News Walt Disney World's Minnie Van service confirmed to return summer 2022

MichWolv

Born Modest. Wore Off.
Premium Member
Where are you seeing anything in regards to that? My assumption is that they would be used mostly for around property, but could also be used to/from the airport. I am skeptical that airport trips were a substantial part of the utilization before (though of course DME existed).
People are discussing the airport trip cost and the sub-headline in the link Steve posted focuses on WDW and the airport.
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I would assume the same as you...that the service will mostly be for getting around the property, as it was before, but everybody's talking about airport.
 

TheGuyThatMakesSwords

Well-Known Member
People are discussing the airport trip cost and the sub-headline in the link Steve posted focuses on WDW and the airport. View attachment 628558
I would assume the same as you...that the service will mostly be for getting around the property, as it was before, but everybody's talking about airport.
So? Gotta suggest that folks just examine costs for the classic MEARS CAB.

The downside of CABS is charge for millage and TIME. Clogged Roads? Cab Bad.
Otherwise? DW & I pretty much know what our Cab Fees, party of 2, will be from the WL to anyplace on property... and a few OFF property. We don't NEED a van.... children grown.

Airport? We are dead sold on MEARS private car. These folks have proven to be stunning. Direct to your Hotel, and Direct BACK. There WILL be a wonderful person at MCO, holding up a tablet sign with your name on it, on arrival. They would not even allow me to help with luggage 😅 .
 

World_Showcase_Lover007

Well-Known Member
I look at DME as the anomalous period. I went to WDW many times before DME existed, and the problem of traveling between WDW and the airport was always there. Third parties offered solutions that you had to pay for. DME eliminated the problem for awhile, but now we're back to third parties that you have to pay for. With Minnie-vans, Disney is offering something like the third-party services, but in branded vehicles.

So Disney isn't creating the problem -- they have just decided no longer to solve it for everybody.
Disney has also solved the problem of how to get from your hotel to the parks. Yet we would (justifiably) be angered if they did away with Disney buses, monorails and gondolas. Or began to charge money for them.
 

World_Showcase_Lover007

Well-Known Member
Next, cue Disney’s move to prohibit Uber/ Lyft drop offs at parks or charging for ride-sharing, in order to encourage use of Minnie Vans around property and from the airport.

Sure, they didn’t ban ride sharing during the first round of Minnie Vans, but I’ll argue that they didn’t have enough time to put this plan into action before covid hit. They’re not gonna let Uber and Lyft keep taking all that money…
 

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
Next, cue Disney’s move to prohibit Uber/ Lyft drop offs at parks or charging for ride-sharing, in order to encourage use of Minnie Vans around property and from the airport.

Sure, they didn’t ban ride sharing during the first round of Minnie Vans, but I’ll argue that they didn’t have enough time to put this plan into action before covid hit. They’re not gonna let Uber and Lyft keep taking all that money…
Unlikely, this isn’t meant to compete with rideshare, just to take a part of the pie
 

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
I had a similar though, eco friendly Disney (or so they say) has gone from using a few hundred mass transit buses to relying on thousands of cars. Not practicing what they preach.
Not to include the cost to produce, maintain and dispose of all those vehicles, not the solution to what wasn't a problem, just give Mears their cut of ME and take the rest out of your room cost, stop grubbing for every last dime. I'm sure they looked at ME and thought "if they can pay our room rates why can't they pay for airport transfers?"
No long range thinking here but Bob is satisfied.
 

mikejs78

Well-Known Member
So they're only bringing it back (for now at least) for trips to and from the airport? Not around property? The tiktok doesn't seem to specify that.
I don't think that's true. They mentioned Lyft. The Lyft partnership was for the app, and that was only for around property. The airport service had to be booked by phone.
 

natatomic

Well-Known Member
Hopefully the drivers that were part of the massive layoffs will get first crack in getting back in the Minnie Van operation.
No one has heard anything so far, and there hasn’t yet been an internal posting either. So this is still in the super early phases of reopening.

There’s part of me that wouldn’t be surprised if it was only airport runs initially. Those were booked in advance, so scheduling knew exactly how many drivers and vehicles it needed for those runs. With the property runs, there were often long stretches of time during midday when a driver might only have one family in the course of a couple of hours. Waste of mileage (management didn’t like cars parked in one place for too long), waste of excessive workers, waste of fuel.

Reminds me of the park reservation system that Disney refuses to get rid of now. Knowing exactly how many people are going to be using your product allows you to schedule at maximum efficiency. I think this is gonna be Disney’s new approach for anything it can be used for from now on. If Disney can cut/save costs on labor while still providing some semblance of a service (aren’t they so kind?), they will do it.

ETA: I could be 100% wrong on this! I have no inside knowledge as to what their plans are. This is just my educated guess based on how Disney has operated recently.
 

VJ

Well-Known Member
Now how about making the new fleet electric.
Disney has announced Disney Minnie Vans+ - the next generation of the beloved Disney Minnie Vans service.

Now, Disney Minnie Vans service is as affordable and accessible as ever! - as long as you're okay with riding in a polka-dotted, used 1970 AMC Gremlin. For only the price of gas to and from your destination plus a nominal fee of $150 plus tax, you'll be riding in style in one of the world's most infamous cars! Air conditioning and working windows not included due to supply chain issues and COVID-19.

But that's not the best part. Disney Minnie Vans+ is the next generation of the Disney Minnie Vans service. For only $500 per person per one-way trip, you'll be travelling in a state-of-the-art electric car with air conditioning, WiFi and Bluetooth that's great for the environment. Ride with peace of mind knowing you're saving some trees and having a magical experience to boot.

The brand-new Disney Minnie Vans+ service is just another way Disney is giving their guests more choices to enjoy the magic!
 

Marriedatdisney

Active Member
We used the service when it first launched for Boardwalk guests. Flat $20 a ride on Disney property. It was great. For us an easy choice when going to AK or MK. Then by the next trip they jacked the prices and went variable. What was a $20 trip was now $35-45. Ouch. So ok, maybe we splurge once or twice when really tired and not feeling bus-ey. Then demand jumped and the times you needed it, you couldn’t get one. Just spinning circles on the app. Or an hour wait. So we stopped using It. It can come back but they have problems to fix. And there are much better options for airport transportation.
 

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