Disney will eliminate free transportation to hotel guests

One of the great benefits Walt Disney World offers hotel guests is coming to an end soon. The company announced through its blog that the transportation service, Disney’s Magical Express, will no longer be offered from January 1, 2022. So far, all visitors with reservations at Disney hotels in Orlando, Florida, have they had free transportation on buses that waited for them at the airport and took them to their hotel. They were also taken directly to the airport at the end of their vacation.

Introducing the news, Disney said the visitor experience continues to evolve with changing times, stressing that they are evaluating how needs and preferences are changing in the travel industry, especially the way you want to get to places faster. .

“Travelers now have more options than ever to get around, including shared services that save time and offer greater flexibility”, they indicated in their publication. They emphasized that too transport between their hotels, by buses, monorail and the Skyliner gondola, continues for hotel guests.

However, responses were not long in coming, and in the same post, travelers responded by asking for reconsideration before the measure. The Magical Express has performed well and satisfied travelers since 2005 when it debutedbecause it was a service that was not only efficient, but also valuable, and represented a significant economy for every traveler, especially those traveling as a family. As usual, all reservations for 2021 include transport.

It is not known whether this measure is related to the opening of the Brightline train station in Disney Springs, which will serve to facilitate transportation to Disney for passengers using the express train from Orlando International Airport, which also has a station. The route expansion to the airport is expected to be completed by 2022 and this will also facilitate travelers’ arrivals to Disney from Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach and the planned stations in Aventura, Boca Raton and Port Miami.

The free Magic Bands and Extra Magic Hours have also ended

Disney previously announced that it will also not be offering free Magic Bands to its hotel guests from January 1 of this year., a bracelet that many keep as a memento of their visit. This, which served as a key to their hotel rooms, allowed them to bill for meals at Disney and Disney Springs restaurants and stores, in addition to being used to store FastPast + reservations and register for photos from PhotoPass, the service from photos taken by Disney photographers.

Magic bands have not been removedcan continue to be used; what is ultimately given is to give it to hotel guests, who will have a different kind of key for their rooms. Now they are still on sale at the counter of the parks, stores and on the Disney website for $ 14.99 the regular and thematic with higher prices, more tax.

The company also canceled the “Extra Magic Hours”, an advantage that allowed you to enter one of the parks earlier or stay on certain days later, and which was also exclusive to hotel guests. That option is no longer available since it reopened after the conclusion of the pandemic.

However, they indicated that they will now be offering “early access” later this year as part of its 50th anniversary.. While more details are expected on this, it was said to be available to guests of the hotels and other “selected hotels”. This allows them to enter each park half an hour earlier every day.

Walt Disney World parks in Orlando remain in limited use, because of the coronavirus pandemic. To visit them, a reservation per day is required in addition to the admission ticket.