magical express Ask The Disney Experts Discuss magical express in the Ask The Experts forums; i was wondering on average how long does it take you to get from the airport to your resort using magical express? and when i return how early does magical ...

[Chrissy&Tayen]

i was wondering on average how long does it take you to get from the airport to your resort using magical express? and when i return how early does magical express have us meet up to go to the airport.

my flights are like getting to orlando at 2pm and returning i leave at like noon.

i have never used magical express so i dont know how it all goes and is it one bus her resort or does one bus stop at all the resorts?

[babyladykatie]

Hey Chrissy!

Here's the deal with the Magical Express. First off, its at Terminal B so if you're like me and you arrive at Terminal A you'll want to head to Terminal B to get to the magical express. I seem to always forget that in my excitement and end up wandering around the airport for awhile.

Once you get to the desk, they will take the booklet you were sent in the mail and you'll get in line by resort. There are LOTS of buses but you should still expect to wait for a bit, I think the longest I ever waited for a bus was about 25 minutes. Each bus goes to about 3 or 4 resorts so depending on which resort you are staying at you could be the first drop off or the last. Remember that they will get your luggage for you so you don't need to worry about going to baggage claim. Be sure to put those yellow bag tags on all the bags you check. They will also take it to your room but that might take a couple hours so anything you might need upon arrival you'll want to take on the plane with you.

As for leaving (which no one wants to think about), some resorts will let you check in for your flight and print your boarding passes at the desk. We did that at Wilderness Lodge on our last trip and it was fantastic! Regardless of whether that service is offered or not, just check with the front desk or call the Magical Express number (on your booklet) from your hotel room and reserve a time. The buses run pretty regularly during the day, if you have a noon departure then you'll probably want to be on the bus by 9:00 because, again, it may make more stops at other resorts before heading to the airport. If you have an early flight, or need to get to the airport at an ungodly early time (like we usually do) you just need to call the number and let them know and they will send a bus for you. Sometimes we are the only ones on the bus when we do that.

It takes about 30-45 minutes to get from the airport to your resort so oount on that amount of time for your return trip as well.

You will LOVE the magical express, I hope I didnt make it sound confusing because it is actually very very simple. My fiance calls it the "Mickey Bus" and its one of his absolute favorite parts of the whole trip. He's strange, but I love him. LOL

[disneycrazy1956]

Hey Chrissy,
Last September we used magical express for our second time. We landed at about 11:10, we were in the first row of our southwest flight--nobody else wanted to keep all their carryon stuff in the overhead---and headed right to magical express. This time there was even a line for them to check our ME packet. You should have seen the lines, OMG! I thought we were in for quite a wait. We only waited a few minutes until we were on our way to a bus. We were staying at POR and only shared the bus with FQ. We arrived at POR and in our room by noon. Don't forget to use online check-in; boy was that fast because at noon there was a long line for check-in. We were in the magic kingdom by 1 pm. They seem to be really effeicient with moving the lines at the airport. As fast as a bus left another one was taking its place to load more guests. I wonder what percentage of guests use ME and don't bother with a rental or other transportation. Have a great trip, Dave.

[Thumper10]

I agree with what everyone has said so far. It took my family about 45 minutes to get to our resort on ME and we were the last stop. On the way home they picked us up 3 hours before our flight left and that seemed to be just the right amount of time for us.

[supernova]

They do break you off by resort. Sometimes you luck out with short lines, other times you're not so lucky. Heading back, you don't have much say in pick-up time. They will get you around three hours or so before your flight, which gives Disney plenty of headroom for your check-in and trip through security.

[Chrissy&Tayen]

great.. im glad to hear it all moves pretty quickly.. i was scared it would take me 2-3 hours to make it through the everything and finally get checked in.

[supernova]

Originally Posted by Chrissy&Tayen

great.. im glad to hear it all moves pretty quickly.. i was scared it would take me 2-3 hours to make it through the everything and finally get checked in.

No, that would be the 3+ hour trip back between the resort and the plane.

[Chrissy&Tayen]

i wish i was leaving later in the day.. but... it would cost me $75 plus the difference per person.. so oh well...lol

[Vadania]

They have a great in-bus movie and it gets you uber excited for your Disney Holiday - my Disney holiday always starts properly in the Magical Express bus.

You can also collect pins of each of the coaches too - last time I got a free pin on arrival of the Magical Express bus (a voucher was included in my tickets)

Magical Express is brilliant, I wish all transfer services were so reliable, comfortable and helpful. Have no worries

[Chrissy&Tayen]

i cant wait!!

[JNota0005DakMC]

Originally Posted by Vadania

They have a great in-bus movie and it gets you uber excited for your Disney Holiday - my Disney holiday always starts properly in the Magical Express bus.

You can also collect pins of each of the coaches too - last time I got a free pin on arrival of the Magical Express bus (a voucher was included in my tickets)

Magical Express is brilliant, I wish all transfer services were so reliable, comfortable and helpful. Have no worries

yes but the video going home makes you feel depressed about leaving...

[GoofyRulez]

Magical Express is your magical ride to your magical experience.

[Chrissy&Tayen]

what happens on the return video ??

[JNota0005DakMC]

it shows you what youve just experienced and how to book another vacation if my memory serves me... just what you want... "and heres what you just left... as if your not depressed enough because your leaving..."

[luvsdisney24]

Originally Posted by Chrissy&Tayen

what happens on the return video ??

It's the most depressing thing EVER!!! It makes you want to jump out of the bus (while it's driving down the interstate) and run right back to disney property! LOL

Honestly, it's a pretty cool video. It show cases all the wonderful things there are to still do with and at Disney World...so you can start planning your next trip before you're on the plane ride home from the first.