More than 50 years ago, Walt Disney staked out his studio’s secret landholdings in Central Florida, decreeing: “There’s enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we could imagine.” In the five decades since, Disney’s San-Francisco-sized property in Central Florida has grown in fits and starts, but always under the glassy, iridescent dome of the “Disney Bubble.”
The “Disney Bubble” is invisible, yet it insulates Walt Disney World in just the same way that the tree-lined berm shielded Disneyland from the “real world.” The “Disney Bubble” is intangible, but evidence of it surrounds you. Once “inside,” you’re not just in swampland seceded from Orange and Osceola Counties to the Reedy Creek Improvement District, but immersed in someplace safe… familiar… magical. It doesn’t matter that Disney’s most “Deluxe” rooms are often comparable to off-site hotels a mile away and a quarter the price… the “Disney Bubble” is real, and you can’t put a price on that.
If you’re visiting for the 50th Anniversary Celebration, you’ll find that staying on Walt Disney World property has its definite perks – like complimentary intra-resort transportation and Disney’s legendary guest service standards. But after a decade of adding increasing benefits to convince guests to stay on-site, the 2020s have seen a precipitous decline in the perks, programs, services, and special offers that have come to define the “Disney Bubble” in the 21st century.
When a tweet I posted got people talking, I thought it was time to figure out the specifics of what’s disappeared from Walt Disney World in the last five years and at what cost to guests… After all, while the “magic” of staying on property may be priceless, the slashed services and new charges come with significant, real costs that just may burst the “Disney Bubble’s” magic for many… So today, we’ll take a good, hard look at eight one-time perks of staying in a Walt Disney World resort hotel that have since been slashed or replaced with an upcharge…
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1. Magical Express
STATUS: Replaced with an upcharge
PRICE YOU’LL PAY in 2022: $118 (for a family of 4)
One in a suite of perks launched in 2005 (when Disney really started to get serious about the “Disney Bubble” and incentivizing on-site stays), Disney’s Magical Express was a surprisingly premium service available to any guest staying at any Walt Disney World Resort Hotel – yes, even the Value level – for free*! (Free is a word we’ll use a lot in this Extra Feature, but it’s important to note that these “free” perks weren’t really “free” at all, but “included” in costs paid elsewhere. That’s an important reframing when we talk about such “free” services disappearing without a reduction in overall costs.)
Once landed at Orlando International Airport, guests staying on-site could skip the luggage carousel completely and simply follow signage to Disney’s Magical Express where they’d hop aboard a motorcoach bound for the resort. Straight off the runway, they’d be wrapped in the warmth, assurance, comfort, and – yes – magic of Disney without the hassle of rental cars, ground transportation, taxis, or traffic. Phew! By the end of the day, guests could even return to their hotel room to find their luggage “magically” awaiting for them!
In retrospect, Magical Express was too good to be true, much less free. But of course, as with most free conveniences at Walt Disney World, the service was more than just an altruistic amenity… It was one piece of a larger strategy to insulate Disney’s “walled garden,” with Disney cleverly limiting who came in and out.
Despite the branding, Disney’s Magical Express wasn’t actually operated by Disney. Instead, it was a branded service operated by well-known transportation company Mears, to whom Disney no doubt held a sizable long-term contract, paying a substantial bulk passenger rate. Why would Disney eat the costs of this service and provide it free at point-of-use for guests? Simple. Magical Express was a loss leader whose operating costs were worth covering to ensure guests were left (for lack of a better term) stranded on Disney property.
Think about it – before Magical Express, many guests arriving in Central Florida would rent a car to cover that final stretch between the airport and Walt Disney World. And that car could then be used to spend a day at the beach, at Kennedy Space Center, at restaurants along International Drive, or – worse – at the newly-expanded Universal Orlando Resort.
Magical Express made the compelling case that by simply booking a Disney Resort Hotel, your family could cut the cost of a rental car. But for Disney, it meant that guests would have no easy way off Disney property to dine, shop, or visit pesky competitiors. Nefarious? Maybe. But for a generation of guests, Magical Express became an important convenience, and a sort of indicator of Disney’s commitment to guest satisfaction.
Magical Express was suspended, then modified in the wake of the parks’ re-opening during the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, Disney announced that 2021 would be the last year of Magical Express – with Mears allegedly finding out via the same press release as the public. The service officially concluded on January 1, 2022, with the final return trips to the airport finishing 10 days later.
Disney’s official statement noted that the service seemed redundant in the age of rideshare services like Lyft and Uber. But you can also understand the unspoken part of the decision: Magical Express was worth Disney underwriting because it ensured guests would be “stuck” on property. By 2021, those rideshare services meant that Disney paid big bucks to Mears for Magical Express… only to have guests find their way offsite anyway.
Still, insiders allege that Disney leadership is surprised that social media fury over the end of Magical Express has endured through 2022… Of course it has! Millions of travelers who used Magical Express over its 16 year run have yet to make their post-pandemic trips to the resort, meaning waves of guests will discover it’s gone for years and years to come.
Disney’s right, of course – there are plenty of ways to make the 17 mile journey connecting Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World property… but none of them are free, and none will bring your bags directly to your room. And for an imaginary family of four, the price really adds up…
Rideshares like Uber, Lyft, and taxi services are an option, though prices fluctuate and vehicles with room for a family of four and a car seat are harder to come by. For those who prefer a pre-booked, guarunteed, time-stamped service, several new reservation-based bus shuttle services have launched. The most notable is Mears Connect – literally Mears’ “de-branded” continuation of the Magical Express service. So for $32/adult and $27/child round trip, you can pay Mears what Disney used to, totalling $118 for a family of four.
2. Parking at Disney Resort Hotels
STATUS: Replaced with an up-charge
PRICE YOU’LL PAY: $90 (Value Hotel) – $150 (Deluxe Hotel) (on a six-night stay)
Another reason Disney doesn’t really care if you get a rental car in 2021? Because if you do, you’ll pay for it… literally…
In 2018, Disney shocked fans by announcing that they’d begin charging overnight parking rates for on-site hotel guests – standard practice at many upscale or urban hotels, but never part of staying at a Disney Resort. (Disney Resort Hotels were always notable for making parking complimentary and never charging mysterious, hidden “Resort Fees” – a factor many well-traveled families probably considered, and many more probably didn’t consider but appreciated.)
As of 2022, the cost to park a car is $15 per night at a Value hotel, $20 at a Moderate, and $25 at a Deluxe. (Only Fort Wilderness offers complimentary parking.) Granted, resort guests still get the “perk” of free standard parking at Disney’s theme parks (currently $25 per day) meaning that Value and Moderate resort hotel guests technically can save over the course of a vacation. But for many, charging a fee to park at Disney’s already premium-priced hotels – where parking is plentiful and space is practically unlimited – feels like your classic “nickel and dime.”
In what’s becoming a recurring strategy for Disney’s age of upcharges, the price is low enough that most guests probably don’t notice, or write it off as “the cost of a vacation.” That’s a shame, because a little more pushback against the policy would’ve been a good message to the company. It may not seem like much, but $90 over the course of a six-night stay at a Value hotel is one heck of an additional charge – it’s nearly the cost of staying another night!