Disney's Magical Express vs. town car

[bduff]

We're flying in from Seattle in April for a trip to WDW, and haven't made our ground transportation arrangements yet. We'll be arriving at ~5:00 p.m. Florida time, and will be anxious to get to our hotel (AKL) and settled. In doing the research on the options (including looking at prior posts on this site), it appears our best options are either the DME or a towncar. The advantage of DME is it is free (except for tips). The advantage of the town car would seem to be less walking in the airport (sounds like the driver meets you in baggage claim, rather than having to check in at a desk), you're not waiting at the airport for anyone other than you before you take off, and no stops at other hotels, meaning it should be faster. And it sounds like with some town car services you can arrange for a brief stop at a grocery store on the way. To me the town car is sounding worth the $60 or so (one way) that it would cost.

Am I missing anything?

[mzloolue]

Actually riding Magical Express will not take any extra airport time.
The desk is close and they will gather up your luggage so you don't have to.

The bus was really nice and comfortable and it was free.

And the people working there were very nice, helpful and friendly.

Our luggage arrived soon after we did and a nice guy hauled it to the cabin so we didn't have to mess with it at all.

On the down side...
We sat on the bus for quite a while waiting as they collected up some people who were coming in on later flights.
Then once the bus got going we had to stop at two other resorts before we got to Fort Wilderness.
Still it was interesting to drive through those other resorts.
It took us about two hours from desk to desk.
Still YMMV as you could be the folks on the later flight and your resort could be the first stop.

I would take the Magical Express again.

And instead of stopping at the grocery store yourself, you could order stuff from Garden Grocer and have it delivered. And that $60 would go a long way toward bottled water and cheerios.

[Twinsmom]

I too live in the Seattle area. We are going for Christmas. I have read, read, and read more....Save yourself the time and get the towncar. After a long flight like you will have, the last thing I personally want to do is wait in lines to check in for the BUS, wait for people to get boarded, deliver everyone to their respective hotels, and then hope that your luggage arrives when you do at the hotel or soon thereafter! (The stories are endless...)

The grocery delivery services also have minimums and fees associated with ordering. The towncar service (QuickSilver or Tiffany's at least) give you a 30 minute shopping time on the way to the hotel, help with the luggage, are there at the airport waiting for you....just what you need after that long flight. Also, what a way to start the trip! You can do the whole towncar round trip for around $110, plus tip both ways. I checked in Seattle to use the same service to go to the airport here was that price one way!! Cheaper to park at the airport....

Good luck!
Lori

[emmah]

I have read and read and thought about this and in the end surprised myself by deciding to book a towncar. Initially I thought DME sounds brilliant - not having to deal with my bags and being free and all but last week I decided to book a towncar; I am going with the people at Sunray; $82 return plus tips (so $100 total). I made this decision for a couple of reasons: while I was going to use Greengrocer they don't have all the things/brands I'd like to get, listed on the website, and to be honest I love to visit american supermarkets to see all the weird and wonderful things you have!! so a visit to the supermarket in person seems like a good idea. Second, I am flying american airlines and will be checking in at the resort, and checking my luggage through, first thing in the morning on the day I leave, so I *really* don't want to be picked up 3 hours before my flight as DME does and spend time sitting in a bus and hanging out for hours at the airport. I would much rather spend that extra hour having lunch and relaxing at the resort. Plus at the beginning of my holiday I don't want to be waiting around (last year I caught the disney bus in california from LAX to my hotel - I was the *last* person to be dropped off and that hour was the most frustrating hour I can remember spending!) - I just want to be on my way.

To be honest, basically it seems to come down to whether that $100 is a price you are happy to pay for a little personal service (for me it comes down to a grocery stop, and maybe 90 minutes - there is not a lot to it!!).

[ericles]

We've done both....

and we are going Town Car again (booked thru transportation2disney.com) - about a $100 r/t + tax. Driver meets us in baggage claim, and then straight off to your resort.

I will state that we've not had a problem taking Meers or the Disney transportation, it's just a quicker, easier trip for us to arrange for a town car. After hurrying up to the airport, waiting for our flight, taking the flight, schlepping the luggage and getting in after suppertime - I just Want To Get There already!

[GusMan]

I *really* don't want to be picked up 3 hours before my flight as DME does and spend time sitting in a bus and hanging out for hours at the airport. I would much rather spend that extra hour having lunch and relaxing at the resort.

Just a thought.... but did you find out what time the car service is going to pick you up from the resort? Is it going to save you that much time?
Here is how I break it down...
Allow for an hour to get to MCO, regardless of method.
Allow for 30 minutes to get through security and to your gate.
That gives you about 90 mins before your flight and an hour before you board your plane.
That may seem like an hour wasted, but as someone who is a frequent flier, that hour "buffer" can make or break travel plans at times. I would rather spend that hour at the gate than wondering if I am going to make it through security.

Ive done the OJ Simpson run* through the terminal, and its not fun. I can only imagine that it is even more not fun towing my family at the same time.

Ive done both the car service and DME and for the money, Ill take the DME. I would rather spend the money on something else.

*-Old Hertz commercial reference, if anyone remembers that.

[Greg in TN]

We've done DME the last 3 trips we've made. Very satisfied; ZERO problems. Luggage delivery worked like a charm-and we've had flight arrival times that were early in the morning, and later in the afternoon. Very comfortable busses, and efficient process/CMs, etc. I will have NO hesitation using DME for our next trip (I just wish I knew EXACTLY when that was going to be )

Admittedly, we've never used a town car so I can't compare them directly, but after our very positive experiences on DME, I certainly can't see spending the money for one.

[Drince88]

Admittedly, we've never used a town car so I can't compare them directly, but after our very positive experiences on DME, I certainly can't see spending the money for one.

I'm with Greg, though I never have had checked luggage to deal with (that may change next trip, though). There've been times where I've been the first person on the bus and the last person on the bus, and although it's nicer to be the last, it's not THAT bad.

[MousePaul]

All of my DME experiences have been good (including one last week). Did the town car once before DME existed and while OK, the DME works well and is free. It's a good option and why spend the extra money? It also is a great transition to and from Disney (gets you in and slowly out of the Disney magic).

These days the only other option I would go with is to rent a car if I planned to visit other locations in Florida.

BTW - I realized this trip that you can take a DME bus back from any hotel (even one you didn't stay at) as long of as you don't have luggage. I was on my way back from WL to get back to my hotel at POFQ just so I could take the DME but saw a DME bus at WL and simply hopped on it with no problem. Saved me quite a bit of what would have been wasted time.

[emmah]

Just a thought.... but did you find out what time the car service is going to pick you up from the resort? Is it going to save you that much time?

yes, and it is only an extra hour, but like i said, I would rather have that hour relaxing over brunch at the hotel than waiting at the bus stop, or sitting on a bus. it will only be me for the return flight so i don't have to worry about dragging anyone through the airport. on this trip I have 8 opportunities in 3 weeks to spend precious time at US airports and 6 shuttlebus trips to look forward to - I just decided that $100 was not too much to pay for even a very little less of that. the pragmatic part of me also decided that given the overall cost of this whole trip (about $10K), a hundred dollars is really neither here nor there...

[scoobydooby]

I've never used DME so couldn't possibly say anything negative, but I just can't bring myself to do it. The thought of not seeing my baggage leave the airport would make me hyperventilate for sure and then having to wait for it to arrive in my room would be a short route to insanity. My town car experience was a good one (if not a cheap one) and while I wouldn't splash on a limo I'd use it again every time.

[scoobydooby]

I've never used DME so couldn't possibly say anything negative, but I just can't bring myself to do it. The thought of not seeing my baggage leave the airport would make me hyperventilate for sure and then having to wait for it to arrive in my room would be a short route to insanity. My town car experience was a good one (if not a cheap one) and while I wouldn't splash on a limo I'd use it again every time.

[stan4d_steph]

I used DME on my most recent trip and it worked out really well. We were lucky; we didn't have a long wait after checking in before boarding, and we were the first dropped off at our resort. I loved not having to pick up my luggage from the carousel and there were no problems with it showing up within a couple of hours in my room.

[WDW heart]

Well, on my upcoming trip we land at 3pm, and MK closes at 8pm. So I will get a town car just so we can get there faster. Other wise I would use magical express this time.

[FMTX]

We have used a town car and rental car and have never used DME. I did not like the town car that much and would try DME before doing the town car again. We like the rental car because we go off site and the cost for the entire trip is usually not that much more than getting a rental car from TTC for a couple days.

I would give one strong endorsement for DME based on our last trip. In our trip to Orlando our bags were put on the next flight which was just 50 minutes after our flight so when we got to Orlando we decided to wait the 50 minutes at the airport to get our bags rather than worry about getting them later. If we had done DME we could have just gone to WDW right away and DME would have handled them coming in late which would have been nice.

[mckat]

I love the towncar (have used quicksilver and tiffany). I like getting my own groceries and having them at my resort when I arrive. I also like the peace and luxary of having the towncar to get into the vacation mode. I think it also depends on the time of your flights. An extra hour if I have a morning flight like at 9 AM- leaving at 6 AM versus 7 AM is a big difference in time in the morning with kids. I found that it took much less than an hour to get to the airport (left at 8AM last time on Saturday 22nd Dec and it took 30 min to airport, another 20 or so in the airport checking in- so we still had an hour before our flight- but I would not count on that good of timing!).

[Greg in TN]

I also like the peace and luxary of having the towncar to get into the vacation mode.

While I'm sure there are other plusses & minuses to both the town cars & DME, in my opinion DME does a great job of getting you in the vacation mode. There's a Disney welcome video on the way in; there's Disney music playing otherwise; you're in big comfortable seats; the bus interiors have a very Disney flavor to them; and you're surrounded by fellow vacationers who are also getting into the Disney vacation mode .

[mckat]

I'm glad to hear they have "disneyfied" the DME. In the beginning that was one of the complaints I had heard. And I wanted to share my sympathy as I also don't have a current Disney count down...

[splash]

We were at WDW in October and used the magical express. I was a little apprehensive about having my luggage picked up by them, but it worked out fine. We got off the plane and headed to magical express counter, they checked us in and we got in line for the bus to POP. We waited just a few minutes and there were probably 15 people on the bus. Our stop was the first one. We got off and checked in in about 15 minutes and went to the room. We had packed swimsuits and a set of clothes just in case it took longer for luggage. Our luggage arrived about 4 1/2 hours after we did, but with no problems. When we left, we checked our bags into luggage services and boarded the bus to the airport. Not dealing with the luggage was huge for me. I, of course held my breath when we arrived back at home - and then our luggage arrived on the carousel. This is a wonderful service and I highly recommend it!!

[pamickeys]

don't forget that on the town car no one will be hitting you with their carry on either

[mom22gls]

We have used ME several times, with no problems at all. As far as "luggage anxiety" is concerned, if your luggage doesn't make it, it is probably the fault of the airline, not ME. If you bags end up on another flight to Orlando, those ME tags should make it easier for you to get them quickly. It is a fair assumption that at least one person on every flight to Orlando, will be using ME. If so, the ME personnel should take any bag, with the ME tags, and those bar codes will ensure you get your bags at your hotel. Those bar codes probably make it more likely, not less, that you will get your bags. I don't really want to go grocery shopping on vacation. Last night, I did my shopping on the gardengrocer website, and arranged delivery shortly after we get there. The $12 charge for groceries is a lot less than paying for transportation.

[scoobydooby]

We have used ME several times, with no problems at all. As far as "luggage anxiety" is concerned, if your luggage doesn't make it, it is probably the fault of the airline, not ME. If you bags end up on another flight to Orlando, those ME tags should make it easier for you to get them quickly.

I'm sure that you're right but I just really need to have my own luggage in my own posession and be able to unpack and make our room our temporary 'home' as soon as we arrive at the resort. This is of course more of a reflection of me than of DME. I have had luggage problems in Jamaica and the mode of transfer I'd chosen wouldn't have changed them but not finding out until we reached our hotel would have really made dealing with it so much worse - I guess this experience of some years ago has left its mark on me.

[JEANYSANCHEZ38]

Mom and Dad and I will try to use DME for the first time i hope we like it!