Magic Express

jdsergent

Earning My Ears
Joined
Mar 17, 2017
How long did it take from the airport to your Disney resort via the Magic Express? I've read that it could take several hours depending on when your flight arrives and how many stops the bus needs to make.
 
The average time is 90 minutes. But one trip I did have it take over 2 hours. If you are trying to book an ADR or make any sort of plans, leave yourself at least a 3 hour buffer from when your flight is supposed to land till your plans.
 
3-hour rule, like maxiesmom said. That'll give you plenty of time. We've had it take 45 mins., we've had it take an hour and a half. Depends on the makeup of passengers who arrive at that time.
 
I think it also depends what time of day you're coming in. My DH and I like to take night flights, which means we usually land in MCO around 10:30 pm or later. Usually the buses do not fill up because most people don't like coming in at that time, so I would say our average has been about an hour and a half max.
 
I think it also depends what time of day you're coming in. My DH and I like to take night flights, which means we usually land in MCO around 10:30 pm or later. Usually the buses do not fill up because most people don't like coming in at that time, so I would say our average has been about an hour and a half max.

We are also "late arrivers". My wife HATES getting up early to fly. Must be a Wisconsin thing!!!
 
Ok, we have an 11am flight. We are supposed to land at 1:20pm, and we have Chef Mickey reservations at 6:20pm so that should give us enough time I think.
 
Has anyone ever used some other form of transportation from airport to resort other than Magic Express or a rental car? The Magic Express is not sounding so express.
 


Every so often we run into a bit of a line for DME, but not always. We've mostly been very fortunate and I'd say we have often had a pretty short commute to our resort (60-90 minutes the norm). Happily, if we're staying at OKW and sharing with POR and POFQ, we've often been the first stop as well (but we never count on it!).
 
Has anyone ever used some other form of transportation from airport to resort other than Magic Express or a rental car? The Magic Express is not sounding so express.

I've used a town car a few times. On average it will save around 30 minutes. But then, you do have to stop and pick up any checked bags, which you don't have to do with DME. I only use town cars if I'm in a huge hurry, or I'm coming in late and would have to get my bags anyway.
 
Two times we were there in 90 min. or maybe even a little less. The last time it was over 2 hrs. and we missed out on most of our first day. Next trip we will not plan a park day for arrival.
 
Has anyone ever used some other form of transportation from airport to resort other than Magic Express or a rental car? The Magic Express is not sounding so express.

Keep in mind that when maxiesmom said 90 minutes, she means from the time you get off the plane (or maybe when the plane gets to the gate - I can never remember) until you get to your resort.
 
How many bags per person? MDS2 wasn't provided a bag allowance so I only have 3 bags on reservation for 4 people.
 
How long did it take from the airport to your Disney resort via the Magic Express? I've read that it could take several hours depending on when your flight arrives and how many stops the bus needs to make.

We have arrived at the resort anywhere from 55 minutes after checking in to ME to a little over 2 hours after.
 
Has anyone ever used some other form of transportation from airport to resort other than Magic Express or a rental car? The Magic Express is not sounding so express.

But it is, because if you do something else, you have to get your bags at baggage claim, and if you rent a car, you have to stand in line and wait for that.
 
How many bags per person? MDS2 wasn't provided a bag allowance so I only have 3 bags on reservation for 4 people.
Usually 1 per person, but for our upcoming trip I'm going solo for 5 days and my wife in kids will join me for another 5. So 2 different Magical Express. For both of them we received an envelope with 1 tag per person and another envelope with 1 more, on the same day.
 
It depends on the day and how busy it is. In November 2015 I waited an hour just to get on the DME bus, so it took almost 2 hours from landing to the resort. Last year was the quickest we have ever gotten to the resort and we've been using DME since they started it. We arrived September 3rd, our plane landed at 8:30am, we walked to DME and it was completely empty.. we literally walked right on a bus and off we went with no waiting and we were at the resort by 9:30am.
 
For us, it is about getting the magic started right away! No worries! :)
Every time we have used magical express we have loved walking off the plane and heading straight to ME...scan my band and we have always been super lucky to walk right on our bus, usually less than an hour for the whole thing. In April we got the "room is ready" text before we even got to the resort....Before we knew it, we were enjoying some lunch at Bay Lake and headed to the parks!
The one time we didn't use ME because we were staying at Dolphin, we did a town car and it took forever...baggage, waiting, driving to resort, check in, have bell services hold bags, ugh.
 
For our last trip our ME pulled out of the airport at 3:08pm and first stopped at AoA at 3:35pm on our way to our resort Pop at 3:43pm. We had checked in online but stopped by food court before our room but was opening our room at 4:09pm. We did wait in line before boarding a ME and then waited for it to fill up so that part will vary too. Enjoy your trip.
 

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