Magical express

[aqualiv]

We are planning on doing onsite at Disney without a car for the first time

Talk to me about Magic Express

Is it automatically booked if staying onsite and booking through Disney?
Does everyone get the same one?
Do you go round dropping people at the other resorts?
Anything else we should know?

Thanks

[nothingless]

No, it's not automatically booked - you can book it online yourself very easily though:
secure.reservations.disney.g...US/dme/dmeform

The DME bus station has a dozen different lanes each with different busses. Which exact bus you get, depends on what time you check in there, and when the next bus to your resort is going. Busses come and go all the time, you'd rarely wait more than 15-20 minutes.

Yes, usually one bus will go to 2 or 3 different resorts. When we took the bus to Saratoga Springs in February, it also stopped at Old Key West (which is right beside SSP), and was going on to Port Orleans after SSP (which is also very close to there). When we took the DME to Wilderness Lodge a few years ago, it stopped at the Contemporary and Polynesian Village first. When we took the DME to the airport from Art of Animation in March, it stopped at Pop to pick up more people, and that was it, no third hotel. It just depends a little, but it's usually not more than 1 or 2 other hotels, and they're always nearby.

Tips: have a few loose dollars for tipping the driver. If you already have magic bands from a previous trip, keep them in your hand luggage, as you can scan in for the DME with them.

Hope that helps!

[aqualiv]

Really helpful!
Thanks so much

Is the queue at the airport normally long? Do you need to check in with a rep?

[wdw-wanderer]

Just follow the signs to the check-in desk and cast members will direct you to the correct line to wait for the bus. We’ve found that usually there are about a dozen people ahead of you in line - but once the line extended all the way back to the check in desk and we seemed to wait ages. It just depends on flight arrivals at the time.

[nothingless]

Yes you need to check in at the airport desk - either by scanning your MagicBand or giving your last name etc to the CM there.

The line hasn't been very long any of the times we've been there. Here you can kind of see the queue system the way it was setup earlier this year:



So there's multiple queues, about 5 or 6 if I remember correctly, each waiting for their own bus. Usually it goes pretty fast - not sure how different this will be post covid tho. I've never waited more than 15-20 minutes, anyhow.

[aqualiv]

Thank you
Love the photo
Wish I was there now!