Magical Express & Early Morning Arrival

[CuteAsMinnie]

We usually rent a town car for transportation from MCO to Wilderness Lodge. This time we are considering Magical Express.

We will be arriving at MCO at 9:30 am. Has anyone had experience using ME this early in the morning? Will the trip to WL be any faster since perhaps there won't be too many visitors arriving that early?

Thanks!

[BigRedDad]

9:30AM is not early for DME. It is not too bad. You can expect about 75 minutes to get to the resort from the time the plane gets to the gate. Things move quickly and smoothly with DME even if the lines stretch back to the podium.

If you want faster service, a towncar is certainly going to be faster. You don't have to stop at other resorts, the drivers are usually more happy on the gas pedal. You can even stop at a grocery store if you choose and still probably get there faster.

In my experience to WL from DME (only once), we went to the GF first, then Poly, and then WL.

[faline]

I would think that 9:30 is already a pretty busy arrival time. I know that if I take early morning flights out of the Northeast, that is around the time I would be arriving.

[BigRedDad]

I would not be concerned with it being "busy". DME is a pre-scheduled plan. They have buses planned and scheduled ahead of time. It is very efficient. But, if that 15-20 minute difference is a big deal, then a towncar is the way to go.

[BrerGnat]

9:30am is NOT early in the morning, in airport speak.

I've flown in on redeyes from the west coast and arrived at the DME area well before 6:30am. THAT is early, but even then, the buses are running at a regular rate

You will have no problem.

[CuteAsMinnie]

Thank you all!

[CleveRocks]

I've used DME 4 different times. Twice I landed by 10:00 a.m. or earlier, and twice I landed around 10:00 p.m. or a little earlier. My time from landing to resort arrival has been about the same every time, with a speediest arrival of 56 minutes and a slowest arrival of 64 minutes (yes, I timed it each time).

And this was to four different resorts (Caribbean Beach Resort, Port Orleans French Quarter, Polynesian, Contemporary) during four different times of year (May, November, February, March).

I've had nothing but positive experiences with DME. I can't imagine that a car service (including going to and waiting at baggage claim) would've gotten me to my resorts any quicker than DME did in each of my four experiences.

I always advise people to decide on using DME or not based on the level of service they want rather than looking for the fastest way to their resort. I say this because DME is no slower, on average, than a car service or rental car. However, DME is a shared ride. If you want personalized service and a private ride, then DME is a bad choice. But if you don't care how you get there, and you want to get there efficiently and FREE, then DME is a good choice.

[CuteAsMinnie]

Thank you for the detailed info!