News Disney's Magical Express to end after 2021

[WDWFanRay]

So I assume Disney will be limiting attendance to an absolute fraction of its current levels to ensure that there isn't any crowding either outdoors and indoors. No packing people into monorails or ride vehicles or indoor queues or restaurants. Strictly enforced social distancing everywhere. No massive crowds on NYE, just as we certainly saw none on Christmas. In fact, given how numbers are skyrocketing, WDW will probably shut down.

OR the pandemic is just being used as a disgustingly cynical excuse for all sorts of cost-cutting decisions that dramatically impact the guest experience while measures that might actually make a difference are ignored because they might cut into the profit. But that would be pretty ugly, So I'm sure its not the case.

Also, I'm glad to hear the pandemic will definitely continue for two years and then end. I missed that announcement. Do we have an exact date?

Yes, this is exactly how it works. Use the “going green” excuse to get rid of plastic items and then give away ZipLok bags on Splash mountain, since they were sponsored by ZipLock.

 

[Greg from Philly]

Disney's Magical Express service to be discontinued next year

The free airport transfer service will be discontinued for 2022.

www.wdwmagic.com

Well, there it goes another piece of the Disney magic lost to the corporate machine. Well done Disney...well done.

 

[Coffeeroasters]

So the rest of us that drive to WDW and have never used the Magical Express won't ever miss it at all.
With all the complaints of corporate greed taking away the Magical Express (what appeared to be free) kind of makes me laugh.
Maybe I am the sucker for driving down all these year and not getting a free bus ride from MCO? Oh wait I saved a ton by not flying. Granted I am a 6.5 hour drive away, but 2 day drives don't phase me at all. I get to go at my pace along the way and I can come and go from WDW at my leisure and not have to worry about how to get some where. Just my 2¢.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

So the rest of us that drive to WDW and have never used the Magical Express won't ever miss it at all.
With all the complaints of corporate greed taking away the Magical Express (what appeared to be free) kind of makes me laugh.
Maybe I am the sucker for driving down all these year and not getting a free bus ride from MCO? Oh wait I saved a ton by not flying. Granted I am a 6.5 hour drive away, but 2 day drives don't phase me at all. I get to go at my pace along the way and I can come and go from WDW at my leisure and not have to worry about how to get some where. Just my 2¢.

Just because the perk didn't benefit you directly doesn't mean it's not a big deal it's being cut. Maybe Disney will eliminate something you like in the future that others here won't miss? Objectively, Disney removing things that used to be included in the price is bad for guests as a whole.

 

[mattpeto]

Disney doesn't need to offer 'free' perks since it is often trying to limit the guests that make MK overcrowded. They've found they can raise prices and take away the freebies and people still beat down their door.

The only hope is that EU is very, very, very good and eats into Disney's capacity. Then the 'free' enticements and perks will come back.

For now, the only perks you may see are for times of the year that are truly reduced attendance. And even then, that won't happen until the pandemic is over.

BTW, the pandemic is a world wide pandemic. And we're in the middle of it. The middle. Two more years to go before we're sure there won't be more Deltas and Omicrons (and much more deadly variants) coming from the unvaccinated of the world. The whole world.

So... we're looking at several more years of no more 'extras.'

As the eternal optimist, even as I battle covid myself right-now, I see omicron as being the hopeful sign of the end of the pandemic. It just sounds like this thing can keep mutating as much as it wants but it's going to make it more challenging to be more virulent if it keeps doing so...

I use my index to determine the state of where is Disney World is right now...It's at 77.26%.

There are still plenty of bubble perks.

• Transportation inside the Bubble,
• Early theme park access (more hours in the park that EMH provided - at least from a March 2020 standpoint)
• Late access for Deluxes
• First dibs on ILL,
• Magicband chargebacks

I know there have been unwanted casualties this year (free FP, DME and complimentary magicbands).

If you are looking for more discounts and perks, looking at international traveling is definitely a big factor. Also consider that all of their revenue streams aren't open yet. Nearly all of it is labor-related with the exception of smaller intimate scale experiences like BBB or Barber Shop.

When Port Orleans Riverside and FQ opened in October, it was operating at 50% capacity. We are still one value resort down completely and there are still some club level inventory that is not open yet.

When the Dining Plan returns (waiting on restaurants), when All Stars Sports actually reopens, when all the paid Tours, After Hours events, Minnie Vans, etc - this is when I expect capacity sort of looks like 2019 and when it's at full speed, they will need to provide additional perks/discounts to attract guests.

I think Disney will eventually have a paid service for airport transfers, but the further they get away from DME, the less likely that might be the case.

 

[Disney Loving Swede]

So the rest of us that drive to WDW and have never used the Magical Express won't ever miss it at all.
With all the complaints of corporate greed taking away the Magical Express (what appeared to be free) kind of makes me laugh.
Maybe I am the sucker for driving down all these year and not getting a free bus ride from MCO? Oh wait I saved a ton by not flying. Granted I am a 6.5 hour drive away, but 2 day drives don't phase me at all. I get to go at my pace along the way and I can come and go from WDW at my leisure and not have to worry about how to get some where. Just my 2¢.

Well for those of us who have an ocean to cross and a 16 hour plus travel day getting on a bus at MCO was nice since we dont have the option of not flying.....

 

[Skywise]

I get to go at my pace along the way and I can come and go from WDW at my leisure and not have to worry about how to get some where. Just my 2¢.

You just get to pay for parking now as part of the privilege.

 

[donsullivan]

Given the tone of this thread, I'm curious how people got from the airport to Disney World for the first 34+ years the park was open prior to the introduction of Magical Express? If you only saw this thread you'd think this service had been active since 1971 and was just now going away. Many people were surprised it lasted this long when it started up in 2005. It was only expected to be a temporary thing back then anyway.

 

[seascape]

Given the tone of this thread, I'm curious how people got from the airport to Disney World for the first 34+ years the park was open prior to the introduction of Magical Express? If you only saw this thread you'd think this service had been active since 1971 and was just now going away. Many people were surprised it lasted this long when it started up in 2005. It was only expected to be a temporary thing back then anyway.

I used the mears van.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Just because the perk didn't benefit you directly doesn't mean it's not a big deal it's being cut. Maybe Disney will eliminate something you like in the future that others here won't miss? Objectively, Disney removing things that used to be included in the price is bad for guests as a whole.

The people who didn’t take advantage of FP probably don’t think it being replaced by Genie+ is a big deal either, I’ve never parked a car at a WDW hotel but still find the idea of charging to park at a resort you’re already paying $300 a night for asinine… the people discounting things because they didn’t use them themselves don’t make any sense.

 

[Skywise]

Given the tone of this thread, I'm curious how people got from the airport to Disney World for the first 34+ years the park was open prior to the introduction of Magical Express? If you only saw this thread you'd think this service had been active since 1971 and was just now going away. Many people were surprised it lasted this long when it started up in 2005. It was only expected to be a temporary thing back then anyway.

I've only been going for about 10 years so "it's always been there" for me.
I was always impressed with the setup and "inclusiveness" of it, however, compared to other vacations I setup. Although when I was looking into doing Disneyland I was surprised that there wasn't a similar service to DL from LAX but I had chalked that up to less hotel space and DL being more of a "locals" park.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

So the rest of us that drive to WDW and have never used the Magical Express won't ever miss it at all.
With all the complaints of corporate greed taking away the Magical Express (what appeared to be free) kind of makes me laugh.
Maybe I am the sucker for driving down all these year and not getting a free bus ride from MCO? Oh wait I saved a ton by not flying. Granted I am a 6.5 hour drive away, but 2 day drives don't phase me at all. I get to go at my pace along the way and I can come and go from WDW at my leisure and not have to worry about how to get some where. Just my 2¢.

They already took away your “free” parking at resorts.

I used the mears van.

I used Lynx!

 

[ToTBellHop]

Given the tone of this thread, I'm curious how people got from the airport to Disney World for the first 34+ years the park was open prior to the introduction of Magical Express? If you only saw this thread you'd think this service had been active since 1971 and was just now going away. Many people were surprised it lasted this long when it started up in 2005. It was only expected to be a temporary thing back then anyway.

I walked.

 

[RoadiJeff]

With that gone and I'm now forced to find my own way there from the airport - staying at Universal is now looking pretty good as most of the room rates are of a better value and then I'll just Uber to Disney.

So, I'm wondering how Uber works if someone uses it to get to a Disney theme park from an off-site hotel. Does the Uber driver still have to pay the parking fee in order to get past the parking toll booths? Do they have a special pass that they show to the attendant so they don't have to pay anything?

 

[Goofyernmost]

I still don't understand why they stopped this. Obviously it's a cost savings for them as they can now not only divest themselves of the bus contract but the added insurance and, I'm sure, they can save a few pennies on labor getting the luggage to the rooms.
But it further damages the "resort" experience. There was something truly awe inspiring of being pampered as soon as you got off the airplane and got into the "Disney bubble" and, again, I'd grudingly agree with that if they kept the prices reasonable. But they do this and then continue to jack up the rates!
It almost seems like they're trying to match Universal Studios these days - "Well universal doesn't have integrated bus-service and luggage handling so why should we be different?" - THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!

The resorts were without that for many, many years before DME started. People took buses, limo's, taxi's, drove from home and rented cars to get there. WDW did not go out of business. They did it just to keep you folks captive and have you spend every cent you have with them. But now they feel they got you guys all trained and even if you have to walk there you will obediently hand them every nickel you have and they no longer have the gigantic expense that DME actually was per person. They just figured if they could keep you away from any of the other stuff in the Orlando area, they would make it up. And they did. Now they will get the same money from you without having to spend the extra to get you there. You have to give the PR department credit for implanting how difficult it was to get around the Orlando/Kissimmee area to keep the money in their registers and not someone else's.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

So the rest of us that drive to WDW and have never used the Magical Express won't ever miss it at all.
With all the complaints of corporate greed taking away the Magical Express (what appeared to be free) kind of makes me laugh.
Maybe I am the sucker for driving down all these year and not getting a free bus ride from MCO? Oh wait I saved a ton by not flying. Granted I am a 6.5 hour drive away, but 2 day drives don't phase me at all. I get to go at my pace along the way and I can come and go from WDW at my leisure and not have to worry about how to get some where. Just my 2¢.

im still working on the math…but if it’s a 6.5 hour drive…you most likely live too close

Given the tone of this thread, I'm curious how people got from the airport to Disney World for the first 34+ years the park was open prior to the introduction of Magical Express? If you only saw this thread you'd think this service had been active since 1971 and was just now going away. Many people were surprised it lasted this long when it started up in 2005. It was only expected to be a temporary thing back then anyway.

Question: do you miss better food at better prices?
and if you do…should I shame you for
It?

I used the mears van.

They sucked…I didn’t weep their sorta “integration” into the corporate machine

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

So, I'm wondering how Uber works if someone uses it to get to a Disney theme park from an off-site hotel. Does the Uber driver still have to pay the parking fee in order to get past the parking toll booths? Do they have a special pass that they show to the attendant so they don't have to pay anything?

There is a dedicated Uber drop off and pickup area. They don’t pay for parking and they never park or enter the actual parking lot.

Works very well.

 

[MickeyCB]

A long, long time ago
I could take my fam'ly down to see the mouse.
And I knew that flying to McCoy Would bring my family tears of joy
'Cause we'd get driven to our short-term house.

But late last spring I heard some news
That made my blood freeze purple blues --
Bad news on the forums,
The bus would run no more-ums...

I can't remember if I cried when I
Read about how we could hide
But something in my brain just fried
The day... the transport... died.



So bye, bye Mr DME guy
Rent a Chevy from the Airport
And I think I'll just cry.

I schlepped my own luggage
Kissed my money good-bye
Saying "This is not the way I should fly...
This is not the way I should fly."

Did you book a trip next week
With a hope that you might take a peek
At the Star Wars Galaxy?

Or did you perceive another chance
Where your family might just get a glance
At the Dinosaurs or Everest fallacy?

Well I know you wanted them to say
"Just come on down, we'll pay your way!
We'll even grab your bags,
While you suffer from jet lags."

But the Chapek uttered his decree
"No more airport rides for free!"
And we thought it just couldn't be
The day, the transport died.

And we were singing...
(Chorus)

And then I heard to calm my fears
That I could schedule rides with Mears
For $20 bucks or so a head

But then came news of other ways
That I could use on transport days
But the transports would cost more and cause much dread

And on the roads the traffic stopped
The buses fumed and drivers hopped
All the lanes were crawling
The kids and wife were bawling

'Cause we just missed our ADR
That we'd have made without this car
And here we sit stuck in the tar
All thanks to Chapek's thing.

We started singing...
(chorus)

Just excellent.

 

[Skywise]

They did it just to keep you folks captive and have you spend every cent you have with them. But now they feel the got you guys all trained and even if you have to walk there you will obediently hand them every nickel you have and they no longer have the gigantic expense that DME actually was per person.

I object - I am not a trained monkey - I am a free man!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Really surprised that Disney didn't restart the Minnie Van airport transportation service before MDE ended....

That was so ridiculous they couldn’t even get the Praets to use it