Were you happy with it? Does the Minnie Van driver come to the baggage area and help with luggage? Or do I collect our luggage and bring it to the pick-up area?
I’m debating the Minnie Van vs DME for our drive from the airport to Bay Lake Tower. I’m ok with the $150 one way price for the Minnie Van if it makes sense for our group. Our group consists of 4 adults and 2 kids (1 year old and 3.5 year so need 2 carseats).
Trying to decide whether the ease of having our luggage taken care of with DME is better than the likely shorter drive with the Minnie Van. And wondering if there are other considerations I haven’t thought of. I’m not interested in Uber of Lyft even though the price would be much less.
I have not used a Minnie Van from the Airport but I am considering it for our trip in December. We have an early return flight and the $150 may be worth it vs getting up and on DME 4 hours prior to our flight (not a great way to end a vacation!). Following to see other’s responses!
Same… Considering it along with DME for our next trip in Feb. In the past we always rented a car, but with the new resort parking fee, it makes less sense than it used to for us (given we always rent a Mini Van, which already inflates the rental price).
It was last year but there was construction and it was taking 4 hours. I can’t say it definitely won’t be 4 hours this year but people don’t seem to think it will be.
Seems like we don’t have anyone on the boards who has taken a Minnie Van from the airport to their resort yet. I am going to call WDW and ask some questions about the process.
I called WDW tonight and spoke to a very helpful and friendly CM about the Minnie Vans to and from the airport. He indicated that the Minnie Van driver would meet us in the baggage area (with a sign with our name on it) and that getting to the van would be a relatively short walk after we took an elevator down from the baggage area. If I were going with only adults or much older kids, I would just do DME or Uber, but traveling for the first time with my 1 y/o and 3 y/o, I think I’m going to give the Minnie Van a try for one way from the airport to the resort.
When is your trip? I’m in the same situation, it’s the carseat situation that has me considering a Minnie Van. Will be going with our 8 year old son and 1 year old son in Feb.
We got back from WDW yesterday. Initially we decided to take a Minnie Van from the airport to our resort, but it was such a great experience that we ended up switching our return to the airport from DME to a Minnie Van.
The benefits of the Minnie Van were:
(1) Saved time (which can have significant value at WDW) … we got to the resort earlier for our arrival than if we took DME. And the Minnie Van pick-up time from our resort was 2 hours before our plane departure (instead of 3 for DME).
(2) Car seats … I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old and wanted the car seats. This was the biggest plus of us. There are likely cheaper car services that also provide car seats, but may wife and I trusted WDW’s carseat selection and maintenance process more than a random car service.
(3) The CM’s driving the Minnie Vans were great. At the airport, our driver met us at the baggage claim area and helped us with our luggage.
The negatives:
(A) Obviously, it’s expensive. To my wife and I, it was worth it. We just considered it part of the overall cost of our WDW vacation.
(B) Physical Space - On the way to the resort, we had 2 kids (in carseats) and 4 adults in the van. We fit, but it was a tight squeeze for the 3 adults sitting in the back row of the van. And all three of us are thin. Note that on the way back to the airport, it was just the 2 kids and 2 adults and then there was plenty of room.
In Conclusion:
I plant to continue to use Minnie Van’s to and from the airport while my kids need full carseats. When my kids are older, I expect to go back to using DME (like my wife and I did for adult trips before DME) most of the time.
If anyone has any other questions, I will try to answer them,
I am curious, I have used a private car service in the past. Did you compare the costs? Is there a specific reason you decided to go with a Mini Van and not a car service ?
The thing that is causing me to consider it is the carseat safety issue. With a lot of car services, you have no idea about the quality of the seats or the proficiency of the drivers in installing the seats correctly (which is a real issue). The Minnie Vans got accolades from this car seat safety advocacy group: The Skinny on Minnie Vans - Car Seats For The Littles
That was the most important factor for us too. I was very happy with the Minnie Van and recommend it to anyone who has young kids and can fit the cost into their budget.