Everthing you wanted to know about Uber/Lyft at WDW

[Best Aunt]

I don't have that option so it must be location by location. Uber's is too, we don't have Uber Car Seat option here either. And yes, I do have the latest update from a day or so ago.

ETA - I put myself at Disney and no car seat option came up there either. Minnie Van does, no car seats for any of the Lyft cars though

Interesting.

 

[joelkfla]

I just looked at the Lyft app, because it was updated, and where it shows the types of cars available (Lyft, Plus, etc.) it shows Car Seat. I never noticed that before. Is that new? I thought only Uber had car seats, and I thought those were being phased out.

Note that my phone thinks I'm in Manhattan because that is where I last used the app, and I turned off Location Services on my phone when I got home.

I haven't heard anything, but maybe Lyft is trying a pilot program in NYC. That is where Uber did their Uber Family pilot, which was very different from what they later rolled out in Orlando.

There are (or were) one or 2 other ride hail startups operating in NYC. I wonder if any of them offer car seats?

Of course, Uber & Lyft are bitter, knock down, drag out rivals. Maybe Lyft sees an opening to take advantage of if and when Uber does completely eliminate car seats.

Edit: found this on the Lyft blog. Apparently this has been going on in NYC only for the past 8 mos.

 

[JimMIA]

Of course, Uber & Lyft are bitter, knock down, drag out rivals. Maybe Lyft sees an opening to take advantage of if and when Uber does completely eliminate car seats.

True, but they're also both shameless copycats, lol! Even when the other company's idea is unsuccessful, they copy it.

 

[AngiTN]

I haven't heard anything, but maybe Lyft is trying a pilot program in NYC. That is where Uber did their Uber Family pilot, which was very different from what they later rolled out in Orlando.

There are (or were) one or 2 other ride hail startups operating in NYC. I wonder if any of them offer car seats?

Of course, Uber & Lyft are bitter, knock down, drag out rivals. Maybe Lyft sees an opening to take advantage of if and when Uber does completely eliminate car seats.

Edit: found this on the Lyft blog. Apparently this has been going on in NYC only for the past 8 mos.

I can see where NYC would need a car seat option even more than Disney. At least, from what I understand. Aren't there a lot of folks who live there and don't even own a car? I've always wondered how they can go anywhere without a car and car seat. I mean, I know their public transportation system is something beyond my imagination but surely, when you are toting along an infant, maybe a toddler and all their gear, that is a huge PITA. Especially in bad weather/cold, etc. There have got to be times where they want to/need to, hop in a taxi. Is it just common to have a car seat you bring along with you? Then that seems like a pain to have to carry about yet 1 more item. So anyway, it makes total sense for them both to have car seat choices.

 

[psac]

I can see where NYC would need a car seat option even more than Disney. At least, from what I understand. Aren't there a lot of folks who live there and don't even own a car? I've always wondered how they can go anywhere without a car and car seat. I mean, I know their public transportation system is something beyond my imagination but surely, when you are toting along an infant, maybe a toddler and all their gear, that is a huge PITA. Especially in bad weather/cold, etc. There have got to be times where they want to/need to, hop in a taxi. Is it just common to have a car seat you bring along with you? Then that seems like a pain to have to carry about yet 1 more item. So anyway, it makes total sense for them both to have car seat choices.

The answer is basically yes, BYO. We don’t have kids, but our friends in Manhattan with little ones have one of those collapsible car seats they can just unfold and install in the Uber or taxi for their trip. They used it once when I had my car in the city and gave them a ride. It was really quick putting it in and out. It folds up pretty small as well, fits in a backpack.

 

[shrinkintexas]

The reason I mention planning a return trip...I read that getting a driver may be difficult. I'm not going to a hotel, but all the way to Port Canaveral from Epcot. I'm worried that I may not be able to find a driver...or, is that not really an issue and I can get a Lyft no problem?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Outside Boston, I don't have a car seat option on my Lyft app, either. I do have Access, for a wheelchair, which I hadn't noticed before.

 

[joelkfla]

Uber pickup changes:

There have been some adjustments to Uber pick up/drop locations:

• Epcot: the location is in the corner of the Journey lot nearest the park entrance, at the electric vehicle charging station. When walking out the main gate, head straight out to the left of the Monorail entrance and follow the path to the left of the center tram lane. There's a purple shelter.
• Disney Springs: the West Side location has moved to load zones 8 & 9 in the West Side bus loop. That's the loop that's used only by Lynx & outside buses. It's between Cirque & the Strawberry lot. Marketplace pickups are still in the old Marketplace bus loop.
• Animal Kingdom: the location has moved slightly; it's now at the corner of the taxi/handicapped lot nearest the park entrance (it used to be further down the path.) But the big change is that drivers now have to stage off-site, so expect the car to arrive about 10 minutes after the request is accepted.

Unchanged:

• DHS: still next to the taxi stand.
• MK: still at the TTC Guest Pickup spaces (in the charter bus lot along the fence nearest the Monorail.)

 

[Best Aunt]

The reason I mention planning a return trip...I read that getting a driver may be difficult. I'm not going to a hotel, but all the way to Port Canaveral from Epcot. I'm worried that I may not be able to find a driver...or, is that not really an issue and I can get a Lyft no problem?

This was discussed recently - go back to post # 1863. (Post numbers are in the bottom right corner of the posts.)

 

[JimMIA]

The reason I mention planning a return trip...I read that getting a driver may be difficult. I'm not going to a hotel, but all the way to Port Canaveral from Epcot. I'm worried that I may not be able to find a driver...or, is that not really an issue and I can get a Lyft no problem?

Again, I am more worried about the timing of your trip than the availability of rideshare vehicles. I just don't see how you are going to squeeze all that into the time you will have. But I'll give you two suggestions for the ride back.

The first is to try to work something out with the driver who takes you from PC to WDW. That will be a Brevard driver and you are taking them away from home. They may be willing to spend the day driving at WDW and then drive you back later...which would pay them both ways. I would offer a handsome cash tip payable when they pick you up from Epcot.

The other possibility is to try to schedule a ride with UZURV. Your scheduling request should be submitted a day or two before you leave on your cruise. It will be circulated to drivers who use UZURV (both Uber and Lyft) and you will be able to review driver profiles and make a choice. You can also include that "handsome tip" as an incentive via UZURV. I think there is a $3 fee for using UZURV. I don't drive in that part of Florida, so I have no way of knowing how widely accepted UZURV is up there, but that would be the other option.

For that return trip, I would certainly not limit yourself to Lyft only. There are a lot more Uber drivers than Lyft and you don't need to be reducing your chances of success.

 

[AngiTN]

Uber pickup changes:

There have been some adjustments to Uber pick up/drop locations:

• Epcot: the location is in the corner of the Journey lot nearest the park entrance, at the electric vehicle charging station. When walking out the main gate, head straight out to the left of the Monorail entrance and follow the path to the left of the center tram lane. There's a purple shelter.
• Disney Springs: the West Side location has moved to load zones 8 & 9 in the West Side bus loop. That's the loop that's used only by Lynx & outside buses. It's between Cirque & the Strawberry lot. Marketplace pickups are still in the old Marketplace bus loop.
• Animal Kingdom: the location has moved slightly; it's now at the corner of the taxi/handicapped lot nearest the park entrance (it used to be further down the path.) But the big change is that drivers now have to stage off-site, so expect the car to arrive about 10 minutes after the request is accepted.

Unchanged:

• DHS: still next to the taxi stand.
• MK: still at the TTC Guest Pickup spaces (in the charter bus lot along the fence nearest the Monorail.)

So you are never paired with a driver that is nearby and just dropped someone off? Only with drivers in the staging area?

 

[JimMIA]

So you are never paired with a driver that is nearby and just dropped someone off? Only with drivers in the staging area?

Quite a few locations at WDW have electronic queues. So while the normal ride request dispatching is generally by proximity, if there is a queue the ride would go to whoever is next in the queue.

I don't know how the queues work at WDW, but some places in Miami are geo-fenced so that either a ride request only goes to those inside the fence, or sometimes so that ride requests may only be placed by the rider from certain locations.

And, like anything else, there are exceptional situations. Occasionally when I do a dropoff at MIA, I get an immediate ride request without ever going into the Uber queue. I'm not sure if that's because of my stellar rating, because the queue is low, or just a glitch, lol!

 

[AngiTN]

Quite a few locations at WDW have electronic queues. So while the normal ride request dispatching is generally by proximity, if there is a queue the ride would go to whoever is next in the queue.

I don't know how the queues work at WDW, but some places in Miami are geo-fenced so that either a ride request only goes to those inside the fence, or sometimes so that ride requests may only be placed by the rider from certain locations.

And, like anything else, there are exceptional situations. Occasionally when I do a dropoff at MIA, I get an immediate ride request without ever going into the Uber queue. I'm not sure if that's because of my stellar rating, because the queue is low, or just a glitch, lol!

But you don't really know how it works at WDW? If they even have this "fence" at all?

 

[JimMIA]

But you don't really know how it works at WDW? If they even have this "fence" at all?

Well, the nature of queues is that they have two geofences whenever they have a queue -- one for riders which directs ride requests to the queue, and the other which requires a driver to be within a certain geographic area to get into the queue, remain there to remain in the queue, and also be there to receive a ride request.

The differences are how strict the rider geofences are, and whether there are any exceptions for drivers. For example, at some large events here, a rider must walk some distance to a staging area in order to be able to request a ride. Those are usually for security/traffic safety reasons set by the venue. If you are outside of that area, you may not be able to place any ride request at all. When they request, they are told to go to Parking Space 17 or whatever and that's where your ride is. At other venues, like MIA for example, the rider can be anywhere within the airport complex (including the bus/rail/rental car Tri-Modal Center across from the airport and a few airport hotels) and that ride request will go into the queue.

I don't know the specifics at WDW, and I'd be amazed if there weren't different types of queues at different locations, and also some locations where one company uses a queue and the other doesn't.

With the specific Epcot pickup location, there are two possibilities. They could have a really tight geofence and you can't request a ride unless you are there. Or you can request from anywhere, but the driver can only pick you up at a certain spot.

 

[shrinkintexas]

There is no reason to do that unless you're doing some kind of a special trip. If you're leaving a theme park, there will be numerous Ubers very close by. You won't have any trouble getting a ride.

There are a couple of ways to schedule a ride with a specific driver, but it's sometimes difficult to actually pull off unless it's at the beginning of the driver's shift. Drivers never know where their next ride will take them, so they could be far away when the time comes to pick you up.

The key thing with setting a ride up with a specific driver is to be sure that the ride is conducted ON the Uber app -- NOT just between you and the driver for cash.

First of all, Uber/Lyft drivers doing rides off-app is illegal in Florida, and you don't want to be doing business with someone illegally.

But the main reason is that if you do a ride off-app, you are NOT covered by Uber's one million dollar insurance policy, and the driver's regular car insurance will not cover any accident they're involved in if they are driving for pay. So, you're completely uninsured.

As you can see, Jim stated "You won't have any trouble getting a ride". However, other people have said otherwise. I was just wondering which it was.

 

[LynnTH]

I tried finding the info in here but so many pages... Am coming in on March 16th. Staying at Dolphin for 1 night then going to BWV. So, probably take an Uber from MCO to Dolphin. Is there only certain kind of cars that can pick you up at MCO or has that changed and where do you go to get picked up. I read somewhere it was Level 2 with the taxi drivers but then they were working on Level 3?

 

[joelkfla]

So you are never paired with a driver that is nearby and just dropped someone off? Only with drivers in the staging area?

Where there's a designated FIFO staging area at WDW (all 4 parks, DS, and possibly the Bonnet Creek resorts), the request is supposed to go to the driver who's been waiting longest in the staging area. After dropping someone off, drivers are expected to go to staging area to wait for a request. However, at least one time I got a request in Lyft at DS when I wasn't in the staging area, and the drivers' app was showing vehicles in the staging area, so I don't know what the story was there. Of course, if no drivers are in the queue (which happens sometimes at DHS & AK), the request goes to the nearest driver.

The airport queue is a little bit looser. Uber has said there are times when a driver dropping off a rider at the airport will get a return rider without going into the queue; I really don't understand how that works. Also at the airport, at busy times Uber (and possibly Lyft as well) will send drivers from the staging area towards the terminal, hoping that a request comes in before they get there. If one doesn't, I think the driver is supposed to head back to the staging area, and they stay at the top of the queue.

 

[AngiTN]

I tried finding the info in here but so many pages... Am coming in on March 16th. Staying at Dolphin for 1 night then going to BWV. So, probably take an Uber from MCO to Dolphin. Is there only certain kind of cars that can pick you up at MCO or has that changed and where do you go to get picked up. I read somewhere it was Level 2 with the taxi drivers but then they were working on Level 3?

All types of vehicles can pick up for both Uber and Lyft.
You are picked up on the same level as baggage claim.

 

[joelkfla]

I tried finding the info in here but so many pages... Am coming in on March 16th. Staying at Dolphin for 1 night then going to BWV. So, probably take an Uber from MCO to Dolphin. Is there only certain kind of cars that can pick you up at MCO or has that changed and where do you go to get picked up. I read somewhere it was Level 2 with the taxi drivers but then they were working on Level 3?

Yes, it's just regular UberX or UberXL now, and the same for Lyft. Uber & Lyft pick up on level 2, outside the baggage claim.

Taxis pick up on level 1. I think you can still get black cars thru Uber, as well; they also pick up on Level 1.

 

[AngiTN]

Where there's a designated FIFO staging area at WDW (all 4 parks, DS, and possibly the Bonnet Creek resorts), the request is supposed to go to the driver who's been waiting longest in the staging area. After dropping someone off, drivers are expected to go to staging area to wait for a request. However, at least one time I got a request in Lyft at DS when I wasn't in the staging area, and the drivers' app was showing vehicles in the staging area, so I don't know what the story was there. Of course, if no drivers are in the queue (which happens sometimes at DHS & AK), the request goes to the nearest driver.

The airport queue is a little bit looser. Uber has said there are times when a driver dropping off a rider at the airport will get a return rider without going into the queue; I really don't understand how that works. Also at the airport, at busy times Uber (and possibly Lyft as well) will send drivers from the staging area towards the terminal, hoping that a request comes in before they get there. If one doesn't, I think the driver is supposed to head back to the staging area, and they stay at the top of the queue.

Thanks. That makes sense now that I think about it.

I take it when I open the app and it shows me cars those cars are NOT cars in the staging area, right? It would explain why there is always a significant difference between the time shown on the various cars and the eventual time I'm given once paired with a driver. This has become glaringly different in the past few months. I'm guessing maybe it coincided with their going to this staging business.