I could go dig, but it may not have been directly from Disney …however if you go back to all the influencer sites you will see the comparison repeatedly.
WDW didn’t have to explicitly say it, the influencers took care of making the connection.
There had to be more than 30 Facebook posts from DFB alone discussing the demise of DME and the start of Brightline. The IMPRESSION the random person gets is that we have to figure out something else between the end of DME and the start of Brightline.
Under the most optimistic scenario, pre-COVID, Brightline to Tampa wasn’t even going to start construction until 2026. The Central Florida Expressway Authority, which is giving right-of-way to Brightline, has indefinitely suspended its approval because of the ongoing argument over non-Disney interests who want the more expensive SR 528 alignment so that it can serve the Convention Center and International Drive and Brightline who wants the SR 417 alternative because it’s cheaper.
People can somehow simultaneously attribute both Dr. No levels of malevolent genius and step-on-a-rake stupidity to Chapek and WDW management, but it would be a real stretch to see how Disney would think a transportation alternative that’s 6-8 years away, that it would have no financial stake in, and have no operational interest in, would be viable. As opposed to, say, just going back to the pre-Magical-Express days when Mears just did their own thing.
Disney could offer sugar-encrusted horse sh*t at the Main Street Bakery and Disney Food Blog would call it “ahmahzing.” I hope if the day ever comes when I use that site for anything other than strengthening my ocular muscles, people who care about me remove anything sharp or flammable from my personal home.
And I thought it was me…
Oh, I agree. They are 99% click bait and I don’t click …but far too many people do.
This is from the Brightline Press Room page, but is co-signed by Disney offering a Disney contact (Erica Ettori): Brightline DIS announcement
That is from November 2020 which IIRC is around when Magical Express’s demise was announced as well. So I’m sure there was some connecting of the dots by influencers.
The Brightline station is intended to provide a convenient, car-free travel option between Walt Disney World Resort and Brightline stations at Orlando International Airport (OIA), Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach and planned stations in Aventura, Boca Raton and Port Miami.
“Brightline will offer a car-free connection to the millions of visitors from around the state and the world who plan to make Walt Disney World Resort part of their vacation plans,”
I guess they don’t say they’re going to do it well (i.e. with enough trains to make it a viable alternative to Magical Express) but they’re certainly pitching the concept that they’re connecting visitors from around the World to Disney there. Given there’s a Disney contact there, I’m presuming they co-signed onto that…
FWIW - I did a follow-up search on Disney’s site and they do not show it in their Press Release archives. So it seems only Brightline released it, although they did list the Disney contact.
Just to point out, I didn’t mean this should all be pegged on Disney itself. I give Chapek a middling grade in my recent poll. Disney does good things and bad things - I try not to overstate the case for or against them as a company.
I just meant the messaging in general, from all sources, be it bloggers, Brightline, Disney, whatever - is unclear. I honestly hadn’t heard that the Brightline didn’t have capacity or intention to serve travelers arriving to FL via MCO.
I had heard that the train wasn’t expected to be finished for at least a few years, maybe longer. The word about that aspect has gotten out.
I think Disney has done a very poor job communicating here which has exacerbated the situation. They did announce Magical Express is going away and just kind of said “good luck travelers” - hope you can still visit. So with the Brightline announcement, I think a bunch of folks presumed that “well Brightline must be the DIS strategy to replace Magical Express long-term”. Then of course a lot of people reported that and no one rebutted it.
Poking around the Brightline website, there’s not a ton of info there to draw conclusions one way or the other on how frequently trains will run and it all feels a little pie-in-the-sky optimistic…
Along those lines - this is probably not going to be complimentary like DME was so my thought, and my opinion means nothing, it will not be expected to handle the same volume as DME did. Many families may choose more cost effective options like ride-shares, or go completely the other way with renting vehicles.
I am just not sure it’s designed to be like a 1-1 replacement.
Personally I am looking forward to easier access to west Palm
Service has been suspended since (I believe) March 2020. Prior to that, it ran 17 trains per day between Miami and West Palm Beach. Service got nothing but good reviews. The company is well-capitalized and has maintained their construction schedule on the Orlando extension. They floated a second $900+ million bond issue late last year.
Doesn’t seem very pie-in-the-sky to me.
Oh, I’m not sure anyone is suggesting it will be a 1:1 replacement. Lots are curious if it could be a viable alternative at all. I think that’s very much up in the air, plus when/if they ever finish it.
I mean I’d love it if Disney ponied up for a luggage delivery service so bags weren’t an issue and then this was a viable means to get into the bubble for a reasonable price, but both those may be asking way too much…
SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP FLORIDUH DOESN’T EXIST OUTSIDE OF THE DINSEYWORLD AND NO ACTUAL PEOPLE LIVE THERE
I too originally thought it was meant to be, at the very least, a competitive option to get from MCO vs Mears, Uber, rental car, or other service. I still think that holds true for people like me who are generally solo and carry minimal luggage. Of course this is all dependant upon the station location near DS and their buses as it may be more hassle than it’s worth.
“Pie-in-the-sky” may have been a poor word choice on my part. Their verbiage is all very best case type things with lots of phrases like “the only provider of modern, eco-friendly, high-speed rail in America” that feel oddly exclusionary like they made up hurdles so they could be the only one to check all the boxes. Pollyana’ish might have been better. Of course it’s an investment page so they’re trying to present the company in the best light.
Looks like ~a month ago they announced plans to resume service on the existing run in “the first half of November”.
Maybe not here - but some of the bloggers are absolutely touting it as the low cost replacement/alternative.
But that would mean the infamous “Florida Man” is located at Disney World too…Now that’s scary… 
OK so by this logic, because some bloggers have claimed, with varying degrees of seriousness, that Disney maintains Walt Disney’s severed head in cryogenic storage, and the company hasn’t denied that in any on-the-record capacity, that those bloggers are on to something, and the Truth Is Out There.
Just wait until Disney Fewd Blaahg scoops every journalistic outlet in the western hemisphere by revealing the secret plans for God-Emperor Elon Musk to build the first operational HyperLoop™ from the Chik-Fil-A in the terminal building to a cavern located 500 feet beneath the feature pool at Pop Century. Guests will ascend triumphantly to the surface on a fountain of narwhal snot, and their luggage will be delivered to their resorts by trebuchet.
Disney has not denied this, therefore it’s irresponsible not to accept it as TRVTH.
I think this is by design… crowded parks are a constant complaint. If park-goers want fewer crowds, then they have to pay more, because Disney isn’t going to forego that revenue!!
So true about a lot of things… so many things in my life look different each time I do them…
EXACTLY! It’s become ridiculously hard to find legitimate information.