News Disney's Magical Express to end after 2021

[Parker in NYC]

I’d forgotten about this. Still bummed.

 

[Lilofan]

Ok, Willow.

Sure, Captain Hook.

 

[Master Yoda]

WDW is value . A cup of coffee on the other hand has a 91.5% profit margin which is highway robbery but many are willing to buy a cup of java without even blinking an eye.

If we use the profit margin as the sole meter of value a $2 million dollar Bugatti Veyron is a better value than a $20k Toyota Corolla.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I’d forgotten about this. Still bummed.

Samesies.

 

[MisterPenguin]

“Diznee iz a bizness”. Thanks be to the Bob’s and everyone who keeps buying tickets.

Plussed that for you!

 

[Lilofan]

If we use the profit margin as the sole meter of value a $2 million dollar Bugatti Veyron is a better value than a $20k Toyota Corolla.

If one drives a Bugatti good luck trying in finding a gas station. It only can be filled up with 98-100 octane racing fuel.

 

[UNCgolf]

Personally I can’t comment on Universal. But I can say the whole WDW experience is getting closer to not being enough value for money for us. And we’re extremely lucky enough to be able to “do Orlando” cheaper than a lot of people.

That's fair enough -- I don't really disagree. That's why I don't go to WDW regularly like some people. It's fun once every few years, but they keep making changes that make me less likely to go, especially when there are so many other places I want to see.

 

[UNCgolf]

$600 for a 5 day park hopper is cheap? For my family of 6, if we bought park tickets every time we went, it would unequivocally be the most expensive part of a vacation (DVC, and park tickets are why we have AP’s... for as long as we can renew them).

Cheap was relative to other things at Disney -- and certainly dependent on the number of people in your party. When my GF and I went last January, our hotel room was far more expensive than our 7 day park hopper tickets.

 

[LittleBuford]

Just for fun, I priced out a Lyft ride from MCO to Disney Springs right now, a Monday, at non-peak time. A Lyft is $34 plus tip and a Lyft XL (which you would need for a larger family or a lot of luggage) is $44 plus tip.

This is about what I expected, though as @UNCgolf noted, there are times when the price is considerably higher.

Car seats would be required, so you would have had to bring them with you on the plane from home.

If you've never traveled with children, you can't possibly understand the hassle of having to travel with car seats on a plane.

Fair enough, but this is something parents have to bear in mind wherever they travel.

Does anyone know why seats are required in cars but not on buses? It doesn't make sense to me.

 

[LittleBuford]

I don't want to branch out when I make a Disney trip.
Part of the fun of the trip is the deliberate attempt to keep it all in the parks.

I didn't say people should branch out when making Disney trips. When I head to Disney, I'm stubbornly single-minded: no days wasted at Universal or elsewhere for me; it's Disney or nothing.

What I meant was that I don't think it's a bad thing if the loss of DME encourages some people to go less frequently to Disney and explore other destinations.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

This is about what I expected, though as @UNCgolf noted, there are times when the price is considerably higher.


Fair enough, but this is something parents have to bear in mind wherever they travel.

Does anyone know why seats are required in cars but not on buses? It doesn't make sense to me.

Well, for one, buses don't have seat belts or the LATCH system for installing car seats.

(I read about the whole seat belts on buses thing years ago when my oldest was little, but I don't really remember much at this point.)

 

[LittleBuford]

Personally I can’t comment on Universal. But I can say the whole WDW experience is getting closer to not being enough value for money for us. And we’re extremely lucky enough to be able to “do Orlando” cheaper than a lot of people.

I suspect there are, broadly speaking, two kinds of people who are active fans of WDW: those, like you, who seem to enjoy theme parks in general (you mentioned being pleasantly surprised by SeaWorld recently), and those, like me, who are into the Disney angle specifically. That's why alternatives (other than Disney parks elsewhere) wouldn't work for me, and why I still see excellent value in my trips to WDW.

 

[LittleBuford]

Well, for one, buses don't have seat belts or the LATCH system for installing car seats.

(I read about the whole seat belts on buses thing years ago when my oldest was little, but I don't really remember much at this point.)

I'm one of those weird people who will buckle up on a bus whenever it has a seat belt (and they're more common than you'd think).

I still don't get why it's safe to put a child on a bus without a special seat but not in a car.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I'm one of those weird people who will buckle up on a bus whenever it has a seat belt (and they're more common than you'd think).

I still don't get why it's safe to put a child on a bus without a special seat but not in a car.

I don't either. It never made any sense to me at all - especially considering that the rear seats of school buses were much sought after when I was a kid because you could literally catch air if the bus went over a big bump.

Interesting that you've seen buses with belts! I don't think I ever have...and that includes municipal buses, charter buses, and Disney buses.

 

[LittleBuford]

I don't either. It never made any sense to me at all - especially considering that the rear seats of school buses were much sought after when I was a kid because you could literally catch air if the bus went over a big bump.

Glad I'm not the only one confused!

Interesting that you've seen buses with belts! I don't think I ever have...and that includes municipal buses, charter buses, and Disney buses.

In my experience, they're quite common on intercity buses (or coaches, as they're called in British English) such as Megabus.

 

[Jenny72]

I'm not an expert, but buses behave very differently in accidents than cars. Many buses, including school buses, are actually less safe with seat belts in a typical accident because your face would be thrown into the seat in front of you. You're better off sliding forward with your whole body. The seats are designed this way. However, in general impacts are different on buses and typically involve fewer injuries, although obviously there are exceptions in extreme circumstances. I know I'd much rather be the guy in the bus than in the car in an accident.

So it's not just negligence to not have seat belts and car seats on buses!

 

[Sir_Cliff]

What I meant was that I don't think it's a bad thing if the loss of DME encourages some people to go less frequently to Disney and explore other destinations.

Sure, but is Disney's intention really to ween people off WDW vacations and encourage them to explore the wider world?

I feel that this outcome as a result of Disney eroding the value of staying at WDW isn't exactly worthy of praise for Disney.

 

[LittleBuford]

Sure, but is Disney's intention really to ween people off WDW vacations and encourage them to explore the wider world?

I feel that this outcome as a result of Disney eroding the value of staying at WDW isn't exactly worthy of praise for Disney.

I didn’t mean to suggest that was Disney’s aim, nor was I offering them any sort of praise for their decision to drop DME.

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

“Diznee iz a bizness”. Thanks be to the Bob’s.

 

[UNCgolf]

This is about what I expected, though as @UNCgolf noted, there are times when the price is considerably higher.


Fair enough, but this is something parents have to bear in mind wherever they travel.

Does anyone know why seats are required in cars but not on buses? It doesn't make sense to me.

Although I'm not 100% sure about this, I believe it's because the main reason for car seats in cars is due to seat belts. Seat belts are not designed to restrain children safely and a child wearing an adult seatbelt can be seriously harmed by the seat belt itself in the event of an accident.

Many buses don't even have seat belts, and the ones that do tend to have a waist only belt (like airplanes). I assume that's a major part of it.