Disney World Ending Magical Express Airport Shuttle
Walt Disney World is ending its Magical Express shuttle service to resorts from Orlando International Airport. This comes after the company “temporarily suspended” Extra Magic Hours, FastPass+, the Dining Plan, and more.
All of this is still top of mind for many Walt Disney World vacation planners, which is clear to us based on the number of questions we receive asking when the Disney Dining Plan, FastPass+, Extra Magic Hours, etc. will be brought back. In most cases, our expectation is that Walt Disney World will restore these things this spring and summer.
When it comes to resuming normalcy at Walt Disney World, it’s clear that this won’t be a simple matter of reverting to the status quo, pre-March of last year. Instead, Walt Disney World will use this period of abnormal to retire and transition away from various offerings to new things, and offer a “soft reset” on the guest experience. We now have our next glimpse of what that means for later in 2022…
Walt Disney World will end the Disney’s Magical Express service for airport transportation starting with arrivals on January 1, 2022. Disney has attributed this to the expansion of options for guests, including the rise of Uber and Lyft. “Vacationers have more options to choose from than ever for transportation, including ride-share services that save time and offer more flexibility to go where they want, when they want.”
Disney’s Magical Express will continue for arrivals and departures through 2021, but anyone planning a Walt Disney World vacation in 2022 will need to rent a car or plan on using Uber, Lyft, or whatever other options are out there. (Although not yet confirmed officially, it’s entirely possible that Minnie Vans have been permanently retired.)
Note that complimentary transportation options within Walt Disney World — such as buses, monorails, boats, and the Skyliner gondolas — will continue to be available without changes. This only impacts Disney’s Magical Express, the airport-to-hotel transportation service, and does not have any bearing on internal or resort-to-park transportation.
It’s worth noting here that the Disney’s Magical Express airport shuttle service is operated by Mears, not Disney itself. Mears is a transportation company with coach buses and taxis that enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the Orlando market for years…before Uber and Lyft debuted.
Last year, Mears furloughed 83% of its workforce and ended up permanently laying off nearly 200 workers. Even prior to that, the company had run into trouble–Mears has been extensively involved with ride-share lawsuits and other litigation over the past few years.
It’s also possible that the relationship between Disney and Mears soured when Minnie Vans were rolled out a couple of years ago. Up until that point, some guests were reticent to use Uber and Lyft due to horror stories, and still opted for the overpriced Mears taxis. From then on, Walt Disney World had a monopoly on overpriced private transportation–it made almost no sense to pay triple the price of ride-share for a taxi when Minnie Vans offered a more polished and “magical” experience.
This is all to say that there might be more to this story than meets the eye. Disney could see the writing on the wall for Mears, or the relationship between the two companies might’ve been irreparably damaged to the point that they could not negotiate a new contract once the current one ends.
Basically, we have a tough time taking this cut at face value–or being entirely due to the reasons given by Disney. As discussed in our Guide to Disney’s Magical Express, the “free” service is incredibly valuable to Walt Disney World because it makes tourists a captive audience, less likely or able to dine off-site, visit other theme parks, or spend money elsewhere.
Long ago, Walt Disney World determined that the increase in average per guest spending with Disney’s Magical Express plus the perceived convenience and goodwill obtained from offering the service outweighs the average per guest cost of offering the service. It’s unlikely that has changed, especially as on-site food prices have increased and Central Florida theme park competition has become more fierce.
Beyond that, this change is being announced at a time when hotel occupancy at Walt Disney World is abysmal–and that’s even with several resorts still closed. With no convention business, minimal outside events, and a travel recovery expected to take until 2023, cutting Disney’s Magical Express will only exacerbate that problem.
We’ve been discussing Walt Disney World’s Disappearing On-Site Advantage for years now, and the elimination of Magical Express only makes that worse. The airport transportation service has been routinely cited by on-site advocates as one reason to still stay in a Disney-owned hotel. Uber and Lyft are great, and we’ve taken them instead of DME several times, but this is still a big blow for consumers.
It’s also potentially going to be detrimental to Walt Disney World. We’re anticipating a ton of negative feedback about this change–likely on par with the addition of resort parking fees a few years ago. As with that change, we can’t help but wonder if Disney will come to regret this move as being one that pushes more guests off-site and ends up costing Disney money in the long run.
We’ve also long been asking Is Walt Disney World Eroding Fan Goodwill? with previous decisions like this. We maintain that they have, but the booming economy has insulated Disney from the negative short-term consequences of so many cuts and guest-unfriendly decisions. Unfortunately, the current hotel woes are pretty easy to hand-wave away given all that’s happening in the world. But we nevertheless question whether occupancy remains low even as park attendance is rising because more guests have already determined staying on-site is simply not worth it.
Finally, while some Walt Disney World fans might point to the Brightline train station at Disney Springs being the eventual replacement for Disney’s Magical Express, that’s still several years away. (The South Florida to MCO link has a scheduled 2022 opening date, but that does not include the Disney Springs station.)
Moreover, that route from the airport to hotels will be convoluted and time-consuming, so it’s not really a viable alternative. To the contrary, the whole reason the Brightline station is being built at Disney Springs instead of the more logical location by the ESPN Wide World of Sports is because Disney did not plan on the train serving as airport transportation for many guests.
We still would not be surprised if Walt Disney World announces a replacement for Disney’s Magical Express before 2022. This just seems like a really ill-advised and short-sighted decision. As discussed above, it’s also potentially a decision that’s out of their hands…
In other breaking news, Walt Disney World announced a permanent replacement for the temporarily-suspended Extra Magic Hours, and has confirmed that EMH will not return. Dubbed Early Theme Park Entry, the new perk will allow Walt Disney World resort guests to enter any of the four theme parks 30 minutes early each day.
Disney indicates that the new Early Theme Park Entry benefit helps better spread visitation across all four theme parks, while providing added flexibility by giving guests extra early park time on each day of their vacation and in the park of their choosing. Please note that guests need valid admission and a park reservation made via the Disney Park Pass system to enter a theme park.
The new Early Theme Park Entry offering will debut later in 2021 and will be promoted as part of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary offerings. No specific start date has been provided; our assumption is that move is deliberate. Walt Disney World can hold off on rolling it out until hotel occupancy and attendance levels dictate, with the latest debut date being October 1, 2021.
While we’re incredulous about the Disney’s Magical Express news, this announcement we do take at face value. In that same “Disappearing On-Site Advantage” article, we derided Extra Magic Hours as a mostly illusory benefit. Prior to the closure, we actively avoided Evening Extra Magic Hours due to the noticeable spike in crowds as compared to non-EMH evenings.
There are a number of reasons this has happened, but is primarily because the pool of Extra Magic Hours-eligible guests continues to increase. Walt Disney World has cut deals with third party hotels and also built several new Disney Vacation Club properties and otherwise added to its hotel room inventory.
For us, the jury is still out on this new Early Theme Park Entry benefit. We have every reason to believe this will do a better job of spreading out crowds, and could end up being a net positive for guests. Thirty minutes per day is obviously less than than the previous hour, but it’s better than nothing.
There’s also the reality that 30 minutes times 4 parks is a total of 2 hours per day across all of Walt Disney World, which is a net gain as compared to Extra Magic Hours. Obviously, a single guest without the resources for time travel cannot take advantage of that 2 hours, but the point is that this may not be a simple cost-cutting measure by Disney.
It could end up giving on-site guests more time before the wave of crowds hit–or it could amount to being pretty similar to the current unpublished policy of quietly opening the turnstiles before official park opening time. We’ll withhold judgment on this one until experiencing it ourselves.
While the specifics here are not exactly what we anticipated, that Walt Disney World would choose now to make these announcements is not unsurprising. As we covered months ago in What Will Replace FastPass+ at Walt Disney World? we expected these “temporary suspensions” to be a natural transition to new systems.
Ultimately, we expect plenty more announcements in the coming months about other, similar changes. As discussed in that article, we’d be shocked to see FastPass+ return without any changes. We’re also expecting the Disney Dining Plan and other experiences will have modifications once they return later in 2021. Then there’s the potential transition from My Disney Experience to Disney Genie (or whatever it ends up being called) which is another can of worms. In short, brace yourself for plenty more changes announced between now and October 2021…
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about Walt Disney World ending Disney’s Magical Express? Upset that you’ll have to rent a car or use Uber/Lyft, or did you find DME too inefficient, anyway? Thoughts on Early Theme Park Entry v. Extra Magic Hours? Disappointed that the amount of time is being cut, or optimistic that it’ll be less crowded during that time? Other thoughts on this? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I agree that the magical express made traveling so much easier. I have a child in a wheelchair so it would be impossible to ride share and tremendously expensive to rent a handicapped van and probably equally more difficult to use Uber. The safety portion is another issue as some have commented…I won’t go in an Uber on my own if I am traveling without my husband. Could you imagine all the bad press Disney would get if someone was hurt by using Uber?? I am hoping they come up with something else…
This is terrible. I think this is the deal breaker for us. We travel with two sometimes three special needs children and the magical express was so awesome for our family. If we have to rent a car and pay parking or take a taxi or uber (which I’ve never done because of its reputation) we will probably think twice about going back. We normally visit 2-3 times per year. How very sad. My kids will be devastated. Way to go Disney!!
Will Disney still be bringing your luggage from the airport to your room and back?
No
Unless there’s some replacement or contracting games going on with DME, I’m looking forward to more Universal Studios Florida resort reviews even more than before!
Well I guess this makes it that much easier to stay at Universal. I can get a family suite at Cabana Bay or a 2 bedroom suite at Surfside for half the cost of a value/moderate resort at Disney and if I am renting a car, I can drive to the Disney parks. Both of our 2020 Disney trips turned into Universal trips because the savings couldn’t be beat.
Love the Early Theme Park Entry, hate the Disney’s Magical Express news. In our last few trips, the EMH have served only to direct us which park *not* to visit that day, as they end up being overly crowded in the morning.
As an avid user of the DME buses, I am really, really disappointed in that news. It’s a huge cost savings for us, especially when you consider surge pricing on Uber and Lyft, and letting them handle my bags has always been a welcome perk. I hope by the time Covid is in the rear view, they’ll have announced something new and better to replace this service. It’s unfathomable to me that they won’t run shuttles to and from the airport.
I’m hoping that by opening each park 30 minutes early to resort guests, this means that Disney transportation from hotels to parks will also run earlier, which is something we’ve had trouble with in recent years. It does provide an incentive to stay on site IMO because, like someone else mentioned, it pretty much removes the ability of non-resort guests to rope drop rides. Resort guests will have 30 minutes to fill up the queues if they enforce this benefit at the gate.
OMG NO! This is one of the reasons we love traveling to WDW. Walk from plane to bus, no luggage.
I would be willing to PAY for this service as well. I don’t need a free ride here, but love having my luggage magicially show up in my room!
As a wheelchair user, not having to worry about my family lugging our luggage around, and us just getting on a bus has been one of the best perks. Same with returning home. We use the curbside luggage drop off at our home airport and see it in our WDW hotel room.
May as well stay offsite now and save $$.
We haven’t even ever bothered to leave property – we were disney bubble people. I guess its time to add Universal onto our trip somewhere now and split it up!
I loved DME and eliminating this really increases the costs for a family of four. Another what $100 bucks for two ride shares (assuming they don’t increase the cost when you have lots off families arriving)? Renting a car + the parking fees will be cost families hundreds more.
I don’t get the 30m early entry from an operations perspective during the pandemic (I see zero chance masks and distancing requirements go away during 2021). We never really leveraged EMH to avoid the crowds, but it seems like (based on our recent experience) one of the ways Disney avoided crowding pre-park opening was to open early (albeit without the rides) and push pinch points back away from the gates to smooth the flow of people entering.
With 30m early entrance that means you cannot let non park guests enter. What is that going to do to the flow of off site guests? It will have them all congregating outside of the park gates. Good luck with enforcing distancing then.
Glad we got in a visit before all these changes…
While I agree that the early entry “sounds” like extra labor hours and could “theoretically” be an on site advantage, in reality its not. Guess what – I can show up 30 minutes early or an hour early right NOW any given day to any given park because they let everybody in early who knows enough to take advantage of that. I think this is just a way to curb that and stop people from showing up an hour early. Now they can say oh we can’t let you in because resort guests are guaranteed 30 minutes pre-park opening and they will really have later openings this way and avoid larger crowds so early in the am. But as for myself when I am used to arriving 60 minutes before every time I go, I will have less low-crowd park time than I do now. If they are going to do this, make it an hour or I don’t think its that advantageous. But please prove me wrong?
I agree with you 100%.
“…Just another brick in the wall…”
If this doesn’t confirm that Disney is all about $$$ vs. $$$ and providing an enjoyable experience, not sure what does. Not sure what is left for an advantage staying onsite. I know it’s still an insult, but what is the difference between Six Flags and WDW at this point.
This is awful!!! People truly rely on the Magical Express to get them to the parks. I’m a woman who has traveled alone with her daughter and wasn’t comfortable taking ride shares out of fear for our safety. Magical Express was our only way to and from the park without the added expense of a car rental and parking fees!! I pray they come up with an alternative.
Its not the transport to the parks. It is the transport from airport to disney hotels.
Of all of the WDW changes in the last year or so, this one stings the most. My husband and I have taken our two littles to Disney every year the last 5 years, beginning at age 2. We now have a third baby on the way and had planned a trip in December with THREE kids in car seats. There is no possibility whatsoever we could manage a trip with 3 young children, luggage and 3 car seats. No. Way. We also usually plan a short 4-5 day trip, which begins with us heading straight to the parks upon arrival – no worries with car seats or luggage.
I am so upset about this abuse of Disney customers. I feel like families with small kids specifically are now being excluded from the parks. I guess this years’ trip will still have DME, but now I just want to cancel out of spite.
I was going to make the same comment. This is an especially bad decision for families with kids in car seats (and those families with kids with special needs as others have posted). So now we either have to lug car seats ourselves (not fun and is some cases not possible) or rely on car rental car seats, which do not have the best reputation. This is an incredibly dumb move on Disney’s part if there is no replacement. Families will simply decide the hassle is not worth it and forgo trips. My hope is that with this announcement, it spurs negotiations with Mears or some other solution will be coming.
Exactly what I thought. I love the DME bus ride because we dont have to travel with car seats. Will not stay on site without DME, as Im not hauling around multiple car seats through the airport.
I can only hope with the 11 months between now and end of DME service Disney will be coming up with a replacement, if they haven’t already. Rental car companies at MCO already can’t keep up with the demand and Uber/Lyft don’t exactly always help you get in that “magical” spirit at the start of a Disney vacation. The luggage service was another huge plus of DME that reduced the typical vacation beatdown. Now, the 3 hour lead time was a drag, especially with a morning flight, so perhaps they can polish that up with a replacement. EMH are only really cool at certain times – like New Year’s and Christmas when it’s already a zoo.
Two things:
1 Getting rid of DME is a huge mistake. I hope they replace it. Even with the luggage delivery part suspended it is convenient. Although I hope that delivery part comes back soon…..
2 Seems like 20+ years ago, staying on property allowed you to access the parks early (like an hour?) and it was any park. Does anyone remember that?
Wow. I loved the fact I could get off the plane and be in a park within the hour. Also, I always take the earliest flight to pick up a day at the parks. If I have to wait for luggage, get my own transportation and check my luggage if I’m early to the hotel, I’ll probably lose two hours and gain a lot of hassle. Same on the trip home. What made Disney special was all the extra services offered. I’d be willing to pay for that one. Sad day, Disney.
Yes! No DME will be the straw that breaks our on-site back. We’ll be Hilton or Shades people from now on.
Ditto. We went for the “Disney bubble” experience that included no worries about transportation and the aura of safety that comes with everything that goes through Disney’s corporate brand. This change suddenly makes Universal a realistic option as it gives us a similar experience.
I’m inclined to agree with you, Tom, on there being a different than stated reason behind this. I suspect Disney would have offered DME as an optional upcharged service, if there were no deeper issues with Mears. The loss of the luggage transfer is the big hit, in my opinion. The luxury of walking off an airplane and breezing through those tapstiles, skipping baggage claim altogether, was, to me, the most magical perk available on-site. Despite the rapidly shrinking advantages, I think the new early entry policy is brilliant for forcing people comfortable with off-site accommodations back on-site. My family stayed at Windsor Hills on our last trip, and we found the benefits of space, cost-savings and flexibility far outweighed anything we lost by staying on-site. A big part of that was having the ability to rope-drop the non-EMH parks and bang out an efficient touring plan. If on-site and good neighbor guests have 30 minutes to fill up the queues in every park, there will be no efficient starts at any park for off-site guests, no matter how expertly they plan their mornings.
While I love the Disney Resorts, magic express was one of the last things that made me choose to book there vs. Off site. Looks like there’s now no reason to not choose Swan/Dolphin if I’ve now got to figure out airport transportation or pay for parking at the resorts anyway. Rates are usually comparable if not better to even Pop for much better accommodations and now no loss of any benefit.
Unbelievable. I love Disney, but they are making it harder and harder for my to justify the expense flying from Ohio. I had hoes to come for the 50th anniversary at some point. I attended the 25th, and planned on the 50th at some point.
I will have to think about it now. I’ve been to the parks several times. There are other places I would like to visit, and I’m beginning to have the “been there done that “ attitude about Disney now that they are cutting more and more. I’m thinking they Pandemic has just pushed things up that they had planned on getting rid of already.
There are islands in the Caribbean id like to visit, that would be cost wise comparable to a Disney trip, and their resorts still offer services either for free or for a very small fee. So Disney is taking away the not having to worry about claiming your luggage, and hauling it to your resort and to and from the airport.
It just stinks
Guess that is it for our Disney trips. Been going since they opened in 1971. Just too expensive and now have to figure out how I am even going to get there from the airport??? Nope. I’ll be at Universal… they have cheap transportation they provide. Ridiculous.
So to clarify…. regular day guests won’t be able to rope drop anymore?
Correct………Regular day guests can rope drop but the parks will be filled and lines will be long with resort guests that got in 30 mins prior to Day guests/AP holders