Magical Express problems !

[Haselnuss]

Well I am all set for my trip that is the first week of August I have received my docs today, although there was one problem, a missing voucher for ME I am going with one other person and there name was the only name in the packet I received all the other docs included me except Magical express. Has this ever happened to anyone it seems strange to me. I'm stressing becuse my trip is in four weeks and I don,t know if I have time to order another packet for myself.

[TDLFAN]

I thought you could just walk up to anyone of the Magical Express CMs at the airport and hop on, since the service is supposed to be free of charge. Is that not the case anymore?

[CleveRocks]

Originally Posted by TDLFAN

I thought you could just walk up to anyone of the Magical Express CMs at the airport and hop on, since the service is supposed to be free of charge. Is that not the case anymore?

It is still free of charge, but it is not and never has been a service that one can just hop on.

DME has always required a reservation. It is free, but not automatic. And it ONLY available to guests named on a WDW owned-and-operated resort reservation.

DME was launched in May 2005, and was originally supposed to end in November 2006 (it was to run for the 18 months of the Happiest Celebration on Earth). But it was such a smashing success for Disney and guests alike that in the spring of 2006 Disney signed a new contract with the Greater Orlando Airport Authority to extend DME through the end of 2011. A few months ago, a similar contract extended the service through the end of 2016.

In the "new" spring of 2006 contract, the GOAA required a stipulation that DME was NOT to accept "walk ups," a concession to the existing local ground transportation industry. Therefore, Disney cannot accomodate walk-ups at the airport. They weren't supposed to even before the 2006 contract, but they sometimes did it anyway ... the 2006 contract has stronger wording as well as stiffer penalties for non-compliance.

Boarding a DME bus is (and always has been) a multi-step process: checking in at the DME counter (known and signed as the Disney Welcome Center), having a CM look the now-stamped voucher and escort you to a specific bus queue; and having a CM scan the barcode on the voucher just before you board the bus.

[TDLFAN]

Originally Posted by CleveRocks

It is still free of charge, but it is not and never has been a service that one can just hop on.

Oh I see. I got the impression of DME service being a "hop on service" because it is not a secret about the loud and plentiful complaints the service has gotten from the many taxi and limosine services operating at the airport, all of which claim their ridership has gone down due to DME's CMs continuous interference when passengers comes down to baggage claim for their luggage. But I am only going on what I have seen and heard from fellow workers at the airport here in Orlando.

[NeverNeverland]

DME is a great service It makes things so much smoother.

[goofystitch]

I haven't had this exact situation happen, but I have had to add Magical Express at the last minute without yellow tags. You can call them and let them know you will need to use the service and they will mark you down. I don't know when your trip is so hopefully they can mail you the yellow tags. If they don't or can't, get your bags and bring them with you. They will offer to get them for you, but it took us 12 hours to have them delivered to the room without yellow tags. Nobody was looking for them, even though they told us they would.

Also, Magical Express is not operated by Disney, it is operated by Mears, so don't expect the same level of service from them as you would from Disney.

[CleveRocks]

Originally Posted by goofystitch

Also, Magical Express is not operated by Disney, it is operated by Mears, so don't expect the same level of service from them as you would from Disney.

Well, Mears is the sub-contractor that supplies the drivers and buses, but it is operated under Disney's policies and procedures, not Mears' policies and procedures.

The DME folks who staff the Disney Welcome Center at MCO are Disney cast members, but the folks outside who scan the voucher before you board, and of course the drivers themselves, are Mears employees.

I point this out because Mears has a negative reputation for many past guests, but even though Mears supplies the drivers and the buses, the complaints about service on the Mears shuttle shouldn't be present for Disney's Magical Express because it's run by Disney's policies and procedures.

Mears is the muscle but Disney is the brains.

[ragrobyn]

Originally Posted by Haselnuss

Well I am all set for my trip that is the first week of August I have received my docs today, although there was one problem, a missing voucher for ME I am going with one other person and there name was the only name in the packet I received all the other docs included me except Magical express. Has this ever happened to anyone it seems strange to me. I'm stressing becuse my trip is in four weeks and I don,t know if I have time to order another packet for myself.

Call them and tell them the problem. They will FEDEX it to you reight away.