The Magical Express, Disney’s complimentary airport shuttle service, has been a key element of any Disney World Resort stay since 2005.
In January of this year, it was announce that that Disney would be discontinuing The Magical Express effective January 1, 2022.
This means if you’re planning a trip for 2022 and you’re flying into the Orlando International Airport, you’ve also got to plan how you’re getting from the airport to your Disney World Resort.
Today, we’re going to cover a little background on this situation and give you some options to help you get your trip off to a good start.
What’s the Magical Express?
If you’re planning your first Disney trip, or if you’ve never stayed at a Disney Resort, you might be asking yourself what the Magical Express is.
It’s Disney’s complimentary airport shuttle service that transports you from the Orlando airport to your resort and back again.
In pre-pandemic times, you were also able to have any checked luggage collected for you and taken directly to your resort room. (This was no longer available when the parks reopened in July 2020.)
The Magical Express has typically served as the true start of your Disney World vacation, so it’s a bit of a bummer that it’s going away.
The complimentary transportation on Disney World property, which takes you between the parks and resorts, is still available to all guests in 2022 and beyond.
If you have a trip booked in 2021, the Magical Express is still available to you! Check out this post for more on how to use it.
Why is it going away?
Disney always provided this service in partnership with the Mears Transportation Company. The Magical Express buses are actually Mears buses, driven by Mears employees.
The contract between Disney and Mears expires at the end of this year. Disney is opting not to renew. Officially, Disney says the reasoning behind this is guests have more options than ever to get to and from the airport.
However, I have a different, unofficial theory.
There’s been a high-speed railway that will connect the Orlando Airport and Disney World in the works for the past few years. At the time this decision was announced, the Disney stop is slated to be completed in 2023.
I suspect this will be Disney future partnership to get people to and from the airport. It’s likely that the Mears contract would have been a multi-year renewal.
With the railway so close to completion, it likely didn’t make sense for Disney to renew with Mears. However, at this point, there are reports that the Disney stop may be delayed a few years, so we’ll see how things pan out.
Now keep in mind, this is just my personal theory based on the available information. Disney has not said anything official to indicate this is the case.
How can you get to Disney World without the Magical Express?
Whether the railway turns out to be Disney’s future partner or not, you’re still going to need to get between the airport and Disney World in 2022–unless Disney announces an alternative.
Here are four ideas to help you out.
Rent a car
This option is probably ideal for anyone who is planning or considering visiting other theme parks or who has an interest in venturing off Disney Property.
Renting a car gives you the flexibility to get right to your resort and to depart from your resort on your return trip at your convenience.
Keep in mind that you will have to pay to park your car at your resort. Prices vary by resort tier. You can check out the current prices on Disney’s website.
It’s also worth bringing up again that you’ll still have access to Disney World’s transportation system once you’re on Disney Property.
So if you’re planning on using these services to get around the parks and resorts, and you don’t have a real reason to leave Disney property, this probably isn’t the best option for you.
If you need a car seat, you can often rent this from your rental company too, but verify to be sure.
Take a taxi
Taxi’s are available and do run between the Orlando Airport and Disney World.
You can also call a cab to pick you up on your return trip.
This option might be good for anyone who isn’t interested in having a car on property and is looking for the flexibility of being able to go directly to your resort without having to wait for any other guests.
Depending on the size of your group, this might be the most cost effective since you’d be paying by distance not per-person. However keep in mind that the taxi also has to fit any luggage you may be bringing.
If you need a car seat, it may be best to line up your taxi ahead of time instead of picking one up at the airport.
Use a shuttle service
Bus and shuttle companies will transport you to and from the airport. In fact, the Mears Company has already said they will continue to transport guests to all Orlando area theme parks and hotels.
This means Mears will still take you to your Disney World Resort. It just won’t be under the guise of the Magical Express.
There are also a handful of other shuttle companies that offer a similar service.
Shuttles can be the best deal–especially if you’re traveling alone (or, at least, only paying for yourself or a smaller group). They also are often very equipped to handle you as a passenger and any luggage you may bring.
And they’re typically prepared to accommodate children.
However, since there are often several people and parties on each shuttle, you’ll likely have to make a few stops in between the airport and your resort.
This may not be a big deal if you plan for this and/or aren’t planning on heading to a park on your arrival day.
But if you’re planning on using a park ticket right away and want to make the most of it, this may not be the best option.
Use a ride share or MinnieVan
Like taxis, ride-share services also run between the Orlando airport and Disney World. And also like a taxi, this option is good for anyone who doesn’t want to make multiple stops, and who may want the flexibility to come and go as you please.
This option may be cheaper than a taxi, depending on the size of vehicle you would need. But again, keep in mind, you need to fit both your party and your luggage in the vehicle, so plan accordingly.
If you need a car seat, there are ride-share services that offer them, but you’ll have to make sure you’re selecting the right service.
Disney also partnered with Lyft to offer the MinnieVan ride share service. These Lyfts are vans that have car seats and will take you anywhere on Disney property and the airport.
MinnieVans aren’t in use at the time of writing this, but I suspect they’ll be back at some point in 2021 and be an option for 2022.
For more Disney World tips and tricks, check out the other Disney World Posts!
Sound off: What option do you think you’ll use to get to Disney World once the Magical Express is gone? Tell us about it in the comments!