ME or car rental

We are also going in 2 weeks (Feb 3-10)! I am also trying ME for the
first time. But I have never rented a car, always used a towncar
service. I think I would get your luggage before you go to the ME pick
up. I would not have booked ME if I thought we would not have our
luggage to get ready for bed. I have read posts where you can get your
luggage and take it to the the bus. You sound like you use the car a
lot. We only use Dinsey transportation. You may feel like you can't
get where you want to.

Janice


lenniemc wrote:
> OK - I'm an AP holder and my trip is getting very close - 2 wks from today -
> woohoo! I've always rented a car on my frequent trips to "My Happy Place", but
> my daughter has talked me into using the ME. I'm starting to have second
> thoughts. Our flight doesn't arrive in Orlando until 11 p.m. so I was told by a
> CM to make sure we pack our pj's and anything else we would need for the night
> as we won't get our luggage until 7 a.m. the next morning - ok - I can probably
> deal with that (I think)...
>
> But I'm so use to having a car - and just going where I want when I want and not
> having to wait on buses, etc. We like going to Spoodles at the Boardwalk and
> walking on over to EPCOT. We like breakfast at Bomas. The only park I don't like
> to drive to is MK, because I think it's a hassle to drive there.
>
> We like to go off site for a day - either going over to Celebration and hit the
> shops or go to some of the outlets - just a day away from the parks. (yes, I
> can't believe I'm saying that!!)
>
> Our flight home was suppose to leave at 3 p.m but has now been moved up to 1:40.
> We were planning on going to a park that opens early that morning and then going
> back to the resort to catch the ME bus back to the airport. Will we have time to
> do that? I know we'd be able to with a car. I hate to sit around the resort in
> the morning waiting for the bus to come pick us up to go home. How depressing,
> :o(
>
> I'm just in a state of confusion right now - using ME would be less expensive,
> although I did get a pretty good rate on the car, and the money saved could be
> used elsewhere - but will I miss having a car that much?
>
> Any advice from those of you that have done both?
>
> One more question - are you only allowed one suitcase with ME? Usually I pack a
> suitcase inside a suitcase and then when we get ready to go home, I have an
> extra for anything that I have purchased. But when we rec'd our luggage tags
> there was just 1 tag per person.
>
> Sorry this is so long and thanks for your help!
>
> Lenniemc

We used ME in early December and we were told their policy was after 11 pm
all luggage went on the normal pick up carousel for you to pick up. If it
wasn't picked up then it would be shipped to your hotel. We chose to grab
the bags ourselves so we didn't have to wait. I picked up the luggage while
my wife went downstairs and checked us into ME. Next time I won't even use
the tags if I am arriving that late.
At that hour there was no wait for ME either. Our bus left about 10
minutes after we got checked in. It was a definie waist of time having to be
back at the hotel 3 hours before our departure.

Rent the car, Lennie! You have too many reasons why you want one. If
one of your issues is control (like me), definitely get the car. You
will be much happier to be in control of when you get wherever it is
you want to go!

But what time would you leave if you had to return the car and be at
the airport in time to get thru security (which has a really long
line)? Wouldn't it be a bout 3 hours?
Janice

Postalpat wrote:
> We used ME in early December and we were told their policy was after 11 pm
> all luggage went on the normal pick up carousel for you to pick up. If it
> wasn't picked up then it would be shipped to your hotel. We chose to grab
> the bags ourselves so we didn't have to wait. I picked up the luggage while
> my wife went downstairs and checked us into ME. Next time I won't even use
> the tags if I am arriving that late.
> At that hour there was no wait for ME either. Our bus left about 10
> minutes after we got checked in. It was a definie waist of time having to be
> back at the hotel 3 hours before our departure.

lenniemc wrote:

> I think that's the way I'm leaning. I'm a bit concerned with arriving so late
> though - Do you think that will be a problem driving from the airport to Disney
> property that time of night? Usually I have a much earlier flight into MCO.
> Understand, I'm from a very small town where everyone knows your name and I
> wouldn't think twice about being out at midnight where I live - but in the
> Orlando area - what do you think?

I wouldn't think to worry about it in a driving sense. Going from the
airport to Disney property, you're going to be almost exclusively on
toll roads or high speed roads with maybe a couple of traffic lights.
It's not something that worries me when I'm driving on those sorts of
roads. Just watch out for the bad drivers, especially the red-light
runners; and that applies at ALL hours of the day!

You're going to be on highways from the airport to Disney property so I
think safety-wise you'll be okay. Have your change ready for the toll
baskets and watch your signs. Look at a map before you go so you have
an idea what route you are taking. You don't want to be doing the Big
Ben, Parliament routine that late at night. Know which park area your
resort is in so you can get there quickly too. (Epcot resorts versus
Animal Kingdom resorts, etc.) Just trying to help you avoid some
mistakes we've made in the past.

The next thing we
> know we're in the middle of nowhere and nothing looked familar!! Sure don't
> want to do that at 11:30 at night!!
>
> lenniemc

Exactly! Hey, you're thinking and I like that!