Minnie Vans Gone For Good?

[mkt]

Good research, @mkt ! Interesting that they left the wraps on them. Are they all Chevy Traverses?

Oh, no - they were returned to factory condition before selling. I just shared the pics I found online that allowed me to do my research.

The bulk of the fleet was/is Chevy Traverses, with some Suburbans and Ford Transits wheelchair accessible vans to round it up.

 

[wdwmagic]

Oh, no - they were returned to factory condition before selling. I just shared the pics I found online that allowed me to do my research.

The bulk of the fleet was/is Chevy Traverses, with some Suburbans and Ford Transits to round it up.

Yep I believe all they have left now are the Suburbans and Transits, which were the last to be added to the fleet which started out with Traverse.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Used vehicle prices are RIDICULOUS! And, that's if you can find one. I'm guessing these are 2019 models and well-maintained, since they're under lease. You're right; they may well bring 2019 MSRP or better in this market!

I have the dealerships badgering me to trade mine in for a new model (it’s a 2021)…

they would make more selling me the new one for less than the trade at this point…or very close to it

 

[mkt]

Yep I believe all they have left now are the Suburbans and Transits, which were the last to be added to the fleet which started out with Traverse.

There seems some newer Traverses still in the fleet. Some of the plates I ran are still valid and attached to the same year/make/model in the pic.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So... I got curious. All of these were corporate fleet leases (think like a rental car company), all picked up through local dealerships in Florida, and all of them have high mileage

I found pics of Minnie Vans online and ran the plates: Disney has indeed been returning them. Here's just a few examples:

View attachment 614650
Sold Feb 2021 for $16k

View attachment 614652
Sold Oct 2020 for $15k

View attachment 614661
Sold May 2020 for $18k

View attachment 614664 Sold April 2020 for $17k

$18K for a high mileage Chevy is pretty good ROI

 

[mkt]

Wanted to add a few more

$18K for a high mileage Chevy is pretty good ROI

If they could've waited several months, they probably would've gotten $25-30k for them.

 

[mkt]

One more.

The van on the left, sold March 2021 for $37k, and this is what it looks like now:

 

[pdude81]

They used them as a fence backstop for marathon weekend, although they may have just had to move them out of wherever they were parked for storage to facilitate all the other tents and whatnot.

However, they also have been reinstalling signage for these at parks and could have just used generic rideshare signs for the time being. These things made a ton of money and I'm certain they'll be back if pandemic restrictions lessen greatly in the next few months.

 

[TikibirdLand]

One more.

View attachment 614685

The van on the left, sold March 2021 for $37k, and this is what it looks like now:

View attachment 614687

That wrap doesn't translate well on these! I thought the Suburban in my neighborhood was kinda stretching the line a bit too. I was happy to see them be creative with these. Not gonna comment on the prices

 

[ImperfectPixie]

That wrap doesn't translate well on these! I thought the Suburban in my neighborhood was kinda stretching the line a bit too. I was happy to see them be creative with these. Not gonna comment on the prices

Leaving the roofs white was always a head-scratcher to me. It looks unfinished.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Leaving the roofs white was always a head-scratcher to me. It looks unfinished.

The ladder was busy working on new rides.

 

[mkt]

Leaving the roofs white was always a head-scratcher to me. It looks unfinished.

Two tone cars are pretty common

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Two tone cars are pretty common

I used to design vehicle graphics and wraps.

In the shop I worked for, we tried to make the change from graphics to no graphics visually interesting and purposeful, rather than just a dead stop. It looks unfinished on these vans because of the contrast of the large side areas of white roof in relation to the rest of the vehicle - the white of the roof competes for your attention with the white polka dots and it's too "heavy" looking in relation to them. The white roofs on the Transverses has a more purposeful look, with the exception of the one above (sold for $18k) where they didn't wrap the areas to the sides of the rear windows. The white roofs work much better on the Transverse because it compliments the polka dots, rather than competing with them, and the roof becomes part of the design, rather than a distraction. Even in the picture with all the larger vans, you can see a couple that have a lower-profile roof that better replicate the balance achieved on the Transverses.

All they needed to do was to carry the height of the top of the rear doors around the rest of the vehicle and the problem would have been avoided completely. For a company of Disney's size and with the resources they have, I shouldn't be looking at anything they produce and thinking "that looks lazy".

 

[natatomic]

So... I got curious. All of these were corporate fleet leases (think like a rental car company), all picked up through local dealerships in Florida, and all of them have high mileage

I found pics of Minnie Vans online and ran the plates: Disney has indeed been returning them. Here's just a few examples:

View attachment 614650
Sold Feb 2021 for $16k

View attachment 614652
Sold Oct 2020 for $15k

View attachment 614661
Sold May 2020 for $18k

View attachment 614664 Sold April 2020 for $17k

Aside from #63, all of these were from the original fleet, which were beginning to be turned in right before the pandemic. Their leases were up and it was just time for them to be replaced.

I must say I did enjoy the mini van service because they would drop you off right at the very front of whatever park you were visiting but they were overpriced I can get a lyft from almost anywhere on property to any park for an average of about nine dollars… that’s what I do every trip ..plus I can get them to stop at the gas station so I can get drinks and anything else I might need..

This is obviously a moot point now, but the MVs were allowed to let you take an on-property stop to the gas station, or any other quick stop you needed to make. You could even have your driver take you through the drive through at McDonald’s if you wanted!

 

[pdude81]

Leaving the roofs white was always a head-scratcher to me. It looks unfinished.

Less time washing off bird droppings?

 

[mkt]

For a company of Disney's size and with the resources they have, I shouldn't be looking at anything they produce and thinking "that looks lazy".

"that looks lazy" has been Disney's mantra for years.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

"that looks lazy" has been Disney's mantra for years.

I know why they did it, too. It was literally pure laziness.

It's obvious that the Transverses were the initial design. The design is very tight and nice-looking. My guess is that the vans with the low-profile roofs were next...so they created a new design file specific to those vans. Then they had to produce graphics for the vans with the high roofs, and rather than put in the little bit of extra time to keep true to the intent of the design, they just extended the polka dot pattern up the back doors and called it a day.

 

[mkt]

I know why they did it, too. It was literally pure laziness.

It's so freaking weird. Disney will pay their graphic designers well above market wages (for Florida) to create hundreds of different stickers to be used for onstage decor in a single theme park attraction, but they won't have them adapt the wraps for a different car - something that will take far FAR less time.

 

[TikibirdLand]

It's so freaking weird. Disney will pay their graphic designers well above market wages (for Florida) to create hundreds of different stickers to be used for onstage decor in a single theme park attraction, but they won't have them adapt the wraps for a different car - something that will take far FAR less time.

I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have in-house designers and vinyl printers. They seem to have a lot of stuff around the parks to plaster with "fun". Look at those construction walls in EPCoT!

 

[mkt]

I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have in-house designers and vinyl printers.

They do. While Disney outsources quite a bit of stuff, I've collaborated on non-Disney stuff with their designers, and Disney keeps these resources mostly in-house.