Sailing from WDW is best to use magic express or private ride?

[DianaMB333]

Hi
When sailing from a DVC resort would you take the magical express option or do you take a private ride? (Uber or rental)
Thanks

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi
When sailing from a DVC resort would you take the magical express option or do you take a private ride? (Uber or rental)
Thanks

Well, it's not Magical Express - that's the free shuttle service between MCO and WDW resorts.

DCL transfers run from all WDW resorts and has a charge. We've always used that option to get from a resort to port.

Now, the actual answer for you could vary, depending on how many people you are talking about. If it's only 2 of you, the DCL transfers are generally cheaper. If it's 4 or more people, a rental car or private towncar may be the best cost option.

 

[Doofenshmirtz513]

We have always taken private transport. For a family of 5, it's usually cheaper, and we have control over our departure time.

 

[Joe Brig]

If you have kids on their first Disney Cruise its definitely worth taking the Disney bus. Its themed and shows Disney cartoons and cruise videos. Kids will remember that over an Uber or rental car.

 

[DianaMB333]

We have always taken private transport. For a family of 5, it's usually cheaper, and we have control over our departure time.

Would you mind sharing which transportation option have you used please? I am curious to know how the service works from the Port to WDW as the disembark could take time..

 

[CamColt]

Lately we have been using a rental car so that we can be on our own time schedule. Since we are platinum and get boarding number 1, it's worth it to us to get there early, board asap, and enjoy lunch with no crowds.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

I've heard that the minnie van's service to the port from the Disney resorts is amazing. Not sure the pricing though? I think they may have raised the prices recently though so not sure what the savings looks like.

(Disney? Raise prices? NEVER! )

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I've heard that the minnie van's service to the port from the Disney resorts is amazing. Not sure the pricing though? I think they may have raised the prices recently though so not sure what the savings looks like.

(Disney? Raise prices? NEVER! )

You aren't saving anything using Minnie Van. It is one of the more expensive options.

 

[T & R]

Family of 6 here. We use limo. Not trying to big time it, it's actually same price as using DCL transportation since DCL raised the per person rate back in 2018. We fly in and stay at the airport MCO Hyatt night before cruise. So at the MCO Hyatt you just take the elevator down to the bottom floor (garage floor), step out of the elevator and the limo is waiting for you right outside the elevator. Limo driver texts you night before to confirm your pickup time and then texts you in the morning when he's there to pick you up, no lines and no waiting. So convenient and well worth it since same price as DCL bus. Also, limo ride to port is about 15 minutes faster than the bus. I guess the bus maxes out at 55mph or something.

 

[DianaMB333]

Family of 6 here. We use limo. Not trying to big time it, it's actually same price as using DCL transportation since DCL raised the per person rate back in 2018. We fly in and stay at the airport MCO Hyatt night before cruise. So at the MCO Hyatt you just take the elevator down to the bottom floor (garage floor), step out of the elevator and the limo is waiting for you right outside the elevator. Limo driver texts you night before to confirm your pickup time and then texts you in the morning when he's there to pick you up, no lines and no waiting. So convenient and well worth it since same price as DCL bus. Also, limo ride to port is about 15 minutes faster than the bus. I guess the bus maxes out at 55mph or something.

How about the return? As disembark can be slow was there any issue with the Limo waiting?
Thanks

 

[T & R]

How about the return? As disembark can be slow was there any issue with the Limo waiting?

Never been an issue for us because we are not in a hurry to get off and always carry our own luggage off. If you're trying to be first off I could see the heard may be an issue but we do not get involved in that mix. We take our time getting up and go to Cabanas and eat breakfast outside on the back of the ship. We do not do the 6am breakfast with your servers so we usually say goodbye to them and pay them on the last night of dinner. The driver will text you in the morning and we usually set our pick up time at the port for the return trip at 8:30am. Never been an issue out of all of our cruises and have always made it out there prior to 8:30am. I think there is a small fee if your 15mins or more late for pickup but that doesn't concern me at all. When you're spending so much money on the cruise, a few dollar fee is not really stressful when getting back to the airport. Regardless of the fee I still make sure I'm on time just out of courtesy but I do know that if I'm late due to something outside my control that it's still no big deal. It's very convenient and you just walk outside the terminal and the limo is there waiting. It is almost always same driver that brought you. This is for PC obviously for MIA we just cab it because it's only 10 mins to the airport and cabs are cheap there compared to DCL or limo.

 

[Mommb]

The experienced limo/car services that run between Port Canaveral and the Orlando airport or Disney resorts should be able to suggest an appropriate pick-up time after the cruise, based on your dining seating and their past experience. Just be sure to allow enough time to get off the ship, pick up your luggage, and go through Customs. (It's been a while since we had a car service pick us up, so I'm not sure how long that should be -- my guess is 30 minutes if the line to disembark isn't bad, and longer if it snakes out of the atrium.)

 

[Doofenshmirtz513]

Would you mind sharing which transportation option have you used please? I am curious to know how the service works from the Port to WDW as the disembark could take time..

If you are in a concierge room, you (or, in our case, our travel agent) has set up the transportation service as part of a concierge perk. We found it to be of higher quality and comparable price to the other private options we had used (FL Limo maybe?). So I don't know the name of the company.

 

[DCLDVC1]

Hi
When sailing from a DVC resort would you take the magical express option or do you take a private ride? (Uber or rental)
Thanks

We take private transportation, usually a limo, from WDW to the port because we like to set our own schedule. On our trip from the port to MCO, we've used both private transportation and the DCL bus depending upon which airline we're using.

 

[Starwind]

The experienced limo/car services that run between Port Canaveral and the Orlando airport or Disney resorts should be able to suggest an appropriate pick-up time after the cruise, based on your dining seating and their past experience. Just be sure to allow enough time to get off the ship, pick up your luggage, and go through Customs. (It's been a while since we had a car service pick us up, so I'm not sure how long that should be -- my guess is 30 minutes if the line to disembark isn't bad, and longer if it snakes out of the atrium.)

This was our experience for the one time we used a private car service from port to WDW - the sesrvice had a very good sense of the timings involved and have excellent advise in that regard.

We had a conference to attend that was being held at a WDW hotel and started the morning our cruise ended, so we wanted to get there as close to its start time a possible -- which meant getting off the boat, through customs, to our hotel, check in and dispose of the bags, and then off to the conference.

After discussion with the private car service, we used Express Walk Off, brought all our bags with us, and met the driver at the prearranged time [they suggest the time and it worked out great]. Checked in to the hotel just fine. I took a taxi to the conference hotel and arrived about half an hour after the conference started.

SW

 

[Clojel]

If you are in a concierge room, you (or, in our case, our travel agent) has set up the transportation service as part of a concierge perk. We found it to be of higher quality and comparable price to the other private options we had used (FL Limo maybe?). So I don't know the name of the company.

Do you remember how far in advance you had shoreside concierge set this up for you? We’re supposed to cruise concierge this November (I know, I know, not holding my breath ) but we haven’t wanted to outlay any extra money yet given the odds of cancellation so we still need to book our hotel the night before, etc....Do you think I can have the concierge desks arrange this a few weeks out? Or does it need to be sooner....

 

[auntlynne]

Do you remember how far in advance you had shoreside concierge set this up for you? We’re supposed to cruise concierge this November (I know, I know, not holding my breath ) but we haven’t wanted to outlay any extra money yet given the odds of cancellation so we still need to book our hotel the night before, etc....Do you think I can have the concierge desks arrange this a few weeks out? Or does it need to be sooner....

I would let them know sooner than later - just make sure the company allows cancellations. If the cruise is not going, it's probable that you haven't kept them from getting another passenger, anyway.

Hoping you sail again soon.

 

[Clojel]

I would let them know sooner than later - just make sure the company allows cancellations. If the cruise is not going, it's probable that you haven't kept them from getting another passenger, anyway.

Hoping you sail again soon.

thanks! Me too!!

 

[DianaMB333]

If you have kids on their first Disney Cruise its definitely worth taking the Disney bus. Its themed and shows Disney cartoons and cruise videos. Kids will remember that over an Uber or rental car.

Do you know if there is any advantage (for the embarkation groups/time) if we use Disney transportation?

 

[ajo]

Do you know if there is any advantage (for the embarkation groups/time) if we use Disney transportation?

Your PAT (port arrival time) is selected when you do online check-in. It does not depend on the type of transportation you take to the terminal. The only groups that get an advantage with boarding groups are Platinum (who automatically board in group 1) and Concierge (who get to board first before any groups).

ETA: Back-to-back cruisers also get an advantage. They board between Concierge and Platinum.