Here again Mears used to handle the transportation from MCO to Universal. They quit last year. Universal still has a shuttle service for $35 round trip. I don’t know who is handling that one but I just booked a Universal trip for July and included the shuttle transportation from MCO and back.
Do you smell a tipping requirement here?
1 Like
Can you post to let us know how that Universal shuttle goes? I contemplated booking it for our recent trip, but thought I remembered reading poor reviews/confusion on how to use it. I’d look forward to hearing how it goes for you!
2 Likes
My wife and I used it last January. I was hesitant at first but they have a spot at MCO and we didn’t wait long at all. Coarse if they have a number of people booked they will wait for them before leaving. They also pickup the people that are returning to MCO so that can take some time. They do not have the busses like the Magical Express but rather Shuttle buses which are a lot smaller. That said, it was no problem for us and they were very nice and did the best they could. When we were scheduled to return to MCO they were waiting at the bus pick-up at Royal Pacific Resort. All went well and maybe it was just our lucky day but we are taking them again come this July.
4 Likes
Absolutely. And tip we did.
1 Like
Great to hear!
Those busses are the same size as Greyhound, charter, etc. They can transport completely full of passengers with their own luggage - assuming people aren’t being all extra with a zilliion bags a piece. The entire area under the bus accommodates luggage so as long as people are normal about luggage (one, MAYBE 2 pieces) there is no issue.
But given that they ask people to basically put everything underneath, it wouldn’t be uncommon for international guests to have a 28” case and a carry-on bag. Add in strollers, golf clubs, car seats and it fills up. Not to mention that actually some airlines allow two checked bags as long as the weight limit isn’t exceeded.
They can also lay things on their side and stack bags - just like in airplane holds. It doesn’t have to be single-layer.
While some things are necessary, other things are simply extra. Just because you CAN take 2 bags doesn’t mean you HAVE to take 2 bags.
1 Like
That’s not really the point though is it, whether they have to or not many people do.
2 Likes
Well of course you don’t have to. But international guests coming from the U.K. for 2 or 3 weeks will tend to bring quite a lot. We would all have a case and carry-on, plus the “personal items” which would obviously go n the coach with us. The fact is, people do and will bring a lot.
1 Like
Yes, I get that some people need a lot of clothes, etc. (though wonder why the laundry discussions if that’s the case), there are other people who feel the need to be extra (entire piece of luggage JUST of ears, or hair product, etc.).
But again, the main point I was making is those under-bus storage areas can accommodate a lot of luggage. Bags can easily be stacked.
That is exactly how big business works. But terminating the service actually doesn’t help them at all right now. They have to pay Mears whether Disney guests use the service or not. After all the contract won’t end until 2022. It’s what they call a “sunk cost”- that money is already gone.
So now, the calculation has to be, “What does DME do for The Disney Corporation after 2022?” When the pandemic is expected to be over, I might add. What they’ve decided is that it’s not worth it to them to continue it.
And that’s what I was talking about in my very first post. This a part of the long game, because terminating a contract in 2022 doesn’t do much for their bottom line now.
But there is. There are all kinds of sophisticated calculations such as “price elasticity of demand” which will tell if consumers will still pay for a Disney trip even if something about that trip changes for the worse- such as a gain in price or a loss of value. Disney can separate out all the components of any given trip and see how people respond to the loss or gain of that component. That’s what the data in the magic bands and all the endless surveys are for.
I think what they’re finding is that demand for a Disney trip is fairly inelastic that is, people will pay for it no matter what. So they feel free to remove some perks- but they know which ones to remove and which ones not to.
Luxury goods do tend to be inelastic- Econ profs typically use them as examples when students are first learning about these types of equations. And Disney is a luxury good.
It seems to me that economics is a sophisticated science that is basically just psychology with data already attached in the form of dollars. I had to take a lot of it to earn my MHA & I have no doubt Disney can infer what DME is “worth” to a customer, and what those customers are worth to Disney.
5 Likes
Thank you for a great post.
Seems to me, Disney is using the Covid situation to try and fix the complicated pricing and perks of a WDW trip.
Disney is great at managing price elasticity of demand. Various levels of resorts and dining at different price levels. Add-ons going up to having your own Plaid guide for a day for the ultimate experience.
Pre-Covid, just cutting perks and extras of on-site guests would have caused huge outrage everywhere, but this gives them the opportunity to figure which perks really add value to guests, which one’s could be charged as an extra and which one’s no one will care if they go away.
1 Like
Won’t be that hard right now, there aren’t (m)any perks left to cut.
I still think the early entry is a subtle perk for onsite guests, not for the actual 30 minutes as such but for the fact it eliminates the rope drop advantage for offsite guests.
Until fastpasses return in some form, there really aren’t many other perks just now.
I sincerely hope they’re looking at bringing some perks back.
3 Likes
I’m sure that some perks will return, but they have the opportunity to test which ones really motivate folks to stay on-site and which ones guests might be willing to pay a premium for it.
WDW created a monster where planning a trip is slightly more complicated than planning the Normandy invasion. It is primarily caused by folks trying to take full advantage of all these limited items. Having to get up at 6 AM 180 days before a trip to make a dinner reservation is silly. Many folks could not get FFP for popular rides even booking 60 days out.
I see so many saying they would rather go to Universal since it is so much easier. WDW knows this. Hopefully, they can create a better system in the future but first out with the old system that didn’t always work so well.
5 Likes
Um. Try 3:00 AM for us west-coasters. Craziness. Not that I’ve ever done that! But I did set my alarm for 3:00 AM at the 60 days mark for my late January trip.
4 Likes
This is so accurate. I love planning, but planning for WDW is intense, and trying to explain it to someone who has never been is a special kind of challenge. It would be smart if they they updated some things to make a trip to WDW a little easier - I’m looking at you Fast Pass Plus.
4 Likes
Bear with me a second. (I had to google which form of Bear I wanted to use).
Back on topic.
Seriously.
If I were Disney, I would not want my guests to be sidetracked along the long path from ORD to WDW. The stretch of highway includes too many “others” that might take the focus off of the main attraction. I would want to get my guests off the plane, and immediately in the Disney bubble, preferably with no way of getting around without on property resources.
This has nothing to do with that really cute mini golf place right off the freeway next to the amazing looking restaurant I have to fight the urge to stop at ever time I drive past.
I always wanted a monorail type transportation, but I could see how costly and invasive that would be to the rest of Orlando (and a slap in the face to USO and that other one with the fish. KIDDING. Kind of.)
But if the the light rail or whatever it’s called, goes direct to DS, what if Disney extended the Monorail to include a DS loop? So guests have a choice between (icky, sorry) busses and the (slightly less icky but much quicker and I deal with it because it’s the FREAKING MONORAIL) Monorail?
I realize I’m completely in conjecture mode, but it’s kind of fun. Don’t scream at me. = )
2 Likes
Len and Jim Hill discussed on the Disney Dish a while back that the original plan was to expand the Skyliner from Disney Springs to meet up with the existing line (which is considered a sort of pilot program). Eventually, another line would be added to Animal Kingdom. Those plans are undoubtedly on hold due to the pandemic, but I do think the Skyliner would be more likely than the monorail given how expensive and clunky the monorail is.
Most likely scenario is that they add buses that are more like DME to Disney Springs so guests can take their luggage to the resorts.
1 Like