News Disney's Magical Express to end after 2021

[LittleBuford]

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.

For me, there isn’t anything comparable elsewhere, which is why I will continue going. It’s certainly expensive, and the recent cuts are disappointing, but Disney is the only place I can feel a certain kind of happiness, and that makes it absolutely worth the money in my experience. (I realise, and respect the fact, that others feel differently.) I should add that I save a bit on accommodation by staying in one of the Disney Springs hotels (I’m in the parks all day, so spending more on a Disney resort wouldn’t make much sense in my case).

 

[Mander]

For me, there isn’t anything comparable elsewhere, which is why I will continue going. It’s certainly expensive, and the recent cuts are disappointing, but Disney is the only place I can feel a certain kind of happiness, and that makes it absolutely worth the money in my experience. (I realise, and respect the fact, that others feel differently.) I should add that I save a bit on accommodation by staying in one of the Disney Springs hotels (I’m in the parks all day, so spending more on a Disney resort wouldn’t make much sense in my case).

I'd agree with this. We enjoy other trips- national parks, visiting different cities, etc- but nothing quite compares to our Disney trips. We like being busy and having lots to do. We like that it is an easy place to travel with family (in that we can all do our own thing sometimes). It's just a very happy place for myself and most of my immediate family. You can really forget about all the stress back home when you're there. And my husband loves not having to drive while we are there!

I have some criticism of decisions being made right now but it would take a lot for me to stop going to WDW all together. The Magical Express decision may push us to try out a Universal or Disney Springs resort eventually but I don't know where the monetary cut off is for us. Maybe we'd go less often (we made three trips in 2019) but I don't think we would ever stop entirely.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

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.

I am too. I think the castle parks will always be a huge draw even if they take away much of what made the parks so special. If they just keep the place painted up as a huge phot op with enough attractions to justify the price tag people will pay.

But that’s not how WDW has been so profitable, they need large families and groups staying multiple days and eating at all the restaurants etc. That’s what I see changing.

 

[UNCgolf]

For me, there isn’t anything comparable elsewhere, which is why I will continue going. It’s certainly expensive, and the recent cuts are disappointing, but Disney is the only place I can feel a certain kind of happiness, and that makes it absolutely worth the money in my experience. (I realise, and respect the fact, that others feel differently.) I should add that I save a bit on accommodation by staying in one of the Disney Springs hotels (I’m in the parks all day, so spending more on a Disney resort wouldn’t make much sense in my case).

I agree with this to an extent -- I don't think there is a comparable theme park experience elsewhere (at least for what specifically interests me about theme parks). Universal is worth visiting, but I can't spend more than 2 days there. That's why I will probably continue to visit Disney once every few years.

With that said, I live close enough to WDW that I can drive there in a reasonable amount of time (about 6.5 hours), which makes things much easier. Don't have to spend money on plane tickets and have full control over my travel timing. I'd probably go less or maybe not at all if it was going to require air travel. There are far too many other places I want to see/return to. If all things were equal (cost, time, etc.) between visiting WDW and going to London, Paris, Rome, or so many other places, I would choose the latter every time. And if prices keep going up while service, food quality, maintenance, etc. stay the same or decline further, WDW will lose even the occasional trip. I already have no current plans to visit.

 

[WDWLOVER1957]

In 2 years Brightline (maybe) will be in place. You have to imagine people saw the handwriting on the wall. But again, I'd be surprised if MDE cost disney more than $1-2 Mil a year. (if even that much)

It didn't cost Disney anything it was built into the cost of your hotel price.

 

[WDWLOVER1957]

I think $35-50 is might be a low estimate if you're talking about a family of 5 with all their luggage. You'd have to use an XcL, which ups the price, and my guess is they'll be hiking up the price in general if they see a huge influx of people wanting/needing to use their service at the airport.

Also, there are going to be LONG lines at MCO of people waiting for their Uber/Lyft. I don't know how it's set up now, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the airport require people to carry their luggage a long way to get to/from an Uber/Lyft designated area, because otherwise the congestion would get incredibly out of hand. That's how the Atlanta airport handles it -- you have to walk at least half a mile and likely longer to actually get to the Uber/Lyft area. They moved it out essentially into one of the parking lots to keep traffic flowing better in the normal pick up/drop off areas.

I have a feeling using Uber/Lyft at MCO is going to turn into a nightmare.

From the UK you have BA flight and virgin arriving around the same time each plane 400 passenger, if 4 passengers per Uber/lyft that's a lot of vehicles needed, without the US planes, will be a nightmare.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

From the UK you have BA flight and virgin arriving around the same time each plane 400 passenger, if 4 passengers per Uber/lyft that's a lot of vehicles needed, without the US planes, will be a nightmare.

Mears will still offer the shuttle service. I’m sure many will still want to use it.

 

[WDWLOVER1957]

Well as a DVC owner....I will start renting cars for our trips after all I don’t pay for parking- will be interesting to see the impact of parking availability on the rest of the resort as I am now taking a spot up. Less for the paying guests or the people trying to visit a resort? Additionally, might need to do our first Universal, Seaworld or Legoland trips with no Disney parks but taking up a room with little discernible revenue. Also guessing this is the end of the dining plan - cheaper and more diverse options off property. Might be time to get my groceries off property- eat in the room and cheaper beer/wine (also arguably better options I am sure). Heck now I can get our souvenirs at the outlets- far cheaper to get 3 shirts, a pin or 4, and a Christmas ornament there than pay the price of one Spirit Jersey at the Emporium. I’m bitter about it being removed-no more relaxation for the first and last days of the trip- but should save me a few hundred or even thousands for those longer trips.

As a DVC owner any cost getting to my resort, will come out of my souvenir budget Disney will just get less from me.

 

[Jenny72]

The more I think about this, the more short-sighted it seems. The bus trip was a way to get people charged up about their Disney trip and excited for experiences. That adds up to $$$. You want people to feel taken care of, relaxed and excited about the trip if you want them to open their wallets freely for food, souvenirs, extra experiences. It seems like it costs the company money, but it's money well spent in the big picture, and in a sense pays for itself.

This reminds me a little bit of that old fable of the sun and the wind trying to get a man to take off his coat. The wind blew as hard as it could, but the man held on even tighter. The sun warmly shone on the man and he took the coat off by himself. I think Disney has made its brand by being the sun and making us eager to fork over cash. It's getting pretty blustery in Orlando and I'm starting to think I'd rather hold on to my wallet.

 

[WDWLOVER1957]

Well, maybe rack rates will only go up 11% next year instead of 12%.

How do you get to WDW if I may ask

 

[MisterPenguin]

How do you get to WDW if I may ask

Plane, Mears taxi.

Uber/Lyft back to airport.

I've sometimes rented a car if I'm not in the bubble. Sometimes just for a day or two if the hotel has a shuttle.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The more I think about this, the more short-sighted it seems. The bus trip was a way to get people charged up about their Disney trip and excited for experiences. That adds up to $$$. You want people to feel taken care of, relaxed and excited about the trip if you want them to open their wallets freely for food, souvenirs, extra experiences. It seems like it costs the company money, but it's money well spent in the big picture, and in a sense pays for itself.

This reminds me a little bit of that old fable of the sun and the wind trying to get a man to take off his coat. The wind blew as hard as it could, but the man held on even tighter. The sun warmly shone on the man and he took the coat off by himself. I think Disney has made its brand by being the sun and making us eager to fork over cash. It's getting pretty blustery in Orlando and I'm starting to think I'd rather hold on to my wallet.

“To me, the purpose of a business is not solely to create shareholder value, it’s to create value for the customer.... we think of our business as a platform to improve the lives of the people we serve and that’s our goal everyday. If we do that well, the financial end of it tends to take care of itself” - David Salyers, Chick-Fil-A

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I agree with this to an extent -- I don't think there is a comparable theme park experience elsewhere (at least for what specifically interests me about theme parks).

I’m not disagreeing but what do you think makes that so? What are your specific interests that don’t exist in other park / resorts?

 

[UNCgolf]

I’m not disagreeing but what do you think makes that so? What are your specific interests that don’t exist in other park / resorts?

Mainly the type of rides. I don't care much about roller coasters and most other parks rely upon them heavily -- and if I am going to ride a coaster, I want it to be heavily themed, which is almost impossible to do unless it's a smaller coaster that doesn't attract the big coaster enthusiasts. I guess I'm really talking more about hybrid dark rides, like Revenge of the Mummy which I do like but is a pretty mild coaster. Universal doesn't have rely on coasters so much, but they have loaded up on screen based motion sims that I also don't really enjoy (Soarin' and FoP are the only exceptions off the top of my head). There are only a handful of rides I actually care about at Universal right now -- I haven't been on Hagrid's or Gringott's yet, but neither of them look especially great to me via videos.

There honestly may be more rides at WDW/DL that I actually enjoy than exist in the rest of the US combined, just because my interests are pretty narrow. I couldn't care less about unthemed or lightly themed thrill rides -- there's a Six Flags 25 minutes from me and there's literally nothing there I want to ride.

I also want the heavily themed environment, dining, etc., and there are only a handful of parks that do that. So when you combine that with the rides, Universal and WDW are really the only two that do anything for me but WDW just has more of everything.

That's also why I said I'd rather be spending time in places like London or Paris if all things were equal. More that interests me there than at any theme park.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Gringott's yet, but neither of them look especially great to me via videos.

As a total experience I’d personally rate Gringotts over Rise.

Regarding the rest of your post you’d put Disneyland in the same category?

 

[UNCgolf]

As a total experience I’d personally rate Gringotts over Rise.

I've been through the queue at Gringotts and seen everything; just haven't been on the actual ride. I hated Forbidden Journey, though -- not because I thought it was a bad ride overall (although I don't think it's as great as other people seem to), but because it was so ridiculously jerky that it gave me the worst motion sickness I've ever had. I'll never get on it again.

EDIT: Diagon Alley as a whole land is amazing, though. I love it.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I hated Forbidden Journey, though -- not because I thought it was a bad ride overall (although I don't think it's as great as other people seem to), but because it was so ridiculously jerky that it gave me the worst motion sickness I've ever had. I'll never get on it again.

Same. Although I did go on it again.... big mistake lol.

 

[UNCgolf]

I also think the majority of my love for WDW is because of an EPCOT that no longer exists. That was what I really loved as a kid -- although there are a lot of rides I like at the Magic Kingdom, and I enjoyed it as a kid, I would have been okay with just spending all my time at EPCOT (mainly Future World, but I did like World Showcase) and skipping the MK entirely. It's pretty clear now that that EPCOT is never going to come back (not that I was expecting it to). However, they did build Animal Kingdom, which I absolutely love and is now the best park at the resort to me.

 

[UNCgolf]

Regarding the rest of your post you’d put Disneyland in the same category?

I've never been to Disneyland. I have been to LA a couple of times but there were other things I wanted to do there that outranked Disneyland -- I absolutely want to visit at least once, though.

Regardless, yes, Disneyland would definitely fall in the same category, as would Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney. And although I've never paid much attention to what they actually have in Hong Kong or Shanghai because there's basically a 0% chance I ever go there -- if I'm ever in the area there will likely be numerous other things I'd want to do before Disney even entered my mind, which is also true for Paris and Tokyo but I've at least been to Paris before and Tokyo Disney looks like something extra special -- I'm sure it's true for them as well.

I really meant outside of Disney parks in general as opposed to WDW specifically, although there is a theme park in Europe called Puy du Fou that looks very interesting. I think I'd need to speak French to get the real experience there, though.

 

[UNCgolf]

Same. Although I did go on it again.... big mistake lol.

My GF didn't get motion sickness from Forbidden Journey, but her neck actually hurt for the rest of the day and the next morning. It's almost unreal how much that ride throws you around.

I personally think they really shot themselves in the foot long-term by using Hogwarts as just a queue for a ride as opposed to a fully realized space. Even if Forbidden Journey was the best ride in the world (and I don't think it's close to that, even when completely discounting the jerkiness and just focusing on what's actually in it), it would still be a waste of Hogwarts for that IP.