New Express Transportation: $19/day or $29/week-SERVICE ENDING AUGUST 23RD 2017

[sunflowerblooms]

Just remember--no matter when an anouncement is made, it is advance notice for some and last minute notice for others--depending on when you're going. You certainly can't expect Disney to know your personal schedule.

Really? Thanks for your reply. Of course I don't expect Disney to know my "personal schedule" but I would assume that I am not the only one arriving within the next few days who was looking forward to using this service. So yes I am disappointed. They are cancelling the service within days of my arrival. It would have been nice to have had a weeks notice not 3 days. And the service will be running during our stay so it would also be nice if Disney would make it possible to still purchase express bus access after the 16th. We still don't know if that is going to happen or not. Amazingly I will still be going to Disney and we will still have a great trip! I think your response was unnecessary and not helpful.

 

[sherlockmiles]

It is definitely a bummer for me to have this cancelled. We planned to use it, though it shouldn't affect us too much. It was a convenience thing though. It is amazing to me that not enough people would be using it. At 29 bucks for a week? That's a steal! Oh well. I've park hopped without it before, and can do so again. No problems.

Same for us - it was an improvement I was excited to use.

 

[AngiTN]

Really? Thanks for your reply. Of course I don't expect Disney to know my "personal schedule" but I would assume that I am not the only one arriving within the next few days who was looking forward to using this service. So yes I am disappointed. They are cancelling the service within days of my arrival. It would have been nice to have had a weeks notice not 3 days. And the service will be running during our stay so it would also be nice if Disney would make it possible to still purchase express bus access after the 16th. We still don't know if that is going to happen or not. Amazingly I will still be going to Disney and we will still have a great trip! I think your response was unnecessary and not helpful.

I get what you were saying. A 60 day notice would be nice for all of their announcements. No, it wouldn't be 60 days before ALL trips but they know people plan FP (at a minimum) at 60 days (dining even more) so if they could at least lock down hours and events/extras and not change them within 60 days it would be a nice bonus. It won't please everyone but it would go a long way

If they had come out 2 months ago and announced that 8/16 was going to be the final day to buy the Express Bus service I think the response may not have been quite so shocked.

 

[LongTimeLurker]

Same for us - it was an improvement I was excited to use.

Same for us! I was looking forward to use it third week of December. It may be tricky to hop parks without this service...

 

[FastPasser.]

AngiTN is on fire this morning. I kinda thought she would be though.

 

[cattrix]

Yeah...so this is a huge bummer for me. We have always park hopped and will do it again, but I was REALLY looking forward to trying this service out in Sept. A bit more notice would have been nice but then again there was hardly any notice on The Great Movie Ride and Universe of Energy closing permanently. There is some moving and shaking going on at Disney, hang in there everyone because I'm guessing we haven't seen the end of it! .......and we can always be grateful that the California Grill is NOT a buffet

 

[AngiTN]

AngiTN is on fire this morning. I kinda thought she would be though.

LOL... I've been in semi-mourning. I was prepared. But still.....
Deep in my heart of hearts, if I'm honest, I never expected it to remain as it was.
It was never going to be a service that was used by enough guests to be profitable. My brain knew that even if I didn't want to admit it. So it doesn't come as a total surprise to see it ending.
Still very sad.

ETA - And to think people accuse me of drinking Disney Kook-Aid and saying they can do no wrong. They do wrong all the time. This is one of those wrong things. Not the ending of the service so much, this is their service their choice, but the way they decided to end it. A few days notice is not good guest relations. They have not handled this well. They do not handle announcing changing services well. They do not provide adequate notice often at all.

 

[anomamatt]

Really? Thanks for your reply. Of course I don't expect Disney to know my "personal schedule" but I would assume that I am not the only one arriving within the next few days who was looking forward to using this service. So yes I am disappointed. They are cancelling the service within days of my arrival. It would have been nice to have had a weeks notice not 3 days. And the service will be running during our stay so it would also be nice if Disney would make it possible to still purchase express bus access after the 16th. We still don't know if that is going to happen or not. Amazingly I will still be going to Disney and we will still have a great trip! I think your response was unnecessary and not helpful.

I totally agree. For what it's worth, I wrote Disney with my disappointment (anger) that a successful vacation at WDW requires 180 and then 60 days planning ahead of time (which I am fine with), but then they make changes that directly impact our plans with a few days notice (for my August trip). I made plans based on this being available, so I need to now change my plans (going to have to cancel Early Morning Magic on 8/27 so I can make our FOP FPs -- we've done EMM 3x, but never FOP so that wins out). One could argue I should not have made plans reliant on any disney service, but if Disney wants people using these services, they need to plan their use ahead of time. Anyway, I'm sure they won't care nor will it make a difference, but it made me feel better to send the email.

EDIT - I just got a response. I emailed WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com and their response was "we believe another department within our company can best assist you". I've never emailed a complaint to WDW, but seems like guest communications would have been the right place.

 

[AngiTN]

I totally agree. For what it's worth, I wrote Disney with my disappointment (anger) that a successful vacation at WDW requires 180 and then 60 days planning ahead of time (which I am fine with), but then they make changes that directly impact our plans with a few days notice (for my August trip). I made plans based on this being available, so I need to now change my plans (going to have to cancel Early Morning Magic on 8/27 so I can make our FOP FPs -- we've done EMM 3x, but never FOP so that wins out). One could argue I should not have made plans reliant on any disney service, but if Disney wants people using these services, they need to plan their use ahead of time. Anyway, I'm sure they won't care nor will it make a difference, but it made me feel better to send the email.

Right. If they had just made the announcement 2 months ago you would have been disappointed that you couldn't use it but you would have made your plans accordingly. Or, if you had made your plans you'd have more time to get the adjusted. 2 days and 60 days is a bit of a difference.

 

[AngiTN]

I totally agree. For what it's worth, I wrote Disney with my disappointment (anger) that a successful vacation at WDW requires 180 and then 60 days planning ahead of time (which I am fine with), but then they make changes that directly impact our plans with a few days notice (for my August trip). I made plans based on this being available, so I need to now change my plans (going to have to cancel Early Morning Magic on 8/27 so I can make our FOP FPs -- we've done EMM 3x, but never FOP so that wins out). One could argue I should not have made plans reliant on any disney service, but if Disney wants people using these services, they need to plan their use ahead of time. Anyway, I'm sure they won't care nor will it make a difference, but it made me feel better to send the email.

EDIT - I just got a response. I emailed WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com and their response was "we believe another department within our company can best assist you". I've never emailed a complaint to WDW, but seems like guest communications would have been the right place.

Strange. Did they give you the other department to email?

 

[anomamatt]

Strange. Did they give you the other department to email?

No, they said they forwarded it. Here is the full email:

Dear Matt,

Thank you for contacting us regarding the Walt Disney World Resort.

After reviewing your comments, we believe another department within our
company can best assist you. We have forwarded your message and you
should hear from a member of our Disney Team within 7 days. You may
contact us at 407-939-7838 if your concern requires assistance within
the next 5 days.

We appreciate your patience and look forward to assisting you.

Sincerely,

Guest Experience Services
Walt Disney World Resort

And here is what I emailed them (essentially what I posted above):

Hi,

I saw on a few places tonight that the express transportation option was
ending August 23. We have a trip on August 25 and i hoped to take
advantage of this very well reviewed service. I signed up for Early
Morning Magic on the 27th with the assumption that the express busses
would get my family into Animal Kingdom in time for our fast passes at
flight of passage. Without express transportation now I need to decide
between Early Morning Magic and making our flight of passage FP+'s….

It takes so long to plan a disney vacation -- I wish Disney would
provide more notice when things change or end… it's very frustrating to
have things planned out and expect to use express transportation and
learn with almost no notice that the express busses are ending.

Sincerely,
Matt

 

[sunflowerblooms]

EDIT - I just got a response. I emailed WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com and their response was "we believe another department within our company can best assist you". I've never emailed a complaint to WDW, but seems like guest communications would have been the right place.

At least you got a response, well a sort of response.

Edited to add: So I decided to call. Current wait time due to heavy call volume is 30 minutes.


Edited again. Just got the exact same response as @anomamatt

 

[LongTimeLurker]

Not the ending of the service so much, this is their service their choice, but the way they decided to end it. A few days notice is not good guest relations. They have not handled this well. They do not handle announcing changing services well. They do not provide adequate notice often at all.

That's the main point for me. They expect us to book our dining 180 days in advance, our FP+ 60 days in advance, and they make changes a week or less in advance.
I can understand them making unavoidable changes with such a short notice: if a ride breaks and they have to repair it, tough luck, it has to be done. But this service, someone must have known it was stopping for some time, so they have no excuses. I've booked two dining packages in different parks for the same day, and a meal and a special tour on another day in mid December (I know the resort will be insanely busy) with the expectation that I could easily transfer from park to park. It would have been nice of them to let us know it wouldn't be easy to do it BEFORE I book (and in some case pay) for it.

 

[AngiTN]

No, they said they forwarded it. Here is the full email:



And here is what I emailed them (essentially what I posted above):

Ah, ok. So they are going to forward it for you. Makes somewhat more sense.
Will be quite interesting to see how this all unfolds in the new few days. See who responds and what they say

 

[sharonabe]

Just remember--no matter when an anouncement is made, it is advance notice for some and last minute notice for others--depending on when you're going. You certainly can't expect Disney to know your personal schedule.

While that is true, they gave only, what, a four-day notice? That's vastly different than a 30 or 60 day notice which would give people the chance to rearrange their schedules.

 

[shoreward]

I totally agree. For what it's worth, I wrote Disney with my disappointment (anger) that a successful vacation at WDW requires 180 and then 60 days planning ahead of time (which I am fine with), but then they make changes that directly impact our plans with a few days notice (for my August trip). I made plans based on this being available, so I need to now change my plans (going to have to cancel Early Morning Magic on 8/27 so I can make our FOP FPs -- we've done EMM 3x, but never FOP so that wins out). One could argue I should not have made plans reliant on any disney service, but if Disney wants people using these services, they need to plan their use ahead of time. Anyway, I'm sure they won't care nor will it make a difference, but it made me feel better to send the email.

EDIT - I just got a response. I emailed WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com and their response was "we believe another department within our company can best assist you". I've never emailed a complaint to WDW, but seems like guest communications would have been the right place.

I received the same "canned" response, in reply to my email to Guest Communications. I wonder if they are now receiving too many messages regarding the abandonment of the Express Transportation and are turning those messages over to one CM to handle, so that correspondence regarding other matters does not get backed up.

 

[sharonabe]

A bit more notice would have been nice but then again there was hardly any notice on The Great Movie Ride and Universe of Energy closing permanently.

Actually, we did have about a month with this one. It was announced either during or the day after the D23 Expo which was in mid July, and the rides just closed over the weekend.

 

[SaintsManiac]

LOL... I've been in semi-mourning. I was prepared. But still.....
Deep in my heart of hearts, if I'm honest, I never expected it to remain as it was.
It was never going to be a service that was used by enough guests to be profitable. My brain knew that even if I didn't want to admit it. So it doesn't come as a total surprise to see it ending.
Still very sad.

ETA - And to think people accuse me of drinking Disney Kook-Aid and saying they can do no wrong. They do wrong all the time. This is one of those wrong things. Not the ending of the service so much, this is their service their choice, but the way they decided to end it. A few days notice is not good guest relations. They have not handled this well. They do not handle announcing changing services well. They do not provide adequate notice often at all.

I think you're a Disney realist and have not thought you're drinking the Kool Aid There's a lot of negativity toward Disney on this board yet people continue to throw money at them. I think you're great at trying to calm that noise. Personally, I enjoy your posts and you've been very helpful to me! So thanks!

 

[Eighty8Keys]

I think you're a Disney realist and have not thought you're drinking the Kool Aid There's a lot of negativity toward Disney on this board yet people continue to throw money at them. I think you're great at trying to calm that noise. Personally, I enjoy your posts and you've been very helpful to me! So thanks!

I agree with this 100%!

 

[Elsaspiritanimal]

Here is the response I received to my question last night regarding what other options would be provided to guests upon the suspension of this service:

"Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.

We appreciate the time you took to contact us regarding your concern. The Express Transportation was a beta program that we were testing for the past few months. The testing of the service concluded that guests who used Express Transportation enjoyed the convenience, but more Guests preferred other forms of transportation. Because of this, we have discontinued the service.

The last day to purchase the service is August 16th, and the last day the service will be operational is the 23rd of August. If you are arriving outside of this time-frame, you will still be able to use the complementary transportation at Walt Disney World®. At this time, there is not another service planned that works the way the Express transportation option works currently."