Mears shuttle to Univ.

[BrerMan]

Could someone please explain exactly how to arrange transportation from Disney resort to Univ/IOA using Mears shuttle?

I know there's a sticky, but I would like to know in detail.

We are flying into MCO, and will be using ME. We are going to UNIV. /IOA on our 3rd and 4th day.

Would it be better to rent a car from Disney car care?

Need some advice; we arrive in 2 weeks, starting to freak a little.

 

[goofy4tink]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/universal/parkinfo/tickets.html#

Check out this link. It will give you an offer, through Dream Unlimited (board sponsor). I have used this myself, but not absolutely sure if it's still in effect. If you don't already have park passes for US/IoA, this may be a very good deal for you.

If it is no longer in effect, just call Mears, at the number given, and make your shuttle ride reservations. They will ask you what time you want to be picked up...then they will give you a specific time to be out and waiting for the bus or van. Be sure to have the proper cash amount...the drivers don't take credit cards, and not sure if they have a ton of cash to make change. Then, you can either tell them, in advance, what time you want to leave US/IoA, and they will tell you what time to be back at the bus stop area, or you can just call them, from US/IoA about 3 hrs prior to when you'll be ready, and they will give you the pickup time that is closest to your desired time.

It works very well...and is pretty cheap.

 

[BrerMan]

Darn, I already bought my tickets.

Is there any way to pre-purchase shuttle tickets? I read somewhere in the sticky that someone had a voucher, that made it really convenient for them.

 

[goofy4tink]

You might want to call Mears directly. THat way, you can book your ride in advance, pay for it, and then print out a voucher. That's what we did when we did the package deal. I'm not sure if that's possible if just booking a ride in advance. But, call them to see. I would rather you call Mears directly and get the definitive answer from them vs hemming and hawing here...at least Mears should know the 'right' answer for you.
Let us know what they say.

 

[BrerMan]

OK, I took your advice, and called.

The lady I talked to said there are 2 options.

1. You can call for transportation 24 hours in advance, Its $19 RT cash to the driver.

2. You can pre-arrange and pay at the airport and they will print you a voucher.

 

[Sandi]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/universal/parkinfo/tickets.html#

Check out this link. It will give you an offer, through Dream Unlimited (board sponsor). I have used this myself, but not absolutely sure if it's still in effect. If you don't already have park passes for US/IoA, this may be a very good deal for you.

If it is no longer in effect, just call Mears, at the number given, and make your shuttle ride reservations. They will ask you what time you want to be picked up...then they will give you a specific time to be out and waiting for the bus or van. Be sure to have the proper cash amount...the drivers don't take credit cards, and not sure if they have a ton of cash to make change. Then, you can either tell them, in advance, what time you want to leave US/IoA, and they will tell you what time to be back at the bus stop area, or you can just call them, from US/IoA about 3 hrs prior to when you'll be ready, and they will give you the pickup time that is closest to your desired time.

It works very well...and is pretty cheap.

In case anyone is wondering, it is still in effect (or it better be!). I bought the 2 day, 2 transfers option from DU a week or so ago and will be using it when we're there for our Spring Break trip in a couple of weeks. They sent the vouchers via e-mail pretty quickly and I'm confident it will work fine.

 

[aubriee]

OK, I took your advice, and called.

The lady I talked to said there are 2 options.

1. You can call for transportation 24 hours in advance, Its $19 RT cash to the driver.

2. You can pre-arrange and pay at the airport and they will print you a voucher.

We always just stop off at the Mears desk in the airport. It's right before you get to the DME desk. They'll take credit cards and just give you a yellow/gold cardboard voucher. If you wait to pay the driver, you must have cash. The voucher is perforated into three sections and they tell you not to tear them apart, that they must be kept whole. There is no date on them (just the date you purchased them). You still have to call the day before to arrange a pick up time. Just give the voucher to the driver. He'll tear off a 1/3 and give you the other 2/3's. That evening call about an hour before you want to leave Universal and arrange a pick up time. Give that driver what's left of the voucher and he'll tear off his 1/3 and give you the final third. Oh yeah, if something happens and you decide not to go to Universal one of the days, you can still use the voucher on a different trip, even if it has a different WDW resort listed on it. I did that this past Nov. I had an extra voucher left from a trip last year that said POFQ on it. I stopped at the Mears counter in the airport to see if I could even use it and if so, have another one printed with CSR on it. The lady said it wasn't a problem and I could use it to get from CSR to Universal, even though it said I was at POFQ. She also said I saved because I had just paid $18.00 for it last year and the price had just gone up to $19.00. The driver just glanced at it, laughed, and said 'this is an old voucher isn't it, but that's OK, they don't expire'.

 

[goofy4tink]

OK, I took your advice, and called.

The lady I talked to said there are 2 options.

1. You can call for transportation 24 hours in advance, Its $19 RT cash to the driver.

2. You can pre-arrange and pay at the airport and they will print you a voucher.

Thanks for reporting back!!! I had completely forgotten about the Mears counter in MCO. You do walk right past it when headed to the DME area...I would just stop there and pay up front. That way you can just call them the day before and not worry about payment in cash.