Finishing my part-time rideshare stint. I drove 23,000 Disney guests. AMA.

[table88]

Or even acknowledge that they saw people’s responses. Depending on the question, other people put a lot of thought & time into their responses. Which might never even have been read. I don’t get it either.

Apologies for the wait. Holidays. Family. I should've waited to post until later. Sorry about that. Doesn't seem to matter because I didn't have many takers on this anyway.

 

[table88]

It's personal, but you said "ask anything".. how much did you make?

I drove Disney for four years. I don't have an exact total. But, I put about 150,000 miles on my car.

 

[sam_gordon]

Apologies for the wait. Holidays. Family. I should've waited to post until later. Sorry about that. Doesn't seem to matter because I didn't have many takers on this anyway.

Now that you've answered some, you may get more. When folks see unanswered questions, there's no real reason to ask more.

There are still some questions asked earlier that you haven't answered yet though if you want to go back and review.

 

[_19disnA]

Curious if you found being a driver as profitable compared to other types of jobs. Many seems to stop driving for them since they barely make minimum wage and the cost of wear/tear on their personal vehicle.

 

[table88]

They said 23,000 guests, not miles, but that is a good question. I would like to know, how many miles did they rack up during their employment?

Also, would you recommend it as a way to make extra cash? Was it worth the wear and tear on your car?

About 150,000 miles.
On weekends, yes. It's a cool way to make up for the money to spend at Disney. I had to spend about $15,000 in car maintenance. But, I met and talked with 23,000 people from all over the world. I'd say that's worth it.

 

[table88]

What was your best and worst customer (passenger) experience? After all those guests, what was your final driver rating?

Oh, I had a lot of "bests".

I drove the President of Disneyland once to an Italian restaurant downtown. He was nice but it was at a time when Genie+ just came out. I nicely challenged him on that. i said, "You know, not a lot of people are happy about being charged for rides after paying admission". He said, "Well, how much is your time worth to you on vacation?". I responded, "Yeah, but you guys created the problem but having lighting lanes in the first place so that standby has to hold up. So, you created the problem then sold the customer the solution." He didn't really have much to say after that. So, that was my most gratifying trip.

One of my most memorable but sad was driving someone with stage four cancer. He was making his last trip to Disney World with his wife. It was a very sorrowful and heartfelt ride.

I always liked driving first-time Disney guests. Having done over 1000 park days since 1975, I try to share the most meaningful tips so they make the most of the parks. Especially for Animal Kingdom since most people don't walk the trails.

Worst guest? I've had a few rude people. But, the worst was probably this one woman I drove to the airport. She decided to yell about Governor DeSantis and Trump the entire time. "How can you live here! They're all liars!" That kinda stuff. At the airport I curbed her luggage and she grabbed it and walked off in a huff.

Lyft rating is 5.0. Uber rating is 4.98. Ratings don't work the same way with both apps. It's almost impossible to keep a perfect 5 on Uber because if the rider doesn't rate the driver the driver won't get an automatic 5 like Lyft will do. The driver gets no rating at all. Lyft assumes a 5 if the rider doesn't give a rating. Also, Lyft's ratings are based on last 100 rides; Uber is last 500 rides. Lyft's ratings are to the tenth decimal place; Uber's to the hundredth decimal place. Anyway, always rate the driver. It's very important on Uber.

Always use both Lyft and Uber on vacation. Some will have a lower price than the other.

 

[table88]

Curious if you found being a driver as profitable compared to other types of jobs. Many seems to stop driving for them since they barely make minimum wage and the cost of wear/tear on their personal vehicle.

Well, I drove part-time. Not full-time. I work full-time from home.

The main reason I started driving is because I've been going to Disney World since 1975. I've done almost everything there is to do. Stays at all resorts. 1000+ park visits. Multiple visits to all restaurants besides a few new ones. I've embarked on a bunch of crazy adventures including riding along with several hundred bus drivers for a few months to know the system. I thought, "Well, the only thing I have left to do is to get to know all the Disney guests". Rideshare was the best way to do that.

 

[table88]

Warning: There are many scam drivers at Disney World that do not use Lyft or Uber. They will give you a ride to wherever you are going. Sure. Then, charge you some insane amount of money. I've driven those who have been scammed. These drivers usually hangout at the park pickup spots, Disney Springs, and the airport. If someone asks if you need a ride do not take it. Disney is barely policing this if at all. The airport has warning signs about this at arrival pickup. Please warn others about this.

Some other random things (which you may or may not already know):

• If you ever plan to take rideshare back to your resort after the Magic Kingdom fireworks, don't wait in line for the ferry or monorail to go back to the TTC. Walk to the Contemporary Resort and call for a pickup there. It'll save you a lot of time.
• We can pick you up at your resort building. So, don't walk all the way to the lobby to call rideshare no matter what the front desk tells you to do.
• Lyft and Uber take about 55%-65% of the fare. If your fare to the airport is $29 then your driver is getting $9. That means after gas and maintenance it's about $6. Rideshare services stopped paying drivers for mileage and time a few years ago so they could control pricing. Therefore, tips help drivers a great deal no matter the amount.
• Access the resorts is restricted to those staying there or dining there. But, this is gate guard dependent. Some are by the book; some are not. So, if you're trying to enter EPCOT using the International Gateway, Beach Club may or may not let you in. The easiest way is the Dolphin since there isn't a gate guard. Same goes for Magic Kingdom. The Contemporary may or may not let you in. Rideshare only goes to the TTC which means you have to take the monorail or ferry. Best to take the bus on Magic Kingdom days.
• The seat belt law in Florida states that If your child is six-years-old and up they can use the seat belt. Four and five-year-olds require a car seat or booster seat. Three-years-old and under car seat only. I've had hundreds of cancelled rides because the rider has a two-year-old with no car seat. I carry a booster seat myself for the four and five-year-olds. Now, many drivers don't care about this and will gladly take an unrestrained newborn in the car (I've witnessed it). But, I'm safety first with zero tolerance. Car accidents happen frequently at Disney World.
• If your driver is unable to take you due to a rider issue after they arrive at your pickup spot, you have the cancel. Not the driver. And the longer you wait to cancel after your driver arrives the higher the fee.

 

[sam_gordon]

About 150,000 miles.
On weekends, yes. It's a cool way to make up for the money to spend at Disney. I had to spend about $15,000 in car maintenance. But, I met and talked with 23,000 people from all over the world. I'd say that's worth it.

150,000 miles and $15,000 in car maintenance? That's over how many years? Does the $15k include gas?

 

[table88]

150,000 miles and $15,000 in car maintenance? That's over how many years? Does the $15k include gas?

That 150,000 also includes personal driving. So, maybe 110,000 just at Disney? I'm ballparking here. About $15,000 in car maintenance but some of that would've been needed even if I didn't drive rideshare at Disney. The $15,000 does not include gas. This is from 2021 to 2025. So, that's actually five years.

 

[focusondisney]

including riding along with several hundred bus drivers for a few months to know the system.

Disney management allowed you to “ride along” with drivers for months??? Or you just got on Disney buses & rode around, chatting with whatever person happened to be driving?

 

[table88]

Disney management allowed you to “ride along” with drivers for months??? Or you just got on Disney buses & rode around, chatting with whatever person happened to be driving?

Well, I was eating at Disney restaurants and going to the parks at the time. So, I'm a guest. I'm allowed to ride the buses. It was only two months and not daily. It was at a time they were transitioning from the old radio dispatch system to the current automated dispatch system. It was interesting to see the differences in how both systems worked. Also, I chatted with the drivers about their experiences.

 

[focusondisney]

Well, I was eating at Disney restaurants and going to the parks at the time. So, I'm a guest. I'm allowed to ride the buses. It was only two months and not daily. It was at a time they were transitioning from the old radio dispatch system to the current automated dispatch system. It was interesting to see the differences in how both systems worked. Also, I chatted with the drivers about their experiences.

So, the same thing any other Disney guest does. Not exactly what most people would consider a “ride along”.

 

[table88]

So, the same thing any other Disney guest does. Not exactly what most people would consider a “ride along”.

I rode along with the bus drivers from morning dispatch which is around 6AM until maybe 2PM or 3PM. I did this four or five days a week for two months. Then, I went the parks on some days. You know other guests who do that? I would love to meet them.

 

[focusondisney]

I rode along with the bus drivers from morning dispatch which is around 6AM until maybe 2PM or 3PM. I did this four or five days a week for two months. Then, I went the parks on some days. You know other guests who do that? I would love to meet them.

Did you have authorization from Disney management to “ride along”??? That’s what makes it a “ride along”. Otherwise you were just a passenger on a bus.

 

[table88]

Did you have authorization from Disney management to “ride along”??? That’s what makes it a “ride along”. Otherwise you were just a passenger on a bus

So, you're talking about an official "ride along"? Like you would do with your local police department? I've actually done one off those. I didn't know Disney offered those or I would have done that. I was just talking about the hours I spent on the bus talking with the drivers about the bus system.

This is a little off topic though. I'd like to keep this thread about my experience driving 23,000 Disney guests.

 

[focusondisney]

So, you're talking about an official "ride along"? Like you would do with your local police department? I've actually done one off those. I didn't know Disney offered those or I would have done that. I was just talking about the hours I spent on the bus talking with the drivers about the bus system.

This is a little off topic though. I'd like to keep this thread about my experience driving 23,000 Disney guests.

Your exact words:

riding along with several hundred bus drivers for a few months to know the system.

I’m trying to clarify if it was actually a ride along. Which I see it wasn’t.

 

[Best Aunt]

It's almost impossible to keep a perfect 5 on Uber because if the rider doesn't rate the driver the driver won't get an automatic 5 like Lyft will do. The driver gets no rating at all. Lyft assumes a 5 if the rider doesn't give a rating. Also, Lyft's ratings are based on last 100 rides; Uber is last 500 rides. Lyft's ratings are to the tenth decimal place; Uber's to the hundredth decimal place. Anyway, always rate the driver. It's very important on Uber.

This is actually really helpful. Normally I give the driver a 5. If I'm unhappy, I just don't rate them. I didn't realize that if I didn't rate the driver on Lyft, then Lyft would assume a 5.

 

[table88]

This may be of interest to some of you nerdy folks. I collected data on all my rides (I’m a data analyst). Here are some more specific stats:

Total trips: 7971
Lyft: 5386
UberX: 2585

So, Lyft represents roughly two-thirds of all recorded trips, with UberX making up most of the remainder. This is probably because I prefer Lyft (better app) and it’s the official rideshare app of Disney World.

Average number of Disney guests per trip: 3
Total number of Disney guests: 23913

Out of the 7971 trips I made, I asked the Disney guest who requested the trip (i.e, not everyone in the car) two questions:

1. Have you been to Disney World before?
2. If so, when was the last time you visited?

However, I did not ask every Disney guest this question for a variety of reasons (I forgot, we were too busy talking, etc.). But, I was able to ask 2736 of them. Instead of giving you all the numbers, I just made a pie chart showing the last visit distribution.




Have a magical day!

 

[Ross Kratter]

This is actually really helpful. Normally I give the driver a 5. If I'm unhappy, I just don't rate them. I didn't realize that if I didn't rate the driver on Lyft, then Lyft would assume a 5.

With either platform, if you rate the driver 3 stars or less, you will not be paired with them again.