is there a chance that the Magical Express will come back?

[Goofyernmost]

Goofyrnmost we both have been going to WDW for a long time and Disney was not always making Profit the # 1 goal or at least we guests didn't have that feeling. Prices were reasonable and we didn't have the feeling we were being nickel and dimmed to death. IMO Disney is using the parks as a cash cow to prop all their failing acquisitions.
Your statement is so true
" It's just that Disney got unusually greedy and they will eventually pay for that greed, if they aren't already."

Yes, greed is a huge part of it, but it had other reasons. The first was that it started not very long after 9/11 and it was to try and encourage people to go to the parks again. I think it would have stopped shortly after but then 2008 came along and that recession hit the parks pretty hard and it kept going. After that it was hard to find a good reason, guest wise, to stop it and then the Pandemic hit and gave them a real excuse to end the service.

I have said that I don't think that in itself is going to hurt WDW all that much, and that it was the other greed situations that are driving people away. I know it has me and I'm not alone in that situation. If anything if people can afford the rest of the prices then can afford the cost of getting from the airport. It is parking meter change comparatively.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The standard Mears bus is yellow. Before magical express this is what they operated, and now it’s what they operate again. All Disney branding has been removed.

My point is, the number of yellow mears buses I saw on property tells me there is still a demand and a need for the service.

I never said that there wasn't a desire but it is one sided. Only the guests wanted/ felt they needed it and that is why Mears is filling up that gap. Just with a different ID. I've seen the buses they are using and they are also themed only slightly away from advertising for Disney, The only real difference is who is directly paying Mears for the service. Mears always had a fleet of buses that Disney used for onsite overload/tours so there is nothing new about seeing buses that aren't labeled distinctly as a Disney bus.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Mears always had a fleet of buses that Disney used for onsite overload/tours so there is nothing new about seeing buses that aren't labeled distinctly as a Disney bus.

These are busses that are used for the airport shuttle. That’s the ones I’m referring to.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We'll have to agree to disagree about that. They did start it to get people there, but more to keep people there where they had to pay the higher prices because escape was costly and more complicated.

Without the Magic Prison Express they raised the other prices and dropped a massive cost. I'm not sure how anyone knows if attendance has seriously dropped or not because Disney doesn't really share that information, but I doubt the drop has come even close to how much that transportation was costing Disney. As I said before, if it dropped it was more because of the massive increase in the cost of admission coupled with the fact that in order to actually see anything worth seeing there is a substantial additional cost to do what was once part of admission. I firmly believe that they planned on stopping the bus long before they actually did and why they instituted the parking fee anticipating more people having either a personal or a rental vehicle. The Pandemic gave them cover to drop the bus but the parking fee was to premature to not be it's own problem that they later had to drop.

Disney admits wdw has declined since roughly March of 2023

They never say such a thing unless they can’t hide it without going over the line.

That tells a lot more than they will admit


And we agree to disagree for sure. That’s ok.
I think the reason we differ on this is because we have fundamental deviation on the amount of cars used for vacationing…both now and moving forward.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Disney admits wdw has declined since roughly March of 2023

They never say such a thing unless they can hide it without going over the line.

That tells a lot more than they will admit


And we agree to disagree for sure. That’s ok.
I think the reasons we differ on this is because we have fundamental deviation on the amount of cars used for vacationing…both now and moving forward.

Well, without an actual count, I'd say that the traffic from Daytona to Orlando on I-4 is a pretty good indication of the number of cars used for vacation. A number of reasons, first it usually ends up being cheaper to drive especially with a family, Second, it enables you to bring anything you want with you, i.e. strollers, luggage, family needs, Third, it easily allows for going to different attractions in the central Florida area and many, like myself, want to see more than one place. I know that a whole lot of people fly in and a whole lot of people actually like to just stay with that one enjoyment and nothing else, however, I would not be one of those. I love me some road trip.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Well, without an actual count, I'd say that the traffic from Daytona to Orlando on I-4 is a pretty good indication of the number of cars used for vacation. A number of reasons, first it usually ends up being cheaper to drive especially with a family, Second, it enables you to bring anything you want with you, i.e. strollers, luggage, family needs, Third, it easily allows for going to different attractions in the central Florida area and many, like myself, want to see more than one place. I know that a whole lot of people fly in and a whole lot of people actually like to just stay with that one enjoyment and nothing else, however, I would not be one of those. I love me some road trip.

Yeah…I figured

People generally fly. That’s the volume. And why magical express was created.

As far as the roads go…everything south of Petersburg, Va. is horribly obselete

4 lanes? That’s nothing
That’s what was designed for 150 mil people in 1955.

It’s not Disney world…it’s antiquated infrastructure.

There’s just more people now and more volume. I say this after alot of experience with DOTs in the north..10-14 lane roads

The highways and wdw do have one commonality: they were both built for far less people

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

There’s also 16 trains a day now arriving at MCO from south Florida. Some of them want to visit the mouse too!

 

[bjlc57]

i told iger that he would get my proxy vote if he restores the Magical express...

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I can see a paid bus or shuttle service coming back. $35 per person to ride on a Disney themed bus with some cartoons playing would probably be a decent business proposition for them. I doubt the baggage portion will ever be included again, unless Universal offers a competing service and it takes off.

$35 per person for a family of 4 is hard to swallow when you can take an Uber for less. The shuttle was great because of the suitcases. I don't know what that cost Disney, logistically, but if I was Uni I might work to get that going again and take it over. It's huge, and if marketed better could be even more popular. I think Disney could have marketed that advantage to guests better.

 

[Laketravis]

$35 per person for a family of 4 is hard to swallow when you can take an Uber for less. The shuttle was great because of the suitcases. I don't know what that cost Disney, logistically, but if I was Uni I might work to get that going again and take it over. It's huge, and if marketed better could be even more popular. I think Disney could have marketed that advantage to guests better.

Probably one of the best and safest business moves is to begin offering a popular service that your competitor stopped offering despite high demand. From the consumer point of view, it had no additional cost, eliminated a trip planning logistic and included hassle free luggage transport with virtually no downside whatsoever while from the business point of view it left consumers "stranded" on property.

Universal has stated they want to become a week-long experience. Offering a version of ME to/from Universal resorts would go a long way towards encouraging that.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Probably one of the best and safest business moves is to begin offering a popular service that your competitor stopped offering despite high demand. From the consumer point of view, it had no additional cost, eliminated a trip planning logistic and included hassle free luggage transport with virtually no downside whatsoever while from the business point of view it left consumers "stranded" on property.

Universal has stated they want to become a week-long experience. Offering a version of ME to/from Universal resorts would go a long way towards encouraging that.

The problem is that you didn't know how much it was costing you, because I can ensure you that Disney was charging you in the room rate. The problem now is that, in the interest of greed, Disney never reduced the room rate for the amount they considered it was costing them. Instead they just stopped paying for the service and never changed the resort charges so the public would think that they were indeed giving it away. They weren't, and now if they decided to put it back in they would probably have to charge extra for it or it would affect the current bottom line and I can also ensure you that it was a lot of money. Those buses aren't cheap and even if they didn't buy them you can bet that they paid for the buses, the wraps, the drivers and their benefits, the fuel and the maintenance to Mears Bus plus a profit for Mears. In other words, a whole lot of money.

 

[Goofyernmost]

These are busses that are used for the airport shuttle. That’s the ones I’m referring to.

Yes, those are the ones I am speaking about as well. Magical Express was pretty much always provided by Mears. It is not even a argument that there is still a demand, what is different is Disney has cut a huge cost of operation, kept the hidden fees that they charged the "guests" which now became pure income/profit and transferred the cost directly to the "guests" with no middle man.

 

[Eric Graham]

We've always enjoyed Lyft, personally. Especially all of the wonderful stories that they tell. I recall on a last trip, our driver's husband was a chef at Disney. What great stories that she told!

 

[Laketravis]

The problem is that you didn't know how much it was costing you, because I can ensure you that Disney was charging you in the room rate. The problem now is that, in the interest of greed, Disney never reduced the room rate for the amount they considered it was costing them. Instead they just stopped paying for the service and never changed the resort charges so the public would think that they were indeed giving it away. They weren't, and now if they decided to put it back in they would probably have to charge extra for it or it would affect the current bottom line and I can also ensure you that it was a lot of money. Those buses aren't cheap and even if they didn't buy them you can bet that they paid for the buses, the wraps, the drivers and their benefits, the fuel and the maintenance to Mears Bus plus a profit for Mears. In other words, a whole lot of money.

Of course everyone was paying for it - just like they pay for "free" dining. But the perception that it was included in your stay was strong and the contribution to value even stronger. I personally feel they really screwed up eliminating that "perk" as well as others that were extended when you stayed on-site.

Something tells me they will be forced to reexamine many of those decisions in the near future.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Of course everyone was paying for it - just like they pay for "free" dining. But the perception that it was included in your stay was strong and the contribution to value even stronger. I personally feel they really screwed up eliminating that "perk" as well as others that were extended when you stayed on-site.

Something tells me they will be forced to reexamine many of those decisions in the near future.

Your once again kidding yourself. Disney has put themselves in a position where they focus only on pleasing the shareholders not the general public. Unless they have a massive loss of business that can be directly attributed to the ending of the Magical Express they will have no reason to reinstate it.

The problem is that they have done so many detrimental things to their image and to the fan loyalty aspect that built the company that it would be almost impossible to pinpoint the exact reason for a decline in profits, if that ever happens. To this point the fluctuation, if any, amounts to what would be parking meter change to them.

 

[John park hopper]

Disney did the same thing with resort parking fees IMO they always incorporate it the the room charge, then they tacked on a parking fee. I was surprised Bob removed it --guest push back maybe

 

[lewisc]

DME was free, room rates didn't go up when DME was added and didn't go down when it was dropped. It was as free as the pool is free.

Free dining isn't really free. Guests generally have the option of booking room discounts.

Many of us thought DME was designed to discourage car rentals and car service grocery stops. Reduce non Disney spending. Ride Share and food delivery services changed things.

 

[John park hopper]

Never bought into that

 

[Eric Graham]

Well, without an actual count, I'd say that the traffic from Daytona to Orlando on I-4 is a pretty good indication of the number of cars used for vacation. A number of reasons, first it usually ends up being cheaper to drive especially with a family, Second, it enables you to bring anything you want with you, i.e. strollers, luggage, family needs, Third, it easily allows for going to different attractions in the central Florida area and many, like myself, want to see more than one place. I know that a whole lot of people fly in and a whole lot of people actually like to just stay with that one enjoyment and nothing else, however, I would not be one of those. I love me some road trip.

It's all good until you wind up sitting through 4 wrecks on the way down there...

 

[John park hopper]

It's all good until you wind up sitting through 4 wrecks on the way down there...

Driven may times and never countered 4 wrecks