As much as we love taking the Magic Express from the Orlando International Airport, we’ve often thought, what if there was an even more magical way to get our vacation started faster?
Disney’s Magical Express Bus
You know, instead of waiting for the ground transportation service to load up, make multiple stops at resorts for other passengers, unload baggage… What if there was an even QUICKER and more effective means of shuttling you to Disney World so you could get your Disney trip moving!
A solution might not be as far off as you’d think! According to the Orlando Sentinel, Brightline (which is being renamed Virgin Trains USA) and executives at The Walt Disney Company are in “advanced talks about a station on or near theme-park property as part of a route to Tampa.”
©Virgin Trains
Disney officials have responded, saying, “As the top vacation destination and largest single-site employer in the United States, Walt Disney World Resort is an obvious choice for a rail station between Orlando International Airport and Tampa.”
©Disney Orlando International Airport
Could you imagine hopping off your flight and on to a train directly to Disney World?! So while this isn’t a go YET, both sides have agreed to begin talks to see what this could become. We’ll be watching this story closely to see how this plan for a new train station develops! This could totally revolutionize your future Disney World trips, so stay tuned!
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What do you think of this developing story? Are you excited about the prospects of being able to take a train from the airport to Walt Disney World? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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I’m confused. Even if it’s a fast train and obviously doesn’t have to deal with traffic, I don’t see how this would actually be a faster experience from plane to resort.
Trains run on pre-designated schedules, and only run so many trips a day compared to the Magical Express busses which leave as soon as they are full. And then you’d STILL need to switch to another form of transportation to get from the train to your resort, which means a little more waiting. Best case would be if it dropped you at a Monorail or Skyliner hub, and even those cover only a few of the many resorts.
It might have other benefits though. Maybe environmental? Trains are thought to be relatively green, but that’s only if running near capacity. Would a schedule that comes close to filling a whole train before it departs to Disney be fast? How many plains would have to land to fill a train? 10-15? (guessing). And Disney busses now run on biofuel if I’m not mistaken. So I don’t much of an environmental benefit.
Both trains and busses need to be maintained. But all busses (currently) need to be driven, while a train holding the equivalent of many busses needs one engineer (still guessing), so there’s a cost savings on employees. That’s a corporate benefit, not one directly effecting the rider.
The only people I can figure it benefiting would be those staying off-site in Orlando or Tampa. It might seem a pretty convenient way to get in and out of the park for them. Especially since those people wouldn’t need to switch to get to a resort to check in, but would want to go directly to a park. This would seem to go against Disney’s desire to keep everyone’s spending within the Disney bubble, and could instead promote more off-site stays because of the new convenience.
I don’t see this benefiting either the customer experience or the big-picture bottom line. So what am I missing? There must be a logical reason Disney is considering this? Thoughts?
I actually think that it would make more sense to have the train go from the Airport to WDW to Port Canaveral. This would give more options in terms of when you would like to embark on a cruise (the Shuttle to the port now arrives late in the day and it only picks up from a Disney resort once). It also helps folks staying on property at a non-Disney resort who wouldn’t have access to a DCL shuttle to the ship. The train would be a cost-effective option for those who don’t want to rent a car so they can leave earlier and then have to pay for parking at the Port. It also helps get folks back to the airport after the cruise (or back to a Disney resort if they choose to stay on property afterward).
The train might also be a benefit for folks staying in non-Disney resorts if they provided shuttle service to there own hotel from the train station (maybe the shuttle would run up and down Hotel Plaza Blvd). Other than that, I agree with the poster above on some points.
Virgin Trains? Richard Branson filling a transportation need sadly lacking in U.S.?
I agree with @JP
If Disney does decide to go the train route:
1. wouldn’t we then have to pay a fee if we decide to use the train as transportation?
2. if we would have to pay a fee for using the train, that means those who decide to use the bus will also have to pay a fee.
3. does this mean buses will no longer be used
How often would these trains run? How close to your resort would the station be.
I don’t see this as a speedier way at all.
I’m not really seeing any upside to this either…
Think it would be cool experience/option. You can bet everybody is paying hidden fee for buses whether you use them or not.
I have read about this online and over the course of two trips to Orlando, have seen the rails, station, and trains (which right now are just two cars) from the DME buses on the way to Disney.
Here are my thoughts:
1.) You would have to take a train from the actual airport to the station next to MCO.
2.) Once at a central Disney rail station, you would have to get some other form of transportation from the rail station to your resort. That’s two times you would have to change modes of transport with your luggage in tow if you are not doing the DME luggage service. If you have kids with you, your trip just got more harrowing.
3.) From what I’ve read, the rail line would also feed into the existing Florida rail system, which means you could theoretically go from Miami (or any point north) to Disney in Orlando. This would be a bonus for those in South Florida (near the Atlantic coast)
4.) While I know this rail system is a Virgin (Sir Richard Branson) project, starting the Disney Experience using a monorail instead of traditional rail, tying directly into the WDW Monorail system would have been a better bet for Disney.
The bottom line is going to be the perceived and actual convenience factor for tourists arriving at MCO and going to Disney. How the final segment from rail to resort is going to be the most important piece of the equation. If it’s not easier/faster than DME, then I will stick with the DME system.
I agree, I don’t see trains as a better means of transportation to Disney World. When I arrive at Orlando Airport, I go straight to Disney bus, get to my DVC resort and we are off to the parks.
Let me clear up a few things…
This project is not being done for Disney. It was intended to be a Florida Transportation option and originally wasn’t designed with Disney in mind.
It was announced in 2013 and initially designed to connect downtown Miami and the Orlando airport. The airport has had a train station on its master plan since the early 90’s and it was designed and is part of a multi modal transportation facility next to the south airport terminal. It is a 5,000 vehicle parking garage, a bus station, ride sharing drop off and pick up location, rental car facility, a taxi stand and train station for Virgin Trains and Sunrail, the central Florida rail system that runs from Deland to Poinciana. This isn’t just a train station, it will be next to the south terminal which is supposed to start construction in the next few years. Getting to this facility should be about 15 minutes from your gate to the station, about 30 minutes from the existing north terminal. Eventually, all buses will need to use the facility, including DME. The only vehicles that are supposed to be allowed at the terminal, according to the master plan are ones doing pick up’s and drop offs.
It was originally conceived by The Florida East Coast Railway as All Aboard Florida, and has since been split off from them going through 2 additional name changes, Brightline and now Virgin Trains. This is not a “Virgin (Sir Richard Branson) project”. Richard Branson invested in 10% of their stock in 2019 and they named it Virgin Trains. They announced the Tampa extension in June 2018. Currently it has 3 stops, Miami, Ft Lauderdale and West Palm Beach with Orlando International Airport being the next BIG one. They have since announced additional stops on the east coast, Port of Miami, Boca Raton, and potentially Cocoa, Stuart and a few other locations on the east coast.
When they announced the Tampa extension Disney was not part of the plans. They have since led on that they would consider a stop at Disney along with possibly Kissimmee and somewhere in the Lakeland area. It’s supposed to be higher speed rail and too many stops negates that. They are years away from starting construction on the Tampa line which includes the Disney stop.
Obviously, this would be service in addition to DME and not a replacement. Not everyone uses DME. Where the station would be located is still up in the air. To make this profitable Virgin needs to control the real estate development at the stations. Since Disney buses do not leave Disney property, if the station is off property, they would need to contract with someone, most likely Mears, who does DME. If it’s on property Disney would need to give Virgin Trains the development rights to build around the station. Same thing with a stop at Port Canaveral. Those buses are run by Mears. This could give Disney more leverage with Mears when it comes time to renew the contracts for both.
No one knows what it would cost, nor who would pay. If anyone thinks DME is “free”, they are wrong. You’re being charged for it in your package or hotel in some way, the same way Disney Transportation charges everyone for use of the buses via their ticketing options. Does anyone remember seeing the “charge” for Disney Transportation on the back of their paper tickets way back when? I do.
Disney would probably work out some deal with Virgin Trains where the train ticket would be included in the price of whatever you buy from Disney, just like they do with DME which would include baggage handling.
Currently they are running 32 trains a day, with plans for more if needed. There would be a train about every half hour.
This is a long way from being a “done deal”. I’m sure Disney and Virgin are thinking of everything about it and how it would affect Disney guests. We need to wait and see what they come up with.
How about a Hogwarts train from Disney world to Universal…yay!!
Or an Amtrak straight to Disney world from the Northeast corridor.. double tay
In the UK we have had Virgin trains for a number of years. And they were so bad that the government took the franchise back.
“Virgin and Stagecoach won the eight-year ICEC franchise in November 2014 and began operating trains the following March under the Virgin Trains East Coast brand. However, in June 2017 the companies admitted the business would be unable to match its premium payment commitments to government of £3·3bn over the life of the franchise. Virgin and Stagecoach then announced they were negotiating revised terms.
In February Grayling confirmed that the owning joint venture had ‘breached a key financial covenant’ and that as a result the franchise would end ‘within months’. Grayling suggested that Virgin and Stagecoach had lost around £200m supporting VTEC, while the franchise had returned approximately £1bn in premium payments to government.
I wonder if this could be the same for you. As soon as things go wrong Virgin come up with excuse after excuse. Its never their fault.
If you want further info Google Virgin east coast