ME pickup time?

[BelleKP]

I know that the ME pickup time is slotted at '3 hours prior' to your flight time . . . I was just wondering if that is set in stone.
On a recent trip with a friend, we saw how early our pick up time was and decided that we didn't want to leave that early (trying to fit in just a little more park time :blush:), and decided to take a cab back to the airport. However, when we were leaving and grabbing our luggage from bell services there was an ME bus there. We figured we would wing it, showed the driver our 'tickets' (for the earlier pick up time) and he let us on without saying a word. Now I'm not trying to cheat the system or anything, but did we just get lucky this time? Could he have refused us?
The reason I'm asking is that on our upcoming trip we unfortunately have an early departure flight. :mcoffee: With two kids in tow it will be quite an early start and I was hoping we might be able to ask for a slightly later pick up (2 - 2 1/2 hours even). Can you request this? Or has anyone been given less than the standard '3 hour prior' pick up time? :confused:

[NotaGeek]

I have asked them that before ... and they do a 3-hour window for all guest as a standard. I think you can adjust your pick up time when you reconfirm at the resort and roll the dice. it's a free service so if there's room on the bus it shouldn't be an issue. But, if you miss your flights because of traffic or having to go to 3 other resorts is the issue ... if that's worth the gamble for an extra 30 minutes I say go for it.

Maybe on the return you can just use a cab -- early departures are always a drag!

[PixieMagic]

Love this thread!!! I also have wondered this! We have only used ME once in the past, but they set our pick up time for 4 1/2 hours before hand! Our flight has already been changed multiple times starting with our original booking of a 7:30 flight to (now) a 3:40 flight...BOO! I don't want to give up any more time than I have to considering we paid for a full day ticket that day and the day we arrive....:blush:

[BelleKP]

But, if you miss your flights because of traffic or having to go to 3 other resorts is the issue ... if that's worth the gamble for an extra 30 minutes I say go for it.
Maybe on the return you can just use a cab -- early departures are always a drag!
If I was traveling alone, or with just adults I probably would take the 'gamble' . . . I'm just not sure I want to do it with the kids. And like the PP, I don't want to end up with an even earlier pick up (4 1/2 hours :eek:).
We picked the earlier flight because it was non stop and it's our first time flying with our youngest DD (9months) . . . and the stop over flights had long layovers and late arrival times. Our flight times have already changed once (an hour later), so hopefully it will change again . . . to maybe noon or later then it won't be such a rush! :fingers:

[faline]

It could also be an issue if someone else is scheduled for the bus time you want to take and they can't get on the bus because it is full of folks who were scheduled for an earlier ride. I've found that Magical Express often visits more than one resort. If your resort is the first pickup, you could find yourself sitting at a second or even a third resort for an additional 1/2 hour or so before heading to the airport. You could also hit bad traffic on the way to the airport or find that your carrier is the last stop and/or get held up at security once at the airport. While it's tempting to leave later, I wouldn't want to miss my plane for any of the above reasons. If you really want a later return to the airport, take a cab or hire a town car service to transport you. They'll gladly run on your schedule.

By the way, even if I do use a Town Car service, I always schedule myself to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours before my scheduled flight which means that it's probably about 3 hours before my flight when I request my pickup time - about the same as using Magical Express.

[nicster]

I too was wondering about this. We have a midweek flight at 4:30pm and don't think it should be bad traffic or very long lines in security. We thought we would just show up for ME at 2:15ish and see. If we can't get on we'll get a cab. Anyone know the cost of a cab to the airport?

[disneypk]

Last week My son and I took a cab from Universal's Hard Rock Hotel to the airport. The cost was $44.00 plus tip. We went through 2 toll booths which added a cost of about $2.75 or so. We also took a cab from Coronado Springs to Hard Rock Hotel and the cost was $34.00 plus tip. We did have cab pick-up at 1:30 for 4:30 flight and ended up having about 2 hours to kill at the airport, but we didn't encounter ANY traffic or security line waits that day. Yellow cab has a fare calculator on their website. It was pretty close to the estimated amount.

[nicster]

Last week My son and I took a cab from Universal's Hard Rock Hotel to the airport. The cost was $44.00 plus tip. We went through 2 toll booths which added a cost of about $2.75 or so. We also took a cab from Coronado Springs to Hard Rock Hotel and the cost was $34.00 plus tip. We did have cab pick-up at 1:30 for 4:30 flight and ended up having about 2 hours to kill at the airport, but we didn't encounter ANY traffic or security line waits that day. Yellow cab has a fare calculator on their website. It was pretty close to the estimated amount.
Wow! That was a quick answer!! Thanks so much:thumbsup:

[CleveRocks]

I too was wondering about this. We have a midweek flight at 4:30pm and don't think it should be bad traffic or very long lines in security. We thought we would just show up for ME at 2:15ish and see. If we can't get on we'll get a cab. Anyone know the cost of a cab to the airport?

Count on taking that cab, then.

There are 2 potential problems with your DME plan:

1) There are reservations for the rides. The bus driver doesn't have to let you on a later bus. If he/she knows the bus is slated to be full, you will be taking up the seats of someone who is assigned to be on that bus. Imagine if you're the type of person who "needs" to show up to the airport early and you're locked out of the DME bus because it's full ... you'd PANIC! And DME doesn't allow standees. A lazy driver (who doesn't pay attention to the count) or a driver who is unscrupulous and will allow extra people on (for the potential of more tips) can cause serious problems.

2) There's no guarantee there will be a DME bus when you want it. They don't just blindly show up to every resort two times per hour. They do pick-ups by reservation ONLY. In other words, if no one at your resort (with a DME reservation) has a flight leaving about 3 hours before when you want to leave, then no DME bus will be coming there.