My DF and I will be arriving in Florida on June 10. We aren't getting to WDW until the 13th as our plan sits right now. Last year I took her on her first trip to DL, and now she's taking me on my first trip to WDW!

I had some general questions that I was hoping people could help me out with.

We are renting a car when we get to FL for general travel the first few days of our trip. On Wednesday we are going to be at Cape Canaveral in the morning, with a plan of arriving at WDW on Wednesday night. I figured since we were going to only be at WDW for the rest of our trip I would drive to Orlando Int'l and dump the car, then take the shuttle services to WDW. SO here are the questions:

About how long will that whole process take?

Even if we aren't flying in on that day, can I still use the Magical Express?(we're going to use it on our way back home)

We were planning on hitting MGM that evening when we got to the park. Is this doable? This will likely be our only time in MGM.

Thanks so much! Starting to get very excited!

Cool Runnings
Doc

Boy, where to begin. I don't know if you've been to Florida before, but if you go to Cape Kennedy for the day, and do the park there justice -- it's a cool place, especially if you like space travel -- by the time you get back to MGM, after stopping off at the airport, you may not have enough time to do MGM justice. How many days are you staying at Disney? Is that particular Wednesday an extended hours day at MGM? If not, why not hit whatever park IS the extended hour park and then trade part of the day you had set aside for that park for MGM. Just a thought.

As to whether or not you can use the Magical Express, even if you aren't flying in, I don't know. I'm sure someone here does know. If not, I'm sure a CM at Disney can tell you.

Have fun; we'll be arriving probably just as you are leaving. We're going from the 20th to the 30th of June; staying at POP Century.

Thanks Petesimac!

Actually, yes, the park is open for extended hours that day and we will be trying to take advantage of that. We are doing one day at each park, and the next two days MK and EPCOT have extended hours as well, so really it works out perfectly. We're planning on doing AK the morning that we are leaving.

Doc

Your plans sound great. The only thing about going to MGM that late in the day is the fast passes for TT and RR might be all gone. So if you want to ride those rides you might have long lines.

Then the plan sounds, er, sound, Doc. Have fun. As Tower of Terror and Rock and Roll, I think at least TT has a singles queue; even though you'll be riding as a single, you won't get too separated from your DF and still get to get on the ride. Cannot remember if RR has the singles line as well. Someone here will know.

one thing to consider that would save you a bunch of time would be to rent your car from Alamo. they have a return locaton in the dolphin hotel located real close to MGM. the boat ride is about 7 min. you could stop by your hotel drop off your luggage, drop off the car and be at the studios long before you could even board DME at the airport.

and the cool thing is there is no added charge for a one way rental in the state of florida, so the cost would be exactly the same. and since the drop off doesn't have the same operating hours as the airport as long as they are expecting the return you can drop it off at anytime, just give the car to the valet and drop the rental form in the box inside the hotel.

Hertz also has a location on property at Shades of Green and Avis has a location on the Hilton Hotel right by Downtown Disney. I haven't used any of these locations, but I've been researching doing the same thing!

Last time I rode ToT (not sure if I rode it in October - oh my, maybe it was July?) they did NOT have a single rider line. RnR is rumored to be getting one soon (supposedly they did some work on it) but I just listed to a podcast where they talked about 'finishing off that work' so I anticipate it's not done yet, either.

With your late arrival, you might have to skip some of the shows at the Studios. I'm not sure if Indy, Lights Motors Action, or Beauty and the Beast play after dark.

I was going to suggest what efoxx said about dropping off at the Dolphin.

Also, some times it's not that much more to rent for a week then for 3 or 4 days, so you might want to investigate that.

Additionally, do not be surprised if DME doesn't 'know' about you (even if you've given them your info!). If you don't have a note on your door the day before you check out (if you're checking out on the 16th, it'll be on your door the night of the 14th/morning of the 15th) - check with Guest Services to get the DME number and make sure they know you're wanting to be picked up, and to get the time. DME is really designed around round-trip service, and they some times have glitches with one-way travel.

[Solicitation deleted]

Also factor in the time it takes to check into your hotel, cuz you will need your room key to get EMH bracelet. I would agree with the previous posts that dropping your car at the airport and taking DME will take up a lot of your time. Check into the other options. Also, TOT doesn't have a single rider line. Obviously this plan works best with getting at KSC early. I recommend taking the bus tour right away before it gets too busy and then doing the individual exhibits as interest and time requires.