Mears Connect & Sunshine Flyer Merge for Airport Shuttle to Disney World
Mears Connect and the Sunshine Flyer announced that they’re merging the two shuttle services to offer combined ground transportation between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World. This post shares the press release plus commentary the potential good & bad of this change, and what it means for traveling between MCO and WDW resort hotels for the rest of this year and 2024.
Let’s start with the basics: Mears and Sunshine Flyer announced on July 14, 2023 that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which the companies will merge two complementary services into one combined entity to provide exceptional guest transportation from Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World Resorts.
The new service will be called Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine. According to the combo, they will continue to provide guests with safe and reliable transportation services to and from the airport with enhanced booking capabilities, guaranteed 24/7 service, greater operational efficiencies, and a hassle-free experience to and from their preferred Walt Disney World Resort.
Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine will provide superior guest service, while also enhancing the guest benefits through combined operational capabilities, best practices, and aligned marketing efforts. Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine promises the best possible experience that guests have come to know and love from Mears Connect and the Sunshine Flyer. (Their words, not mine.)
“While we have been competitors in the past, we have always shared the same goals to provide guests with safe, reliable, cost effective, stress-free travel between the airport and Walt Disney World resorts”, said Rebecca K. Horton, Chief Operating Officer of Mears Transportation. “By merging operations, sharing ideas, expanding services, collaborating on what’s best for the guest, we believe we can provide an even better guest experience given the challenges and opportunities in today’s travel market.”
“As partners, we will be able to bring even more features and benefits to our guests,” said Mark Sherman, General Manager of the Sunshine Flyer. “Whether it is 24/7 service, express options, or a private trip to ease guests’ minds the minute they step off the plane, together, Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine is delivering more to our guests. We are confident that our collaborative efforts will promote a creative atmosphere and will allow us to focus on the customer experience and kick off the magic of a Walt Disney World vacation the moment they touch down in Orlando.”
Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine is the only 24-hour shuttle servicing both the A/B and C Terminals for both arrivals and departures at Orlando International Airport. Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine is also fully wheelchair accessible and ADA-compliant for both standard and express services.
Updates & Quick Tips from Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine:
- The new service will begin August 1, 2023.
- A dedicated hotline is available 24/7 to answer questions and assist guests regarding new reservations: (407) 423-5566
- For all existing reservations, unless otherwise provided, please contact the customer care team on your confirmation email.
- Guests may also email during business hours: [email protected].
- Mears Connect guests will not be impacted and reservations will remain the same.
- Sunshine Flyer guests traveling between July 14 and July 31 will receive an email using the email linked to the original reservation to confirm all travel instructions.
It appears that the summer sale pricing of $12 per child and $15 per adult is ongoing with Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine–at least according to the website!
In terms of commentary about Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine, this is a bit of a mixed bag from our perspective. Honestly, when I saw the press release alert, my heart skipped a beat. My first thought–before actually reading anything–was that one of the two had been acquired by Walt Disney World and was being transformed into an in-house Disney’s Magical Express.
Obviously, that is not what’s happening. Hopefully our headline was crafted in such a way to not give you that same sense of initial excitement followed by an intense letdown. Disney’s Magical Express is not coming back this year, and the odds are exceedingly low that it’ll be back in 2024. Not zero, but pretty close.
Today’s news about Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine doesn’t really make the chances of Disney’s Magical Express returning down the road any better or worse. If anything, Disney is likely to contract a shuttle service out to Mears, just like they did before, rather than acquire the company and do it themselves. So that’s still a theoretical possibility in the long run. But as we’ve said before, we don’t expect that until 2025, if ever.
Walt Disney World needs a tremendous amount of lead-time to accomplish such a significant change (just as they did to end Disney’s Magical Express). Moreover, Walt Disney World still has not experienced enough of a slowdown or downturn in resort occupancy to feel the requisite sense of urgency necessary to bring back Disney’s Magical Express.
It will probably take Epic Universe opening hotel bookings or a recession for Walt Disney World to feel the pressure needed to bring back Disney’s Magical Express, and even those are not sure things. The era of rideshare could have been the death blow for Disney’s Magical Express, and there might never be any going back. We’re still holding out a slight sliver of hope, though!
As for today’s actual news about Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine, there’s also good and bad. Starting with the bad, we always prefer to have more choices as consumers and for competition to drive down prices and improve service. The launch of Sunshine Flyer put needed pressure on Mears, and we suspect that both have forced one another to keep their prices in check. In fact, the airport shuttle services are actually cheaper today than they last year!
We also really enjoyed the ambitiousness of Sunshine Flyer. The theme centering around old-fashioned passenger cars and train engines was really cool. Thanks to the bus designs along with 1920s rail conductors and engineers, the motorcoaches effectively serve as time-machines, offering a glimpse into old timey train travel. Consequently, it felt a bit like a spiritual successor to Disney’s Magical Express in the “magical” department. Even if it lacked Disney IP, the train theme was a great nod to Walt Disney and his legacy. We fear that this will disappear with the debut of Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine.
The potential good news of this is more or less what Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine has stated in their press release. Joining forces makes the combined shuttle service potentially more efficient. I’ve taken both Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer many times, and ended up using the former more often because it was easier to book last-minute and generally more efficient. For solo travel in particular, it has made more sense to use one of these shuttles than pay $40 to $60 for an Uber or Lyft from MCO.
My general experience with both shuttles has more or less mirrored Disney’s Magical Express. In a word, the shuttles are usually “sufficient.” Average wait in line is around 10-15 minutes, another 10-15 minutes to depart, and 30-45 minutes until drop off. My total time has typically averaged out to about 60-75 minutes.
Definitely not fast or efficient, but good enough for the price…especially back when that price was “free” with DME. (With that said, if I had a family of 4, I’d absolutely do rideshare over Mears Connect or Sunshine Flyer–that’s always faster and should be about the same price or cheaper.)
On a few occasions, the shuttles have definitely not even risen to “sufficient.” They’ve had long lines and an insufficient number of buses, making extra stops and/or having delays as a result. I’ve waited in line 45 minutes or so just to board a bus, and then another 15 or so idling outside before departing. Add in travel time, and there have been times when it took nearly 2 hours to arrive at my Walt Disney World resort hotel. There’s a reason why Mears removed their original guarantee that guests would wait 20 minutes or less to board a bus!
Given some of the horror stories I’ve heard from readers, I frankly feel lucky that a 2 hour commute time has been my worst experience with either Mears or Sunshine Flyer. For what it’s worth, these anecdotes about being stranded and delayed seem fairly evenly distributed between the two. Some have become fans of one service after being burned by the other, but it’s all a matter of (bad) luck. This happened with the Mears-operated Disney’s Magical Express, too, but the difference was that Walt Disney World would step in to make things right and provide taxi vouchers (etc.) if the shuttle stranded someone at a resort. Now, you’re on your own.
Conversely, there have been times when I’ve been “luckier,” and due to a lack of demand for my particular resort, I was placed in an express van along with other “stragglers” destined for unpopular resorts. That still wasn’t truly efficient as it took a bit for the service to determine that was the appropriate way to dispatch, but I still viewed it as a win–it was faster than normal shuttle service. Still, that probably wouldn’t be a win for Mears Connect or Sunshine Flyer.
The bottom line here is that resources have arguably been spread too thin with two competing airport shuttle services. Even back when Sunshine Flyer was announced, I was surprised and wondered whether both services would be able to coexist at scale. There’s been an ongoing bus driver shortage in Central Florida for years–since at least 2018. This is why Disney has contracted with outside companies from as far away as Miami to provide additional bus coverage (if you’ve seen Academy-branded buses at the parks or resorts, that’s why).
I have absolutely zero insight into the procurement of the motorcoach buses themselves, so I can’t speak to whether the two services were competing for those. (Probably not, since Mears Connect already had at least a partial fleet–the Disney’s Magical Express buses.)
It’s not just bus drivers who would conceivably be spread too thin between the competing shuttle services, it’s also passengers. My experience being placed onto an express van is a good example of this. With revenge travel now in the rearview mirror, the two shuttle services may be realizing there’s an insufficient inflow of guests to sustain both of them.
The discounts they’ve been offering are a pretty good indication that this is the case…and that’s during summer tourist season! Just like with Walt Disney World, these are not being offered out of a sudden sense of generosity–they’re trying to attract more customers as demand slows. This is something that’s only likely to worsen as the early fall off-season arrives. Perhaps there was a reason, aside from their veritable monopoly, that Mears never had competition in the pre-Disney’s Magical Express dark ages. Maybe two shuttle services between MCO and WDW simply is not sustainable.
Ultimately, my view is that the merger creating Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine is probably a good outcome on balance. Competition is great in keeping prices down, and that was probably the case here. What’s not so clear is whether competition between Mears and Sunshine Flyer was improving or worsening service and the guest experience. I’m highly skeptical that was actually happening here.
Consolidation also offers opportunities for operational efficiencies and economies of scale. This is one of those benefits of mergers that’s often touted in theory, but doesn’t always happen in practice. My guess is that it will with Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine, at least to some degree. Mears is great with operations, whereas Sunshine Flyer is strong with the guest experience and theme. If Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine is able to combine the strengths of both shuttle services, it’ll be a winner.
As someone who likes everything about the booking and arrival experience with Mears Connect, but wishes they had more buses and drivers, I think this merger is likely to achieve my desired outcome. Theme is more of a wildcard, and something that I’m guessing might fall by the wayside. Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine might come at a slightly higher price, but frankly, when I was standing in that ~45 minute line, I would’ve happily paid a couple extra bucks for a Lightning Lane.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine? Happy or disappointed that these competing airport shuttle services are merging? Will you use Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine over Uber, Lyft, or renting a car? Thoughts on pricing, efficiency, or anything else regarding Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine? What do you think about Walt Disney World potentially resuming Disney’s Magical Express down the road? 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!
Mears is horrible. Have booked specific times with them and they are constantly late, getting us to airport late, and this is when we have booked to go to airport 3+ hours early. They truly leave a bad impression. Would rather rent a car than deal with the crappy shuttle service.
I think the train system coming soon is probably a factor also. I will take a train before a bus from mco to near Disney & then Uber over if needed.
The loss of DME is a big deal for us. We travelled for our first trip after the demise of DME, by Sunshine Flyer. Although the animated videos they have licensed to play are classics, and we grew up with them, those videos don’t set the mood for Disney for us. Next trip we went back to Mears which is serviceable but without the magic. For airport return on those first two visits we booked Happy Limousine. Although some folks have posted that guest services will fix any scheduling problems and I am sure they will – they are terrific – I don’t have the same level of trust for the return transfer that I took for granted wit. With DME. Would love it if this amalgamated company could be contracted to bring back DME. We roll with the price increases but the loss of the DME service def puts a damper on our twice a year visits
I’m just grateful they are still around! We have young kids and what often is overlooked is finding a Lyft or Uber with multiple car seats. We don’t need that for the bus so we are able to go without worrying about a car and use all of Disneys transportation when we get there. Magical Express was the best but I’m still happy there’s at least an option. Definitely understand about the competition keeping costs down! We have used Mears but not Sunshine Flyer yet and I was hoping to be able to experience that with my boys soon!
I was impressed with Shawn’s idea’s. Atta boy Shawn, you are brilliant!!
I have a trip booked in early September with Mears Connect, will I be OK, or need to call and reschedule?
We have never used Mears and have no plans to do so. We have used Sunshine twice. First time went well with no problems. This May 2023 we were dropped off very late to the airport and missed our flight. We had to pay for new flights and I contacted them while in line at TSA trying to make our first flight. The response was very sarcastic and passive aggressive blaming me for not questioning the pickup up time given after accusing me of not being truthful on the pickup time given in the first place. Luckily I was able to provide proof of said pickup time notices and schedules. It took me 3 weeks to get my money returned for the flights I had to buy.
Needless to say I was not happy with their response and decided to not ever use them again. I also didn’t complain all over social media about them when most people would’ve blasted them.
This is the first time publicly I have spoken out and it is in comment to a prior poster explaining how rude someone was regarding getting answers from them. That seems to be their response: respond sarcastically and blame game.
Good luck to both of them but I will use another company for our family.
Just checked for Early September arrival and departure to Yacht club. Three adults with 3 bags is $94. That is probably a lot more then a ride share will be.
That is crazy! I booked a week ago for late August and three adults was $45.
Ah, so their summer sale only counts for summer arrivals, not making reservations now. (A Lyft XL will cost between $55 and $60, and I checked Right Now and Thirty Days into the Future.)
For me, it’s more about the time. I’d rather budget $100 for transportation and get to my hotel in 25-30 minutes. Beats possibility of a 2 hour ride on a bus. Especially if I’ve just flown 3 hours with 2 toddlers.
Our last trip was June 27th to July 4th and we used Mears Connect. Same buses as when we used DME and same level of service. The drivers were friendly and helpful and most importantly were on-time leaving MCO and travelling back to MCO from All-Star Sports. We had to go to a 2 other spots for pick ups which was fine based on how early for your flight you arrive. All in all except for the Disney branding it was business as usual and I would definitely take them again.
As someone who works at one of the resorts, you are absolutely not on your own if one of the shuttle services leave you stranded. I’ve seen it happen twice now and CMs will definitely step up to assist the guest with getting to the airport. We still hand out taxi vouchers to guests that get stranded and need to get to the airport and will call Mears for them to arrange pickup.
I wasn’t the least surprised to read this after trying for months to book a shuttle on Sunshine Flyer for the first week in September, and their calendar kept saying to come back soon. I finally emailed them in June asking if they were going out of business since no dates for September were posted. I was told they weren’t, then give the excuse of them being a new company. They told me I could call to book a shuttle in September, though. When I tried to do that, however, the guy wasn’t very friendly and told me to come back on August 31st to book for September.
I don’t know about sale prices, though. What Mears was charging was what we paid when we went to Disney last year, too. We’ve just decided to skip the hassle this year and go with a Mears Taxi. The price quoted for one way was around $70. It’s more than the shuttle, but inherently more convenient since we fly Southwest and it’s a pain to get to the Mears shuttle location at the airport from the Southwest baggage claim area.
Like Bella, I also have received an email that states the buses will not be train-themed, which is the biggest loss in my opinion. The wrappers on the train-buses were really spectacular and oddly convincing from far away, and I considered the 1$ ‘train premium’ to be worth it for that extra bit of magic.
However, I’d been wondering for the entirety of this past year if Sunshine Flyer could last. Out of three trips taken, one was on a normally packed bus (about half full), the next was in a shuttle van with one other party, and the last (at the end of March with pretty significant crowds) was as a single passenger on a giant bus. The driver spent the whole time talking to me and I got the sense that he was used to larger loads, but it was still an eerie experience. It also echoes what you’re saying – the two companies were likely expecting more passengers, and now that those are declining it makes far more sense to consolidate. They’re going from the same place TO the same place, that doubles the passenger count per bus, in theory!
I’d also like to point out something as a person who frequently does Bus-vs-Uber math. While it is about break-even at three passengers and more cost-effective for four passengers to take an Uber in theory, one part of the equation that has to be considered is LUGGAGE. If my party of three adults is staying for multiple days, a lot of those economy Ubers don’t have enough trunk size for our bags. Four adults and luggage now require an Uber XL at the minimum, which again ends up breaking even. It’s definitely another equation if half the party is kids, but the scale isn’t quite as weighted towards ‘Uber if 4 or more’ as it seems on paper.
We enjoyed ME for what it was but the last 3 trips we have paid for a suv in advance- costs a few hundred extra but has become the new normal.That being said—If this was done in an efficient way we would definitely consider it
I was left in the lurch by Mears last time I tried to use their shuttle at MCO, and the time before that I waited to depart for about an hour. LAST NIGHT I needed to book a shuttle for a stay and had a conversation with my husband about why we’re going with Sunshine Flyer instead. This morning I wake up to an email about how exciting it is that my reservation is now Mears, Driven by Sunshine. Can’t win lol.
Oh well, on a happy note, it sounds like they will be serving all terminals which is definitely an improvement! Having to walk a mile to grab our luggage then another mile to catch the bus was not fun.
My first thought upon seeing this news is that this opens the door to Disney providing free shuttle service to the resorts again. Not Magical Express, I think that ship has sailed, but I think that Disney can absolutely contract with Mears to make Mears Connect an included “magical extra” for hotel guests. Mears can continue to provide paid service to guests of non-Disney hotels, but Disney will foot the bill for this for their guests (at a negotiated bulk discount rate). Or, if guests would rather use the Express service, they could get it for a discounted price, with Disney subsidizing the difference.
I couldn’t see the logistics of this working well back when there were two competing services, but now that there’s just one, it seems much more possible, and something that could be implemented relatively quickly (Disney could just generate coupon codes for the Mears Connect website to email to guests as a starting point). And I think that it’s badly needed, especially now that free parking is back for guests. As someone who doesn’t take a vehicle to Disney, it does feel a little bad that guests with vehicles are getting a perk that we aren’t, so this would help even things out a bit.
Parking was always free at resorts prior to Chapek. I am glad free has returned for car drivers. The airplane can not drop you off at your resort.
Jen K is wrong. Parking fees at resorts started in 2018…under Iger.
I’ve taken Mears and Uber from MCO but have sworn off Mears if I’m arriving at Terminal C (Jet Blue). Just not enough business over there and while once we lucked out and got our own private Mears taxi at Mears Connect prices, two other times (when I was traveling solo) I’ve waited 45 minutes. Maybe the merger will help, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ll still take Mears back to MCO, but not from MCO to the resort, at least from Terminal C.
First time poster here. Any suggestions for a family of 4 with 2 needing car seats (a 4 year old and an infant)?. I’ve researched other shuttles but most of those are over 100 each way. And although Lyft and Uber may be cheaper, I am unaware of how it works with needing 2 car seats.
Its’ my understanding – and this article is recent, dated May 2023 confirmed – that you can’t order an Uber in Orlando with more than one car seat.
https://tripswithtykes.com/uber-car-seat-orlando/
I was also going to point out to Tom that his advice for families of 4 to take Uber or Lyft does not apply if you have two kids in carseats, unless you want to schlep them yourselves on the plane and install them in the Uber/Lyft. And I don’t know if Uber/Lyft drivers let you do that. And not all cars will seat two kids in car seats plus two adults and a driver.
My daughter has two in carseats and prefers to take Mears.
RA,
Thank you for responding.
We do not bring car seats with. And, that’s what I had read before too, but I am very rideshare uninformed :D. I was hoping there was something Tom knew that I didn’t know, because if our family could do an Uber or Lyft and save time and money, I would much rather do that and save the time waiting.
I would use the service “Cast and Crew Transportation”. It’s about $110 one way, but you can get 2 car seats, pre book online, and they are waiting for you when your plane touches down. I’ve heard great things about them. I have booked for my Sept trip. Three adults and 2 kids (both needing car seats). I’d rather pay the money – know the kids are safe and NOT have to take 2 hours to get to my hotel.
Apparently this new service was created from layed off CMs during covid. Check out their Instagram and FB pages.
I used Orlando Shuttle Service on our last trip to Florida and they provided car seats. I think it was free to do a booster seat. But on our trip back to the airport the driver forgot to bring the booster seat but he said that in Florida the law is that a 4 years old doesn’t have to use one. And my daughter was 4 so it worked out just fine.
This does make me think for my next trip, in February. I liked Sunshine Flyer after Mears completely dropped the ball and didn’t pick me up at my hotel in 2022. I had to catch a cab, which cost $90 with tip. There will be three of us in February and if we all get in around the same time, Uber may be the best way to go.
I had this same experience except with Sunshine. Disney cast members assisted me with gettting another ride. 2 adults, 2 kids and the luggage.
We have a Sunshine reservation for the end of the month. We usually go to WDW as a family of 7 with children so we loved Magical Express. We had since transitioned to a car (van) service, but this trip is just me and one tween son so I had chosen Sunshine because it would be both economical and I wanted to experience it while he would still appreciate the theming. I’ve gotten 3 emails as a current reservation holder with sunshine and they do explicitly say that the train theme will be gone. I’m a little sad about that loss! I do hope that operations will be better than what I experienced with a different son in May on a regular Mears Connect bus. We waited only about 5 minutes in the terminal but then sat on the bus for 20-30 before it was full enough to depart. When traveling with only one child my sweet spot is a bus from the airport but rideshare back to MCO so I can get an extra hour at WDW.
I miss Magical Express. This last visit we booked Mears. We were happy to see the buses we remembered, but they played Paw Patrol instead of the fondly recalled (and anticipated) intro to WDW videos: the latter of which made us feel like we were already on Disney property instead of a regular bus ride. The bus was going to WDW anyway, so why not play the videos? It was a letdown.
Between that letdown and the lost convenience of not needing to schlep our luggage, Mears needs to do something to jazz this up besides just eating up the competition. This last ride was depressing enough that I’d rather just take an Uber or Lyft than something that’s a pale imitation of what used to be.
Blame Disney for all of that. Mears can’t just unilaterally offer those services–or even play a Walt Disney World ‘welcome’ video–without an agreement. I’m sure Mears would jump at the opportunity to become the “official” airport shuttle service of Walt Disney World.
I agree with you, though, and wish that would happen. Even if it continued to be paid, it would be better from the perspective of immersion and continuity. Walt Disney World has plenty of operating agreements with third parties around the parks & resorts, so it’s not like this is impossible.