News Disney's Magical Express to end after 2021

[ToTBellHop]

Can you expand on this? I haven't seen anything one way or the other.

First-hand experiences on Facebook. Long waits for bus to leave, many stops, incompetence dispatching buses for the return trip, etc. It may be improving now but I didn’t want to risk it since we are going soon. I certainly hope they do well long term.

 

[dreday3]

I have never used Uber or Lyft before and I wasn’t comfortable doing it alone.

Just FYI for future, I'm female, live in a big city and I use Uber or Lyft alone quite often. I feel very safe. Just make sure the license plate matches the one on the app.

 

[TransportationGuy]

Is there chart of how Mears drops off to WDW hotels? In what order?

The stops/route are put together based on the people physically in the queues and ready to go at MCO. They are then grouped by zone. 7 stops may have happened, but that is not the norm. Five stops is the policy max barring a special circumstance requiring drastic action. Ie. 417 being closed and a bunch of buses stuck behind the closure, stops taking far longer than anticipated for something like multiple wheelchair pickups at one time, etc. Its easy to forget all of these things take time and can’t necessarily be planned for.

 

[willtravel]

The stops/route are put together based on the people physically in the queues and ready to go at MCO. They are then grouped by zone. 7 stops may have happened, but that is not the norm. Five stops is the policy max barring a special circumstance requiring drastic action. Ie. 417 being closed and a bunch of buses stuck behind the closure, stops taking far longer than anticipated for something like multiple wheelchair pickups at one time, etc. Its easy to forget all of these things take time and can’t necessarily be planned for.

Thank you.

 

[mattpeto]

Now I don’t think anything is happening but I hope Disney is really re-thinking this a little bit. I’ve heard about delays with the shuttle services (Mears, Sunshine), but even some directly on Disney property because more people are renting cars, and it’s causing a log jam trying to park at the resorts.

 

[RememberWhen]

Now I don’t think anything is happening but I hope Disney is really re-thinking this a little bit. I’ve heard about delays with the shuttle services (Mears, Sunshine), but even some directly on Disney property because more people are renting cars, and it’s causing a log jam trying to park at the resorts.

I truly don’t understand why they canceled it instead of just charging for it like they did with everything else (FP, magic bands, parking etc). It would be great to see it come back, but I’m skeptical.

 

[tanc]

If it returns, I think Disney will just create their own service and charge for it. I think this was to cut ties with Mears more than anything.

 

[lewisc]

I truly don’t understand why they canceled it instead of just charging for it like they did with everything else (FP, magic bands, parking etc). It would be great to s

Free is what produced volume. Volume allowed buses to operate frequently, with relatively few stops and relatively full.

Free produced volume for luggage. That resulted in costs a fraction of what you would be if guests paid.

Maybe offer it free to guests booking a package.

 

[ToTBellHop]

While there are indeed conversations happening, I really don’t think they’ll do this again.

 

[bjlc57]

yeah well.. Disney is reaping the benefits of no one traveling for two years.. You just wait one more year... and they are gonna be crying for business.. Guests are ticked off.. heck even the you tube channel people are ticked off.. and they are disney's biggest supporters.. trust me .. this is all gonna come to a head for BOB CHEAPSKATE.. and its SNOT GONNA BE PRETTY.. and the Magical express is at the top of the list..

 

[bjlc57]

for one.. its the first thing that you do if YOU WANT TO GO TO WDW.. HOW IN THE HECK DO I GET THERE? .. and now I have to PAY.. plus all the price increases.. PAY again to pay for a price increase.. in our planning .this is and was the FIRST POINT OF OUR DISCUSSION about our next trip...

 

[bjlc57]

the first thing any politician learns.. to BE RE-ELECTED.. to GET RETURN BUSINESS.. DON"T TICK PEOPLE OFF.. DISNEY IS TICKING PEOPLE OFF.. and it starts with this bus service..

 

[doctornick]

While there are indeed conversations happening, I really don’t think they’ll do this again.

I’d gladly pay extra for the same service as long as the luggage handling was still included.

Simply a Disney branded bus service though? No thanks I’d rather just get a private van.

It’s unfortunate if it’s not coming back though. It actually does make sense that if they wanted to charge for it to stop it then bring it back “dues to popular demand”. Which is sorta what they did with FP+ and Genie+

 

[Prince-1]

the first thing any politician learns.. to BE RE-ELECTED.. to GET RETURN BUSINESS.. DON"T TICK PEOPLE OFF.. DISNEY IS TICKING PEOPLE OFF.. and it starts with this bus service..

And people are still coming en masse so they aren’t concerned one little bit if those people are ticked off.

 

[TransportationGuy]

If it returns, I think Disney will just create their own service and charge for it. I think this was to cut ties with Mears more than anything.

I don’t foresee this happening even if a service does return. Mears and Disney have always had what was really a mutually beneficial relationship. Following the DME termination, Mears was actually able to raise some of their rates in other, more lucrative areas while maintaining exclusivity.

Additionally, Disney has never operated any sort of mass transportation outside of their own property (with the exception of Minnie vans which are lower risk than motorcoaches). Disney won’t even operate their own CP shuttles for liability reasons. It’s simply worth the money to shift the risk to a third party.

 

[monothingie]

So a couple months after eliminating the complimentary system, they bring back a paid Disney version of the same thing. (Where have we seen that before??)

Honestly if anyone is good with this, shame on you.

 

[monothingie]

I don’t foresee this happening even if a service does return. Mears and Disney have always had what was really a mutually beneficial relationship. Following the DME termination, Mears was actually able to raise some of their rates in other, more lucrative areas while maintaining exclusivity.

Additionally, Disney has never operated any sort of mass transportation outside of their own property (with the exception of Minnie vans which are lower risk than motorcoaches). Disney won’t even operate their own CP shuttles for liability reasons. It’s simply worth the money to shift the risk to a third party.

Not if they're netting a couple of hundred for a family of 4. They can easily charge what Mears did, plus 30% for the extra Disney Magic!

 

[tanc]

Brightline sets sights on future expansion to Disney Springs, Tampa

Future expansions are planned for Disney Springs and Tampa. 🚉

www.wftv.com

Seems like the brightline is about 73% finished. Who's excited to lug all their luggage to the bus?

 

[lewisc]

Brightline sets sights on future expansion to Disney Springs, Tampa

Future expansions are planned for Disney Springs and Tampa. 🚉

www.wftv.com

Seems like the brightline is about 73% finished. Who's excited to lug all their luggage to the bus?

73% from Miami to MCO. MCO to Tampa hasn't even been finalized.

Brightline to Disney resorts, via DS, makes no sense to me. Ride share or car service...I'll be halfway to my resort in the time it would take to schlep over to the Brightline Station.

It might make sense for flyers who were able to get significantly better fares flying into MIA maybe international guests

 

[doctornick]

Bringing up Brightline in this thread makes no sense at all and I am constantly perplexed as to why anyone does so. Brightline once it is running will not be a viable means from getting from MCO to a WDW resort. The value of the Brightline stop at WDW is for people coming from out of the area (e.g. Miami) to take the train and go directly to WDW. There's multiple other choices for going from MCO to WDW that would work better than Brightline for someone flying into MCO.