Shuttle to Universal Studios

[Maiky]

Planning a trip to WDW. Will be staying at Boardwalk Inn and we want to go one day to Universal Studios. Has anyone done the Mears shuttle before? Is it reliable? Does it take too long? Any advice....? I dont like to drive while on vacation. Thank you for your help.

 

[nkereina]

Its reliable, but the downsides are that it makes multiple stops and you have to schedule a pick-up time in advance. IMO, its much more convenient to go out to the front of the Boardwalk and get in one of the waiting cabs. It will be *around* the same price (difference is negligible) and you can go on your own time. Took us 15 minutes from CBR and cost $25 including tip. If you're familiar with Uber, that would be even cheaper.

 

[goofy4tink]

I use the Mears shuttle unless I have a car...and that's not very often. It's about $20 pp, r/t. A cab is going to be more than that. The cabs run about the same as the towncar services.....maybe a bit less but not by much. Those are running much higher than $25 each way. Many years ago we paid $80 r/t for a car service. So, I'm going to assume that a cab is going to be closer to $40 each way now.
The shuttle is fine.....we like to book it for as early as possible...then we're there for park opening. The bus usually makes one or two other stops along the way.
Now...if you have more than two people going, it might make sense to book a car service to get there and then grab a cab back when you are ready to go.

 

[nkereina]

I use the Mears shuttle unless I have a car...and that's not very often. It's about $20 pp, r/t. A cab is going to be more than that. The cabs run about the same as the towncar services.....maybe a bit less but not by much. Those are running much higher than $25 each way. Many years ago we paid $80 r/t for a car service. So, I'm going to assume that a cab is going to be closer to $40 each way now.
The shuttle is fine.....we like to book it for as early as possible...then we're there for park opening. The bus usually makes one or two other stops along the way.
Now...if you have more than two people going, it might make sense to book a car service to get there and then grab a cab back when you are ready to go.

Not sure how much distance is between CBR and BWV that would add to the fare, but as I mentioned above, the cab fare from CBR to Universal was $25 including tip in November 2014. The drive took all of 15 minutes max, so $40 or $80 sounds like highway robbery. It was a very quick ride. And even if it is $40, compared to Mears at $20pp, you break even with two people or come out ahead with more than two people, and avoid the additional stops and scheduled times with a cab.

 

[jimandami]

Not sure how much distance is between CBR and BWV that would add to the fare, but as I mentioned above, the cab fare from CBR to Universal was $25 including tip in November 2014. The drive took all of 15 minutes max, so $40 or $80 sounds like highway robbery. It was a very quick ride. And even if it is $40, compared to Mears at $20pp, you break even with two people or come out ahead with more than two people, and avoid the additional stops and scheduled times with a cab.

That's much cheaper than the typical quoted cab fare...it's usually $40ish each way. We have used Mears shuttle a couple times and it's fine, but we used Uber in January and much preferred that.

 

[nkereina]

That's much cheaper than the typical quoted cab fare...it's usually $40ish each way. We have used Mears shuttle a couple times and it's fine, but we used Uber in January and much preferred that.

I just checked my CC statement from November and it was $28 including tip, not $25. But I don't know... maybe our driver was fast or we lucked out. There was no traffic. Or maybe it really does vary that much depending on what resort you leave from. I don't recall the cab company, but they were parked out in front of CBR ready to go when we needed them. I do agree about Uber - we prefer that too but at the time, the estimated pick up was going to be a few mins so we just hopped in the waiting cab. FWIW, Uber estimates $12-$17 from CBR to Royal Pacific Resort (adjacent to Universal), so a $25 cab fare would be about right....

 

[Maiky]

Thank you for all the information. I have another question: Anyone has experience booking the roundtrip transfer (with Mears) when buying the tickets for Universal thru a travel agency? I know I still have to schedule the pick up with the taxi company.

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

I'd like to second Uber as an alternative. I did two days of travelling from Pop to Universal this month and it was significantly cheaper than a taxi and far more convenient than the Mears Shuttle. The trip with Uber was approximately $15-16 each way.