Is a Fee for Magical Express Coming Next?

[Shanti]

I think the newly official parking charges for resort guests are outrageous price gouging, given how overpriced these resorts already are. But on a personal level, I just said to myself, "No worries, we never drive & just use Magical Express, anyway."

Then I realized that complimentary bus service between the resorts & airport would be the next logical thing for the Disney execs to add a fee to. And with all the customer unfriendly changes going on now at the resorts, that possibility seems very realistic within the next year or two.

I know why ME is complimentary: it theoretically keeps guests at WDW for all of their park touring, shopping & dining. But there were also very good reasons to keep EMH & FP+ strictly limited to WDW resorts, and they sold that perk to offsites, so I don't think we can count on anything anymore.

What do you think. Will WDW start charging a fee for Magical Express?

 

[Bethislucy]

I hope they do. I mean if I have to pay more because I drive (and I never move my car from the first day) the services that actually cost Disney money should pay more. It is using the diesel fuel for the bus and extra personal to drive and deliver luggage. That would make more sense to charge for than me parking my car in the parking lot that doesn't move for a week.

 

[Shanti]

I hope they do. I mean if I have to pay more because I drive (and I never move my car from the first day) the services that actually cost Disney money should pay more. It is using the diesel fuel for the bus and extra personal to drive and deliver luggage. That would make more sense to charge for than me parking my car in the parking lot that doesn't move for a week.

Yikes. You actually want guests to have to pay even more? I don't drive at WDW, but I don't want those who drive to have to pay those stupid resort parking fees.

 

[MaC410]

I'm leaning towards it being too important for them to keep guests on property and they won't start charging for magical express. Or maybe I'm just hoping it's that since we love using the magical express.

 

[nkereina]

Anything is certainly possible. But if they start charging people to take DME, I would think the price point Disney assigns to it could be tricky. If its too high, more people are enticed to rent cars and pay the parking fee which leaves them susceptible to going off-site. Or if its too high, more people are enticed to hire a private car service or use an Uber (both of which are faster), which would mean fewer people are using DME and their overhead goes up.

 

[msb578]

I think convincing more people to fly and use DME is the main reason they instituted the parking fees.

DME stays complimentary.

 

[Colleen27]

I think they have to know they have more competition for ME than for resort parking. If you're driving down, there's nowhere else to put your car. You're a captive audience, assuming you're not willing to stay offsite to avoid the fee (or get a reasonably priced room with one). But when it comes to ME, it wouldn't take much of a per-person cost to make Uber or a car service a better option which would then drive up the per-rider cost of offering ME and likely cost Disney at least some $$$ in grocery stops and other offsite spending before arrival.

 

[Colleen27]

I think convincing more people to fly and use DME is the main reason they instituted the parking fees.

DME stays complimentary.

I think so too. Maybe not convincing more people to fly - that's a complicated proposition because of the number of factors that go into deciding on a mode of transportation - but to discourage people who are staying on site from renting cars and splitting their time (and spending) between on- and off-site attractions. After our last trip, just last week, I came home feeling very much like without a car the trip would have been significantly "lesser" because of our experiences with Disney transportation but this has me rethinking my idea of renting a car for our next stay.

 

[ninafeliz]

I initially thought no, because it does serve the function of keeping guests on property. But then I thought about it some more, and am leaning toward yes, so that is how I voted. Sometimes it seems to me as if they do something solely to make money, and can't seem to see the big picture. I know it is a business, but occasionally there are some things that could be left alone to keep from upsetting all of the regular visitors - and actually all visitors, whether regulars or not! Their room rates are already priced extremely high, so this is just adding insult to injury. I would actually prefer to not have to pay additional amounts, and just see the rate I pay for the room and have it include everything that you need to stay there for your vacation. I realize I would still be paying for parking, in a way, but mentally it is a better approach for me and not so irritating. We used to fly (and only occasionally rent a car), but now we have started taking the auto train, so this will affect us and it really irritates me. I'm not sure I'm ready to say I'll stay off property, but it certainly leaves a very bad taste in my mouth and makes me feel less disappointed that we now usually only get in one trip a year instead of the typical 3-4 that we had been up to prior to having twins last year. I am a GIGANTIC Disney fan and everyone knows me for that, but all of these seemingly small things are starting to add up and despite staying a fan I feel better about finding other vacation destinations as well.

 

[tinkerbellybutton]

First I'd like to state that I would prefer no additional fees, but we all know that's not how Disney works.

I feel like Disney should have just implemented a single across the board resort fee that covers both DME and parking fee. All guests pay it, same price, regardless of resort. Most guests are either flying in and utilizing DME or driving their own car and are parking at the resorts, so it would be only fair that everyone pays. I find it unfair that a guest who drives to Disney has to pay nightly to park their car, but guests being shuttled to and from the airport, and have their luggage handled, get all of that for "free", which surly costs Disney a good bit.

On the other hand, who am I kidding, we all pay for DME! We all know that Disney does not just swallow the extra expense of DME. I am certain that we all pay for DME, whether we use that service or not, and it's just a hidden fee within our resort rates. So now, since I drive my car in, I am most likely paying for a service I don't even use (DME), hidden well within my resort rate, and I'll also be charged to park my car nightly. Just doesn't sit well with me!

 

[AngiTN]

No and here's why I think they won't.
Parking fees are the norm in the hotel industry. This is one of the reasons Disney is using for adding on the fee.
Airport shuttle fees are not. Majority of hotels that offer them provide them for free. I doubt Disney is going to start charging for something most hotels do for free.
But what do I know. Just my thoughts

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I don't believe I have even seen any rumors anywhere that there will be a charge for DME. That expense appears to be rolled into the room rate for WDW resorts.

Resort fees, yes.

EMH was not strictly always for WDW owned resorts. Swan and Dolphin had it for a long time, so did Shades of Green and the Hilton. That's nothing new.

What they're really doing is freeing up the parking costs from the resort room fee...the parking fees will now remain the same even if one books a discounted room rate. "Unbundling" the costs of the resort as it were. It's the big thing in the hotel world.

 

[Shanti]

I think they have to know they have more competition for ME than for resort parking. If you're driving down, there's nowhere else to put your car. You're a captive audience, assuming you're not willing to stay offsite to avoid the fee (or get a reasonably priced room with one). But when it comes to ME, it wouldn't take much of a per-person cost to make Uber or a car service a better option which would then drive up the per-rider cost of offering ME and likely cost Disney at least some $$$ in grocery stops and other offsite spending before arrival.

Good points, but personally I'm not convinced they wouldn't price it lower than competition, something like $20 each way per resort room (rather than per person). That way they'd still get money out of it without driving people into the arms of the competition.

 

[Shanti]

I don't believe I have even seen any rumors anywhere that there will be a charge for DME...What they're really doing is freeing up the parking costs from the resort room fee...the parking fees will now remain the same even if one books a discounted room rate. "Unbundling" the costs of the resort as it were. It's the big thing in the hotel world.

Yes, but the concept of "unbundling" implies that the base rate would then be lower because the complimentary parking fee is no longer included. If there's one thing we do know, it's that WDW isn't going to drop or stop increasing their rates, so that concept doesn't work for this scenario. This is just an additional cost.

I'm not basing this question on a rumor, just my own thoughts. FP+ at 60 days was always strictly limited to WDW resorts & I was surprised they shared that with so many other resorts. I wouldn't put any type of fee past WDW, at this point.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Yes, but the concept of "unbundling" implies that the base rate would then be lower because the complimentary parking fee is no longer included.

No it doesn't. It could be they did this instead of increasing the base rate even higher. And freeing that particular cost from discounting.

I don't think they are sharing FP+ at 60 with a LOT of resorts. It really isn't that many resorts. But the perceived enhanced competition for very popular attractions is getting to the WDW resort guests. I don't think they did a very good job of explaining what partner hotels are.

 

[Iya]

I think convincing more people to fly and use DME is the main reason they instituted the parking fees.

DME stays complimentary.

So when they implement a $5 or $10 fee per person, they can say "well, it's cheaper than parking a car for the week!"

 

[Farro]

If they do and it turns out it's still cheaper than Uber (not sure how much to Uber from airport), we will still use it.

 

[nkereina]

I think convincing more people to fly and use DME is the main reason they instituted the parking fees.

DME stays complimentary.

If the intention is to entice more people to fly to WDW, that will backfire in a hurry. WDW is an expensive vacation for the average family and many families will make the drive to WDW just to save some money. My SIL and BIL made the 20 hour drive last summer because airfare coupled with their small kids on a flight was not good. That said, I doubt anyone would cancel their trip over parking charges if flying is not an option.

 

[msb578]

If the intention is to entice more people to fly to WDW, that will backfire in a hurry. WDW is an expensive vacation for the average family and many families will make the drive to WDW just to save some money. My SIL and BIL made the 20 hour drive last summer because airfare coupled with their small kids on a flight was not good. That said, I doubt anyone would cancel their trip over parking charges if flying is not an option.

I mostly agree. We’ve done both. After driving a couple of times from Syracuse, I think we’re at the point that we’d look for any excuse to fly. But I can’t say for sure if the parking fees would break it that way for us.

If I’m being honest, it’s a bit of a moot point. We’ve become a Bonnet Creek family. I just feel like we get better value there right now. And, we’ve cut way back on the number of park days, so paying for theme park parking isn’t a killer.

 

[nkereina]

I mostly agree. We’ve done both. After driving a couple of times from Syracuse, I think we’re at the point that we’d look for any excuse to fly. But I can’t say for sure if the parking fees would break it that way for us.

I hear you. We come from Buffalo. DH and I fly, but my SIL & BIL are a one income family with two kids. Flights for them would have been over $1000 round-trip, but they were able to spend only $250 on gas and a hotel by driving the 20 hours. Tacking on another $100ish dollars in parking fees would not deter them from going, they would likely still drive since it's still much cheaper than flying. But its just the nickel and diming that would make it an eye-roll type of annoyance more than anything.