Magical Express to end in 2022

[Helvetica]

This seems like a terrible idea, but I suspect they’ll still have a paid shuttle option like at Disneyland.

On the other hand, I’ve learned with all of this that I actually kind of like driving to Disney World. I don’t have to worry about catching a plane or a bus and I can see a lot more stuff along the way. I’m thinking about going to Carrowinds and Busch Gardens sometime this year or next. Last year I checked out Dollywood on my way to Disney.

If DVC starts charging me for parking, I’m sure there will be a major owner’s revolt.

 

[Eric Smith]

This seems like a terrible idea, but I suspect they’ll still have a paid shuttle option like at Disneyland.

On the other hand, I’ve learned with all of this that I actually kind of like driving to Disney World. I don’t have to worry about catching a plane or a bus and I can see a lot more stuff along the way. I’m thinking about going to Carrowinds and Busch Gardens sometime this year or next. Last year I checked out Dollywood on my way to Disney.

If DVC starts charging me for parking, I’m sure there will be a major owner’s revolt.

If you're a DVC owner, they can't charge you for parking. It's in your contract.

 

[eleven24]

That was just the sound of the Disney Bubble bursting. Universal Studios and local restaurants in the area have to love this news.

 

[Wiltony]

If you're a DVC owner, they can't charge you for parking. It's in your contract.

I've seen multiple people mention this, and while I believe it, I still feel like Disney is working feverishly to try to get around it somehow. Like, maybe not parking fees, but a "vehicle space reservation" fee or "site entrance fee" or "vehicle security" fee, where we're not paying for parking, but for the the right to bring our car on property at all, and the increased security needed to watch our car! Yeah, that's it! It's not a parking fee!

 

[SaintsManiac]

That was just the sound of the Disney Bubble bursting. Universal Studios and local restaurants in the area have to love this news.

Maybe, but Uni is a different experience in many ways. I really try not to compare the 2.

I looked at including a day at Uni for our Thanksgiving week and at $525 a night plus parking at Hard Rock it’s not much better than Beach Club. Express Pass is the only thing tipping it.

 

[andyman8]

This seems like a terrible idea, but I suspect they’ll still have a paid shuttle option like at Disneyland.

They actually ended that service at the start of last year.

Like I said, I think Mears (or maybe another company if Mears finds itself in really bad shape down the road) will step in and at least try to fill the space vacated by DME with some sort a paid, regular motor coach transportation to WDW resorts (likely on a schedule).

At this point, Mears appears to be referring their taxi and shared van services in that statement they released today but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to launch something come next year.

And as I said in a previous post, I wouldn’t be surprised to even see if offered as an add on to WDW packages. The arrangement would be more like what many major cruise companies (not so much DCL) offer as a transportation add-on to your cruise.

 

[danissmart]

Sad days. Actions do have consequences though. This is just one of many cuts you’ll be seeing over the next 2-3 years.

 

[Eric Smith]

I've seen multiple people mention this, and while I believe it, I still feel like Disney is working feverishly to try to get around it somehow. Like, maybe not parking fees, but a "vehicle space reservation" fee or "site entrance fee" or "vehicle security" fee, where we're not paying for parking, but for the the right to bring our car on property at all, and the increased security needed to watch our car! Yeah, that's it! It's not a parking fee!

Except they’re not. They’re not going to make significant money charging DVC owners even if they could do so. This isn’t some grand parking conspiracy.

 

[Mrs. W]

This is very disappointing, and I'll admit that I've been a BIT of a Disney apologist on some of their cost-cutting/revenue-seeking "ideas" (anyone remember the "VIP tents" in Tomorrowland fiasco? )

I'm annoyed, and we all have a right to be upset. But we can keep things in perspective by remembering a few things:
1. Disney HAS shown us that they are willing to back away from bad ideas if they negatively affect guest satisfaction (and bookings).
2. Depending on the vaccine rollout, the world could look a whole lot different in 6-12 months. Economists are predicting a vacation resort boom within 3 months of achieving near-herd immunity status in the US. Things seem bleak now, but it WILL get better. And when it does, Disney will be popular and in the money again.
3. There's a possibility that this is a power move on Disney or Mears' part, in an effort to get a better contract negotiation. One side thinks they've got the upper hand, so they start to play hardball. In the world of large corporations, this happens fairly often.
4. Mears is ONE transportation company among many. Orlando is one of the busiest airports in the world. If Disney and Mears are parting ways, there's an opportunity for another company to step in and provide a better experience.

I REALLY don't see Disney eliminating this service without an alternative in place.

I like your optimism. That’s not a sarcastic remark either.

I don’t love this decision by Disney, but I understand it. Frankly, we only stayed at Disney owned resorts for the Magical Express perk. We actually prefer the on site Marriott resorts because we can use our points and we love the location. The resort amenities don’t hurt, either. Our 8 day stay at the Dolphin over Thanksgiving 2019 was free with our points. We’ll likely stay at the Swan or Dolphin going forward, once the DME perk goes away.

 

[helloconnie]

This is such a bad business decision. Sure, the ME is an expense for Disney, but it puts butts in seats.

What happened to the Disney business plan of being Guest Centric? Give the guests what they want, put them first, and they will be loyal. Now they are literally taking everything away and increasing the costs to come. That is not Guest Centric.

I am a DVC Member and an obsessive Disney fan. We live in Colorado and my kids look at the ME as the official start of our vacation. They love watching the videos on the bus. And I love not driving! My husband is not a fan of theme parks and is always trying to get me to do other things in the Orlando area. I always push back because of the hassle of renting a car. If we need to pay for transportation I can guarantee you that we will rent a car and half of our trip will now be spent offsite. We have a 9-night tripped planned at the end of May. So that would mean 4 days at Disney and 4 days offsite. Disney will loose revenue on: tickets, dining/snacks, alcohol and all the impulse purchases we make. And we tend to spend an insane amount of money on our Disney trips.

As a previous post said, the cost/benefit of a Disney World trip is not there anymore. Once my husband hears this news, he will pressure me to sell our DVC Membership - again. With the costs of owning DVC always increasing to its max limit, its just not worth it anymore. I think our days of Disney Trips every other year are done. And I am sad to say, I think we will seriously consider selling our DVC Membership. Time to start spending our money on seeing the world, like a previous poster said.

 

[davper]

Don't they already charge non-DVC members who rent points?

Nope

 

[wide awake]

We have been away from WDW for awhile, but in the past few months I've started planning another trip. Really annoyed by this change. I absolutely LOATHE driving, and loved the idea of being "on vacation" from the moment of stepping onto the airplane. Hoping they back away from this.

 

[BestFromAbove]

I was actually pretty close to get a direct DVC contract. This is awful and it just shows the company has no respect for their customers, just shareholders.

 

[AurumPunzel]

I really don't think Brightline is what they have in mind as a replacement. It's planned for 2023 right now, but the company has never hit a schedule and the project to Disney Springs doesn't have government approvals. It would also be cumbersome because you'd have to get from the terminal to the train, wait for the train, ride to Disney Springs and then catch a bus to a resort. If they added baggage handling back in to this scenario, you could head straight from Disney Springs to the parks but that's still a pretty complicated way to get there. It would be much easier just to take a car or bus from the airport to the resort.

This is only going to add to the cost and aggro. As if Disney was already being stingy, the benefits of staying on-site bar distance to the parks are starting to fade away with this announcement.

 

[Wiltony]

This is such a bad business decision. Sure, the ME is an expense for Disney, but it put butts in seats.

What happened to the Disney business plan of being Guest Centric? Give the guests what they want, put them first, and they will be loyal. Now they are literally taking everything away and increasing the costs to come. That is not Guest Centric.

I am a DVC Member and an obsessive Disney fan. We live in Colorado and my kids look at the ME as the official start of our vacation. They love watching the videos on the bus. And I love not driving! My husband is not a fan of theme parks and is always trying to get me to do other things in the Orlando area. I always push back because of the hassle of renting a car. If we need to pay for transportation I can guarantee you that we will rent a car and half of our trip will now be spent offsite. We have a 9-night tripped planned at the end of May. So that would mean 4 days at Disney and 4 days offsite. Disney will loose revenue on: tickets, dining/snacks, alcohol and all the impulse purchases we make. And we are one of those families that spends an insane amount of money on our Disney trips.

As a previous post said, the cost/benefit of a Disney World trip is not there anymore. Once my husband hears this news, he will pressure me to sell our DVC Membership - again. With the costs of owning DVC always increasing to its max limit, its just not worth it anymore. I think our days of Disney Trips every other year are done. And I am sad to say, I think we seriously consider selling our DVC Membership. Time to start spending our money on seeing the world, like a previous poster said.

Agree, this is very similar to the message I just sent them. This will indirectly hit them in the pocketbook because now that I'm renting a car, I'm going to take advantage of it and go offsite for dining, shopping, and Universal. My family has been asking to go to Universal for quite a while but it wasn't logistically convenient due to transportation issues. Looks like Disney has forced a situation where that is resolved, causing me to spend a lot less on property and more elsewhere. Dumb move on their part.

P.S. -- It's funny, we're also in Colorado and going at the end of May. See you on the plane (and our final bus ride on DME!)

 

[ChipnDale79]

You know, Disney does know what they're doing. I'm one of the skeptics around here that disney makes mad, and i'll post something like, "they're gonna lose people because of this".

well guess what, they never do, or they just replace them with new customers.

But i know that we're cutting back, and i know that disney doesnt care one bit that we are. We bought into the magic, we thought they valued us, we were fooled. Every single time the wife and i bring up the idea of buying DVC, Disney does something like this, and we say "nope, nevermind".

 

[DGsAtBLT]

You know, Disney does know what they're doing. I'm one of the skeptics around here that disney makes mad, and i'll post something like, "they're gonna lose people because of this".

well guess what, they never do, or they just replace them with new customers.

But i know that we're cutting back, and i know that disney doesnt care one bit that we are. We bought into the magic, we thought they valued us, we were fooled. Every single time the wife and i bring up the idea of buying DVC, Disney does something like this, and we say "nope, nevermind".

The parking charges had a lot of people saying the same thing. They’re pretty much accepted as the way things are now. I agree, they know what they’re doing despite how much it pisses a lot of us off and overall will be fine.

 

[SaintsManiac]

The parking charges had a lot of people saying the same thing. They’re pretty much accepted as the way things are now. I agree, they know what they’re doing despite how much it pisses a lot of us off and overall will be fine.

I’m very salty about the parking charges, but if we stay offsite we have to pay at the parks anyway. Either way I’m paying. Still cheaper than flying Thanksgiving week.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

You know, Disney does know what they're doing. I'm one of the skeptics around here that disney makes mad, and i'll post something like, "they're gonna lose people because of this".

well guess what, they never do, or they just replace them with new customers.

But i know that we're cutting back, and i know that disney doesnt care one bit that we are. We bought into the magic, we thought they valued us, we were fooled. Every single time the wife and i bring up the idea of buying DVC, Disney does something like this, and we say "nope, nevermind".

I do agree Disney knows what they are doing - they didn't make this decision and not know that people would be upset by it

- But they figures/assumed that people will get over it
- They do have something else coming to replace it and people will be excited about that (even if there is a cost)
- There are always new guests who don't know what they are missing
- They are ok with fewer people coming as long as those people spend more $ per person on average

 

[andyman8]

The parking charges had a lot of people saying the same thing. They’re pretty much accepted as the way things are now. I agree, they know what they’re doing despite how much it pisses a lot of us off and overall will be fine.

I think the consternation on here would be a degree or two less if people knew there was at least some sort of Disney-sanctioned paid alternative on the way. It’s not just an added cost; it’s an added labor of finding alternative transposition, which can be challenging for those unfamiliar with non-Disney Central FL (a category a lot fo DME diehards of course fall into).

I’m often driving to WDW so I don’t often use DME but I do use it from time to time and I’ve always appreciated the convenience. Of all things, I felt pretty good about it being safe so, more than anything, this has me asking around about what could be next. Nothing seems to be off the table, which gives you a peak into the company’s financial picture right now.