Magic Express not going over well...

[wilderness01]

I have not taken ME however I did not book a package, just a room at one of the resorts a few months back. I was eligible for ME so Christmas Elf they did not raise the price of my room just to include ME, this time it really was complimentary. Do I think Disney makes a profit on everything? Yes. But for the celebration the transfer is complimentary. I agree that it will probably be a charge in the future.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Blah, blah, blah...sour grapes.

Yep.

 

[CharlesTD]

Chili's
TGIFridays
Perkins
Pizza Hut
Denny's
Orlando Ale House
Papa Johns
Wendy's
ChikFilet
McDonalds
IHOP
LoneStar Steakhouse
Landry's
Pizzeria UNO
Taco Bell
Red Lobster

The only places on here that we would eat at are Lonestar Landry's and Orlando Ale house we can get everything else without driving to Florida and to be honest TGIfridays sucks so does Pisseria Uno and Papa Johns.

 

[grinningghost]

I'd heard that they will start charging people for ME in 2006, that it was free this years so they could work out the bugs before hitting people up for money. I don't know how true that is, but if so the livery drivers only need to hang on a few more months.

Well, my trip for July, 2006 is already booked and they told me ME is a free service included. They already have my flight info and everything - I'll be pretty ticked off if they turn around and tell me it's going to cost me now.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

Well, my trip for July, 2006 is already booked and they told me ME is a free service included. They already have my flight info and everything - I'll be pretty ticked off if they turn around and tell me it's going to cost me now.

It is definately complimentary until HCOE ends - you will not have to pay

as far as Disney employees soliciting - it sounds to me like they were approached - and Disney is NOT soliciting costumers - the people they are offering rides to - are already their customers are being told about a service that is available to them free of charge - I would hardly call this soliciting

I do not think it is Disney's responsibility to worry about how this will affect the other driver services - I also believe that Mears was contracted by Disney to run their ME service

I do feel bad for the companies that will have to close for this - but life is about supply and demand - Disney saw the demand and they supplied it - I am willing to bet Disney's real motive was to keep people on property

 

[pfishgirl]

We are going to be using the Magical Express in a few weeks.. We have 6 adults and 8 children going so the M.E. was the Best way for us.. No worries for suitcases and instead of renting 3 cars. and I agree it's about time that Disney offers a free (for now) shuttle to and from the airport when you stay on their property..

 

[TDC Nala]

You don't REALLY think that Disney GIVES anything away do you? all they did was build the cost into the package (aka raise the price)and pass that cost on to the customer coming into Orlando.
Mears charged $35 for a drive from MCO to WDW. I guarantee you the price you ended up paying in your Magical Express package worked out to be WAY MORE than $35!!! Disney is laughing hysterically all the way to the bank.

I don't have a Magical Express package.I'm an annual passholder with DVC. I get to use it, too. This is why I'm going for four separate weekends to the food & wine festival...and spending cash there instead of on transportation, so Disney still makes money off me.

 

[ChristmasElf]

Magical Express is free for the time of the 50th Anniversary celebration. We have used it and will again in May. I would pay for the service. It's better than regular Mears, and personally, I don't like getting in a car with someone driving that I don't know.

As for the above poster, I don't want to wander offsite. You didn't list any restaurants that I can't get here at home.

I realize you no doubt have the same restaurants where you live, I was merely pointing out that occasionally eating off site was a real money saver.
Why/how anyone would want to eat nothing but Disney food for a week is beyond me. Plus pay a ridiculous amount of money for it. To each their own I guess!

 

[experiment626mom]

I realize you no doubt have the same restaurants where you live, I was merely pointing out that occasionally eating off site was a real money saver.
Why/how anyone would want to eat nothing but Disney food for a week is beyond me. Plus pay a ridiculous amount of money for it. To each their own I guess!

I pay the same amount at one of these restaurants as I do at Disney. Obviously you have something against Disney food. Whatever. Or is possibly that you work for one of the charters that is against Magical Express.

As for not wanting to get into a car with someone I don't know, it has nothing to do with how they drive. It has to do with personal safety. A whole busload of people won't disappear. A car with a family going to Disney (read has cash/credit cards, etc) certainly can.

 

[lbgraves]

When I was planning our trip for June I ran the reservations with ME and without. It was more expensive for use to book everything with ME than booking the resort with tickets seperately. It's not exactly free...they just aren't giving a cost for it on your receipt.

 

[ChristmasElf]

The only places on here that we would eat at are Lonestar Landry's and Orlando Ale house we can get everything else without driving to Florida and to be honest TGIfridays sucks so does Pisseria Uno and Papa Johns.

There are tons of other restaurants that I simply did not list. Put the one's out there that most people would recognize. If you were to shoot down Palm Parkway to Sand LAke and turn left, there is a bunch of great places like Roy's.Ruth Chris steakhouse,Dragon China (very good),Carrino's Lakefront,Antonio's Ristorante Sand Lake, among many many others.
Not to mention Pointe Orlando, The Mercado,Wonderworks (fun place to go especially for kids)
Then Festival Bay, and a truckload of sites and shopping there.
Also, renting a car you could go out to Cape Canaveral to the Kennedy Space Center,Daytona Beach, West Palm Beaches, way too much too mention.

 

[DVC-Don]

But you really don't know the driver for ME either, and just because they work for Disney does not mean they drive safely.

Actually the ME drivers work for Mears and the buses are owned by Mears under contract with Disney.

 

[julia & nicks mom]

When I was planning our trip for June I ran the reservations with ME and without. It was more expensive for use to book everything with ME than booking the resort with tickets seperately. It's not exactly free...they just aren't giving a cost for it on your receipt.

Magical Express is available to anyone staying on property - from their website:

Disney's Magical Express is a complimentary service for Walt Disney World® Resort hotel Guests only.

so if you have a resort reservation - you can use it - it is not part of a package - I am using it with my DVC points

 

[CinderellaIam]

We stayed DVC and bought our tickets from Ticketmania, so exactly where did Disney "add in the cost" for us??

 

[julia & nicks mom]

We stayed DVC and bought our tickets from Ticketmania, so exactly where did Disney "add in the cost" for us??

Like any other Disney service - I think many people are under the misconception that this can only be used with a package - kind of liek people who think you have to pay for fastpasses -

 

[Planogirl]

I have no problems because I hope to always have a car whenever we go to WDW. We love checking out other places and transport between Universal and Disney was quite expensive too. Since I plan to ALWAYS stay at both resorts and explore Florida in general none of these work for me.

It'll be interesting to see how much it costs when they start charging. I had no idea that it was Mears actually driving the ME. I've never had any problems with Mears.

 

[delilah]

I tend to agree that the attitude is sour grapes on the part of the other companies. When I travel alone, I tend to use the shuttle service, when I go with my family, we usually rent a car and go other places.

I frequently go to Chicago, and when I go there, I stay at hotels that offer a free shuttle to and from the airport. When you go to O'Hare, there is a bank of telephones people use to call the hotels when they arrive to get the free shuttle. Lots of hotels use them. However, they are the hotels at Rosemont, and not downtown Michigan Avenue. That is fine--my meeting is at Rosemont. I don't see the Chicago taxi drivers complaining about the free shuttles.

The two times I went alone with my son to WDW, we took the Mears shuttle. It was nice, because then I didn't need to drive in an unfamiliar area, and it was much cheaper than renting a car. If we went without Dad again, I would use the shuttle again. If ME were available, free, I would use ME. Otherwise, I would choose whatever means of transportation was least expensive while still fulfilling my needs.

The problem, as I see it, is that WDW is a bigger draw to Orlando than Rosemont is to Chicago. The other transportation companies were tapping into the WDW business. But, business is competitive, and consumers have only a limited amount of money to pay for a particular service. A smart consumer pays the least amount of money for a particular good or service that adequately meets their needs. I don't mind being on a bus with other people going the same way I am. It doesn't take a significantly different amount of time to get to WDW from the airport, whether I take Mears or when we rent a car. When I take our usual ATA non-stop from Indianapolis, we get there about 11am, and we are usually at the park, reliably, no matter which method we use by 3pm.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Magic Express not going over well...

Actually, sounds like it is going over VERY well. I always rent a car, so will not experience DME.

 

[Missy1961]

I read on the All Ears newsletter that I got yesterday that ME will be free till the end of 2006, not just the end of HCOE.

And I'm pretty sure I didn't pay for it. I just booked a room (since I had a left over ticket), and the price was the same with or without ME.

 

[bubba's mom]

Here's my two cents.....we take the 7am nonstop flight from PHL to MCO. We hire towncar (altho, DH wants to rent Hummer limo for DS next year! ) and we were at OKW by 10am last trip! I'm not sure what's holding me back from ME...maybe because we only spend a couple of days at "the World" and when my feet touch Florida ground, I want to get there asap!! No waiting around for bus or anything....our driver is there waiting for us! Heck, I can barely stand the time waiting for the luggage (which, MCO is AWESOME at!! We never really wait long...but, when you first arrive on vacation going to WDW, even a 5 minute wait seems like 2 hours!!!) Oh well, call me selfish, I just wanna get there as fast as I can!! (Someday) when we have more time to spend there, we may try the ME, but not in the foreseeable future......FWIW: I've heard of many people using it and liking it....wonder how many will continue to use it if they have to pay for it....cuz we all know it won't be cheap!