Magical Express is going away on Jan. 1, 2022

[LAX]

I don’t agree that WDW will continue to get “less magical”. Ratatouille, Tron, and Star Wars hotel are all new attractions that are imminently on the way. I think too many people confuse change with getting “less magical”. As I said on another comment, it is a constant ebb and flow. Disney constantly keeps things changing. And it’s understandable when something that many guests love gets changed out it causes them to be upset. But those things typically get replaced by something new. Disney changing is part of the natural process of staying relevant.

There is no point in arguing more/less "magical" as everyone's perception of magic is different and I certainly have no confusion about what's "magical" or not. There is nothing "magical" about having to lug my family's bags from/to the airport. There is nothing "magical" about having to wait in hour-long lines for most rides (if FP bites the dust or at additional cost). To me, it's not just about what I can see or ride at WDW. It's the whole seamless and hassle-free experience that makes a Disney vacation special.

If being packed in at WDW with headliner attractions is all it takes for you to feel "magical", good for you. You don't need to convince me or anyone that Disney's cost-cutting moves are great for consumers in general.

LAX

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC/DVD probably gets a message from Disney telling them that their cost for DME or any other thing is $XXX and they need to pay for it.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

There is no point in arguing more/less "magical" as everyone's perception of magic is different and I certainly have no confusion about what's "magical" or not. There is nothing "magical" about having to lug my family's bags from/to the airport. There is nothing "magical" about having to wait in hour-long lines for most rides (if FP bites the dust or at additional cost). To me, it's not just about what I can see or ride at WDW. It's the whole seamless and hassle-free experience that makes a Disney vacation special.

If being packed in at WDW with headliner attractions is all it takes for you to feel "magical", good for you. You don't need to convince me or anyone that Disney's cost-cutting moves are great for consumers in general.

LAX

To be clear, I am not trying to convince you or anyone else. I am making these points to balance everyone who is spewing negativity that everything is getting taken away and nothing is getting added. It’s simply not true. You feel how you feel and I feel how I feel. We both have the right to feel that way. Yet I haven’t told you “don’t tell me how to feel” like you just did to me.

“It’s never as bad as it seems, and it’s never as good as it seems.” One of the many accurate things my grandfather used to say. Very appropriate in this situation.

 

[DaisyMinnie]

For my family and many, the Magic Express made it possible for us to take a Disney vacation. Without the ME, there is no Disney trip. There was a bit of excitement when we got on the bus and started heading to the resort but it's not really about that for my family. It's easy for people to say it's no big deal just take an Uber or take the train or rent a car. That's not an option for some of us.
I'm hoping Mears will go back to the days before Magic Express and we just pay them to for the shuttle to the resorts.
I understand Disney cutting the cost of the ME but if they're counting on everyone still taking a Disney vacation, I think they're going to be surprised.
We go to Disney 2-3 times a year. We always stayed at a Disney resort and depended on the transportation. Every penny we spend on all our trips are on Disney property.
I understand to some this is trivial but for some of use it's not.
Again, the ME made a Disney vacation possible for many of us.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

For my family and many, the Magic Express made it possible for us to take a Disney vacation. Without the ME, there is no Disney trip. There was a bit of excitement when we got on the bus and started heading to the resort but it's not really about that for my family. It's easy for people to say it's no big deal just take an Uber or take the train or rent a car. That's not an option for some of us.
I'm hoping Mears will go back to the days before Magic Express and we just pay them to for the shuttle to the resorts.
I understand Disney cutting the cost of the ME but if they're counting on everyone still taking a Disney vacation, I think they're going to be surprised.
We go to Disney 2-3 times a year. We always stayed at a Disney resort and depended on the transportation. Every penny we spend on all our trips are on Disney property.
I understand to some this is trivial but for some of use it's not.
Again, the ME made a Disney vacation possible for many of us.

Maybe people should start sharing options they have utilized for transportation beyond DME. Would that help people who are most upset by the removal of DME? I am just spitballing trying to think of ways to give people other options.

We have always stayed at Shades of Green in the past (we just bought into DVC last year), which isn't serviced by DME. We would arrange transportation for all six of us and our luggage in a private van. The cost was around $175 round trip for the entire group. And the service and experience was much better than DME, IMO. Someone would meet us at baggage claim and take us and our bags directly to the van that was parked in the special "livery" lot that was close by (literally a two minute walk from baggage claim). Then we were off to our resort at WDW. No waiting for a bus. No stopping at other resorts. And when my daughters were little there were car seats provided if we needed them.

Another commenter on another thread mentioned Tony Hinds Transportation. I searched Tony and the reviews were phenomenal. Actually, a lot of reviews were on the DIS board as well. According to this commenter who uses Tony Hinds, it is $100 round trip for the entire party in a private van. And they will also stop for 30 minutes at a grocery store as part of the service. And, again, no waiting for a bus. No crowds of people. No stopping at other resorts before yours. Just a nice comfortable ride in a private van.

You commented that "Without the ME, there is no Disney trip." That doesn't have to be true. There are other options our there. Does anyone else have other transportation companies they use??

 

[DaisyMinnie]

Maybe people should start sharing options they have utilized for transportation beyond DME. Would that help people who are most upset by the removal of DME? I am just spitballing trying to think of ways to give people other options.

We have always stayed at Shades of Green in the past (we just bought into DVC last year), which isn't serviced by DME. We would arrange transportation for all six of us and our luggage in a private van. The cost was around $175 round trip for the entire group. And the service and experience was much better than DME, IMO. Someone would meet us at baggage claim and take us and our bags directly to the van that was parked in the special "livery" lot that was close by (literally a two minute walk from baggage claim). Then we were off to our resort at WDW. No waiting for a bus. No stopping at other resorts. And when my daughters were little there were car seats provided if we needed them.

Another commenter on another thread mentioned Tony Hinds Transportation. I searched Tony and the reviews were phenomenal. Actually, a lot of reviews were on the DIS board as well. According to this commenter who uses Tony Hinds, it is $100 round trip for the entire party in a private van. And they will also stop for 30 minutes at a grocery store as part of the service. And, again, no waiting for a bus. No crowds of people. No stopping at other resorts before yours. Just a nice comfortable ride in a private van.

You commented that "Without the ME, there is no Disney trip." That doesn't have to be true. There are other options our there. Does anyone else have other transportation companies they use??

Thanks! We are for sure looking for other transportation options. I'm very willing to pay for a dependable service for sure. I'll add Tony Hinds to my list to look into.

 

[Grumpy Mouse]

Maybe people should start sharing options they have utilized for transportation beyond DME. Would that help people who are most upset by the removal of DME? I am just spitballing trying to think of ways to give people other options.

We have always stayed at Shades of Green in the past (we just bought into DVC last year), which isn't serviced by DME. We would arrange transportation for all six of us and our luggage in a private van. The cost was around $175 round trip for the entire group. And the service and experience was much better than DME, IMO. Someone would meet us at baggage claim and take us and our bags directly to the van that was parked in the special "livery" lot that was close by (literally a two minute walk from baggage claim). Then we were off to our resort at WDW. No waiting for a bus. No stopping at other resorts. And when my daughters were little there were car seats provided if we needed them.

Another commenter on another thread mentioned Tony Hinds Transportation. I searched Tony and the reviews were phenomenal. Actually, a lot of reviews were on the DIS board as well. According to this commenter who uses Tony Hinds, it is $100 round trip for the entire party in a private van. And they will also stop for 30 minutes at a grocery store as part of the service. And, again, no waiting for a bus. No crowds of people. No stopping at other resorts before yours. Just a nice comfortable ride in a private van.

You commented that "Without the ME, there is no Disney trip." That doesn't have to be true. There are other options our there. Does anyone else have other transportation companies they use??

I too thank you for this information; might be nice if a list of viable transportation options and their cost was posted and pinned on these boards.

Of course you realize that the pricing of alternate transportation with DME in place was capped. Less than $90 each way for the service you describe is downright cheap; yet they likely couldn't charge more because customers would then fall back to the 'free' option.

Prices will rise. In fact, I expect the cost of 'private' options like this will be AT LEAST this number plus the cost of the 'default' option (Mears bus??). You can probably expect this service will run you around $250 in 2022 and going forward.

In one sense Disney is well aware of what they've done - they've cut a cost that will save them a fair chunk of change yearly. In another sense, however, I don't believe they have a clue what they've unleashed on their customers. I'm hoping and praying that good ol' American free enterprise will save the day - but who knows. The supply and demand dynamics will be interesting to watch how they play out in 2022 and beyond.

 

[a742246]

Maybe people should start sharing options they have utilized for transportation beyond DME. Would that help people who are most upset by the removal of DME? I am just spitballing trying to think of ways to give people other options.

We have always stayed at Shades of Green in the past (we just bought into DVC last year), which isn't serviced by DME. We would arrange transportation for all six of us and our luggage in a private van. The cost was around $175 round trip for the entire group. And the service and experience was much better than DME, IMO. Someone would meet us at baggage claim and take us and our bags directly to the van that was parked in the special "livery" lot that was close by (literally a two minute walk from baggage claim). Then we were off to our resort at WDW. No waiting for a bus. No stopping at other resorts. And when my daughters were little there were car seats provided if we needed them.

Another commenter on another thread mentioned Tony Hinds Transportation. I searched Tony and the reviews were phenomenal. Actually, a lot of reviews were on the DIS board as well. According to this commenter who uses Tony Hinds, it is $100 round trip for the entire party in a private van. And they will also stop for 30 minutes at a grocery store as part of the service. And, again, no waiting for a bus. No crowds of people. No stopping at other resorts before yours. Just a nice comfortable ride in a private van.

You commented that "Without the ME, there is no Disney trip." That doesn't have to be true. There are other options our there. Does anyone else have other transportation companies they use??

Nice post, Thank you!

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I too thank you for this information; might be nice if a list of viable transportation options and their cost was posted and pinned on these boards.

Of course you realize that the pricing of alternate transportation with DME in place was capped. Less than $90 each way for the service you describe is downright cheap; yet they likely couldn't charge more because customers would then fall back to the 'free' option.

Prices will rise. In fact, I expect the cost of 'private' options like this will be AT LEAST this number plus the cost of the 'default' option (Mears bus??). You can probably expect this service will run you around $250 in 2022 and going forward.

In one sense Disney is well aware of what they've done - they've cut a cost that will save them a fair chunk of change yearly. In another sense, however, I don't believe they have a clue what they've unleashed on their customers. I'm hoping and praying that good ol' American free enterprise will save the day - but who knows. The supply and demand dynamics will be interesting to watch how they play out in 2022 and beyond.

What you said could absolutely turn out to be true. I have no idea what the future holds. I was only sharing options based on current conditions. But the point is that there are other options. I definitely agree that there should be a thread started where people can share options they have used, if that thread doesn't exist already.

Like you mentioned, the US operates in a free market economy. Yes, the prices for the services I mentioned may go up. But without DME, more competition may also enter the market and the prices may stay relatively consistent with what they are now. From all reports, Mears is going to keep the DME service going in 2022 (although it won't be called DME). The prices for that service will undoubtedly be much less expensive than "private" services, which will keep the private services from going up too much...a very similar concept to what you mentioned with the DME keeping those private services in check. So if the service my family takes costs $175 now, it may only rise to $200. If the Tony Hinds service is only $100 now, it may only go up to $125. Those are still reasonable prices. There will always be "cheap" options like the Mears service that will keep the other "private" options in check. Of course, the future is all speculation. For now, I just wanted to share good options I have used or heard of.

 

[Castillo Mom]

What you said could absolutely turn out to be true. I have no idea what the future holds. I was only sharing options based on current conditions. But the point is that there are other options. I definitely agree that there should be a thread started where people can share options they have used, if that thread doesn't exist already.

Like you mentioned, the US operates in a free market economy. Yes, the prices for the services I mentioned may go up. But without DME, more competition may also enter the market and the prices may stay relatively consistent with what they are now. From all reports, Mears is going to keep the DME service going in 2022 (although it won't be called DME). The prices for that service will undoubtedly be much less expensive than "private" services, which will keep the private services from going up too much...a very similar concept to what you mentioned with the DME keeping those private services in check. So if the service my family takes costs $175 now, it may only rise to $200. If the Tony Hinds service is only $100 now, it may only go up to $125. Those are still reasonable prices. There will always be "cheap" options like the Mears service that will keep the other "private" options in check. Of course, the future is all speculation. For now, I just wanted to share good options I have used or heard of.

There’s a transportation forum where one can read about different options. Fl Tours is a sponsor and a company we’ve used in the past prior to the existence of ME.

 

[LAX]

To be clear, I am not trying to convince you or anyone else. I am making these points to balance everyone who is spewing negativity that everything is getting taken away and nothing is getting added. It’s simply not true. You feel how you feel and I feel how I feel. We both have the right to feel that way. Yet I haven’t told you “don’t tell me how to feel” like you just did to me.

“It’s never as bad as it seems, and it’s never as good as it seems.” One of the many accurate things my grandfather used to say. Very appropriate in this situation.

Maybe you weren't trying to convince me, but you did mention 'I think too many people confuse change with getting “less magical” in one of your posts'. Perhaps I misunderstood your intention, it seemed like you were trying to say ME going away doesn't mean it's "less magical" within the context of this thread, which is simply not true for many people.

LAX

 

[Timandalicia]

Oh no. I can’t wait for a bus for an hour and then sit on it for another 2 hours. Why does the stupid Dolphin get let off before me?!?! It’s not even a real Disney resort (you know you’ve said that. Cmon). Just kidding. We are sad because it felt like you were stepping into the magic right at the airport. C’est la vie

 

[ITGirl50]

The resorts it will really hurt are the value and moderate resorts. I think that’s the customer DME was targeting. They built a lot of values when they added DME while trying to get offsite folks to stay on property. Why pick a value resort that costs more and is not as nice as an offsite resort if you don’t get free transportation from the airport and no extra magic hours? Makes no sense.

 

[Eric Smith]

I fully agree. Those who are the most upset with DME being discontinued are the loudest voices on these threads. But the reality is that those people constitute a smaller percentage of DVC owners. I didn’t even know about DME when we decided to purchase DVC. It will be interesting to see the DVC sales numbers for January when they are released. My guess is that DME isn’t going to have huge effect on the sales numbers.

We fall in to this bucket. We hadn't ridden MDE before buying DVC. We always stayed at the Swan/Dolphin so we didn't qualify. We've made one trip since then (thanks COVID) and we drove because we didn't feel comfortable flying. We have two more trips booked before MDE goes away and we may end up driving for those too.

 

[Eric Smith]

Congrats, you are likely one of the few who havent experienced that.

I had the same experience. The guide didn't talk about MDE or 60 day fastpass. The pitch primarily focused on how much we could save with DVC over what it would cost for the Deluxe and Moderate hotels.

 

[ITGirl50]

I got a reply from DVD regarding our dues and ME. They said the cost will be removed from the transportation fees. Here is a snippet of the reply.

 

[going/again]

I hear what you are saying. And I typically am a “believe it when I see it” person. But in this specific circumstance, I would have to think the decision to move away from ME has a lot to do with the progress of the train system.

The histrionics in these comments reminds me a lot of when the parks first shut down due to COVID and everyone on here was ripping Disney/DVC because everyone thought their points were going to get flushed down the toilet. I commented at that time to just take a deep breath. Disney is not out to s*rew everybody. And then Disney/DVC released policies to help make everyone “whole”. I thought DVC did a great job trying to manage that situation, while also saving everyone’s points. Kind of the same thing in this situation. I don’t think Disney is going to leave people hanging. Again, they know the value of getting people to the resorts and keeping them on property. Mears has laid off a lot of people and has also faced litigation numerous times. How do any of us know that there isn’t something behind the scenes that could not get rectified between Disney and Mears?

So why not tell us ?

 

[going/again]

Sorry, but I love this change. My wife and I have been wanting them to charge for ME for a long time. Right now, I am having to subsidize people who use the service even though we always drive. Nothing is truly free, someone’s paying for it. Now, I won’t have to pay for someone else to use the service. The whining going on is laughable. ME has been around less than 20 years. People survived before it and will survive again.

My DVC dues pay for the upkeep of the parking lots, I never use a car so right now I'm subsidizing your parking space, so glad you find what will be a lot of trouble for large families laughable.

 

[going/again]

Well said. I understand. That is why I feel bad for those that truly liked the DME. It's nostalgic/tradition for those people, and it is always sad when nostalgia/traditions gets forcibly retired. Like you, I am hoping for the train/bus option. It will be much quicker than DME. I could see that option being provided for "free" for Disney resorts guests as a replacement for DME, along with a luggage option for which Disney would charge (where they would pick up your luggage at the airport and take it to your resort). I would be completely ok with that.

But again, I do feel bad for those that are seeing a part of the trip that they cherish being eliminated. The part that I find ridiculous are those who are claiming they will not visit WDW anymore, or those saying they will sell their DVC because of this. You seem to be much more level headed about it. Yeah, it sucks, but there will be other ways of getting to WDW from the airport. And in the end, those alternative may prove much better than DME in many aspects. Even if the alternatives are not able to replace the tradition/nostalgia of DME.

So if Disney is going to send a van for your luggage why not a bus for passengers and luggage.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

So if Disney is going to send a van for your luggage why not a bus for passengers and luggage.

Who says they won't have a service for passengers and luggage for which they charge? I was just spitballing ideas that would make sense. A cheap train service combined with a paid luggage service would make sense for those that are worried about the cost. I am assuming a passenger and luggage service would by more money.