Minnie Vans Gone For Good?

[ImperfectPixie]

It's so freaking weird. Disney will pay their graphic designers well above market wages (for Florida) to create hundreds of different stickers to be used for onstage decor in a single theme park attraction, but they won't have them adapt the wraps for a different car - something that will take far FAR less time.

My guess is that once the initial design is approved, it doesn't need to go through the approval process again if it only needs changes for production purposes...which is how things like this fall through the cracks. (I was manager of the department, so this never would have flown under my watch.)

I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have in-house designers and vinyl printers. They seem to have a lot of stuff around the parks to plaster with "fun". Look at those construction walls in EPCoT!

They have their own sign shop...which most likely includes all vehicle wraps and graphics.

 

[mkt]

(I was manager of the department, so this never would have flown under my watch.)

Hello colleague.

 

[lazyboy97o]

My guess is that once the initial design is approved, it doesn't need to go through the approval process again if it only needs changes for production purposes...which is how things like this fall through the cracks. (I was manager of the department, so this never would have flown under my watch.)

You might let it fly if you knew you’d get hell for the cost doubling, not to mention the endless meetings for revisions because some middle manager never really liked the placement of the polka dot above the passenger headlight.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

You might let it fly if you knew you’d get hell for the cost doubling, not to mention the endless meetings for revisions because some middle manager never really liked the placement of the polka dot above the passenger headlight.

Been there, done that. (The owner of the company I worked for was the epitome of a tightwad and tried to cut corners at every opportunity.)

My arguments for extending the pattern higher on the sides of the roof would have been continuity of design across vehicle types, and that the cost of changing the design appropriately and printing a few extra feet of vinyl is minimal. (Likely 10-15 minutes of design time and only a few bucks worth of ink/vinyl with the volume of materials Disney buys. Application time wouldn't have increased dramatically, either, as they're already installing vinyl along the same stretch of the car, just lower.)

 

[lazyboy97o]

Been there, done that. (The owner of the company I worked for was the epitome of a tightwad and tried to cut corners at every opportunity.)

My arguments for extending the pattern higher on the sides of the roof would have been continuity of design across vehicle types, and that the cost of changing the design appropriately and printing a few extra feet of vinyl is minimal. (Likely 10-15 minutes of design time and only a few bucks worth of ink/vinyl with the volume of materials Disney buys.)

The cost wouldn’t be the materials, it would be getting the designers involved and they don’t do things quickly or cheaply.

 

[Ayla]

Or buy out the lease and sell them as is. How much do you think Disney could get for a Minnie themed vehicle?

Seeing at they are all 2017 or earlier models, not that much.

 

[Ayla]

Used vehicle prices are RIDICULOUS! And, that's if you can find one. I'm guessing these are 2019 models and well-maintained, since they're under lease. You're right; they may well bring 2019 MSRP or better in this market!

Chevy changed the body design on the 2018 Traverses. These are all 2017 or earlier.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

The cost wouldn’t be the materials, it would be getting the designers involved and they don’t do things quickly or cheaply.

It always makes me laugh at how much corporations and executives over-complicate things.

In a company like Disney, it shouldn't require a top-level designer to adjust the edge of a vehicle wrap. Those kinds of things should be left to production artists or lower-level designers...those closer to the actual production process.

 

[mkt]

Seeing at they are all 2017 or earlier models, not that much.

The market's a bit weird right now. I've received offers from dealers over new MSRP on my wife's 2018 Mazda CX-5, and $7k over what I paid for my 2018 Chevy Volt.

 

[mkt]

Chevy changed the body design on the 2018 Traverses. These are all 2017 or earlier.

The newest members of the fleet are 2019 models and 2019-delivered-2020s.

 

[Ayla]

The market's a bit weird right now. I've received offers from dealers over new MSRP on my wife's 2018 Mazda CX-5, and $7k over what I paid for my 2018 Chevy Volt.

We bought a new (used) 2019 Honda Passport the day before shutdowns went into effect in March of 2020. Honda wants to buy it back from me, for pretty much what we paid for it. No way, it's hardly been driven the last two years and I love the car. LOL Not to mention, we'd still have to buy a different car at a sky high price!

Funnily enough (to bring it back around to the topic) I traded in my 2019 Traverse for the Passport because I hated it. lol The 2019 replaced my beloved bought-brand-new 2009 Traverse and I hated the new body design.

 

[TikibirdLand]

We bought a new (used) 2019 Honda Passport the day before shutdowns went into effect in March of 2020. Honda wants to buy it back from me, for pretty much what we paid for it. No way, it's hardly been driven the last two years and I love the car. LOL Not to mention, we'd still have to buy a different car at a sky high price!

Funnily enough (to bring it back around to the topic) I traded in my 2019 Traverse for the Passport because I hated it. lol The 2019 replaced my beloved bought-brand-new 2009 Traverse and I hated the new body design.

2017 Traverse's average around $25K on the retail market. The dealer buy is probably around $20K for them. That's some good money for a vehicle with a less-than-stellar repair history.

 

[mitchk]

Aside from #63, all of these were from the original fleet, which were beginning to be turned in right before the pandemic. Their leases were up and it was just time for them to be replaced.

This is obviously a moot point now, but the MVs were allowed to let you take an on-property stop to the gas station, or any other quick stop you needed to make. You could even have your driver take you through the drive through at McDonald’s if you wanted!

Oh yes I’m aware of that I had used my driver to stop at the gas station and stuff before but my point was it’s just much cheaper using a Lyft because they’ll do the same thing with the exception of not dropping you off at the front of the park

 

[DCBaker]

"Now, sources have indicated to BlogMickey.com that Disney is in the process of staffing up to bring the service back to Walt Disney World. Recently, the TSA extended the mask mandate for public transportation, which the Minnie Van service would likely fall under. Sources did not say when the Minnie Van service might resume, but it appears that the TSA will have a revised set of guidelines on April 18th that could allow for the service to come back without masks or restrictions."

 

[dreday3]

"Now, sources have indicated to BlogMickey.com that Disney is in the process of staffing up to bring the service back to Walt Disney World. Recently, the TSA extended the mask mandate for public transportation, which the Minnie Van service would likely fall under. Sources did not say when the Minnie Van service might resume, but it appears that the TSA will have a revised set of guidelines on April 18th that could allow for the service to come back without masks or restrictions."

I feel like this is big news!

People liked these I think.

 

[wdisney9000]

I feel like this is big news!

People liked these I think.

We used it several times and it definitely was fun for our young nieces and nephews.

One complaint i have would be the cancelation policy. I requested a Minnie van one night as we left MK. The app kept showing it was 5 minutes away. I was unable to contact the driver and after nearly 30 minutes of waiting, I canceled the ride and it charged me the full amount. Trying to get someone on the phone was a nightmare. Never got the money refunded.

 

[bpiper]

So about those parking trams that are still MIA. 3 parks are still waiting.

 

[Disorbust]

My understanding was they lost their on the downtime. Maybe being revisited with the loss of DME? But what bad optics if they start up the vans before the parking trams.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

My understanding was they lost their *** on the downtime. Maybe being revisited with the loss of DME? But what bad optics if they start up the vans before the parking trams.

Simple Chapek-ey solution - get a Minnie Van from your parking spot to the park entrance!

 

[WDWTrojan]

My understanding was they lost their *** on the downtime. Maybe being revisited with the loss of DME? But what bad optics if they start up the vans before the parking trams.

What downtime? They were generally very hard to get at all hours of the day and whenever you did get one, they were almost always completing another trip before they could come get you.