Big changes lie ahead for Disney World guests.
Disney World
For sometime, Disney World Resort guests have used the Disney World Magical Express to travel to and from the airport. Soon, this option will no longer be available. Here’s what we know.
Starting January 1, 2022, Disney World will be discontinuing the Magical Express airport transportation service. Currently, this shuttle serves as transportation between Orlando International Airport and Disney World.
Magical Express
An exclusive Disney statement notes, “As consumer needs and preferences change, we will no longer offer Disney’s Magical Express service starting with arrivals in 2022. At the same time, we’re also introducing new ways for guests to enjoy their visits, including early theme park entry for Disney Resort hotel guests.”
Disney’s Magical Express Sign
As a reminder, a new Brightline train is set to connect the Orlando International Airport to Disney Springs within the next few years. Disney has previously shared that the,“Brightline’s expansion from West Palm Beach to OIA is on track to be completed in 2022.” And in Brightline’s November monthly ridership report, they revealed that the goal is to start revenue service on the Disney World connection during the second half of 2023. The train could potentially provide transportation to Disney World in lieu of the Magical Express.
©Brightline
Disney’s agreement with Brightline is contingent on, “Brightline’s satisfaction of certain obligations including obtaining all necessary government approvals,” according to the Disney press release on the subject.
©Brightline
We did recently see a reduction in services offered by the Magical Express. With the reopening of the Disney World theme parks, the Magical Express discontinued luggage delivery for both arrivals and departures.
Click here to learn more about the recent Magical Express change.
We also reached out to Disney about the Lyft-based rideshare offering at Disney World, Minnie Vans. In an official answer, Disney noted that at this time, “Minnie Vans will remain temporarily unavailable but they hope to bring the offering back in the future.”
Disney’s Minnie Vans Service
As a reminder, Minnie Vans have been unavailable since the park closures.
Want to learn more about Minnie Vans? Click here!
We’ll be keeping an eye out for more information so stay tuned to DFB for all of the latest updates and news about this discontinuation.
Click here to learn more about the Brightline train!
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What a shame to discontinue Magical Express services. It was so convenient for visitors and families to go directly to their Disney Park hotels from the airport without waiting for and carrying their luggage. The savings of not having to rent a car also played a large part in vacation expense planning.
The train may be an option but waiting for you luggage, dragging luggage onto the train and carrying luggage through Disney Springs and onto a Disney bus for the ride to your hotel will be a major expenditure of time and energy that visitors using Magical Express didn’t experience. Throw in a typical Florida afternoon shower while dragging your luggage around when arriving and leaving and your dream vacation becomes a lot less dreamy. This would not appear to be the time to make the Disney Vacation less attractive.
Sooooo, where will everyone park with their rental cars? A train to Disney Springs doesn’t help unless there’s resort transportation from DS.
Do you know if MEARS will continue the transfer service for a fee that it used to? Basically. What turned into ME?
This is very disappointing. I hope there is a price reduction to reflect this lack of transportation. The prices at Disney seem to keep going up with less amenities. Shorter hours, less live shows, lack of dining plans and now no Magical Express.
I love seeing the magical express at the airport. Once we board our bus…we have arrived!!! I am extremely sad at this news. Hopefully they reconsider. This is a wonderful perk. PLEASE KEEP IT!
Not very happy about the discontinuation of Disney’s Magical Express. We have used this service as our sole source of transportation from MCI to/from Disney accommodations for the last 17 years, and it was a major reason for buying into the DVC. 🙁
Discontinuing the Magical Express is extremely disappointing. It seems like so many things are being taken away and it leads one to wonder if it is all about the money rather than the guest experience. We have always loved the Magical Express since they began it and are REALLY disappointed at this news. Even iF the train does go to Disney Springs, then you are still needing to hop a bus, WITH your luggage in tow, and make your way to the resort! OR rent a car for an added expense, or use ride-share…again for added expense. Disappointed…..:(
Not happy! The train will cost money. Assuming we take the train to Disney Springs, how will we get our luggage onto a Disney bus to get to our hotel? They don’t have luggage racks. Will we have to take an Uber instead, both ways, at an additional cost? Or, is Mears going to start the service they used to have, at a cost? I’m really not happy about this.
While many may find this upsetting, I stopped using the Magical (or Tragical) Express many years ago because of the additional vacation time consumed by using the service. It is far quicker to utilize Lyft or Uber and be away from the airport in minutes after landing rather than sit and wait on a bus to depart which might then make multiple resort stops. The return trip to the airport is the killer considering they want to put you on a bus three hours before the flight departure time. With pre-TSA you can be at the gate within 10 minutes of being dropped off at the curb. I don’t want to sit in an airport terminal for a couple of hours when I could have enjoyed a little additional time at the resort.
This was one of my families favorite perk for staying at a WDW resort. So sad. Wonder what changes will be done to get guest from the Disney Spring area to the resorts luggage and all. Interesting changes. But on the bright side at least WDW is open. Sadly looking at my Disneyland Resort AP wondering when we will ever be back to the magic.
Magical Express Services should not be discontinued at least until the Brightline train service is available to replace it. What are guests to do that do not want to rent a car and drive in Florida traffic themselves? I read somewhere that Florida highways are among the most dangerous. (We have actually seen drivers back up on the highway, when they passed their exit!) One of the reasons my husband and I started staying on property was because they had the Magical Express service, so he did not have to drive. This may come back to bite Disney, as it may make us and others decide to stay off property to save money, so they can afford to rent a car they are going to need.
Wow that’s disappointing! It was one of the great perks.
I don’t understand why they are doing this. It has always been a perk for me as we do not have to rent a car to get to & from the hotel. Now I have to plan to rent a car or catch an Uber/Lyft to get to and from the hotel.
Our Disney trips where all about not having to worry about a lot of things. We didn’t have to pick up the luggage at the airport. We didn’t have to worry about transportation to/from the hotel. We didn’t have to worry about travel to/from the parks. We paid for our dining ahead. We used our FastPass for our favorite rides.
It sounds like our next trip to Disney in 2022 will be so different, I wonder if we will even enjoy it.
It is interesting how Disney keeps cutting services but not prices..so very disappointed in how the company is changing…Disney world is a favorite of our family but is quickly moving to the bottom of the list
Unbelievable, another terrible decision by the current Disney management. Don’t they realize that this was more than just a free ride to one of their resorts. It was the beginning of the MAGIC! Well they are destroying the magic and obviously don’t care. The place is being run by accountants instead of imagineers. And don’t say this is because of covid to save money, I’m a small business owner who is barely surviving so I know. I had a trip scheduled and they already raised their prices which I didn’t complain about. I want Disney to help me forget about some of these problems but the are ruining it. For me this is the final straw, I cancelled my trip, after 30 years, I’m done going to Disney.
It’s a bit hypocritical. They want to make a smaller footprint, but now we have to rent cars to go to the parks and resorts. They charge for your car. Honestly, what does all the money that we pour into WDW get us now? Are there any real advantages to staying on property? Enough to offset all the new costs? They can do what they want, but seems they really don’t want us there.
Is there somewhere we can place a complain to Disney world about this? I have looking everywhere and thought you might have a suggestion. I am not complaining to you or DFB but I think we should be able to make a comment somewhere for the CEO’s of Disney. Thank you for your help! I love DFB & Disney but Disney is starting to really disappoint with their new changes.😐
I will be very sad to see the magical express leave, I admit my love for the ease of a Disney vacation was the no worry airport to hotel transportation. I will still go to Disney but maybe not as often. It truly was a great service.
WOW, just WOW!!! So incredibly inconvenient!
The train won’t be a good option for getting to your hotel quickly. How often will it run? It will only go to Disney Springs. From there, you’d need to wait for a bus to take you and all your suitcases to the hotel. Would this be a different bus from the “normal” ones, able to carry lots of luggage? Looks like Uber will be the way to go from MCO.
Very Upsetting, how do all the folks going to Disney get from the airport to the property?
and will it be a free service? just curious…..
how much more can Disney take away from their loyal Disney fans that spend tons of money already to come down to visit.?
Disney is reaching new heights in cheapness over and over again. The price keeps rising, I can understand lhe loss of some features because of Covid but there is a limit. They are now advertising free tickets and reduced holel rates as bait for your attendance now, what will happen then? My last visit was Jan. 2020 and will definately be my last visit. Goodby to an old friend who does not live here anymore.
I didn’t mind it, to much, that Disney discontinued Luggage delivery for both arrivals and departures. The new BRIGHTLINE TRAIN is set to connect the Orlando International Airport to Disney Springs (2022). So now people will have to buy tickets for the new train, get off the train at Disney Springs along with all their luggage, not to mention their children, and have to wait for the bus to take them to their resorts. Who in their right mind came up with discontinuing the Magical Express. All Disney is doing is…take, take, take away and giving nothing in return. If I decide to rent a car, I will not be staying at a Disney resort, as it will be cheaper to rent lodgings off Disney property. To whom it may concern: Please rethink discontinuing the Magical Express.
I have so many feelings. None of them positive. Magical Express to my family meant the world to us. It comes up even when we are on other vacations outside Disney World. “Mom, why can we get on a bus to take us to our vacation? We are not at Disney sweetie. Then let’s just go to Disney then. My favorite part is the magic bus.” This was one of many ways the magical express service has at times decided where we were going to go on vacation. As a parent it was piece of mind. I knew that my family was taken care of so the vacation really did start as soon as you stepped off the plane. It made the dreaded travel day part of the vacation for all of us. My kids are in tears. They just told me, “We can go on other vacations now. We don’t want to go only there anymore.” Thanks Disney for taking the rose color glasses off so I can see you are now no different then any other vacation anymore.
The most disappointing part of this is the luggage service. I loved being able to get off the plane, jump on the bus and start the disney magic. We would go to the hotel and head straight to the parks. The luggage was in our room when we returned to the hotel at the end of they day.
It seems like Disney believes their loyal costumers will continue to come with many losses but hotel, now parking fees at hotel and park tickets pricing going up but offering less. Disappointing
But the train will only go to Disney Spring. What? Are we then supposed to get on the regular guest buses… with our luggage to get to our hotels? That doesn’t make sense.
This is absolutely ridiculous. The amount of money paid to enjoy a Disney vacation is astronomical. If you now have to rent a car to get to the resort and back to the airport, that is an additional cost nobody feels like tacking onto an already expensive trip. Disney needs to figure this out. The Magical Express was just that, Magical. It gave you time to gear up and get your ducks in a row on the way to the resort and time to relax before getting into the rat race of MCO. I’m just shaking my head at this. So disappointing.
ALL DISNEY FANS. WE NEED YO PROTEST!!!
SEND LETTERS! SEND EMAILS!!! MAKE CALLS! LEAVE MESSAGES!!’
PLEASE! LET’S UNITE!
GIVE IDEAS!! (NO RIOTS PLEASE)
HELP! IT’S IN EVERYONE INTEREST!
OHHH!!! I’M ABOUT TO FAINT!!!
That’s kinda the last straw on perks they are taking away from us. Have a two week stay in November that will be canceled. When you have elderly parents in their 80’s who’s going to help with luggage and boarding passes and travel to resort and airport when they don’t have smart phones and it’s to much for them to understand. Disney is taking to many perks away and what’s next raising the ticket prices in a couple
Months as usual. We will go somewhere else
Not happy about magical express ending. That is a big draw for me. They take care of you.
This is absurd and I truly hope this decision bites them in the rearend. Continually raising prices across the board while cutting perks is no way to treat loyal guests. I hope this is reflected in their wallets.
You continue to make it more difficult to enjoy a vacation at Disney. Discontinuing magical express was the last straw. We have had a vacation club at the beach club since 2002. We and four of friends who own vacation clubs are selling them. You have ruined the greatDisney experiences we have had since 2002.
Goodbye Disney World.
I think this is the final straw. Instead of reaching out to those of us who are isolated from coming to Disney due to the pandemic, they are actually going to isolate more people by making it difficult to get to Disney World from the Orlando airport in 2022. The Magical Express Service was not only just a way to get back-and-forth from Disney World to the airport, but it was actually the beginning of your vacation! Who hasn’t looked forward to going downstairs at MCO Airport and seeing the Disney desk at the airport! As you waited on the line for your bus, you saw videos of what was to come. Excitement began to build as you boarded the bus and watched more videos of the Parks and all that lay ahead. And finally the moment you’ve been waiting for as you go through the Disney World gate! What a thrill! That will be gone forever after 2022. I understand that Disney has lost billions of dollars due to the pandemic, but I would have been more than happy to pay for the Magical Express service. That’s how important it was to me also having a member of our family who is handicapped and uses a wheelchair and travels with us to Disney World. Yes, we can pay for other car services and cabs, etc., to go back-and-forth to the airport. But it will not match the vacation experience of the Magical Express! By making this decision Disney has subtracted yet another reason to go to Disney World. They are making the guest experience less and less appealing. I certainly do look forward to the train station coming to the Orlando airport however it will never match the wonderful experience of your vacation beginning the moment you get off the plane and get onto the Magical Express bus! In addition, the buses took you right to the door of your hotel. These trains will only take you to Disney Springs and then you’re on your own from there. Or maybe you will be allowed to take the Disney Springs buses to your hotel from there??
I don’t know, but either way it’s going to be a hassle and it’s going to take forever to get to your hotel unless you hire a private car or shuttle from the airport. So sad. Disney World continues to subtract from the Disney experience and offers very little in return. With this current news we certainly will be rethinking any future plans to go to Disney World in 2022.
We have been to WDW several times starting when our 3 kids were young. They are now young adults and we’ve added a daughter-in-law. We planned a return trip in January 2022 with all 6 of us. Our daughter-in-law has never been. Our family has been anticipating this return trip for awhile now. We’ve always stayed on-site as we wanted the magic of vacation starting as soon as you arrive at the airport and for the ease/perks of on-site. As I’ve watched the changes occurring it’s becoming very underwhelming for us to return. We’ve always anticipated the arrival our luggage tags and magic bands. But neither of those will be arriving anymore. We always got the hopper tix and dining plan. We won’t have those, either (not paying for limited restrictive options). We always made use of the extended hours. It seems more and more planning and research is required to even get to WDW. I’ve looked into renting a house and driving to/from parks for our past trips. I always gave in to the notion that it was well worth the extra cost of staying on-site for the magic and ease that come with all the above features. I’m not sure I can say that anymore. I’m the WDW super fan in my family and have strongly encouraged this return trip in 2022. I’m now so dismayed with the continually growing list of things being removed from us. We have been loyal Disney fans for years and not feeling as though Disney is being very loyal in return. I understand they are a business with a bottom line. It already sounds like an on-site stay for a potential 2022 will not measure up to our past trips. What prevents us from getting bigger and better accommodations off-site since the trip will be so vastly different anyway? Maybe head to other parks and the beach too instead of just staying in the WDW bubble as we’ve always done. My husband has always felt WDW is a money pit, but I’ve always defended it. I just can’t do that anymore. I’m putting my plans to make our 2022 reservations on hold (had been planning to make them any day now). I just can’t bring myself to do it. I read these articles frequently, but never respond to them. However, this latest news was the tipping point for me.
You’ve got to be kidding me! What are people going to do now to get to their resort? Rhe Magical Expess was always a reliable and conveniant mode of transpotation to get to your resort. I can’t believe Disney is canceling this service.
Disney is discontinuing so many of the things that make them special. It’s so disappointing.
This is a bold move by Disney. My wife is a huge Disney fan and we travel there every 2 years stay on resort and only visit Disney parks. Now no magic Express and they will charge for parking even if you are staying on site. Well off site we go and instead of 7 days at Disney it will be 3 at Disney then 3 universal
My initial reaction to discontinuing Magical Express is it’s a horrible idea. What they should do is charge a fee for each person using it instead of charging a fee to park a personal vehicle on a resort property for people who drive and DON’T require a chauffeur driven bus service for NO charge. Drivers get penalized for not requiring
a free service!!
Without Magical Express it will no longer be a relaxing resort destination. My wife and I celebrated many anniversaries at Disney World because once we got on the plane to go we never had to do anything since the luggage was handled both ways, once we got to the hotel we never had to find transportation since there were many ways to travel from the hotel. This way we could park hop to many signature restaurants or shows or tours, most of which are now closed. Without the ability to enjoy a relaxing vacation with flexibility we will no longer be going to Disney World.
WOW! With all the discontinuations of various services, I’m surprised people still want to pay so much to stay at WDW resorts. Thankfully, this doesn’t affect us as we live in South Florida and can drive to Orlando in 3 hours.
I’m not gonna lie, I felt quite angry & sad upon this news. I was supposed to have a trip to Disney last year but COVID nipped it on the bud. One of the things I was really looking forward to is a ride on the Magical Express to my Disney hotel. A safe and enjoyable ride. As an international traveler, this is something I really admired in the idea of the Magical Express. Now people who arrive have to scramble and dish out more money just to get to the park. I feel that Disney is making a mistake in discontinuing this service. It’s just more on an inconvenience to travelers, one that will draw people away and annoy people. My heart goes out to the people who won’t have a job come 2022.
The Magical Express is one of the perks of staying on Disney property. It’s the only free perk. The airport is not close to WDW, so the cost of transportation could be a huge issue for people. Renting a car means quite a bit more money and then you have to pay for parking on top of that. Do they want people to stay off site? It certainly seems that way. And that new train, dropping people at Disney Springs and then they have to cram the buses getting to the resorts,…it’s going to be a transportation nightmare and we all know the buses aren’t that great anyway, at least when there isn’t a pandemic. This could backfire on Disney. What’s next? Making people pay to use the monorail?
Karen wrote: “What’s next? Making people pay to use the monorail?”
What monorail? The TTC – EPCOT monorail is already discontinued.
The train from MCO isn’t even a definite thing yet. Even if/when it is, can you imagine everyone getting on buses with multiple suitcases, kids, strollers, etc. Disney is trying to put itself out of business.
Someone said it well
Without Magical Express it will no longer be a relaxing resort destination.
I concur, the getting off the plane and not worrying about luggage was a huge perk, and its yet another perk gone. My family absolutely loved the ME and being able to start our vacation right away.
Renting a car seems iffy as parking is no longer free at WDW resorts.
And packing kids into an uber with Luggage, not so fun.
We go almost every year and rarely stay off property and this definitely changes our thinking about staying on site at WDW**
**Note its not just this change but all what I feel are negative changees
Jackie, Mears is still bookable online from MCO to WDW Resorts.
This is terrible Does anyone know what it cost to get from the airport to WDE It is expensive and if you are a family with a lot of luggage this is not going to be easy Disney you have taken everything good away I know I will not be coming anytime soon
Arlene, Disney buses will still run between Disney Springs, theme parks, Resorts, and water parks.
Allison, no word on this as far as I know.
Irene, Disney’s official contact page is here. I’m not sure how effective it will be, but it’s worth a try!
Carol, you’d need to pay for a ride — Uber, Lyft, a taxi or limo service, Mears, etc. — or rent a car.