Credit: DisneyTransportation to Walt Disney World is about to change, and hopefully, that will spell good things for new Guests. We’re not sure.
Until 2022, the main form of transportation from Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World was Disney’s Magical Express, a complimentary service that shuttled Guests directly from MCO to the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, Disney’s Magical Express was abruptly shut down last year, creating yet another cost for fans coming to visit the Disney Resort.
Related: Disney World Announces Imminent Closure of Monorail
Disney’s Magical Express was shut down under the vague auspices of “consumer preferences;” the decision to close a free service and leave it up to Guests to pay their own way to an already expensive Disney Resort was, naturally, somewhat poorly received.
In its place, Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer, two private shuttle services, began for-pay services from Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World. Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer are competing services, but it turns out that in barely a year of bringing Guests to Disney, they are both merging to become one business entity.
Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer (per WDW Magazine) are combining to form a new service called Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine. However, the new service will remain a paid shuttle, meaning that it is not really a true replacement for Disney’s Magical Express.
According to Chief Operating Officer of Mears Transportation Rebecca K. Horton, “While we have been competitors in the past, we have always shared the same goals to provide guests with safe, reliable, cost-effective, stress-free travel between the airport and Walt Disney World resorts. By merging operations, sharing ideas, expanding services, collaborating on what’s best for the guest, we believe we can provide an even better guest experience given the challenges and opportunities in today’s travel market.”
This merger will make Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine the major shuttle service between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World, as well as the only 24-hour service.
Related: Guest Demands Refund After Rain at Disney World
While Means Connect Drive by Sunshine says that it will be providing an enhanced service for Disney Guests, it is definitely always disquieting when two competitors come together to form a single major option for consumers. It is not quite a monopoly on Disney transportation yet, but it is getting there.
The shutdown of Disney’s Magical Express can be assumed to be part of the massive cost-cutting effort from Disney CEO Bob Iger, who has laid off thousands of employees and slashed budgets around both Disney Parks and the company as a whole. While he can make remarks about how other people’s expectations of costs and wages are “unrealistic,” he should probably wonder how realistic it is to increase costs for Guests at every turn.
Do you think Walt Disney World is getting too expensive? Let us know in the comments below!