Anybody use Mears?

[kat401]

I see tons of comparisons of all the town car companies. Does anybody body have anything good to say about Mears, the shuttle that Disney uses?

 

[betterlatethannever]

Originally posted by kat401
I see tons of comparisons of all the town car companies. Does anybody body have anything good to say about Mears, the shuttle that Disney uses?

Well, we used Mears once. It is the cheapest option if there are only one or two traveling. Any more than that, a towncar service is cheaper and more convenient.

With Mears, you wait until there is a full bus/van heading to your destination area. For those staying on property (WDW), they will drop off anybody in the van that is staying off property first.

When we used them, it took over two hours from the time we got to the Mears pickup area to get to our resort.

Ed

 

[delilah]

I've taken Mears twice when I was traveling with my son, only. We usually have taken the same flight on the same airline on all our trips. In comparison with renting a car, which we do when Dad joins us, we are in our room and ready to go to a park at very nearly the same time whether we take the shuttle or drive. Of course, Dad usually gets lost...I have no complaint at all about the shuttle.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

No complaints about the shuttle - have been using them for 20 yrs. The longest I've ever waited for a shuttle was about 15-20 mins last Feb. It's normally immediate or maybe 5 minutes, but I have not used them as often in the last 5 yrs as I used to, which was at least twice a yr. Have been meeting Floridian friend who picks me up.

I've never been in a van that dropped off non Disney resort guests at an off site resort. They usually put people in the same van who are going in a generally same area - i.e. MK Resorts will go together, EPCOT are resorts will go together etc. Last Feb it was the same.

For 3 or more people it would be worth a Town Car. There are some good town car reports on the board.

Have fun!!

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

We used Mears on our first family trip back in 1997 and have never, and will never, use them again.
You MIGHT get lucky and not have to wait for a long time for your bus or van to fill. You MIGHT get lucky and not have to go to an assortment of hotels before you get to yours. There are a lot of unknown factors when using Mears. Some people think they are OK. Most of us who have used them and switched to towncars will tell you there is no comparing the two.
The towncar is waiting for YOU and only YOU. No sharing, no craziness, no hotel hopping. Direct to YOUR hotel (unless you want a grocery stop first).
As I have said before.....we all spend plenty to have a WDW vacation. Trying to save a few dollars by using Mears is IMHO a useless effort. Get your vacation off on the right foot. Pick a towncar service.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I'm going to reiterate here to say that I've used Mears for over 20 yrs with few complaints. Although, if there were 3 or more of us I'd definitely use a town car. Mears is about $25 rd trip pp.

The only time we were on a bus was about 20 yrs ago and since then it has been only vans with drop offs at Disney Resorts in the same area.

Same thing last Feb.

 

[John Dobbertin]

We used Mears in '00. Had a package and pre-paid. Checked in at Mears counter at MCO and were guided to an area and told to wait there. We did with about 20 others -- all of us with luggage. After about an hour a person appeared and led us -- all dragging our luggage -- across the airport to another pick-up area. There then ensued an argument between a Mears dispatcher and a Mears driver -- driver remained a stormcloud thereafter. We were three hours from MCO to our WDW hotel. Every disaster teaches us something!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Okay, that's it for Mears!! As I've shared, I have not used them but once in 5 yrs and they must really have gone down hill since then. It's a problem when one company has a strong hold on business. Last Feb we did have to wait longer than i thought -I called my friend and she said it was about 25 mins. It's a Town Car from now on for me too!!

 

[Sporty]

From 1998-2004 we've used Mears 2-3 times a year. We usually wait about 15 minutes although the two times we arrived on a Saturday and stayed at the All-Star resorts our wait was about a half hour and we were the third drop off. Seems like whenever we stay at the Boardwalk we are always on a van and it doesn't take long! We always plan on an hour from the time we step off the plane until the time we check-in and it's never been more than that (other than one of the All-Star bus trips). I think it's like eveything else - some people have good experiences in general and some people have bad experiences.

 

[Mrs. Potts]

On our last trip in January of 03, we had a AAA package as we always have in the past, which included Mears transfers. Up until this last trip, we've never really had a problem, although it was annoying to have to stop at other hotels before ours. Anyway with this last trip, we ended up standing around for more than 2 hours. Every van or bus that pulled up was going somewhere other than the Polynesian. Finally I had had it. I got into line again and told the guy at the podium how long we had been waiting. He told us to get in line for a bus that had just pulled up. When I showed our tickets to the driver, he had a fit and marched over to the podium and started yelling at the guy there, saying he was not taking us to the Poly.

Now, I am normally not a very excitable person, but I had pretty much already lost a PS at CRT for dinner at this point. I slammed down my carry on, walked over to the podium and basically lost it with both the podium guy and the bus driver. I think the podium guy was afraid I'd pull out a gun next. A van pulled up shortly thereafter and the podium guy said that's your van. Hmmmm... how convenient! I'm not proud of how I acted, particularly since it was in front of our three children, but I was absolutely at the end our my rope. As I say, NEVER AGAIN. We will be using Florida Tours this trip. I've heard good things about them, as well as about the other town car companies.

By the way, I called Disney dining that afternoon and they were so wonderful and sympathetic. I've got to hand it to the disney folks. They sure know how to restore the magic!

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

We used Mears a few times. The first time was perfect. That was in 1997. The drivers were the nicest guys. The second time was in 2003 and I will never use Mears again unless I was traveling alone, was with one other person, and/or it was not a holiday weekend.

In 2003, there were just two of us. We waited about 15 mins at MCO for a van. There were only three other people on board, so that was great. We did have to stop at an off-property resort, followed by POR, but it was a pleasant ride.

The ride from our resort BACK to MCO, however, was horrible! Crammed in like sardines, smashed in the farthest back seat, sitting next to two girls that were physically fighting (their parents did nothing to stop them), a screaming infant the entire way (which, I know can't be helped), but what made me the most upset, was when the driver stopped at GF to pick up a couple. They had a ton of luggage and I wondered where on earth he would put all this. He filled up every available space in back, and then placed a very large trunk-like piece of luggage, (standing on end), directly in front of my 5 year old DGS. DGS couldn't even see over it. The suitcase left no room for his little legs, not to mention the safety hazard of this item becoming a flying projectile during a sudden stop. I was coming down with a killer flu and was too sick to complain. I just wanted to get home.

I made up my mind then and there, I will never use Mears again. You never know who you will be riding with, but what the driver did was rude and inexcusable.

This year, to save $, I had actually booked Mears again one way only from MCO to resort, since it is just the two of us. But when I thought about what happened last year and the fact it will be a busy holiday weekend, it gnawed away at me, so I cancelled our Mears ressie a few days ago. We will be doing a towncar. I feel better already.

Tink

 

[Chicago526]

I've never had a major problem with Mears, but as you can see from the thread, they may be going down hill a little.

Everytime we've taken them, we've never waited more that 1/2 an hour at the airport. Pick-ups at the hotel have always been on time, and the employees have been, well, okay. Not friendly-but not rude either.

This time BF and I are taking a town car. I'll be too excited to wait even 1/2 hour for a bus. Plus this is a special trip and we want to go 1st class! We also need a grocery stop to pick up some soda and bottled water, and maybe a few snacks.

That's something else to consider. If you do a town car, you can have them stop for about 20 minutes at a food store so you can stock up on supplies. Depending on how much food you need, you could save enough to off-set the cost of the town car! Not to mention the convienance of not haveing to run off to the food court for a snack everytime you're hungry!

 

[normmo]

Thunbs down to Mears!

I used Mears twice in 2001 and 2002 and never again. Too chaotic, too long a drive, too stressful. I always thought Disney was quite a ways away from the ORlando airport until I took a Tiffany town car. What a difference and definitely made a difference in the quality of my vacation. If you can, splurge and go the town car route.
Mo