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!
Gonna add my comment to pump up the numbers of disappointed masses. Magical Express was such a huge part of the experience. You get off the plane, don’t even have to worry about picking up your bags because they’ll get them for you, and you get straight on the bus where Disney music and games are playing- you’ve still got quite a ride to get there, but that’s where the Disney experience begins. You are fully immersed and worry-free right from when you get off the plane. Having to break that immersion is going to be really detrimental. Extremely disappointed to hear about this one. I do hope they have a replacement plan, because they’re severely cutting into the value of an on-property stay.
Nothing to add that many others haven’t said, but might as well add to the critical mass here. 200+ comments in just a couple hours is really all you need to know about how this is being received.
For those visiting WDW with small kids, DME made life SO MUCH easier. I don’t want to bring my kid’s car seat on the plane, I don’t want to rent a gross one from Hertz, and I don’t want to deal with requesting a Lyft that has one. If that level of effort is now required whether staying on site or not…why stay on site?
Statement copied from mynews13.com:
“Walt Disney made us aware of their decision,” Mears spokesperson Roger Chapin said. “While we are disappointed Disney will no longer offer this service, we intend to continue offering transportation services between the airport and all area theme parks and hotels to meet the demand of our visitors now and in the future.”
Mears provided airport transportation prior to Magical Express contract and, it appears, will continue in future.
for a fee to mears. it won’t be included with anything.
Not sure ending magical express is a deal breaker for our family.
We did use it for our last trip this past Sept – Oct and because of covid we did find it helped because we stayed put for 2 weeks in Disney and never strayed. That’s not our typically trip and tend to travel outside over the 2 weeks. But I am sad that they are ending this benefit.
Our family dynamics, no disabilities or little ones, easy allow us to take uber. But, we are getting on in age and could forsee issues with uber and would see the benefit of the magical express. Hope it is a contract thing that gets work out.
I remember when the Magic Hour started it was the hour before anyone else. Thenthey swapped it all up into moving from morning to night. Now they have stolen 30 minutes and moved it back to the morning.
As for everything else, it is all about profit. Walt is flipping in his grave because this would be an experience even he wouldn’t enjoy. Me and my wife love the place too darn much to admit that it just isn’t as magical as it used to be. It is becoming more on par with all other Theme Parks. In my current hometown, I get a Sea World season pass and Six flags for less than WDW and Iive within 20 minutes of either.
So true. And, right now, they already let everyone in to several parks 30 min. early, so what kind of perk is this? If they really wanted to spread out the park attendance, they should’ve offered the same 2 hr EMH in every park, every day. Solves the attendance balance among parks, and actually gives a little perk to on-site guests. 30 min. doesn’t do anything except make me have to literally run to get in a long ride line.
The only reason we were able to ride anything when we went to Disney was because of early FP+ Reservations and extra magic hours. It was the ONLY reason I was willing to pay astronomical prices to stay at Disneyhotels. I will never stay at a Disney hotel again unles they suprise us all with some new amazing perks. This is laughable. They can’t be that stupid can they? Diffrent perk announcements have to be coming right?
I feel that while they are doing everything to cut costs/increase revenue, they are losing sight of Walt’s vision and driving away their fan base. Every single person who is a Disney fan when it comes to movies and merchandise, eventually will take the pilgrimage to Disney Mecca- Walt Disney World. I get that they are a corporation with the goal to make money for the investors, but typically if you want to increase revenue by increasing park visitation/loyalty you do not start cutting guest/customer experiences. You INCREASE guest experiences/freebies, and people will come in droves. Every single one of those people that go through the gate for the very first time is a potential life-long visitor. It is like Disney can’t see that and are steering away from a family-friendly and inclusive magical vacation spot to a very exclusive destination with lux amenities for only wealthy families. They can keep those pay-to-play experience for guests of some of their Deluxe Hotels, Aulani and DVC locations. I’m fine paying for those “extras” that are above and beyond the normal park offerings, but if you make the general park experience so cost prohibitive that young families cannot afford to go even once, then they are losing out on the potential for that family to be life-long guests.
I don’t believe they want “life-long guests.” They want the people who come rarely and splurge enormously. But by cutting the magical express, that just doesn’t add up either.
These cumulative choices are penny wise and pound foolish. They may look attractive to someone simply looking at columns of costs, but they are exceedingly short sited for a generational business model.
There is no reason to stay on property when prices far exceed the neighboring hotels which now offer far better amenities. There are so many amazing theme parks now, besides Disney. They cannot expect to survive if they charge far more than their competitors and offer far less.
The full extra hour in Harry Potter Land, Universal front of the line options, meal plans, and nighttime spectaculars for less money? That seems like a choice with a foregone outcome for almost all families.
One of the few things remaining ,that set Disney apart, was that you could fly in, forego luggage wrangling, and avoid having to drive through an unfamiliar metro filled with other distracted vacationers.
If a family has to rent a car, or pay for ride, they might as well go to Universal, or Lego World, or Sea Word, or any of the awesome hotels in the area which are less expensive and offer more experiences.
I love Old School Disney, but I am deeply worried about the long term damage the current leadership team is causing to the relationship between “Disney People” and the brand.
We visited Disneyland, Disney World (2X’s), and Aulani in 2019. To say we have spent a great deal of money, for decades, is an understatement
We had been planning a January 2022 trip to Disney World for the entire family. We were going to get a Grand Villa and really celebrate.
Now, we are probably going to rent a themed house, visit Harry Potter, Lego, and the beach.
I don’t really want to rent multiple vans to transport everyone, but if that is what I have to do then we will just stay outside of the Disney Bubble.
This year has been horrible, filled with funerals and lay offs, and fear and disappointment for so many members of our family. For Disney to make these magic-killing choices feels like they are kicking us when we are already down and hurting.
We bought all the kids and grandkids Christmas gifts, almost exclusively, from Disney. We have wanted to support Disney as they weather this horrific time as a company.
We have worried about them, donated to food banks to help their amazing front line employees, and shopped their stores extensively.
It feels like none of their upper management has spent one moment worrying about my family. Do they think about the Magic Bubble of respite they could be offering to a weary and heartbroken population?
I could use more than a little magic, right now. I need fireworks and magic and a little suspension of reality would really help.
We cancelled our 2020 trip after their ridiculous handling of our reservation. Now we are not going ahead with a Disney Grand Gathering in 2022.
We had been hoping that we could squeeze in a quick trip in May, if work cooperated, but now I am planning a trip to Dollywood.
We will do Christmas, in Branson, as they have the most similar light installation to the destroyed Osborne Lights.
Disney World has lost its way and, as a result, lost my money. It seems that money is the only thing that grabs their attention, so we are spending our money elsewhere. I hope they reverse course.
sml, i agree and have felt increasingly that way for several years after growing up feeling like disney catered to returning guests (remember the magic kingdom club?). now, they cater to once in a lifetime spending a fortune visitors, and hoping people buy into dvc. those of us “regular” guests going “on the cheap” aren’t of major interest to them anymore.
This is a negative game changer…WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY THINKING !!!!!
This is awful this is why we fly into MCO … We can relax not fuss… luggage arrives at our hotel every time us following along on the magical express…. the adults and children love it… easy peazy
DISNEY HAS LOST IT ON THIS ONE..!!!!
Flying from the Uk into Orlando International we rely on the Magical Express as we do not drive Perhaps our visits to WDW may be over !!! And that may be the case with many oversees visitors
I’m a huge Mets fan. Season ticket holder. I started with them from their first year at the Polo Grounds in 1962 as a ten year old. For quite a few decades they have had the worst ownership in sports history. Late last year a true Met fan bought the team. A man who grew up without any money sitting in the nose bleed seats, where my friends and I sat, who unlike us, went on to become one of the richest men in America and now owns the team we all love. Now for the first time since the late 80’s, being a faithful Met fan feels great.
Sitting reading through over 210 responses to Disney’s latest faux pas has brought back that old feeling I had as a Met fan who loved his team as much as anything in life but felt left out and disenfranchised by the wealthy elitist owners who just didn’t get it.
For the last few years, some might say longer, Disney brass have been losing touch with regular everyday people who LOVE DISNEY.
They make moves that make you scratch your head. You feel you’re unheard, invisible and that those in charge don’t even like Disney as much as we do.
There is a point where making a little less profit but benefits others pays off in other ways that are more important than the bottom line.
Squeezing every dollar out because you can eventually produces a bleak future.
I have to believe Disney will have a replacement. I always drive down but I can see how important MDE is. It’s a great extra that works to Disney’s favor in so many ways. A service which people young and old, able bodied and disabled need and appreciate. So while I add this development to all the little extras for staying on site that have disappeared I think, “They can’t be this stupid.”
That’s when all my years of being a suffering Met fan kick in. What am I thinking? Of course they can.
I am not thrilled to read that Disney is taking the magic away. What happened to all that? DME always gets you right in that frame of mind when you arrive at the airport. Seeing the cartoon and doing some trivia was always fun. I hope that they are going to come up with another idea for it.
I completed a survey yesterday that asked whether the suspension of EMH had a positive, negative or neutral effect on my decision to attend. I thought it was just a harmless question but now it has me wondering about some of the other questions that were asked.
I can see the business sense: $80 r/t for an Uber to MCO is not likely to lose Disney custom, and parking charges maintain the captive audience advantage. I’d argue that DME has an incalculable value in maintaining the magic, especially at the end of a trip where last impressions count (do Disney really want the last impression to be an Uber driver discussing politics?) – but long term thinking doesn’t seem to be the Disney way right now.
would have* (!)
Wish I’d get that survey!
In regards to those extra 30 minutes in the morning, how will Disney determine who is an onsite guest and who is not? (Or is that where your extra 30 minutes will be spent?? LOL!)
Like all other entry events, it should be linked by your ticket. When you scan in at the gate, they will know. So, make sure you link your tickets to your hotel stay in the app.
They used do during morning Extra Magic Hours every day, with only resort guests permitted. Not a big deal. Your ticket media/magicband links to your MDE account, which is linked to your resort reservation. There will be designated tapstiles for resort guest entry, and the other tapstiles will be designated for non-hotel guests who want to rope drop.
We’ve always stayed on property because of the “magic” (aka the perks, esp FastPass+). We spent five days at Disney World this past November. With the exception of experiencing the Skyliner for the first time, we all agreed that there was no longer any benefit to staying on Disney property. Sad.
They’re killing Disney one piece at a time, and have for years now. I couldn’t have imagined staying off-property, but this might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I’m seriously reconsidering my hotel choice for the 2021 trip. Was originally going to have my first ever stay in a Deluxe.
I get that people complain about everything, but I personally have never complained very much about the price increases. Would I rather a Disney trip be a rarer luxury with magic? Or have them take all the magic away? They’re continually doing the latter instead of the former.
Just increase the price if you have to, or add more surcharges. We might not like it, but it’s a heck of a lot better than cutting stuff. So I only get to go to Disney every 5 years instead of 2-3 and it costs more? That’s fine. Disney is supposed to be something special.
Will you still be able to check your luggage at the resorts?
That also looks like it’s canceled: https://wdwnt.com/2021/01/breaking-disneys-magical-express-service-ending-in-2022-at-walt-disney-world/
That offering (Disney calls it “Resort Airline Check-In”) has been suspended since the hotels starting reopening in May. I wouldn’t expect it to ever return given today’s news, but we’ll see…
I’ve been going to disney since 72 and maybe it’s time fot me and my family (12 of us) to start trying other options and vacationing elsewhere. Instead of disney offering more perks to return, they are telling me to go elsewhere!
I LOVE the Disney bubble, and the first point of entry is the ME. So, I am totally going to miss that. However, it will not deter me from staying on Disney property. I know Disney is operating with lower crowds, but Disney transportation from parks to hotels and vice versa was so streamlined during our recent trip in December 2020. They were running Direct bus routes that drop you right at the entrance. Additionally, we never ride ME when we leave Orlando bc they require you to leave so far in advance of your flight (3 hrs). I am looking forward to the return of other perks like the dining plan and FP+!
This is devastating news. we are in the process of planning our 3rd WDW trip and the ME is a godsend for us.
Travelling from Australia, the ME was the perfect fit. We didn’t have to worry about driving on the wrong side of the road (!) or worry about getting ripped of and other concerns we have with Uber/Lyft etc.
We will most likely still stay onsite due to the internal travel, but this makes such a difference that I agree with others, the benefits of staying onsite is just about gone :(.
We spend that much $$$ just getting there before we even bring ticket price into account, that this is just n extra nail in the coffin of WDW and Florida trips :(.
Disney stock is at or near an all time high. Wall Street analysts are recommending the stock even with the Theme Parks closed or operating at low capacities. Prior to COVID, the major earnings center for the Disney company was ESPN; not the theme parks. Now the Disney streaming service is knocking it out of the park. Maybe, the bean counters have figured out that Disney can be a highly profitable company without theme park revenues. In the words of B.B. King, “The Thrill is Gone!” This news today just makes the “Most Magical Place on Earth,” a little less Magical. My daughter has often said that when you are arriving at WDW it”s called the Magical express. When you are leaving, they call it the “Tragical Express.”