Transportation from MCO to Resort

[Dapena]

Hello,

First time poster, I usually read others' posts but need some advice.

Due to flight scheduling restrictions my family of four has decided to fly in a day before our POR check-in and simply stay in a hotel near MCO that night. Our thinking was that we could shuttle back to MCO the following morning (Day of Our Check-In) and catch a ride with DME. I was informed by a Disney Rep that you had to use your DME voucher the day of the flight. It's too late to change our flight and I don't really want to pay for an additional night at POR.

What would be our most economic/efficient option?

Contact MEARS directly?
Taxi?
Rental Car? Can a rental be dropped off at/near Resort?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[etibbetts]

I personally would stay at POR for the night because the cost of a taxi/shuttle or rental car plus the cost of your airport hotel will probably be around break even to staying on-site for one more night and getting the free transportation to Disney.

You could always stay at a value for the one night if you wanted to save some money.

[Dapena]

Thank you for the quick response. If we decide to stay onsite at a different resort such as AS, is it a hassle getting bags brought to the other resort?

The benefit of staying offsite the first night is that the room is free using rewards points that I have accrued. Beyond that, I was thinking if I had a rental car I could also use it to purchase snacks, water, etc. instead of having those items delivered. Does anyone know of any rental car companies that allow you to return the cars in Disney World?

[quicksilver]

Hello,

First time poster, I usually read others' posts but need some advice.

Due to flight scheduling restrictions my family of four has decided to fly in a day before our POR check-in and simply stay in a hotel near MCO that night. Our thinking was that we could shuttle back to MCO the following morning (Day of Our Check-In) and catch a ride with DME. I was informed by a Disney Rep that you had to use your DME voucher the day of the flight. It's too late to change our flight and I don't really want to pay for an additional night at POR.

What would be our most economic/efficient option?

Contact MEARS directly?
Taxi?
Rental Car? Can a rental be dropped off at/near Resort?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Hi,

We are the transportation sponsors here. With a towncar, a one way to POR is $70.00, approx. the cost of a cab. I can offer you a $5.00 off since you are being picked up outside the airport (no gate fees for us). Just mention this post if you decide to use us.

Best regards,

Gregory Nicolas.

[Dapena]

Thanks Gregory! I may take you up on that offer.

[Bruegge]

I think you are doing the same thing we are!!!

We were coming in from SLC (salt lake city) on a direct flight to MCO to save time... avoid a layover...Atlanta airport in the summer..Ack.... baggage delay and the like.

I was planning on leaving at 10:00am for a Afternoon arrival in MCO at 4:20p, ...Then I checked the night before...

I'm not a fan of night flights but....

The flight the night before the above flight was $412 (total 4 travelers) cheaper. That flight (still a nonstop) gets us to MCO at 11:20 pm but I'll be waking up in Disney for a full day.

So I booked another night at the GF for $368.00 and said I'd rather give the money to Disney than Delta.... I hate the airlines!!!

Dollar wise it's a wash... but hey If the Airlines play the game so should we.

[VWL Mom]

Hello,
I was informed by a Disney Rep that you had to use your DME voucher the day of the flight.

Is this something new? I can understand that if you're having your luggage picked up but otherwise I thought you could let them know an approximate time and day for transfer. I know in the past I've read about people overnighting near the airport and then using DME the next day,

[faline]

Is this something new? I can understand that if you're having your luggage picked up but otherwise I thought you could let them know an approximate time and day for transfer. I know in the past I've read about people overnighting near the airport and then using DME the next day,

I wonder if this is misinformation on the part of the Disney cast member. My understanding is that you can use Magical Express from the airport the day you are checking into a Disney resort and the day you are checking out.

If you are using alternative transportation, Quicksilver would be an excellent choice!!

[Dapena]

Linda,

I was told by CM that your voucher was only valid the day of your flight.

[SBETigg]

We've used Quicksilver many times, and it's a lot more comfortable than going with a cab. We've always had good service, love Quicksilver. We use them when we stay at the Dolphin.

[DizneyRox]

Linda,

I was told by CM that your voucher was only valid the day of your flight.

This isn't right... Tell them you arriving on the next day (the day you need transportation). You do not need to fly into Orlando Airport to to use the service.

I wonder if this is misinformation on the part of the Disney cast member. My understanding is that you can use Magical Express from the airport the day you are checking into a Disney resort and the day you are checking out.

If you are using alternative transportation, Quicksilver would be an excellent choice!!

I don't believe it's restricted to the day you check out actually. We had someone leave in the middle of our stay, they were able to use DME to get to the airport, just called with the flight info and they told her to get on a bus on such and such time.

That was a few years back, so rules may have changed.

Disney doesn't want you renting a car, they want you all to themselves...

[Dapena]

This isn't right... Tell them you arriving on the next day (the day you need transportation). You do not need to fly into Orlando Airport to to use the service.

Good idea.

[BigB]

I would find a flight number and info that will correspond to your arrival time. This way when they ask for the flight number you can give them a real/correct number and just tell them you are going to pick the bags up yourself. A little white lie doesn't hurt.

[Fangorn]

Linda,

I was told by CM that your voucher was only valid the day of your flight.

This in not correct (unless DME has radically changed their policy recently).

As a WDW Resort guest, you are entitled to one DME trip from MCO to your resort and one trip from your resort to MCO. It does not have to be on the day of your check-in/out and it doesn't even have to be in the normal order.

On one trip when we had a rental car, we hadn't planned on using DME. 4 days into our vacation, I needed to make an unplanned business trip from Orlando to DC, which would have meant that DW would need to take me to the airport at 4am and pick me up again very late that night. I called DME, and they said "not a problem". Since I hadn't used DME originally, I was still eligible for the trip. They set it all up for me and it all happened without a hitch. The DME folks even told me exactly what to say to the resort CMs when they told me it wasn't possible to do it that way. (And believe me, they tried to).

On other occasions I've had different people on one reservation, arrive/depart on different days. A call to DME has ALWAYS been quick and efficient and we've never had an issue getting someone to or from the airport. We've also arrived late at night, spent the night at the Hyatt in the Airport and then taken DME to our resort the next morning. No one at DME even blinked.

It really shouldn't be a problem, and you don't have to be deceptive about it. Just call DME directly and tell them what you need. In my experience, the DME crew are some of the best examples of Disney customer service around. They just make the right things happen.

Now, you will have to collect your own luggage (don't use the yellow tags) and take it with you to the bus.

Steve

[Dapena]

Thanks Steve. Looks like I'll be dealing with DME directly from now on.

[Dapena]

Thanks to everyone for their help. I just got off of the phone with DME. I was obviously misinformed the first time that I called them. I do not have a specific appointment time with DME but am still allowed to board the shuttle the day of our resort check-in. Unbelievably, the CM could not tell me how early we could arrive for the shuttle. I assume that if we show up to the airport by 7am we should be able to catch a shuttle by 8am. Does this sound about right?

[faline]

The Magical Express shuttles run 24/7 - doesn't matter what time you show up at the airport.

[Figment104]

I'm glad you got it sorted out. I can tell you from first hand experience that we've flown in on a late night flight and then stayed right by the airport and used DME the following morning to check in. That was for a long weekend trip in 2010, and there were no issues at all.

[disneynarula]

We have used ME and not even had a flight. We rented a car for a week off property and then dropped the car off at the airport. We rode ME to our resort.