News Disney's Magical Express to end after 2021

[Minnesota disney fan]

but see this part was quickly becoming no longer true. DME wasn’t accomplishing this like it once did.

I respectfully disagree. Families have always gone on one day trips to Sea World, Universal, etc. No One wants to spend thousands on a disney trip and leave the bubble for very long. Things have always been this way and won't change, except now many people might decide to stay elsewhere. I just think disney did what they've been wanting to do and used covid as a good excuse. They are trimming and cutting all over the place with the perfect excuse, in Their eyes only.

 

[peter11435]

I respectfully disagree. Families have always gone on one day trips to Sea World, Universal, etc. No One wants to spend thousands on a disney trip and leave the bubble for very long. Things have always been this way and won't change, except now many people might decide to stay elsewhere. I just think disney did what they've been wanting to do and used covid as a good excuse. They are trimming and cutting all over the place with the perfect excuse, in Their eyes only.

You are welcome to disagree but my post was not based on opinion. Things HAVE changed. People are not spending thousands on a Disney trip, they are spending thousands on a trip to central Florida. DME used to prevent people from getting rental cars and successfully kept them on property. Things have changed and it was no longer accomplishing this like it once did. There are now more options that have drastically shifted the dynamics. DME was no longer servicing the purpose it was intended to, and was a massive financial expense. This change has nothing to do with Covid and was already in the pipeline prior to to the virus.

 

[UNCgolf]

Regardless of whether it makes financial sense for Disney to do it, it's certainly understandable that people would be upset about losing a perk they'd grown accustomed to. Of course people that used the service are going to be unhappy that it's gone considering it's going to increase the expense of what is already a very expensive vacation.

 

[Jenny72]

It's funny, but for me this has almost nothing to do with the cost. I'm already expecting to get unreasonably gouged on a Disney vacation and I know where I can cut corners to save money. What really shocks me is the seeming lack of any attempt to even appear to care about customer experience. The messaging was just flat-out horrible. It really makes me wonder where things are headed, and this is the first time I've really thought like that.

 

[RunningKoen]

I don't consider myself ' a whiny Disney fan', yet I'm quite disappointed and annoyed that the DME service is cancelled.
I never saw it as a ' free' or something I was ' entitled' to. It was very convenient; it took very little time to arrange, something I can't say for any of the new options.

When planning a trip, I could balance the higher cost of a Disney hotel due to the included airport transportation cost & the free busses for resort guest. Staying on property is (far) more expensive, but it has some perks. I don't think there is ever only 'one' reason and there are many things involved for all the choices for a trip (where to stay, how to travel, what to do, what to eat) Losing the airport transportation without a lower room rate, could tip the scales.

So for some people, DME is the 'only' reason to stay on property during a WDW trip, because without it, there aren't enough perks left to justify the cost of staying on property. Less people staying on property is a loss for Disney.

Speaking for myself: without the DME, I'm not sure if my next stay will be even on property. I'm visiting from outside of the USA, some of my flight times were terrible. I often had very empty DME busses. I'm slightly afraid Mears will run with a lower capacity, so more waiting for me. Still one perk to staying on site: I'm only visiting for the races, so the free resort busses at 3AM are still a big perk for staying on property. Not having to drive after a (half) marathon is a kind of luxury that can't be expressed in money.

 

[flynnibus]

What’s not understandable is people acting like they are entitled to the service, or acting like Disney will lose a substantial amount of guests for discontinuing a service they have only provided for a fraction of their existence, or the people acting like DME was the only reason some visited WDW. Those people are the ones who are hilariously wrong, over the the top, and need to get a grip. Disney has six resorts around the globe and WDW is the only one that offered complimentary airport transportation.

DME is not why people goto WDW... but it was part of a suite of offerings that let WDW price its properties on a different level without having to directly compete with outsiders. Disney has steadily been depleting their own stash of reasons to stay in a WDW hotel without looking at others. Disney is simply boosting the competition by reducing their own offerings as they move to a 'pay to play' model for everything.

The market changed in that guests were more mobile w/o committing to a rental car - but that didn't negate people's motivations for staying in a WDW hotel. DME was a key leg to holding up table... keeping WDW hotels in a different world than offsite... and Disney kicked it out themselves trying to reduce costs.

People picked the Contemp, Poly, Beach Club, etc because of the property themselves. When Disney moved into value resorts there is a lot more direct competition in product. Disney put up walls like MYW and DME to help keep people onsite. Disney is knocking down their own buffers.

 

[LittleBuford]

Although I’ve never used the service myself, I understand why people are upset about its loss. What does puzzle me, however, are the posts suggesting that people will be less inclined to visit Disney because of the difficulty of getting to the resorts. To those who feel this way, did DME’s existence discourage you from visiting other destinations (I don’t just mean in Florida) that lacked this kind of service? This is a sincere question, not rhetorical.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Although I’ve never used the service myself, I understand why people are upset about its loss. What does puzzle me, however, are the posts suggesting that people will be less inclined to visit Disney because of the difficulty of getting to the resorts. To those who feel this way, did DME’s existence discourage you from visiting other destinations (I don’t just mean in Florida) that lacked this kind of service? This is a sincere question, not rhetorical.

I'm not "less inclined to visit Disney" because of DME going away, but having DME absolutely does discourage us from visiting other Orlando destinations. When we fly in it's a hassle and an additional expense to rent a car. If I already have a rental car, then I am inclined to use it and go see the other interesting things in the area.

 

[LittleBuford]

I'm not "less inclined to visit Disney" because of DME going away, but having DME absolutely does us from visiting other Orlando destinations. When we fly in it's a hassle and an additional expense to rent a car. If I already have a rental car, then I am inclined to use it and go see the other interesting things in the area.

Thanks for your response. Has the existence of DME ever discouraged you from visiting other non-Florida destinations?

 

[bcoachable]

Although I’ve never used the service myself, I understand why people are upset about its loss. What does puzzle me, however, are the posts suggesting that people will be less inclined to visit Disney because of the difficulty of getting to the resorts. To those who feel this way, did DME’s existence discourage you from visiting other destinations (I don’t just mean in Florida) that lacked this kind of service? This is a sincere question, not rhetorical.

Great point- I would say no.
However- I haven’t been blown away by these other places to make their destinations “Magical” like I was when we first began to visit. With this financial decision, (and the other cuts that have come before) TDO is telling me that they are forgetting who they really are- a company that used to be willing to “Towel off the grass” for their guests... (George? Are you still around? We miss your example of what it means to take care of the guests!!)

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

For the first time ever, our family is considering driving to WDW for our 2022 trip. Its a 16 hour drive from NJ. Throw in the fact we just had a baby as well, driving just makes more sense. Typically we just did our 3-4 days we'd get from DVC but now we can take a longer vacation with a pit stop at Universal. Not having to get a rental car is one less added expense to not have to worry about. In what I'm saving in money I'm sacrificing in time driving but in the long run it can be a positive for us.

Still kinda bummed to see DME go but such is life at this point. Disney is going to cut and cut unless you spill top dollar which we don't have. But we can still get our WDW fix with what we have with DVC. If we didn't have DVC, we'd probably be priced out.

 

[UNCgolf]

Although I’ve never used the service myself, I understand why people are upset about its loss. What does puzzle me, however, are the posts suggesting that people will be less inclined to visit Disney because of the difficulty of getting to the resorts. To those who feel this way, did DME’s existence discourage you from visiting other destinations (I don’t just mean in Florida) that lacked this kind of service? This is a sincere question, not rhetorical.

I suppose I can understand someone thinking Disney is no longer worth the hassle/added expense without Magical Express (having to use other transportation could easily increase the cost of a Disney trip by several hundred dollars) since Disney is already wildly overpriced (at least in terms of value offered). I think it depends on their other vacation options -- if it's a choice between going to Disney and driving their personal vehicle to the beach for a week or something like that, there's a huge difference. If they're going to get on a plane and fly to a different destination, then yeah, they're still going to deal with all the same issues involving transportation so the complaint doesn't make a ton of sense beyond any overall cost difference; e.g. if the additional transportation expense makes Disney cost $4000 and they can go somewhere else for $3000.

 

[LittleBuford]

I suppose I can understand someone thinking Disney is no longer worth the hassle/added expense without Magical Express (having to use other transportation could easily increase the cost of a Disney trip by several hundred dollars) since Disney is already wildly overpriced (at least in terms of value offered). I think it depends on their other vacation options -- if it's a choice between going to Disney and driving their personal vehicle to the beach for a week or something like that, there's a huge difference. If they're going to get on a plane and fly to a different destination, then yeah, they're still going to deal with all the same issues involving transportation so the complaint doesn't make a ton of sense beyond any overall cost difference; e.g. if the additional transportation expense makes Disney cost $4000 and they can go somewhere else for $3000.

Because I spend nearly all of my time in the parks (no pool days or midday breaks for me), I stay in one of the affiliated Disney Springs hotels rather than in Disney's own resorts. Perhaps it's for this reason that I don't consider Disney wildly overpriced. For me, the park tickets are an excellent value, and though the food is expensive, the enjoyment I get out of my visits far outweighs the amount I pay. I wonder if staying on property ironically compromises rather than enhances the experience for some people by making the overall cost so high that they stop finding value in it.

 

[LittleBuford]

having to use other transportation could easily increase the cost of a Disney trip by several hundred dollars

I wanted to respond to this separately. Unless your party is really, really large, or unless you choose to hire a car (which is not the only alternative), how could the cost rise by this much? I always take Lyft or Uber from the airport, which costs around $30 each way if I remember correctly.

 

[runnsally]

I wanted to respond to this separately. Unless your party is really, really large, or unless you choose to hire a car (which is not the only alternative), how could the cost rise by this much? I always take Lyft or Uber from the airport, which costs around $30 each way if I remember correctly.

Car seats complicate life in general and this scenario in particular.

We travel all over the place with our kids so very used to airport entrance/exit strategy, but it is nice to have one trip where that is not a concern.

 

[LittleBuford]

Car seats complicate life in general and this scenario in particular.

We travel all over the place with our kids so very used to airport entrance/exit strategy, but it is nice to have one trip where that is not a concern.

That's understandable. I don't have children, so this isn't something I have to consider. But would the need for car seats raise the cost by hundreds?

 

[runnsally]

That's understandable. I don't have children, so this isn't something I have to consider. But would the need for car seats raise the cost by hundreds?

a convenience not a cost issue

depending on how militant you are about car seats lots of issues. at the risk of very quickly losing the audience...

- BYO vs relying on the vendor
- installation in an unfamiliar vehicle
- quality of the driver/car

given the above, I’d gladly overpay for a minivan if available - they were consistently excellent with car seats

 

[UNCgolf]

Because I spend nearly all of my time in the parks (no pool days or midday breaks for me), I stay in one of the affiliated Disney Springs hotels rather than in Disney's own resorts. Perhaps it's for this reason that I don't consider Disney wildly overpriced. For me, the park tickets are an excellent value, and though the food is expensive, the enjoyment I get out of my visits far outweighs the amount I pay. I wonder if staying on property ironically compromises rather than enhances the experience for some people by making the overall cost so high that they stop finding value in it.

I agree that the ticket prices are fine. The resorts and food (not all food, but most of it) are tremendously overpriced for what you get, though. The prices aren't high enough yet to make me stop going (although I don't visit regularly anyways; certainly not compared to a lot of people on here), but staying on-site is a big part of the experience for me even though I also spend the vast majority of my time inside the parks (never go to the pool). I like the convenience of Disney transportation to and from the parks and Disney Springs, and I like having the themed hotel -- although Disney is working on making that disappear.

I wanted to respond to this separately. Unless your party is really, really large, or unless you choose to hire a car (which is not the only alternative), how could the cost rise by this much? I always take Lyft or Uber from the airport, which costs around $30 each way if I remember correctly.

Someone else mentioned it, but anyone with children that need car seats have a gigantic additional headache. If you rent a car, you're spending however much the car itself costs, plus another $100+ for parking fees at your resort (if you're on-site) and/or at the parks themselves. Even using Uber/Lyft for all your transportation could be several hundred dollars if you're using it multiple times a day to get to and from parks/Disney Springs, or if you go to eat at any of the resorts (I always like to go to eat the breakfast buffet at Boma and hang out at AKL for a bit).

I think it would be hard for any family with kids to not spend a few hundred on transportation if they're not staying on-site (since on-site would only require transport to/from the airport). I know the Disney Springs affiliates have shuttles, but I don't think they run regularly enough to be useful for people with smaller children. It's much easier for people without kids or small groups of friends -- it's definitely possible to not spend much on transportation, but that would require significantly changing their regular schedule for a lot of visitors.

I wasn't suggesting everyone would automatically have an increase of several hundred dollars, but it would be a reality for anyone renting a car and even for some people who didn't.

 

[LittleBuford]

Someone else mentioned it, but anyone with children that need car seats have a gigantic additional headache. If you rent a car, you're spending however much the car itself costs, plus another $100+ for parking fees at your resort (if you're on-site) and/or at the parks themselves. Even using Uber/Lyft could for all your transportation could be several hundred dollars if you're using it multiple times a day to get to and from parks/Disney Springs, or if you go to eat at any of the resorts (I always like to go to eat the breakfast buffet at Boma and hang out at AKL for a bit).

I think it would be hard for any family with kids to not spend a few hundred on transportation if they're not staying on-site (since on-site would only require transport to/from the airport). I know the Disney Springs affiliates have shuttles, but I don't think they run regularly enough to be useful for people with smaller children. It's much easier for people without kids or small groups of friends -- it's definitely possible to not spend much on transportation, but that would require significantly changing their regular schedule for a lot of visitors.

I wasn't suggesting everyone would automatically have an increase of several hundred dollars, but it would be a reality for anyone renting a car and even for some people who didn't.

I don't understand why the absence of DME would compel guests with children to rent a car, though, or to use Lyft or Uber once on property. A like-for-like alternative service would be one that gets you solely from the airport to your hotel, and vice versa. That shouldn't cost hundreds of dollars.

 

[Jenny72]

The car seat issue alone is huge. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 59% of car seats are not installed correctly. We had professionals inspect the installation in our car and they fixed a few things. Trying to install a car seat properly in a rental car is a p.i.t.a. and really hard to do correctly. And I don't trust an Uber driver to get it right, either. This is one of the reasons we drove to most vacations when our kids were very little.

This is partially why I think the messaging is so bad. "Mickey says just deal with it" ignores the fact that DME was such a relief for so many people. Did people figure it out before and can they do so again? Obviously. But this is not on brand and could have been handled with so much more finesse.