Why I miss Disney's Express Transportation

[shoreward]

Disney's Express Transportation may be gone, but not forgotten.

Please share what you liked most about the service, and what you miss, now that it's no longer available.

For those who had issues, please share those, as well.

Any suggestions for version 2.0 are also welcome.

 

[FinnsMom7]

Thanks for starting this!

I wasn't able to use it, but I feel marketing needed to be a bigger push - so many people didn't even know it was an actual option. But the concept of not going thru security again, as well as for like AK or MK being in the heart of the park already seemed like a major time saver.

 

[STLstone]

I was looking forward to using it, but it was cancelled before I got the chance.

The main selling points to me were bypassing a re-check at security and running on a schedule. From what people have reported, these buses saved a lot of time over the normal transportation. The price point was even better than I would have expected, also.

I reeeeally wish they would bring this back.

 

[shoreward]

I was looking forward to using it, but it was cancelled before I got the chance.

The main selling points to me were bypassing a re-check at security and running on a schedule. From what people have reported, these buses saved a lot of time over the normal transportation. The price point was even better than I would have expected, also.

I reeeeally wish they would bring this back.

Yes, I agree. It allowed guests to do and see so much more, as well as spend more money for food and merchandise in the parks. You would think Disney would like that!

As others have said, it was not promoted enough. By the time word got around and people were planning to use it during their next visit, it was gone.

In the first several months, there were times when some of the buses ran zero or only a couple of pax. It just needed more time to succeed.

 

[Roxyfire]

Yes, I agree. It allowed guests to do and see so much more, as well as spend more money for food and merchandise in the parks. You would think Disney would like that!

As others have said, it was not promoted enough. By the time word got around and people were planning to use it during their next visit, it was gone.

In the first several months, there were times when some of the buses ran zero or only a couple of pax. It just needed more time to succeed.

Agreed! Very few people knew what it was and why it was great. We used this the week after Memorial Day so it was hot and busy. One evening, while we were waiting to go back to the bus at the AK stop a man walked up to the CM in plaid manning the station. He asked them "What is this, can it get us into Pandora faster?" The CM said no, and explained it, and the guy said "Well who would ever wanna do that?" and walked off in a huff. I'm really gonna miss it as it was a great way to get back to the MK as a nice end to the evening.

 

[Mopedmom1]

This was an awesome add-on. We were able to use it for two of our trips last year, March and June. Before its demise I was planning on purchasing it for two weeks on our 13 day Nov/Dec trip. The ability to bypass security and save the extra steps on the pedometer was an incredible perk.

I agree that lack of promotion and advertising was a major factor in its demise. I saw many people come up and ask the podium CM what was going on. But I also think this was a demographics issue. An older couple like myself sees value in less walking, and buying for two is far easier than buying for a family of five. At Disney a family of five is probably represented more than a mature adult couple. We just need to get more of us old fogies to go! Problem solved.

I would LOVE to see this return in some form. (Don't tell Mickey but I might even be persuaded to pay a little more!)

 

[FCDub]

Catch 22 situation for Disney. People loved the bus because it was a hidden gem and not crowded, but it went away because not enough people used it.

Had they really push push pushed it, you'd have seen tons of threads here complaining it's too popular and there were too many people on the bus.

 

[bookbabe626]

We're park hoppers that almost always do short (long weekend) trips. ET was awesome. Quick easy park hopping without having to re-endure security lines and checkpoints was fabulous. If they brought it back, we'd definitely buy it again. Minnie Vans are okay in terms of speed and comfort, but they make you leave the security bubble. If ET's not going to return, they should have some kind of service equivalent to TSA PreCheck to go along with the Minnie Vans. Anything to avoid the repeated bag check lines when park hopping would make our lives easier.

 

[dizneefan13]

Well dang, I didn't even know they don't do ET anymore
We are big time park hoppers and were so looking forward to this service to void waiting in line again.
I hope they are considering bringing it back after figuring out how to make it more widely used.

 

[Capang]

Love this thread. I’ve been emailing asking about/hoping it will be reinstated. We loved the service and used it multiple times a Day last summer. It did rain, but we never had it shut down, although we knew when it was storming not to even bother. We hopped at least twice a day last summer. It was fantastic. I miss it so much.

 

[seeingstars]

I never got the chance to use it and was so bummed to hear that they discontinued it. I was really looking forward to using it for our upcoming trips in May and September. We are definitely a park hopping family and I feel like this would have been such a great fit for us! I mean the fact that you wouldn't have to go through bag check again after hopping would be such a great benefit.

 

[wdwsue]

We used it in July and loved it. We made reservations to go back in February of 2018 and talked about how great it was going to be using the Express Transportation. It saved so much time. I really would love to see Disney bring it back.

 

[Paul Rodgers]

I LOVED this. I was able to use this service in the last three days of it's operation in August. I used the hell out of it! Before this existed, we would Uber when park hopping for Fastpasses. I added up my bill for park hopping Uber rides in our Nov 2016 trip and it added up to $158! It was 28 rides! If you were to do 28 rides on Minnie Vans, that would be $560! I hope they bring this back or something real similar, because it was fairly cheap, and so convenient! I do agree though, it wasn't advertised enough. I saw maybe five others on a bus with me max on my trip in August. I just wrote a letter today to Mr. Kalogridis, Mr. MacPhee, and Mr. Mazloum this morning giving my (positive) insight on this upcharge.

 

[goofy370]

We used it in August and loved it! I figured it didn't stand a chance when I saw how empty the buses were. Wish they would bring it back and advertise it better

 

[SgtTibbs]

Perhaps one day there will be Skyliner service park-to-park. That would be wonderful.
Another option, Allow Minnie Vans to pickup/drop-off at the old Express Transportation locations. That would be pricey of course but for those times you really need to get across property it would be worth it.

 

[shoreward]

I wonder if costs could be held down if Disney were to use their large passenger vans, instead of the full-size motorcoaches. That's what they sometimes do when running park to resort transportation on slow mornings.

 

[Tallent]

I loved the service! We used it a bunch on our trip last June. I loved not having to walk through the parks to get where I wanted (typically the backs of the parks) in the afternoon/evening when I was already tired. I'd do it again in heartbeat if they brought it back.

 

[Capang]

I want to make a tee that says, "We wants the Express transportation!" I'd wear it every day of my visit.

 

[thegales]

... That would be wonderful. Another option, Allow Minnie Vans to pickup/drop-off at the old Express Transportation locations. That would be pricey of course but for those times you really need to get across property it would be worth it.

I was going to post the same thing, but think it would have a different price (higher) than the regular Minnie Van service.

 

[SgtTibbs]

I was going to post the same thing, but think it would have a different price (higher) than the regular Minnie Van service.

Rule #1 of Disney Fandom, Never suggest they need a higher price. Mickey has large ears for a reason. He hears everything.