Mears Transportation Group since announced exactly that, releasing a statement that the company will continue offering transportation services to visitors between the airport, area theme parks, and resorts. This led us to speculate that the original announcement about Magical Express ending resulted from a relationship breakdown between Walt Disney World and Mears, with an alternative offering potentially coming down the road from either or both. That is, until Uber and Lyft debuted, at which point Mears sued in an attempt to protect their marketshare.Īs with many Central Florida tourism-centric businesses, Mears faced significant challenges last year, furloughing and laying off a large portion of its workforce. Mears is a transportation company with coach buses and taxis that enjoyed a virtual monopoly on Orlando for years. This is why Mears Connect is a spiritual successor to Magical Express–it’ll literally use the exact same buses, just minus the Disney-branded wraps. When announcing the end of Magical Express, Disney attributed the decision to the rise of Uber of Lyft, saying there has been an the expansion of transportation options for guests: “Vacationers have more options to choose from than ever for transportation, including ride-share services that save time and offer more flexibility to go where they want, when they want.”Īs we’ve pointed out, Disney’s Magical Express is operated by Mears and not Disney itself. This post details the spiritual successor to that, Mears Connect, which will be the new shuttle from Orlando International Airport to hotels next year. Earlier this year, Walt Disney World made the bombshell announcement that Disney’s Magical Express is ending in 2022.
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