News Disney considering a service like Uber at WDW - Confirmed as Minnie Van

[Wsny11]

Again, I'm going to illustrate my problem with this - that the end game here is to ban Uber and Lyft from Disney property. Something they can easily do. I think that Uber is the best way to get around when you are going from resort to resort or when you are trying to use the busses during peak times like park open / close. Unless Disney has 2-3000 of the Minnie vans in service during these times, they will be offering an inferior service in regards to speed - which is the most important factor involved in this game. On top of that they will be charging double what you pay for an Uber.

So basically, today, if I'm staying at the beach club and want to go to Jiko and not spend 2 hours round trip via bus, I can get an Uber for less than $10 that is at my location in <3 minutes and at the AK Lodge in another 8-10 minutes. In a couple years, I'll be waiting forever for a Disney van, pay double (actually more once they have their monopoly in place) and wish I had just rented a car.

 

[Maeryk]

Again, I'm going to illustrate my problem with this - that the end game here is to ban Uber and Lyft from Disney property. Something they can easily do. I think that Uber is the best way to get around when you are going from resort to resort or when you are trying to use the busses during peak times like park open / close. Unless Disney has 2-3000 of the Minnie vans in service during these times, they will be offering an inferior service in regards to speed - which is the most important factor involved in this game. On top of that they will be charging double what you pay for an Uber.

So basically, today, if I'm staying at the beach club and want to go to Jiko and not spend 2 hours round trip via bus, I can get an Uber for less than $10 that is at my location in <3 minutes and at the AK Lodge in another 8-10 minutes. In a couple years, I'll be waiting forever for a Disney van, pay double (actually more once they have their monopoly in place) and wish I had just rented a car.

Well, consider they are also expanding their bus fleet, adding a transportation subsystem that will free up some traffic, and expanding the roads to add bus lanes, thus allowing more buses to work more efficiently.. and you may see the buses get a lot better.

I'm one of those folks who is unwilling to hop in j random strangers car.. feel slightly less skeeved by a badged cab, but would take a Disney provided transpo in a heartbeat.. even if it was a rusty van with "Free kandy" on the side.. as long as the wild eyed long haired guy had a Disney name tag on.. Onward Jeeves!

 

[TrojanUSC]

Again, I'm going to illustrate my problem with this - that the end game here is to ban Uber and Lyft from Disney property. Something they can easily do. I think that Uber is the best way to get around when you are going from resort to resort or when you are trying to use the busses during peak times like park open / close. Unless Disney has 2-3000 of the Minnie vans in service during these times, they will be offering an inferior service in regards to speed - which is the most important factor involved in this game. On top of that they will be charging double what you pay for an Uber.

So basically, today, if I'm staying at the beach club and want to go to Jiko and not spend 2 hours round trip via bus, I can get an Uber for less than $10 that is at my location in <3 minutes and at the AK Lodge in another 8-10 minutes. In a couple years, I'll be waiting forever for a Disney van, pay double (actually more once they have their monopoly in place) and wish I had just rented a car.

Disney knows they can't compete with Uber and there's no way they will ban Uber from their property. What exactly are they going to do? Tell someone who got an Uber at Universal they can't come to the Magic Kingdom? Block everyone staying at the Four Seasons, Waldorf or Swan/Dolphin from using Uber, even though the drivers must traverse Disney property to get to these locations? Of course not. Disney is betting that by marketing this better to resort guests and combining it with the trust in the Disney brand - they can make a killing. Even if they didn't take away one ride from Uber, they'd still make a killing by essentially taking in-house all the cab fares and Mears black car fares within Disney property. Not to mention those who would be predisposed to take the bus and never considered an alternate option.

 

[s8film40]

Again, I'm going to illustrate my problem with this - that the end game here is to ban Uber and Lyft from Disney property.

Technically they already are banned. There's just very little that Disney can do to stop them.

I think this solution really comes down to a "if you can't beat them, join them" scenario. Rather than trying to block guests from using Uber or Lyft they are simply offering up a in house solution to fill the need. It represents good business sense, I have to give them credit for that.

 

[Maeryk]

Technically they already are banned. There's just very little that Disney can do to stop them.

I think this solution really comes down to a "if you can't beat them, join them" scenario. Rather than trying to block guests from using Uber or Lyft they are simply offering up a in house solution to fill the need. It represents good business sense, I have to give them credit for that.

Yep. I wouldn't use uber or lyft. I'd totally use "minnie vans". We had to use a mears taxi once.. to get to MK from PO:R for pre-open BOG reservations, and it wasn't cheap, but it worked. I would use this option at the drop of a hat if we found ourselves in a similar situation again.

 

[PizzaPlanet]

I could care less. If this is only takes you across property, why wouldn't you just take a bus/monorail/boat/gondola for free?

 

[Maeryk]

I could care less. If this is only takes you across property, why wouldn't you just take a bus/monorail/boat/gondola for free?

The time we had to do it it was because the busses weren't running from the resort yet. This was early on in the pre-drop BOG breakfast reservations, and POR is heck and gone from everywhere anyway. Front desk straight up told us we wouldn't be able to do it by bus, with the stops involved, and no guarantee that the first bus would even make it to the main stop with space on it.

Other people use uber because they scheduled stuff too close, and don't realize they have an hour window on most reservations, or they just don't like using the mass transit provided, because it's too crowded or takes too long. Uber makes a mint down there.

 

[s8film40]

I could care less. If this is only takes you across property, why wouldn't you just take a bus/monorail/boat/gondola for free?

It can come down to 2 hours versus 10 minutes. So the question is how much is your vacation time worth? In most cases if you took the cost of your trip and divided it out amongst the useable hours of each day $15-$20 starts to seem very cheap.

If it allows you to have your planned dinner at a resort and still catch the fireworks that night is it worth it?

 

[mm121]

Again, I'm going to illustrate my problem with this - that the end game here is to ban Uber and Lyft from Disney property. Something they can easily do. I think that Uber is the best way to get around when you are going from resort to resort or when you are trying to use the busses during peak times like park open / close. Unless Disney has 2-3000 of the Minnie vans in service during these times, they will be offering an inferior service in regards to speed - which is the most important factor involved in this game. On top of that they will be charging double what you pay for an Uber.

So basically, today, if I'm staying at the beach club and want to go to Jiko and not spend 2 hours round trip via bus, I can get an Uber for less than $10 that is at my location in <3 minutes and at the AK Lodge in another 8-10 minutes. In a couple years, I'll be waiting forever for a Disney van, pay double (actually more once they have their monopoly in place) and wish I had just rented a car.

down the line the tech for driverless vehicles will get improved and maybe they can convert the minnie vans to electric, then it would be easy to have thousands of these around to be summoned "on demand" without all the labor hours attached

seems one of the biggest issues they have with the buses is that they dont seem to have the driver scheduling perfected to meet demand and they dont want to pay drivers then have empty buses, so they then minimize the number of buses thus causing waits and over crowding

Well, consider they are also expanding their bus fleet, adding a transportation subsystem that will free up some traffic, and expanding the roads to add bus lanes, thus allowing more buses to work more efficiently.. and you may see the buses get a lot better.

I'm one of those folks who is unwilling to hop in j random strangers car.. feel slightly less skeeved by a badged cab, but would take a Disney provided transpo in a heartbeat.. even if it was a rusty van with "Free kandy" on the side.. as long as the wild eyed long haired guy had a Disney name tag on.. Onward Jeeves!

will the "minnie vans" be allowed to use the bus lanes? or will they be stuck in traffic while the buses fly by?

Disney knows they can't compete with Uber and there's no way they will ban Uber from their property. What exactly are they going to do? Tell someone who got an Uber at Universal they can't come to the Magic Kingdom? Block everyone staying at the Four Seasons, Waldorf or Swan/Dolphin from using Uber, even though the drivers must traverse Disney property to get to these locations? Of course not. Disney is betting that by marketing this better to resort guests and combining it with the trust in the Disney brand - they can make a killing. Even if they didn't take away one ride from Uber, they'd still make a killing by essentially taking in-house all the cab fares and Mears black car fares within Disney property. Not to mention those who would be predisposed to take the bus and never considered an alternate option.

the minnie vans will be competing, just not on a one minnie van to one uber ratio, nor on a cost stance

thats not the goal, the goal is to have a disney branded product that disney profits from

Technically they already are banned. There's just very little that Disney can do to stop them.

I think this solution really comes down to a "if you can't beat them, join them" scenario. Rather than trying to block guests from using Uber or Lyft they are simply offering up a in house solution to fill the need. It represents good business sense, I have to give them credit for that.

how are they technically already banned? when resorts allow them entry. I know at Mk drop off is an issue, and they are restricted to the TTC

not sure how uber drop off is specifically handled at the parks since havent used one to get there

It can come down to 2 hours versus 10 minutes. So the question is how much is your vacation time worth? In most cases if you took the cost of your trip and divided it out amongst the useable hours of each day $15-$20 starts to seem very cheap.

If it allows you to have your planned dinner at a resort and still catch the fireworks that night is it worth it?

true, everyone perceives the value of a dollar differently to some 20 is alot to others its nothing

 

[Wsny11]

Well, consider they are also expanding their bus fleet, adding a transportation subsystem that will free up some traffic, and expanding the roads to add bus lanes, thus allowing more buses to work more efficiently.. and you may see the buses get a lot better.

I'm one of those folks who is unwilling to hop in j random strangers car.. feel slightly less skeeved by a badged cab, but would take a Disney provided transpo in a heartbeat.. even if it was a rusty van with "Free kandy" on the side.. as long as the wild eyed long haired guy had a Disney name tag on.. Onward Jeeves!

fine, that's you. For everyone else on property who is from an urban area and accustomed to using Uber constantly, this is worrying. If you're willing to pay 2-3 times the price for slower service because a cast member is behind the wheel, I have no problem with that. If Disney has no problem catering to those people only, I have no problem with that. If Disney attempts to force EVERYONE who currently uses non-Disney point to point transportation into their system, that is problematic. And I have trouble seeing the motivation behind this if that is not the end game.

 

[Maeryk]

fine, that's you. For everyone else on property who is from an urban area and accustomed to using Uber constantly, this is worrying. If you're willing to pay 2-3 times the price for slower service because a cast member is behind the wheel, I have no problem with that. If Disney has no problem catering to those people only, I have no problem with that. If Disney attempts to force EVERYONE who currently uses non-Disney point to point transportation into their system, that is problematic. And I have trouble seeing the motivation behind this if that is not the end game.

Disney provides transportation. I'm not sure how Disney not wanting some third party they have no contract with, and who have no bona fides other than a cell phone operating as a business on their property is "problematic", assuming they actually go that route. It's their property. If you want to be from point A to point B in 10 minutes, rent a car.

I'm not knocking uber.. just the sense of entitlement I'm seeing about it being there and how dare Disney attempt to remove it.. or actually, you know, make a buck off a service operating on their private property.

 

[Wsny11]

I don't want to rent a car, that's the point. I like to eat out, I like to have drinks. I don't want to worry about driving. Uber is a near perfect service to do "niche" things on property in a reasonable time that Disney transportation doesn't provide. All I want is for that to continue as it is today. I have zero issue with Disney entering that space themselves, as long as they don't force out the superior option that exists today.

 

[s8film40]

how are they technically already banned? when resorts allow them entry. I know at Mk drop off is an issue, and they are restricted to the TTC

not sure how uber drop off is specifically handled at the parks since havent used one to get there

Like many of Disney's other policies it's just one of those things that's hard and virtually impossible to enforce. The airport had the exact same problem, they were never able to effectively stop them until Uber voluntarily through an agreement stopped allowing the app to work at the airport. Even then there were plenty of workarounds. The biggest problem is an Uber pick up or drop off generally appears just like a regular guest drop off or pick up. The only effective way to combat this without unnecessarily hassling regular guests is to order cars in the app and when they show up have them trespassed. It's a rather unproductive solution as there will always be other drivers to replace the ones they manage to remove and they will have to devote resources to it.

 

[Jamie77]

It's a decent way for them to make money and in a way many guests will actually appreciate. But if it isn't cheaper, or similar enough to Uber, I won't be using it

Right! I've heard people say that they paid only $6 or $7 to get from point to point with Uber to make it on time to meals they have ADRs for. Disney is going to be charging $20? Good luck with that!

 

[Wsny11]

Disney provides transportation. I'm not sure how Disney not wanting some third party they have no contract with, and who have no bona fides other than a cell phone operating as a business on their property is "problematic", assuming they actually go that route. It's their property. If you want to be from point A to point B in 10 minutes, rent a car.

I'm not knocking uber.. just the sense of entitlement I'm seeing about it being there and how dare Disney attempt to remove it.. or actually, you know, make a buck off a service operating on their private property.

Disney provides somewhat adequate transportation from resorts to parks and park to park. My concern is resort to resort. Trying to use Busses to do that is extremely time-consuming. Traveling from resort to resort for food is a central part of the experience for many of us.

 

[Wsny11]

Right! I've heard people say that they paid only $6 or $7 to get from point to point with Uber to make it on time to meals they have ADRs for. Disney is going to be charging $20? Good luck with that!

Exactly. That's why they will eliminate the competition. It's private property. They can literally ban Uber if they want. Cities have done it, A private resort can surely find a way.

 

[s8film40]

I don't want to rent a car, that's the point. I like to eat out, I like to have drinks. I don't want to worry about driving. Uber is a near perfect service to do "niche" things on property in a reasonable time that Disney transportation doesn't provide. All I want is for that to continue as it is today. I have zero issue with Disney entering that space themselves, as long as they don't force out the superior option that exists today.

Right! I've heard people say that they paid only $6 or $7 to get from point to point with Uber to make it on time to meals they have ADRs for. Disney is going to be charging $20? Good luck with that!

I think it's safe to say that once this starts up they're going to get more aggressive against Uber. They were somewhat aggressive against them before when all that was really at issue was strain on their contract with Mears. Once they start making money from this themeselves you can bet it's going to be ten times more difficult for Uber drivers to operate at WDW.

 

[TrojanUSC]

Technically they already are banned. There's just very little that Disney can do to stop them.

I think this solution really comes down to a "if you can't beat them, join them" scenario. Rather than trying to block guests from using Uber or Lyft they are simply offering up a in house solution to fill the need. It represents good business sense, I have to give them credit for that.

They are not "technically already banned." Disney has cooperated with Uber behind the scenes on some integration and Ubers (or Lyft) complete hundreds of trips on property per day.

 

[TrojanUSC]

Exactly. That's why they will eliminate the competition. It's private property. They can literally ban Uber if they want. Cities have done it, A private resort can surely find a way.

Again, as I mentioned above. This simply will not happen - ever. They are trying to get a piece of the pie but not the whole pie. Nobody is going to tell a guest coming in from an off-site hotel to get out of their Uber when they hit Disney property. Likewise, Disney is not going to force guests of the Four Seasons, Waldorf or Swan/Dolphin to give up their usage of Uber, as the drivers must traverse Disney roads to get to those resorts. What they have is the advantage of marketing and trust, which will net them exactly what they want in all of this.

Like it or not, Ubers are a safe, cheap and efficient way to get from point A to point B.

 

[Wsny11]

I think it's safe to say that once this starts up they're going to get more aggressive against Uber. They were somewhat aggressive against them before when all that was really at issue was strain on their contract with Mears. Once they start making money from this themeselves you can bet it's going to be ten times more difficult for Uber drivers to operate at WDW.

Exactly. And this is bad. Are there going to be 3000 Minnie Vans? No, so they will need to keep the prices high to keep demand low enough for what they have. Once they have Uber out, will the prices stay level? No, they will go up, because pay us if you want to get from resort to resort quickly, you have no other choice.