News Disney CEO Bob Chapek reiterates his belief that park reservations are now an essential part of Disney's theme parks business

[Animaniac93-98]

Other than some cruise lines (and I will admit its been a while since I was on a cruise) how many vacations are set up where you are not dealing with your own luggage?

Well that was part of the proposition of staying on site at WDW and what was used to make it seem "special".

Not that they care about such things now, despite charging more.

 

[Disstevefan1]

DME started in 2005. Pre 2005 , millions of guests managed without DME.

Yes, the ending of DME was to move a cost from Disney to the guest that's all. Folks paying for s WDW vacation can easily add the cost of transportation from the airport to WDW.

The loss of ease and convivence DME provided to the guest seems to me the biggest loss to the guest.

 

[JoeCamel]

Of course people can manage if desired. But the point is that the train would not be the most sensible option for the vast majority of people flying to Orlando and travelling to WDW. Nobody is saying that zero people would ever take or want to use Brightline, but that a variety of other options (Mears, taxi, Uber/Lyft, private van, etc) would be easier, more convenient or even potentially cheaper for a number of guests going to WDW.

People for some reason keep bringing up the future train development as somehow a viable replacement for Magic Express and it's really not, not even just a little bit.

Is not and never was meant to be unlike the Western River expansion but it is what people fixate on.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Well that was part of the proposition of staying on site at WDW and what was used to make it seem "special".

Not that they care about such things now, despite charging more.

It made people staying on site feel like they are getting a “perk”. Even though we did pay for it in the room rates of course. As you said, it felt special. Room rates didn’t drop when they got rid of it, actually going up. It’s the little things like this that bother me the most. We will make do getting to WDW another way from the airport but anyone that took advantage of this “ perk” is going to miss it. Just add it to the other hundreds of little thing’s disappearing.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The loss of ease and convivence DME provided to the guest seems to me the biggest loss to the guest.

Mears is pretty close to the same ease and convenience, it’s just $32RT per person.

Disney set the expectation that if you booked with Disney, you’d be taken care of. Driving in? Park at the hotel for free.
Flying in? Ride the Magical express for free.

It’s not the customers fault for wanting Disney to meet the expectations that they set themselves.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Mears is pretty close to the same ease and convenience, it’s just $32RT per person.

Disney set the expectation that if you booked with Disney, you’d be taken care of. Driving in? Park at the hotel for free.
Flying in? Ride the Magical express for free.

It’s not the customers fault for wanting Disney to meet the expectations that they set themselves.

Agreed, Disney has been falling short of customer expectations in many areas and it's for sure not the customer's fault.

 

[Lilofan]

Yes, the ending of DME was to move a cost from Disney to the guest that's all. Folks paying for s WDW vacation can easily add the cost of transportation from the airport to WDW.

The loss of ease and convivence DME provided to the guest seems to me the biggest loss to the guest.

The guest who eats at Toppolinos at Coronado paying $45 for a single breakfast entree probably won’t blink an eye on a transport cost from MCO.

 

[drizgirl]

The guest who eats at Toppolinos at Coronado paying $45 for a single breakfast entree probably won’t blink an eye on a transport cost from MCO.

Or at the increased ticket prices, the parking fees, the higher resort rates, lower discounts and additional charges for Genie+ and ILLs.

Everyone has their breaking point. It's not just this one issue.

 

[Disstevefan1]

The guest who eats at Toppolinos at Coronado paying $45 for a single breakfast entree probably won’t blink an eye on a transport cost from MCO.

Agreed! This is what's driving all the price increases at WDW.

I was speaking more of the convience of DME handing the bags, something even the regular folk got with DME.

Lets forget the regular folks right now. For the guest who eats at Toppolinos at Coronado paying $45 for a single breakfast entree WDW should provide concierge transportation from and to MCO for a price.

Disney can price it high enough to make it worth it for then to do it.

 

[Chi84]

The guest who eats at Toppolinos at Coronado paying $45 for a single breakfast entree probably won’t blink an eye on a transport cost from MCO.

True, but the convenience is nowhere near what was provided by DME and (for us) airline resort check-in. My family would have been fine if Disney continued to provide that same service and just charged for it.

Sometimes a person has to actually use a particular service in order to adequately assess its value. And of course value will differ based on individual circumstances.

There are too many times when people express opinions without the requisite knowledge or experience. For example, it’s not possible for anyone to eat at Topolino’s at Coronado, regardless of price. It may seem insignificant , but it indicates a willingness to speak to matters one might not necessarily know.

 

[Lilofan]

Agreed! This is what's driving all the price increases at WDW.

I was speaking more of the convience of DME handing the bags, something even the regular folk got with DME.

Lets forget the regular folks right now. For the guest who eats at Toppolinos at Coronado paying $45 for a single breakfast entree WDW should provide concierge transportation from and to MCO for a price.

Disney can price it high enough to make it worth it for then to do it.

I recall all tickets were sold out- Disney priced a $100K and more per person visit all Disney parks worldwide , hotel , food and drink, private jet , private chef and doctor and visit some of the 7 Wonders of the World too. Create and price it and some will buy into it.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I recall all tickets were sold out- Disney priced a $100K and more per person visit all Disney parks worldwide , hotel , food and drink, private jet , private chef and doctor and visit some of the 7 Wonders of the World too. Create and price it and some will buy into it.

Yes they will. Come on Disney!

Create a highly themed, super expensive, hotel that works like a space cruise ship……… Wait…….. Nevermind.

 

[Lilofan]

Yes they will. Come on Disney!

Create a highly themed, super expensive, hotel that works like a space cruise ship……… Wait…….. Nevermind.

That surely was a dud. I think WDI was smoking too much of that legalized bush when dreaming that up.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Sometimes a person has to actually use a particular service in order to adequately assess its value. And of course value will differ based on individual circumstances.

Well I used it, but I always travel with 1 carry on so using Mears is no different other than it costs $$$. Mears also provides transport to Disney Springs hotels so that’s a nice bonus too.

 

[Chi84]

Well I used it, but I always travel with 1 carry on so using Mears is no different other than it costs $$$. Mears also provides transport to Disney Springs hotels so that’s a nice bonus too.

I think the people missing it most are the ones who have children and consequently a lot of luggage that they have to handle at the airport, in addition to the kids. I would think that people going to WDW with 1 carry on are almost always going to have an easier (and cheaper) time of it. It was a nice benefit to those who really needed it.

 

[doctornick]

Other than some cruise lines (and I will admit its been a while since I was on a cruise) how many vacations are set up where you are not dealing with your own luggage?

Um, okay? Not sure what that has to do with what I have been saying.

Brightline - once it's open which still isn't even for a while - will be much more of a hassle to transport luggage than other readily available transportation options from MCO to WDW. That's all. No option is as "easy" as DME where there transported the bags for you directly to your room without even going to the carousel but that's not even my point. My point is that for the vast majority of people, other travel options from Orlando Airport like Mears, Taxis, Uber/Lyft, private van, etc will all be much more convenient than taking Brightline. Especially for many WDW guests that have a log of luggage and other items to transport.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Um, okay? Not sure what that has to do with what I have been saying.

Brightline - once it's open which still isn't even for a while - will be much more of a hassle to transport luggage than other readily available transportation options from MCO to WDW. That's all. No option is as "easy" as DME where there transported the bags for you directly to your room without even going to the carousel but that's not even my point. My point is that for the vast majority of people, other travel options from Orlando Airpoty like Mears, Taxis, Uber/Lyft, private van will all be much more convenient than taking Brightline. Especially for many WDW guests that have a log of luggage and other items to transport.

On that I agree. My point (and maybe not directed at you) was that having to manage getting your luggage from your house to your ultimate vacation destination is something that all vacationers have to deal with, and isn't a uniquely WDW problem.

From a completely subjective perspective when we flew we loved the DME. It really was a great perk of staying on property. I will say it did burn us once when we checked our luggage and did our boarding passes at the contemporary, and then when flights got all messed up after a breach in TSA security and we tried to switch flights at midnight, they couldn't get our boarding passes released to re-book on flight

I would be curious as to the behind the scenes analysis on why the decision was made to drop the service, as opposed to just charging. Maybe mears felt they could get a better margin running an independent service and not involve WDW, or asked for such a high fee in the contract negotiation as to force WDW to pull out. Maybe peoples growing use/comfort with ride sharing was cutting into the service and there wouldn't have been a way to monetize it effectively. If prices were at all close, I would rather pay for a private service to pick up and drop off, vs waiting for a communal bus. We did that we a group of ten for 4th of July this year and it could not have gone smoother. Pick up and drop off right at our resort, no wait, all our bags available as soon as we arrived. While we missed the videos a bit, it was most certainly a quicker transition from MCO to park using the private car service.

 

[CAV]

Yes, the ending of DME was to move a cost from Disney to the guest that's all. Folks paying for s WDW vacation can easily add the cost of transportation from the airport to WDW.

The loss of ease and convivence DME provided to the guest seems to me the biggest loss to the guest.

The guest was always paying for DME. Disney paid Mears their portion and kept the rest as profit. Now, Disney keeps it all as profit (because the price didn't decrease) and the guest has to pay more to get from the airport to Disney.

 

[el_super]

No option is as "easy" as DME where there transported the bags for you directly to your room without even going to the carousel but that's not even my point.

It's still a good point to be made though. DME was a unique product and by extension that means it was a complex and costly solution. I don't know much on the contractual side, but I assume that Disney was paying to either house their own employees at the airport, or paying the airport directly for the baggage and check in services. I'm sure that airport security/background checks and safety training was probably also at a premium. MCO was already facing lots of criticism over their security setup and delays, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if MCO was raising the rents/costs to Disney/Mears and contract negotiations just failed. It happens.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I would think that people going to WDW with 1 carry on are almost always going to have an easier (and cheaper) time of it. It was a nice benefit to those who really needed it.

Well it was a nice benefit for me as well. If you need to get from the airport to Disney, you need it.

I'm sure that airport security/background checks and safety training was probably also at a premium. MCO was already facing lots of criticism over their security setup and delays, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if MCO was raising the rents/costs to Disney/Mears and contract negotiations just failed. It happens.

Since the Disney CM’s weren’t working behind security I don’t think there would be any additional background checks needed. Whatever the raised rent was, Mears is still paying for it so it couldn’t be all the much.