We received many letters in response to last week’s mailbag concerning Disney’s Magic Express service and guests who fly Southwest Airlines into the Orlando Airport (MCO). At the time the letter was sent, the answer as published was correct. However, in the intervening time period, Disney’s policy had changed. Here’s a letter from reader Kerry Mihalik explaining the current policy:
When arriving at MCO it does not matter what airline you are on. If you were sent the yellow Magical Express luggage tags and have them on your luggage, you do not have to retrieve your luggage from baggage claim. If you’re flying Southwest, use the luggage tags and just head to the Magical Express bus; your luggage will make it to the hotel just fine. However, it’s only on the return where you won’t be able to take advantage of the advance luggage/airline check-in. You would have to take your own luggage on the bus to return to the airport.
We extend our thanks to all of the readers who wrote in to provide the most current information.
In the rest of this week’s mailbag, MousePlanet staff writer Brian Bennett answers questions about his Eyes on Orlando series. The first group of letters is in response to his article on the Nickelodeon Family Suites.
Tom writes:
The reason security is tight is not because there are lots of kids there. There is very limited parking for the guests, locals have come by the hotel to experience the amenities (i.e. free pool day) and the hotel had to take action to secure the location for paying guests. You can visit the shops and restaurant but have to stop by the front desk for a wristband. If you want to use the pools a wristband and a $25 charge will apply per person.
Funny how your guide never mentioned that. Hope that info helps.
It’s interesting that you point that out. No one at security on my initial visit nor with media relations on my second visit mentioned the option for locals to visit and use the facilities. Most likely, the option is a “back door” policy and not one that the resort wishes to make a lot of noise about.
Deborah writes:
Great article on the Nickelodeon Family Suites. I have two kids who are huge fans of Nick as well as Disney. We are planning to visit Disney World next June for the first time. We have heard we should only stay on the property. What are the disadvantages and/or advantages of staying at NFS vs. on the Disney resort? Thank you.
The major differences between the Disney and the Nickelodeon resorts is pretty much summed up as:
- Theme (i.e. characters)
- Location
- Price
- Facilities
Those are the four major things you’ll have to balance as you make your decision about where to stay:
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What characters are the ones that are most enjoyed by your family? My kids would enjoy seeing the Nickelodeon characters because they’d be a novelty after having seen the Disney characters so many times over the years. But I still think they (and I) greatly prefer the Disney gang.
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Is Extra Magic Hour a perk that is important to you? Do you want to be closer to the Disney parks? Then the location of the Disney resorts will win out on this category.
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Price. Frankly, the Nickelodeon resort is significantly more expensive than the value Disney resorts and even more expensive than the moderates.
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The resort facilities. I would have to rate the Nickelodeon pools a very clear number one compared to the Disney resorts. If your family plans to spend a lot of time at the resort enjoying the pools, the edge here goes to Nick. (On the flip side of that, your kids may very well want to spend a ton of time at the resort that you, as the paying parent, would rather spend elsewhere. Be prepared to deal with this issue. When the kids see those water slides, they may lose all desire to go ride Splash Mountain!)
Tom Sinsky writes:
Thank you for doing such an outstanding job on the photo tour of the Nickelodeon resort. It seems like an excellent alternative to Disney’s hotels—particularly during the off-season when rates are lower.
I agree, especially since the pool areas are so spectacular. On the other hand, price is an issue. The suites at the Nickelodeon resort cost close to $200 per night, which is significantly higher than Disney’s value and even moderate resorts.
Travis Yokota writes:
Thank you for a great trip down memory lane. Your photo tour of the Caribbean Beach Resort brought me back to 1999 and my great experience staying in the Jamaica section. Jamaica is very pleasant, isn’t it?
I’d be interested to know how the non-Disney Bonnet Creek development parallel to Cayman Drive has impacted the area. (Actually, I have numerous questions about it, including what is the history of this strip of land, how/why did Disney let this slip through their fingers, and why couldn’t they make it accessible from Epcot Center Drive or Osecola Parkway. But since your article has to do with the Caribbean Beach Resort, what I’d really be interested to know is.) What does this non-Disney resort do to the sightlines at Caribbean Beach Resort? Can you actually see these their buildings from the front of Old Port Royale?
I remember sitting at that bus stop every morning at 7:30, looking out across the road at the thick trees. It was quite a peaceful start to each exciting day. Studying the current aerial views of the area at Windows Local Live, the Bonnet Creek customer access road looks so close to Cayman Drive that there appears to be only a thin line of trees separating the two. I fear I might not be able to repeat my bus stop experiences in the future. And with the future additions of the Hilton and Waldorf-Astoria, it doesn’t appear to be getting any better. Hoping for your assurances (but not holding my breath),
It’s funny that you bring all of that up because when I walked Old Port Royale, I was surprised by how much the new construction to the east does show up for Caribbean Beach Resort guests. On the other hand, it’s not really so obtrusive as to be able to negatively impact on anyone’s stay. The themed areas of the resort (the pools, shops, etc.) are not affected at all. Frankly, the only time I noticed them (those other buildings) was when I went out to the parking lot which was hardly a time for the “magic” anyway.
Bottom line, they are visible. But I frankly don’t think they detract significantly.
The second group of letters are in response to Brian’s two-part photo tour of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (link to Part I). Riki Brown writes:
I was reviewing your article on Caribbean Beach Resort as my wife and I just returned from a stay there (8/27-9/2). It was our first trip to Walt Disney World and we enjoyed the resort immensely. We are annual pass holders for Disneyland and go often and found Walt Disney World so big and different.
I thought your article was excellent and we would stay at Caribbean Beach Resort again. We were at Trinidad North. We booked our trip through AAA and when we arrived we were assigned a room at Aruba but when we went to the room we discovered it was a smoking room so we called back to the Customs house and complained. They came out and picked us up in about 10 minutes and took us to a nicer room, closer to main pool/store and food court with a queen bed instead of a double and it was a non smoking room. They were great.
The check-out letter was rather vague about calling for bellhop to pick up our luggage on check out. We were going to put it on the internal bus to the Customs house but we met a bellhop who told us we had to use the bellhop service and van, as we could not take our luggage on the bus. He gave us a ride to the Customs house and I asked the bus driver if we were to check our luggage with him for Magical Express back to the airport. Our letter said the resort would let us check our luggage with them and get our tickets for the airline. He said if we did that we would miss the bus so I set our luggage next to the loading door of the bus and got on.
When we got to the airport and waited for our luggage it was not on the bus. The driver said he did not load it because he thought we were going to check it at the resort but I told him we did not want to miss the bus. He radioed back and it was still sitting on the ground where the bus was and said it was our fault for not telling him we wanted it on the bus. We had to wait at the unload area for another hour for the next bus to arrive. We finally got our luggage and just barely made it through check-in and security to get our plane back to Los Angeles.
We were not real pleased with the mouse or our bus driver but it turned out OK, although very stressful, and we are looking at the Disney Vacation Club now so all our adult children and grand children can go with us in the future.
It’s unfortunate that you had a bad experience with Magical Express. Still, it sounds like you had a great time even with the transportation snafus.
Brian’s article on other themed resorts in the Orlando area prompted some readers to submit the following questions. David Scherer writes:
My name is David Scherer and I’m a travel agent of AAA Southern California. I enjoyed your article on the Nickelodeon Resort and the follow-up with the Sheraton Safari, etc. You left out the most extravagant hotel in Orlando though, so I thought I’d mention just in case you weren’t aware of the Gaylord Resort, which is in downtown Orlando. It is not terribly close to Walt Disney World, but rivals many Vegas mega-resort hotels (reminds me of the Mirage a little bit). It has a main atrium with four different sections that are supposed to represent the four main areas in Florida.
Unfortunately I only remember two of them; there is an Everglades section (with real live alligators) and a Key West section. It is an attraction in its own right and I always like to stop and at least eat there for lunch whenever I’m in the Orlando area. So I just wanted to let you know in case you weren’t aware. Thanks again for the great article!
I didn’t “leave out” the Gaylord Palms; rather, it’s so large that I felt that it would justify its own piece (like the Nickelodeon Resort piece). I have that planned, although I haven’t yet started on it.
The Gaylord Palms truly is a gorgeous property, though. I’ve been there a handful of times, although not for any overnight stays, and the quality of the facilities is top-notch.
Keep an eye out for a future piece on that one.
EG writes:
I don’t know if anyone has pointed this out. The first king of fools statue that you show is identical (except in paint) to the pool statue at Port Orleans French Quarter. POFQ is our favorite resort at Walt Disney World and I have the jester statue as rolling desktop wallpaper on my computer. When I saw the “King of Fools,” I was surprised at the likeness; a quick check and yes, they’re the same.
Thank you for your contributions to MousePlanet!
Perhaps the Quality Suites folks purchased an “extra” statue at MouseSurplus.com?
Finally, reader Joan Husar writes in response to Brian’s photo tour of Disney’s All-Star Music Resort:
I just read your fantastic article about the All-Star Music Resort. It certainly gave some interesting and helpful information. I’m hoping you can give a recommendation as to how to ask for a room based on some information.
Since this resort comes with lots of children and we don’t have any, I would like to request a room that is on the top floor without adjoining rooms. I just don’t have any ideas about choosing a building since the resort is so large. We like the quiet but not so far away from the pool, food court and bus stop.
I appreciate any and all information you can send my way. We haven’t been to Disney World in 10 years and a lot has changed. I want to have a fantastic wedding anniversary, and choosing a room is pretty important.
I would suggest that you request building 1 or 10 (Calypso), but point out that you’d be very happy with a room that is not facing the pool area. That way, you’ll be about as close as you can be from the pool, food court, etc., yet be blocked from most of the noise from the pool area itself. At least that’s what I’d request.
