Returning Back to MCO on the Magical Express-Question

Lydia S

Canadian
Joined
Apr 14, 2017
When using the ME to get back to MCO at the end of your trip, how far in advance is the scheduled pickup for us Canadians? 4 hours? If you are late getting back to your hotel by say 5-10 mins, does the ME leave or wait?

I'm trying to maximize my park time on my last day, so any comments on how this works would be greatly appreciated.
 
I don't know if the pick up time has changed but it was 4 hours prior to flight in May. The ME leaves as soon as the last person standing there gets there luggage loaded and boards. A few years ago my friends and I went from Pop to Disney Springs to French Quarter for lunch and back again. We barely made it back in time. The driver was annoyed that I was in the washroom when he pulled up.
 
Thanks for the replies, Allison and Stitch83. I'll be sure to leave enough time to get back and catch the bus on time.
 


It was five hours last December. We were picked up at 6:30 am (ack!) for an 11:30 flight. We got to the airport 30 minutes before the check-in was open at Air Canada. That was a real pain because my Nexus card always has problems at the kiosks as it claims that my name doesn't match so we had to wait for it to open for me to get my boarding pass. Fortunately, we have Maple Leaf Lounge passes or I would have been very unhappy to have to spend 3+ hours at the gate.
 
Similar answer here, get there before your schedule time or the bus leaves.
It also happened to us that the Air Canada counter had not yet opened the flight for check-in.
Note that there is a different line in the right corner for luggage drop-off if you have printed your boarding pass on the kiosk.
Fortunately, we have Maple Leaf Lounge passes or I would have been very unhappy to have to spend 3+ hours at the gate.
How is the lounge at MCO? I have passes but never found that I needed to us them since the area before security has a lot of shops and I try to spend very liitle time the one after.
 


There is an "United" lounge with Air Canada access but that is at a different terminal and difficult to get back and forth. There is a "Club" lounge beside the A/C gates with Priority Pass access. But I have never seen a MLL lounge.
 
What ever time you receive for DME pick up make sure you are at the stop a minimum of 15 minutes prior because the bus can show up a little early and they won't wait. If you miss your assigned bus you are then on your own to get to the airport.
 
How is the lounge at MCO? I have passes but never found that I needed to us them since the area before security has a lot of shops and I try to spend very liitle time the one after.

Just tried the MCO lounge (near the WestJet flights) and found it to be quite good. This one is a little larger than the one near the Air Canada flights but I would imagine their snacks and drinks are the same. The one we used had a shower (didn't use it) but I think that's the main difference.

Would I pay $27US/person to use it? No, but this one was a freebee with my CC so we did.
 
Same as everyone else, I've seen them leave a few minutes early without people since no one else was waiting to board. If you want a ride make sure you are there 15 minutes ahead, they will not put you on the next bus if you miss your assigned bus.

Son had a 6 am flight to Toronto two years ago so he could make it to work Monday morning. Pickup time was 2 am, he arrived before 3 am and slept on an airport bench for a couple hours waiting for security to open.
 
We usually have a US connecting flight so I give the first leg, with a US destination, as our flight. Shortens the lead time to 3 hours. In my opinion there is no reason for the extra hour for Canadian flights. We have always had plenty of time to clear security. (We travel with only carry-on and have Nexus so avoid the baggage line, usually get the TSA pre-clearance line and have our passports verified at the gate. Generally the MCO lines move quickly so I think we would have had plenty of time even checking the bags. I can see the extra hour for overseas flights as their lines are much longer as the planes are much larger.)
 
If your first stop is at a US airport the pick up time is 3 hours before your flight, if it's international the time is 4 hours, and if your flight goes from terminal A they will back it up by another 30 minutes for construction delays, although the check in counters won't open until 3 hours before the flight which is frustrating. Last Sunday I was picked up at 12:30 for a 5pm departure with WestJet. Got to the check in counter shortly after 1pm and had to go off dragging my baggage behind me until the counter opened at 2. It took about 45 minutes to get through that line and about 30 minutes to get through security. The monorails are being replaced on the A side so be aware that it might take you more time than usual to get to the gates as there is only one monorail working right now.
 
If your first stop is at a US airport the pick up time is 3 hours before your flight, if it's international the time is 4 hours, and if your flight goes from terminal A they will back it up by another 30 minutes for construction delays, although the check in counters won't open until 3 hours before the flight which is frustrating. Last Sunday I was picked up at 12:30 for a 5pm departure with WestJet. Got to the check in counter shortly after 1pm and had to go off dragging my baggage behind me until the counter opened at 2. It took about 45 minutes to get through that line and about 30 minutes to get through security. The monorails are being replaced on the A side so be aware that it might take you more time than usual to get to the gates as there is only one monorail working right now.

This is why we chose our flight from MCO on Delta and to connect in Boston versus Toronto. We won't have t worry about Side A tram issue and we don't have to leave 4 hours prior to flight.
 
If your first stop is at a US airport the pick up time is 3 hours before your flight, if it's international the time is 4 hours, and if your flight goes from terminal A they will back it up by another 30 minutes for construction delays, although the check in counters won't open until 3 hours before the flight which is frustrating. Last Sunday I was picked up at 12:30 for a 5pm departure with WestJet. Got to the check in counter shortly after 1pm and had to go off dragging my baggage behind me until the counter opened at 2. It took about 45 minutes to get through that line and about 30 minutes to get through security. The monorails are being replaced on the A side so be aware that it might take you more time than usual to get to the gates as there is only one monorail working right now.

Thank you for posting, didn't know about construction revision. Had to look up which terminal we are using, our group is both Terminal A and B, link for anyone else to check, hopefully it's accurate:
https://www.orlandoairports.net/flights/
 
How is the lounge at MCO? I have passes but never found that I needed to us them since the area before security has a lot of shops and I try to spend very liitle time the one after.

Sorry - DH corrected me. It was a priority pass lounge, not Maple Leaf. It was nice. They had lots of snacks like granola bars, yoghurt and also fruit and a toaster with various breads. There was also an automated pancake maker (which I didn't try but watched someone else do it). They also had a full bar which opened about 10:30. Lots of seating of different types, several wide screen TV's, lots of plugs for charging. It was nice.
 
If your first stop is at a US airport the pick up time is 3 hours before your flight, if it's international the time is 4 hours, and if your flight goes from terminal A they will back it up by another 30 minutes for construction delays, although the check in counters won't open until 3 hours before the flight which is frustrating. Last Sunday I was picked up at 12:30 for a 5pm departure with WestJet. Got to the check in counter shortly after 1pm and had to go off dragging my baggage behind me until the counter opened at 2. It took about 45 minutes to get through that line and about 30 minutes to get through security. The monorails are being replaced on the A side so be aware that it might take you more time than usual to get to the gates as there is only one monorail working right now.
Oh no. Alaska uses terminal A :sad1: We always have 3 hr DME pick up because our first flight lands in the US. And get to check in Luggage at Resort Airline Desk. So boo if I have over 3.5 hr pick up. And no Alaska Lounge in MCO!
 
I know this is frowned upon, but I always book my ME for a flight that leaves a little later than the one we're actually taking.

If my flight back is at ~11:30AM, I'll look up a flight that leaves at ~12:30 and tell ME I'm on that one. I've never had an issue and always have oodles and oodles of time.
 
I know this is frowned upon, but I always book my ME for a flight that leaves a little later than the one we're actually taking.

If my flight back is at ~11:30AM, I'll look up a flight that leaves at ~12:30 and tell ME I'm on that one. I've never had an issue and always have oodles and oodles of time.
I would be afraid of doing that. We always get a 3 hrs ahead pick up because we fly into a US airport for connecting flight. We always have lots of extra time, but if just one thing goes wrong, like an accident on the freeway, or crazy Long security lines it could be a problem.
 

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