News Disney's Magical Express to end after 2021

[marni1971]

I can so relate to this. EPCOT Center was my jam from when it opened in the 80s into the mid-90s. It's been waning since that point at an accelerated rate. I still love the park, but it's not what it was - to me - in the 80s (and never will be again). Edutainment has largely died with Communicore/Innoventions. But I have a lot of hope for the new stuff like Rat and GotG, the revamped entrance, etc. MK will always be special, but to me it was EC in its heyday. AK is growing beautifully, and HS is coming back in a big way too.

DAK is stagnating and DHS is stuck half way.

 

[JoeCamel]

DAK is stagnating and DHS is stuck half way.

I've heard that in the past, what was old is new again. Or was it the other way round?

 

[UNCgolf]

DAK is stagnating and DHS is stuck half way.

Luckily DAK is such a well designed and beautiful park (outside of Chester and Hester) that it's okay as is -- it's the best park on WDW property right now.

It still needs additions, of course, but I'm afraid whatever they decide to do going forward will actually make it a worse park instead of a better one. They're very unlikely to build South America or Australia or anything like that with corresponding animals, so...

 

[BoarderPhreak]

DAK is stagnating and DHS is stuck half way.

Pandora gave AK a much needed shot in the arm but it could use some fresh attention. With Joe retired and budgets blown out, I won't be holding my breath. It's still a beautiful and expansive park though.

HS needs to finish TSL's RRBBQ and expand on SWGE further, but they're in a good place with MMRR now. I wouldn't expect much beyond this for the foreseeable future either.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Pandora gave AK a much needed shot in the arm but it could use some fresh attention. With Joe retired and budgets blown out, I won't be holding my breath. It's still a beautiful and expansive park though.

HS needs to finish TSL's RRBBQ and expand on SWGE further, but they're in a good place with MMRR now. I wouldn't expect much beyond this for the foreseeable future either.

DHS is still only 9 rides compared to MK's 27. The 'extra' of DHS is supposed to be the shows, but they're all long in the tooth.

DHS needs much more to help keep MK from being overcrowded (along with EPCOT and DAK).

 

[Little Green Men]

DHS is still only 9 rides compared to MK's 27. The 'extra' of DHS is supposed to be the shows, but they're all long in the tooth.

DHS needs much more to help keep MK from being overcrowded (along with EPCOT and DAK).

Still 3 more rides than DHS has ever had in its entire existence

 

[MisterPenguin]

Still 3 more rides than DHS has ever had in its entire existence

Which is why so many people called it a "half day park."

 

[UNCgolf]

Which is why so many people called it a "half day park."

And it still is, unfortunately. It's kind of amazing they built two new lands and a new Mickey Mouse ride and still didn't manage to make it worth any more of your time than the original version of the park.

I probably could have spent more time in 1995 Disney-MGM than I can in current DHS, but I'm likely in the minority there. Regardless, it seems like it would be hard for anyone to spend an entire day at DHS without several re-rides or re-watches.

 

[Little Green Men]

And it still is, unfortunately. It's kind of amazing they built two new lands and a new Mickey Mouse ride and still didn't manage to make it worth any more of your time than the original version of the park.

I probably could have spent more time in 1995 Disney-MGM than I can in current DHS, but I'm likely in the minority there. Regardless, it seems like it would be hard for anyone to spend an entire day at DHS without several re-rides or re-watches.

Highly disagree, Atleast as of 2000.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Why increase ride capacity when you can rip-and-replace for twice the cost?

 

[Parker in NYC]

Luckily DAK is such a well designed and beautiful park (outside of Chester and Hester) that it's okay as is -- it's the best park on WDW property right now.

It still needs additions, of course, but I'm afraid whatever they decide to do going forward will actually make it a worse park instead of a better one. They're very unlikely to build South America or Australia or anything like that with corresponding animals, so...

Who else thinks they'll offload the animals out of "guest demand" in the next decade?

 

[UNCgolf]

Who else thinks they'll offload the animals out of "guest demand" in the next decade?

I've wondered about that, but I don't think they will. The Safari is a major draw.

I suppose they could get rid of all the animal trails and leave the Safari as the only place to actually see live animals, but that would require spending a lot of money to build new attractions/shops/restaurants to keep capacity up.

 

[Parker in NYC]

I've wondered about that, but I don't think they will. The Safari is a major draw.

I suppose they could get rid of all the animal trails and leave the Safari as the only place to actually see live animals, but that would require spending a lot of money to build new attractions/shops/restaurants to keep capacity up.

I don't know, with the cost-saving, they could set up food stands throughout the savanna for a year-round Festival of the World (But Sometimes Africa).

I kid but I wouldn't put it past them these days to sell Goofy to the highest bidder.

 

[TikibirdLand]

I don't know, with the cost-saving, they could set up food stands throughout the savanna for a year-round Festival of the World (But Sometimes Africa).

I kid but I wouldn't put it past them these days to sell Goofy to the highest bidder.

Or, maybe they could dig a canal through the savanna and run some boats through it. Sell off the animals and put some animatronic ones in their place. They could call it, The Savanna Cruise. It could work!

 

[matt9112]

The glaring flaw in your argument here is that guests will continue to pay the same room rate as though DME was still being offered. They aren't going to lower room prices in accordance with the savings from no longer offering DME. You're paying the same price and getting less for it, even if it wasn't a service you used.

Somebody give this guy an award.

 

[Familyof5]

Disney's Magical Express service to be discontinued next year

The free airport transfer service will be discontinued for 2022.

www.wdwmagic.com

Wow....someone had better warn the car rental companies. I once rented a car at the airport. Having waited to get all of our luggage, then waiting in line for over an hour for a car rental with kids. Eeek. Would prefer not to do that again. And, there is no food near car rental area so....really hard on hungry, tired kids.

 

[Familyof5]

This is really going to effect people traveling with kids. I really hope whatever this train is still provides service to and from the airport (included in resort fees), luggage delivery etc. The thought of renting a car or scheduling an Uber with the appropriate car seats sounds like such a headache.

Been there, done that. Between waiting for luggage and then waiting in line for a car rental it was about 2 hours. But, one of the bigger issues was that there was no food, no water for a crew of tired, hungry kids travelling. My husband had to leave us to go find something for kids to eat. There are few places to sit near car rentals. Really hard on families.

 

[DomVF07]

Been there, done that. Between waiting for luggage and then waiting in line for a car rental it was about 2 hours. But, one of the bigger issues was that there was no food, no water for a crew of tired, hungry kids travelling. My husband had to leave us to go find something for kids to eat. There are few places to sit near car rentals. Really hard on families.

I guess I missed it and it’s been a while (3 years?) but when did DME offer refreshments? Aha! Starbucks knew this was coming and strategically placed 2 new kiosks on that level. All coming together now....

 

[HauntedPirate]

Been there, done that. Between waiting for luggage and then waiting in line for a car rental it was about 2 hours. But, one of the bigger issues was that there was no food, no water for a crew of tired, hungry kids travelling. My husband had to leave us to go find something for kids to eat. There are few places to sit near car rentals. Really hard on families.

We have 4 kids, so I get it. But, you do walk past a few places before you get to the main terminal and before you descend to baggage claim, and a food court isn’t too far away either before going to claim your bags and get in line for ME.

 

[cslafferty]

“Disney is a business”

Yeah we ain’t getting equity back anytime soon.

I don’t see how they can possibly use the “Disney is a business” argument because I can’t see how this is a good business move. ME and EMH were the two biggest perks of staying on property. With both of those essentially gone, what’s to keep people from spending much less at good neighbor hotels?