Monica's Travels and Reviews: DISNEY'S MAGICAL EXPRESS

Disney and free are not things that usually go together, but sometimes they hit the nail on the head with this free service!!!

Disney's Magical Express, or ME as we will call it from here on out, is a bus service that will take you from the Orlando (MCO) Airport to your Disney Resort free of charge. Remember the key here is Disney Resort, if you are not staying on Disney property this service is not available for you!! Despite what people say about the cost of staying on Disney's property there are definitely large perks to doing so.

So back to my review of ME. I have only taken it once I have also talked to many people about their experiences with this service, the conclusion: Great Service.

After you exit your plane and head to the terminal there will be signs that direct you to ME. Apparently, it is a well known section of the airport!

When you arrive you will scan your magic band at the first station. All onsite guests get these mailed to their house. If you live out of the country or planned a last minute trip you will pick them up at the front desk of your resort. In this case you will have to stop in the same place but instead give them all your information and wait while they look you up.

They will then send you to the next station where again you scan your Magic Band (or not as explained above) and they will tell you which line to wait in.

After lining up you will be assigned a bus. These are not school buses!! They are chartered type buses with tv's and comfy chairs. While not as comfy as a bed they are still better than those plane seats!!

We were in line for a bus for less than 5 minutes. There were at least 4 ME buses waiting outside. When we got on our bus there were maybe 4 - 6 other families already on it and there was plenty of seating available. One more family boarded after us and then we were off. I'm not sure how long the bus waits for people but my personal wait time on the bus was less than 10 minutes.

As we pulled out the bus driver went over the resorts we were stopping at to make sure everyone was on the correct bus. He than told us the order in which we would be getting off the bus.

The ride from the airport to our first stop was about 20 minutes or so. We were the third out of 4 stops so that took another 15 minutes. All in all from the time we got off the plane to the time we got to our resort it took about an hour. Keep in mind we arrived to the airport at 8ish in the AM. Not a very busy time. If you arrive during peek times I'm sure your wait will be longer.

Don't forget this is a free service!!! Perks are great when you stay onsite like free parking at the theme parks free personalized magic bands 30 extra days to make fastpass reservations... I could go on but I won't that's another blog entry!