Disney's Magical Express to End in 2022, Extra Magic Hours to be Replaced with Early Theme Park Entry Later This Year

[Fanofthegame]

Husband last night said rent a car. So something that was free now turns into spending God knows how much on a car rental?! I don't think so!

Driving around Orlando is a nightmare. I wouldn't want to do it now.

 

[DisArmyWife215]

Husband last night said rent a car. So something that was free now turns into spending God knows how much on a car rental?! I don't think so!

Rental car fee and resort parking fee. Don't forget that extra money Disney will be making now on all the people who decide renting a car would be easier or necessary.

 

[Eastern]

Rental car fee and resort parking fee. Don't forget that extra money Disney will be making now on all the people who decide renting a car would be easier or necessary.

Replacing one day of deluxe with an offsite hotel will pay for the rental car and a week's worth of parking fees. Still have a few APs left so I think you get free parking with that also.

Actually that's a good plan. Stay offsite on arrival night (waste of a day anyway) and use that savings to pay for a rental car, allowing you to eat offsite when you want and save hundreds of dollars more. Honestly, onsite I am paying $100 for lunch and $250 for dinner for my family. Disney is dumb making this move.

 

[JPTexan82]

Not trying to be mean, but if you can not afford the $45.00 Uber for the ride from the airport to Disney. You can not afford to go to Disney World to begin with.

I would not expect Disney to change their rack room rate to reflect the changes in service. Because they are considered a premium product ie apple, LV, Tesla,

in 2005 before DME started, you had to deal with a Taxi company ie mears. And a few small transfer companies. Atleast now you have more options. Plus you think that train is going to save the “system”. That train is not the monorail leaving MK at night. The trains are not going to be lined up one after another. There is going to be a schedule, at best 30 minutes between trains maybe even and hour. Plus those trains are only so big. So when you get families with their bags on them, that train gets small real quick.

the above is why they charge for parking now. They know if you want to come , you will spend what it takes. Disney is a Premium Product, not all deserve to attend.

 

[DisArmyWife215]

Disney is dumb making this move.

I personally agree it's dumb, but they are for sure going to come out ahead in this or they wouldn't have made the move. It's just another change in a long list that makes Disney more like any other vacation and not the magical place it once was. Or at least to me that's how it feels.

 

[Eastern]

Not trying to be mean, but if you can not afford the $45.00 Uber for the ride from the airport to Disney. You can not afford to go to Disney World to begin with.

I would not expect Disney to change their rack room rate to reflect the changes in service. Because they are considered a premium product ie apple, LV, Tesla,

in 2005 before DME started, you had to deal with a Taxi company ie mears. And a few small transfer companies. Atleast now you have more options. Plus you think that train is going to save the “system”. That train is not the monorail leaving MK at night. The trains are not going to be lined up one after another. There is going to be a schedule, at best 30 minutes between trains maybe even and hour. Plus those trains are only so big. So when you get families with their bags on them, that train gets small real quick.

the above is why they charge for parking now. They know if you want to come , you will spend what it takes. Disney is a Premium Product, not all deserve to attend.

As many have been posting, it's not all about the money. It's a lot about convenience and not having to arrange transportation and worry about logistics or car seats, wheel chairs, etc.

Your last sentence is not magical.

 

[DisArmyWife215]

Not trying to be mean, but if you can not afford the $45.00 Uber for the ride from the airport to Disney. You can not afford to go to Disney World to begin with.

To be devils advocate Uber isn't just $45 for everyone, say a large family that would need a van, car seats, medical assistance, etc. It's about more than the cost to so many.

 

[ppony]

For me, it’s not the hours, it’s the DME that’s gonna hurt BAD. We used to rent cars all the time, but once I started w mobility trouble a decade ago, DME was a lifesaver. Renting a van for my chair was well over a grand. Can’t do that. I usually roll w the cut-backs, though I grumble, but this is just plain cruel. To guests and employees.

 

[Ozzie0075]

As many have been posting, it's not all about the money. It's a lot about convenience and not having to arrange transportation and worry about logistics or car seats, wheel chairs, etc.

Your last sentence is not magical.

Exactly as a family with small children the car seat issue is a big deal. Having to lug car seat to take an uber or car rental makes it more difficult to fly. We will likely start driving and spend more time off property because we have a car there.

 

[ppony]

Not trying to be mean, but if you can not afford the $45.00 Uber for the ride from the airport to Disney. You can not afford to go to Disney World to begin with.

I would not expect Disney to change their rack room rate to reflect the changes in service. Because they are considered a premium product ie apple, LV, Tesla,

in 2005 before DME started, you had to deal with a Taxi company ie mears. And a few small transfer companies. Atleast now you have more options. Plus you think that train is going to save the “system”. That train is not the monorail leaving MK at night. The trains are not going to be lined up one after another. There is going to be a schedule, at best 30 minutes between trains maybe even and hour. Plus those trains are only so big. So when you get families with their bags on them, that train gets small real quick.

the above is why they charge for parking now. They know if you want to come , you will spend what it takes. Disney is a Premium Product, not all deserve to attend.

You’re not being mean, you’re being incredibly insensitive and ignorant of others’ situations. There are a great deal of reasons why ubers aren’t good fits. Money is the least of them. Try hauling around a wheel chair and having a special needs child too. DME was REALLY a god-send. Try to not judge others and tell them what they can and can’t do. This is a fair concern for guests.

 

[hertamaniac]

Actually that's a good plan. Stay offsite on arrival night (waste of a day anyway) and use that savings to pay for a rental car, allowing you to eat offsite when you want and save hundreds of dollars more. Honestly, onsite I am paying $100 for lunch and $250 for dinner for my family. Disney is dumb making this move.

You're right that the offsite eateries should get a benefit from this move. Additionally, I would think other attractions on I-Drive are now going to be on the radar as well.

I'm not ready to say it is a dumb move by Disney, but certainly has me scratching my head.

 

[lanejudy]

Anyone have any details on system that pre-dates DME?

To my recollection, there wasn't any "system" -- guests found transportation in the manner that best suited them. We usually used a Mears shuttle, which I expect will be brought back (Mears actually runs DME). Once or twice we rented a car. There are limo services. The majority of guests in the parks do not stay onsite and a good percentage of them manage to get to offsite resorts, onsite guests will now be doing the same. I agree DME was convenient, especially without the extra charge (which we all know was rolled into the resort price), and this moves certainly does make onsite less attractive.

 

[Aprilshack]

Not trying to be mean, but if you can not afford the $45.00 Uber for the ride from the airport to Disney. You can not afford to go to Disney World to begin with.

I would not expect Disney to change their rack room rate to reflect the changes in service. Because they are considered a premium product ie apple, LV, Tesla,

in 2005 before DME started, you had to deal with a Taxi company ie mears. And a few small transfer companies. Atleast now you have more options. Plus you think that train is going to save the “system”. That train is not the monorail leaving MK at night. The trains are not going to be lined up one after another. There is going to be a schedule, at best 30 minutes between trains maybe even and hour. Plus those trains are only so big. So when you get families with their bags on them, that train gets small real quick.

the above is why they charge for parking now. They know if you want to come , you will spend what it takes. Disney is a Premium Product, not all deserve to attend.

That is a mean thing to say. Not all DESERVE to attend? What the hell?! What does someone need to do to deserve to go to Disney in your eyes? Bad choice of words there. Some people do really have to watch every penny to go on holiday. It could be a once in a lifetime trip.Doesnt make someone less deserving to go if they have to do that. You don't know someone's circumstances and shouldn't judge if someone has to think about where that $45 comes from.

 

[Orion Nebula]

Not trying to be mean, but if you can not afford the $45.00 Uber for the ride from the airport to Disney. You can not afford to go to Disney World to begin with.

I would not expect Disney to change their rack room rate to reflect the changes in service. Because they are considered a premium product ie apple, LV, Tesla,

in 2005 before DME started, you had to deal with a Taxi company ie mears. And a few small transfer companies. Atleast now you have more options. Plus you think that train is going to save the “system”. That train is not the monorail leaving MK at night. The trains are not going to be lined up one after another. There is going to be a schedule, at best 30 minutes between trains maybe even and hour. Plus those trains are only so big. So when you get families with their bags on them, that train gets small real quick.

the above is why they charge for parking now. They know if you want to come , you will spend what it takes. Disney is a Premium Product, not all deserve to attend.

I don't like taking Uber / Lyft, my wife and I have only done so twice in our lives and it was inside the resort grounds. It was awkward and one of the guys got legit lost and had to stop for directions. This was between Coronado and Wilderness. I also usually have too large of a party so we would need an XL to keep us together. Not that we couldn't split up but it's a pain.

The ME was one of the best things for us,. Stepping off the plane tired and directly onto a bus, complete with Disney theming (welcome to the bubble) and having someone else hit baggage claim AND then seeing your bags sitting inside your room was magical. Not to mention the special luggage tags themselves being delivered, those were really cool. It was one more shot of excitement during the countdown.

Again this has nothing to do with money, it has to do with the overall experience. I don't like dealing with booking transportation, dragging all my luggage and family curbside and waiting on someone. Not to mention growing up outside of the city I have almost never used public transportation. Such as I have never been inside of a taxi, city bus etc. So the ME makes me feel very comfortable as it's all a consistent process.

As far as Brightline no I don't think it's going to save the system. It will help some still get a TINY bit of the "off the plane welcome to Disney" experience. As you won't have to do much else but ride it out of the airport into DS and hop on a resort bus. But it's still not the same and with all of the other things already being cut this is just one handful of magic stolen from WDW.

 

[birchtree95]

Extra Magic Hours I can do without. But Magical Express was a deal maker. Such an easy decision to be in the "bubble" of Disney from the time I got to the Orlando airport until the time we got back the the airport. This is going to complicate everything. I pray that after things get back to "normal" they bring it back.

 

[RoseGold]

I'm a rabid Disney fan like all of you, but I'm not married to one.

I just closed another DVC contract, and I couldn't bring myself to tell my husband last night about these changes. Seriously, Disney, you've got me keeping secrets from my spouse! He's going to be furious about lugging car seats and not even having a couple hours at night to enjoy cool, somewhat sparse conditions. And he's going to be right. The other changes were temporary or close enough or a cash grab or whatever, but these are major, especially the EMH.

I know that I can't pitch DVC or Disney in general like I used to. If we're doing all this hassle anyway, we might as well go to Europe for the cost. After our trip this summer, I'll probably be selling some DVC. And that makes me really sad, because WDW is my happy place.

 

[Kbrb]

I dont know how many of you are on the DIBB the uk DIS. id guess 80% are saying no more onsite.

Disney have messed up when even the obsessed customers like us have had enough of there cost cutting.

 

[Orion Nebula]

I'm a rabid Disney fan like all of you, but I'm not married to one.

I just closed another DVC contract, and I couldn't bring myself to tell my husband last night about these changes. Seriously, Disney, you've got me keeping secrets from my spouse! He's going to be furious about lugging car seats and not even having a couple hours at night to enjoy cool, somewhat sparse conditions. And he's going to be right. The other changes were temporary or close enough or a cash grab or whatever, but these are major, especially the EMH.

I know that I can't pitch DVC or Disney in general like I used to. If we're doing all this hassle anyway, we might as well go to Europe for the cost. After our trip this summer, I'll probably be selling some DVC. And that makes me really sad, because WDW is my happy place.

Umm... lol

 

[Jadyreen1282]

but those hotels were never owned by Disney.

The land is. Disney can transfer operations of anything they do to a third party at anytime on their own property.

 

[TLPL]

When everyone starting to stay off site and go to other theme parks in the area, Disney will change it mind about this decision again. For sure.