Disney's Magical Express

[SeeJackRunn]

I'm a little bit unsure about using this service. How long does it take for you to get back to your hotel and how long does it take for you to recieve your luggage? Are there any instances where they have lost someone's luggage?

Thanks
Antonio

[Chris_Esq]

I would say that it all depends on when (and to where) you travel. We used it in September and were very pleased. It took approximately one hour and fifteen minutes to reach W/L from the time we first arrived at the M/E desk. We were able (luckily) to check in at 11:00 a.m and went straight to M/K. When we got back to our room at 4:30, our bags were waiting in the room.
It worked perfectly for us (a family of 4, w/ two boys 6 & 11 yrs).

I'm sure that others will have a different view of the service, but we had no issues.

[Strmchsr]

Average time from landing to arrival at your resort seems to be 1 hr 15 min, give or take a few minutes. As for luggage, Disney scans the luggage several times so they know where it is at all times. I've yet to hear a story of DME losing luggage. Sometimes the airlines lose the luggage, which delays DME getting it to you, but DME has been very efficient at getting luggage to folks. It's a great service and it seems the kinks are all worked out.

[milhouse]

We used ME in May on a Saturday. We walked off our plane at 10:30 am and walked into Pop at noon. Not too shabby and there was a long line at the ME desk that moved pretty fast. After a quick bite we walked into MGM at 1:30 and our bags were in our room when we got back from Fantasmic.

No problems on the return trip either.

[disneymom15]

We use this service all the time. As stated, it takes about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours to get to your resort. We usually carry on our bags, but have checked them several times. Our bags always arrive within 3 hours. Best part of the whole deal is IT'S FREE!

[Bohms4]

I used the service in Oct 2005 and there was a REALLY LONG line at the airport. This was a few months into the service being offered. I'm just wondering if people still encounter that endless line. I know a lot of people said that it moves quickly, but for some reason on our day it didn't. :( The good news is we received our luggage a couple hours later. :)
We're debating on whether or not we'll use it in April.

[teambricker04]

We LOVE this service. As a family, it works best for us to take ME and rent a car when we need it; not everyday if we don't need it.

Our last trip we stayed at FW with my parents. 4 adults and two little people under3. It was easiest to rent a car to get around the parks, but we really like using ME. Sooo, our oldest DS and I rode ME and my DH and baby got the rental car. Our bags arrived ME, so DH didn't have to pick up anything. From the time we parted ways to meeting up at FW check in was with in five minutes of eachother. On the way back they were about 10 minutes ahead of us, but didn't have to wait long. Add in having to pick up your bags or check them would make it a bit longer to rent a car or take other transportation.

We have never had problems with our luggage. Usually, it gets to our room shortly before or after us with everything intact. They give themselves three hours (I think) but your luggage may arrive before that!

I highly reccomend ME.

[JPL]

I have used this service several times since it's inception and have never had a problem and usually arrived at my resot within an hour of landing. Of Course I was travelling alone so basically made a bee line for the DME check in desk. My luggage has always been waiting for me in my room after I returned from a park with the exception of the time I arrived late and had to call to have it delivered by Bell services.

[Bri]

We have used this service both times we have gone since it started. The first time in Sept 2005 we got to the resort quickly (I don't remember how long), we were able to check it at 11am and when we got to our room after check in our bags were already there! I was shocked. The second time was Sept 2006 and again it didn't take long to get to the resort, the bags weren't there when we got to the room but were there when we got back from Epcot that night. I suggest bringing a change of clothes in your carry-on if you have dinner reservations the night you are arriving, that way you don't get stuck if your bag doesn't get to your room before you have to leave for dinner.

[BostonChic]

I like ME :thumbsup: but we always go and pick up our luggage ourselves(you can bring it on ME bus)so we can change clothes,put on bathing suits if we want to swim and I like to unpack at Hotel. :mickey:

[Belle619]

I like ME :thumbsup: but we always go and pick up our luggage ourselves(you can bring it on ME bus)

We were thinking of doing this on our next trip, but weren't sure if it was allowed. When we used DME last year, we landed at 10pm and even though we stated that they could bring our bags to the room anytime of the night, we didn't get a call until 6am. The worst part was we saw our bags going around the luggage carousel at the airport!

What makes it tough are the restrictions on liquids in carry-ons, it would be nice to have all of our toiletries with us when arriving at the hotel.

[Hull-onian]

We have used Magical Express :bus:two times. It worked great. But the first time we didn't get our luggage tags. So we picked up our own bags and checked them on the bus. This time, I am looking forward to getting our tags on time. We'll see :shades: what happens. All in all, it was a good experience.:thumbsup:

[CleveRocks]

Even if you never receive your DME luggage tags, DME can still automatically handle/deliver your bags.

They have had a procedure set up for this since Day One. You just go to the DME counter to check-in, tell them your bags aren't tagged. They'll ask for your baggage claim ticket numbers as well as a physical description of your bags. A CM will be dispatched to claim your bags for you. The CM will get them, take them back behind the scenes, print DME tags for them, and then get them into the mix with the rest of the DME luggage that is to be delivered to the resorts.

DME is great. I've never read a first-hand account of them ever losing anyone's luggage (wish I could say the same thing for the airlines!). They have a very sophisticated luggage tracking system. The DME tags have barcodes, and the barcodes are scanned 5 separate times between airplane and resort room. The delivery trucks are tracked by GPS. Disney knows where your bags are at all times.

[Duchess99]

I think ME is GREAT! It's so nice not to have to worry about your luggage and have it just appear in your room...:magic:
I also love the videos you get to watch. It gets you even more excited :D
I would also suggest bringing some extra clothes in your carry on bag. The last time I was there we left the snow in NJ for the warmth of FL, so t-shirts and flip-flops were a good thing to bring a long :thumbsup:

[Dakota Rose]

I thought ME was great! It was so terrific to get off the plane and within a few minutes already be in the courteous and energetic care of Disney. DS (18 mos at the time) giggled all the way to POR. I felt like royalty not having to schlep my bags around. And it was fun to watch the video and be with other excited guests.

I didn't expect to have to wait so long for our luggage to be delivered but it was a very crazy night on Columbus Day week-end. It took about 5 hours. So next time I will pack our swimsuits and/or change of clothes in our carry-on so we can move on with our plans regardless of how quickly we get our luggage.

[sillyolbear]

I've used it a couple of times. The first time I had a very early arrival (8:00 am) and was the only person on the bus. I got to the WL 40 minutes after landing. Other times were in the hour to hour and fifteen time frame.

Luggage has always been rather timely as well.

The only thing I have not liked about DME is that you tend to have to catch the return bus with a lot more time than I would like prior to your flight's departure. But I it does allow for time to make all the pick ups and allows for the sometimes long security lines at the airport.

[RoosMomKanga]

:bus:Just returned (see my trip report for details, where exactly to go etc., on ME "Just Us: ME..." posted yesterday). I timed it, 45 min. from the time we got to the ME queue for the desk until the bus pulled out (and this is value season, Sat., 12:30pm). Two resorts dropped off before ours- another 35-45 min. on the bus...as you'll read, I'm on the fence on this one as we only did it on the way in (our past modes of transport have been much faster, got to stop at the grocery store, and I still would have been there sooner...but you pay for ease/speed). I've read some horror stories about the return trips/timing, but we'll probably give the full program a try next trip.

[CleveRocks]

I used DME twice and loved it both times.

I've read a lot of people saying they've read horror stories ... but I can't recall reading more than like on or two actual firs-hand big-time problems.

We could also dig up one or two horror stories about rental cars and car services, too!