dif betw Mears Shuttle & Towncar

[freemore]

My husband and I are in our early 60s. This will be our first time using Disney Transportation, we have always driven our own car before. What is the difference pricewise and comfortwise between takeing the Mears Shuttle and a Towncar service like Tiffannys? Is the towncar price for the car or for each person and is it round trip? The Mears Shuttle is $28 a piece for each person for round trip? What is the Mears Shuttle like? Is it comfortable? I have some neck and back problems.

thanks lene

 

[dizneefreak29]

In the past my family and I have always taken a Mears Shuttle.....the vans are fairly comfortable however we were in a bus once that was very uncomfortable. Our last trip in October, we were doing the cruise so we hired a towncar from FL Tours. It cost $90 and there were four of us. I will never use Mears again! The towncar service was great! Comfortable....just our family...on time and easy. One problem we had with Mears was waiting. Sometimes we would get right on a van...other times...depending how who was in front of us....we would wait for an hour.

 

[freemore]

Thanks for your reply. It helps to know that the Mears is much uncomfortable as I have neck problems. I'm still trying to decide if I should just rent a car for the 5 days we are going to be there though. I'm wondering if I will have trouble with bumpy buses when traveling around disney.

Thanks, lene

 

[Jestocost]

I wouldn't call the Mears busses uncomfortable; they're motorcoaches with padded, high-backed seats. They do ride like a bus, if that's a concern. I would say that the Disney transport buses within the World are more likely to be uncomfortable. They have unpadded (or barely padded) hard plastic seats with low backs. There's also always a chance that there might not be any seats available on the WDW buses (not an issue on Mears).

To me, the Mears vs. Towncar issue boils down to three key points:

1) Cost: Mears charges per person, towncars charge per vehicle. With two people, Mears is a better deal. With three people it gets close to break even and at four a towncar almost always is a better deal.

2) Convenience: With a towncar, your driver is waiting for you at baggage claim and you leave the airport as soon as you're ready to go. On the way back, the towncar picks you up when you want. With Mears, you wait for a bus, then you wait for the bus to fill up, then you may have to stop at other hotels on the way to your resort. On the way back, they frequently want to pick you up four hours in advance of your flight.

3) Overall experience: The towncar is a much more civilized means of transportation.

 

[mollyo-nh]

We did Mears on my DD's first trip - it was fine (though we did have to wait for the next shuttle because of the time we landed) but it stopped at every hotel between MCO and WDW and that was tough - especially after a long flight with a 6 year old. The next trip, we took a towncar and it was great - our flight was over an hour late getting in because of weather but our driver was there waiting for us. He stopped at a grocery store and waited for us - told us to take our time. The other added bonus to a towncar is that on departure day, you don't have to leave as early - the shuttle has scheduled stops and it can take longer to get to the airport. By using a towncar service, you pick the time you want to leave your hotel. We always use a towncar now -

Enjoy your trip whichever mode of transportation you choose!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I would never use Mears again. It was like waiting in a cattle call. We had to wait 45 minutes from the time we checked in until we finally got in one of their shuttles and then we had to stop at the BC before we finally got to GF. It was not a good experience. This time we're going with Tiffany. BTW they have a $5 coupon on their website.

 

[goofy4tink]

We used Mears for our first trip in '99. My mother, dd and myself. We got lucky when we didn't have to wait at all to get one. The lady yelled at us to hurry. We did and were put in a van with another family (of 6!) that were also going to POR. We were crammed in like sardines. But, since we didn't have to wait and were going directly to POR we didn't mind so much. But, when we traveled next with another family we booked a van from Tiffany. They sent a stretch limo!! Ahhhh. Next time, it was only 3 of us and we booked a towncar. Every time this is what we do. No more Mears for us. Well, at least not until 2005. My dd and I will fly into MCO for a 4 night stay at WDW, using a towncar service. Then dh will fly in 4 days later. He will use Mears, for just the ride to WDW. Then we will all use the towncar to get us back.

 

[panfan]

Three simple words....

DON'T USE MEARS !!

Don't even think about it! Don't get me wrong we have used Mears many a time but now we are more the wiser and use FL tours and what a difference. It's not even "that" much more $$.
the problem is with Mears...you just never know how it is gonna be! Could be fine or....you could end up waiting and hour and 1/2 and then be the very last stop...happenend to us on our "splurge " vacation at the Floridian and we had to go to All stars, Carribean Beach and Ft wilderness first !! I really got to know the driver at least!!

Anyway, all kidding aside....for all the reasons stated in the above posts....Do yourself a favor and go with the towncar. And remember if you do Mears...you could be squished in a van with two screaming toddlers ...like mine were on that long wait/long trip time! I felt sorry for the others let me tell ya!

 

[beccasmom]

If money is not a major issue, I would go with the towncar service.

We used Mears service from 1983 through 2002. We were never wild about it, but we don't need a rental car and had had one too many wild taxi rides. We used Tiffany Towncar last year and it was terrific and we felt like we were starting off the vacation in the right frame of mind. Mears usually uses vans to tranport to the hotels and they fill them up so there is not much room. Invariably, if your stop is first, you are usually in the back seat and have to "wiggle" your way out.....not too much fun. The motorcoaches they use are not too bad, but I have found that they use them primarily on the trip back to the airport (not always, though), or to a hotel with many rooms, such as the All-Star Resorts.

I would vote for the Towncar if you desire comfort and a pleasant experience. I have noticed that Mears does have towncar service now, but it does not seem to be competitively priced. The towncar is also a better value for us; we usually travel in a group of four. It is nice to be pampered on vacation!