Everthing you wanted to know about Uber/Lyft at WDW

[elaine amj]

It would be soooo cool if we could use Lyft coupons for the Minnie vans!!

 

[Beach710]

This thread is really long so please excuse me if I'm asking questions that have already be discussed. Is the information in the first post still accurate?

Are there 2 pick up / Drop off spots in DS:

DTD/Disney Springs: Westside: Strawberry lot, next to the taxis & Marketplace: The old bus loop.

Do you have to have a reservation or being staying at a resort to be dropped off?

How does being dropped off at the CR work for MK if you don't have an ADR?

The pick up at resorts "in front of the lobby entrance" at some resorts lobby area is pretty large : Are the pick up spots marked at the resorts?

Thanks for all the help - trying make this year's Disney trips the best.

 

[AngiTN]

This thread is really long so please excuse me if I'm asking questions that have already be discussed. Is the information in the first post still accurate?

1. Are there 2 pick up / Drop off spots in DS:

DTD/Disney Springs: Westside: Strawberry lot, next to the taxis & Marketplace: The old bus loop.

2. Do you have to have a reservation or being staying at a resort to be dropped off?

3. How does being dropped off at the CR work for MK if you don't have an ADR?

4. The pick up at resorts "in front of the lobby entrance" at some resorts lobby area is pretty large : Are the pick up spots marked at the resorts?

Thanks for all the help - trying make this year's Disney trips the best.

1. yes, though all of our drivers have taken us straight to old bus loop. They have never asked which location we want to go to so I would tell them which spot you want if you don't want the loop

2. No, we use Lyft a lot on our trips, most recently in June, going to resorts and they never ask why we are going. They haven't asked to see our band in a long time. They ask for the driver's DL and nothing more.

3. Just tell them you want to drop off in the parking lot to the left just past the guard gate to have a short walk. Otherwise, they'll drop you at the CR main entrance and you just walk from there

4. Pick up spots are not marked. Lobby's are large but drive way areas outside are not. It's never hard to find your car when they arrive. The apps are good at telling you clearly who is coming and in what. And at all resorts with individual buildings, except CSR, they can come to your building, so just pin yourself where you are when you request the ride. For instance, when we were at CBR in June we just set our pick up spot as Trinidad North and we went outside the driveway for that group of buildings. Super easy.

 

[JimMIA]

The pick up at resorts "in front of the lobby entrance" at some resorts lobby area is pretty large : Are the pick up spots marked at the resorts?.

There are three keys to easy pickups anywhere:

1. Be in position when you place your request. Don't do the request and then walk to where you expect to be picked up. The app will send the driver to where the GPS thinks you were when you made the ride request -- which will be the wrong place, and sometimes a place that makes it impossible for the driver to get to you.
2. CHECK the pin placement on your app. With Uber (not sure about Lyft), you can change the pin placement if it's not right. Whenever you do a request "From my current location" the app uses GPS to try to figure out where you are. That GPS location might be wrong -- for example, on the wrong side of a wall in a gated community. So check to be sure the app has your actual physical location marked correctly.
3. DON'T MOVE. The driver is being sent to the location where you ordered the ride. If you move they won't be able to find you.

Keep in mind that both companies have cancellation policies, and if your pickup is not successful for certain reasons, you could be charged a $5 cancellation fee (higher in certain circumstances, like pre-scheduled rides).

 

[AngiTN]

There are three keys to easy pickups anywhere:

1. Be in position when you place your request. Don't do the request and then walk to where you expect to be picked up. The app will send the driver to where the GPS thinks you were when you made the ride request -- which will be the wrong place, and sometimes a place that makes it impossible for the driver to get to you.
2. CHECK the pin placement on your app. With Uber (not sure about Lyft), you can change the pin placement if it's not right. Whenever you do a request "From my current location" the app uses GPS to try to figure out where you are. That GPS location might be wrong -- for example, on the wrong side of a wall in a gated community. So check to be sure the app has your actual physical location marked correctly.
3. DON'T MOVE. The driver is being sent to the location where you ordered the ride. If you move they won't be able to find you.

Keep in mind that both companies have cancellation policies, and if your pickup is not successful for certain reasons, you could be charged a $5 cancellation fee (higher in certain circumstances, like pre-scheduled rides).

Just a note, I don't use this feature at Disney. I don't use the location service to find me. I start to type the name of the resort/park instead. And name of building if that is applicable. I've never had any issues by doing it this way. Both apps have the properties by name so if I type, for example, Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, it uses the main entrance/front of the resort for the pick up location. Since that's the only place you can be picked up there, that is what you need. For CBR I was able to just type Trinidad North and it shows me exactly in the circle driveway that services those buildings. When I'm at Epcot, I just start typing Disney's Epcot and it fills in with the exact pick up location for that park. Both apps make it very easy to just start typing the name of the resort you are staying in.

Something else that is neat, with Lyft (not sure about Uber) when you are dropped off at a Disney park the app informs you of where you need to return to be picked up at that park. Just a handy tidbit for future reference

 

[JimMIA]

Just a note, I don't use this feature at Disney. I don't use the location service to find me. I start to type the name of the resort/park instead. And name of building if that is applicable. I've never had any issues by doing it this way. Both apps have the properties by name so if I type, for example, Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, it uses the main entrance/front of the resort for the pick up location. Since that's the only place you can be picked up there, that is what you need. For CBR I was able to just type Trinidad North and it shows me exactly in the circle driveway that services those buildings. When I'm at Epcot, I just start typing Disney's Epcot and it fills in with the exact pick up location for that park. Both apps make it very easy to just start typing the name of the resort you are staying in.

Something else that is neat, with Lyft (not sure about Uber) when you are dropped off at a Disney park the app informs you of where you need to return to be picked up at that park. Just a handy tidbit for future reference

Right, typing the actual address almost always gives a more accurate location.

One other tip on airports. Some airports have specific places where various forms of ground transportation are allowed to pick up, others don't. If the airport allows pickup anywhere in Arrivals, they often have some location designations -- at MIA, it's Door Numbers, and it's set by the GPS. Those door numbers can also be off just a bit, so be sure to check to be sure the app is showing where you actually are.

On our most recent trip, the app showed us at Door 4 at MIA when we were actually at Door 3. If I had not changed it to the correct door number, the driver would have driven right past us looking for us further down the terminal.

 

[joelkfla]

Just a note, I don't use this feature at Disney. I don't use the location service to find me. I start to type the name of the resort/park instead. And name of building if that is applicable. I've never had any issues by doing it this way. Both apps have the properties by name so if I type, for example, Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, it uses the main entrance/front of the resort for the pick up location. Since that's the only place you can be picked up there, that is what you need. For CBR I was able to just type Trinidad North and it shows me exactly in the circle driveway that services those buildings. When I'm at Epcot, I just start typing Disney's Epcot and it fills in with the exact pick up location for that park. Both apps make it very easy to just start typing the name of the resort you are staying in.

I don't think that would work in all cases. For example at CBR, there's Trinidad North and Trinidad South, plus Trinidad South has buildings on both sides of the bus stop. And CBR Jamaica is huge, with lots of different places to get picked up.

Another example: POR. There are multiple entrances and exits to some of the named areas. And when I tried typing in "Port Orleans Riverside Alligator", all that came up was the main lobby.

Another tip: if you've just turned your phone on, or you haven't been using any apps that use location services, it may take a minute or so for the gps to close in on your exact location. Check that the point shown on the map is correct before requesting the ride.

 

[AngiTN]

I don't think that would work in all cases. For example at CBR, there's Trinidad North and Trinidad South, plus Trinidad South has buildings on both sides of the bus stop. And CBR Jamaica is huge, with lots of different places to get picked up.

Another example: POR. There are multiple entrances and exits to some of the named areas. And when I tried typing in "Port Orleans Riverside Alligator", all that came up was the main lobby.

Another tip: if you've just turned your phone on, or you haven't been using any apps that use location services, it may take a minute or so for the gps to close in on your exact location. Check that the point shown on the map is correct before requesting the ride.

Well, I've used it a lot like I said and it works just fine. My drivers and me have never had difficulties in locating each other.
Trinidad North and Trinidad South are different locations. I wouldn't put in Trinidad, as that wouldn't be correct. I put in Trinidad North and I don't know about South but North only has one drive/loop. We used Lyft at least 10 times, they came directly to the right spot each time
For POR we were in the Mansions and I was able to put in our building group, Patierre Place (though I can't spell it right now, sorry about that) and it worked well there.

And it works extremely well for all the Deluxe resorts where you can't drive to any buildings anyway. Not sure about the Villas as we've never stayed at those.

 

[tinkerone]

Four adults and luggage going from WDW to UO with luggage. Should I order a Uber X or Uber XL?

 

[joelkfla]

Four adults and luggage going from WDW to UO with luggage. Should I order a Uber X or Uber XL?

Hello, sorry about the confusion on the other thread. I thought you were going to CBR.

You have to assume an UberX will be the smallest 4-door car with 5 seats. Unless you've packed very light, I would recommend an UberXL.

If you want to take a chance on an UberX, be aware that you'd have to pay a $5 cancellation fee if you can't fit. Or you could just split up and order a 2nd UberX; 2 UberX's would cost about the same as an UberXL after the cancellation fee.

 

[JimMIA]

Four adults and luggage going from WDW to UO with luggage. Should I order a Uber X or Uber XL?

I would order XL personally. In fact, on our recent vacation -- 2 adults and a 15 year old, 2 checked bags and 3 carryons -- I ordered XL for all of our airport trips.

I drive in Miami and I get XL trips all the time with 2-4 adults with luggage. Also, Orlando Uber fares are very low, and their XL fares are less than 2.0x the regular X fare. So XL would be less expensive than two X vehicles.

 

[AngiTN]

Four adults and luggage going from WDW to UO with luggage. Should I order a Uber X or Uber XL?

We always order XL when we have luggage

 

[JimMIA]

I had an XL ride to the airport on Monday -- one guy, one checked suitcase, one carryon. He just wanted more room and comfort.

 

[tinkerone]

I had an XL ride to the airport on Monday -- one guy, one checked suitcase, one carryon. He just wanted more room and comfort.

So would you say an XL would be big enough for four adults and four suitcases plus a few carry ons? I don't want to order wrong and I would like to be prepared a bit. TiA.

 

[JimMIA]

So would you say an XL would be big enough for four adults and four suitcases plus a few carry ons? I don't want to order wrong and I would like to be prepared a bit. TiA.

Yes. I get that a good bit here in Miami -- both from the airport and also from the cruise port.

 

[AngiTN]

So would you say an XL would be big enough for four adults and four suitcases plus a few carry ons? I don't want to order wrong and I would like to be prepared a bit. TiA.

It's plenty big enough for 3 adults and one 9 yo, 4 suitcases and 4 carry ons, plus 4 back packs.

 

[maryj11]

How early does Uber start running near the Polynesian?

 

[AngiTN]

How early does Uber start running near the Polynesian?

Uber doesn't have hours. Uber drivers sign on and work whenever they want and someone is signed on pretty much 24 hours a day. Obviously, some hours of the day have fewer drivers because there are fewer riders.

 

[lampshadehead]

It's plenty big enough for 3 adults and one 9 yo, 4 suitcases and 4 carry ons, plus 4 back packs.

How about 5 adults (size-wise) with 5 suitcases?

 

[AngiTN]

How about 5 adults (size-wise) with 5 suitcases?

We would not have been able to fit 1 more adult and 1 more suitcase in any of the vehicles we got with Plus (Uber or Lyft)
We filled it completely