Magical Express Time?

[GrumpyFan]

I'm curious about how long it's taking to get from the airport to your resort/park using Disney's Magical Express.

This would be the TOTAL time including:
1) Check In at the airport
2) Waiting/Boarding the bus
3) Ride time to your resort

[Taggart]

Approx 1 hour including the wait at the airport. But it is much better than what Mears used to offer.

Also I don't think you can debate the value of the system as opposed to paying close to $37 in other forms of transportation.

[erick13]

When I went in Dec it took a little less then an hour. I had to tell them that I didn't get my tags in time and had to describe my bags and the bags of relatives. What helped make it easy was we put some silver ribbon on the handles of each bag to help them stand out. It worked out great not having to take anything with us. The bags got there in a timely fashion and everyone made it to the rooms. There was barely any wait for the bus. We got on and in a coupke of minutes we were off to the resrot.

[pyrateslife4me84]

less than an hour...a vast improvement over Mears which was ALWAYS more than an hour--closer to 2 or 3 on bad days. I once spent an hour and a half just waiting for a bus through Mears...

[laenie]

We were there in November and it was under an hour. I also think it's a great improvement over Mears. Even when we've rented a car it's taken longer than DME. We are going again in two weeks, let you know how long it takes then.

[TheDisneyInquisitor]

Check In at the airport: 10 Minutes. There was an incredibly long line, but it moved exceptionally fast.
Waiting/Boarding the bus: about 10 Minutes. They were constantly boarding busses though (so if we were at a different resort, it might have been even less).
Ride time to your resort: about 30 Minutes (or whatever the average time is)

We got a room instantly and guess what was waiting for us in the room? Yep, the luggage. I had a great experience and would recommend it to everyone.

[tloolgb]

Seems like I'm gonna be the first naysayer here.

1) I found it wicked slower than Mears. Granted when I used to take Mears it was because we arrived Friday night at like 11pm but still, the 4 or 5 times I used Mears they were faster and better. But considering Towncars could be used for the same cost as Mears...I like those better.

2) Magical Express? Doesn't Express tend to make you think Fast? Yes, Airport check in is fast. But that's like 5% of the whole time. The first time we used it we sat on the bus from Noon to 12:30 as they loaded it up, figured out the hotels and routes and such. Lame. The second time we sat ont he bus for maybe 15 mintues...but! We were at the Caribbean. We were 3rd of 4 hotels to be unloaded. We drove past the Pop (on our bus) past the Caribbean (us) past the Coronado (on our bus) to the AK Lodge. Then we proceeded to back track. Yes they are paying more for the room but I like efficiency, and driving by my hotel and then coming back to it is keeping me from the parks. Not efficient.

I was not a fan, and while it's free sure use it, put the $80 you save towards souvenirs. But once it is no longer a free service, I'm not using it anymore.

[Monorailred]

Anytime you do not have to go to baggage claim is a blessing. It just gets better on the return when you can check-in at the resort and leave your bags there and not worry about lugging them to the ticket counter at the airport. There is no comparison to Mears.

[BGLeduc]

A timely thread, as I will be using the service in about a week. I consider it a test for a planned family vacation in October.

Unfortunatley, this is going to be a business trip (staying at All Star Music to keep the costs down), and will likely not have much time to visit any of the parks, but may get a peak at some backstage stuff.

I used Mears quite some time ago ('97 or so), and swore I would never do it again. Everything seemed to take forever. We did a town car in '03, and that was definetly the way to go, but if ME can get me where I am going in less than 60 minutes, I think I can live with that.

Brian

[JiminyCricketFan]

I think askmike1 got is dead on. On my trip in December, it took 50 minutes. I was able to get on a bus immediately. I was faster than Mears was on my last trip. (Remember that the buses are still driven by Mears employees! Don't say anything against Mears when you go!

[BGLeduc]

About 1 hour and 15 minutes from landing to All Star Music.

About 45 minutes from ASM back to the airport.

A relatively painless deal both ways, though it did take a solid three hours after I arrived at the hotel for my luggage to join me.

Brian

[Pacha]

Bit over an hour getting from MCO to Coronado Springs. This includes check in at Magical Express counter, waiting for the bus and the actual ride to the resort.
Less than an hour getting from CS back to MCO.

Two suitcases arrived in our room about 2 hours after arrival. The third about 2 hours after that.

[Barbaraann]

I am going to keep my eye on this thread. I will be using magical Express, for my upcoming WDW trip in July.

It is interesting to read everyone's comments and it is also good to know the pros and cons.

Reading this thread, will give me a good "heads up' on what to expect, or not expect regarding this service.

I have always used a town car in the past.

That is not economical, when traveling alone. ALthough I am not technicaly traveling alone, the rest of my party, are all using Magical Express.

[Jessicalover]

I know last October it took us a total of 45 min. But I know we were lucky we honestly arrived signed in and as we were getting in line our bus arrived and we were on our way. I want to see how it goes this July when we go again.

[Pacha]

We will most definitely use ME again on our next visit to WDW. Even with the minor hassle of getting one bag relatively late at 12:19AM, it was still far better than having to haul bags around MCO, search for the bus pickup place, haul the bags outside to the bus, dig through wallet to pay someone etc. etc.

Not to mention the fact that the "Disney magic" starts at the airport, rather than when you enter the grounds. It's a little thing, but isn't that what Disney is about?