Minnie Van Help

[adizzle819]

So I've never used Minnie Van or Lyft (or Uber for that matter), and I was trying to find a thread with general FAQ for Minnie Van, but I didn't see one. I am going to Disney this fall and will be staying at the YC. I realllllly want to finally get a Gideon's cookie, so I was planning on taking a Minnie Van to Disney Springs so that I could get there before opening and get in line. I've found that with the bus stop, it usually doesn't even get to the resort before 10. Is there anything I need to do beforehand other than download a Lyft app? When I'm on property, is there a specific section for Minnie Vans? Does anyone know about how much it costs between YC and Disney Springs? How long out do I need to book one both heading to Disney Springs and back to the resort after lunch, is 30 minutes sufficient? Also, where do they pick up/drop off at Disney Springs? Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just new to this whole Lyft thing and am a bit of a planner. TIA for all of your help and if there's already a thread that has all of this information, please point me in that direction Thanks!

 

[Mle8308]

If you are going on a weekday, there is no rush to be at Gideon's. If you take a resort bus when they start running, you should have plenty of time to get in line, and wait less than 15 minutes. Even on a weekend, if you are on one of the first busses, you should have a fairly short line at Gideon's. You do need to download the Lyft app for the Minnie Vans. You set up your account and when you are ready to go, you open the app and tell it where you want to go. It will give you choices for regular Lyft drivers and also a Minnie Van. It will give you an approximate wait time, too. Then you choose that option on the app. You should be at the pickup location when you request the ride, which for you is the entrance of the YC. I would ask the driver where the pick up location is at DS, he/she should be able to tell you. It's most likely the same place where you are dropped off. Cost will be about $35 one way. I just checked my Lyft app and to be dropped off on the Westside of DS that was the cost and there was a 15 minute wait for the Minnie Van. A regular Lyft vehicle is $9.99, though this can be affected by surge pricing. I'd take a bus, it's not necessary to pay $70 for a $6 cookie. And the bus will get you closer to Gideon's than the Minne Van.

 

[JodyK]

Do you have a situation that requires you to use a Minnie Van (example kid who needs car seat or needing an accessible vehicle)? If not I would just recommend using a regular Lyft and not a Minnie Van, the cost will be much cheaper than taking a Minnie Van especially with the increased cost since the return of Minnie Vans. I'm talking the Minnie Van will probably be 2x-3x the price as quoted above.

Either way using a regular Lyft or a Minnie Van all you need to do is download the app and set up your account payment etc. When you open the app to request the ride it will know where you are based on your location and if there are multiple pickup locations at your resort / park you will be able to select the location you prefer. For resorts most of the time the location pickup location is at the front entrance. The same is true when you enter your destination depending on where you are going there may be multiple drop-offs and you can select which one you prefer. For Disney Springs I believe Minnie Vans drop off where the buses do close to Town Center and for a regular Lyft you would have a choice between the East Side or West Side, Gideon's is closer to the West Side. When you go to request the ride it will give you an approximate wait time for the driver and will also show you the different costs, Minnie Van, Lyft, Lyft XL etc. I would just request the ride 10 minutes before I was ready to go (basically when I was leaving my room to reach the lobby) unless there was some extenuating circumstance (weather or a particularly busy time) since I would say that's the average wait time around Disney. You can request a ride in advance but all that really does is tell the app request a ride 10 minutes before I said I would be ready it doesn't like actually schedule a driver like a car service would.

Since you are a planner you can download the app now and play around with it to see how all this works yourself. The app will default to have the pickup location be where you are but you can change the pickup location and select YC and put DS as your destination to replicate what it will look like when you are there including prices. When I was there recently it was around $15 to go from AKL to Disney Springs so I imagine YC would be less expensive.

 

[adizzle819]

If you are going on a weekday, there is no rush to be at Gideon's. If you take a resort bus when they start running, you should have plenty of time to get in line, and wait less than 15 minutes. Even on a weekend, if you are on one of the first busses, you should have a fairly short line at Gideon's. You do need to download the Lyft app for the Minnie Vans. You set up your account and when you are ready to go, you open the app and tell it where you want to go. It will give you choices for regular Lyft drivers and also a Minnie Van. It will give you an approximate wait time, too. Then you choose that option on the app. You should be at the pickup location when you request the ride, which for you is the entrance of the YC. I would ask the driver where the pick up location is at DS, he/she should be able to tell you. It's most likely the same place where you are dropped off. Cost will be about $35 one way. I just checked my Lyft app and to be dropped off on the Westside of DS that was the cost and there was a 15 minute wait for the Minnie Van. A regular Lyft vehicle is $9.99, though this can be affected by surge pricing. I'd take a bus, it's not necessary to pay $70 for a $6 cookie. And the bus will get you closer to Gideon's than the Minne Van.

Thanks so much for the advice We are going on a weekday, so I might just hope for the best. I was planning on doing some shopping as well, but you're right $70 does seem a bit extreme for a short line for a cookie

 

[adizzle819]

Do you have a situation that requires you to use a Minnie Van (example kid who needs car seat or needing an accessible vehicle)? If not I would just recommend using a regular Lyft and not a Minnie Van, the cost will be much cheaper than taking a Minnie Van especially with the increased cost since the return of Minnie Vans. I'm talking the Minnie Van will probably be 2x-3x the price as quoted above.

Either way using a regular Lyft or a Minnie Van all you need to do is download the app and set up your account payment etc. When you open the app to request the ride it will know where you are based on your location and if there are multiple pickup locations at your resort / park you will be able to select the location you prefer. For resorts most of the time the location pickup location is at the front entrance. The same is true when you enter your destination depending on where you are going there may be multiple drop-offs and you can select which one you prefer. For Disney Springs I believe Minnie Vans drop off where the buses do close to Town Center and for a regular Lyft you would have a choice between the East Side or West Side, Gideon's is closer to the West Side. When you go to request the ride it will give you an approximate wait time for the driver and will also show you the different costs, Minnie Van, Lyft, Lyft XL etc. I would just request the ride 10 minutes before I was ready to go (basically when I was leaving my room to reach the lobby) unless there was some extenuating circumstance (weather or a particularly busy time) since I would say that's the average wait time around Disney. You can request a ride in advance but all that really does is tell the app request a ride 10 minutes before I said I would be ready it doesn't like actually schedule a driver like a car service would.

Since you are a planner you can download the app now and play around with it to see how all this works yourself. The app will default to have the pickup location be where you are but you can change the pickup location and select YC and put DS as your destination to replicate what it will look like when you are there including prices. When I was there recently it was around $15 to go from AKL to Disney Springs so I imagine YC would be less expensive.

Thanks so much for the info! No, we don't have any special requirements, it's just my husband and I so I will definitely look into regular Lyft also and download the app and start playing around with it

 

[Mle8308]

Do you have a situation that requires you to use a Minnie Van (example kid who needs car seat or needing an accessible vehicle)? If not I would just recommend using a regular Lyft and not a Minnie Van, the cost will be much cheaper than taking a Minnie Van especially with the increased cost since the return of Minnie Vans. I'm talking the Minnie Van will probably be 2x-3x the price as quoted above.

Either way using a regular Lyft or a Minnie Van all you need to do is download the app and set up your account payment etc. When you open the app to request the ride it will know where you are based on your location and if there are multiple pickup locations at your resort / park you will be able to select the location you prefer. For resorts most of the time the location pickup location is at the front entrance. The same is true when you enter your destination depending on where you are going there may be multiple drop-offs and you can select which one you prefer. For Disney Springs I believe Minnie Vans drop off where the buses do close to Town Center and for a regular Lyft you would have a choice between the East Side or West Side, Gideon's is closer to the West Side. When you go to request the ride it will give you an approximate wait time for the driver and will also show you the different costs, Minnie Van, Lyft, Lyft XL etc. I would just request the ride 10 minutes before I was ready to go (basically when I was leaving my room to reach the lobby) unless there was some extenuating circumstance (weather or a particularly busy time) since I would say that's the average wait time around Disney. You can request a ride in advance but all that really does is tell the app request a ride 10 minutes before I said I would be ready it doesn't like actually schedule a driver like a car service would.

Since you are a planner you can download the app now and play around with it to see how all this works yourself. The app will default to have the pickup location be where you are but you can change the pickup location and select YC and put DS as your destination to replicate what it will look like when you are there including prices. When I was there recently it was around $15 to go from AKL to Disney Springs so I imagine YC would be less expensive.

Thanks so much for the advice We are going on a weekday, so I might just hope for the best. I was planning on doing some shopping as well, but you're right $70 does seem a bit extreme for a short line for a cookie

They are darn good cookies!

 

[Narcoossee11]

Down load the lyft app now. Start playing with system for the next weeks, Start your training today.
:
When I 'play' i punch in wdw animal kingdom to Disney springs.
All options will
show up , with the cost.

 

[adizzle819]

They are darn good cookies!

hahahah I certainly hope I get to try them finally

 

[adizzle819]

Down load the lyft app now. Start playing with system for the next weeks, Start your training today.
:
When I 'play' i punch in wdw animal kingdom to Disney springs.
All options will
show up , with the cost.

Thanks, I'm definitely downloading it the app today so I can play around

 

[JodyK]

You could also always Lyft to Disney Springs and take the bus back to cut down on cost.

I found the Disney app to also have a pretty good estimate on when the buses would be arriving at the resorts a few weeks ago so you could always check the app to see when a bus will be arriving at YC and then decide to Lyft over if it doesn't line up with your schedule.

 

[JodyK]

Found this list of ride share pickup locations that may be helpful also

https://touringplans.com/blog/where...f-locations-at-walt-disney-world-theme-parks/

 

[adizzle819]

Found this list of ride share pickup locations that may be helpful also

https://touringplans.com/blog/where...f-locations-at-walt-disney-world-theme-parks/

Ooo thanks! This is super helpful

 

[_19disnA]

We used Lyft/MinnieVan service a couple of years ago since we were meeting others for dinner on the other side of the Disney property. BE CAREFUL if you go clicking around on the Lyft app. First time I was also clicking around to see how it worked and you can accidently make a reservation if you go too far through the various reservation screens. When making other online purchases, it was always obvious when you were actually making a purchase............not true with the Lyft app. Once you make a reservation you can't easily cancel and/or there is some kind of no-show fee. Fortunately, I was able to call someone at Lyft who was helpful in deleting my 'practice' reservation.

We used the available/free Disney transportation for all of our other trips and that worked out fine as well.

 

[adizzle819]

We used Lyft/MinnieVan service a couple of years ago since we were meeting others for dinner on the other side of the Disney property. BE CAREFUL if you go clicking around on the Lyft app. First time I was also clicking around to see how it worked and you can accidently make a reservation if you go too far through the various reservation screens. When making other online purchases, it was always obvious when you were actually making a purchase............not true with the Lyft app. Once you make a reservation you can't easily cancel and/or there is some kind of no-show fee. Fortunately, I was able to call someone at Lyft who was helpful in deleting my 'practice' reservation.

We used the available/free Disney transportation for all of our other trips and that worked out fine as well.

Thanks for the heads up

 

[Mrs.AMC]

I'll admit we enjoy a fun ride in a Minnie Van but we save that splurge for going to the Magic Kingdom. That's the only time a Minnie Van really pays for itself. Getting dropped off at the bus depot is a huge bonus.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Thanks so much for the advice We are going on a weekday, so I might just hope for the best. I was planning on doing some shopping as well, but you're right $70 does seem a bit extreme for a short line for a cookie

We were there right around July 4 and there was only a 10 min wait for the cookies. The craze for them is pretty much dropped to nothing. Besides, there is a 2nd store in Orlando anyway. Which never has a wait. Or hint, have Crumbl cookies at home? While not exactly the same, the are inspired by each other. Depending on the flavor

 

[adizzle819]

We were there right around July 4 and there was only a 10 min wait for the cookies. The craze for them is pretty much dropped to nothing. Besides, there is a 2nd store in Orlando anyway. Which never has a wait. Or hint, have Crumbl cookies at home? While not exactly the same, the are inspired by each other. Depending on the flavor

That's great news because when I was there in January it was freezing cold and rainy and the wait was still over an hour lol