insiders ONLY... is there a possibility that the Magical Express comes back..

[Prince-1]

wow i guess that i didn't think that i would get so much heat about this topic.. seemingly a lot against the Magical express.. again when you had some thing for " free " for years , once you lose it, it takes away the value of the trip..

I think it was the way you worded it in your original post. It was a little dramatic.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I really hope they bring back the airport check in at the resort. I really hate going to the airport and standing in that long line. They could still do this even though they don't bring back ME.

I would say that is highly unlikely

All iger’s bluster aside…employee costs are square in the crosshairs

What I am saying is that is astronomically small.

Infinitesimally

 

[Goofyernmost]

Let me say that I am not criticizing anyone in particular, just making a general statement.

What other society expects to have people handle their luggage from the airport to their room? Yes, if you hire someone to bring you to your resort and handle your luggage from the baggage carousel to your room you are paying other people in stages to do that. First the baggage people at the airport to bring it out to the point of pickup for you and expects a tip, than the person that drives you (non-bus) to the resort will load it and unload it at the resort entrance and he expects a tip because he is a driver not a butler, than finally the bell hop will take them to your room and expect a tip. Yet, this whole discussion is about people that want a free ride to their resort and handle all their baggage in one free trip.

Yes, I know that this was a perk that Disney started a few years ago in the attempt to keep people onsite and spending every cent of their holiday/vacation money with them. It worked for awhile but somebody with a sharper pencil figured out that it was unnecessary to keep the perk going. Anyone that has never been there would never question it and those that were there when it was happening will decide if that is a deal breaker or not.

My thought is that people are talking about this like it is owed to them. If anything is owed it would be free parking for resort guests like it used to be instead of thinking that people need to pay for something that was never intended to be a paid parking experience. I understand it for offsite guest, but for people paying $600.00+ a night for a 3 star room should be getting that courtesy at least. The idea that anyone would not go there because they had to carry their own luggage is the epitome of first world problem. We are either grossly lazy or seriously entitled.

By the way, the cost of that was always hidden in the daily room rate and you didn't see the rates dropped at the same time the service stopped did you? If there is anything to be upset about it would be that.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

By the way, the cost of that was always hidden in the daily room rate and you didn't see the rates dropped at the same time the service stopped did you? If there is anything to be upset about it would be that.

This is true as you had to confirm what hotel on property you were staying at prior to arrival...If you didn't have a room confirmed you couldn't use it.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I really hope they bring back the airport check in at the resort. I really hate going to the airport and standing in that long line. They could still do this even though they don't bring back ME.

I thought airport check in was a thing even without any connection to a Disney Resort. I've seen it done via phone many times. From just about anywhere. I haven't had the occasion to fly anywhere for 6 or 7 years now so I might be misunderstanding what is meant by airport check in currently.

 

[dreday3]

I thought airport check in was a thing even without any connection to a Disney Resort. I've seen it done via phone many times. From just about anywhere. I haven't had the occasion to fly anywhere for 6 or 7 years now so I might be misunderstanding what is meant by airport check in currently.

You used to be able to check you luggage at a Disney resort for the airline. Then they'd handle it all and you go to airport sans luggage.

It's a great service and missed.

 

[Goofyernmost]

You used to be able to check you luggage at a Disney resort for the airline. Then they'd handle it all and you go to airport sans luggage.

It's a great service and missed.

Ok, thanks.. that is why I asked, because I was pretty sure you could check in ahead of time unless you had baggage to check. That makes more sense. It was a very nice service and one that everyone is still paying for but not getting.

 

[The Colonel]

Maybe my memory is off, I rarely check a bag. But didn't the DME checked bags go to storage- when you got to your room, you had to call for them to be fetched from bell services?

Even if I checked a bag, I would still have a carry-on with valuables, medications, etc., so a stop at bell services would still need to be made to store that bag before I could hit the park.

The few times I checked bags going home, handing them off at the resort was a real convenience.

I miss DME as I just felt like it was part of the bubble. But it was extremely time consuming. I always felt like I was the last stop.

 

[Ayla]

I thought airport check in was a thing even without any connection to a Disney Resort. I've seen it done via phone many times. From just about anywhere. I haven't had the occasion to fly anywhere for 6 or 7 years now so I might be misunderstanding what is meant by airport check in currently.

You used to be able to check your luggage at your disney resort and only take your carry ons to the airport, however you got there (DME, Uber, a rental car, etc).

 

[Ayla]

Maybe my memory is off, I rarely check a bag. But didn't the DME checked bags go to storage- when you got to your room, you had to call for them to be fetched from bell services?

Even if I checked a bag, I would still have a carry-on with valuables, medications, etc., so a stop at bell services would still need to be made to store that bag before I could hit the park.

The few times I checked bags going home, handing them off at the resort was a real convenience.

I miss DME as I just felt like it was part of the bubble. But it was extremely time consuming. I always felt like I was the last stop.

If you used the airport to resort luggage service through DME, the bags were placed in your room when they arrived at the resort (usually within 3 hours of landing).

 

[Disorbust]

Let me say that I am not criticizing anyone in particular, just making a general statement.

What other society expects to have people handle their luggage from the airport to their room? Yes, if you hire someone to bring you to your resort and handle your luggage from the baggage carousel to your room you are paying other people in stages to do that. First the baggage people at the airport to bring it out to the point of pickup for you and expects a tip, than the person that drives you (non-bus) to the resort will load it and unload it at the resort entrance and he expects a tip because he is a driver not a butler, than finally the bell hop will take them to your room and expect a tip. Yet, this whole discussion is about people that want a free ride to their resort and handle all their baggage in one free trip.

Yes, I know that this was a perk that Disney started a few years ago in the attempt to keep people onsite and spending every cent of their holiday/vacation money with them. It worked for awhile but somebody with a sharper pencil figured out that it was unnecessary to keep the perk going. Anyone that has never been there would never question it and those that were there when it was happening will decide if that is a deal breaker or not.

My thought is that people are talking about this like it is owed to them. If anything is owed it would be free parking for resort guests like it used to be instead of thinking that people need to pay for something that was never intended to be a paid parking experience. I understand it for offsite guest, but for people paying $600.00+ a night for a 3 star room should be getting that courtesy at least. The idea that anyone would not go there because they had to carry their own luggage is the epitome of first world problem. We are either grossly lazy or seriously entitled.

By the way, the cost of that was always hidden in the daily room rate and you didn't see the rates dropped at the same time the service stopped did you? If there is anything to be upset about it would be that.

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe many of the Vegas hotels have their own form of "magical express" and aren't there offsite hotels that have a free airport shuttle?

 

[Goofyernmost]

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe many of the Vegas hotels have their own form of "magical express" and aren't there offsite hotels that have a free airport shuttle?

You are right and many do have shuttles from this airport to the hotel, but places like Vegas has the airport within a couple of miles from most of the hotels on the strip. It has been a long time since I was there but it seems that I had to make arrangements for the ride and pay in advance for the service. They might have had some special stuff for high rollers, but I can assure you, I wouldn't know. MCO is 23 miles away and usually the shuttles have a very limited range, especially the free ones. And I'm pretty sure that there aren't to many that bring luggage to your room or pick it up from there.

 

[Goofyernmost]

You used to be able to check your luggage at your disney resort and only take your carry ons to the airport, however you got there (DME, Uber, a rental car, etc).

I'll be honest... that is one perk I wouldn't have taken. My possessions are in my bags, my clothes, probably some shoes, and other items that I want. To me it's bad enough that I have to leave a larger suitcase to be loaded on a plane. I like all of us to arrive there at the same time in including my clothes. I never feel comfortable with that.

About 6 years ago I flew from Raleigh, NC to Toronto on Air Canada then transferred to Icelandair to Reykjavík then switched to another Icelandair to Paris. When I got to Reykjavík I had to clear customs so I did see it at that time. I held my breath all the way to Paris for fear that it might have gotten lost, there was a workers strike at the airport in Reykjavík and all the jobs were being done by management, but it got there. After a few days in Paris I went from Paris to Venice on an Easy jet and had to check everything including carry ons. That one really panicked me. I was in Europe for almost a month and after that initial flight I took a train to Rome and Pompeii and then to the Port of Rome and caught a trans-Atlantic cruise back to Fort Lauderdale. After clearing customs, I had to check my luggage from Fort Lauderdale to Raleigh. All got there but I was never relaxed when the luggage left my sight. Of course customs got to rummage through a suitcase filled with dirty clothes. I didn't really care, at that point, if it disappeared or not.

 

[The Colonel]

If you used the airport to resort luggage service through DME, the bags were placed in your room when they arrived at the resort (usually within 3 hours of landing).

I remember the few times I used that service it worked well. I usually land at 10am. The DVC rooms are rarely ready before 4 pm these days. So the bags went to storage and were moved as rooms were cleaned I suppose. I thought we had to call for them.

 

[jloucks]

My thought is that people are talking about this like it is owed to them. If anything is owed it would be free parking for resort guests like it used to be instead of thinking that people need to pay for something that was never intended to be a paid parking experience. I understand it for offsite guest, but for people paying $600.00+ a night for a 3 star room should be getting that courtesy at least. The idea that anyone would not go there because they had to carry their own luggage is the epitome of first world problem. We are either grossly lazy or seriously entitled.

Expectations on what is expected (or "owed" if you will) are on a spectrum.

I agree with what you said above (bolded), and I simply expand it to include the DME.

I do not like using the word "entitled" as a pejorative for things one actually pays for!

To put it another way, entitlement is not inherently a negative thing. You pay for something, you are entitled to get it, guilt free.

The DME was never free. Anyone with a decent education knows this. It is something we paid for. Because we paid for it, we were entitled to it. Entitled in a guilt free sense. Now, using Disney magic of a different sort, that portion of what you paid for in the past disappeared. Oh, the price is still there, but the highly valued service that we all paid for and are entitled to, is gone. But, again, for emphasis, the price is still there.

It is like the TGI Fridays meal for 4 deal. You get 4 entrees, 4 drinks, 4 sides, and 4 deserts for $39.99. You get this deal for years and it is part of why you are a loyal customer. One day you go in, and the deal changed to 4 entrees, 4 drinks, and 4 sides for $49.99 and the deserts are no longer included. Am I entitled because this ruffles my feathers? Now, do note that if the price went up, and the deserts remained, I would be ok with it. I get that prices go up. But cutting the deserts while simultaneously raising prices just seems like an intentional F U to me the loyal customer.

Sorta like car dealer markups. Those feel very dirty to me and I would not only never buy a marked up car, but I would never use a dealership again that pulled that stunt. Its smarmy. I know, I know, we are not entitled to pay sticker price on a car. But still smarmy.

Same with Disney.

Because the price is still there for the DME, and in fact has gone up, I do not think this is a situation of lazy or the negative connotation on entitlement. I think it is more along the lines of a simple Disney, don't be smarmy.

 

[Ayla]

I remember the few times I used that service it worked well. I usually land at 10am. The DVC rooms are rarely ready before 4 pm these days. So the bags went to storage and were moved as rooms were cleaned I suppose. I thought we had to call for them.

Maybe it was different for DVC, I don't know.

 

[AEfx]

I would guess that the luggage is the part that makes this unworkable for the mouse to continue or else Mears would have put together something to take it's place if it would make them money. Maybe the liability is just too much today.

Yeah, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. I know some people just loved it like it was the best thing ever, but I never trusted it. The one time I did use it way back when, I ended up waiting hours for my bag and never did it again. That said, even after I stopped using it - a number of times I would check into my room (again, back when I actually stayed on site) and someone else's luggage was just sitting right there, and I had to call to have someone get it. I could have gone through and taken anything I wanted in the hours it took them to come (and it also irritated me because I was afraid they would take my bags instead).

Unless Disney can guarantee that your luggage is secure the entire time - and it clearly wasn't - it just seemed way too much of a risk/liability than just taking your own.

 

[epcotWSC]

One a side note, I don't agree that DME is a free ride as life has taught me nothing is free. Obviously the cost is built into the visit.

We are all going to pay one way or another to get from MCO to WDW. Why can't Disney just build it in and get the money? Now the money goes to Mears directly. More importantly, it makes the whole experience feel shoddy.

It's funny, I was writing on another thread... Getting rid of DME is a sign of current Disney leadership just looking to cut cost rather than seeing the big picture. With Universal becoming more popular by the day, the last thing Disney wants is for people staying on property to go to Universal parks or elsewhere rather than spending their day on Disney property. DME is one of the ways you can make people rely totally on Disney transportation from the moment they land in Orlando to the time they go home. If people are reliant on Disney transportation, it's a bit more work to leave (granted, Uber/Lyft make it a lot easier these days). So, without DME people have to either get picked up and driven to WDW (I guess if they know about Mears that can work) OR rent a car. Well, if you rent a car, it's certainly a lot easier to go explore the Orlando area/attractions and get off Disney property.

 

[bjlc57]

my point exactly.. try to go back to pre covid days as MUCH AS POSSIBLE.. no the COST WON"T BE THE SAME but I am not DISCUSSING COST.. I am discussing VALUE.. and there is a difference.. that you believe that you are getting YOUR TRUE VALUE from Disney.. and when you remove this PLUS RAISE THE COST .. you lose customers.. a LOT OF CUSTOMERS.. from what i heard this week Animal Kingdom was empty..

 

[jloucks]

my point exactly.. try to go back to pre covid days as MUCH AS POSSIBLE.. no the COST WON"T BE THE SAME but I am not DISCUSSING COST.. I am discussing VALUE.. and there is a difference.. that you believe that you are getting YOUR TRUE VALUE from Disney.. and when you remove this PLUS RAISE THE COST .. you lose customers.. a LOT OF CUSTOMERS.. from what i heard this week Animal Kingdom was empty..

The good news is that empty parks (low demand) will cause prices to drop.

...or more complicated, perks to increase. Perks like DME do in fact increase demand.