Cancelled: The Magical Express ft. Bright Sun Films
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- The Magic Express Bus Service from Orlando Airport has been a huge part of #WaltDisneyWorld vacations for over a decade, making your #DisneyVacation easy. With plans now to cancel the service, we start to question what will take it's place? Joined by Jake Williams of @Bright Sun Films lets dissect what the #DisneyMagicalExpress means to the Orlando Vacation.
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The quote of $800 extra on your vacation is a best case scenario amount. No telling how much rental car companies will hike up their prices now that the demand for their service has skyrocketed 🙃
But you don't need a rental car. The people taking Magical Express were generally people who stayed in-bubble for the entire week. Why would those same people get a rental car? Get an Uber both ways or arrange a Mears shuttle (which is all that the Magical Express is anyway, it's a fancy Mears shuttle).
@@angelasmith6953 because of with less to do at Disney and having to arrange the transportation anyway they might as well just have the convenience of a rental car. There is plenty to do in Orlando other then Disney and this may get long time Disney fans to go out of that bubble. Also, I cann imagine the prices of a taxi or Uber going up when there is more.limited option.
I like that you aren’t shy about questioning Disney when Disney is doing shady things, and not just brush it off because of the magic ya know
Last time my family went was in 2009 so a lot has changed. But the dining plan and the transportation was soo crucial for us. My family didn't make that much money but my parents saved all they could to make our experience as magical as possible and that included staying on property. I hope to be able to afford to visit sometime in the next few years but I agree that staying on property doesn't have as much of a pull as it used too.
Somehow I feel Disney has been "destroying" themselves in so many different ways in these recent years
Two words, “Greed” and “ China” .
Bob Chapek and Bob Iger are your answers
So check this out. I’m at the park’s pretty much weekly. If nothing else, at least every Sunday. I was leaving MK yesterday (2/28/21) and saw a double decker bus coming from TTC, get this are you ready, the “Theme Park Express.” 😂 I’ve never seen that particular bus company before, so it would seem someone’s already starting up a private service to essentially do what ME did for all those years. And what’s best about it, is they’ll take you to ALL of the Orlando theme park’s!
I also realize this service is by no means free like the ME is, but it didn’t take very long at all for someone to jump on that business opportunity
The removal of so many perks has been made the feeling you get of staying on property much less enticing. We were a consistent once every 2 years family and do have a trip planned for this later year, but after that... not sure if the tradition will continue.
Honestly, a big deal breaker for me has been the removal of extra magic hours. That right there was reason enough for me to stay on property, but between that, losing the Magical Express, and other so-called 'cost saving measures' it's looking less and less appealing. Why not stay in an equivalent but cheaper hotel off property that provides transportation to the parks?
Totally agree. The 30 minutes extra that's replacing EMH is...pointless.
I’m going to Disney World over the spring break because there were some INSANE deals. Like I paid $95 for the flights, $100 a day for the parks, etc. In my head I hadn’t gone since 2000-2005 so the on property “value” hotels were worth it, but then I saw the nightmarish prices right around the time this news came out. Then I read meal plans weren’t really a thing anymore and that magic bands weren’t included and so on and so on and so on...
Then I found a beautiful room at the Doubletree for $50 a night with a shuttle to the parks, and I’m never going to go to the on property hotels again in my entire life.
I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without it. I live almost 15 hours away and was supposed to be going with my best friend for her first Disney trip last May. We obviously had to push it off and now we’re unsure when we’ll be able to go or even what that looks like. I was so comfortable with making decisions for our trip because of my prior Disney knowledge, but with everything changed I’m not sure I can give her the trip I’ve been hyping up.
It feels like they’re just dismantling their operations apart one by one at this point.
my Disney vacation just got cancelled (for the second time) and this time when looking to rebook for 2022, with all the perks that have been cancelled, we are looking to book off site. when we first booked we spent the extra money to stay on site for the perks and ease, now they have gone we shall save our money and stay at a higher stared hotel off site.
geez it like what someone said about Streaming and Sesame Street the idea that people in the lower class are going to have a hard time engaging as we move forward
My Family and I have always looked forward to the Magical Express. That's the ACTUAL START of our vacation. It motivates us in stating "You're in for a Grand time!!" Shame on Disney for doing this. They might say "We have thought this through." - I don't think so. They could have just stated that they were suspending it for a bit while they got back with the flow that they were used to.
Well, this make Universal Studios (which still has transport and from the airport, extra hours and a fast pass system) a much better deal (and with a new park coming before the train station is made too)
I had no idea that magic bands aren’t free anymore, how disappointing. Disney is really starting to put up obvious walls that block out certain folks- big families, lower income people, disabled people as other commenters mentioned. Big IPs and fancy new rides aren’t going to be enough to boost their profits if people just can’t afford to stay. When I go again (who knows when, losing perks like magic bands and meals plans and the express makes the prices more preventative for a gal like me) I’ll probably stay on-property to get that Disney feel, but I know that won’t be the case for others. And the immersion of that experience will be broken without the Magical Express. But it seems like Disney doesn’t care about that at this point. It’s a shame.
I think we are definitely going to see a rise of Universal Studios because of this. I'm hearing more people choosing it over Disney. Families just cannot afford this anymore, and it's become a luxury, almost status trip.
My next trip will be to Universal. We used to live by Disneyland, but we're on the east coast now and closer to WDW (I've been twice). My own child already knows most of the Disney rides, but Universal is really catering to his interests these days. I think most families with little boys would choose Universal in a heart beat.
I think with the parks disappearing, I’m definitely going to rethink staying on property. They don’t have the dining plan. You can’t get to the resorts easily. They charge you to park in the parks and hotels. Magic bands aren’t included. They got rid of a lot of entertainment offerings (while increasing their executives’ pay) laying off thousands of castmembers. The prices and increasing with the value decreasing. Why should anyone stay at the expensive hotels. When they can pay less at another hotel off property and potentially save maybe $1,000+ and then go to other things in Orlando. I think in the end this is going to bite Disney in the ass. People will realize that all the company cares about is money and getting every dime they can while giving the guests next to nothing. People will be less likely to want to go to Disney if they don’t clean up their act. They are pricing out families, which are their bread and butter.i think Disney is heading for another dark ages. Maybe the sinking ships of last year were a sign. The magic express being axed is not only going to inconvenience families, but also disabled guests visiting the parks.
This 👏🏼
Going to WDW was always expensive, but there were perks that made it worth your while. Now, what is the perk? We are paying historically high rates for far less entertainment and convenience. Disney has inadvertently put the bulk of cost on the consumer during a pandemic and thus made it way less likely that families will choose WDW as their vacation spot, much less stay on property.
I think people will still go cause most are so mindlessly addicted to it that it’s become a cult at this point.
If they replace the magical express it’s gonna be with something way more expensive.
They make you pay to park at the hotels now, too. Used to be we just showed our hotel admission and we could park at Magic Kingdom etc and that was included with the hotel bill. Now it’s like you might as well stay at some other hotel.
Honestly a lot of off property hotels have transport to the parks if I am not getting a magical express to my resort then I might as well save money for off property and pay for the 45 min drive from the airport to the hotel
I cannot emphasize enough how happy I am to have visited Disney World in 2016. I was my life-long dream and all the advantages I found there made it all the more magical (especially the Free Magic-Band, on property advantages and different perks that made it very convenient to me). I didn't take the Magic Express but I was looking forward to it had I ever gone back. But now, I don't see the point in even ever going back with all that's been taken away! That's how much value it added to the vacation, and how much it takes away...
I’m those people who stays in the grand Floridian and I still used the magical express bus. What I’m saying is don’t assume others because this perk will affect towards ANYONE who flies into Florida, people who don’t know much how to get around Florida to the parks, people who want to save money, people who take advantage of this perk because it’s there, and people who don’t want to drive to the parks.
As someone who is coming from a city area and doesn't drive/along with having travel anxiety, DME was such a life savor and made Disney World my regular vacation spot simply due to the no hassle concerns. Though I'm still excited to return in 2022, its going to feel so foreign and strange to not have that option. In a way, it takes the sparkle out of the experience - because no uber driver can replace the DME hyping you up to pass by the entrance to WDW.
This will be the first time we're going to stay off site because of the cost and the lack of perks that drew us in. I hope they replace the Magical Express with SOMETHING and the entertainment comes back or else those wait times are going to seriously drop. And not in a good way
I live in Central Florida and have a lot of friends that work for Disney. While no one knows for sure what’s gonna happen, what I have heard is that Mears (who runs the Magical Express) is likely to keep operating shuttles from MCO to Disney, likely for an additional fee.
My family's magical express was the Aerostar van we drove down from Maine in the late 80s lol! And looking back, I do appreciate seeing the country like that (despite my dad refusing to pull over at South of the Border).
To go with the end of the Magical Express is that they got rid of Resort Airline check-in, too. So on your last day, you could hand over your bags at the resort, go about your day at the park, get on the bus, then walk through security to your gate. Now it's store your bags, pick up your bags (and tip), load them on to the bus then off (and tip), then wait in line at the airline to check them, then security. I am salty about this.
Additionally, a few years ago, they started to charge for parking on property. And the end of extra magic hours... it's, you know, ugh.
We're going in June for my parents anniversary. My husband, my self, my parents, my brother and his family. We're getting the ME. We're not getting the RAC. We are at a Skyliner resort.... but you know, we could have rented that really cool Star Wars airbnb for our family, had more space, a full kitchen, a private pool, and not lost out on much, so maybe next time, that's what we'll do. But my husband and I are DVC owners, so we'll be back and on property. For the two of us, it's less of an impact. We can rent a car for a day to go from the airport to our resort and go to a grocery store on the way, then return the car on site. But, ugh.
I’m from the UK and am planning a trip to Disney and was gonna book to use this as I’m gonna stay on property and I really don’t feel comfortable driving in a country that drives on the opposite side of the road to what I’m used to. I hope they replace it with something.
They are supposed to replace it with a train?
If you do need a cab, I'd advise booking one with a shopping stop as this made it easier to buy certain types of things which were more expensive on site.
I only looked at the thumbnail and was totally confused when we were suddenly at Dan's place XD
We're a 5 person family and we always spend upwards of $10,000 when we go to Disney. Staying off property is seeming more and more enticing...
As someone who has been to Disney World 3 times in their life, the Magical Express being cancelled is an absolute bummer. That means another added cost to get me to the resort I'm staying at and then back to the airport. I don't think it'll prevent me entirely from going, because of the on-property transportation perks, but it will for sure be a make it or break it for a lot of people who go once in a blue moon.
I'm amazed they took this out. Been to Walt Disney World one time, stayed at the Pop Century Resort for one week, and taking this bus was the easiest part out of all of it. No way am I ever going to rent a car to go there.
One man: Bob Chapek
He probably would have gotten rid of a lot of this stuff anyway but the fact that there is a pandemic, gives him an excuse to do so more easily.
Jake Williams, the made who brought me into the interest of abandoned malls and attractions.
BSF was practically my first exposure to the history of old places like that, which also made me think of the history of some of the local abandoned places that I went to as a kid.
Yeah he was a big inspiration on me too!
RIP magical express
your literally on every video i see haha
We travel to Disney once a year as well as other location somewhere in the world. We go to Disney every year because of all the extras that make it special. The bus not running is definitely annoying but not a deal breaker- but removing all the little magical aspects you mentioned that make it special compared to other theme parks such as the Floridian band or Bob are what will take away from the experience. I could definitely see some people taking their money elsewhere if it starts to feel like just another theme park and not the magical location it has been all these years.
I dont have much experience with disneyworld since I've only been once many many moons ago, but find this super interesting as a Los Angeles child of the 90s I grew up going to Disneyland in the Eisner Era and im seeing a lot of similarities. So many of the small details that I loved about the park as a small child disappeared and didn't come back until my late teens in the mid 2000s and the Disneyland experience was greatly affected by these changes. It's a shame that we seem to repeating the pattern only 20 years later
I am disappointed by the loss of the Magical Express and hope they reconsider. The anxiety I have just thinking about driving myself around WDW in a rental (or my own) car is a bit overwhelming. We’ve gotten so used to the convenience of it all over the years. I never paid much attention to directions or roads to have any idea how to drive around there.
If they let the Disney Bubble burst, they will have played themselves because if I'm staying off property, I'm going to Universal too.
Florida resident who drives in: Been planning a trip but after losing free resort parking and Extra Magic Hours (both pre-pandemic) and now FP+, events, entertainment, character meets, and many food options...I don't know. There's really no reason to stay in the bubble. Limited options with temporary closures don't call for a week-long vacation anymore. Families can get it all done in a few days now. I'm hopeful there's a plan to bring some magic back in time for the 50th and beyond. P.S. Magic bands are fun, but those batteries can last a few years. I'd gladly trade free magic bands for everyone to get their jobs back.
I read somewhere where Disney company said they were going to majorly cut funding to Disney parks and focus on Digital things like Disney+.
Maybe this is what's happening.😞
I work for a third party company that books resort and ticket reservations. Rumor is FL is building transportation from the airport directly to Disney parks. So that may be what is replacing DME? Also we were told dining plans will resume once some of the restrictions were lifted. That since not all the restaurants and shows are available they were not the value for guests. What we were told on dining plans, not rumor like DME.
Hi Jake.
Hi Dan.
Shout outs from my 9 year old too.
Great video guys!!! I'd love more collabs in the future. There fun. But I still absolutely love our normally scheduled content.
Love from Arizona.
That breaks my heart. 😔
My parents are disabled, so the Magical Express was a huge convenience! Our next trip is going to be a lot harder.
So with rental cars being 'high demand' you know the rental agencies are going to raise the prices. How long until the off property hotels and resorts make paying to park the norm as well?
This was a well done discussion Dan. Thank you for this.
Ultimately it hurts the “once a year” or “once every two years” vacationers to WDW. I loved walking straight the DME and then jumping to the parks right after check in.
I don’t think I’ll be able to afford on resort all inclusive disney vacations anymore and I’m a kool aid drinking disney fan.
It will be interesting to see how I travel down with my kids after the border opens again.
My first trip in 1997, I took a Mears van from the airport to the resort. They didn't have magic bands then just a credit card like ticket for multi-day stays. I'm pretty sure the Mears transportation arrangement was booked thru or with the Disney planning. Maybe they will go back to that or just cut thier losses and let ride sharing services pick up the slack for lower spending guests. Overall it's all about the $$$$, but mostly the big spending $$$$$$$$$$.
I feel like people don't realize is that magical express was operated by a third party company called mears, which may have costed disney a ton of money to operate as well since the service was free, look i live like 30 minutes away from walt disney world, so the removal of the magical express doesnt bother me, but I can see why people would be upset, yet, they are still are getting many visitors even during these tough times.
I’ve never stayed at a WDW resort but getting rid of the magical express makes me worried that they’ll get rid of the other buses to the parks which would force people to pay $20 to park at the parks which for 2 weeks is ridiculous! I don’t know if it’s an effort to price out people or because it’s ‘Covid related’ but that would add at least an extra $1000 with car rental and parking to the average vacationer
2:32 Going to go out on a limb and guess the middle class families they've been trying to squeeze and eliminate from Disney vacations.
Unfortunately, we're living in a society where middle class people are going to get squeezed out of everything with only rich people being able to do things.
I love Bright sun films both my favorite RUclips channels
That’s- worrying.. I mean when I’m supposed to go to Disney for the first time we weren’t going to stay at a Disney brand hotel because- expressive- but if I was the Disney express seems useful..
It was incredibly useful. You fly in, then you got on the Magical Express and Disney handles the luggage while you deal with the family. You don't have to get a cab or Uber to the park, which is an expense.
Cab companies will love this, had one a couple of years ago send an email where they seemed to be borderline begging to use them.
Personally, I'd still rather stay onsite because of the other transport costs and conveniences, unless I'm going elsewhere e.g. Universal, but needing to pay for transport will likely still mean I spend less onsite, especially since cabs in the past had a shopping stop.
My partner and I don't have kids and have been going to the WDW resorts the last few years because tbh it's actually much cheaper for us than most vacation options we considered. Flights to Orlando from the Bay Area are incredibly cheap compared to almost any other vacation choice. The SF Bay Area is such an insanely expensive metro, it does skew our perspectives a little compared to folks from other parts of the US. I know for us, one reason we stayed on property in the budget resorts was saving us the cost of renting a car and using the Magical Express + extra magic hours perks. The Extra Hours are the only reason we were able to book both Cinderella's Castle and Be Our Guest on our trips. We also enjoyed bus hopping over to the Polynesian to get drinks and dinner in the evenings if we didn't get reservations in the parks. There is no way we'll be staying at the budget hotels now that we don't have those perks. I started making more money than I did in the years we did this, but I have no desire to 'upgrade' to the nicer WDW Resorts on property without the perks. I may as well stay at one of the nearby nice hotels for way less. I totally agree this is going to end up biting Disney in the butt in years to come. Their resorts are going to lose people like me, and already have.
I stayed at Art of animation right before Covid-19 and it was wonderful. We had the magical express, and then the skyliner which took us to our two favorite parks quickly and with ease. I don't see the point in visiting without the express. I think really before Covid-19, Disney was having a renaissance era like the 90s but not for movies, this time, parks. We had all these projects announced that we were looking forward to. Disney was fixing EPCOT (my favorite park), they were having this huge burst of creativity that got people really excited. But the money for this has to come from somewhere, and Iger invested a ton in the parks. With Covid-19 hitting, these will cost even more, and not come to the same fruition (less hype, some lesser projects not underway scrapped, etc.). So I think the lure for Disney is going to be carefully staggered attraction openings. They're going to want people to time their vacations so that a year or two after they visit, they have something else. That will draw the hardcore fans, but I agree with others that it likely won't be enough. The company will face losses, and they'll have to rethink how they run the parks again. It's also worth noting that Iger has explicitly stated the Walt Disney Company will be investing less in the parks going forward, which to me seems like a huge mistake. Funding these new secret projects and developing new technology is what really drives excitement for all things Disney, as it brings the Disney magic alive again. I hope this comes back to bite Disney in the butt so that they remember what makes Disney, Disney. Like the Eisner era, Iger started off well, and is leading the company down. We'll be left wondering what's next, and who will lead Disney. Feel free to share what you think as well, I'd love to hear.
I visited Disneyland in 2019. I had been there several times throughout my lifetime. I honestly, did not feel the magic that I had in previous visits. Maybe I am just getting old.
I think there's a counterexample to this, sort of like a "locals bubble" of Floridians who never got the insulted Disney vacation and therefore don't see the parks in the same way.
In response to the removal of so many perks, and the bland theming so many of their remodeled rooms: Our family is not taking our vacation to Disney World this year. We cancelled our reservations and are going somewhere else. Bonus for us? It's costing us a lot less money. IF we decide to go back in the next couple of years, we probably won't stay on property. We can get the same experience at a lower cost from a Good Neighbor Hotel. Especially now that we have to rent a car and pay for parking anyway.
My husband and I didn't spend much time at our resort on our first trip together. We planned to go again this past October but couldn't due to covid. If there's a decently simple way to get from local hotels to parks, there will be no point to stay on property now. I know there's stuff at the resort, but I'm not going for the resort, I'm going to the park. The resort was just wonderful end/start to each day. The end of magical expres may have removed that entire perk for me and many.
I honestly feel like the worst thing is the increased level of IP in the parks. The Disney company ruin classical attractions because they see more value in adding a brand to them
Maybe they'll finally build that High Speed train to disney and orlando that they were planning
Aw, thank you, Dan! We appreciate you existing and bringing us content! :)
As someone who, once upon a time, worked resort-side on DME arrivals, I'm sad to see it go. The value it had, especially to those Guests who didn't want the hassle or expense of a car rental or dealing with outside 3rd party transport, was immense. That said, as a consumer, I have never used it. For me, the convenience of private airport transfers - be it with Uber nowadays or with private towncar service years ago - was worth budgeting into my Disney vacation. Everyone has their own vacation priorities, but for me, I'd rather spend less on meals or merchandise to instead have a seamless and convenient direct airport arrival/departure experience.
I disagree that people who stay at the Grand Floridian are not impacted. The convenience of the Magical Express is always our “must use” benefits and we almost exclusively stay at the Grand ;-) I have no desire to pay for or use a car when coming to Disney World and I can afford it.
We’ve never stayed on property simply because we like the ease of renting a car and taking yourself off of Disney property for meals, Universal, and other experiences, and staying on property & renting a car would be out of our budget. There are obviously downsides, like the crazy parking fees, but Disney is gonna have to do a lot more to entice people to stay in that Disney bubble for a week. I would love to be able to stay on property some day, but it doesn’t seem worth it with what perks are available right now. No complimentary magic bands, no magical express, no extra magic hours, like what is left?
Great discussion. Conglomerate is sitting on an empire worth 11b. Fork it out for the perks and things that make Wdw special, the extras.
I've never stayed on site, I was booked for last May (from the UK) and well, we know what happened there. Now with not necessarily the elimination of ME but in combination with everything else they've stripped, I can't see me staying on site any time soon. My trip last year had free dining, that's no more. No more extra magic hours. No more little extras like entertainment that makes the hotels that bit more special. Charging to park (I like to hire a car and get out of the bubble) at hotels.
I don't think it will bite in the immediacy, people from overseas will be excited just to be able to get back initially. But down the line if they don't reinstate some things as we return to something like the before times, I think it's going to hurt them.
One thing I don’t see anyone discussing is how feasible is ride share for children who need car seats or large families? I have to ride share once from Burbank CA to Disneyland in a group of 5 adults and all our luggage - it was very tight and we got lucky there was even a car to fit us. I really hope if they no longer have a free bus service at the very least offer a paid alternative. Because saying ride share is popular is not all group types that go to Disney. Or at least drop the overnight parking fees
I don't ynderstand .. like if disney was drawning into the negative...
I don't understand people acting like you need a rental car because magical express is going away. Just get an airport shuttle. That's literally what magical express is. You don't need a rental car if you still plan on never leaving the bubble. Now if they take away the buses and the Sky Liner and Monorail...then that's a problem. The bubble certainly still exists, you just need to get your own ride into it. I don't think it's a huge deal. 🤷♀️
Disneyland Paris (eurodisney) has a high-speed train (the TGV) since 1992 😁 that is not new a train to a Disney park Disneyland Paris (eurodisney) had it first 😁
As someone whose home base is DisneyLAND where on property hotels are feet from the enterances and off property hotels are still easily 10 min from room to park,, looking at going to Disney world it just doesn't make sense to stay on property, especially with these perks being cut. If Im already going to have to have to use transportation to go from my hotel to the parks, so I'd rather save money on the place I sleep and spend it on experiences and food.
This is a whole different world to me, to be honest. I've been to a Disney park ONCE - the Paris one, and not in a million years could I afford a stay in one of these places. If I go, it's like for one day. So yeah, the whole concept is so alien to me haha!
Doesn't mean the vid wasn't interesting and informative! Just totally irrelevant to my situation.
My husband and I fly across the country to come to disney world. We spend a lot to just arrive in Orlando. After a whole day of traveling it was so relaxing to arrive and not worry about our bags making it to the hotel. We would regularly go to disney springs our first night and have a nice dinner. We won't/can't now. We would spend that whole time worrying about getting ourselves and our stuff to the hotel. Universal is supposedly bringing in Super Nintendo World as another park in Florida. We've never wanted to leave the Disney bubble, but we probably will now. It's upsetting.
I’m a little weirded out that you didn’t mention any of the other things behind the scenes. Like the fact that their contract with Mears had expired anyway, which I anticipate was a huge factor in their decision to keep up contractual obligations during a global pandemic rather than waiting to see until they can go more than a quarter of the parks capacity.
Honestly, as a Canadian who goes to Disney, I would still stay on property. Why would I go to a cheaper hotel and then proceed to have to rely on unreliable transportation of an Uber as well as the cost, or renting a car and worrying about gas, when I could go, stay on property, and take advantage of a less than perfect but free bus system. At that point my only expense would be getting from the airport to the resort, and back. I could see how some people who are American, particularly closer to the Disney sphere, might not see the point in it but a lot of us foreigners still find value in not having to worry about renting a vehicle in some way to get around on our vacation. Disney’s got a big global market, and accommodations for us may not look the same as they do to Americans, especially if we are lower income and can’t really justify travel expenses or car rentals.
Honestly I would anticipate some sort of alternate when they can actually start rolling out some things of normalcy. Removing nostalgic parts of the park isn’t the same as removing something that’ll get people in the parks to spend money.
This is one of the few intelligent replies. The on property busses are still running, and Mears’ contract and layoffs were factors.
In my opinion. A Disney hotel will always be a Disney Hotel. It's more magical, and fun and has this 'elaborate theming' compared to staying at a Hilton, or a Marriot. I do think no matter the circumstances Disney will draw in large crowds. I do think eventually Disney will be back on track money-wise and you will see a couple of perks coming back, like the Dining Plan, or the Magical Express. Disney's doing what honestly I would do if I owned a company as big as Disney. Getting rid of the free perks and ramping up prices because they are losing money. Like a restaurant would raise their prices because they've been closed all last year.
Yeah, even if Marriot is cheaper it's still not a Disney hotel. Plus, it's still disconnected from the theme parks; I'm sure I'd still be spending more time getting to-from my Marriot room to my parks and back then I would if I was just a 5 minute walk away (Assuming you're staying at the Contemporary). Only people I see choosing outside hotels is if they were planning to do more while at Florida.
This is disappointing to most travelers (I was in this boat too until 2019 when I moved to Florida). Disney has been looking at electric self driving buses, the only problem is that they need private roads to drive on (you can't have bumper to bumper traffic yet). I think disney realizes that people are going to come to the parks in mass for the next couple of years becuase of the Magic Kingoms 50th, because of Tron, because of Guardians of The Galaxy, because of Galaxys Edge, and this is their way of limiting traffic once COVID is over. Once that traffic starts to die down, then Disney will have to entice customers to come back, then I feel disney will do a package deal with the train and private electric busses between the airport and resort. The parks is loosing a lot of money right now, and if the Mouse is not going to sell EPCOT, then they need to cut costs where guests wouldnt care too much to loose (except for the magical express, but I also feel that's due to the company Mears wanting a long term deal with Disney and they didnt want to shell it out, and their green pledge). I hope once the train begins service Disney will run these small electric busses from the station to the resort. In due time Disney will do something about this, hopefully the electric busses. I still dont like all the changes disney has made, but I hope most of them come back one day.
Never rode one before. Now I never will
Have you ever been on those really swanky field trip busses that have screens? Because those are the magical express busses
@@vincentmusic09 yes. I have now experienced the Magical express.
Minnie Vans have not been “Eliminated”. The program is paused. The vehicles are parked in the Epcot parking lot. Fact check.
Nope, they were all sold. It’s dead.
I grew up going to Disney and staying outside the bubble. We saved money by staying off property which was fine because we drove down to Florida. But then in High School I took a group trip and we flew down and stayed on property. It blew my mind. I was shocked by all the free perks that would have been an upcharge anywhere else. Luggage service and transportation from the air port? Free buses between all the hotels and parks? Free futuristic wrist bands that work as room keys and tickets? (We were an early trial group for Magic Bands in 2014.) I swore I'd never stay off property again. Flying down saved so much time and I didn't have to rent a car to go anywhere except non-Disney attractions. But if they start chipping away at that stuff, other places will start offering it. Better hotels will undercut their prices and offer shuttles to Disney property, just you watch. If they let the Disney bubble burst, they will have played themselves because I'll be going to Universal too.
I think the cuts Disney are making are huge for brits in particular, we typically go for 10 days to 2 weeks and for an all star stay for two weeks it will cost me almost £3000 without magic bands or magical express. There seems to be less and less incentives with the price going up
That is with out an additional £1200 of flights just for 2 people
The express reminds me of Disneyland efforts to build parking on east side in Anaheim and the harbor Blvd tenants fought it into the ground. Nixed it.
I have never used the magical express before my first trip to Disney world was a road trip, and we stayed off site at those cheap ass hotels. Having experienced that and gone a second time and experienced the Disney resort, I wudnt want to do it any other way. Now while removing hotel entertainment will remove some of the magic, the resorts at Disney are just SO well kept, SO comfy, SO close to the parks, and SO thematic that its practically an attraction in and of itself (not to mention the in hotel restaurants for ex the Polynesian the food is just so damn good) that any family that can afford it will stick to it. However having actual NICE hotels as an alternative is good regardless as it will force Disney to rethink its changes to compete with the new kids on the block
Okay, saying this effects the lower end vacationer the most makes a lot of sense. Disney can't have the quantity of guests they had in the before times, so the cuts they're implementing seem to discourage the lower end guest, giving Disney a better quality of guest. I mean, I only go to Disney once every few years but when I do I go all in.
Lower end vacationer? Better quality of guests if they're gone? Ex-fucking-scuse me?!
It bothers me that they expect you to be okay going on a train with all your luggage and hauling it yourself to your resort on an already crowded bus where I end up standing 90% of the time. There is no real benefit in staying on property.
The situation right now is definitely weird. Basically, prices are staying the same or going up, and we get "less" for it. I mean, they can point to the attractions and all the improvements, but those are included in the price no matter what. The perks or extras are what you compare with all the brands when you have to decide what to do.
In the case of the bubble, I think that works differently for International Guests… I live in Portugal now, but I'm Brazilian. Brazilians have always been the "great wave" of visitors in WDW. But in Brazil, "going to the US" or "going to Disney" means going to Florida. For most people, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, and you can bet they won't stay inside the Disney bubble all the time. They go to Universal, they go to Sea World, they go Busch Gardens, they go to Legoland. The malls and outlets are considered "attractions" too. Some of the tour groups even include a basketball game, and/or a couple of days in Miami for shopping. Things are a bit different nowadays compared to the heyday of the 90's, but yeah. When dollar rates are down, you hear people saying they're going to Florida for shopping, and they'll "take the opportunity" to see the parks. And in order to do all of that, staying around International Drive is MUCH cheaper, since you're basically only using your hotel to sleep.
I was part of the International Program, I've been bit by the Disney bug a long time ago. So when I plan our vacation, the first five days or so we stay nearer Universal so we can do those parks, Sea World and maybe some shopping. Then we go to Disney and stay there until leaving, and we use Magical Express for the ride to the airport. (Oh, yeah, I forgot: International Guests never got the bag tags nor the Magic Bands by mail. They were free, but you'd get them when checking in). And my reasoning behind this strategy is that Orlando traffic is nuts and I don't feel like driving. Plus the Disney atmosphere, you know?
Guess we'll have to see what's going to happen on the new post-Covid world…
Who does this hurt? Anyone flying into Disney from out of state. Yes, this affects people staying at even the luxury resorts. It kills the trip for anyone not wanting to drive around Disney. When things get back to normal (as normal as they can), the numbers will show how Disney will continue to suffer. This may be the worst decision they could possibly make.
I grew up in Florida near enough to Disney World that it was always a day trip for me, so this is an interesting perspective that I have never considered. Plus, I don't think I would ever consider spending the money it takes to take an extended vacation the resort itself, to be honest. Not that it wouldn't be amazing, but it would be so expensive!
Disney World is 49 years old and Disneyland is 65 years old
I can't afford to stay at the Disney hotels anymore. And there is no benefit for me anymore. Stay off property and buy an extra day ticket? Ok!
I went in October with my family and stayed at a huge house with a pool. It cost the same as a Disney value resort. And we literally had a whole 4 bedroom house with a pool and a game room.
It’s sad that the Magic Express is gone
As someone who has stayed several times at "on site" Disney themed hotel lodgings (The Boardwalk Hotel, and Wilderness Lodge) I can say the experience and immersion was made all the better by staying at those Hotels. Of course, this was fifteen years ago, way before all the cost cutting measures and heightened exclusivity they have enacted in recent years. The less the value, and the higher the price tag, the less and less it becomes worthwhile to want to fork over that extra money, especially since you're missing out on so much. For me, as someone who has been planning a trip for years, mostly for someone who has never been to Disney, I'd want them to experience the most possible fun and enjoyment, but there are certain price tags and value points I just can't pass. It has gotten to the point where the only themed hotel I have any interest in anymore is the Star Wars themed Hotel, but even that is only for a few nights per group, is super expensive, and is likely booked by either hyper wealthy, or hyper vigilant guests for years out at this point.
Am I missing something here...because I thought the Magical Express was just between MCO and your resort. Mears already said they're going to keep running buses from the airport to the resorts, sure it's going to cost money, but it will still be less than renting a car for a week. If Disney stopped running the resort to park buses, now that would actually burst the bubble and drive people to stay off property. I really wish they'd keep it though, the train idea is pretty unworkable without better infrastructure to deliver guests to the hotels. It'll also suck to have to take luggage on those crowded buses. It's pretty obvious they're trying to eliminate as much human driven transport as possible. The Skyliner is a big part of that, I'm curious if there plans in the works to expand that a bit more. Also, a cruise instead of staying at the park? Sorry, cruises suck.
Yes! This! People are crazy acting like there is no other way to get from MCO to their hotel. I haven't even used Magical Express my past few times because Uber and Lyft are quicker and easier and I like the flexibility of calling for a car when I want it. There are also other shuttles to get, like Mears. It's like no one remembers anything prior to 2005. It's bizarre.
I just saw one of these buses in action at WDW on Saturday.
I'm also suddenly reminded of the lawyer from Jurassic Park talking about making it more expensive for the richies....🦖
In a few years time I think these lovely extras will return in a flurry of PR, and people will return to Disney under the idea of these things are back
I just don't understand why they're cancelling it instead of charging for it. People would pay. They do for Universal's dinky little air port shuttle van.
Hope that they bring it back or find another better alternative
Just before the pandemic, my siblings' families and my parents and I were hoping to do a big vacation at Disney. We only went once every 5-7 years growing up, and we decided that now that their kids were all going to be at least 4 years old, it was time to really do a big vacation where we used to penny pinch before. We would normally stay off property, drive all the way down in a day to avoid paying for airfare or rental cars, pack snacks in our backpacks, the works. But we were all dedicated to having a big vacation now and staying on property to get the full experience. Then the pandemic happened, which pushed off our vacation plan. A bummer, but that's fine. We'll push it off a year. This gives us extra time to research and plan. Or so we figured. Then I started tracking all the perks that are being lost and all the price hikes despite those perks being taken away and my siblings and I are now thoroughly disenchanted. I don't think we're going to stay on property anymore, or splurge in the ways we had originally intended. The skyliner isn't enough of a new perk to balance out with everything they're taking away.
Can someone talk about the card game that they got rid of? I had no idea it existed and when I found out I got excited and then at the same time I saw that it got axed 2 months ago.