Magical Express Ending Service

[RoseGold]

ME had a giant, gorgeous ad for DVC at the end of the ride, and it was two different targeted ads that ended right as you got to the hotel/airport. Want to make sure you can have years more of magical vacations? That was not an accident.

That kind of captive, well-timed ad is going to be impossible to replicate, unless they make you sit through it to get through the turnstiles.

 

[mister morrow]

even if disney was doing this with the intent of replacing DME with the brightline train, we would STILL end up paying out of pocket for transportation from MCO to WDW. i just find all of this insanely disappointing.

they use the sad excuse that they are recognizing the 'needs and preferences are changing across the travel industry, particularly in the way people want to get places faster, at their convenience.' they should mind as well get rid of bus transportation all together at WDW if they want to go by that logic.


i'm a teenager and the amount of times disney has cut corners and services in the past few years at WDW is just a sin to see and clearly shows they have no regard for their customers.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

It's really disappointing that they're discontinuing this. As a family with young children it was really fantastic that we didn't have to worry about transportation from the airport and the added cost AND that it felt like our Disney vacation started the second we stepped off the plane. The kids loved looking for those big Mickey hands waving them on to the Mickey bus. I loved not having to take them down to get our luggage. I get that they're likely looking to do some cost saving measures, but it seems like 'make it easier to get to the hotels' is not a great one to go to.

 

[Lehuaann]

I don’t know if I completely believe the ride-sharing “options” excuse or reason.

My thoughts: DME guests have not been paying shuttle or overnight vehicle fees. It’s been one heckuva perk, but if we ain’t paying vehicle fees, then they ain’t shuttling us for free.

Maybe they’ll negotiate a fee-based Disney’s (Not So) Magical Express contract with Mears. Whatever. I still don’t want to pay overnight vehicle fees.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

I don’t know if I completely believe the ride-sharing “options” excuse or reason.

My thoughts: DME guests have not been paying shuttle or overnight vehicle fees. It’s been one heckuva perk, but if we ain’t paying vehicle fees, then they ain’t shuttling us for free.

Maybe they’ll negotiate a fee-based Disney’s (Not So) Magical Express contract with Mears. Whatever. I still don’t want to pay overnight vehicle fees.

I'll have to disagree with you that DME guests have not been paying shuttle fees. We have paid for DME, it was built into the over-priced room rates that WDW has, it was just not an itemized expenditure, but yes, you were paying for it. If this is the case, WDW would be instantly lowering their room rates to coincide with this service being taken away, but we all know that is not happening but it does not mean you were not paying for it.

 

[holden]

Legit question; how much daily does renting using cost you once you factor in parking (both parks & resorts)? When I looked up the cost of an SUV for instance (party of 6) then factored in everything else my week long trip was going up 1k.

We have DVC and APs so we don't pay for parking at resorts or parks. We use our DVC points for our room, so we aren't shelling out cash there either (other than annual dues).

Edited: I picked a random week in March. A mini van would cost us $408 for the week, so $59/day

 

[slpybeartx]

Always wondered how they paid for this - basically Disney took over an entire segment of the market. Big news

LOL, every guest helped pay for this. Subsidized by increases as needed to ticket pricing, resort prices, etc.

We used it one time. It was nice not to drive myself, but it was a beating waiting on the bus, then a TWO HOUR Trip to hotel. We've usually rented a car or did rideshare, with the occaisional personal vehicle brought from home.

 

[cjlong88]

Legit question; how much daily does renting using cost you once you factor in parking (both parks & resorts)? When I looked up the cost of an SUV for instance (party of 6) then factored in everything else my week long trip was going up 1k.

Car rental for my 4-day trip in early February is going to cost $200 total. That number includes parking at the theme parks everyday, gas (an estimated guess based on prior experience), and tolls.

We actually ended up saving $300 by staying off-site and renting a car vs staying at a value resort like Pop Century (with a room rate discount) and using DME.

 

[Lehuaann]

I'll have to disagree with you that DME guests have not been paying shuttle fees. We have paid for DME, it was built into the over-priced room rates that WDW has, it was just not an itemized expenditure, but yes, you were paying for it. If this is the case, WDW would be instantly lowering their room rates to coincide with this service being taken away, but we all know that is not happening but it does not mean you were not paying for it.

I never said it wasn’t built into the room rates. If that’s the case, what about us with DVC? Was it built into the maintenance fees?

I believe this is about guests avoiding overnight vehicle fees, which, if anything, should be built into the room rates, and them not wanting to foot the Mears bill to shuttle us. Simple as that

From what I understand, DME started in 2005, which was also the year MYW and FD was introduced, EMH modified, etc. A lot gone that we “paid” for, so I’m not going to pretend that ride-sharing is to blame

 

[tnolan]

but GUS!!! nooooo

I hate to say this because I looked forward to seeing him too, but Gus has not been a part of ME for about a year or so.

 

[JPTexan82]

What a great response, however I live in UK so again what you've written means nothing, have you not realised yet your insensitive posts are only upsetting others,. Or as I suspect that's your intention.

I don’t say this a lot, but you need to get over yourself and quit attacking people. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to be happy with everything people say. But you are trying to be a bully. I was bringing up an observation that I saw at Disney parks over sees and their transportation and strollers/wheelchairs on that transportation. So now you are from the UK, just stop.

in other note if Disney continued, DCL (via Mears) charges are a little high from both ways. But people still choose the pay for the convenience, may Disney still may perform that type of transportation

 

[sharonmickey]

It's sad that Disney is taking away another perk from staying onsite. We had a family vacation planned in November that was cancelled when Disney stopped character meals, meet and greets, and parades due to Covid. We'd planned on trying again in November 2021. We may still do that but if we do it will be the last trip for a long while. With three children in car seats (two infants), we can't use a ride share. Our options are severely limited without Magical Express. Outside of renting two vehicles, there aren't many options for five adults, an 8, 4, 1, and newborn. Renting vehicles means paying 2 parking fees. It's cheaper to stay off property.

If off property hotels are smart they will start offering airport shuttles. (Maybe they already do, I haven't stayed off property since 1985.) Disney is definitely NOT family friendly anymore.

 

[tommygunn]

All they had to do was charge for it. Make it optional and charge for those who want to use it. They could have reduced the fleet/ save costs and get some revenue from it too. Instead of aggravating the great many that love it.

 

[fly girl]

Well, I am late to the breaking news ... just heard about it today. I am bummed. It was a great convenience to have, and we stayed in the "Disney bubble." It is funny because we have used Uber and Lyft, but that was to get us to locations in WDW without waiting for the busses (esp. when you had to double hop to the water parks .)

I understand Disney is bleeding money. But when you keep chipping away at all the special things that make WDW spectacular it is a punch in the gut. It is yet another reason for us to start staying off site. There is very little, if any, incentive of being an on site guest. The 30 minute early entry ... that's just laughable imho. 30 minutes, really?

If this is any indication, they're moving toward the Disneyland way of doing things. Wouldn't surprise me if we see their version of same-day FastPass and MaxPass announced next.

That would be pretty darn great in my opinion! I hate FP+.

If they do it like Max Pass at DLR, I'd actually see it as a benefit. MP is fantastic, far better than FP+, which makes it worth every penny. However, DLR does still have a free paper FP feature, so you can get FPs without paying, which I think is an important thing to have - a free base tier option. I wouldn't want to pay for the FP+ service, unchanged, though.

Oh, this is one thing I will be ECSTATIC about. That is a premium I will pay for and not think twice about. Maxpass is FAR superior to FP+. Please, please, please bring it to WDW. I have disliked FP+ from the get-go. We are a family who rides, FP+ really limited our plans.

With that said, I do think they should have a free option like DLR.

Not trying to be mean, but if you can not afford the $45.00 Uber for the ride from the airport to Disney. You can not afford to go to Disney World to begin with.

I would not expect Disney to change their rack room rate to reflect the changes in service. Because they are considered a premium product ie apple, LV, Tesla,

in 2005 before DME started, you had to deal with a Taxi company ie mears. And a few small transfer companies. Atleast now you have more options. Plus you think that train is going to save the “system”. That train is not the monorail leaving MK at night. The trains are not going to be lined up one after another. There is going to be a schedule, at best 30 minutes between trains maybe even and hour. Plus those trains are only so big. So when you get families with their bags on them, that train gets small real quick.

the above is why they charge for parking now. They know if you want to come , you will spend what it takes. Disney is a Premium Product, not all deserve to attend.

Wow, you definitely have an opinion. And so do I.

Dude, please. It wasn't mean, it was ignorant. Not being able to afford it is different than not wanting to pay for that expense. I can afford lots of things, but I chose how I want to spend my money. (ex: I don't need a brand new vehicle. Sure, I can easily afford one, but to me I find it a waste when I pull out of the dealership to lose thousands of dollars.) Most people staying at Disney Resorts know they can stay offsite cheaper. They are making a personal decision how to spend their money. To many, DME weighed heavily in their decision making for staying onsite. (I know it did for me when I had a kid in a carseat. Not having to lug that monstrosity around was worth every.single.penny.)

How in sweet fancy Moses do you get off saying not all deserve to attend? Get off your high horse. The arrogance.

 

[ckb_nc]

LOL, every guest helped pay for this. Subsidized by increases as needed to ticket pricing, resort prices, etc.

We used it one time. It was nice not to drive myself, but it was a beating waiting on the bus, then a TWO HOUR Trip to hotel. We've usually rented a car or did rideshare, with the occaisional personal vehicle brought from home.

My daughter now needs a wheelchair so we always get a car. the issue I had was the pick up time was really early. But the service was a huge win - I expect this will be a huge blow back to Disney.

 

[ksanftleben]

Disney is a Premium Product, not all deserve to attend.

Bless your heart. Perhaps you confused "deserve" with "can afford".

 

[MiraclesTakeTime]

Covid didn’t kill Disney Magic, Covid was FRAMED by Disney to look like it killed its magic ...

This is all on Disney!!

True. But it allowed Disney to take off the mask and show their greed.

 

[cm8]

True. But it allowed Disney to take off the mask and show their greed.

This! I stand in agreement with you 100%. They are doing it because they can. And people will sing from the mountain tops to help them shift the blame.

 

[Erzengel]

I have family in Jacksonville but we sometimes flew into Orlando because it cost less to fly to Orlando, take the Magical Express, spend time in Disney and then rent a car for one day ($35) to drive up. Now we really have to check the prices between flying to Orlando + Train vs. flying to Jacksonville + Drive.

 

[dez1978]

Gotta love when they copy and past their responses and forget to change the names in both places

Dear Desiree,

Thank you for contacting us.

I would first like to thank you and your family for choosing to vacation with us. I truly appreciate the time you took to send in your feedback regarding the announcement of the removal of Disney's Magical Express Service. As Walt Disney World continues to plan for the future, we will be evolving parts of our experience for Disney Resort hotel stays. A one-size-fits-all approach to airport transportation no longer meets the needs of our Guests today. Guests have far more options to choose from compared to when Disney’s Magical Express service was introduced more than fifteen years ago. These options are becoming more popular for vacationers, providing more flexibility and saving time so they can better plan their day at their convenience.

As with every other change we’ve made in our history, we will help Guests navigate through these next steps and will continue to deliver on what’s expected from a Disney experience. Disney's Magical Express Service for Resort arrivals through the end of 2021 will be honored. We truly believe that by listening to our Members, we will know what we’re doing right and—most importantly—what we should continue to improve upon.

Rene, thank you for your honest and constructive feedback.

Best Regards,