What's the latest on Minnie Van service?

[kaytieeldr]

The price of a Minnie Van is so ridiculously high that we literally burst out laughing when we open the Lyft app to consider calling one on our last trip. We were at the Swan and were debating grabbing a ride to Disney Springs instead of waiting for the bus. A typical Lyft would've cost about $7. A Minnie Van? Try $40. It was -- and I don't use this word lightly -- unbelievable.

For your trip and wallet, sure. For mine too, frankly. But MinnieVans can take you to the Magic Kingdom bus loop, or directly to Pioneer Hall. It's not about the money, it's about the value. Taking one more of transportation beats two transfers (i.e. Pop to Epcot, transfer to FW bus, transfer again at Outpost.)

 

[Chavaleh]

Disney has come up with tons of ways over the decades to convince people pay more for lower-quality goods and services they could find elsewhere, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised that fans actually use the Minnie Van service. I can say definitively that at a 470% increase, we never will.

We haven't used Minnie Vans since the price increase but having used MV's, Lyft and Uber at WDW I can definitely say that it was not a lower quality experience. We've had some outright dodgy experiences particularly with Uber (unsafe driving, cars not in good shape, etc) but every single Minnie Van trip we've ever taken (probably well over 20) has been excellent. Vans were always spotless, drivers were always kind and entertaining. The pricing increase may have knocked this out of being a reasonable luxury for us but we never felt it was lower quality than the alternatives.

 

[AngiTN]

We haven't used Minnie Vans since the price increase but having used MV's, Lyft and Uber at WDW I can definitely say that it was not a lower quality experience. We've had some outright dodgy experiences particularly with Uber (unsafe driving, cars not in good shape, etc) but every single Minnie Van trip we've ever taken (probably well over 20) has been excellent. Vans were always spotless, drivers were always kind and entertaining. The pricing increase may have knocked this out of being a reasonable luxury for us but we never felt it was lower quality than the alternatives.

And it's not. That was just another way to trash any choice Disney makes these days. It's the trendy thing to do with a few posters, it seems.
While Minnie Van is not for everyone, if you have a group that needs 2 car seats, Minnie Van is an invaluable service you can not find with ANYWHERE else.
We too have declined in our use of it but mostly because we can often not find a car!

We did get to use one on Sunday and talked to our driver quite a bit. She didn't divulge a figure but she was quite clear in that they are making very good money (specifically talking about hourly wage, not tips). So no idea if the price increase has been passed on to some degree, or what

 

[Kbosch]

We will be staying at CBR and since I've heard horror stories about the bus service, we were planning on using Lyft or MVs most of the time. However, I have a 5 year old, 4 year old and almost 3 year old - by the time I add in car seat charges for Lyft I'm thinking it will cost just as much as a MV?
(Fingers crossed the gondolas open by late September!)

 

[JimMIA]

We will be staying at CBR and since I've heard horror stories about the bus service, we were planning on using Lyft or MVs most of the time. However, I have a 5 year old, 4 year old and almost 3 year old - by the time I add in car seat charges for Lyft I'm thinking it will cost just as much as a MV?
(Fingers crossed the gondolas open by late September!)

You won't have to add in any car seat charges for Lyft, lol. Lyft doesn't have any vehicles with car seats. Uber has some, in both X and XL -- so availability could be a problem. But Lyft has none.

And you'll need XL with either company if you have more than 4 total passengers.

There are a couple of alternatives:

• Disney buses
• MinnieVan -- even there, you have only 2 car seats
• Buy 3 car seat/boosters and use either Lyft or Uber XL. I frequently see BubbleBum recommended -- inexpensive, and easily carried in a backpack.

Personally, I'd use the Disney buses in your situation.

 

[AngiTN]

We will be staying at CBR and since I've heard horror stories about the bus service, we were planning on using Lyft or MVs most of the time. However, I have a 5 year old, 4 year old and almost 3 year old - by the time I add in car seat charges for Lyft I'm thinking it will cost just as much as a MV?
(Fingers crossed the gondolas open by late September!)

You'll need 3 car seats. Uber will only have 1, Minnie Van 2.
Not sure Bubble Bum will work for many 5 yo. Depends on their size. If not, Minnie Van and Uber won't help them either. Uber will only have 1 car seat in the vehicle, Minnie Van 2. They'll need 3
So the options may be 2 ride share vehicles just because of the car seats.
CBR bus service is not a horror either. Every resort has good moments and bad ones. None are awful 100% of the time, nor are they all wonderful

 

[Rotti955]

Does the Minnie Van run all hours? I am thinking it might be nice to take a van early in the morning before the parks open for one of our early reservation.

 

[AngiTN]

Does the Minnie Van run all hours? I am thinking it might be nice to take a van early in the morning before the parks open for one of our early reservation.

No, 6:30 (or is it 6:00) to 12:30