Airport / Magical Express Debate Continues

[MickeyTigg]

Nope

No thanks....I'll stick with the towncar. I've done the bus thing too, it's not a whole lot better than the van.

I want the personal and speedy service. And I know where my luggage is.

 

[Bluewaves]

First of all I have used DME, at most you go to 3 resorts that is yours and 2 others, not that much different than Mears old service, I remember one year with a Mears van we went to the Grand floridian and then to all star sports so it took forever to get there at least now its resorts all close together.

My luggage showed up quick under an hour I was able to pre check in for my flight and that went very smooth and on the bus the video ads for the concessions in the airport were good and we did finally eat in the airport since we were there early but it wasn't bothering me any.

I would use DME again its no different from when you take a cruise and its midnight and your luggage hasn't shown up yet and you have to put your bag out the night before you leave and your carry on is crammed with stuff, so its no different and personally I like it and if they charge less than $40 for the service I will use it again.

For the bus that had the screens turned off and the gratuties accepted signs all over the place I would have gotten the drivers name and reported him or her to Disney and Mears.

I reported a monorail driver witha bad attitude and I got so many calls from Disney's Customer service it wasn't even funny. Report a bad experience thats all I have to say.

 

[suzie_q183]

When a DME shuttle comes to the airport, is it deginated to certain resorts on property, or does it stop at all the resorts with guests on that shuttle?

Dan

The hotels are in groups of 3 or 4 hotels per group. In May when we were there we stopped at 2 other hotels (sorry I forgot which ones) then Port Orleans French Quarter and then at Port Orleans in Riverside.

 

[AEfx]

So tired of all the whining about DME...the sour grapes run deep. The more they complain, the less I feel for them.

AEfx

 

[Marge10369]

The other thing is the Sentinel seems to gloss over the problems people have been having with DME. It seems to me from what I've heard is either people are not having any problems or if they are having problems....they're nightmares.

Personally, I don't want to be herded onto a bus with a bunch of other people shuttled to multiple resorts before getting to my resort and then have to wait 3 hours to see my luggage...thereby forcing me to stuff more into my carry-on's so I can change into shorts after leaving winter in Wisconsin wearing pants.

Once DME stops being free next year, we'll see how popular DME is. The question is...will there be any towncar companies left?

I hope so....I plan on avoiding DME and using a towncar service...I'd rather have the personal attention and getting to my resort in 30 minutes.

Just got back from Disney and used DME. Never felt herded. Total time from landing to resort 1 hour. Went right to the parks and when we came back (2pm) luggage there. Return trip just as smooth. A pair of shorts & a top in my carry on was a small price for free and very good transportation. This is only the second time we ever used any type of transportation other than a rental car and the town car we used was nothing to rave about. So even with a price DME gets a thumbs up from us.

 

[epcot2004]

I agree with other posts, once this service isn't free anymore people (like myself) will find alternative ways to the resort from the airport. Aside from that this is nothing more than free enterprise, only the strong survive.

 

[Becky]

as a Florida residen I don't see why I should have to pay for tourists to come here Disney QUOTE]

Um, do you realize what your taxes would be if it were not for tourism in Florida? Think Taxachusetts :lookaroun

 

[Bytowner]

When I first read about the complaints by taxi drivers about DME, it felt a little odd about the timing. First, it's October, traditionally Disney's slowest month. The parks are practically empty. However, October is also traditionally one of the busiest months for conferences and conventions, and Orlando is expected to have a bumper year in this area as a lot of conventions slated for New Orleans had to be moved elsewhere and Orlando took up a lot of that extra business.

I think the real reason why the taxi drivers are complaining is not so much about the business they're losing from Disney, but to try and dissuade the Convention Centers in Orlando from doing the same thing. I'm sure there are more than a few people in the industry watching Disney's little experiment and since it's working out so well, it must be scaring the taxi drivers in Orlando.

Not that I'm a big fan of the taxis in Orlando to start with. Most have no meters at all, and the driver simply tells you how much he's charging you once you get to the hotel.

 

[shoppingnut]

The hotels are in groups of 3 or 4 hotels per group. In May when we were there we stopped at 2 other hotels (sorry I forgot which ones) then Port Orleans French Quarter and then at Port Orleans in Riverside.

When I went last week, we stopped at Saratoga Springs and Old Key West and then Riverside.

 

[gsimpson]

too bad

Hate to sound cold but the taxis were/are horrible more often than not, and they charged way too much.

What next, Disney should do something to force a percentage of their guest to stay at the Days Inn or Marriot because "they have an unfare advantage with hotel rooms on property"?

Last we checked we were not a socialist country, if there isn't enough business for them they should shut down.

Lets check the pros and cons:

Pros...
less pollution
less crowded freeways
fewer accidents
fewer people in baggage check in lines
fewer people renting cars
fewer people who don't know where anything is in Orlando driving around (talking about the guests who rent cars, not the taxi drivers)
fewer people getting ripped off by unscrupulous hacks
less congestion around the airport
more convenience for the guests
lower costs for the guests
remaining taxis will have to compete harder

Cons...
some taxis drivers will lose their jobs/business
car rental companies will reduce their Orlando fleets
Orlando will make less money on taxi taxes
OIA will make less on taxi related revenue


doesn't really look like a hard call to me.

 

[Fatshe Leso]

The taxi/towncar companies should spend their time working on some kind of marketing strategies to attract more business. Crying foul is going to accomplish little in the end. As has already been stated in this thread there are definite problems with the DME service so these taxi companies would be smart to somehow capatlize on these faults and highlight why their services are better and worth the money.

 

[CatLady]

Being fairly new to these boards, I may have missed a discussion about this in the past.... but I found it interesting that they rolled out the Magical Express service not terribly long after the proposition for high speed rail direct from MCO to Disney fell through. How much of a connection is there, I wonder?

The business community at large loves to gripe about Disney. I have family at competing parks who are very wary of what Disney does, but no one can fault how shrewd they are about capturing the marketplace.

 

[suzie_q183]

When I went last week, we stopped at Saratoga Springs and Old Key West and then Riverside.

Thanks.

 

[bgraham34]

I sitll know plenty of people who wont use the free service but you rarely here anything about that.

 

[bugsbunny]

Why don't all these "outside" companies band together and get a service going with Universal?

Oh, that's right! Nobody goes there.

 

[DME]

I sitll know plenty of people who wont use the free service but you rarely here anything about that.

So what's the reason they won't use this service?

 

[bob0012]

Beeline Ground Transportation, one of two companies with shuttle concessions at Orlando International Airport, said Monday it would lay off as many as 20 people this week as it struggles to compete with Disney's Magical Express.

And DME has created as many jobs over at Mears I'm sure.

Beeline is the latest in a string of companies that have complained Magical Express is hurting business with what they consider to be a sweetheart deal involving Disney, Mears and the airport.

Actually, the deal itself is one thing I've never really heard critisized.

Michael Gerloven, Beeline's general manager, said the company did not know about Magical Express when it began operating at the airport about nine months ago.

So they're bad at buisness, so what? How do you not know about it?

But criticism from taxi and luxury-sedan drivers is expected to peak at a rally planned for later this week.

Last week, a group of taxi drivers staged a strike to draw attention to how they say their businesses have been crippled by the service. Taxi fares from the airport to Disney run at least $40, making it hard to compete against Disney's free shuttle.

So the're mad that Disney is taking away some of the business that Disney brought here.


Really, Mears were the big guys before, and they still are. The other guys have been complaining about them for years. This is just a new way for Mears to get riders, and a new way for the other guys to complain.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Last i checked, there was no right to make a profit in the constitution.....

 

[MickeyTigg]

And DME has created as many jobs over at Mears I'm sure.

Actually not....most of the drivers came from other areas of Mears. They're former shuttle or Disney Cruise drivers.

 

[happytrees]

Last i checked, there was no right to make a profit in the constitution.....

AUSTIN
Those capitalist dogs will finally pay for their crimes against the people,
hey Comrades?

BASIL EXPOSITION
We won, Austin.

AUSTIN
Groovy. Smashing! Good on ya! Nice tie. Yea capitalism!