Magical Express?

[butterfly18237]

Can someone tell me exactly how magical express works? I'm very confused. Thanks in Advance.

~*Kristy*~

[ryca1dreams]

I assume you have never done this.

Here is a link from Intercot:
http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/transportation/magicalexpress/default.asp

Basically, put the yellow DME tags on your checked luggage. You will check this in as normal. When you land at MCO, find your way to the DME desk (make sure you do not pack your DME folder with you). Don't go to pick up your luggage - they will get it.

At the DME desk, you tell them which resort you are going to and they will guide you to a certain line (always a line:) ). Then you get on your bus which takes you to your resort. On the bus you watch a movie, yada, yada, yada.

You check in at the resort. You take your carry-on bags with you. If your room is not ready, you can check those in with the bell service. A few hours later, your luggage magically finds its way to your room!

That's about it. The link has a map where to go and the package you get also tells you where to go for the DME desk.

Hope that answers the basic questions.

[Piglet822]

Reservations are required for this service and need to be made at least 10 days prior to travel. It's best if you book DME once you have your airline information. This way you'll have plenty of time to receive your travel documentation for your trip. If you book thru a travel agent I believe the DME information might be sent to them.
When you receive your yellow DME vouchers you'll see your name, the name of your resort, a colored Mickey head and a barcode. The colored Mickey head corresponds to the area of WDW you are going, it is broken down to 4 different areas, Downtown Disney resorts (Saratoga Springs, OKW, POFQ, POR, and Ft Wilderness), Epcot Resorts (Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club, and CBR), Magic Kingdom Resorts (Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian) and Animal Kingdom Resorts (Coronado Springs, Pop Century, Animal Kingdom, and all 3 All Stars).
The barcode is how Disney keeps track of your luggage. CleveRocks can explain the scanning process much better than I but it is my understanding that your luggage is scanned upon arrival at MCO, again when it is loaded on the truck for transport, when it arrives at the resort, and I think a couple of times in between somewhere as well. It is tracked very well!!
Several hours after your arrival at the resort your luggage is placed in your room - you do not need to be present for the luggage delivery, that's the magical part :)
I hope this has answered most of your questions, if not just holler.

[Brainiak5]

we use magical express everytime we go and its been fantastic. not having to wrangle bags and kids on the way down is a lifesaver and the ability to check in and hit the parks as soon as we get in helps keep the kids excitement level do a dull roar :mickey:

the previous posters did an excellent job explaining how it works. just make sure you don't pack the stuff you'll need for check in with the luggage and you'll be all set - have a great trip :mickey:

[CleveRocks]

DME is a FREE perk offered exclusively to guests at WDW owned-and-operated resorts.

It consists of 2 things:
round-trip motorcoach rides between Orlando Int'l Airport (MCO) and your resort
one-way automatic luggage delivery from MCO to your resort room

As Piglet822 said, even though it's free you still need to make a separate reservation for it.

Several weeks before your trip, you'll receive a DME info packet. In there will be a booklet of instructions, which will include bus vouchers. Also included will be special luggage tags. These are yellow, sticky-backed paper, and are pre-printed with all sorts of information such as a barcode, the "master" name on the reservation, the name of the individual guest the tag belongs to, the name of your resort, your reservation number, and a 2-letter code printed inside a color-coded Mickey-head silhouette.

At home, you put one tag on each bag that you will check with your airline (in other words, you DON'T put a DME tag on carry-ons). Your airline has nothing to do with these tags, so don't ask them about it.

When your plane lands at MCO, all luggage is unloaded from the plane. In the behind-the-scenes trip from airplane to baggage claim carousel, luggage with DME tags is pulled from the rest of the luggage stream ... DME-tagged bags never make it to the baggage claim carousel. Instead, they're gathered and taken to Disney's luggage sorting facility on the grounds of the airport. The barcode is scanned upon arrival (1st scan). The bags are then sorted by resort. Bags are loaded (by resort) into locked cages, and are scanned as this happens (2nd scan). The cage itself is then scanned (3rd scan) as it is loaded onto a delivery truck. The truck itself is tracked by GPS as it makes its delivery rounds. At your resort, that cage is dropped off, and the bags are now in the hands of the resort staff rather than DME staff. When the bags are unloaded from the cage, they are scanned (4th scan). The Bell Services/Luggage Assistance staff then deliver the bags to the inside of your resort room whether you are in there or not (5th scan). In other words, Disney knows where your bags are at all times.

When you arrive at MCO, you totally skip baggage claim, since your checked bags are being handled for you. You walk to the Disney Welcome Center, check-in, and then are shown to your bus queue. You will be on a bus with guests from up to 3 other resorts. When you arrive at your resort, you check in. You can expect your luggage to arrive within about 3 hours of when you check in at the resort. Remember, you don't need to wait for your bags ... go out and play, and they'll be waiting for you inside your room later.

Make sure you pack a carry-on with your immediate needs. For example, the first tme we used DME, we took the kids to the pool as soon as we got to our room. We had all of our swim stuff in our carry-ons. When we got back from the pool, our bags were in our room waiting for us.

Disney provides the tip for the luggage delivery, so even if you happen to be in your room, there is no need to tip someone who's already received a good tip from their employer (reportedly, Bell Services CMs prefer this over "chancing it" with non-DME guests who may or may not be good tippers). Disney does NOT provide a tip for the DME driver, and you should tip the driver as you see fit.

Please post again with any other questions!

[E-OR]

My son and two of his friends are in WDW right now and used Magical Express. I was a bit concerned because they tend to just fly by the seat of their pants and I could not imagine them doing what they needed to make this service work. To my suprise they did just fine. It was easy and a comfortable fun ride to the resort (Pop Century). They said that their resort was the first stop for the bus. The only thing that was a small problem was that one of their suitcases got on a different truck and did not make it to the room with the others. It had things like food and their air bed in it. They arrived at 8:30 PM and the bag did not show up until after midnight. All in all they said it was easy and a great way to get from the airport to Disney. Have fun!

[Disney Lynn]

Great posts! To add to Cleve Rocks (Make sure you pack a carry-on with your immediate needs. For example, the first tme we used DME, we took the kids to the pool as soon as we got to our room. We had all of our swim stuff in our carry-ons. When we got back from the pool, our bags were in our room waiting for us.)

If you plan on swimming, also carry sunblock with you rather than packing it in your suitcase! This means you must find a 3 oz tube or bottle (try Target or Walgreens) or else pay WDW prices. But certainly use it on your first day or you might ruin the rest of your trip with a nasty FL sunburn.

Don't plan anything important (like dinner ressies) soon after you think you'll arrive. The whole DME process is usually reasonably quick, but one time we had a new driver who became lost. He ended up parking in some big lot behind Cirque and calling for directios to POFQ. We were on that bus for well over one hour. One family had dinner ressies which they were afraid they would miss (and I assume they did).

Finally, I never thought to tip the drivers! We do normally tip the luggage carriers. Now I know!

[wendy*darling]

One more thing.
You will read or hear of "participating airlines" for DME.

EVERYONE flying into Orlando International airport can use DME. It doesn't matter what airline you are using. If your yellow tags are on your luggage, you will receive your bags in your resort room later that day.

Where the "participating" part comes in is when you leave to go home. If your airline is "participating" it means you can check in for your flight at your WDW resort. You will get your seat assignment, boarding pass and you can check your luggage right there at the resort. You won't see it again until you arrive at your home airport. You need to do this early in the day before your flight.
If you are NOT flying on a participating airline, you can still use DME. You will be taking your luggage onto the DME bus with you (it will be stored in the bay below the seating area), And at the airport, you will bring your own bags to the airline's check in desk and do what you normally do to check in.

Current participating airlines are:
Air Tran, Alaska Airline, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, United, USAir.