Disney ending Magical Express bus service and Extra Magic Hours for hotel guests

[Travisma 1,317]

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/the-daily-disney/os-et-disney-ends-extra-magic-hours-magical-express-bus-20210111-n74artglrffcvkvnrh6nptx4e4-story.html

 

Walt Disney World will discontinue Disney’s Magical Express bus service and end its Extra Magic Hours benefit for hotel guests in 2021, the company announced Monday. Later this year, resort guests will begin getting 30-minute head starts in all four theme parks every day, Disney says.

Disney Magical Express, a free service that carries visitors from Orlando International Airport to Disney resort hotels, will not be available starting with arrivals on Jan. 1, 2022. It will operate for existing and newly made reservations for 2021 stays.

Meanwhile, Extra Magic Hours, which granted Disney hotel guests additional time inside Disney World’s theme parks is being retired. The benefit, which gave early morning or end-of-day access to select parks on select days, has not been offered since the parks reopened from the pandemic-related shutdown in July.

Instead, Disney will let its hotel guests into any of its theme parks 30 minutes before opening time. That will be available every day, not on a moving schedule as in the Extra Magic Hours era. This access will begin this year, but a date was not announced.

“The new early theme park entry benefit helps us better spread visitation across all four theme parks, while providing added flexibility by giving guests extra early park time on each day of their vacation and in the park of their choosing,” a Monday post on the official Disney Parks Blog said.

Consumer preferences have evolved since Disney’s Magical Express was introduced in 2005, a Walt Disney World spokesman said.

“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,” the blog post said

(And if they force people to rent cars, they can collect the daily resort parking fee.... the Mouse always wins)

In November, Walt Disney World and Brightline announced an agreement to build a station at Disney Springs for its high-speed rail service, which is set to connect to South Florida and Orlando International Airport. Track currently is being put into place, and service to OIA is slated to start in 2022.

On-property buses will continue to operate between hotels and parks, as well as the monorail system and Disney Skyliner gondolas, the post said. Buses that connect OIA with the Disney Cruise Line terminal are part of a separate service that will continue.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Not a rumor. Posted on the Parks Blog and sent out to TA's

[Travisma 1,317]

1 hour ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

Not a rumor. Posted on the Parks Blog and sent out to TA's

When I first saw the article it was the only one I could find.

You just can't believe everything you see on the interweb!  

About 10 minutes after I posted it more outlets started posting a similar story.

 

 

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

4 minutes ago, Travisma said:

 

You just can't believe everything you see on the interweb!  

 

 

 

Absolutely! I wasn't believing it at first either then my email rolled in. 

[keith_h 420]

I didn't think it would be long after they started the Disney After Hours the guest perk would disappear. While a half hour in the morning is better than nothing it doesn't help people like us who are more of the night owl.

[lightbikes 73]

I find this such a short-sighted move by Disney.  Not surprising given their penny pinching but really short-sighted. 

One of the main reasons we bought  into DVC was to be able to come down when we retired and stay at the Fort.  We would then book a DVC resort, have our kids fly in and join us on their one week break, and then we'd go back to the Fort until it was time to come home.  For the past 5 years, since we stopped staying at the Fort we've still done that.  Booked DVC, had the kids fly in, we'd park hop like crazy using EMH and they'd fly home. 

I suspect we aren't the only DVC members that bought specifically so we could take advantage of these two "perks".  I especially think the international DVC members will protest these changes and it will certainly discourage potential members.

LIke I said, short-sighted penny pinching.