Magical Express Line?!

[Polynesian27]

Hi all, what experience have you all had in the last two weeks with magical express, I hear the lines are pretty long to board...is this true? Should we consider renting a car instead? I’m also worried about the Disney buses and getting us to the park early enough to rope drop. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[FCDub]

DME lines can be long or short depending on how many people are arriving at a given time. No way to predict in advance. What do you have planned for your first day that would make you want to rent a car is a good way to gauge what you should do.

 

[xnascar2x]

The line was long on 3/20 when we visited. However, it took 45 min from the time we got in line until we had a seat on the bus.

 

[OKW Lover]

The line was long on 3/20 when we visited. However, it took 45 min from the time we got in line until we had a seat on the bus.

What time of day was that?

 

[ypv]

It was long on 3/13 at about noon. I didn’t time it, but I’d guess maybe an hour or so until we were on a bus.

 

[xnascar2x]

What time of day was that?

About 12:45PM.

 

[DisneyJColeMom]

Whats a normal magical express wait time? Do you have to cancel if you decide to take an Uber if you see line is long?

 

[Tawney]

I'm hoping for shorter lines on a Monday arrival time of 930 AM.

 

[Cheburashka]

Hi all, what experience have you all had in the last two weeks with magical express, I hear the lines are pretty long to board...is this true? Should we consider renting a car instead? I’m also worried about the Disney buses and getting us to the park early enough to rope drop. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I used DME about two weeks ago, and it was fine. I was first in line waiting for a bus to go from the airport to WDW, and there were only a handful of other people waiting. This was in the evening, around 9pm. I waited about 20 minutes for my bus to arrive, and once it did arrive, we were loaded onto the bus and then on our way to the resort quickly.

 

[Suejacken]

I'm hoping for shorter lines on a Monday arrival time of 930 AM.

If you remember can you post about your experience arriving at that time. If my flight leaves on time later in the year that’s about the time I should be arriving

 

[Gitelfor]

DME line today at MCO



Photo credit: Kenny the Pirate

 

[DL1WDW2]

Somebody posted last night late arrival due to weather delays waiting for 2 hours at MCO car rental and then they announced all the cars were gone come back tomorrow.
I would book ME in advance and then make my decision when I land.

 

[Tawney]

If you remember can you post about your experience arriving at that time. If my flight leaves on time later in the year that’s about the time I should be arriving

Absolutely, no problem!

 

[DisneyJColeMom]

DME line today at MCO


View attachment 567979
Photo credit: Kenny the Pirate

Do you need to do anything to cancel your Magical Express reservation if you’re waiting on a line like this & manage to get an uber/lyft instead?

 

[Suejacken]

Absolutely, no problem!

Thank you so much

 

[Ed J]

I’m on ME right now. Less than 10 minutes from checking in to bus departing. CM said it could take up to 45 minutes, I guess it could have, but it worked well for us.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

Am I correct that we now have to collect our own checked baggage before checking in to ME?

 

[EACarlson]

Am I correct that we now have to collect our own checked baggage before checking in to ME?

Correct

 

[KristaZ]

Our wait on 4/3 was maybe 5 minutes from checking in to getting on the bus - maybe 15 before the bus departed. They did tell us it could be up to 45 minutes. We arrived at around 8:30am. However, maybe I've just been lucky, but in the 7 trips I've taken since last July, I haven't waited more than 10 minutes to board DME - and I've arrived at all different times of day (but most often between 10 - 11am).

 

[nkereina]

Spring Break saw busier DME times, but generally speaking, wait times have been relatively normal. We waited maybe 20 minutes in total on our October trip. The average time between landing and arriving at your resort is 90 minutes using DME, and I think that still holds true, with the exception of particularly busy times like Spring Break, Christmas, etc.

Buses to and from the parks were fine in my experience, with the exception of rope drop. Its not uncommon to have to wait for the next bus because they fill up much faster than before. We used Uber when trying to make rope drop, but used the buses the rest of the time and it was fine.

All of this said, I would not rent a car unless you need it for other reasons. IMO, any potential delays you may experience are minimal enough where the additional cost of the rental car and parking would not be worth it.