Disney Debates: Would You Pay for Magical Express?
Not that long ago, Disney pulled off quite the magic trick.
In the blink of an eye, Disney made a beloved theme park benefit disappear.


Photo: Yesterland
We lost FastPass when the pandemic began, and it never returned.
The magic trick was that Disney stole our wallets. It emptied out all the money from our wallets by selling us something previously free.
Yes, the former FastPass system has returned as Disney Genie+, but we’re paying for it now.
We’ve all just accepted Disney Genie+ because there’s nothing else we can do about it.
This grudging acceptance has me thinking about a different topic.
Would you pay for the return of Magical Express?
What Was Magical Express?


Photo: Disney
We’re barely two years past the closing of Magical Express.
Many of you remember it and still speak of it fondly, as you should.


Photo: Fortune
In 2005, Walt Disney World introduced a new amenity for tourists traveling to Orlando.
To enhance the convenience of a Disney vacation, your hotel stay entitled you to free transportation to and from the airport.


Image: OrlandoAirports.net
There were a couple of caveats. Most notably, you couldn’t use Magical Express if you were staying off-site. It was only Disney hotel guests.
Also, the service only operated at Orlando International Airport (MCO), not Orlando Sanford International Airport.
So, presuming you were flying into MCO and staying at a Disney hotel, the Mouse took care of all your transportation needs.
The Joys of Magical Express


Photo Credit: DVDRentalStore.com
In fact, I’m underselling the amenity. The true genius of Magical Express was that you didn’t have to worry about your luggage.
You’d add Magical Express tags to your bags. Then, you’d drop them off at your departing airport.


Photo credit: passporter.com
No matter how long your flight took or how many legs your trip included, your bags would be waiting for you at your hotel room.
You didn’t even need to stand in line at MCO’s baggage claims for them.
Instead, they would magically appear in your hotel room in the late afternoon of your arrival date.
Skipping the wait at baggage claim alone justified the existence of Magical Express.
Somehow, the service was even better than that, though. You’d ride a distinctly Disney bus that played Disney content during your ride.
Specifically, Disney would mix in cartoons and trivia with some theme park information and tips.


Photo:Orlando International Airport
Magical Express extended the Disney Bubble from the Walt Disney World campus to MCO.
The moment you exited your flight, you were ready to walk to the Magical Express pickup station and start your vacation!


Photo: Forbes
To its credit, Disney deduced one of the primary stressors of tourism, airport aggravation, and negated the Orlando part of it.
The experience proved so incredible that Disney visitors jokingly referred to Magical Express departures as Tragical Express.


Photo: Disney
Once we saw the bus, we knew we were about to leave our hotel and the warmth of the Disney Bubble.
What Happened to Magical Express?


DVCShop
Sadly, the pandemic led to the end of Magical Express.
Mears Transportation struggled mightily during the pandemic, laying off vast swaths of employees.
As you might imagine, those bus drivers weren’t in a hurry to re-up with the company that had just thrown them under said bus.
Service quality declined, and the extended duration of the pandemic kept business slow.
In 2021, park officials confirmed that Magical Express would end on January 1st, 2022, a decision I hoped Disney would reconsider.
Alas, I knew at the time that this request was a longshot.


Photo: Mears
From a business perspective, Mears had proven itself an unreliable partner and an actively dislikable employer.
During a time of need, Mears cast its drivers aside like they were superfluous. I still get angry when I think about it.


Photo: Walt Disney Company
Meanwhile, from Disney’s perspective, Bob Chapek was calling the shots at the time.
As someone who had led Disney’s Parks division, Chapek had strong ideas about Walt Disney World costs.


Photo: Charles Krupa/AP
Once Chapek was calling his own shots, he was all too happy to end free services like FastPass and Magical Express.
Chapek felt that Disney vacations provided plenty of value on their own. Those two free amenities were overkill.


Photo:Mears
So, Disney ended Magical Express and replaced FastPass with the paid Disney Genie+ option.
Would About a Paid Version of Magical Express?


Magical Express bus
This is an interesting debate and a point a family member raised at dinner the other night.
She misses Magical Express so much that she stated she’d happily pay for the service if Disney would just bring it up.


Image: OrlandoAirports.net
I laughed for a moment before realizing she was onto something here.
Currently, when guests reach MCO, we must stand in line at Baggage Claims and wait for our luggage.
Then, we must use some form of paid transportation to reach the Disney resort.
That aspect wouldn’t change for people who rent cars, but that’s not a large percentage of Disney tourists.


Photo Credit: DVDRentalStore.com
For everyone else, a paid Magical Express is a shockingly good idea.
Right now, you’re paying for shuttle service or ridesharing or maybe even a cab.
There’s a possibility you’re being picked up in a luxury vehicle as well.
Would You Buy a Paid Version of Magical Express?


Photo: Wikimedia
What do all these options have in common? They cost money! And most of them aren’t as good as Magical Express, either.
Technically, the new Mears offering is what Magical Express used to be, but it’s lacking the Disney trappings like cartoons.
Simply stated, Disney ran Magical Express better than anyone could or would operate airport-to-hotel transportation.
Even though I historically received their service as an amenity, I wouldn’t mind it as a paid offering.


Photo: Mears
Now, don’t get me wrong. In a perfect world, we’d all rather go back to the previous Magical Express setup, which was free.
We should be realists, though. Everyone knows that this isn’t Disney’s MO nowadays.


Photo: DIsneyfanatic.com
The company cares about its profit margins. Otherwise, bumbling activist investors from Wall Street interfere, and nobody wants that.
So, I suspect our only option right now is for Disney to bring back Magical Express the same way it restored a version of FastPass.


Photo: MouseHacking.com
We’d have to pay for the Mouse Bus to Walt Disney World.
Personally, I would do that. Would you? Let us know in the comments! You never know. Disney might be listening…
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Nah, while the bus was a great experience, the bell service team at AoA took way too long to get our bags, so I had to go down and fetch them myself. It’s also about 15-20 minutes slower than it takes a Lyft driver to get to your hotel.
Sure, one can complain about getting your checked luggage, which by the time you take the monorail to baggage claim, is usually only a 10 minute wait. Once that last bag is gathered, I get a Lyft driver, who is usually within 2 minutes away, and we load in 2-3 minutes and off we go. $30 for all four of us and I’m at check in /my room within 40 minutes from getting off the plane.
Now, FREE Magic Express, I’d do a few times, for the experience/nostalgia since my kids were really little last time it was available
if it’s like years I’d rather take an Uber. their service sucks and it took forever to come and it took just as long to get to the hotel . it all sounds good but they need many many improvements for me to try
I would gladly pay for Magical Express.I used it a few years ago and loved it.Last September I had to use the other Mears service and was not happy with it.Leaving to come home it was very confusing at the Orlando airport as where to go once I was dropped off.No one to answer questions.YES I would gladly pay for the service!