News Disney's Magical Express to end after 2021

[nickys]

If they require reservations they would be able to use the size they need when they need it.

That becomes a guessing game for international guests. It can take anything from an hour to three to get through customs and immigration. If your flight arrives at the same time as 3 others it can be a long wait. Easy to provide a flight number and arrival time but harder to predict when you’d reach the pick up point.
It’s possible for Mears to work round it but just another hurdle.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

That becomes a guessing game for international guests. It can take anything from an hour to three to get through customs and immigration. If your flight arrives at the same time as 3 others it can be a long wait. Easy to provide a flight number and arrival time but harder to predict when you’d reach the pick up point.
It’s possible for Mears to work round it but just another hurdle.

If they kept the same system as DME then you would just be reserving a seat on a bus for any time after your flight arrives (provided you get there before the last bus is scheduled to leave), so it could still work.

 

[flynnibus]

Yikes. I didn't know that. I can't even imagine how I would feel paying for a bus trip to take me from a (very expensive) Disney hotel to a (very expensive) Disney cruise.

The same way you feel paying tips for luggage... transports... etc. you turn your brain off to the small stuff and focus on the big wins.

 

[CLBMN]

That becomes a guessing game for international guests. It can take anything from an hour to three to get through customs and immigration. If your flight arrives at the same time as 3 others it can be a long wait. Easy to provide a flight number and arrival time but harder to predict when you’d reach the pick up point.
It’s possible for Mears to work round it but just another hurdle.

This is pretty much what happens anytime anyone travels internationally, so nothing new.
Customs, immigration, airport, transportation are all a challenge unless you are familiar with the place.

International travelers tend to be more savy to be aware of these things, JMO.

 

[wedenterprises]

So why not just announce that now? It’s not like Disney is worried about charging for something that was previously included like hotel parking and MagicBands.

I could see this happening. Buy their own vehicles and charge for it instead of paying Mears.

 

[nickys]

This is pretty much what happens anytime anyone travels internationally, so nothing new.
Customs, immigration, airport, transportation are all a challenge unless you are familiar with the place.

International travelers tend to be more savy to be aware of these things, JMO.

Yes I’m aware.

My post was in response to someone who said that if you had to reserve a seat Mears would be able to plan for the luggage space required. It isn’t particularly easy to plan for if you have international guests with a very vague pick-up time.

Say Mears have 4 groups all with a flight arrival time of between 4 & 5pm. Two families are arriving from Newark and Chicago but the other two are from London and Frankfurt. It could be 8pm before one or two of those groups actually need transport.

DME works because it’s a continuous service. Mears would really need to do the same but with smaller numbers, perhaps. Trying to run it as a scheduled pick-up service but for multiple groups sharing is tricky. It would be easier either to have a fleet of vehicles and individual pick-ups or run a shuttle service like many hotels near the airport do.

 

[CLBMN]

Yes I’m aware.

My post was in response to someone who said that if you had to reserve a seat Mears would be able to plan for the luggage space required. It isn’t particularly easy to plan for if you have international guests with a very vague pick-up time.

Say Mears have 4 groups all with a flight arrival time of between 4 & 5pm. Two families are arriving from Newark and Chicago but the other two are from London and Frankfurt. It could be 8pm before one or two of those groups actually need transport.

DME works because it’s a continuous service. Mears would really need to do the same but with smaller numbers, perhaps. Trying to run it as a scheduled pick-up service but for multiple groups sharing is tricky. It would be easier either to have a fleet of vehicles and individual pick-ups or run a shuttle service like many hotels near the airport do.

My response was not intented to say you specifically were not aware, it was a general statement about international travelers.

When taking the DME, one also needs to tell them you will be using the service, kind of a reservation but no specific time. I am assuming so they have an idea of numbers. There is an idea of time of arrival, number of people etc., but nothing concrete really and they know you are planning on it. IMO that is why is works with different schedules and delays.

 

[Tinkwings]

I had been planning my first trip ever to DLR precovid.....still have tickets, wondering if I can talk them into transferring to WDW.....anyhow, DLR used to have a shuttle type service from LAX and John Wayne.....but I know the LAX was no longer functioning when I was planning and after covid started could not see much on the bus from John Wayne either.....and kept thinking how wonderful MDE was and too bad DLR did not have it......

 

[Buck Wheelie]

A lot of people are upset over loss of DME but I'm just as unhappy or more so about no Resort Airline Check in. I like bypassing the airport line and going right to TSA. In the future I think we will only take carry ons and use a car service that will stop at store before we get to resort. There's a few that do that.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

A lot of people are upset over loss of DME but I'm just as unhappy or more so about no Resort Airline Check in.

I think as far as most guests know, those are the same thing.

 

[flynnibus]

DME works because it’s a continuous service. Mears would really need to do the same but with smaller numbers, perhaps. Trying to run it as a scheduled pick-up service but for multiple groups sharing is tricky. It would be easier either to have a fleet of vehicles and individual pick-ups or run a shuttle service like many hotels near the airport do.

this is what car and shuttle services already do tho. They know how to manage it.

you model demand and capacity and assign things “just in time”. The capacity is kept flexible to adapt to changes.

 

[HarperRose]

A lot of people are upset over loss of DME but I'm just as unhappy or more so about no Resort Airline Check in. I like bypassing the airport line and going right to TSA. In the future I think we will only take carry ons and use a car service that will stop at store before we get to resort. There's a few that do that.

People mistakenly believe they're the same thing.

 

[nickys]

this is what car and shuttle services already do tho. They know how to manage it.

you model demand and capacity and assign things “just in time”. The capacity is kept flexible to adapt to changes.

I haven’t found a car service that would work for us. They allow an hour after the flight arrival time for free.

So I’d have to book it for a specific time, say 2 hrs after arrival. But if the plane is late, or it takes longer to get through I have to pay extra. Or I book it for 3 hrs after and find I have to kill time in the airport for 90 minutes. And of course, I can’t let them know what’s happening until I land and clear immigration.

Not just a Disney thing. But it means a taxi or Uber is way easier and less risky. A shuttle is fine, a private car service is a no go.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

My response was not intented to say you specifically were not aware, it was a general statement about international travelers.

When taking the DME, one also needs to tell them you will be using the service, kind of a reservation but no specific time. I am assuming so they have an idea of numbers. There is an idea of time of arrival, number of people etc., but nothing concrete really and they know you are planning on it. IMO that is why is works with different schedules and delays.

Sounds like the old mears motor shuttle system

 

[flynnibus]

I haven’t found a car service that would work for us. They allow an hour after the flight arrival time for free.

So I’d have to book it for a specific time, say 2 hrs after arrival. But if the plane is late, or it takes longer to get through I have to pay extra. Or I book it for 3 hrs after and find I have to kill time in the airport for 90 minutes. And of course, I can’t let them know what’s happening until I land and clear immigration.

Not just a Disney thing. But it means a taxi or Uber is way easier and less risky. A shuttle is fine, a private car service is a no go.

I dont use it at MCO but at other cities (including at heathrow) i tell them my flight info and my expected time and they dispatch the driver based on the estimates for arrival/immigration times. Parker car service at heathrow. If something gets crossed and they aren’t there, they just dispatch another and they are there shortly after.

 

[Jenny72]

Well, here's an anecdote about this change. My family has always stayed off-site for a number of reasons, but my husband finds the whole Disney thing too stressful and particularly hates driving around the area. Couldn't face it after this year. A few months ago, I said, what if we really splurge on a big Disney vacation once things are safe again, stay at a Deluxe resort, and never drive at all? We were/are ready to spend some serious money.

Then I said, oh, they're discontinuing the service from the airport. We were both bummed out and ended up talking about an entirely different vacation where we could blow a wad of cash somewhere else. It's really important to us that this trip be relatively stress-free after this hellish year. The selling point for us was feeling like we could just relax and let Disney take care of us. I realize that this change is not huge, but there's a psychological component where I feel like, oh, they're actually not going to take care of us at all...maybe let's go to a different resort where it will really feel like we're being spoiled, if we're going to spend that much.

 

[bjlc57]

let me say that we , my wife and i , both use scooters.. and we love the magical express.. and its gonna be a real hardship with out it.. the last 4 or 5 trips .. it was a god send for us.. this really hurts us but not in the pocket book.. just in mobility.. heck this next time.. because we are pushing over 3 years since our last visit ..we were gonna drop a ton of money.. and do it right.. probably two annual passes ( and who knows what's happening with that) .. and two trips with in 6 or 8 months of the other.. and now because if this , its truly up in the air..

 

[AnonymousStitch]

I may have missed something and you may have already answered this, but why exactly is the Magical Express being shut down by 2022?

 

[nickys]

I may have missed something and you may have already answered this, but why exactly is the Magical Express being shut down by 2022?

“Vacationers have more options to choose from than ever for transportation, including ride-share services that save time and offer more flexibility to go where they want, when they want.”

That’s what Disney have said. In other words it’s no longer of benefit to Disney to continue to provide a free coach transfer from the airport to WDW.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Then I said, oh, they're discontinuing the service from the airport. We were both bummed out and ended up talking about an entirely different vacation where we could blow a wad of cash somewhere else. It's really important to us that this trip be relatively stress-free after this hellish year. The selling point for us was feeling like we could just relax and let Disney take care of us. I realize that this change is not huge, but there's a psychological component where I feel like, oh, they're actually not going to take care of us at all...maybe let's go to a different resort where it will really feel like we're being spoiled, if we're going to spend that much.

Must say I'm increasingly moving into the category of people who don't quite understand why so many people spend so much of their vacation time and money at WDW. I know people like what they like, but considering the increasing costs and hassle and decreasing benefits of a WDW vacation compared to what you can get elsewhere, I find it very hard to justify going back. They certainly seem to be unwinding the elements that might make it a relaxing resort vacation (increased planning, pushing people to jump out of bed at the crack of dawn, eliminating complementary transportation from the airport, ever-rising prices for generally mediocre food & drink) and, in terms of an active vacation, there's so much more to see out there in the wider world.

I'm very curious to see whether they ever burn through their accumulated brand loyalty or if the product is still appealing enough that they really will forever find people willing to pay whatever they ask and accept whatever they're given.