RIP Magical Express (in 2022) 😥

[Disney Frenhines]

The parks are hemorrhaging money. I'm sure it was a bottom line question for them.
Once we get back to normal (anyone with a crystal ball?), then they can add back perks like ME.

They'll just add more of the silly stuff like hard ticketed dance parties during hard ticketed events like MNSSHP. After 9/11 they were still doing amazing offers to lure back guests three years later, those days are long gone in the age of social media, people need to make money with their youtube channels and want likes on FB or Instagram so they'll carry on going regardless.

 

[Plague]

so just tell them that the DME is an essential service for many resort guests and they should keep it.

My take is that more and more people are opting to have a car of their own (literally or rental). The fact that Disney started charging for resort parking and jack the prices up over time suggests there is a cash-cow there, and they are going to feed and milk it.

Personally, after using a shuttle and a Lyft at Anaheim in 2019 I'll probably just use Lyft when/if I ever get back to WDW. Mear's, shuttles, train will likely all cost around $50 return, so paying another $50 for the convenience is just a blip in the cost of the holiday.

 

[disneyholic family]

My take is that more and more people are opting to have a car of their own (literally or rental). The fact that Disney started charging for resort parking and jack the prices up over time suggests there is a cash-cow there, and they are going to feed and milk it.

Personally, after using a shuttle and a Lyft at Anaheim in 2019 I'll probably just use Lyft when/if I ever get back to WDW. Mear's, shuttles, train will likely all cost around $50 return, so paying another $50 for the convenience is just a blip in the cost of the holiday.

DH and i were supposed to go to Disneyland in October 2020.
The plan was to go straight from the airport to DL (at the ungodly hour of 6 am when our plane was scheduled to arrive after a 15.5 hour non-stop flight).
I found it so difficult to find transportation to anaheim, it's the one thing i still hadn't booked by the time i had to cancel everything.
I was surprised that getting from LAX to DL hadn't improved at all since our last visit in 2004.
It didn't stop us from going though - covid did. LOL
.

 

[Ronaldo17]

so one way?

One way is $25 adult and $20 child.

 

[fgaini]

So sad. Was one of the reason we bought DVC... Hope they will add something interesting when the train will be there...

 

[Disney Frenhines]

At the moment if you go on the Mears Transportation site they don't offer a transfer service, but, direct you to the DME page instead. My feeling is that either Mears or Disney (they are partners in the DME) have decided that offering a free service isn't worth it. Something similar happened with the 111 Lynx service that went from Downtown Disney to Sea World to the Florida Mall and onto MCO, I used that bus a lot to go to Florida Mall and even used it to get to the airport when I used to use the VH DTD check in. I found out that Disney stopped subsidising the service which is why it now only goes from Sea World to the Florida Mall and I wonder if they have done the same with the DME.
I'm in a quandary about how I feel, if I were in a group as an uber or a lyft would be a fair enough option once Mears restart their paid transport service (and they will) but, as a single person the cost and safety aspect are less appealing.
DME was reliable, Mears on their own are doubtful to be reliable, past experience tells me that. And what annoys me is the people most affected by all this are those who save long and hard to go on vacation to WDW for possibly the only time and have booked a value hotel because that is what their budget dictates and this is just added cost for them.
Let the people with more money than sense buy the high ticketed items, the VIP tours that cost $1000 a day on top of their ticket, let them buy the extra hard ticketed events on top of the hard ticketed parties like the Villains Dance Party during MNSSHP, but, have some consideration for those who save hard and work hard to do that dream vacation for their kids and keep the DME or run it by Disney at a small fee $5 a person each way would be reasonable.
Saying that, I'm still gobsmacked they did the Party Pass for 2019 MNSSHP, It cost just under the cost of three parties and I managed to get seven parties in during my 14 days there and I'd do it again in a heartbeat as I did everything at a lovely pace, plus so much candy it filled half a suitcase. That was probably a one off never to happen again.

 

[Ronaldo17]

.

 

[bex7583]

EMH is a huge deal to me and was a massive factor in us first staying onsite. My fave time in the parks is the evenings but the last time we were there (2017) the extra nighttime hours were not really anything to write home about. I seem to remember the parks closing at midnight 'back in the day' and we had 2 hours after that to just mooch around and enjoy the late night atmosphere, even having repeat rides on Splash Mountain etc. That's all gone now, we were lucky to get until midnight last time around.

Bex, when you say 'I don't think there are many benefits left', well, I can only think of 1 and that's location. Last 3 times we have stayed at the Polynesian and although it's my favourite resort, it's a long way short of a deluxe experience compared with regular hotel chains. If all these perks have gone, it just becomes an overpriced, fairly moderate, stay. The rooms are adequate but they are not worth $500+ a night. I don't know, I probably WILL stay onsite in 2022, the plan for 2020 was Beach Club, but it's such a shame that these little perks are being stripped away. 30 minutes before park opening is definitely not a perk for my family, we stay out until the early hours and sleep in until 10am, well, my family do.....i'm an insomniac ;-)

Oh well...

Yes location and park transportation. I know a lot of people don't like park transportation as it takes longer than driving to the parks but I honestly don't mind it.its nice to be able to have a drink or 2 if we decide and not worry about needing a hire car. We usually pick up a hire car after we leave Disney and do a road trip of some variety.

 

[supernova]

Folks... there was a time when Magical Express did not exist. We were forced to book a bus ride through Mears, which was the company Disney went on to partner with. They repainted their busses with "Disney" and viola... it's "Magical Express". Even though it was still operated by Mears. I guess we're just returning to those times before the partnership.

 

[Tash87]

This seals the deal that we will not be staying on site for our next trip!

We have always hired a car on our previous trips, then the resort parking fee came into effect and we was planning on using the ME on our next trip.

Now the plan is to stay offsite.

Disney keeps removing the perks that made us enjoy on site there and that makes me sad. Such a shame!

 

[gavvy]

Folks... there was a time when Magical Express did not exist. We were forced to book a bus ride through Mears, which was the company Disney went on to partner with. They repainted their busses with "Disney" and viola... it's "Magical Express". Even though it was still operated by Mears. I guess we're just returning to those times before the partnership.

This

DME is not that old really, and you were paying for it in the room rate it was never free, however of course rates won't fall because of this.

There are loads of options open still to get from the airport, so people are not stuck, but you will have to pay upfront.

I do think this is very odd though, DME was designed to take people away from rental cars, and the parking fee at the resorts was designed to do the same Now they are taking away the free busses so it does seem a bit short-sighted.

I would not be surprised if it came back in some sort in a few years.

 

[bavarian princess]

Even though I understand from a business perspective why they are taking the ME away I don’t like their decision. I am a customer and I want what is best for me

I know that there was a time where ME was not offered but prices weren’t as high as they are now. I pay premium for WDW and I (used to) get a premium experience and for me that also includes the ME. Or in other words: the way how Disney organizes everything for me is just worth the high price tag.

Will I be able to organize my own transportation from the airport to the hotel? Yes! Do I want to? No Do I want to pay extra for it? No Is there anything I can do about it? Apart from staying offsite - no

 

[Disney Frenhines]

Folks... there was a time when Magical Express did not exist. We were forced to book a bus ride through Mears, which was the company Disney went on to partner with. They repainted their busses with "Disney" and viola... it's "Magical Express". Even though it was still operated by Mears. I guess we're just returning to those times before the partnership.

It also cost money and was nothing like as reliable as DME.

 

[zavandor]

Personally, i would offer some sort of FP associated with your room like they do for the concierge rooms at DLP.

This is what I think will happen:
FP+ will be completely reworked. They'll remove the book in advance option and introduce a system like in Shanghay. It's similar to the MaxPass in DLR, but without the paper tickets and everyone has access to it from the moment they enter the park.
The onsite advantage will be that with Early Entry, they'll be able to book their first FP before anyone offisite, so they'll be able to book an early one. So they'll be able to book a second one early. I'd say offsite guests will probably be able to book 2 or 3 FP over the course of the day, onsite could get 3 or 4.
And obviously the option to pay for more, in Shanghay they're sold directly on the app. This will obviously be another cut, but will be presented as a perk and a change due to guest demand.

 

[jf256]

We were planning to do a big trip in Sept 2020. Obviously that got cancelled. It was our first trip so we haven't experienced anything directly - but that doesn't mean that i'm not bitter lol.

If by the time we go in late 2022 / 23 - there is No ME, No Fast Pass 60 day window, No Free Dining and no Extra Magic Hours... then we might stay on site for a couple of days here and there but wont bother with most of it. Will book an apartment and just get a couple of extras like After Hours, Extra Fast Passes etc. Who knows what will happen but i imagine during our 3 week trip disney will end up seeing a lot less of our money. We are just 2 adults so for 30mins extra in the morning and paying a high premium for a room.. we may be better off purchasing w/e fast pass option disney decides to roll out for a couple of days and then just spend time eating, drinking, soaking up the atmosphere on other days.

When you look at the perks given to Universal Premium Hotels in comparison - its insane what you get for less money.

 

[supernova]

It also cost money and was nothing like as reliable as DME.

Right, but DME also cost Disney money. It's not like DME not existing stopped people from visiting WDW before.

 

[supernova]

This

DME is not that old really, and you were paying for it in the room rate it was never free, however of course rates won't fall because of this.

There are loads of options open still to get from the airport, so people are not stuck, but you will have to pay upfront.

I do think this is very odd though, DME was designed to take people away from rental cars, and the parking fee at the resorts was designed to do the same Now they are taking away the free busses so it does seem a bit short-sighted.

I would not be surprised if it came back in some sort in a few years.

Thank you. Of course, the one problem is that our room rates will not be dropping in any way with this perk being removed. Sort of like asking a restaurant to not hold a side with your meal and it costs the same, even though adding it would be an upcharge. Now, will Disney be killing the resort parking fee cash cow?

Plus, DME was never intended to save guests money on renting a car. It was to prevent guests from being able to easily visit other area attractions.

 

[supernova]

Thank you. Of course, the one problem is that our room rates will not be dropping in any way with this perk being removed. Sort of like asking a restaurant to not hold a side with your meal and it costs the same, even though adding it would be an upcharge. Now, will Disney be killing the resort parking fee cash cow?

Plus, DME was never intended to save guests money on renting a car. It was to prevent guests from being able to easily visit other area attractions.

Overall, folks are carrying on and on about a perk that was only introduced in 2005, not something that has been around since 1971.

 

[supernova]

If by the time we go in late 2022 / 23 - there is No ME, No Fast Pass 60 day window, No Free Dining and no Extra Magic Hours... then we might stay on site for a couple of days here and there but wont bother with most of it. Will book an apartment and just get a couple of extras like After Hours, Extra Fast Passes etc. Who knows what will happen but i imagine during our 3 week trip disney will end up seeing a lot less of our money. We are just 2 adults so for 30mins extra in the morning and paying a high premium for a room.. we may be better off purchasing w/e fast pass option disney decides to roll out for a couple of days and then just spend time eating, drinking, soaking up the atmosphere on other days.

Free dining was always a joke and I'm surprised that it was ever implemented to begin with. People go on vacation and expect to be fed for free. This isn't an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean... it's a Disney amusement park.

When you look at the perks given to Universal Premium Hotels in comparison - its insane what you get for less money.

I agree, but it's not just Disney's parks. My wife and I traveled with Royal Caribbean and had an amazing (and far more affordable) time. I tried Disney Cruise Line once, many years ago, and I won't bother going back. Other cruise lines offer the same experience for literally a third or more of the price. Sure, you don't get sweaty teenagers in mouse costumes, but for what the bill comes out to be at the end of the cruise, I'll happily forego that.

 

[Plague]

No Free Dining

If you mean the Dining Plan this was never a general perk like ME and 60 day FP booking. It was an (expensive) extra cost option that was sometimes given as special offer to get people to book. You only got it free if you were lucky or worked the system.