Earlier this year, Disney announced that the Magical Express will be discontinued in January of 2022.
Disney’s Magical Express
Mears, the company that operates the Magical Express for Disney, later announced that they will be offering a new transportation service that will essentially replace the Magical Express. Previously, Mears’ new service was set to become available for booking in May of 2021, but it seems like things may have changed.
Mears Connect is the NEW service that will be offered by Mears for guests looking for a Magical Express replacement. It will start being offered in January of 2022. Mears notes that it will provide the “same reliable, safe, express service” for guests looking to travel to and from the airport and the Disney Resort area.
Previously, Mears’ website noted that guests would be able to make their reservations through Mears Connect starting in May of 2021.
©Mears
The Mears website has since changed, however. It now notes that you’ll be able to make your reservation through Mears Connect starting “summer 2021” and says that it will be “accepting reservations soon.”
©Mears
Considering that we are near the end of May and reservations are not yet available, it appears the start date on which these reservations will become available may be slightly delayed.
In the meantime, guests can continue to enjoy the Magical Express until it is discontinued next year. We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more updates on this and let you know what we find.
Heading to Disney soon? Check out our video below about the things most people who stay at Disney World don’t know.
Click here to see our list of the best ways to get to Disney World when the Magical Express is gone.
Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!
What form of transportation do you use to get from the airport to Disney World? Tell us in the comments.
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
How will luggage be getting from airport to resort and return in the future. Will it be handled by Disney ?
I am so very upset that they are canceling the Magical Express service. It was such a great service, so quick and convenient. I would have paid a fee to use it to get to my resort. It has changed my mind about staying on WDW property in the future .I am sure that I am not the only guest that feels this way, and I hope they reconsider this very poor decision.
Thanks for the information about Mears transport as I am intending to use it next February I will be watching closely for further updates from you
Will they be Disney themed and will they collect your luggage like Magic Express used to do precovid? I mean really, if Disney never intended to pick that service back up then the value is gone. Was so nice to slap on those tags (not to mention exciting to receive them) and just get in the plane to have your luggage magically appear in your room. You could basically check in and hit the park or Disney Springs or whatever!
I’m having a hard time with this. What was once a free service now will require a fee, with no discount on Disney’s end……Do they have to shake all the change from my pocket ? Censorship Likely!
Keep the emails coming they’re great
So why can’t they just keep it Magical Express and book it thru Disney just like before. Whatever the fee is, (and there will be a fee) could be added to your resort bill. Why make it so difficult when it could be so easy.
Honestly, the big advantage that Magical Express had is that your luggage was picked up and transported from the airport to your room and similarly, you could check in for your flight and drop your luggage at your resort. I don’t think that Mears’ new service (essentially their old pre-Magical Express service) is going to offer that. So we would be back to either renting a car or using a town car service. Mears wasn’t a great savings compared to the other options and the additional wait for a bus that stopped at multiple resorts just wasn’t worth it for us.
Will the Mears Transportation Service to WDW include both going to a Disney Resort and the return to the Orlando Airport, and include luggage service.
If not, I may never stay on site ever again. Most off site hotels include airport and luggage transportation for no added cost.
Disney World guest services are being discontinued by Disney and the end result will be fewer park guests.
Interesting! I don’t imagine this will be free, so I’m not quite sure how good a replacement this is going to be- this and the train from the airport to the parks is going to make things a lot more complicated.
Doug, we await any updates from Disney on this front. As of right now, there doesn’t appear to be a solution.
Disney is constantly raising prices everywhere and consistently offering less and less for more and more money. Definitely getting to be time to vacation elsewhere. With never ending price increases at Disney and crowding causing protracted wait times, the value has absolutely faded away from vacationing there…. The magic that at one time permeated the park has been replaced by blatant corporate greed. So sad……
The greed wind is blowing away all the magic. The train works great for Florida people going for a day adventure. No luggage to be concerned with.
I agree, it’s too bad they are discontinuing the service, however, it is not the first time Mears was the transportation for Disney. They used to do it prior to the Magical Express, and there was a fee of $25 per person, I think it was for the round trip. I also believe it WAS booked thru Disney. I don’t expect that will be the price now! We all will do what we always do when it comes to Disney, accept it and forget about money while we are visiting “The Most Magical Place On Earth”.
There’s going to be a train, yes it’ll hold your luggage and still get delivered to your room as before ! No worries fellow humans, better that way less of a carbon footprint! And honestly safer, I4 is one of the most dangerous highways in the United States!