MEARS = a complete waste of $80....what a poor orginization

[Got Quattro?]

we bought our plane tix and mears tix as a package through orbitz. I wanted to cancel but coulndt. we knew some other people who wouyld be down and we could share a car. but, since no cancelations with orbitz, we decides to use them and meet our parents later in the day at the parks.

got our bags, went to check in at mears and there was a small line..no big deal...got through it in 5 minutes...was then told to check in at the podium outside....this was at 10:00am on a sat.

%$@#^&@$*& Holy %$*%!!

there had to be 500 people crammed on that little sidewalk. I went to check in, and was simply told listen for #50 and shooed away.

After about 10 mins....a mears associate stood on a chair and said...if you are goin t o any of these places (contemp, poly, GF) go here......CBR go here ect ect....the busses would be along in 30 mins.....

someone asked about AKL which is where we were going, and the lady said at least an hour.

I got out my cell phone, called opur freinds and the turned around, went back to the airport to pick us up. we crammed in their car.

I gave mears a shot at turning around the bad press they get on this board and they failed misserably.

 

[Chicago526]

Yikes! At least you had options, I feel so bad for those you left behind on the sidewalk!

This is why BF and I are taking a town car service. It costs a little more but is SOOO worth it!

I hope the rest of your trip went better!

 

[scootert]

We stopped using Mears after a trip where we were put in a van that went to the opposite side of the city. The other couple had been waiting for an hour so they had to drop them off first -- why they didn't just take them is beyond me.

Our trip to the Dolphin took about 2 hours... on the return trip, Mears was late and we barely made our flight.... never, ever again

 

[Magic2000]

A few years ago, when we flew down to Disney, I had thought about using Mears, but decided to book a towncar! I am so glad that I did!!!

On the flight down, we boarded right behind a group of family with several small children. My little girl talked with one of the little girls on the plane. Anyway, after we got landed, we were met by our towncar driver and went off to the All Star Movies! We waited a little while in line to check in, looked around in the gift shop, checked our luggage with guest services, and had to get our luggage back for jackets, etc.

As we were going to catch the bus to Epcot, the Mears bus pulled up, and the family group that had been on our plane was just arriving at All Star Movies!!! We had been at the hotel for a while now!

There was 4 in our group, so it was actually cheaper to use the Towncar anyway. But I loved the direct service you get with a towncar!!!

 

[crow11ad]

Originally posted by Chicago526
Yikes! At least you had options, I feel so bad for those you left behind on the sidewalk!

This is why BF and I are taking a town car service. It costs a little more but is SOOO worth it!

I hope the rest of your trip went better!

I hear you on what you all are saying. Back last September (not this past one) when we decided to go to Disney World for our honeymoon this past April, we did book mears. Well we found these boards and after reading what a terrible job they did we called and had to pay a cancellation fee, but it was worth it. We booked quicksilver tours (town car) and had the owner of the company pick us up him self. That is class. We would use him this time, but we are renting a car. $79.00 for the entire week for unlimited milage is a heck of a deal. If we were not going to rent a car, we would use quicksilver again.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We used Mears once, on our first family trip. NEVER AGAIN! It was like a meat market. DH said he would walk from the airport before ever using them again. We now use Tiffany and have never had a problem.

 

[lap3]

I'm convinced that after reading everyone's experience with them as well as Mousesavers' recommendations that Mears Shuttle is definitely one to avoid. However, Mousesavers did recommend Happy Limo. Did anyone have a good experience with them?

 

[DNBois]

DH and I used them last May and were very pleased; we took the train down and they picked us up at the Amtrak station. Very personable driver and we were very impressed with the service.

We are renting a car when we arrive in Jan. for a few days (as we are going to US/IOA for a day) but are booking them to pick us up at POR to go to MCO.

 

[Scrappymags]

My Mears experience was utterly positive. The bus wasn't crowded, right on time. I was on a bus in about 10 minutes and on my way. It was a slow time of course. My last day at Disney was unfortunately 9/11/01, and the Mears people were FANTASTIC. I called them and they had a bus pick me up early to take me to the airport (even though the airport was closed I had to get there to take a shuttle to get a rental car for the rest of my trip). They were very personable and very caring and concerned on that awful morning. Same with Alamo. I've said on here before that I will continue to sing their praises for how they performed on that day. I'm sorry you had such an awful experience.

 

[Stitchfan]

To share my wonderful Mears Experience: The people that worked there at the airport were rude, the area around the busses was, as previously described, like a meat market and also highly unorganized and the bus driver was rude as well. That was coming from the airport.

Going back to the airport we did have a very nice bus driver, however, the belt on the bus broke and we had to pull off to the side on the highway where everyone stood in the median. Several EMPTY Mears busses and vans passed without even stopping to see what was wrong and it took forever for them to send another bus.

 

[PrinceGoofy]

We used Mears once and that was enough. Then we switched to Happy Limo. We've used them the last two trips - September '03 and August '04. Great service both times.

This August I gave them a heads up that we would have quite a bit of luggage and we would need a double stroller for our DD's - 5 and 4. They rent strollers for $25 a week.

We had booked the Town Car but they showed up in a spotless, black Ford Excursion. Needless to say, we had plenty of room.

We had a grocery stop and you really couldn't ask for a more courteous driver. A really nice guy. We had him arriving and departing. He talked to the girls and was just a normal seeming guy.

However, if you have ever had the misfortune, or bad luck, to use Mears, you know you are just one more of the herd of cattle that they are moving about.

The thing is, they are a mass transit operation. That's what they do. Move as many people, as efficiently as they can, to as many places as possible, as quick as they can.

They really aren't in the personalized service business.

I don't want my trip to start and end that way.

When I go to Disney, I'm taking my wife and daughters - my family. We want to have as much fun as we can.

Avoiding Mears is a good start.

 

[dzneelvr]

lap3: we did a Happy Limo stretch limo each way to ASm this summer and positively loved the experience. will do it again next trip. Also did the MEARS experience on our first trip to WDW many years ago. NEVER AGAIN. I only wished I'd had the benefit of these boards that time--it's a shame how they market themselves as "disney transportation", but are so far below the kind of quality that true Disney transportation provides. I feel so sorry for the first timers who are lulled into thinking MEARS is where it all starts.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

Mears only makes sense if you are traveling solo, or with just one other person. I actually had a pretty good experience with them a few weeks ago - a solo trip - and the only fault I had with them was that they pick-up time for returning to the airport is too long - I was there two hours early for a domestic flight, and I spent an hour and forty minutes sitting around the airport lounge when I could have gotten an extra hour at the parks. If you have more than two people, financially towncars are the better option - it's actually cheaper than three or more Mears tickets.

N.E.D.

 

[scotthart]

We did Mears as well on our first trip, and although there was nothing terrible about their service, the trip took entirely to long both ways. We are much happier using Tiffany Town Car, we have used them 10 or 12 times since then and have zero complaints.

Hey look finally 100 posts!

 

[lap3]

Originally posted by dzneelvr
lap3: we did a Happy Limo stretch limo each way to ASm this summer and positively loved the experience. will do it again next trip. Also did the MEARS experience on our first trip to WDW many years ago. NEVER AGAIN. I only wished I'd had the benefit of these boards that time--it's a shame how they market themselves as "disney transportation", but are so far below the kind of quality that true Disney transportation provides. I feel so sorry for the first timers who are lulled into thinking MEARS is where it all starts.

To be honest, I'm surprised to read so many negative experiences with Mears. I guess, just like PrinceGoofy mentioned, they are in the business of mass transit. So, they probably won't be very personable nor can you expect them to be on time. There were some very good points made here. Since this will be our first trip to WDW, we don't want to have a bad start from the get-go. It looks like Happy Limo it is!...

 

[airplane]

I used Mears at least 10 times when I was an airline employee b/c I recieved 50% off a RT ticket. I never had a problem. I never traveled w/ kids and my flights were always early morning arrivals so maybe those 2 factors helped.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I generally use Mears, since I travel solo a lot, and $26 roundtrip instead of $80 for a towncar makes a BIG difference! Generally I've had to wait while the bus/van stops at another resort first, but I'd rather have the extra travel time, and use the $50 saved for something fun! Towncars are great if you're with people to split the price with, though!