Mears Connect Review
Mears Connect offers shuttle bus service between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World resorts plus select off-site hotels. In this transportation review, we’ll share our experience with the paid replacement for Magical Express, offer comparisons to alternatives, and more.
Let’s start with a quick recap. Walt Disney World’s free shuttle service between MCO and the company’s resorts, Disney’s Magical Express, has now ended. Guests now need to find their own ground transportation from the airport to their hotel, and we cover the range of options in our Guide to Airport Transportation for Walt Disney World. There is no one-size-fits-all perfect solution–it depends on your party size, budget, and other factors.
Mears Connect is one such option. It’s attractive to many Walt Disney World visitors because it’s actually by the same company that operated Disney’s Magical Express. In fact, Mears Connect literally uses the exact same drivers and buses, just minus the Disney-branded wraps. Some of the buses look very similar to the old ‘ocean-liner’ DME buses, with only Disney logos and characters removed…
Mears Connect promises fast and convenient airport transportation service in high occupancy vehicles, limited wait times to board a bus, comfortable seating, an arrival souvenir, limited stops to your hotel, and more. (At present, luggage handling is not offered, but Mears hopes to add this in the future.)
The biggest selling point of Mears Connect is their claim that it’s the same reliable, safe service guests have been using for decades to Walt Disney World area hotels. Again, since this is largely a rebranded Disney’s Magical Express, the allure of that is strong. This Mears Connect review will take a look at whether the airport shuttle delivered on those promises.
We’ll begin with the booking process, which is simple and straightforward. From start to finish, it took only a few minutes to make and receive confirmation of my reservation. I was able to book online on incredibly short notice, and the booking engine autofilled my details after entering my airline and flight number.
This is notable because Mears Connect’s direct competitor, Sunshine Flyer, requires 4 days’ notice when making reservations. This probably won’t matter to most Walt Disney World planning obsessives, but for those of us who procrastinate, it can be a problem. There’s even walk-up availability for the ultimate foot-draggers. (On a totally unrelated note, unfortunately we will not have a Sunshine Flyer review until the next time we have a need to return from the airport.)
Mears Connect has two options: Standard and Express. The latter is direct service to your resort and back to the airport, as the guaranteed first stop. Express is not necessarily a private service; it may be shared. Given that, booking Mears Connect Express makes no sense whatsoever, as Mears has a number of competitors that specialize in actual private service. I don’t see the point of reviewing Mears Connect Express, nor do I want to pay the premium for it in a world where Uber exists, so I booked Mears Connect Standard.
The Standard level of service is a shared ride service on high-occupancy Mears Connect vehicle, which costs $16 for adults and $13.50 for children for a one-way trip or $32 for adults and $27 for children for round trips. This is the regular multi-stop shuttle bus option.
Approximately 24 hours before my flight, I received a boarding pass for the bus with a QR code via email from Mears Connect. Upon landing at MCO, I received a text message reminder with a link to my boarding pass and arrival instructions. Now, you might think it’s overkill to send this boarding pass twice. That’s fair.
Somehow, I still made my way over to the Mears Connect boarding area on autopilot and presented my MagicBand like a doofus. Old habits die hard, I guess. As I fumbled to find the QR code, the Mears Connect desk attendant found my reservation in the system, handed me a pair of sunglasses (the free arrival gift), and sent me on my way to the loading zone.
It was a late flight, and at this point, there were maybe 4 other people in the entire Mears Connect loading area. Earlier in the year, I had seen photos of long lines to check-in and board the buses; that absolutely was not my experience. This isn’t to say you won’t encounter a long line–it really depends upon demand, and the influx of arrivals versus how quickly Mears can process guests and dispatch buses.
In any case, guests quickly filled in behind me and in other lanes. Within 10 minutes, the bus started boarding. It took another 15 minutes of waiting for a few more stragglers to show up, and even then, my Mears Connect bus was only around 20% full when we departed.
Upon departure, the bus driver announced that there would be 5 stops: Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, and Gaylord Palms Resort.
That final, off-site hotel actually is a stone’s throw from Bonnet Creek and Pop Century, so it was actually a pretty efficient itinerary. I’m not sure if that was a matter of planning, or simply luck that the passengers weren’t dispersed over a larger geographic area on property and off.
I assume someone must be the first stop when taking these shared shuttle services from the airport, but it’s never us. In years of using Disney’s Magical Express, I’d reckon that we were the last or second-to-last stop approximately 90% of the time. Maybe somewhere out there, our Wario and Waluigi counterparts are boasting on their blog about always being first.
True to form, my destination was the last stop on this Mears Connect route. In this case, that was actually my preference, as this was for the sake of review. Timing everything from the moment I was checked in until I exited the Mears Connect bus, the whole process took 1 hour, 25 minutes and 50 seconds.
Had I been the first stop, it would’ve taken just under an hour. This is more or less consistent with our rides aboard Disney’s Magical Express, which is wholly unsurprising. The drive from the airport still takes the same amount of time, as do the stops between each resort.
The wildcards are going to be the waits to board buses, depart, and number of stops. Those are variables for which no single review can account, and even if they could, you’d have no way of knowing what your experience would be before arrival. It could take 45 minutes on the absolute low end, or 2 hours on the high end. Perhaps even longer during peak season with long lines for buses–but even that should be offset by demand necessitating a more frequent bus dispatch interval.
This is the tough thing about reviewing the Sunshine Flyer, Mears Connect, or even Disney’s Magical Express before them. You could luck into a flawless experience where you timed everything perfectly, were dropped off first, and the whole process only took 45 minutes. Conversely, your timing could be terrible and it could take 2 hours.
Two guests could arrive literally 10 minutes apart but have polar opposite reviews–one just barely making the bus to their destination and the other just barely missing it. One might write effusive praise online about the shuttle service, the other a rant about poor service and delays. Both would be equally true, with mere minutes separating the great from the awful.
From my perspective, this makes a time-based review of Mears Connect virtually pointless. While it took me a slightly above-average amount of time, your experience could vary widely from this. The most important thing to know is the range of these fluctuations, and that they are entirely possible and equally unpredictable.
You might luck into a 45 minute total transit time, and that’s great. But you need to be prepared and willing to wait 2 hours, as that’s also in the realm of possibilities. If not, Mears Connect is not for you. (Same goes for Sunshine Flyer.)
This was only a one-way trip aboard Mears Connect. We did not (and will not) test the resort to airport return service because, frankly, the lead times are absurd. You are picked up from your hotel a minimum of 3 hours prior to your flight (at least 4 hours for international flights), with actual pick-up times often being more like 3.5-4 hours for domestic departures.
In fairness, this is nothing new. Disney’s Magical Express did the exact same thing, and it was in large part driven by the unpredictability of security wait times at MCO. We have Global Entry and seldom check bags, so we’re usually leaving for the airport less than 2 hours before our flight’s departure.
On the service side, Mears Connect was practically perfect. Everyone at the airport was courteous and helpful, and the driver tried to liven up the bus ride with a fun and upbeat attitude. No issues or complaints whatsoever–they did as good of a job as possible.
But–and I’m sure many of you saw this coming and know where it’s going next–it’s simply not the same as Disney’s Magical Express. How could it be?
Even with offering the same shuttle service at a foundational level, Mears Connect simply does not have that inarticulable Disney quality to it. This was easily foreseeable and is unsurprising, but it nevertheless bears emphasizing.
Disney’s Magical Express had a lot of flaws. It was beloved despite those, and many visitors were easily able to ‘paper over’ the problems in their minds because, true to the name, it was a magical way to start their vacation. Being greeted by Mickey Mouse in his captain’s hat, a memorable and quotable video on board, and various little Disney touches all made it easier to overlook what was otherwise an inefficient method of airport transportation.
It wasn’t that Disney’s Magical Express was good, it was that it was Disney. A way to be immersed in the experience from the moment you landed in Orlando, all the while building anticipation aboard the bus and ultimately exiting at your themed resort. It was exciting, fun, and distinctly Disney–even while being operated by Mears. It was a bittersweet end to the trip, but one that already began planting the seeds for your next visit.
Now all of that is gone. The shuttle service must stand on its own, without its weakness veiled by the ‘magical’ veneer. Mears Connect is fundamentally the exact same shuttle, but, fairly or unfairly, it will be perceived differently by guests. Those same long waits and that inefficiency that existed before suddenly might be less tolerable.
Ultimately, that’s where we stand with Mears Connect. For better or worse, the objective experience is nearly identical to what Disney’s Magical Express offered for the last two years (after eliminating luggage handling). Whether it’s right for you is a personal question, and hopefully one you can answer in light of the above information about waits, service, and cost.
Personally, Mears Connect is not something that we would use if visiting Walt Disney World for fun. (We only did this for the sake of reviewing it.) With just the two of us, the cost of the shuttle typically beats Uber or Lyft by a slim margin–but not when allocating even the minimum value to our time, which is probably a fair assessment of its worth. Were we a larger party, it would almost certainly make financial sense to opt for something different. Then again, there’s also value in predictability, convenience, and using an established service–so I get the appeal there.
What I will never understand is the discontinuation of Disney’s Magical Express. As we’ve been saying since Walt Disney World announced the end of DME, we maintain that this is an incredibly shortsighted and guest-unfriendly decision that will have unforeseen negative long-term consequences for Walt Disney World once pent-up demand fizzles out. It’s impossible to put a dollar-value on that feeling of being immersed in the Disney ‘magic’ from the moment of arrival to departure, and the impact of its loss–on brand affinity & goodwill, guest satisfaction, and likelihood of returning–is equally incalculable. Mears Connect might offer the same service for a fee, but there’s still a world of difference.
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 of Mears Connect? Have you already used Mears Connect? If so, what were your wait times and overall impression of the offering? Will you use Mears Connect, or is it too expensive for shared transportation? Will you opt for Mears Connect over Sunshine Flyer, Uber, Lyft, or renting a car? Thoughts on pricing, efficiency, or anything else? What do you think about Walt Disney World ending Disney’s Magical Express? 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 admit, I think sending an email and a text is less annoying than calling someone twice or emailing them twice, which is why I always try and use a second method when trying to reach out to someone for work. (In my personal life, I know who is better to contact via US Mail or a TikTok video.)
I figure no one is going to touch luggage handling that right now, especially if they have to pay non-tipped employees to do it. (Thanks to everyone who pointed out that Mears drivers are clearly tipped employees!) I’m guessing that the most non-Disney companies can do is take your bags to the front like package delivery works now, so the full luggage handling service cannot be offered unless WDW changes policies. While there are the non-labor costs of tracking bags, and mailing out luggage tags, IF they pick up your bags from the luggage carousel for you, those are probably incidental to the cost of people moving the bags.
I think that was a very worthwhile benefit,. I would have been willing to pay extra for when I needed (or wanted) it, and only Disney could provide the bellhop service into my room that felt Magical to me.
Does anyone know of good transportation options to Disney from Orlando-Sanford? We’re a group of 8. Thanks for any help!
I was so disappointed to learn that they were getting rid of the ME when I started planning last year for our upcoming trip in May. We’ll be taking a town car service for $115 round trip for our party of four – includes a booster seat for our five year old and an optional 20 min grocery stop on the way to Port Orleans. It’s just simply way more bang for our buck for direct private car service than a shuttle that could take upwards of two hours.
I used Mears Connect (or as a friend calls it, NotDME) when I was there for a solo trip for Princess Weekend last month. Had a great experience – was one of those who was at my resort (Dolphin) in 45 minutes. Being picked up 3+ hours prior to my return flight was not great, but being that I had an early morning flight, I wasn’t missing any park time. My next trip will be with my daughter and we will probably take Uber or Lyft for the convenience. My only concern is that I have heard horror stories about surge pricing ($150 one way!?!) and not being able to get a car, but I’m not sure how often that happens. Anyone else have experience to share?
I used the scheduler option on Lyft to schedule 10 days (I think?) in advance – it saves money and avoids surge pricing
Re: the extremely early pick-up time on the way back to the airport, I was actually able to push our pick-up back a half-hour later by contacting customer service. They were even willing to let me push it back more if I wanted, but I would have basically absolved themselves of liability should we miss our flight. So, something to consider!
I’m sad to see upper management destroy the reputation of Disney World in such a short time while it took 50 years to build it all for their personal greed. As far as which way to go for travel options we were going to use the Train Bus but now I’ve totally rejected that idea. And the time of departure back to the airport is sooo long I think I’ll look into the Uber/Lyft option. And not having to deal with returning a rental car is worth the extra cost. It’s just my wife and myself so the costs and saving some time should more than cover any extra costs. We loved the DME and if you think of how many people used that service and what it cost Disney to provide it must have been huge!! I’m glad all that saved money will go to Bob’s pockets! Pay more, get less and less and less. I wonder when the cuts will stop? I hope it stops soon or we’ll strongly consider selling our DVC and go elsewhere for vacations.
Our experience with Mears did not go well. We paid for the “express” service – no vehicle arrived for us at MCO. The agents there just told us to get on next bus. We refused and they sent a car. When it was time to leave, no vehicle showed up at BC. The “driver tracking” was not working on the website. After multiple calls by me and bus drivers, Mears finally sent a car an hour later. We paid a lot extra for express service and did not receive it.
In addition to all the factors you mentioned in questioning Disney’s decision to cut Magical Express, the biggest one to me is losing the advantage (from Disney’s POV) of getting guests on-site without a car. Wasn’t getting more guests to WDW without a rental car, thereby increasing the amount of time those guests stayed on property and decreasing the day trips to Universal/elswewhere the primary benefit to Disney offering M.E.? I don’t get it.
Putting aside our disappointment with the loss of Magical Express, we were fine with our Mears service a few months ago. Did your driver give you the hard sell on tips? Ours was particularly aggressive in overtly mentioning his need for tips a few times during the trip. Of course we tip, but it was awkward and uncomfortable.
Our driver going from the airport didn’t mention tips (at least as far as I remember), but the one for the return trip mentioned it several times. I did think that it was a bit odd.
I started reading this article and then thought, “Wait! Who actually wrote this? Surely Tom and Sarah don’t need to take Mears now that they live in Central Florida??” As usual, you’ve perfectly captured the nuance of an idiosyncratic Disney experience. DME was sort of awful while being a beloved WDW punctilio, and a microcosmic representation of your vacation as a whole. You had to get to WDW one way or another, you may as well start by scanning your MagicBand for the first time, just to stand in an unpredictably moving queue for a ride that may or may not operate well, all while shrugging off the inconveniences and thrilling to the familiar, pacifying tones of Disney voiceover actors. Weird as it may seem, I kind of enjoyed the stops at other resorts. I’ve stayed at almost all the WDW resorts, at one point through the years, and it was fun to get tiny, nostalgic bites of atmosphere & music while looping the driveways and port cocheres. Truth be told, we’ve been building in the cost of rental cars over the last few trips. We’re soured on Disney buses and find the car SO much more efficient in getting around the property.
Just wanted to note that your comment made me laugh. Great analogy!
I used both Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer last month. I arrived at MCO at 9 pm on a Sunday. I chose Mears Connect because they offer 24 hour service. Sunshine Flyer does not. There was no line at all at Mears. I immediately boarded bus and departed within 5 minutes. Driver said there would be 3 stops and the first group to board would be dropped off first. Luckily, my resort was also first stop. There was video about central Florida attractions and the two charities Mears supports – Give Kids the World and Special Olympics.
I used Sunshine Flyer for my return on Thursday. My flight’s departure time was 8:50 and my pickup time was 5:25. At 5:30 I was on the phone with Sunshine Flyer to confirm bus was on the way. I was put on hold. Five minutes later plain white bus with very small Sunshine Flyer blue logo pulled up. There was no train themed wrap and driver was wearing dark pants and a white shirt. I was only person on board. Driver did not tell me how many more stops there would be. After 2 more stops, driver welcomed everyone and said trip would be around 35 minutes depending on traffic which was heavy on his way to resorts. There was no video, only music some of which was Disney music. Upon arrival at airport driver said he would exit bus, unload all luggage and then allow passengers to exit. There weren’t many passengers on the bus, so it was fairly quick for driver to unload. If the bus were full it could take awhile to get your luggage and be on your way. I will stick with Mears Connect for my April trip.
Disney remains in a “no-lose” situation, regardless of the degree of cuts they make. Their monumental focus remains kn first-time guests, all of whom have no historical knowledge of what “used to be”; no preconceived opinions regarding ticket prices, theming, food quality, entertainment offerings…. It’s literally a bull market for Disney.
We just got home from a week at Disney. Of the many changes since our last 2019 trip, this one hits hard. Everything Tom said about what the DME meant is absolutely truth. It was severely missed and a HUGE perk regarding staying on property. No worries, just board and smile. So, let’s get to our decision to not take Mears. Cost. It was about $125.00 for Mears round trip and we’d have to leave so much earlier from Disney than ride share services. We went with Lyft because they were less expensive than Uber by about $10.00 each way. Both require an XL for anything over 3 passengers. We had two parents, a 20 year old and a 13 year old. We paid about $105.00 RT, plus tips.. Pretty close in price with the tips to Mears but then again, the Lyft pickups were almost immediate and when we wanted them. The one thing that was not good on Lyft: the driver took us to the Polynesian but dropped us at the wrong building – maybe it was the DVC, but not the Grand Celebration Hall where checkin was held. We didn’t know any better and got out, hoofing it a bit to get where he should have dropped us. Mears would not have made that mistake!
We have always Ubered except for our very first visit, in which we waited in that huge empty room what felt like an endless amount of time with a 2 year old while bus after bus to “other resorts” departed with like five people on them. We didn’t take it back to the airport and have never taken it since.
Using Uber doesn’t bother us. But I will say, we have a good friend who goes to Disney about once a year. She always used the magical bus and was very thrown off by not having it. It was the one thing that pushed her over the edge to always staying at the resort. Once it was no longer available…she’s staying off-site for about 1/8th the cost of a resort this month, and only booked two nights at a resort to take advantage of early entry for Hollywood Studios. Disney lost the rest of her stay – seven full days prior to the extra bit she tacked on – because it didn’t have that stupid bus.
To me charging to park at Disney hotels when you are paying to stay there is even worse than losing magical express. The last time we stayed at art of animation in aug 2017 the parking lots had plenty of room. Before anyone says hotels in cities charge for parking, I say this is totally different-that’s a supply and demand thing-there isn’t enough space in city hotel parking garages and often the parking is valet because it is blocks away. Disney parking lots at most of the hotels have enough capacity. Of all the changes and price increases this actually bothers me the most (yes even more than paid fastpass!
I agree!
I thoroughly enjoyed the dme I live very near tampa but last August instead of getting a ride by family I wanted to see what the dme was like so I flew to Atlanta and took a connection to Orlando I should preface this by saying I enjoy flying also. Anyways I wish I had done this sooner and am sorry they no longer have the dme
Thank you so much for this review!
We are currently planning a trip in the summer and were debating between renting a car or trying this “new” Mears service. Because we are traveling with a 6 year old, Uber/Lyft are not really options for us.
As you have mentioned, ending DME is an incredibly confusing and dumb decision by Disney.
Little by little they are removing the perks of staying on property and with various offsite hotels stepping up their amenities and services (at a lower price point!) I believe they will begin to lose business especially from those families that travel with children.
Fwiw we’ve been able to get Ubers with car seats!
We have the mifold comfort boosters for our kids – they fold down to practically nothing and make ride shares.easy!
For comparison sake, how long does the ride share process generally take from start to finish?
We are a family of 5 so even factoring in that we’d need a bigger car it’s much cheaper to Uber than use than either of the shuttle services. And I’m assuming that even if we have to wait a few minutes for our driver, the whole process is faster, too, right?
We are comfortable with Ubers and already have tiny travel carseats for the kids so it seems like a no brainier.
I grabbed a Lyft XL (enough room for 5 and luggage) while waiting for my bags earlier this month at 8:30pm, and even with some delays due to airport traffic I was at Old Key West by 9pm–just in time to pick up my mobile order from Olivia’s! At peak hours it can take a little longer, but it’s definitely faster than a bus.
I can’t see how this is a particularly sustainable model, myself. When I travel alone, it makes sense to spend 16 dollars instead of ~40 for a Lyft…but I travel alone very rarely and think I can safely say that MOST people going to Disney are not single travelers and will come out ahead with a Lyft in both money and time. I also hate the advanced boarding on the buses on the way back to the airport and will usually opt to pay more for a Lyft instead even when I am alone. It’d be nice if they gave a *recommended* departure time but then let you ultimately pick your bus.
Still, I’ll be using Sunshine Flyer when I go down in early May so hopefully there’s at least a little magic in a Train.
I think you said it perfect with this line
. It’s impossible to put a dollar-value on that feeling of being immersed in the Disney ‘magic’ from the moment of arrival to departure, and the impact of its loss–on brand affinity & goodwill, guest satisfaction, and likelihood of returning–is equally incalculable.
My Kids use to Love the Magical Express as did we as parents. We knew once we got off the plane our vacation stated, no waiting on getting our luggage or renting a car, or hailing a ride share. My kids even lead the way down to the DME area and used their magical bands. My oldest who is 13 still talks about the DME, so it was indeed part of the experience which cannot be matched.