Disney's Magical Express

Disney's Magical Express was a private ground transportation and luggage delivery service for the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida and the Disney Cruise Line Terminal at Port Canaveral, operated by Mears Transportation. The complimentary service was only available to guests with hotel reservations at the Walt Disney World Resort as well as those with departures with Disney Cruise Line.^[2]

Disney's Magical Express

A Magical Express bus parked outside Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside
Parent	The Walt Disney Company
Founded	2005 (2005)
Defunct	January 1, 2022 (2022-01-01)^[1]
Locale	Florida, United States
Service area	Bay Lake Port Canaveral
Service type	Coach
Destinations	Walt Disney World Resort Orlando International Airport Disney Cruise Line Terminal
Hubs	Walt Disney World Resort
Stations	23^[2]
Fleet	Van Hool buses
Daily ridership	6,000 (2009)^[3]
Annual ridership	2.3 million (2013)^[4]
Operator	Mears (buses)^[5] Bags, Inc. (baggage)^[6]
Website	Official website

History

Disney's Magical Express commenced operations in 2005. It initially faced strong opposition from the Greater Orlando Livery Association and Orlando-area ground transportation companies and taxi cab operators, who argued that it allows Disney to "whisk away" potential customers who would otherwise have continued on to a taxi cab or private transportation service for transportation to their hotel. This keeps them from leaving Disney property during their trip to spend money elsewhere, since they do not need a rental car or other transportation to get to their resort.^[3]

Despite the initial opposition, the service became extremely popular, carrying 2.2 to 2.3 million guests between 2009^[3] and 2013.^[4] In 2010, Allegiant Air announced that they would be moving ten of their flights from Orlando Sanford International Airport to Orlando International Airport, based partially on the fact that Disney's Magical Express service only goes to Orlando International,^[3] though the airline later moved back to Sanford, citing higher costs.^[7] In 2015, Universal Orlando, Disney's main competitor in the area, announced their own airport shuttle to their resort, Universal's SuperStar Shuttle. It was initially operated by Escot Bus Lines, until Mears Transportation took over as of April 1, 2021.^[5]

In November 2021, Brightline announced an extension of their higher-speed rail line from the Orlando International Airport Intermodal Terminal to Disney Springs,^[8][9] which raised concerns over the future of Disney's Magical Express. In January 2021, The Walt Disney Company announced the discontinuation of Disney's Magical Express, which was made effective January 1, 2022, citing changes to consumer preferences as the reason;^[1][10] the announcement was subject to controversy.^[11][12] Transportation from the resorts to the airport continued until January 10, 2022.^[13]

Service

Disney's Magical Express service ran exclusively from Orlando International Airport, available to guests with reservations at a Walt Disney World resort hotel.^[14] For return service to the airport, guests were typically scheduled for a motor coach departure from their Disney resort hotel to Orlando International Airport no less than three hours prior to their flight's scheduled departure time for domestic flights; four hours for international flights. Disney's Magical Express also transported guests from Orlando International Airport or their Disney Resort hotel to Port Canaveral for Disney Cruise Line departures and back.

Bags, Inc. handled the collection and transportation of guest luggage from the airport directly to the guest's resort hotel until July 2020^[15] with no need for guests to go to baggage claim. After the service was discontinued, guests were required to pick up their baggage and check in with the transportation.

References

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Disney's Magical Express.

1. Bevil, Dewayne. "Disney ending Magical Express bus service and Extra Magic Hours for hotel guests". Orlando Sentinel.
2. . Walt Disney World. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
3. Kassab, Beth (February 5, 2010). . OrlandoSentinel.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
4. Garcia, Jason (February 26, 2014). . Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
5. Pedicini, Sandra (August 31, 2015). "New Universal Orlando airport shuttle service is starting". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
6. Brinkmann, Paul (March 25, 2015). . Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
7. "Allegiant Air changes Orlando route back to Sanford airport". GoUpstate.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
8. . www.gobrightline.com (Press release). Brightline. November 20, 2020. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
9. Burke, Peter (November 23, 2020). "Brightline, Walt Disney World agree to build station at Disney Springs". WPTV.
10. Maehrer, Avery (January 11, 2021). "A Look Ahead at Walt Disney World Resort". Disney Parks Blog.
11. "Magical Express is Ending, but Will Anything Replace It?". February 20, 2021.
12. "Disney World News: Magical Express Update, Crowds Crash & Construction". January 16, 2021.
13. "Disney's Magical Express is Officially Retired". January 11, 2022.
14. "How Magical Express works at Disney World". WDW Prep School. March 29, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
15. "Disney's Magical Express Will No Longer Provide Luggage Delivery Service Beginning July 16". July 9, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2021.