I Suggest We Form A Calming Circle | Disney’s Cuts More Magic
There was a lot of discussion that took place in the 2 Foolish Mortals household over the past couple days following the Disney Parks Blog announcement that Disney’s Magical Express would be discontinued in January of 2022. From disappointment to frustration, we covered a lot of bases. We also took some time to collect our thoughts.
Having done that, today I thought that we could chat a little bit about what exactly our thoughts are regarding the most recent announcement about “looking ahead” at the Walt Disney World Resort. So grab your favorite Disney mug, fill it up with something delicious and look alive! We’ve got a lot of ground to cover here today.
This whole discussion starts with the aforementioned announcement. In a post made to the Disney Parks Blog on January 11th 2021, Avery Maehrer [Manager Of Communications, Walt Disney World Resort] outlined some of what we could look forward to at the Walt Disney World Resort moving forward. There was the mention of the return of the Park Hopper option, albeit modified [allowing guests to visit multiple parks per day], and a special vacation offer. The post also included two other piece of information that were said to be “coming soon”.
The first piece of information was regarding Disney’s Magical Express. As I mentioned above, Maehrer shared the information that:
“[. . .] when Disney Resort hotel bookings open for stays in 2022, we will no longer offer Disney’s Magical Express service for airport transportation, starting with arrivals Jan. 1, 2022.”
This news was very disappointing to many who travel to Walt Disney World via Orlando International Airport, those of us here at 2 Foolish Mortals included. The service which has been offering complementary rides between the airport and the Walt Disney World Resort since 2005, is not only fun and convenient for guests traveling in groups of all sizes; it’s also part of what makes staying at one of the Walt Disney World Resort hotels worth it. [In fact, we recently talked about how Disney’s Magical Express is one of the things that makes staying on property at the Walt Disney World Resort worth the extra money. There will likely be an update coming to that post in the near future.]
Now, there is a lot that I could say here regarding the amount of money that families could [or would have been able to] save thanks to Disney’s Magical Express. Again, we scratched the surface of that in a previous discussion. However, money wasn’t necessarily the thing that made Disney’s Magical Express appealing to Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests. It was really all about convenience. The ability to have your entire party in one vehicle with all of your luggage [not to mention having someone collect your luggage for you and bring it straight to your Resort hotel room] was . . . . magical. That’s not to say Disney’s Magical Express didn’t have its faults. . . . . it did. But it was one less stressor that you had to deal with on your vacation which meant a lot to people traveling in large groups, with young children or with those with mobility issues.
Of course, with Disney’s Magical Express being the go-to way to get to the Walt Disney World Resort from Orlando International Airport for the past 16 years, it can be hard to remember what things were like prior to the complimentary services. . . . . harder still when you’re brain is fogged with frustration at Disney’s suggestion that ride-share services are preferred by vacationers nowadays. [Don’t worry, we’ll get to that here in a bit.] The thing is, Disney’s Magical Express was not the first nor is it the only way to get from the airport to the Resort hotels. There have always been taxis, ride-share services [ok. . . this is a recent addition to the list], shuttles and motorcoaches. In fact, prior to 2005 [when Disney’s Magical Express started operating] the go-to shuttle service to get from Orlando International Airport to the Walt Disney World Resort was Mears; the same transportation company that operates Disney’s Magical Express.
Before we move on, let’s get a few things out of the way:
🦇 Is taking a Mears shuttle free? No.
🦇 Is taking a Mears shuttle affordable? Not compared to the complimentary service that you got from Disney’s Magical Express, but we’ll have to take a better look at pricing some other time.
🦇 Is the Mears shuttle as convenient as Disney’s Magical Express? That depends on who you ask. Though it’s not the same type of service [where your bags are collected and delivered straight to your room], you do have the convenience and comfort of traveling with your entire party and all your luggage in one vehicle. . . . which is part of what makes Disney’s Magical Express convenient for some families.
That having been said, the reason that I even bring up Mears as an option [other than the fact that Disney’s Magical Express is. . . well. . . . Mears] is because it’s not an option that I see coming up in many of the discussions being had around this topic. Though there have been alternative solutions brought to the table (e.g. renting a car or the proposed rail station at Disney Springs), the general consensus seems to be that the only option available moving forward will be ride-share services. Makes sense considering it’s the only option that was specifically mentioned in Disney’s announcement. It also makes sense that people would be frustrated at the suggestion that a ride-share service would be a realistic solution for them.
Look, what it really comes down to for us is messaging and timing. Though it might not be the most popular opinion, we know that the Walt Disney World Resort isn’t just a magical place; it’s a business. With everything that has happened in the past 12 months, and what is likely to happen in the next few years yet to be determined, we know that changes need to be made in order to keep that business operational. Frankly, I can understand why the operation of Disney’s Magical Express would be suspended. From a business standpoint, it doesn’t make sense to operate a service [which includes paying drivers, purchasing fuel and spending money on vehicle maintenance] if that service isn’t being utilized to its full potential. With less people traveling and fewer visiting the Walt Disney World Resort, it’s not much of a stretch to see that the numbers don’t add up.
. . . . but still: messaging and timing.
Speaking of messaging!
Along with the announcement about Disney’s Magical Express, Disney Parks Blog also included some information regarding another Resort hotel guest perk; Extra Magic Hours. :
“[…] Disney Resort hotel guests and guests of other select hotels will be able to enjoy more fun with 30-minute early entry to ANY theme park, EVERY day. […] Extra Magic Hours will not return.”
Prior to the closures and limited capacity put into place at the Walt Disney World Resort in 2020, Extra Magic Hours was a perk for guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel that allowed them early entry [1 hour prior to park opening] into select parks on select days of the week or extra time in the park after it had been closed to the general public. Taking advantage of Extra Magic Hours, especially those available during the morning, was a great way to get a jump start on the day. Though they were often very crowded with other resort guests, it could get you at the head of the line for some of your favorite or most anticipated attractions. Understandably, with the limited capacity and attempts to mitigate crowds, Extra Magic Hours were suspended.
Though I’m not sure anyone was very pleased with this news initially, I think it’s fair to say that most people took it in stride. Extra Magic Hours was just one of the temporary losses that would hopefully return as things started to phase back into some version of normal. That is, until this January 11th announcement when it was made clear that Extra Magic Hours would not be returning to the Walt Disney World Resort.
The way we see this, unpopular an opinion as it might be, is as a step in the right direction. Though it’s not quite the same as Extra Magic Hours, Early Theme Park Entry does offer some of what didn’t exist at Walt Disney World since the parks reopened last year. It might be only 30 minutes as opposed to the 60 that had been offered with Extra Magic Hours, but it is still something and is now available every day at every park. Early Theme Park Entry has yet to be instituted, so it’s hard to know exactly what it will look like in the current environment that is Walt Disney World, but I anticipate it will be a good thing.
So where does this leave us? The way I look at it we have two options. The first is to get completely flustered over these changes, as poorly communicated as they may have been, and allow them to consume the last bits of Disney magic we’ve got stored up since our last vacation. The second is to take a page our of Mary Sanderson’s spell book and form a calming circle. We at 2 Foolish Mortals recommend the latter.
Difficult as it may be to accept, it’s important that we acknowledge the challenges that 2020 presented us with and that they will continue to impact the way many of us function for the foreseeable future. This includes the Walt Disney World Resort. Although we were all very ready for 2021 to swing us back in the direction of what we recognize as normal, there is still quite a long road ahead until we find our way there. With that in mind, I think it’s important to remember that [poorly timed and out of touch as they might be] announcements like the ones we talked about today are part of getting us back to normal while also ensuring that things can stay operational. That does not mean that we have to be happy with the changes or that we shouldn’t speak out. What it means is, at least in my opinion, sometimes these changes come with solutions that need time in order to present themselves.
Though I’m not certified in crystal ball gazing or reading tea leaves, if I were to make a prediction about the future it would be that things will manage to work themselves out. Whether it’s affordable alternatives to Disney’s Magical Express or additional more extra time in the parks, I think it serves us all best when we take a deep breath and keep ourselves from getting too sucked in by the wave of negativity. . . . at least until we have a better understanding of how these things will work out.
I’ve shared a lot of my thoughts today, but I’m always looking forward to hearing what you have to say! What were your initial reactions to the announcements regarding Disney’s Magical Express and the Early Theme Park Entry? Are you disappointed? Did you ever use either of these perks? Let us know!