I like Magical Express - except for the return trip

[Septbride2002]

It sort of stinks that they have you get on the bus 3 hours before your flight. You end up spending so much time at the airport that way. We have a 2:45 flight - we would usually get to the airport at 1:30 to 1:45 - which means leaving WDW at 1:00. With ME they want us on the bus at 12:00. That's a whole hour of park time gone.

Sorry - just needed to whine a bit.

[SBETigg]

Yeah, but it's just an hour. Of precious Disney time. I find it's not really a lot of time at the airport, just enough time to decompress and change gears from being sad to leave WDW to talking yourself into being happy to go home. (yeah, that never quite works, I'm still sad when I get home).

[Tinkerbella16]

It is the most depressing ride in WDW.

When I get on DME when we first arrive, I'm sooo excited and happy, and I wish the week would go by slow so I don't have to be back on the bus going the other way back to the airport. I literally cry when the bus goes under the WDW sign.

[GreenBeetle]

This is so weird , my husband and I were just talking about this subject this morning. I always try to make our return flight as late as possible so we can visit DTD or Boardwalk after our last meal at Chef Mickey's for Breakfast. 3 Hours seems so early and it is definitely a very depressing ride to the airport - a sharp contrast to the arrival day ride .

[faline]

Even when I book a limo service, I generally arrive at the airport 2 hours prior to my flight. You never know where something could go wrong - from an accident on the highway to a snafu at security.

[cer]

I know it seems waaaay early, but my experience is that getting through MCO security is typically a nightmare....and before you even get there you just have to make that one final stroll through the Earport....

I only wish they had an Earport shop on the other side of security as well.....

[Marceline]

I totally agree that the ride back to MCO is the least magical rides ever. It's like cold hard reality hits you as soon as you step off the bus and onto airport pavement.

But in my experience, what seems like it should be a lot of time waiting around at the airport ends up being a rushed crunch for us anyways.

The ride to MCO is about 30 minutes, longer if your at the beginning of the pick-up route at the resorts. Even if you use curb side check-in at the terminal for your bags it still takes a chunk of time. And yes, security at MCO is a nightmare. Rows and rows of long lines. And no matter how fast I try to hustle, it takes me a few minutes to de-shoe and re-shoe myself and my child, all while juggling the carry-ons.

By the time we take a potty break and find a seat at our gate it's really only a few minutes before the boarding process begins. Barely enough time to grab a snack for the plane ride.

So basically, even though I wish I never, never had to make the trip back to reality-land....I am glad they give you the 3 hours to get to your flight.

[SallyMcQueen]

I agree that three hours is a lot of time. We had a 9:45am flight back home and had to be on the bus at 6:45. At that time of day we zipped right through security and had about 1.5 hours to kill until they even thought about boarding. I don't mind getting up at the crack of dawn to get to WDW, but sure don't like doing it when I have to leave.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

I know exactly how you feel.

Being from the west coast, our flight usually leaves at 7am which means we get picked up at 2:30 or 3 AM!! Nothing in the freakin airport is even open when we get there! And try to get to sleep early when you've had two weeks of going to bed at midnight or so ~ not happening!

Even the security guys find it funny when you drag your sleep deprived butt through the gates.

But it's free and we have learned how to sleep in those rotten airport chairs. (Why don't they have a few that are like little couches or two chairs with no arm between?? We've seen some in other airports, but not MCO, darn it!)

[Dsnygirl]

You could do what we have done, and book a one-way car/limo ride to the airport... we use QuickSilver, and it's $55. When we did this, we wanted time for breakfast at the Poly before going home, and that extra hour was exactly what we needed to get it done. It gave us the feeling of having done something fun before we left, and we got to the airport in plenty of time. (ME would have picked us up at 9:45am for a 1pm flight... our car company picked us up at 11am, and we were more than fine.)

Just a thought...

[mickeys_princess_mom]

I know exactly how you feel.

Being from the west coast, our flight usually leaves at 7am which means we get picked up at 2:30 or 3 AM!! Nothing in the freakin airport is even open when we get there! And try to get to sleep early when you've had two weeks of going to bed at midnight or so ~ not happening!

Even the security guys find it funny when you drag your sleep deprived butt through the gates..

Been there, done that--once.
Never again that early! I just booked our return flight and went for the 9:30 A.M., which I realize means we'll get picked up around 6:30...argh....Can't complain too much, though. DH was cool with adding that extra night as long as we leave early the next day, plus we got it for $68! (sigh) I really hate every bit of the leaving part....

[Gregandmel]

We hated the ride back, too....but it worked out ok. We had a 1:30pm flight which meant we got picked up at 10:30am. We got up early (like we had done every morning) and our youngest son was swimming "one last time" at 8am! We stayed at the WL so it was actually really relaxing. My dh and I got our coffee and just sat for about an hour pretty much by ourselves at the pool. We had time to eat lunch at MCO and we didn't feel stressed about making the flight on time. We actually prefer having a larger block of time because then I'm not constantly looking at my watch being afraid we are going to miss something. But the ride BACK to MCO is definitely nothing like the ride FROM MCO to your resort!!!

[WDWCrazyKaren]

On the last trip, we found out that we needed (sadly) every minute of that three hours. We were picked up at All Star Music three hours prior to our flight, then we stopped at Coronado Springs for 35 minutes (where no one got on! Bus driver left the bus, went into the resort and left us there for over 1/2 an hour, got back on and drove off). This got us to the airport with about 1 hour and 55 minutes prior to the flight. Very long lines to check in and NIGHTMARE lines at security. We got to the gate literally 10 minutes prior to boarding time. Now, we got a little lucky that our flight was delayed a bit so we had time to decompress and grab some food before we got on, but if the flight hadn't been delayed, we needed that full three hours!

[princessat37]

reading this makes me glad that i booked a limo!

[Disney4us2]

I too am sad to leave WDW. I don't mind the pick up time as it give me time to wind down from our stay.

I usually book the last flight out to LAX on Delta and leave around 7pm. Our pick up with DME is around 4pm. At least that way we have plenty of park time the day we leave.

On arrival we take the red eye and get to MCO at 6;30 am. Last time we were the only ones on the bus to our resort. That was great. it was the perfect way to start our trip.

[Marker]

It's all a matter of perspective and attitude. I look at it as time to do some last minute shopping at the Disney Store at the airport, time to grab something to eat. Sure, you're leaving WDW, but you're heading home to begin planning the next trip, to look at your pictures, and to share stories of your magical experiences with others and perhaps bring a piece of the magic to them.

And without the "real world" to provide contrast, the magic wouldn't be so special. You have to taste the "bitter" to really appreciate the "sweet".

And for me, that sweet magic is coming in 8 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes. AWESOME!!!!

[mouseketeer mom]

That ride back on Magical Express is torture. And I always look around, and families are talking, laughing, seemingly oblivious to the fact that we are leaving the happiest place on Earth! Hahaha! No kidding! It always seems that way to me, and I feel like I've been hit by a truck I'm so sad.