Airport urged to halt Disney shuttle service

[imtigger2]

I know some people absolutely can't afford a rental car... and they need to plan the time needed for the inconveniences created when using Disney transportation from and to the airport, and even when staying on property. It's a given that you'll have to eventually wait... and wait for a bus to show, then to get you to your final destination.

I strongly encourage everyone who vists WDW to save for and get a rental car. Look around for the deals and you'll find them. Do a google search for "budget bcd" and you'll find codes to get you a car for less than $100 a week and it's SOOOO worth it! Your luggage stays with you, you leave at your convenience, you stop if you want to, etc.. At the parks, when you leave for the day you can wave to all the people standing in long lines to board an overcrowded bus. As well, if you want to go back to your room to freshen up in the middle of the day, that 30-40 min hassle to get back to your room isn't there to discourage you.

It's also nice to be able to take a lot of 'crap' with you in your car, like drinks and umbrellas. We pack a cooler every day with ice and lots of drinks and snacks, and leave it in the car. In the afternoon, and usually between parks when park-hopping (easily done with a rental car), we have ice-cold drinks waiting for us. On a common day, we'll go to the MK in the morning, hop in the car and go to AK or Epcot in the afternoon, then hop in the car and go to our resort to freshen up... then drive to Downtown Disney. It takes us less than 10min ttl to get to the car and drive to our Disney resort. Sometimes less... depends on how close to the entrance we park.

It's so completely worth it. We did the busses for two years then finally kicked in the money for a rental car and haven't looked back. My last Disney bus ride was 8 years ago.

Remember, parking is free for Disney resort guests and be sure to check with your auto insurance company and your credit card company. Most people aren't aware that their home/auto insurance policies cover rentals. Most credit cards will cover rentals as well... saving you a ton of money on a rental car.

Try it! You won't regret it!

BTW - I suggest Budget because I've used it for 8 years now with NO troubles at all. Join their free Fastbreak program and you don't even sign a form at the airport. You grab your bags, go to the garage and show an I.D., they hand you the keys and away you go. Very fast and easy.

 

[mrtoad]

If they are so upset, then when Disney's contract is up with Mears they should bid for the next one. It is all fair to do so. They guarantee Disney a set price and Disney guarantees to only use their service for the length of the contract and x amount of riders in total of the contract.

I don't think they have a leg to stand on.

And I agree, they are only in business because Disney came to Orlando in the first place.

Central Florida would be a far different place if Disney was not in town....These people have been making money because of Disney...Well some smart person over at WDC or WDW or where ever these decisions are made...said, "Lets get in on the action," and created this service...now those that were getting "rich" from taking people to WDW complain...Sure some businesses are affected by "Magical Express"....and maybe there is an unfair advantage...but considering who Disney is...these people should quit crying and find a way to compete or move out of the way...they should thank Disney for ANY business it gets.

 

[nibblesandbits]

I actually can't believe that there is so much support for this service here on the boards. Who wants to start off their magical trip on a bus with 100 other people (most who stink) and screaming kids? I have enough of buses while on Disney property.

Well, you're spending your entire vacation with those screaming kids and stinky people already, might as well do it from the get go...

 

[dflye]

I strongly encourage everyone who vists WDW to save for and get a rental car.

...

Remember, parking is free for Disney resort guests and be sure to check with your auto insurance company and your credit card company. Most people aren't aware that their home/auto insurance policies cover rentals.

I would have to strongly agree with this. Other things that may persuade you to get a rental car:

• If you are staying in a room with a fridge and/or mini-kitchen, you can get cheap eats at the local grocery store (well, maybe not the Goodings just off property, keep going a few more miles to a super Wal-Mart, Albertsons, whatever else you can find.)
• You never have to wait for the bus (unless you are too tired to drive, then the bus makes a great option.)
• If you have an AAA membership, you can park at the absolute front of the lot for each park, right next to the handicap section (on a space available, first come / first served basis) Just make sure to get the little paper badge from your local AAA office before leaving town.
• You get a radio to listen to when the kids are asleep! :sohappy:
• You can easily have lunch or dinner at a *gasp* non-Disney eatery. There are usually some great lunch specials to be had at the restaurants at the Crossroads shopping center area (right next to the east entrance to the WDW property) that service the folks in Team Disney (just across from DD and PI.) and other local business folk.
• You can make direct connections between points that by bus would require at least one transfer.
• No more smelly armpits in your face on the standing room only bus(well, except for those you are travelling with! :lol: )

 

[dvcnut39]

From what I understand, DME is free only until the end of The Happiest Celebration on Earth. I for one, am very glad. We are using the service both ways during our DEC trip. As for some services losing some money.... most of these services wouldn't be there in the first place if it wasn't for WDW. I don't want to sound cold, but it's the truth.

 

[imamouse]

This was in today's AllEars newsletter:

Disney's Magical Express airport transfer service has been extended through the end of 2006. The service will remain complimentary even after the Happiest Celebration on Earth ends in October 2006.

I am also a fan of DME as we always stay on property. However, since we have 3 drivers in our family and it's only an 8-9 hour drive, we don't fly very often.

 

[Bluewaves]

#1 I do not feel sorry for these folks, if there service was decent than Disney wouldn't have started this service

#2 its just like a cruise, they meet you at the gate when you get off the plane.

#3 Disney, the state of Florida have been talking about a monorail or some other form of transport to Disney for a number fo years

#4 If you are staying at a Disney resort its free, so the limo companies want you to pay for something you can get for free. Do you really think the person who gets lied to and pays for a limo or a shuttle and then finds out later that they could have gotten a service for free do you think they would ever use the service again or just be really angry and then no repeat business which is very important for the Orlando area since the majority of guests are repeat visitors.

#5 Disney has never said that they will charge a fee for DME they just said its free for now.

#6 there are lots of other hotels, its not you can take DME to the Hilton or the Marriot or to Holiday Inn. So they better start getting in with travel agents and advertising and stop their belly aching. becasue lets face it Disney is the big gorilla and they ain't going to share if they don't have to. If there aren't agents up on the third floor I'm sure they'd pay for ads in the terminal that say get to Disney World free if your staying at a Disney resort.

 

[dflye]

I can't wait till Disney buys an Airline so I can fly with the Mouse and enjoy professional service once again in the clear blue skys as well as WDW.

Now that you mention it, Hooters has their own airline....

Although I'm not sure I want Goofy trying to pour me a drink at 32,000 feet! I'd rather have the artificially enhanced bimbo in the air-brushed pants pour the drink in my lap! :lol:

 

[wannab@dis]

Take a look at the article below. I highlighted a fact that the Sentinal and other have conveniently left out. DME handles only 5000 of the 90,000 total people that go through MCO each day. I have a feeling that there's plenty of other business available, but the Disney customers were ripe with plenty of cash and a longer ride which meant easier money. The problem is many don't want to have to actually compete for their business and really haven't until now. Now you will see the strong survive and probably get better.

Limo operators: Disney's airport deal could be end of them

ORLANDO (AP) — Limousine operators asked airport officials Monday to end an arrangement that allows Walt Disney World to whisk visitors directly to the resort without having to wait for luggage, saying it has given the company an unfair advantage and could put many of them out of business.
Disney's Magical Express has been an important new marketing tool for the theme park, but the Greater Orlando Livery Association says it has cost its members at least $100,000 a month in business at Orlando International Airport, the state's busiest, since the program started in May.

"Disney has incredible access. No other shuttle service has the type of access that Disney has," said Larry Colleton, an attorney for the association, which has about 200 members with 600 vehicles.

Colleton sent Bill Jennings, executive director of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, a letter Monday asking him to cancel the airport's contract with Disney. Airport spokesman Rod Johnson officials were aware of the letter but didn't have any immediate comment.


Disney pays the airport authority 50 cents a passenger, or about $2,500 a day to allow them to operate the service.

Disney spokesman Jacob DiPietre said the company hasn't violated any of the provisions of its contract with the airport authority. About 5,000 of the 90,000 travelers who pass through the Orlando airport each day use Magical Express.

"This service has created hundreds of new jobs and injected millions of dollars into our local economy," DiPietre said.

Unlike limo employees, Disney workers have access to the airport's third floor where they have picked up not only visitors with reservations for the bus service but those travelers in need of transportation to the theme park resort who don't have an advanced booking, a violation of the contract, Colleton said in the letter.

Disney employees also have access to the baggage claim area and a section behind the luggage carousel, places usually restricted to airport and airline baggage handlers, giving the theme park resort another leg up on the limo operators, Colleton said.

Disney's Magic Express lets visitors on domestic flights, staying at Disney hotels, check their luggage at their hometown airports and bypass waiting at the luggage carousel at the Orlando airport. Visitors find their luggage in their Disney hotel rooms at check-in after arriving at the resort by motor coaches provided by a Disney contractor.

The airlines participating in the service, which use specially marked baggage tags, include American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Song, United Airlines and Ted.

Critics have said that the service is yet another way Disney tries to keep its visitors on Disney property without access to other theme parks, shops or restaurants.

"There will be less and less competition because more and more small businesses who make up GOLA will no longer exist," Colleton said in the letter.

 

[MGMBoy]

You know...Maybe if they didn't charge $60-70 for a one-way trip to WDW then they would have more options to work with.

 

[DisneyMissy]

I just read in the Allears newsletter that DME is going to run through the end of 2006. Don't know what will happen after that. I am glad they have this offer for free shuttle service!

 

[lewisc]

1--Some of us think Disney started the service so guests wouldn't make a grocery stop and would be less likely to rent a car. Guests with a rental car may do "bad" things like eat in offsite restaurants and buy bottled water in supermarkets.
2--DCL charges for transfers, some passengers elect to pay a little extra and take a towncar. Groups of 3 and 4 actually save some money.
3--We'll probably all be dead before a monorail is built to MCO. The guests are going to different places. Would it pay to take a monorail then have to transfer to a bus or just take a bus from MCO?
4--I think the limo companies would say it's unfair competition for Disney to be providing a service below cost. Most of them aren't blaming us for taking the free service.
5--That's my number one complaint with what Disney is doing. Making the service free just long enough to drive out the competition. If the service is always free we benefit.
6--Sounds good but guests staying in those other properties really need a rental car.

The reality is no one is going to stop Disney from offering DME. It benefit the consumer. Maybe the Mickey hands CM will be replaced with signs and maybe the limo drivers will get some parking places back but that's about it.

BTW I always assumed the happiest celebration would wind up getting extended through the end of 2006 so I assumed DME would also be free through 2006. Plus it would make sense to start charging, if at all, when the new hotel and package prices are announced for 2007.

#1 I do not feel sorry for these folks, if there service was decent than Disney wouldn't have started this service

#2 its just like a cruise, they meet you at the gate when you get off the plane.

#3 Disney, the state of Florida have been talking about a monorail or some other form of transport to Disney for a number fo years

#4 If you are staying at a Disney resort its free, so the limo companies want you to pay for something you can get for free. Do you really think the person who gets lied to and pays for a limo or a shuttle and then finds out later that they could have gotten a service for free do you think they would ever use the service again or just be really angry and then no repeat business which is very important for the Orlando area since the majority of guests are repeat visitors.

#5 Disney has never said that they will charge a fee for DME they just said its free for now.

#6 there are lots of other hotels, its not you can take DME to the Hilton or the Marriot or to Holiday Inn. So they better start getting in with travel agents and advertising and stop their belly aching. becasue lets face it Disney is the big gorilla and they ain't going to share if they don't have to. If there aren't agents up on the third floor I'm sure they'd pay for ads in the terminal that say get to Disney World free if your staying at a Disney resort.

 

[wannab@dis]

5--That's my number one complaint with what Disney is doing. Making the service free just long enough to drive out the competition. If the service is always free we benefit.

No, they aren't trying to drive someone out of business. They are utilizing it as a perk to get more people to visit. Incentives are used to bring in the people who can't decide whether to go or not. It's also used to develop customer loyalty.

6--Sounds good but guests staying in those other properties really need a rental car.

Not Disney's fault and is not relevant to the issue.

 

[shoppingnut]

This was always a 18 month thing, that is nothing new. All the celebration's generally last for 1 1/2 years.


So, consider this dismaying observation: let's offer the service for free, drive out a good majority of the competition, so that what is left when we are ready to charge for our service won't be able to handle it and we can charge what we like.

 

[wannab@dis]

... drive out a good majority of the competition, ...

If anyone is driven out of business, it will be the "not so good" ones that can't handle competition by improving their service. Happens every day in our free market economy and hopefully will continue for a long time.

 

[nibblesandbits]

1--Some of us think Disney started the service so guests wouldn't make a grocery stop and would be less likely to rent a car. Guests with a rental car may do "bad" things like eat in offsite restaurants and buy bottled water in supermarkets.

Exactly...and Disney has never said anything different. They want you in Disney's hands from the moment you step off the plane until the moment you leave. They want you to only spend your money with Disney, not with anyone else.

But wait...why is that a BAD thing??? Disney is a business...there are here to make MONEY. If they have found a way to get people to spend more money at Disneyworld...I guess I should say, more power to them. They did exactly what they are supposed to do. Keep the consumer captivated the entire time.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

I think that this service is great! I have no desire to leave WDW property and go food shopping, or clothes shopping, or to the local Red Lobster while on vacation. I do all those things at home. What I do NOT do at home is eat Mickey Waffles for brekkie every morning, or get outrageously priced Cokes with no ice when I get hot. I do not get someone to make my bed, or drive me around so I don't have to worry about driving, or make my washcloths look like little bunnies.

I also think that I'm not the only one who feels this way. I do not go to Disney to save money. I go there to blow money that I barely have. And I would rather be 'held captive' by Disney than have to worry about ANYTHING on my vaca.

Oh, and they cab drivers should quit whining. Disney just found a better way to give it's guests what they want, and for guests that don't want it, there's a cab.
Capitalism rules!

 

[shoppingnut]

If anyone is driven out of business, it will be the "not so good" ones that can't handle competition by improving their service. Happens every day in our free market economy and hopefully will continue for a long time.

Even some good companies that may have just recently started up too will be driven out. So how is it that good companies begin to compete with "free?" I am fully aware that it happens every day, but how will you feel when the DME starts charging for the service and is going to be more than it would if it were Mears.

 

[wannab@dis]

Even some good companies that may have just recently started up too will be driven out. So how is it that good companies begin to compete with "free?" I am fully aware that it happens every day, but how will you feel when the DME starts charging for the service and is going to be more than it would if it were Mears.

IF I use DME, and they start charging, then I'll look for the best possible method for me. If they start charging more than the market will allow, then other's will pick up the slack and charge less.

Capitalism rules!

Exactly! :wave:

 

[shoppingnut]

IF I use DME, and they start charging, then I'll look for the best possible method for me. If they start charging more than the market will allow, then other's will pick up the slack and charge less.

Disney's goal is that there be no other's in the market so you won't have a choice, they want to be the only game in town.