Mears Connect (When)?

[nicole88s]

Has anyone seen what their cancellation policy is? Will they give you a refund? I emailed them but have not heard anything back.

My confirmation email states this:

Cancellation Policy: No charge if cancelled/changed more than 24 hours prior to scheduled pick up time. 100% charge if
cancelled/changed less than 24 hours prior to pick up time.

Refund Policy: Refunds will be processed 24-48 hours after cancellation

 

[boomersmom]

Is anyone else having trouble with the reservation form? There are no drop down options for airlines, but you need to choose one before you can proceed.

 

[nicole88s]

Is anyone else having trouble with the reservation form? There are no drop down options for airlines, but you need to choose one before you can proceed.

If you start typing it will fill it in. It's not a drop down. Go slowly with the letters and it works.

 

[seashoreCM]

Questions to think about, Mears probably has not fleshed out the details yet.

1. How do I go about booking a trip back to the airport to arrive at the airport around a time I choose? (Assuming no unforeseen traffic problems. I will select a time to make reasonable allowance for variations of that kind.)

2. Do I receive a bus assignment early enough so I can get a change if I do not like the pickup time (like cutting it coo close) and not have to pay the cancellation penalty? (In a few instances Magical Express confirmations, delivered morning of the day before the day you will check out, are less than 24 hours before departure.)

 

[kanerf]

I have made a reservation for my trip next May and they tell you in the reservation what the pickup times are.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I was just looking at the website for it and they don't have one of Canada's two major airlines listed, they have Air Canada but not WestJet. Did they actually look at a list of airlines that fly into Orlando or did they only pick some of them.

 

[boomersmom]

If you start typing it will fill it in. It's not a drop down. Go slowly with the letters and it works.

Thank you!

 

[wisblue]

I have made a reservation for my trip next May and they tell you in the reservation what the pickup times are.

Do you see anything that would allow you to request an earlier pickup time?

 

[kanerf]

No, it selected the pickup time for me. It was about 3 hours before my flight, so no issues there.

 

[FCDub]

Do you see anything that would allow you to request an earlier pickup time?

I'm sure you can contact them after making a reservation and ask for an earlier time.

 

[TinkBink]

Does anyone know if this service provides car seats like the Minnie vans did or would we have to provide our own?

 

[joelkfla]

Does anyone know if this service provides car seats like the Minnie vans did or would we have to provide our own?

I expect the standard service will be using a combination of the same buses as DME & the Mears Shuttle vans, neither of which require car seats. The premium service might be using town cars, which would require car seats; if you want to use that, you should probably contact Mears to see if you can reserve one.

 

[seashoreCM]

I am thinking that, despite having run shuttles in Orlando for decades, Mears is going to have learning curves and growing pains and fine tuning to do for Mears Connect.

At least 2 reasons. The existence of Uber and Lyft will change the demographic of folks using shared shuttles, like cutting down on the number of large families and requiring more stops to fill a bus. There is more traffic overall compared with 10, 20 years ago.

I would suggest that for at least the first half of 2022, you make your return to the airport for 4 hours before your flight, maybe 3-1/2 hours if you feel you are faster than average folks in maneuvering through the airport. Otherwise I think you will be anxious during your ride.

I would even question the premium (express) offering. It proposes a resort pickup 2 hours before your flight. You need to be at the airport 2 hours before your flight, otherwise there is a good chance the first few zones will be boarding when you get to the gate, and running for your plane is a distinct possiblilty

As I have suggested in the past, if your last activity is a meal, plan on doing that at the airport,which will help fill the time you might be waiting there.

 

[EACarlson]

I am thinking that, despite having run shuttles in Orlando for decades, Mears is going to have learning curves and growing pains and fine tuning to do for Mears Connect.

At least 2 reasons. The existence of Uber and Lyft will change the demographic of folks using shared shuttles, like cutting down on the number of large families and requiring more stops to fill a bus. There is more traffic overall compared with 10, 20 years ago.

I would suggest that for at least the first half of 2022, you make your return to the airport for 4 hours before your flight, maybe 3-1/2 hours if you feel you are faster than average folks in maneuvering through the airport. Otherwise I think you will be anxious during your ride.

I would even question the premium (express) offering. It proposes a resort pickup 2 hours before your flight. You need to be at the airport 2 hours before your flight, otherwise there is a good chance the first few zones will be boarding when you get to the gate, and running for your plane is a distinct possiblilty

Since Mears has been running ME for the last decade I'm sure they're well aware of how many stops it's going to take to fill a bus and what kind of timing needs to be done.
How early you need to be at MCO is completely dependent on the traveler and the known risk. I can make it from the rental car return, check my bags, get through security and to the gates in 40 minutes. No reason I need to be at the airport 3 hours early, or even two hours early. Now a family of 4 with two car seats, no pre-check and has never been to MCO before 3 hours might be right.

 

[joelkfla]

Their dropdown list of hotels does not inspire confidence. They show "FORT WILDERNESS CAMPGROUNDS" & "FORT WILDERNESS LODGE". Is that supposed to be Wilderness Lodge? There is no Fort WIlderness Lodge. That's a common source of confusion among Guests, but Mears should know better.

Then they have "Animal Kingdom - Jambo House" & just plain "Kidani Village". Either precede both by "Animal Kingdom Lodge", not just "Animal Kingdom", or don't precede them by anything. Inconsistency breeds confusion. Some people looking for Kidani might see the Jambo entry, and not seeing Kidani right below assume that it's not an option.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Their dropdown list of hotels does not inspire confidence. They show "FORT WILDERNESS CAMPGROUNDS" & "FORT WILDERNESS LODGE". Is that supposed to be Wilderness Lodge? There is no Fort WIlderness Lodge. That's a common source of confusion among Guests, but Mears should know better.

Then they have "Animal Kingdom - Jambo House" & just plain "Kidani Village". Either precede both by "Animal Kingdom Lodge", not just "Animal Kingdom", or don't precede them by anything. Inconsistency breeds confusion. Some people looking for Kidani might see the Jambo entry, and not seeing Kidani right below assume that it's not an option.

That's not good. There are probably 10,000 people on this forum alone who could put together an accurate list for them in less than 5 minutes! It's really not that tough to be clear and accurate.

 

[tnicks]

How does this compare to simply using lyft or uber?

 

[bumbershoot]

Meargical Express

Now that's funny!

They say the express service picks you up two hours before your flight.

Holy moly that is not even close to being enough time. And I have precheck.

 

[DebbieB]

Now that's funny!

Holy moly that is not even close to being enough time. And I have precheck.

We’ve been using a car service for trips since the reopening and 2 hours has been fine. You go straight to the curb.

 

[SteveH]

We’ve been using a car service for trips since the reopening and 2 hours has been fine. You go straight to the curb.

One issue between the two is getting your luggage, car service takes a minute or two. With a bus it could take a lot longer depending on how many people are on the bus. Without the Resort Airline Check-In Service the baggage load/unload with 1 driver could be a real choke point. I am wondering if Mears, Disney and BAGS inc. might be working to bring the Resort Airline Check-In Service back, of course that would be Disney style... with a charge.