Airport to boot Disney greeters

[jcraycraft]

Looks like the taixs/drivers are going to win this round. I wonder if this goes for the DCL greeters too? I think they are at that same location???

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busi...sep22,0,1135085.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

Airport to boot Disney greeters
Taxis, other drivers said deal was unfair

Beth Kassab | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 22, 2005

Disney's Magical Express, the free service that shuttles Disney tourists and their baggage to and from Orlando International Airport, will no longer be able to lure in travelers with greeters on the airport's third level.

The employees, who wear oversized Mickey Mouse gloves, meet passengers as they enter the main airport terminal. Their location has been a source of friction for taxi, luxury car and rental-car services, which say Disney's exclusive access to the third level has significantly cut into their businesses.

"We don't let anybody else have greeters there," said airport board Chairman Jeffry Fuqua. "Everybody needs to have a fair opportunity and equal playing field."

The change came about Wednesday after the airport's attorney sent a letter to Disney's attorney informing him that the greeters need to be removed by Oct. 31. The letter also clarified that Walt Disney World guests who had not pre-arranged a ride on Magical Express would not be able to access the service once they arrived at the airport.

Disney spokesman Jacob DiPietre said Disney plans to discuss the changes with airport officials, but he would not comment on when the greeters would be moved or what effect that might have on the service.

"We evaluate and adjust our operations on an ongoing basis," DiPietre said.

Since Disney began Magical Express as a pilot project in May, other providers of transportation at the airport have cried foul, saying the service and Disney's special access have dramatically hurt their businesses.

Disney has said about 5,000 people ride Magical Express every day -- a number far above what the airport expected when it agreed to the 18-month trial run last year.

"The response is considerably greater than we anticipated," Fuqua said.

Earlier this month an attorney for the Greater Orlando Livery Association, a group of about 200 bus, van and luxury-car drivers, sent a letter to OIA Executive Director Bill Jennings demanding that the airport terminate Disney's contract for the program.

Larry Colleton, the attorney for the association, said Disney's greeters were soliciting passengers who had not already signed up for Magical Express, which is against the airport's solicitation rules.

Jennings had not responded to Colleton's letter and did not alert him about the changes for greeters.

"It's kind of like too little, too late," Colleton said. "We still stand by our position that this contract should be terminated. How is Disney being held accountable for its material breach of the contract?"

Disney has said it never violated any terms of its agreement with the airport.

Airport officials said they want to schedule a series of meetings with Disney over the next 60 days to lay out a framework for how Magical Express and any similar services that might be offered by other companies in the future will operate.

Of major concern is whether the pilot program is causing the airport to lose money because its other concessionaires may no longer pay as much in airport fees. Disney has spent $21 million on the program since May, about $2 million of that going to the airport through fees or improvements, according to documents from a private presentation Disney made to airport officials last month.

Fuqua said one option might be to require Magical Express to operate out of both the A and B sides of the terminal like most concessionaires such as rental-car companies and other shuttle services.

Currently Magical Express only operates out of the A terminal, and a change would significantly decrease the program's efficiency and result in an estimated increase of $15 million a year in Disney's operating costs, according to documents prepared by the company.

But Fuqua said other providers of transportation are required to operate on both sides of the airport despite the increased expenses and decreased efficiency.

"It costs more money for Hertz and the others to operate that way," Fuqua said. "We can't set our airport up to operate to Disney's pleasure."

 

[Shaman]

"It costs more money for Hertz and the others to operate that way," Fuqua said. "We can't set our airport up to operate to Disney's pleasure."

That is a rediculous statement....again if it wasn't for WDW, Orlando would be nowhere near the city/tourist destination that it is today and/or bring in the business for all those people who are complaining in the first place....

They should be happy to have Disney...they should be thrilled that Disney is bringing in the crowds....

Silly airport people....oh well....

 

[lscott933]

tell the owner of the other business to sub contact with disney since disney is doing that everywhere in there business lately. that way they could settle both problem with them. just an idea.

 

[jcraycraft]

I think the removal of the greeters will not satisfy the taxis/drivers. I think people with still use the FREE DME over other forms of paid transportation... expect for the people who want/need a rental car. Notice none of the rental car companies are complaining…. They are probably still holding their market share and not hurt by DME.

 

[bgraham34]

i feel bad for those who are losing bussiness because of this. Buts its true if it were not for Disney Orlando would be a much smaller city.

 

[brich]

The greeters are the reason the livery services are losing business?
:lol: Hahahahahaha
Give me a break. Any takers on a bet that once the greeters leave the 3rd floor, business does not improve for the livery companies?
I really don't want to get into another round of this but I'll say the airport should allow the taxis and limos spaces outside to do their pickups and then this should be over. Just wait until Disney's new road is finished. Wait until you see all the businesses that complain about that. Oh sure, Universal claims they're not worried. Just wait....
Thanks Disney... for giving us all a market in which to operate our businesses... :brick:

 

[wannab@dis]

You're exactly right brich. The greeters are not the problem. Even the livery association knows this.

"It's kind of like too little, too late," Colleton said. "We still stand by our position that this contract should be terminated. How is Disney being held accountable for its material breach of the contract?"

The moving of the greeters is not what they are after, they want the service terminated. So in turn, I say to keep it going and run it free forever!

 

[Thrawn]

And how does Disney solve this? By including a map with your DME kit from the terminals to the busses.

 

[brich]

And how does Disney solve this? By including a map with your DME kit from the terminals to the busses.

I don't even think there is anything to solve here Thrawn. You need to go down to the 2nd level any way, don't you? I only thought these greeters served as, well, "greeters". Not sales people. But yes, a map would be simple enough....

 

[Number_6]

tell the owner of the other business to sub contact with disney since disney is doing that everywhere in there business lately. that way they could settle both problem with them. just an idea.

Because Mears has an exclusive contract with Disney. The only taxis, for example, that are allowed to use the taxi stands outside of Disney Resorts are from Yellow Cab(owned and operated by Mears). The other drivers are not allowed to wait and collect fares, unless they were called for by the individuals in question. If the other businesses wanted to do that, they would actually have to let Mears acquire them, in which case they would become Mears, and not separately owned and operated.

 

[MKCustodial]

My only question is this: if I call Disney to book a room in a resort, do they inform me about DME or do I have to ask about it? I ask this because of the statement that DME CMs are approaching every single WDW Guest, whether they've signed for the service or not. Seriously, if I wasn't part of this forum, I wouldn't know about DME, since Brazilians usually book vacations like that through a travel agency. So let's say the travel agency doesn't tell me anything about DME as well. So I'm booked for a week at Pop Century. I arrive in Orlando, and inside the airport I run into CMs waving people. They're wearing Mickey gloves, they're obviously Disney, of course I'm gonna approach them and ask what that is all about! And if they offer me the service, what? I have to say "No, thanks, I'm gonna pay for a limo ride?"
I don't completely agree with the "Orlando only exists because of Disney" argument, but it is a dog eat dog world out there, and if your competition suddenly springs something new that's gonna threaten your position, you gotta figure out a way to adapt and improve yourself, or you'll fold. Simple as that.

Now, in all honesty, I wonder what would be happening if Universal had thought of this first, and Disney was the one complaining? Do you guys think there would be as many people here saying "Hey, no use in crying, it's business"? I mean, I wonder about the reactions in a Universal-centric discussion forum about this issue...

 

[brich]

My only question is this: if I call Disney to book a room in a resort, do they inform me about DME or do I have to ask about it? I ask this because of the statement that DME CMs are approaching every single WDW Guest, whether they've signed for the service or not. Seriously, if I wasn't part of this forum, I wouldn't know about DME, since Brazilians usually book vacations like that through a travel agency. So let's say the travel agency doesn't tell me anything about DME as well. So I'm booked for a week at Pop Century. I arrive in Orlando, and inside the airport I run into CMs waving people. They're wearing Mickey gloves, they're obviously Disney, of course I'm gonna approach them and ask what that is all about! And if they offer me the service, what? I have to say "No, thanks, I'm gonna pay for a limo ride?"

I would hope an agent booking Disney vacations would be aware of DME. I would also suspect that if your inquiring about a Disney vacation that you would see DME promotions in brochures you may be looking at or on Disney.com... I just find it hard to believe that WDWMagic is the only place people may find out about DME... :veryconfu

I don't completely agree with the "Orlando only exists because of Disney" argument, but it is a dog eat dog world out there, and if your competition suddenly springs something new that's gonna threaten your position, you gotta figure out a way to adapt and improve yourself, or you'll fold. Simple as that.

Ok, tell me what was in Orlando before WDW. And can you tell me in which direction Orlando grew? Any idea about the hotels that popped up right outside the property? And all the cheesy tourist stops, the corny gift shops, the gazillion hotels, fast food and restraunt chains, Universal, Sea World, any of this would be there if WDW was in say, Tampa?

Now, in all honesty, I wonder what would be happening if Universal had thought of this first, and Disney was the one complaining? Do you guys think there would be as many people here saying "Hey, no use in crying, it's business"? I mean, I wonder about the reactions in a Universal-centric discussion forum about this issue...

Disney wouldn't complain. They would counter it. Just like building a road into WDW that will take traffic away from the Universal area.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Not for nothing, but Universal isn't complaining and whining like little babies... It is the cab drivers and limo drivers who are crying... Universal may even be trying to come up with their own service to counter Disney's....

 

[MKCustodial]

I would hope an agent booking Disney vacations would be aware of DME. I would also suspect that if your inquiring about a Disney vacation that you would see DME promotions in brochures you may be looking at or on Disney.com... I just find it hard to believe that WDWMagic is the only place people may find out about DME... :veryconfu

Of course, I didn't mean to imply that you'd only hear about it here. But since there's a part of the program directed to the airlines, I don't know if that service would be available for all International Guests, and I really wouldn't know if the agents would find pertinent to mention it.

Ok, tell me what was in Orlando before WDW. And can you tell me in which direction Orlando grew? Any idea about the hotels that popped up right outside the property? And all the cheesy tourist stops, the corny gift shops, the gazillion hotels, fast food and restraunt chains, Universal, Sea World, any of this would be there if WDW was in say, Tampa?

Yeah, we know Orlando became what it is today because of WDW. What I meant to say is that I don't think it's fair to use that statement as an argument for every single debate there is involving the rest of the town. Using a regional example, it's like this soccer team down here. When the team is going through a bad period, every discussion about it ends with "Yeah, but we're 5 times State Champions and your team isn't". Did that make sense? Yeah, the town grew because of DIsney, but a lot of stuff happened afterwards, and eventually a lot more people other than Disney got involved, so I just don't think it's fair to keep throwing that around.

Disney wouldn't complain. They would counter it. Just like building a road into WDW that will take traffic away from the Universal area.

Right, but it's fun wondering... I bet a lot of people around here would be fuming, crying fowl just like those drivers are doing, and I wonder if Universal followers are doing jut that somewhere on the Net. :lol:

Not for nothing, but Universal isn't complaining and whining like little babies... It is the cab drivers and limo drivers who are crying... Universal may even be trying to come up with their own service to counter Disney's....

Oh I bet they are, they'd be to stupid to pass up on some kind of counterplan, specially with the new Disney road being developed. Universal is gonna need a plan of action about this issue more than ever.

 

[wannabeBelle]

I Agree with an earlier statement about the rental cars not being affected dramatically. I am not sure of the numbers but I think the rentals are a different kettle of fish altogether. The limo services and the DME are pretty similar in that it offers you a ride to a resort and back. There are the littler things that differentiate the two but that is essentially it. So for that service I have the option to pay over $100 or for free there really is no question for me. Belle

 

[Bluewaves]

Lets see here, stinky limo or cab or nice clean bus, that was reason I took Mears all those years in the first place their people were pleasant and the vehicles they operated were clean and not smelly.

Not to mention most of their drivers spoke english well enough for me to understand what they were saying.

So the taxi and limo drivers got beat at their own game. No surprise they should have seen it coming for years. Disney has tried a number of times to either build a monorail that would terminate on the Disney property and not stop anywhere between there and the airport or run buses.

I'm surprised the taxi and limo people didn't have a fit when you could book Mears tickets through Disney's reservation system before DME. Just seems a bit ridiculous to me.

 

[wannab@dis]

I Agree with an earlier statement about the rental cars not being affected dramatically. I am not sure of the numbers but I think the rentals are a different kettle of fish altogether. The limo services and the DME are pretty similar in that it offers you a ride to a resort and back. There are the littler things that differentiate the two but that is essentially it. So for that service I have the option to pay over $100 or for free there really is no question for me. Belle

Agreed, but the same is true for the livery services. If they based their entire business plan on Disney, then they may be hurting. If they are a well-rounded business and have a strong base other than Disney, they probably are not seeing a major drop.

Keep in mind that 90,000 people go through MCO every day and ONLY 5,000 use DME. What about the rest of those people? I bet they need rides too!

 

[brich]

I Agree with an earlier statement about the rental cars not being affected dramatically. I am not sure of the numbers but I think the rentals are a different kettle of fish altogether. The limo services and the DME are pretty similar in that it offers you a ride to a resort and back. There are the littler things that differentiate the two but that is essentially it. So for that service I have the option to pay over $100 or for free there really is no question for me. Belle

I agree. We always rent a car. The last reason we do so for a means to get to WDW. We like the convenience once we're at WDW. We like getting our bags, loading up the minivan and heading off.... Different kettle...

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

I don't think that the greeters should be able to solicit new riders at the airprot. Only people with the existing reservations should be able to use DME. But, I can't see that is even a problem anyway, even though that seems to be what the taxi/livery people are saying. The whole point of DME is to make a reservation and tag your bags BEFOREHAND, so how could Disney be soliciting people anyway? :veryconfu


(greedily fingers her DME luggage tags thinking screw those people, I'm riding to WDW for free!!)

 

[wannab@dis]

I don't think that the greeters should be able to solicit new riders at the airprot. Only people with the existing reservations should be able to use DME. But, I can't see that is even a problem anyway, even though that seems to be what the taxi/livery people are saying. The whole point of DME is to make a reservation and tag your bags BEFOREHAND, so how could Disney be soliciting people anyway? :veryconfu


(greedily fingers her DME luggage tags thinking screw those people, I'm riding to WDW for free!!)

Even by the livery's own admission, the DME greeters were not soliciting any riders. But they did answer questions and would direct people to where they could get whatever they needed to board the bus. The only thing, is those people had to get their own luggage.