News Disney's Magical Express to end after 2021

flynnibus

Premium Member
Honestly other than it being a nice perk, I don't see it affecting reservations for those who really want to go to WDW. As @ParentsOf4 said earlier, Uber and Lyft didn't exist 15 years ago. Now its prevalent everywhere. (Amazingly TDO couldn't get it right for themselves with the MinieVans)

But there were still taxis... and everyone was familiar with the concept. Ride share costs go up when demand is high.. so the price delta that made ride share so popular isn't as attractive as the prices converge.

MDE offered door to door service, it offered luggage transfer, it offered single vendor experience, it offered stress-free availability.

Wait till you try to pickup your uber at the same spot as everyone else at the same time... it's not that pleasant.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Just another reason for us to drive down and stay in an AirBnB...and another excuse for me to go off-campus when we aren't at the parks.

What is a realistic price to Uber from MCO to resorts? That's an easy 30 minute drive.

The cheapest price would probably be around $30-35 one way. That would be with only 2 or 3 people and not a huge amount of luggage, and not at any peak times.

If you need a bigger vehicle at a peak time, it could easily be $60+.
 

WDWYankee15

Well-Known Member
Disney might even eventually add to their website when you book a room. "Do you want to add resort transportation to and from the airport for $50 per person" Mears might even kick Disney back $5 pp as an added bonus for Disney. Wait for the rental car prices to skyrocket because of this.
This is what happens when you book a Disneyland vacation, including if you book through them at a "good neighbor" hotel.
 

icc2515

Well-Known Member
The part of this that is uniquely stupid may seem trivial, but... car seats. Car seats are going to be a MAJOR problem.

I'm a pretty typical Disney family, my kids are 6, 3, and 1. For at least another year, I'm going to need one booster seat, one forward-facing car seat, and one rear-facing car seat. For two years after that, I'll still need two car seats but minus the booster. You currently *cannot get* an Uber or Lyft with two car seats, let alone three. Uber with even a single car seat is difficult to find and usually very expensive.
The busses are not going anywhere. Parents will still be able to get their kids on a bus and will not have to deal with car seats. Same buses, same drivers, same operator just a lot more money.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
I think the luggage transfer was a big part of DME too, and that will likely not exist with any paid replacement (unless Disney themselves offers a new paid replacement).

My parents used it a couple of years ago for a trip with their grandchildren, and the luggage transfer was the biggest reason. They didn't want to have to deal with trying to collect and drag around luggage; it was so much easier for a couple in their 70s to have it all handled for them.
 

GusEzra

Member
But there were still taxis... and everyone was familiar with the concept. Ride share costs go up when demand is high.. so the price delta that made ride share so popular isn't as attractive as the prices converge.

MDE offered door to door service, it offered luggage transfer, it offered single vendor experience, it offered stress-free availability.

Wait till you try to pickup your uber at the same spot as everyone else at the same time... it's not that pleasant.
I get the feeling front of resorts are going to start looking like the front of Casinos in Vegas with lines of taxis and ride shares waiting. Getting to and from a Casino in Vegas is one of my least favorite things to do even if getting a rideshare/ taxi/ town car is run very efficient. I cant see Disney replicating that any time soon.
 

monothingie

Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.
Premium Member
But there were still taxis... and everyone was familiar with the concept. Ride share costs go up when demand is high.. so the price delta that made ride share so popular isn't as attractive as the prices converge.

MDE offered door to door service, it offered luggage transfer, it offered single vendor experience, it offered stress-free availability.

Wait till you try to pickup your uber at the same spot as everyone else at the same time... it's not that pleasant.

Will it be enough for a family wanting to go to WDW to say no? I could see it as a reason why they wouldn't return (as quickly).
 

icc2515

Well-Known Member
Next will be the resort transportation. How many of you are old enough to remember these little pain in the butts.

transportation ticket.jpg

Yep, in the old days you had to pay daily to ride the transportation around Disney and that included the resort guests. For those naysayers who would have thought a year ago that ME would have been chopped. Or fast passes for that matter. I am sure that Disney hates being a transpiration company.. Those buses bring in no direct revenue and cost a fortune. The bus drivers are some of the highest paid hourly employees. This would be a way to show their worth. Now the ticket would be at least $10 per day.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
Next will be the resort transportation. How many of you are old enough to remember these little pain in the butts.

View attachment 523460
Yep, in the old days you had to pay daily to ride the transportation around Disney and that included the resort guests. For those naysayers who would have thought a year ago that ME would have been chopped. Or fast passes for that matter. I am sure that Disney hates being a transpiration company.. Those buses bring in no direct revenue and cost a fortune. The bus drivers are some of the highest paid hourly employees. This would be a way to show their worth. Now the ticket would be at least $10 per day.

I said it earlier in this thread (I think), but they really can't start charging for bus access. I'm sure they'd like to, and I can absolutely envision them cutting back on bus service significantly, but the logistics involved in having to check every single person at every stop to see if they're actually allowed on the bus would cause the entire system to slow to a crawl.
 

Gringrinngghost

Well-Known Member
Next will be the resort transportation. How many of you are old enough to remember these little pain in the butts.

View attachment 523460
Yep, in the old days you had to pay daily to ride the transportation around Disney and that included the resort guests. For those naysayers who would have thought a year ago that ME would have been chopped. Or fast passes for that matter. I am sure that Disney hates being a transpiration company.. Those buses bring in no direct revenue and cost a fortune. The bus drivers are some of the highest paid hourly employees. This would be a way to show their worth. Now the ticket would be at least $10 per day.
You still do pay for it. It’s just bundled into the cost of a ticket.


I said it earlier in this thread (I think), but they really can't start charging for bus access. I'm sure they'd like to, and I can absolutely envision them cutting back on bus service significantly, but the logistics involved in having to check every single person at every stop to see if they're actually allowed on the bus would cause the entire system to slow to a crawl.
It’s already bundled into resort fees etc.
 

HouCuseChickie

Well-Known Member
I haven't gone through every single post, but I have to laugh a little about this. So many of us reminisce about how amazing Disney once was and how it's gone downhill. All of my trips as a kid and young adult were in a time with...

- No fast passes
- No extra magic hours
- No real park hopping
- No dining plan
- No Magical Express

Disney is starting to sound a lot like "the good ole days." Yes, I know a version of hopping is being brought back and resort parking fees are being assessed, but still...it's just kind of funny (not in the ha ha way) of how this all looks. That being said, I used the feature when we would fly to WDW, and while it saved some costs, it always kind of frustrated me. So, I'm mixed on it being cut.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
You still do pay for it. It’s just bundled into the cost of a ticket.



It’s already bundled into resort fees etc.

Of course. I meant as an additional standalone cost.

Obviously they'd love to keep resort fees the same but add yet another cost on top of that to access the bus service. It just won't happen because of logistics.

There are a ton of things included in resort fees that they now charge separately for, like parking.
 

Shouldigo12

Well-Known Member
I'd wager a very high percentage of people (especially those over the age of 35) haven't used lift/uber. For many at WDW, I bet minivans was their first exposure to lyft.

You can't discount the value of 'breaking the seal' either. The idea that once you have left site, doing it more than once isn't a big deal. But if you've not left site because of some barrier... that resistance to breaking the pattern is even higher.




Be it rentals or ride-share... all roads here lead to customers being kicked to the 3rd party curb and Disney leaving people on their own. Just can't see how they sell this is anything but a reduction in service.
I think this is what a lot of people saying this is no big deal and won't cause anyone to cancel a trip isn't getting. It might not cause cancelled trips, but there's a big opportunity for a ripple effect here. Just as an example; this is the straw that broke the camel's back for me when it comes to staying onsite. Other than bus service to and from parks I can't think of any benefit that can explain the high cost. If I'm already staying off site, I'll likely just start using Uber to get around (what I save is room costs will likely pay for that, plus it's more reliable) and I'll probably be eating more meals off property too; most likely breakfast and lunch, since those are easy things I could pick up at a grocery without needing a kitchen to eat. When it comes to shopping, I'm more likely to head to an outlet now because even though I love the restaurants in DS the shops either don't appeal to me or are too expensive. It's not necessarily the removal of ME that caused this, more the removal of all the key perks that made it worth staying onsite being removed. And when people aren't staying onsite, spending the entire vacation at Disney is no longer the most convenient option. It's not inconvenient, exactly. But it's just not the no-brainer it used to be.

Death by a thousand cuts is an accurate description here. Just one of the recent cuts would not have been a huge deal, but all the things added together are really hurting the value of the resorts' premium cost.
 

Gringrinngghost

Well-Known Member
Of course. I meant as an additional standalone cost.

Obviously they'd love to keep resort fees the same but add yet another cost on top of that to access the bus service. It just won't happen because of logistics.

There are a ton of things included in resort fees that they now charge separately for, like parking.
The transportation one, would add to front line cost. Which would mean more bodies to see you have a ticket which means more CM pay and lesser revenue.
The parking fee is easier to mandate because they just have to assume your there. Simple.
 
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thomas998

Well-Known Member
Something that makes no sense...
(Unless they are replacing it with some kinda of new "Paid" on demand service.. like Uber)

I mean, really, this makes ZERO sense for a few reasons.. Not the least of which is Disney wanted to keep people on the property, not encourage them to rent car's.
It makes lots of sense. They can't charge you a parking fee if you don't have a car and used the bus, but this way they can charger you every night you are there letting your rental car just gather dust in the parking lot of the resort. My guess is they decided they made more from the parking fees than they would make from insuring you couldn't sneak off and get a reasonable priced meal once in a while.
 

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