Magical Express to end in 2022

[MarBee]

For us, with the cut of EMH and DME, we have decided to stay off site. We have always been “Disney Bubble” people and stay several times a year. Part of me is actually glad bc now I can save so much money on the off site hotels. But part of me is sad and will definitely miss the bubble and the Disney transportation from hotel to parks.

 

[New Mouse]

Completely overblown to suggest 0 perks because of the loss of DME. What would you suggest is the reasoning behind all the people with past, current, and future Disney vacations who drive onto property?

What perks are there for staying at a Disney hotel?

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Its not about being a business. Universal doesnt offer a free shuttle, but their hotels are easily cheaper and of better quality then Universal. Disney does not adjust their consumer pricing accordingly, but its been proven you can do it cheaper.

With 0 perks, why would anyone not choose to stay at a hotel.that is 2 to 3 times more expensive?

Well, some people don’t like Universal. I’ve been to IOA and Universal and it did nothing for me. I wouldn’t go back unless I got free tickets and even then I maybe wouldn’t bother. So, yeah staying at a hotel near parks I have absolutely no interest in going to is worthless.

I can’t believe this has to be explained over and over again. For many people, staying at the Disney hotel is part of the whole experience. It is not just the parks for us - staying at a Disney resort is one of our favorite things about Disney trips. The theming, the ambience, the feeling, the nostalgia, the cast members, the Disney touches.

We didn’t join DVC because of this perk or that perk. Not because of EMH. Not because of DME. Because we love Disney resorts. Believe it or not, we even love the 3 resorts that aren’t at the parks! Because we love the Disney resort experience.

Why would someone want to stay at a place like the Contemporary or Grand Floridian or Boardwalk or Beach Club? Being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios - that’s not a perk at all!

I am very disappointed over DME being eliminated. Have used it countless times over the last 15 years. As a parent of small children, it makes travel to WDW a breeze.

But I love Disney resorts, DME or not. We didn’t join DVC for DME, we joined for the resort experience which is still top notch.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

What perks are there for staying at a Disney hotel?

Still existing:
-Free and easy transportation to theme parks/water parks/Disney springs
-Some have transport to other resorts
-Location: some give very easy access to certain parks or Disney springs
-The early entry announced today
-Resort activities
-Disney bubble (this is intangible but a driver for a lot of people to do it “right”)
-I believe they still have free park parking but not entirely sure on that

Deliberately didn’t list but there are also aspects like theming, pool areas, etc that are less perk like but more like appealing feature drawing people in. I think there’s a lot of specific things that fall into that category that will still pull people onsite without being a defined onsite perk. Maybe location falls under there, I don’t know.

It has always been true Disney rooms are overpriced for what the actual room or even resort is, the inflated prices were not solely because of FP+ booking advantage or DME (that many didn’t ever use). They have always charged a premium because they are in WDW and run by Disney. The rest of it has come and gone over the years. Yes pricing has gone through the roof, but not without the same thing happening to many other things in WDW such as TS restaurants, park tickets, hard ticket events, merch, everything?

 

[New Mouse]

Still existing:
-Free and easy transportation to theme parks/water parks/Disney springs
-Some have transport to other resorts
-Location: some give very easy access to certain parks or Disney springs
-The early entry announced today
-Resort activities
-Disney bubble (this is intangible but a driver for a lot of people to do it “right”)
-I believe they still have free park parking but not entirely sure on that

Deliberately didn’t list but there are also aspects like theming, pool areas, etc that are less perk like but more like appealing feature drawing people in. I think there’s a lot of specific things that fall into that category that will still pull people onsite without being a defined onsite perk. Maybe location falls under there, I don’t know.

It has always been true Disney rooms are overpriced for what the actual room or even resort is, the inflated prices were not solely because of FP+ booking advantage or DME (that many didn’t ever use). They have always charged a premium because they are in WDW and run by Disney. The rest of it has come and gone over the years. Yes pricing has gone through the roof, but not without the same thing happening to many other things in WDW such as TS restaurants, park tickets, hard ticket events, merch, everything?

So basically most of the same stuff you can get by staying at say bonnett creek, aside from "early entry" which really isnt a perk, its been happening for years.

 

[nkosiek]

Except they’re not. They’re not going to make significant money charging DVC owners even if they could do so. This isn’t some grand parking conspiracy.

I figured it out, it would work out to about $15mil a year with 95% capacity of the villas and 50% of them utilizing parking. Not chump change, but again, based on the deeds and whatnot, DVC won't be paying anytime soon.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

So basically most of the same stuff you can get by staying at say bonnett creek, aside from "early entry" which really isnt a perk, its been happening for years.

So why did anyone who stayed at a Disney resort but drove in (or even chose a car service or ride share over DME) do it?

I think it was always fair to argue you’d get better bang for your buck offsite if you were trying to quantify each aspect of the Disney resort stay. Before Covid, before any of the recent lost perks went away. This has been the case for ages, plenty of people would agree with you that there was no point in paying extra for a Disney resort when you could get *insert aspect of offsite resort they like* for less. Much of the draw to stay there is the intangibles. The most cost effective vacation is almost always offsite. Disney doesn’t usually win that game.

 

[closetmickey]

I have never used this service myself. But before Covid, were the buses empty?

Not at all!

 

[New Mouse]

So why did anyone who stayed at a Disney resort but drove in (or even chose a car service or ride share over DME) do it?

I think it was always fair to argue you’d get better bang for your buck offsite if you were trying to quantify each aspect of the Disney resort stay. Before Covid, before any of the recent lost perks went away. This has been the case for ages, plenty of people would agree with you that there was no point in paying extra for a Disney resort when you could get *insert aspect of offsite resort they like* for less. Much of the draw to stay there is the intangibles. The most cost effective vacation is almost always offsite. Disney doesn’t usually win that game.

Fast Pass and Extra Magic Hours were huge perks. Disney resorts have also significantly been reducing services and offerings in recent years...clubhouses, pirate cruises, movies/camp fires have all been chopped or reduced.

 

[andyman8]

I am sure there will be a transportation option offered. I am also sure that most people here will not be happy either way.

As far as I know, Disney itself has nothing in the works. I could be wrong, but if there was something in the works, they most certainly would’ve hinted at it in the announcement like they did with the MB announcement.

Any “replacement” would likely be third-party and, at best, be “approved” by Disney. And I find it hard to imagine Mears or some other provider is not seeing the feedback today and seeing a business opportunity. I suppose the only question is — after the bruising from this pandemic — if they’ll have the bandwidth to pull it off.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

So basically most of the same stuff you can get by staying at say bonnett creek, aside from "early entry" which really isnt a perk, its been happening for years.

I ask this seriously. Why does it bother you so much that people just like Disney resorts? Lots of people just enjoy Disney resorts and you’re not going to convince them to stay at Bonnet Creek or wherever else. Some people pay a premium simply because they LIKE it. Some people don’t like it enough to pay a premium and need specific extras like EMH or DME to make it worth it for them.

Some people just simply like the resorts.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Fast Pass and Extra Magic Hours were huge perks. Disney resorts have also significantly been reducing services and offerings in recent years...clubhouses, pirate cruises, movies/camp fires have all been chopped or reduced.

EMH was frequently advised to be avoided in the WDW tip world, despite being a perk. In the Disney fan community it was also largely accepted that they were pretty lacking compared to what they once were. There were always people talking about how they didn’t use them or felt they weren’t worth it. Lots even advising you were better off paying for something like DAH (music to Disney’s ears lol).

FP+ window was a perk yes, a fairly recent one (as in within the last decade) where pre late 2013 there was not a FP benefit to being onsite. People still came. One could also argue that the window was less necessary for those who knew how to manipulate the system well, and you’d also lose out on the biggest headliners and need for the extra window with shorter onsite stays diminishing the value of the perk.

I don’t know I think we’re looking at a lot of this through rose coloured glasses. The perks we’re mourning had a lot of warts and complaints attached to them. I think the Disney resorts still have enough differentiating them from offsite, and just like FP+, EMH, and DME new perks will eventually come (and go).

 

[SaintsManiac]

As far as I know, Disney itself has nothing in the works. I could be wrong, but if there was something in the works, they most certainly would’ve hinted at it in the announcement like they did with the MB announcement.

Any “replacement” would likely be third-party and, at best, be “approved” by Disney. And I find it hard to imagine Mears or some other provider is not seeing the feedback today and seeing a business opportunity. I suppose the only question is — after the bruising from this pandemic — if they’ll have the bandwidth to pull it off.

Scott Gustin seemed confident there will be something down the line.

 

[andyman8]

Scott Gustin seemed confident there will be something down the line.

Something but not necessarily organized by Disney directly.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Something but not necessarily from Disney directly.

But it’s not like Disney themselves ran this. You had Mears and you had another party dealing with luggage.

 

[Mit88]

They also just simply might not have a deal with another company, or even a renewal with Mears yet. We’re still 350 days away from this going into effect. If they strike a deal with another company, it didn’t have to be today. So they didn’t need to hint at a replacement today. With DVC, I can’t even book a room when DME is gone.

 

[andyman8]

But it’s not like Disney themselves ran this. You had Mears and you had another party dealing with luggage.

Yeah, I guess what I’m saying is that I think they’ll be a further degree of separation between whatever service emerges and Disney itself.

I think DME’s “replacement” will come about not because Disney really wants to have motor coach transportation between MCO and their resorts but because another party sees the demand and is offering to take care of all of the logistics (even reservations, which Disney handled for DME), assume all the liabilities (some of which Disney carried because the busses were Disney-branded), and pay Disney to be the “official” or “approved” airport shuttle of WDW (instead of Disney paying Mears to operate their airport shuttle). That means Disney likely wouldn’t be in the name (it would just be called the Magical Shuttle or something like that) and there probably wouldn’t be any character-themed bus wraps. It would also likely be on some sort of published schedule. And of course, it would be a paid service. You might be able to add it to a Walt Disney Travel package but if you’re a DVC member or booking a room-only, you’ll probably be going to a third-party website on your own accord to make a reservation. This is what Disneyland Paris has with the Magical Shuttle.

In other words, I don’t think Disney itself has something up its sleeve. Any replacement would just be another transportation company (or Mears) approaching them for their blessing rather than Disney contracting the service as an official resort benefit.

 

[New Mouse]

I ask this seriously. Why does it bother you so much that people just like Disney resorts? Lots of people just enjoy Disney resorts and you’re not going to convince them to stay at Bonnet Creek or wherever else. Some people pay a premium simply because they LIKE it. Some people don’t like it enough to pay a premium and need specific extras like EMH or DME to make it worth it for them.

Some people just simply like the resorts.

Because you keep paying more for less for the equivalent of a 3.5* resort (at best). This is the reason they do what they do with the parks as well... because people just like going even if theres less being offered and we raise prices.

 

[bookgirl2632]

I think what bothers me the most is that Disney has been steadily removing perks for resort stays, but still raising the prices. I guess I’m glad that I have one more trip planned before they take this one away.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

I have to agree with many others here and say that staying on property just isn’t worth it anymore. It is debatable if it ever was but we justified it to ourselves because we received our included magic bands before trip, our luggage magically appeared in our hotel room after we dropped it off at our home airport, We were picked up at Mco and driven to our hotel, we had access to the parks for a couple of hours before or after the parks closed to non resort guests, 60 fast pass window, and RAC service so we didn’t have to stand in line at the airport. I’m sure that I am forgetting a few other things but these were the things that made it semi worth it for us to stay on property

all of this is being replaced with 30 minutes early access to the parks...

Our next Disney trip where we are going to the parks won’t be until late 2022. If the only perk to staying on property is getting into the parks 30 minutes early, we will definitely stay at bonnet creek or someplace similar.