us. Only had to get the CMs to hold our carry on bags once. All the other times, the room has been ready, even when checking in before noon.

Also, never had to wait for more than a couple of stops before we made it to our resort. Leaving is a different story. When being dropped off, the buses go to resorts that are fairly close to each other. When leaving, it seems that there can be greater distances between pick ups.

 

[tink33]

Thank you! It sounds like Magical Express is faster than Mears. My husband is worried about being on the bus for hours. I know we probably won't be able to get into our room. Our flight gets in at 10 am. I read it can take up to 3 hrs to get your luggage. Unless you get it from baggage claim and not use the yellow luggage tags they send you. Will they put it in our room? Sorry for so many questions. Is sounds like the best plan is to check in then go to the parks. We are staying at A o A.

 

[Betsyboo]

Thank you! It sounds like Magical Express is faster than Mears. My husband is worried about being on the bus for hours. I know we probably won't be able to get into our room. Our flight gets in at 10 am. I read it can take up to 3 hrs to get your luggage. Unless you get it from baggage claim and not use the yellow luggage tags they send you. Will they put it in our room? Sorry for so many questions. Is sounds like the best plan is to check in then go to the parks. We are staying at A o A.

Yes, they'll deliver your checked luggage to your room. It's a painless process and doesn't take long at all from airport to resort.

 

[71dsp]

You'd be surprised. We flew at 8:00am and landed a bit before 11:00am in Orlando on one trip. I think we made it to the resort a little after 12 o'clock and our room was ready for us.

For checked baggage, they will bring it to your room. The check bag times seem to vary. Once we flew really late and arrived at the resort around 10pm. They offered to hold the bags until the morning, but we needed them to get ready, so we told them to bring them by, just knock loudly. IIRC, they came around 1 am. Another time, I think we had our checked baggage about an hour after we arrived at the resort.

If you check in early, go to the parks for a few hours, I'm 99.99% sure your bags will be in the room when you get back.

 

[71dsp]

The other great part is being able to check your bags at the front desk when you're leaving. *Except* they choose one family at random from each resort to have their bags inspected at the airport so hotel checked baggage is not allowed. Ask me how I know...

Thankfully my wife has priority access with AA, as we got to the airport a couple of hours before our flight and the check in line was looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong. Thankfully, we were able to go through the priority line. Even though we were second in that line, it still took us 20+ min to check in. Then another 30+ min for security. We made it to the gate with only 10 min or so to spare.

 

[tink33]

Thank you! I feel much better. The last time we flew (2001) the Mears shuttle dropped off at a bunch of offsite hotels before the Disney resorts. I love it that they will take care of our luggage from baggage claim. I can't wait for our trip!!

 

[lunchbox1175]

We always use the DME, we always take the 7:25 flight from Houston, arrive at 10:40, usually are at the resort by 11:30, check in, drop off our carry on luggage at the concierge if the room is not ready yet, and we are usually either in a park or somewhere for lunch by noon, so it really is a great convenience, gives us almost an entire day in a park if we choose.

 

[71dsp]

^ That's what we usually do, but this year we're trying the red eye 6:15am flight. Will land at Orlando around 8:45am.

 

[englanddg]

I believe (but haven't tried or tested) that you have to have your magicbands activated at the hotel before they can be used for park admission if you are an onsite guest. But, this may not be the case.

I always try to fly in as early as possible, and on the first day am normally at the parks by 11a or noon. I do the same on the last day, flying out as late as possible, which generally means the kiddo and I can stay out and do things till around 4p the day of departure.

 

[luv]

I think Mears does the Magical Express. I'm not 100% positive! I've read over and over that Mears does it, though. Disney picks up the tab (because they make a fortune off those free bus rides), but Mears runs it.

 

[Brian & Jill]

Hi! We are flying this year to Disney for the first time in many years. We normally drive from the Northeast. The last time we flew we had to use the Mears shuttle. It made multiple stops ( including non Disney hotels) and took a while to get to the Disney resort we were staying at. My question is... Do we need to go to our resort first or can we get off at first resort the Magical Express stops at and take a bus to Magic Kingdom? I'm not sure if our Magic Bands will work without checking in at our resort first. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Your magic bands will work right at the airport and they will tell you what line to get in for your resort. When you get to your resort you check in and then you head right into the parks and let the fun begin!!!!

 

[jackson2005]

We were at POFQ within and hour, checked in went to the parks and our bags were in our room when we got back, Probably the best thing they ever started.. Mears might run the buses but they are only for Disney resort guests. Love it....

 

[dreamfinder]

I think Mears does the Magical Express. I'm not 100% positive! I've read over and over that Mears does it, though. Disney picks up the tab (because they make a fortune off those free bus rides), but Mears runs it.

This is correct. Disney contracts out the DME service to Mears. But as they are basically privately rented buses, they only stop at the appropriate Disney resorts. Depending on when you arrive & the crowd levels, your bus may be just your resort, or you may have 3 or 4 others. But either way, its usually no more than an hour from boarding to drop off, even when I've been at the last resort.

 

[Weather_Lady]

We've used DMR on both of our prior trips. I'm sure that some trips are shorter and some longer, but in our case we waited no more than 15 minutes in the airport, boarded our bus, and (even with stops at other resorts) were disembarking at our resort just over an hour after our plane touched down in Orlando. (Granted, we travel carryon-only, so we save some time bypassing baggage claim. Anyone using their yellow Magical Express luggage transfer tags would also save themselves that stop.) Also in both cases (arriving at 10:00am and 2:00pm) our rooms were ready when we got there, meaning we were able to check in, unpack, freshen up, and catch a bus to the Magic Kingdom in less than an hour. Two hours from plane landing to Cinderella Castle -- not bad!

 

[Rob562]

I believe (but haven't tried or tested) that you have to have your magicbands activated at the hotel before they can be used for park admission if you are an onsite guest. But, this may not be the case.

It depends on how you have your park tickets. If they're part of a package reservation, you have to check in first. If you've bought them separately and linked them to your MDE profile, then you can go to the parks before checking in.

Of all the times I've used Magical Express, the average time from walking off the plane to getting off the bus at my hotel has been about 70-80 minutes, as long as we didn't make any real stops in the airport like to grab lunch.

-Rob

 

[Cesar R M]

I honestly would warn you about them losing your baggage.
Happened to me on my first trip ever..
The bus itself is efficient and fast for a bus.

but the part where they "forgot" where my baggage was, was unacceptable..specially when they had to knock my room at POR at 1:00 am after we were completely dead of the trip+dinnershow (flight from Mexico).

So...I will pick up my bags myself from now on.


(also ppl are correct, the buses have a tiny "Service by MEARS" logo)

 

[tink33]

I honestly would warn you about them losing your baggage.
Happened to me on my first trip ever..
The bus itself is efficient and fast for a bus.

but the part where they "forgot" where my baggage was, was unacceptable..specially when they had to knock my room at POR at 1:00 am after we were completely dead of the trip+dinnershow (flight from Mexico).

So...I will pick up my bags myself from now on.




(also ppl are correct, the buses have a tiny "Service by MEARS" logo)

Thank you all! The bring your luggage to you makes me nervous. Anyone else have problems getting their bags?

 

[71dsp]

No problems so far, and we've used Magical Express on every trip. We make sure all of our luggage is labeled with Disney's labels and our own labels with phone numbers, etc.

Hope I didn't just jinx our upcoming trip.