Best transportation plan for arrival day/day one at parks

#1

I’m looking for advice re. timing and Magic Express. We’re scheduled to arrive at the Orlando airport at 1pm. We are staying at the Polynesian and are planning to spend the majority of this first partial day at Hollywood Studios. We have dinner reservations in that park at 5:45pm.

Assuming our flight arrives on time, my plan is to get to the hotel, leave our bags with the bellhop and take the Monorail to the park. What’s the best way to make this happen while also leaving us the maximum amount of time at the park?

Magical Express or taxi? If Magical Express can they take us right to the park and handle our bags for us?

#2

Magical express will only take you to your hotel. The monorail will not directly take you to Hollywood Studios. You are better off using the bus from the Poly to HS. Your best bet is to Magical Express to your hotel, drop your stuff at hotel, then take either Uber, Minnie Van or bus over to HS.

You could Uber from the airport to the park but then you will have all your bags with you as Magical express will not take your bags on through without you (at least that is my understanding)

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#3

From the Poly you will be able to take the monorail to MK. You will also be able to walk to the TTC and get the monorail direct to Epcot. You can also get the monorail at Poly and take that to the TTC and transfer(I prefer the walk/direct). You will need to take the bus to HS and AK. Enjoy! Poly is a great resort!

#4

From Touring Plans…

I want to rent a car for my trip, but I’d like to save time by having Disney deliver my bags to my room. Can I do this?

Unfortunately not. This is called a “luggage only transfer” and it is not allowed.

Really? I can’t send my luggage with Disney and take an Uber to the park myself?

Well, OK, there is a complicated workaround that some families use. I’ve done it myself once.

In order to accept luggage for delivery, Disney requires that at least one person staying at WDW ride Magical Express. It does not require that everyone in the room ride ME. This means, for example, if you’re a party of five (all in one room), you could have one person ride ME to their WDW hotel, with Disney moving the luggage of all five people, and the other four party members taking a cab/Uber/rental to WDW.

Um, why would we do this?

Two reasons. First, splitting up the way your party gets to WDW allows some folks to get to theme parks earlier. One person takes one for the team and gets everything set up at the hotel while the others go directly to start playing in the parks.

Another reason to split up is to allow your party to get a smaller, less expensive, rental car. A family of five might be OK with squeezing into a compact car for quick trips around the WDW campus. However, those five people might have too much luggage to fit into a compact car. If one person takes ME, then Disney carts the bags, obviating the need for a larger vehicle.

Members of my party are flying to Orlando on several flights arriving at different times. Can we use Magical Express?

Yes. Make sure their names are on your room reservation and that you give ME their flight information. There’s no need for you to travel all together. Each person can take a bus independently upon arrival.

I want to start my fun right away. Can Magical Express drop me at a theme park rather than my hotel?

Nope. They’ll only drop you at your resort. If you want to go directly from the airport to a theme park, you should rent a car or take a cab, car service, or Uber.

#5

Thank you. I had forgotten the Monorail wouldn’t get us to that park. We’ll plan to Uber to the hotel and then to the park.