Magical Express Ending Service

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Your champagne analogy? What Disney is doing is pouring California Sparkling/Prosecco in a "true Champagne" bottle and some folks are thinking it tastes the same because they rely on the labeling.

I think it's more akin to pouring water into the Champagne bottle to dilute it and then charging the same price as you did when it was full of pure Champagne. Frankly, I'd rather pay for the Prosecco, at least it's honest about offering the right value for the money you pay.

I'm baffled by this ignorance. Accessibility isn't a novelty.

It's something that the disabled deal with every single day. For many disabled people, WDW was a rare respite where everything was accessible and it was just all done, and that was magic. There are plenty of people who can't rent cars and can't get in Ubers. They can't even get out of the airport to get on a vacation. This isn't a novelty discussion.

Maybe Disney doesn't want to be as accessible as it was, I guess that's a choice. But Disney's previous choices were pretty amazing for the disabled, and it's sad to see this ending.

Sure, I can throw my carseats and strollers in a Uber and pay some more money. Maybe I'd rather do that in Italy if I'm already going to this much hassle on my very expensive vacation. But I recognize this is a privileged statement.

I agree. The OP's saying that wheelchairs are a novelty was incredibly ablest. WDW has worked so hard to make itself more accessible, with everything from wheelchair lifts on all of the busses, to plentiful ramps and accessible ride vehicles, to DAS. This is a step in the wrong direction. And I don't think whoever made this decision gave even the slightest thought to accessibility. It's all about the bottom line.

 

[ppony]

This is absolutely true. On our September trip we rented a car for the first time because of COVID concerns. With the added freedom, did we pay for $8 beers at the hotel bar? Nope. Drove to the liquor store and stocked the fridge. Did we pay for breakfast at Captain Cooks? Once (Had to get Tonga toast), but the rest we made in the room or hopped over to McDonalds. Did we eat all our dinners at Disney table service. Nope not this time. Found some local restaurants outside the bubble and saved a ton of dough. Did we pay $18 a pop for two lapu lapus on our last night at the Poly? Of course we did. We're not barbarians.

Gotta say, when we did rent car, which was most of the time until the last few visits, we LOVED going off site for meals. Better quality food for much better prices. (THOUGH, I'm quite enamored w/ the new food offering is Disney Springs. I LOVE Homecoming. )

 

[disneytraveler]

It is sad that things are stopped. I hope the miinie van would be available for transportation

 

[JPTexan82]

I agree. The OP's saying that wheelchairs are a novelty was incredibly ablest. WDW has worked so hard to make itself more accessible, with everything from wheelchair lifts on all of the busses, to plentiful ramps and accessible ride vehicles, to DAS. This is a step in the wrong direction. And I don't think whoever made this decision gave even the slightest thought to accessibility. It's all about the bottom line.

You all took the wheelchair comment out of context. Did not mean disrespect, I understand and realize that some people need to be in them. Not all, because of some selfish reason. What I am trying to say, go to China and look and see how many 1) strollers are in park/mall/tourist area (very very few) 2) look to see how many wheel chairs you see. You will not see a Chinese person in a wheel chair/scooter/hover around. That is a American normality. In China a novelty.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I cant begin to think how you move so many visitors without a reliable transport system.

I can. I just think back to 2005, which isn't that long ago. I joined this forum in 2005, but lurked a long time before I joined.

In 2005, some folks rented cars, some took the Mears shuttle. Actually many people supported local small businesses that operated towncar services. There was no Uber/Lyft though, and no train.

Actually, when ME started, lots of DISboards members said they'd never use ME, because they wanted to continue to support the kind people who operated the towncars. Mind, I'm not kidding, many people vowed that they would always continue to support Tiffany and the rest. (though I think that only lasted until the next WDW price increase.)

Then as now, there were also city buses, but supposedly those take a long time to get to WDW. More folks stayed offsite too, and some offsite hotels had free airport shuttles. I remmeber a bunch of budget board threads asking what hotel had free airport and WDW transportation.

 

[disneytraveler]

I can. I just think back to 2005, which isn't that long ago. I joined this forum in 2005, but lurked a long time before I joined.

In 2005, some folks rented cars, some took the Mears shuttle. Actually many people supported local small businesses that operated towncar services. There was no Uber/Lyft though, and no train.

Actually, when ME started, lots of DISboards members said they'd never use ME, because they wanted to continue to support the kind people who operated the towncars. Mind, I'm not kidding, many people vowed that they would always continue to support Tiffany and the rest. (though I think that only lasted until the next WDW price increase.)

Then as now, there were also city buses, but supposedly those take a long time to get to WDW. More folks stayed offsite too, and some offsite hotels had free airport shuttles. I remmeber a bunch of budget board threads asking what hotel had free airport and WDW transportation.

I remember taking Mears to wdw . I also stayed offsite sometimes

 

[MamaBelle4]

You all took the wheelchair comment out of context. Did not mean disrespect, I understand and realize that some people need to be in them. Not all, because of some selfish reason. What I am trying to say, go to China and look and see how many 1) strollers are in park/mall/tourist area (very very few) 2) look to see how many wheel chairs you see. You will not see a Chinese person in a wheel chair/scooter/hover around. That is a American normality. In China a novelty.

See - to me this comment is no better than the first.

It is not up to you or me to decide what parameters a person should meet to be in a wheelchair.

My mom should have rented a scooter last time, she recently survived breast cancer and was just diagnosed with COPD, but she didn't and I know it was partly because she was worried about what people might think about her. She looks healthy. She did not have a good time and will likely not come back with us, it was a real struggle for her.

Perhaps instead of assuming someone has a "selfish" reason for using a mobility aid, take a moment for compassion and realize that not all ailments are as visible as a broken leg.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Exactly, @MamaBelle4 I was planning to invite my dad on our next trip. He was in a car accident several years ago that badly damaged his spine (the other driver pushed him off the road and his car rolled down a hill). He can walk slowly, with a cane, but only for short distances before he is in a lot of pain. I had planned to rent an ECV for him to be ready at the resort, and was hoping to really make it a magical seamless experience with ME, the Dining Plan, the works (when I was small we were far too poor to afford to stay onsite or even buy tickets for more than one day). I guess some judgmental person might have looked at him and assumed he was just using the ECV because of his weight or laziness. The fact that resort buses to the parks include wheelchair lifts was a big factor in wanting to invite him on the trip. The Mears buses that go to Swan/Dolphin don't always include them, and I can't presume that even if Mears resumes their own service to the WDW resorts that you won't have to wait for several buses to come by before there is one with a lift.

 

[yulilin3]

Please stay on topic and leave argumentative comments out.

 

[whiporee]

it will be back with a fee. Probably a small one.

WDW is NOT going to let Mears have all that money.

 

[dioxide45]

it will be back with a fee. Probably a small one.

WDW is NOT going to let Mears have all that money.

MEARS operates ME currently. It would be ideal if a guest could book and pay for their transportation as part of a package. Disney's lack of a long term plan here is odd. Just let people figure it out I guess.

 

[DisLiss]

I think you are not considering the fact that people are being understanding due to Covid. We just came back from a Christmas break trip and while we had fun, agreed we would not return until at least 2022 and that is only if things are returning to pre-Covid times.

I know people understand why its happening now, but that doesn't necessarily mean they would want to shell out the same amount of money or more for less experiences. Yet plenty of people have done and still are doing just that. Yourself included. And that's totally fine. It just means that going to WDW is more important than fretting over a loss of value. And I think we'll find that the same thing happens with the loss of ME and EMH. People will go pay the same price or higher for trips without those amenities/experiences because going to WDW at all will still be important to them.

 

[princesslover]

I know people understand why its happening now, but that doesn't necessarily mean they would want to shell out the same amount of money or more for less experiences. Yet plenty of people have done and still are doing just that. Yourself included. And that's totally fine. It just means that going to WDW is more important than fretting over a loss of value. And I think we'll find that the same thing happens with the loss of ME and EMH. People will go pay the same price or higher for trips without those amenities/experiences because going to WDW at all will still be important to them.

Again, what people are willing to do during these times is not a good predictor of what people will be ok with long term. I will agree with you that there are absolutely what I call “Disney Loyalists” that have a higher tolerance threshold and will be around no matter what. But the ME is huge. I am not sure if your family situation but if you are a single Mom or a family with a few little kids, this is almost a deal breaker. Or a person with a disability. Sure, there wasn’t always ME. But Disney also did not cost this much. And people (me included) looked the other way at the rising costs because we felt it worth it. Heck, we don’t have little kids but my husband and I have not ruled out selling our DVC points. We for sure will no longer encourage people we know to go. I would actually strongly advise against it. I have never, ever felt this way before. There are no longer benefits to going to Disney over a regular amusement park. I’m actually very, very sad.

 

[RoseGold]

Not all that long ago (three years maybe?) DW and I seriously considered DVC. With everything that's been taken away, delayed, or scrapped in the last three years.... we made a wise investment keeping our money in our pockets.

If you had bought resale, you could have gotten out at the relative 2020 lows probably still up.

 

[Nick6300]

Maxpass is fantastic! We've done it multiple times. It is so much better than FP+ in our opinion. as it gives you much more flexibility. You do not book any FP in advance and you are not locked in for the day. Because people are not booking in advance, there is full availability every morning, and because everyone is still only allowed one at a time, the availability stays much greater throughout the day. It is so much easier to get a FP for any ride you want at DLR with Maxpass instead of FP+

At DLR the old FP system still exists and you can use it for free and go from ride to ride to book at the machines if you want. That would be an issue with WDW-since they got rid of that. I don't know what WDW would still offer for free if they switched to Maxpass. What you are paying for at DLR is basically 1) the ability to book on your phone as opposed to running to the machines; 2) once you have scanned in to one park being able to book FPs in either park (hoppers needed); 3) having the ability to see what is available for all the rides at once without standing at the ride and 4) you can pick up sooner FP times on Max Pass usually. It runs like the original FP system Once you scan in the gate you can book your first FP in either park. Then once you use that FP or wait 2 hours (or maybe it is 1 1/2 hours) you can book your next FP. The minute you scan into the line with your FP, you can book the next FP. One morning at DL, DD and I grabbed our first FP which kicked in immediately and decided every time we scanned and got in line, we would immediately book the next available fast pass that popped up for ANY ride that was fairly close. We had a blast just going wherever Maxpass took us and skipping lines. I think we used at least 6 FPs in not much more than an hour. We knew we were hopping to CA for lunch, so we kept an eye on RSR and when it got to a time we wanted right before lunch, we went ahead and booked that. I was skeptical before we tried it too, but It is one of those that once you spend the money and try it, it is hard to go without it.

Kind of like ME--- I would like it better if it was free, but I would be willing to pay for it if they would just keep it around.

Thanks for the explanation on Maxpass. I did like the old paper FPs better at WDW for selfish reasons. You don’t pick them ahead of time. Potentially less planning. The lack of FP tiering means, maybe some of the less seasoned guests don’t prioritize the FPs you want. I was able to use my speed to my advantage on obtaining FPs.

 

[Memepoppy]

This is going to come off as sounding snarky and I don't mean it to, but if you're staying at a Marriott prior to WDW aren't you only using ME one way anyway (back to the airport)? And how to you get to Disney, do you use a couple of Uber's? And finally, does Marriott offer free service from the airport to it's hotel?

No, we use Marriott transportation from airport to hotel, and on the day we check in at Disney, Marriott shuttle back to airport to catch Magical Express. So yes, we do use it to and from Disney. Every Marriott we've stayed in in Orlando offers free shuttle to and from the airport

 

[olliesmom]

This will absolutely factor into our future travel plans (when international travel resumes).

A big part of our reason for choosing a Disney trip is the convenience factor with young children. There have been times where we have looked at and priced out a variety of vacation locations, then ultimately ended up choosing Disney because it meant we could avoid the car rental, lugging car seats and strollers through the airport and could have an easy, streamlined trip that actually felt like an escape!

If planning a Disney vacation now includes the above, we will definitely start choosing other options more frequently. We would also have been less disappointed with the option to continue to service even as an added fee. But if the Mears shuttle runs less frequently, doesn't include baggage transport etc. then I can't imagine paying a premium price for a service that doesn't make life easier.

As others have mentioned, if we are going to be paying upwards of 500.00 for a car rental + parking, there is no way we will let that car sit in the lot the entire trip. We will plan to get value out of it by making a stop for groceries, eating offsite - potentially just staying offsite!

If Disney themselves are going to burst the Disney bubble, I can't imagine being surprised when their guests begin to venture further and further from it during their trips and spend their vacation dollars elsewhere.

 

[ckelly14]

Dumbest move ever

 

[Disneybuckeye]

Ending Magical Express may be the final deal breaker for us on our 9 day annual trips. We were getting ready to add move DVC points due to the recent point reallocations but not until I see how all this plays out. Our adult kids all fly in from different places and it was great that ME brought them whenever they arrived. Sometimes they only came for parts of trips also. I hate messing with a rental car and driving thru Orlando traffic. Walking to the bus without picking up luggage is great. We have food and beverage delivered and it was a lovely start to a vacation.

We will still go, but not as much. We will cut our days back and spend a few days at Siesta Key. We will also go to Universal more as we really like HP and the onsite perks there are much better. Losing APs have but our extra spring trips on hold.

I know people will still go to Disney and they will not miss me or my money, but I can't justify spending that much more for a lesser product in my head no matter what my hears says.

 

[mamaofsix]

A small part of me wonders if Disney might be toying with us here. Announce the full cancellation of ME . . . public outrage follows . . . Disney then announces they will NOT cancel ME, it will be available for the low price of $50 per person.

Say they're taking something away, then appear benevolent by returning the service - but at a cost.

They've done it before.