Airport urged to halt Disney shuttle service

[BiggerTigger]

The Magic Express is a free service offered to resort guests only, this is an incentive that is really factored into the price of the total cost, so you have a choice to use it or not. If they white Mickey Mouse gloved person is solicited by an interested party, or in this case posing as an interested party, I am sure they were asked if they had reservations at the Disney Resort. If they said no, then I am sure the Magic Espress would deny them access as they do not meet the cryteria for boarding. If these so called "under covered agents" lied and said they did have reservations then that is entrapment.

Further more, they go on to say that some companies have closed or had to lay off personnel because if the Magic Express. Could they be blaiming Disney for thier lack of management or the trying economy. Disney, as other places, has been hit hard by a struggling economy and high gas prices.

It is always so much easier to point fingers. I beleive the article is terribly written and not fully investigated. The writer should check her facts before going to press.

 

[nibblesandbits]

well, I've just voted in the poll and looks people are now siding with the livery...


Do you think OIA should stop the free shuttle to and from Walt Disney World?
58.3%
Yes (1003 responses)

39.7%
No (683 responses)

2.0%
Not sure (35 responses)

1721 total responses
Results are not scientific

 

[nibblesandbits]

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.

One of those same smart people also decided that Disney should offer guests the chance to stay onsite. Disney saw a market that wasn't being tapped into, a market where other people were getting money that Disney could make, so they decided to concentrate on building more hotels. Now I'm sure that these non-disney owned hotels were upset about the fact that Disney was now capitalizing on the market, but the strong hotels survived. Same thing will happen with ME. The strong businesses will figure out a way to survive ME and will become better services because of it.

 

[thedisneyfan]

I might be mistaken, but didn't one have to have DME pre-arranged or is it something like prove that you are staying on property upon arrival at the airport and Disney will give you ride there? Even if its a spur of the moment acquisition, it is still factored into the cost of a Disney vacation and a service that Disney offers only to its resort guests. In the end, how is it really any different than free hotel shuttles other than the size of the operation which correlates to the size of Disney resorts? If Disney isn't selling its service at the airport for a fee and states that it won't charge a fee for ITS guests that will use it I just don't see the unfair nature of it. Maybe if the other services offered a royalty for the nearly THREE previous decades of profit because of Disney, I would feel a little more compassion. Otherwise, make your service better and more attractive by whatever means to get the business.

 

[lewisc]

I used DME, I like the service and there isn't any chance the livery owners will succeed.

That said your post really doesn't say anything of value.

The price of DME is factored into my price but I don't have the opportunity to get a credit if I chose to use an alternate service. This is not "fair competition". It is questionable if the CM is allowed to solicit a Disney resort guest who didn't make a DME reservation. Someone on my DME bus paid Mears to ride the DME bus to the AKL so her son could pick her up. I question if that's permitted under Disney's arrangement with MCO.

Poor management, high gas prices and such may be hurting the competition. Is there any question a free alternative is a major factor?

I like DME but let's not be stupid about it. It's really not fair for Disney to keep the service free just long enough to drive the competitors out of business.

The Magic Express is a free service offered to resort guests only, this is an incentive that is really factored into the price of the total cost, so you have a choice to use it or not. If they white Mickey Mouse gloved person is solicited by an interested party, or in this case posing as an interested party, I am sure they were asked if they had reservations at the Disney Resort. If they said no, then I am sure the Magic Espress would deny them access as they do not meet the cryteria for boarding. If these so called "under covered agents" lied and said they did have reservations then that is entrapment.

Further more, they go on to say that some companies have closed or had to lay off personnel because if the Magic Express. Could they be blaiming Disney for thier lack of management or the trying economy. Disney, as other places, has been hit hard by a struggling economy and high gas prices.

It is always so much easier to point fingers. I beleive the article is terribly written and not fully investigated. The writer should check her facts before going to press.

 

[jcraycraft]

Isn’t DME free now, but I thought I read that Disney may/will start charging for this service down the road? This could push people back the other way.

 

[BiggerTigger]

The biggest argument here really is that by allowing Disney access to travellers first (in an area that others are not) they are restricting competition and violating anti-trust laws.

The gov. looks the other way when the rules broken actually benefit the consumer, which I think that this does for Disney guests. The sticky point is if non WDW guests are harmed as there is less choice, less competition, and possibly higher rates for transportation elsewhere. This will be interesting to see how it plays out.

My personal opinion is that the ME gets bumped to the baggage claim level with the other drivers...

So what is the difference between Disney at the gate looking for thier guests and say a limo drive holding a sign in the same area looking for his guest. "Looking for the Smith Family"

 

[lewisc]

I might be mistaken, but didn't one have to have DME pre-arranged or is it something like prove that you are staying on property upon arrival at the airport and Disney will give you ride there? Even if its a spur of the moment acquisition, it is still factored into the cost of a Disney vacation and a service that Disney offers only to its resort guests. In the end, how is it really any different than free hotel shuttles other than the size of the operation which correlates to the size of Disney resorts? If Disney isn't selling its service at the airport for a fee and states that it won't charge a fee for ITS guests that will use it I just don't see the unfair nature of it. Maybe if the other services offered a royalty for the nearly THREE previous decades of profit because of Disney, I would feel a little more compassion. Otherwise, make your service better and more attractive by whatever means to get the business.

Mears is selling tickets so anyone can ride a DME bus and Disney is allowing guests who didn't make a reservation to ride the bus for free. An Orlando resident payed Mears to take a DME bus to AKL so her son could pick her up. She said that was cheaper than taking a cab. The CM with Mickey hands are letting guests who ask know how they can ride DME even if they don't have reservations.

Shuttles for hotels located a few miles from an airport are traditionally complimentary. Transfers for longer distances are normally not free. I don't work for a livery company, I think DME is great but that doesn't change the fact that having a program free just long enough to drive the competitors out of business is not really free or fair competition.

 

[lewisc]

So what is the difference between Disney at the gate looking for thier guests and say a limo drive holding a sign in the same area looking for his guest. "Looking for the Smith Family"

That's their point. Disney is allowed to be at level three where guests get off the tram and the limo companies have to be down one level at baggage claim. They're not at the same area. Other companies aren't allowed to solicit business at the airport, Disney is taking care of people who didn't make prior arrangements.

If MCO wants to throw the livery drivers a bone they'll make Disney replace the CM's at level three with signs that tell the DME guests where to go.

The real problem is they can't compete with FREE.

 

[shoppingnut]

While I like that the DME service is free, I think the free DME is effecting more than just the limo drivers. How about the skycaps who have less customers to serve and receive less tips now. The restaurants outside of Disney and the other businesses. If other businesses who make up the economy in the Orlando area start going out of business because of DME, that will result in less taxes being paid, more people out of jobs and living off the government and those people are then not spending money in other businesses, such as supermarkets etc. This will have a trickle down effect, it's not just localized to the limo drivers.

With DME, disney's sole purpose is to get you from the minute you get off the plane and make sure you don't leave disney property and spend every single vacation $$ at disney and no place else. They are trying to keep you captive.

I just wonder how disney arranged to get the bags before they hit the carousel, being behind the scenes at the airport probably did take lots of fancy footwork to get that done.

If they do start charging the customers for the service, they could turn around and give you a gift back of disney dollars equal to the amount paid. They do this all the time with bus services here in New York that take people to Atlantic City, but that is a bit of a different situation, they are trying to get people into their specific casinos and there isn't an existing bus service that is being put out of business because of it.

 

[LaughingGravy]

...having a program free just long enough to drive the competitors out of business is not really free or fair competition.

But, it can't be denied that it's extremely clever.

If DME wasn't FREE for my upcoming trip, I would definitely be going with Quicksilver. I'm all for supporting small business when it's a relatively even comparison.
However, checking my luggage at my home airport, having it delivered to my room at Disney and then the reverse back from Disney property to my home airport combined with the Disney themed bus, luggage tags, and that oft mentioned free factor make it a no-brainer, especially since they seem to have worked out the bugs from the first few months.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Lewisc, so, basically what you are saying is that Disney should not be allowed to provide a service to its customer? Its ridiculous to think that its a free service, even if you dont pay something seperate. Its part of the cost that Disney passes on in the cost of staying at a resort or the price of a ticket.

Using the "get a credit for it" position, should I be able to a credit off the price of my daily ticket if I dont want to see the fireworks show, or ride Space Mountian?

 

[shoppingnut]

So what is the difference between Disney at the gate looking for thier guests and say a limo drive holding a sign in the same area looking for his guest. "Looking for the Smith Family"

Because the limo drivers are required to wait on the second level and disney has access to the third level. Potentially if everyone were on the same level, someone could approach a limo driver to ask if there company had a car they could send for them if they didn't make DME ressie's, but disney being on the third level, they can't see what is going on with them and what they are advising. It would be even and fair to have everyone on the same level. Even cruise lines must wait on the second level.

 

[Dwarful]

We rode it in May of '05, the first week it started. It was a nightmare. They were missing one member of our party and at first were going to charge us $25, but after calling our resort they "let her ride w/us for free this time" like we suddenly gave birth to a 9 year old on our flight? Our bus made several stops, we were the first of four stops, if i was # 4 I'd be mighty unhappy at the added time. Our luggage was brought to our room at 2AM even though we requested them to NOT deliver it at that time (6 hours after check-in) and our return to the airport almost caused us to miss our flight, they did not have enough room for us on the bus we were supposed to ride so we had to wait for the next one which was supposed to arrive in 20 minutes, 40 mins later it arrived, my husband put all of our luggage on and removed it when we arrived at the airport. Even though they had a plastic card requesting tips we didn't tip a $1 because it was so bad. If, after 18 mths they are going to charge $29 per adult, I see a lot of people going back to the towncars/limo services. i know we won't try it again, simply because we like a trouble free vacation. We like having one person pick up our group, take us where we need to go (if we want to stop and pick up a few things) and then right to our resort. We handle our own bags everywhere so its not like bellhops are losing money off of us. I personally feel America has become overly dependent on the whole tip process. I tip well at rest. if the service warrants it, if it doesn't then I also tip accordingly.

 

[lewisc]

Lewisc, so, basically what you are saying is that Disney should not be allowed to provide a service to its customer? Its ridiculous to think that its a free service, even if you dont pay something seperate. Its part of the cost that Disney passes on in the cost of staying at a resort or the price of a ticket.

Using the "get a credit for it" position, should I be able to a credit off the price of my daily ticket if I dont want to see the fireworks show, or ride Space Mountian?

You talked about your schooling and used the buggy whip analgy. What I said is you should take the time to dust off your text book and review the anti-trust laws and how they used to be enforced. Look at the FTC, Sherman and Clayton acts. Your comments about fair competition couldn't be more wrong.

DME, at least for the present time, is good for consumers but let's not pretend it's fair competion.

 

[wannabeBelle]

It all sounds like sour grapes to me. I have used Mears quite often in the past as I am usually alone or with one other person. At Mears prices, hardly worth it to hire a towncar service or a taxi for that. With the advent of DME, the price being FREE there is currently no question for me. Also as others have pointed out this is a service for on site guests only. The "Price" is certainly part of the cost of staying at an on property resort. Will it continue to be free?? Quite possibly. With the idea of keeping it's own guests within its borders for a longer period of time, spending every last vacation dollar on meals and souveniers at Disney, this is a no- brainer in the business world!!! Belle

 

[thedisneyfan]

You talked about your schooling and used the buggy whip analgy. What I said is you should take the time to dust off your text book and review the anti-trust laws and how they used to be enforced. Look at the FTC, Sherman and Clayton acts.

DME, at least for the present time, is good for consumers but let's not pretend it's fair competion.

What you are saying is that Disney is not being fair because they offer this service to encourage their guests to enjoy their visit and stay with them over other competitors in town. You act as if Disney was the only reason and was the only place to visit when you go to Orlando. We are talking about the DISNEY RESORT GUESTS here! We're not talking about the Disney transportation service to the Greater Orlando Area. They have every right to offer this service to THEIR guests and should continue to do so. If it gets more people to their venue, then good for them! Its only unfair if they were trying to corner the entire Orlando market to everywhere. I guess its unfair to offer package delivery to the room for resort guests, thus denying FedEx and UPS the right to do these deliveries while DISNEY'S GUESTS are staying at DISNEY'S RESORTS? Maybe it's unfair for Disney to not allow Chili's or Wal-Mart to set up shop at the DISNEY RESORTS and DISNEY PARKS? I guess it's all part of Disney keeping their guests "captive" as an earlier post stated!
All I can say is PLEASE!!!!

 

[BiggerTigger]

Because the limo drivers are required to wait on the second level and disney has access to the third level. Potentially if everyone were on the same level, someone could approach a limo driver to ask if there company had a car they could send for them if they didn't make DME ressie's, but disney being on the third level, they can't see what is going on with them and what they are advising. It would be even and fair to have everyone on the same level. Even cruise lines must wait on the second level.

This I didn't know. Last time I flew and had limo service waiting for me (which is very rare and not that I am someone speacial who uses limo service) the drive was waiting right at the gate as I got off the airplane. He escorted me to the car and my bags were delivered to my room just as I was arriving.

So I do appologize.

On the other hand, should you bite the hand the feeds you? Orlando and OIA came into this huge existance because of Disney, as far back as anyone can remember this area was swamp land and a farming community, Disney made it what it is today, (granted it could have been anyone else that was willing to set up shop), so I can see where OIA has a little more loyalty for the mouse then the rats that are trying to feed off the scraps. A little harsh I know, but I think they have more of them self to blame. I don't know if Universal is offering free shuttle, or Sea World, both have guests that are flying into OIA, or are the livery drivers only concerned with Disney guest.

Maybe they should market themselves better and offer service to other places then disney, And come on with these prices for a taxi trip. Again if they knew how to successfully run a business then maybe they wouldn't have as much problems as they are having.

 

[FanofDinsey1981]

My god, what would happen if Dinsey had their own airport?! I can't even imagine the uproar in Orlando.

And to throw out another monkey wrench....were the cabbies against the bullet train? that would definatly take away business too.

 

[lewisc]

Again if they knew how to successfully run a business then maybe they wouldn't have as much problems as they are having.

Again, how can they compete with a company that's willing to provide the service free, at least long enough to drive them out of business? Their problem has nothing to do with being able run a successful business.

I agree what Disney did is smart for them and, for the present, benefits us. But let's not pretend it's the drivers fault Disney is driving many of them out of business.

Disney isn't even throwing them the bone of letting guests who take a towncar use DME to bypass luggage claim.

I suspect most of the guests staying offsite rent cars.

I think some of the taxi drivers are getting what they deserve. Whey MCO and Orlando doesn't have flat rate cab pricing escapes me. I think more people would use cabs if they weren't afraid of being long hauled and ripped off.