Minnie Vans

TrojanUSC

Well-Known Member
My Minnie Van experiences have been pretty good overall. All of the drivers have been friendly and chatty. One driver was super nice but kept wanting to play Disney trivia, while another spent the entire 20+ minute ride telling us every detail he could about a Make a Wish kid he'd driven. It's a sad story to be sure and I wish the kid the best but it's kind of a downer to end your day with.
 

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
If MVs are driven by knowledgeable CMs, are their stories and friendliness worth the increased price of MV vs. Lyft/Uber?

Having done both, yes. Plus, MV drivers can suggest alternate drop offs to the standard - such as YC if you're really running late for an ADR in WS. We now use MV to get us from a park to DS, even after 4PM. Drop off is over by Cirque de Soleil.
 

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
He had been talking SO Much (and I was tending to my daughter in the backseat...my husband is apparently clueless), that he forgot where we were staying! In all that time, we could have just waited for the darn bus from MK, and not have had to have our vacation from reality spoiled by hearing this poor guy's life story (especially the part about being molested). Like holy moly - really?! It was awful.

...

We had all 3 adults in our party requesting minnie vans, but all of us kept getting kicked out of the queue without a driver (iPhone and android, so not a platform or phone issue). People kept walking up, waiting a few minutes and getting minnie vans. Eventually we gave up and went back to the bus stop. It ended up taking us over 2 hours from the time we left the MK to get back to our hotel. With a 6-month old. Thankfully she slept through pretty much all of it.
Any chance those two experiences might be related?
 

PeoplemoverTTA

Well-Known Member
Any chance those two experiences might be related?

I don't think so. One was at the beginning of our trip and the other was 8 days later. My sister wasn't with us the first time around, so there wasn't any connection there that would have affected her ability to get a Minnie Van. Also, we had the successful trip from POP to Epcot in between that was ordered on my phone. I think it was definitely a technical glitch (even if they had the ability to "rate" guests like Lyft and Uber, the original driver didn't know we were upset -- we were very polite and nice throughout the whole thing, even when he took us to the wrong resort across property).
 

HwdStudio

Well-Known Member
Well the reason would be safety, saving a little money is not worth compromising safety. We all tell our kids don't talk to strangers, never get in a car with a stranger, now we tell them to order themselves up a stranger to get in the car with. I work for a medical courier and I know of more than one applicant that we refused to hire due to mile long criminal records that were already driving with Uber. One of these people's record included multiple DWI charges as well as a sexual assault charge. I would rather pay extra and know it was a Disney employee driving the minnie van, than get a dial a criminal from Uber.
Utter nonsense. People with criminal records work everywhere we go In “Real” life though. Even Disney. Yes I said it. Wouldn’t your job care if you released information on applicants, even anonymously. I certainly know I would be in the unemployment line if I did that.
 
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HwdStudio

Well-Known Member
Can you reserve the Minnie Van in advance? For example, could I reserve one for a specific time to pick me up at Magic Kingdom, or could I reserve one for 7 am to pick me up at the Pop?
No. It is an on-demand type of service. Confirmed here with the Disney Moms Panel:

https://disneyparksmomspanel.disney...nnie-van-ahead-time-first-first-serve-378478/

Uber and Lyft can be scheduled in advance though in the app. Not sure why Minnie Vans aren’t included but probably due to the fact of requiring 180 bookings and drivers losing fares before and after waiting on prebookings and cancellations. Minnie Vans to the MCO are currently booked solid far in advance.
 
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Tinkwings

Pfizered Fairy
Premium Member
In the Parks
No
Was told today I could schedule in advance once on Disney property....that said I downloaded the app but I have tried 5 times to sign up and it wont send me a code via text or call me....sigh....nothing is blocked so unsure how to get it to use for an early morning tour?!?!:angelic:
 

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
Was told today I could schedule in advance once on Disney property....that said I downloaded the app but I have tried 5 times to sign up and it wont send me a code via text or call me....sigh....nothing is blocked so unsure how to get it to use for an early morning tour?!?!:angelic:

I had the same problem the 1st time. Went to the Front Desk and the CM was able to help send the code.
 

JaxFLBear

Well-Known Member
Was told today I could schedule in advance once on Disney property....that said I downloaded the app but I have tried 5 times to sign up and it wont send me a code via text or call me....sigh....nothing is blocked so unsure how to get it to use for an early morning tour?!?!:angelic:
You don't need a code anymore to activate the Minne Van option in the Lyft app. It will be there automatically ONCE you are on WDW property.
 

Tinkwings

Pfizered Fairy
Premium Member
In the Parks
No
You don't need a code anymore to activate the Minne Van option in the Lyft app. It will be there automatically ONCE you are on WDW property.
Oh super.....now to figure out logistics of breakfast....need to be at MK at 7:30 and it says to get there 15 minutes early....may need to hoard something to get us by in room fridge from Roaring Fork night prior....:angelic:
 

mousekedoc

Premium Member
Original Poster
I am considering doing the Magic Behind the Steam Train tour at 7:30 AM.....wondering if Minnie Vans would be good idea from WL to MK at 7:00AM.....we are supposed to arrive 15 minutes early at the gates....can you book these prior?
They operate from 6:30am onward. We usually used the lyft app just as we were walking out the hotel room door and they were waiting. I don’t think you can schedule in advance.
 

Tinkwings

Pfizered Fairy
Premium Member
In the Parks
No
They operate from 6:30am onward. We usually used the lyft app just as we were walking out the hotel room door and they were waiting. I don’t think you can schedule in advance.

The CM I spoke with said you can schedule them once on site....but surely they are not too busy at 6:30-7:00AM....will report back! :angelic:
 

mousekedoc

Premium Member
Original Poster
The CM I spoke with said you can schedule them once on site....but surely they are not too busy at 6:30-7:00AM....will report back! :angelic:
I’m sorry I misinformed you about advanced scheduling. I was going on my experience from this October and then checked WDW website this week, but websites are often not up to date. In any case, it was easy, during the middle of October/fall break time to get our Minnie Van in early am. Only times we waited more than 10 minutes was around 2 ish in the afternoons.
 

Tinkwings

Pfizered Fairy
Premium Member
In the Parks
No
Ok so it was rather a fail.....I had loaded the lyft app month prior and asked about it at resort....goodness I had to be shown to scroll to the right to find the Minnie van selection as two lyft choices appeared on opening page and nothing else....so then I thought ok I am good...well it said searching for Minnie van should be there in 15 minutes....well gave actual time estimate....after about 7 minutes the thing disappeared and it reverted to search for Minnie van in area....showed several but made me select again and then gave a later arrival time.....same thing happened again and it was getting rather late to get to our tour.....we ended up taking a cab who dropped us off at the TTC as we did not think of having him take us to Contemporary....anyhow we ended up taking monorail and got there just in time. Somewhere on that app a little button that said schedule appeared.....but not right away and I had not seen in prior to being at the Resort when I was playing with app. Was told it would just appear when on property.....so my advice would be to attempt to actually schedule one once you arrive at resort for a future date.....the concierge was rather helpful but of course could not make Minnie van appear......lesson learned!
:rolleyes: This was at 6:40 in the morning for a 7:15 arrival for tour time....we got there at about 7:38......:angelic:
 

mousekedoc

Premium Member
Original Poster
Ok so it was rather a fail.....I had loaded the lyft app month prior and asked about it at resort....goodness I had to be shown to scroll to the right to find the Minnie van selection as two lyft choices appeared on opening page and nothing else....so then I thought ok I am good...well it said searching for Minnie van should be there in 15 minutes....well gave actual time estimate....after about 7 minutes the thing disappeared and it reverted to search for Minnie van in area....showed several but made me select again and then gave a later arrival time.....same thing happened again and it was getting rather late to get to our tour.....we ended up taking a cab who dropped us off at the TTC as we did not think of having him take us to Contemporary....anyhow we ended up taking monorail and got there just in time. Somewhere on that app a little button that said schedule appeared.....but not right away and I had not seen in prior to being at the Resort when I was playing with app. Was told it would just appear when on property.....so my advice would be to attempt to actually schedule one once you arrive at resort for a future date.....the concierge was rather helpful but of course could not make Minnie van appear......lesson learned!
:rolleyes: This was at 6:40 in the morning for a 7:15 arrival for tour time....we got there at about 7:38......:angelic:
Sorry to hear about the debacle. Hopefully you had a great time none the less.
 

wdwfamilynh

Well-Known Member
Can anyone share their experience using the Minnie Van service to MCO? It’s something we are considering for our next trip given the insane 4-hours-before-flight pick up using Magical Express on our 2017 trip. Thanks!
 

SirWillow

Well-Known Member
Ok so it was rather a fail.....
:rolleyes: This was at 6:40 in the morning for a 7:15 arrival for tour time....we got there at about 7:38......:angelic:

Thanks for sharing this. We're looking at doing the same next week to get to MK for an 8am tour. Never used Lyft or Uber before, so been trying to make sure I've got everything ready. Looks like I'll be working with the desk when we arrive the night before to try to make sure it's all arranged.
 

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