Magical Express Protest by Orlando Limo Group

bizjournals.com
Orlando limo group says airport should terminate Disney baggage deal
Monday September 12, 1:05 pm ET

A Central Florida group that represents 200 luxury transportation businesses is calling for an end to Disney's Magical Express program, which provides free transportation and baggage handling exclusively for guests staying at Disney owned and operated hotels.
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The Greater Orlando Livery Association (GOLA) says a ground transportation agreement between the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and Walt Disney World is "an unfair business practice" that gives the Central Florida resort "exclusive and unprecedented access to travelers."

In a prepared statement, the group asks for an "urgent meeting" with airport officials, including Executive Director Bill Jennings.

"There is great concern the subject contract will provide Disney with a monopoly," says Orlando attorney Larry Colleton, who represents GOLA. "There will be less and less competition because more and more small businesses who make up GOLA will no longer exist. One must ask whether the aviation authority wants to be the cause of destroying viable small businesses as a direct result of this contract."

Neither airport officials nor a Walt Disney World spokesman had an immediate response to the claims.

The Magical Express program provides Disney hotel guests with free bus transportation to and from their hotel and the airport. It also allows them to check their baggage at their departing airport and receive it when they check into their hotel. On their return, they check their bags at the Disney hotel and retrieve them when they arrive at their home airport.

The group claims that since Disney initiated the program in May, GOLA members have seen a significant reduction in their business, calling the economic impact immediate and directly correlated to Magical Express.

Colleton hones in on Disney's access to the airport's third level where prearranged passengers are met, calling the arrangement "a material breach of Disney's contract with the airport."

He notes that a paragraph in the contract permits Disney to only provide the transportation service to people who bought the service in advance as part of their hotel reservations. GOLA claims it has direct information that Disney also offers the service to non-prearranged travelers, people who are potential customers for limousine service from his clients.

Colleton also claims Disney's access in and behind the carrousel baggage claim area, an area normally restricted to airport and airline baggage handlers, gives the company an unfair advantage over others.

A GOLA spokesman says the group has been unable to maintain a dialogue with airport authorities about the issue.

GOLA spokesman Mark Hopkinson says the group last met with the airport earlier this year and has been unable to schedule further talks. "They have postponed our meeting on several occasions," Hopkinson says.

About 200 companies who operate more than 600 vehicles that are registered and permitted at the Orlando International Airport are members of GOLA.

Walt Disney World is owned by Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS - News) of Burbank. Disney operates Walt Disney Parks & Resorts; owns ABC television network, 10 broadcast stations and more than 60 radio stations; and produces films through Walt Disney Studios.

Published September 12, 2005 by Los Angeles Business from bizjournals

I think it's rediculous that these people are fighting this. I mean if they want to offer free transportation to the Disneyworld resorts then go right ahead. But if not then don't complain about it! its a free enterprise. the Airport is a private company that can make deals with any other company they want.

btw great article MouseRight!!!

Thanks Laufschneller65.

I have mixed emotions about this.

As a businessman who believes in the free enterprise system and big Disney Fan, I agree with your Free Enterprise comments. I also think it is great for the Disney visitors to get a free ride and all of the extra services that Disney can bring if they do this right.

As a father and worker who has taken a hit in his own pocketbook over the last few years, I can see the Limo Drivers' side of the argument. 600 Limo drivers who are taking a big hit in take home pay. It has to be devestating to them and the industry.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Interetsing angle they are taking though - "governmental participation in an unfair business practice and restraint of trade." However, my bet is the limo drivers will lose.

What are they thinking?!

If Disney wants to provide free transportation to their parks, they can, and no protest should stop them.

We've taken limos from MCO to WDW and UO and inbetween the two, several times in the past 3 years. Quite frankly I find them to be over-priced and the drivers expect 20% tips regardless of the service they provide. All of our drivers begrudgingly stop at food stores only after I ask them to. They have never asked me if I wanted to stop somewhere. They have all wanted the entire tip when they dropped me off. Then the one who picks us up acts like we need to tip him too because he has never heard of the other driver and never got his share of the tip. Until WDW started providing a service that they should have been providing to resort guests all along, limos and rental cars were the only other alternative. The limo drivers still have off-site hotels and UO customers to do business with. I'm not piling up on the limo drivers but they should have considered their demeanor when times were good. Sounds like it is time to clean the limo house!

IMHO,

DB05

Before Disney came out with Magical Express they would offer transportation to and from MCO through Mears transportation. Why wasn't the other limo drivers complaining back then. Mears got all the business! On another note, I'm sure we are paying for Magical Express somewhere along the line.

There are a lot of people who are unhappy with DME. The limo/taxi trivers are upset since they are losing out on a lare percentage of their business. The largest tourist destination in the world now offers FREE transportation to every one of their resorts... how do you honestly expect these livery companies to compete with that. It's a foolish argument to say that all these companies should just offer free service as well. Obviously, DME is not a free service. Guests are paying for it through different ways, such as through ticket sales, as well as the cost of their rooms. It just appears to be a free service.

Also, many of the bellman and valets at the resort hotels are upset with DME. These men and women make their living on the tips they recieve. With the DME, there is much more limited guest interaction, which means that there is a lot less money for the bellman and the valets. I work at the Polynesian, and have seen some of my bellman work an 8 hour shift, while making less than $50 in tips.

Taxi and limo drivers are not the only people opposed to the DME. Now, I do have a really limited experience with the DME, but I find it to be quite unreliable, with buses constantly being delayed for guests trying to get to MCO.

And there's just something about checking my bags in with a stranger at my resort, and having them give them to another stranger who drives them to the apirport, where more strangers unload the bags and put them on the planes. Call me crazy... but i'm not all together comfortable with that idea, and that's also why some major airlines, like Southwest, do not allow airline check-in at the resorts!

.....whew..... :snore:

Dreamflight4Eva said:

There are a lot of people who are unhappy with DME. The limo/taxi trivers are upset since they are losing out on a lare percentage of their business. The largest tourist destination in the world now offers FREE transportation to every one of their resorts... how do you honestly expect these livery companies to compete with that. It's a foolish argument to say that all these companies should just offer free service as well. Obviously, DME is not a free service. Guests are paying for it through different ways, such as through ticket sales, as well as the cost of their rooms. It just appears to be a free service.

Also, many of the bellman and valets at the resort hotels are upset with DME. These men and women make their living on the tips they recieve. With the DME, there is much more limited guest interaction, which means that there is a lot less money for the bellman and the valets. I work at the Polynesian, and have seen some of my bellman work an 8 hour shift, while making less than $50 in tips.

Taxi and limo drivers are not the only people opposed to the DME. Now, I do have a really limited experience with the DME, but I find it to be quite unreliable, with buses constantly being delayed for guests trying to get to MCO.

And there's just something about checking my bags in with a stranger at my resort, and having them give them to another stranger who drives them to the apirport, where more strangers unload the bags and put them on the planes. Call me crazy... but i'm not all together comfortable with that idea, and that's also why some major airlines, like Southwest, do not allow airline check-in at the resorts!

.....whew..... :snore:

Click to expand...

Good points! This seems a lot bigger than even I imagined. Maybe we need to take a step back and consider who all the players are. I for one don't want to short the valets and luggage handlers at WDW. I always take good care of them . I always get what I want for a room because of them. Plus the whole baggage thing has me wondering now too. What once sounded like a great deal may really become a nightmare.

Nothing is for free. What to do? :brick:

DB05

This doesn't apply to town cars, but as far as the limos themselves go...

I have a feeling that the typical "limo" clientele would rather ride a donkey to K-Mart than cram onto a bus in the first place.

The people who want to use the limo transportation will still use their services. As for me, I would rather rent a car.

For our August trip we use a limo service, were met promptly and then told to wait 20 minutes while the driver went and got the car. The return trip the car was late and the ride was terrifying as she dashed madly to the airport.

I also felt it was extremely overpriced (it was a town car not a stretch or anything out of the ordinary). We could have rented a car cheaper and saved time as well.

ME is not an option for my family because we feel our time is worth more than the 45-1 1/2 hours it takes to get to your destination.

Well, personally I think that if Disney wants to offer a service that they should have been offering all along then great. We used it in May, the first week it was offered and it was a complete nightmare coming and going, although going home was far worse. But it is my understanding that in the past few months the kinks have been worked out. Still, I don't think we would do this next time. We like the idea of paying the $80 and knowing that we have a secure ride to and from our resort at the time that works for US.
With that being said, yes,many of these drivers may currently be seeing a drop in profits, but what they don't know is how many people will use ME again? We had so many problems and it took so long that we decided we'd be better to spend the money and travel at our own time. When we go to Disney time does mean money.

It's only "free" for now, or at least that's how it's termed online. The service is only being offered for free as part of the Happiest Celebration on Earth. Once that is over, it sounds like there will be a fee.

Maybe then, these other people will start getting more people back... who knows.

(Either way, our family wouldn't rent a limo to get us to WDW anyway!!!)

DoomBuggy05 said:

We've taken limos from MCO to WDW and UO and inbetween the two, several times in the past 3 years. Quite frankly I find them to be over-priced and the drivers expect 20% tips regardless of the service they provide. All of our drivers begrudgingly stop at food stores only after I ask them to. They have never asked me if I wanted to stop somewhere. They have all wanted the entire tip when they dropped me off. Then the one who picks us up acts like we need to tip him too because he has never heard of the other driver and never got his share of the tip. Until WDW started providing a service that they should have been providing to resort guests all along, limos and rental cars were the only other alternative. The limo drivers still have off-site hotels and UO customers to do business with. I'm not piling up on the limo drivers but they should have considered their demeanor when times were good. Sounds like it is time to clean the limo house!

IMHO,

DB05

Click to expand...

Whenever WDW starts charging for ME try using us. I guarantee our drivers will be more courteous, and will not fight for their gratuities... :animwink:

Regards,

Gregory Nicolas.

Connor002 said:

What are they thinking?!

If Disney wants to provide free transportation to their parks, they can, and no protest should stop them.

Click to expand...

They surely can for the limited period they've settled for (1 1/2 years). After that they can not, and will not. Free enterprise don't mean any company can monopolize a specific market (in this case airport transportation to Disney). And please remember, Disney is offering it free for their guests, but the buses and drivers are not owned by Disney, but Mears. Mears gets paid $25.00 per person fot that service, and Mears is the one monopolizing the transportation business in Orlando.
If Disney continues after the 1 1/2 years to offer their "shuttle" free, they will most certainly get sued by many (limo services, rental car agencies, hotels outside WDW, and etc) for DUMPING;together with Mears. I'm sure you all can understand the diferrence between a free market and unfair, unlawful business practices.
Again I must say, Disney is not the "only" culprit here, but mainly Mears group.

Regards,

Gregory Nicolas.

GrandFloridian1 said:

Before Disney came out with Magical Express they would offer transportation to and from MCO through Mears transportation. Why wasn't the other limo drivers complaining back then. Mears got all the business! On another note, I'm sure we are paying for Magical Express somewhere along the line.

Click to expand...

Before you had the choice to use them or go the towncar/limo way, which many times came out cheaper than using Mears shuttles.

We are now complaining because we lost at least 60% of our business from night to day.
We are not the only ones complaining either; rental car agencies, hotels outside the WDW area, restaurants and others also lost a lot of clients due to ME.

Like I stated above, $25.00 is paid to Mears for every guest using ME, so basically you are right, somewhere in your rate given by WDW for your package there is a % for your "free" transport.

Quicksilver said:

If Disney continues after the 1 1/2 years to offer their "shuttle" free, they will most certainly get sued by many (limo services, rental car agencies, hotels outside WDW, and etc) for DUMPING;together with Mears. I'm sure you all can understand the diferrence between a free market and unfair, unlawful business practices.
Again I must say, Disney is not the "only" culprit here, but mainly Mears group.

Regards,

Gregory Nicolas.

Click to expand...

I understand your position, but I don't agree. The free market is still available. People still have a CHOICE as to what transportation they will use. I will probably still utilize a rental car even though DME is available for free. DME only affects people that are going to a Disney owned resort. Other hotels/motels can and do offer free transportation to their hotel. If the livery group thinks free transportation to Disney resorts is wrong, they should also attack other hotels that offer the same opportunity for free or for an amount less than another form of transportation.

wannab@dis said:

Other hotels/motels can and do offer free transportation to their hotel. If the livery group thinks free transportation to Disney resorts is wrong, they should also attack other hotels that offer the same opportunity for free or for an amount less than another form of transportation.

Click to expand...

NO hotel/resort (other than the ones in a 3 miles radius from the airport) offers free shuttle from the airport, NONE! If they did it would be another big fight here. The fact this is a major issue is of course the volume of guests Disney has. Small hotels, if they offered free shuttles, wouldn't hurt so many businesses and would go by unotticed. We are talking about an average of 5000 a day. Yes, we do "feed" from Disney for a long time now, but because of Disney the city grew, and now they can not just forget about everyone else around them. It is our backyard now too!

Dreamflight4Eva said:

Also, many of the bellman and valets at the resort hotels are upset with DME. These men and women make their living on the tips they recieve. With the DME, there is much more limited guest interaction, which means that there is a lot less money for the bellman and the valets. I work at the Polynesian, and have seen some of my bellman work an 8 hour shift, while making less than $50 in tips.

Click to expand...

Wow, totally forgot about how the valets are mostly cut out of the loop on this one. :lookaroun

When we drive down to Orlando, we usually tip twice on the checkin day; once when we drop off luggage in the morning while waiting for a room to free up, and once when the luggage is delivered to the room. As I'm a chronic overpacker when we go down with a group, I usually give $5 or $10 each time, depending upon whether or not I have a monster cooler along that needs storage in the fridge :lol:

Quicksilver said:

NO hotel/resort (other than the ones in a 3 miles radius from the airport) offers free shuttle from the airport, NONE! If they did it would be another big fight here. The fact this is a major issue is of course the volume of guests Disney has. Small hotels, if they offered free shuttles, wouldn't hurt so many businesses and would go by unotticed. We are talking about an average of 5000 a day. Yes, we do "feed" from Disney for a long time now, but because of Disney the city grew, and now they can not just forget about everyone else around them. It is our backyard now too!

Click to expand...

Your view of free enterprise seems fairly limited given the fact that you would want to fight a hotel that offered free transportation (whether or not it's Disney). They have every right to compete and if free transportation gives them a leg up, then so be it. The others will have to do the same or better to stay profitable in our market. The "backyard" is a highly competive market and the leaders will continue to perform well if they focus on the consumer more and less on the competition.

It's not Disney's responsibility to furnish you with consumers for your product. It's your responsibility to offer services that exceed other options in both quality and price. From the reviews I've seen, you do that now, and do it well. You may have to change your advertising techniques or adjust your mode of service, but that is the case in any business competing for consumer's money.

TAC said:

And you started a company or your company grew because of Disney as well. If Disney had offered a transportation service from Day 1, you probably would not even be in business at all. I'm guessing you started a business because of the opportunity to capitalize on "poor" service by Mears. Now that Disney has decided to "do it themselves," you are crying "foul."

As has been mentioned in similiar thread in "News and Rumors," the only fair solution is to put DME in the baggage claim area. But to force Disney to 'cease and desist" is unfair to Disney.

Click to expand...

I'm not crying "foul" at all. My business lost a lot of clients because of ME, but I did not sleep on it and did nothing. I still have enough business to make a pretty good profit, and with all the new advertisement campaigns I've immediately put in place, we are still growing as we did before ME. We are now in 4 Disney guide books, were included in the Orlando Convention and Visitor Bureau, and recently included as a member of the Beter Business Bureau. I did not start my business on the assumption Mears was bad, I started it to offer you a better and cheaper way to travel.

Disney WILL start charging after the promised 1 1/2 years, that is a fact. And it will probably be a bit more than they used to charge for a regular shuttle ($29.00 round trip per adult). When it happens, and everyone starts looking for other means of transportation like they did before ME, I will be around, but unfortunately many will not be "alive" till then, and that is the sad part (many smaller companies did rely 100% on either companies like ours, or the volume disney created).

The fact they have "uninformed" employees soliciting in the third floor is indifferent for me, as it should be for the other 200 companies like mine. We are a 100% prearranged reservations company. Whoever is solicited by a Disney employee does not affect me nor any other limo service. To be honest, I don't underantsnd why all the fuss about that "detail".

My honest opinion is that I believe a promotion like ME for a limited period of time is fine, legal, and should not be fought by anyone. I'm certainly not fighting that at all. My fight will be if they continue after that period. The Livery Asociation lawyer said they can not continue with a free shutlle without a probable "dumping" charge (monopoly charges). Not my words, theirs!