DVC Should Pay for Mears Transportation

[Matty B13]

For families with several kids that need a car seat this is a pretty big deal, now they won't have to carry them on the airplane. Depending on the rates, even if it was a little more expensive, we would probably take the Mears bus over renting a car just for the convenience. Hope they bring back the luggage service in some form, it was so nice to drop your bags off at the departing airport and not have to worry about them until you got to your room. This is a huge help with little kids.

 

[justadreamaway77]

I agree that whatever the cost figured into my dues for ME, I will notice it not there anymore. Obviously dues go up each year but the dues should not go up too much for the next year because I believe we are done with the wage increase for housekeepers. Having this cost removed will only lower the cost increase even more.....so I'm sure we will not see an decrease in dues but we shouldn't see that big of increase. If this holds true, I will be a happy camper.

 

[justadreamaway77]

I feel bad for the cash guests because you know Disney is not going to reduce their hotel rates after ME is gone! At least they have to take whatever they were charging us off our dues!

 

[winterwhite]

Another item that makes our AutoTrain decision look even better for next year.
We tried it for the 1st time, Jan-Feb 2021, and it was better for Social-Distancing than flying, saved us a ton vs. renting a car for 7 weeks, and it was great being able to spread out and relax during the trip and not have white-knuckles from driving I-95. I also look at it as saving me 2 Nights worth of Points/$$, as the overnights spent onboard the train are relaxing & refreshing and, if we drove we would waste at least one of those nights recuperating in our room to catch up on lost sleep.
For those DVC members that are a reasonable drive from Lorton VA, I would recommend giving it a try.

The last time I priced this, in a roomette, it cost more than shipping the car each way. I spend 3 months a year in Florida and it was much less expensive to grab a $99 flight and ship the car - round trip on the auto train in a roommette was over $600 for the first person with the car, then $400 round trip for each additional person.

 

[Sandisw]

I guess though even if its "close" you now have the vehicle option for your trip. Before if you rented you paid 100% of the rental rate. Now you in reality can discount X% of the rental since its a price you have to pay no matter what.

If we have to pay $160-$240 based on who is coming it might be worth it to spend the extra $100, not have to pay for a lyft to Publix, not need to pay for a lyft to character warehouse and have the flexibility to drive to the parks or offsite for dinner.

I could see this being very attractive for AKV, OKW, or SSR as well.

Absolutely, it may be worth it for people who do many of the things you mention for those who are DVC. But, cash guests have to add the cost of parking which will limit it on that end.

For us, this was the first time we did a Publix run. It cost us $35 round trip including tip and it mentioned surge pricing as it spring break week.

It will come down to each individual group, length of trip, etc. Once we know pricing, then it would be an interesting poll for those who use DME to see what they will do!

 

[4luv2cdisney]

We used to drive (20 hours).

My husband wants to go back to that.

I cry.

 

[sethschroeder]

Absolutely, it may be worth it for people who do many of the things you mention for those who are DVC. But, cash guests have to add the cost of parking which will limit it on that end.

Except I don't really care if All Stars has enough parking. I am just talking about DVC.

Riviera/SSR/OKW/Kidani 98% DVC
Boardwalk 58% DVC
POLY 48% DVC
Wilderness 46% DVC
BLT 98% / 32% DVC (not sure how parking works there since BLT is really a separate area.

Those are just rooms as well not actually the number of people as a studio at Boardwalk is only likely to have a single car while a Grand Villa or 2 Bedroom at Boardwalk is more likely to have 2 vehicles.

 

[kes601]

I certainly don't want it as part of our dues. Not all members would use it. Prior to being DVC we would always hire a private car to take us from the airport to the resort. We would use DME to return to the airport. I see us hiring the car round trip now instead.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I certainly don't want it as part of our dues. Not all members would use it. Prior to being DVC we would always hire a private car to take us from the airport to the resort. We would use DME to return to the airport. I see us hiring the car round trip now instead.

And those members who used ME did not take parking spots but the dues pay for that upkeep too along with those who drove and didn't use ME. In the grand scheme it probably evened out between most with those who used a service getting somewhat lost in the middle.

 

[Sandisw]

Except I don't really care if All Stars has enough parking. I am just talking about DVC.

Riviera/SSR/OKW/Kidani 98% DVC
Boardwalk 58% DVC
POLY 48% DVC
Wilderness 46% DVC
BLT 98% / 32% DVC (not sure how parking works there since BLT is really a separate area.

Those are just rooms as well not actually the number of people as a studio at Boardwalk is only likely to have a single car while a Grand Villa or 2 Bedroom at Boardwalk is more likely to have 2 vehicles.

Should have clarified. Cash guests who book DVC or at the shared resorts There are quite a few of them.

At BLT, they do not monitor whIch lot you park in so CR guests can and do use the one closer to BLT.

 

[Shamus]

Just to play devils advocate, are the parking lots ready for the influx of cars at DVC properties?

What happened? - Did they shrink the parking lots after DME started?

 

[E2ME2]

The last time I priced this, in a roomette, it cost more than shipping the car each way. I spend 3 months a year in Florida and it was much less expensive to grab a $99 flight and ship the car - round trip on the auto train in a roommette was over $600 for the first person with the car, then $400 round trip for each additional person.

I had not thought of that approach - How much to ship your car ?, and from where ??
Although we actually enjoyed the train better than flying.....

 

[davidl81]

We will just end up taking Uber/car service. We used car service on the way back to the airport last trip and it was great. Didn’t have to catch a bus three hours before departure, and wait at an airport longer. We like DME, but I don’t feel like going through the hassle of renting a car when we go (unless we are planning to go offsite during our trip).

 

[Leight19]

My family always uses DME so that may bias my thoughts on this topic. That said, I’m not completely sold on idea there will be surge of cars that overwhelms the parking lots now that DME costs money. I think there definitely will be some increase (our 2022 trip we are for the first time thinking about driving vs flying from PA).

My thoughts on dvc covering is they should evaluate impact of change and determine if excess cars could be problematic for guests (e.g. if the parking demand would exceed supply). If they determine it is, I think dvc should look to include cost in maintenance fees to help alleviate the issue. If not, I would be aligned with proposal to save on maintenance fees and have members pay out of pocket.

 

[sethschroeder]

What happened? - Did they shrink the parking lots after DME started?

Multiple resorts were built after DME was a thing and they have even had to change rules at places like BWV because they didn't have enough space.

So not sure if they are shrinking but they were running out of space enough to make policy changes.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Just to play devils advocate, are the parking lots ready for the influx of cars at DVC properties?

It won't be any different from before DME started. Other than new resorts added during that time and they should have enough parking. Parking will always be harder at BWV than OKW or BCV.

 

[winterwhite]

I had not thought of that approach - How much to ship your car ?, and from where ??
Although we actually enjoyed the train better than flying.....

It’s about $600 each way, every year, but can be less if you get a fill rate. I’ve paid as little as $350 for my compact hatchback. That’s 1200 miles from New England to south Florida.

 

[CarolMN]

........ and they have even had to change rules at places like BWV because they didn't have enough space.

So not sure if they are shrinking but they were running out of space enough to make policy changes.

The parking problem at BWV/BWI has never been guests who are actually staying at the BWV/BWI resort.. It's been all those who park there to go to EPCOT (and now probably DHS, as well). IMO, if those who park there to go to the parks were denied, there would be plenty of parking. Pre-Covid (and pre-DME, too), half the lot emptied right after IllumiNations. Ask anyone who stayed in the BWV standard view villas. Happened nightly.

 

[Chuck S]

If our dues were paying for magical express but there wont be a decrease in dues after 2021, then adding it in 2022 wouldn't increase our dues. Correct?

Remember, currently the cost currently is shared with Disney Resorts, as all onsite guests use the service. If you figure 1/3 of onsite guests are DVC, then if DME became DVC exclusive, costs would at the very least, triple. Add that to the ever increasing cost of transportation for the park buses, and the fact that this year there was sizable dues credit from the closures, and you'd be astounded how much dues, overall, would be impacted.

I have no problem paying out of pocket for DME, assuming the cost for my party would still be cheaper than a car rental or other alternative transportation. Remember, there was a time before DME, when everyone had to do just that. And don't forget, eventually there will be a high speed train to Disney.

I also anticipate that I may do a few road trips, again. I used to drive to Disney often, but the cost of nearly $100 ($15 per cat per day) of pet boarding 3 cats at the vet for 2 additional days has made flying much more economical, depending upon the number of people traveling.

 

[New Mouse]

The parking problem at BWV/BWI has never been guests who are actually staying at the BWV/BWI resort.. It's been all those who park there to go to EPCOT (and now probably DHS, as well). IMO, if those who park there to go to the parks were denied, there would be plenty of parking. Pre-Covid (and pre-DME, too), half the lot emptied right after IllumiNations. Ask anyone who stayed in the BWV standard view villas. Happened nightly.

If parking at the park werent absurdly expensive, that would also solve this problem. People look for another place to park when they are given a reason not to use the main parking area.