Getting to Walt Disney World is half the fun — or at least, it can be if you plan it right! On this week’s Mouse Chat podcast, we dive deep into the best options for getting to Disney World, covering everything from flights and driving to rideshares and Disney’s own transportation. Whether you’re a first-timer trying to figure out the logistics or a seasoned Disney veteran looking to save some money, we’ve got you covered.

What We Cover This Week

One of the biggest decisions you’ll make before your Disney trip is how to get there. Flying into Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the most popular choice for most families, and we break down the pros and cons of the major airlines that serve Orlando. We also talk about the sweet spot for booking flights — timing really does make a big difference in what you’ll pay — and which terminals at MCO handle the different carriers.

For families driving to Disney World, we cover why road-tripping to Walt Disney World can be a fantastic option, especially if you’re within a reasonable distance of Orlando. The Griswold family knows a thing or two about road trips (yes, in the Truckster!), and driving gives you the flexibility of packing what you want, stopping when you need to, and skipping baggage fees entirely. We talk about the best routes, parking costs at the resort, and tips for making the drive enjoyable for kids.

We also discuss getting from the airport to your Disney resort, which is a bigger decision than it used to be now that Disney’s Magical Express has ended. Your options now include Disney’s paid Mears Connect shuttle, private car services like Sunshine Flyer and Happy Limo, rideshares like Uber and Lyft, or renting a car. We compare the cost, convenience, and experience of each so you can make the best call for your family’s budget and style.

Finally, we cover once you’re at Disney World — using Disney’s internal transportation system of buses, monorails, Skyliner gondolas, and boats to get between parks and resorts. We share which resort areas have the best transportation access and which routes can take longer than expected, so you can factor that into your planning.

Listen to This Episode

Mouse Chat — Best Options to Get to Disney World (39 min)

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Mouse Chat has been your Disney podcast home for over 15 years. We’re Disney fans talking Disney with other Disney fans — no fluff, just real trip reports, honest reviews, and the latest park news every single week. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It truly helps other Disney families find us!

Plan Your Disney Vacation

Once you figure out how you’re getting to Disney World, the next step is planning the rest of your trip — and that’s exactly where we come in. Pixie Vacations offers free Disney vacation planning from experienced agents who handle all the details so you can focus on the magic.

Steve Griswold is a certified graduate of the Disney College of Knowledge and has spent years helping families plan the perfect Walt Disney World getaway. From choosing the right resort and booking dining reservations to navigating transportation and Genie+, the Pixie Vacations team takes the stress out of planning — at no extra cost to you.

? Get your free Disney vacation quote from Pixie Vacations — and let us handle the planning while you look forward to the fun.

Full Episode Transcript

Auto-transcribed from the episode audio. Minor transcription errors may occur on names and proper nouns.

I am welcome to Mouse Chat. I'm Lisa and joining me is the whole gang. I've got Debbie Caitlin Sharpie and Steve We have a WASHO We do Hello everyone We'll explain that in a second

Sharpie's here too. Oh, I thought she was waiting on you Steve. Oh, no, he kind of mumbled So kind of mumbled something right now. Yes. Howdy from here. Hi friends Caitlin this year Hi your pals. Oh my You know, we've got this routine when we start the show and it's so funny how we mess it up frequently. Well, we do act. We've been learning all kinds of new acronyms today. And the sharpie Lisa came up with a name for the show and then Sharpie went and wordsmithed into this amazing

theatrical piece and it's definitely. And then you acronymed it. Yeah. It's a it's a what? W a W. So wheels around the world. Wheels around the world. I feel like I'm listening We also wound a world. Do those with speech impediments? Yes. Oh my gosh. So what exactly does wheels around the world mean, Sharpie? So I had the thought of way back in the day. You know, we relied on magical express. You arrived at, yeah, yeah, rest in peace, our, our bill.

You arrived at MCO. you had already tagged your luggage. Your luggage went to the resort behind you. You boarded Magic Express. Your luggage was delivered to your room or you picked it up at Bell Services. And life was great. You went right to the park. Amazing. You had your no seamless. Did your ticket on your wrist? You could go right to the park. It was part of your reservation. It was already there. You didn't have to pay anything additional for it. And then along comes the death now of

Magic Express. Express no longer magical It's called payer own way and get there however you can. So what I wanted to talk about all of us to talk about is what are the ways to get from an and I'm going to include my the airport that I cheat on MCO with and that is Orlando Sanford because of my local flight, super easy way for me to get to the Orlando area. But from Orlando International, what is your preferred method? Not only for you, but also as a travel agent. What is the method that you

recommend to clients to get from Orlando International Airport to the Walt Disney World Resort and back? I have one that's not available yet, but it will be cool when it is available, which is the way move thing. Because they just started service in Orlando or Lando. I can't even talk to the Lando. The way move in the Orlando. You put the emphasis on the wrong syllable. But so you can get the automatic cars, but they are not on the highways yet. So you can't take it from the airport to Disney or to Universal.

But there's a pilot program going on now where you can actually get them at Walt Disney World or Universal Studios on property. And then hopefully later this year it'll be fully rolled out. And then we'll see what happens. That'll be interesting. No, it's not. It rolled out. Yes. But that'll be interesting once that happens. But for me, I just take what we have, uh, friends that we use sometimes. And then sometimes we'll Uber or lift. And it's pretty quick.

I usually will lift like if it's short and airport to resort. If I'm not using a friend of mine, because I often forget to make a reservation with her. lift. And then we've done rental cars sometimes in the past. It makes it easy. Well, if we don't have our own car, it makes it easy to get off property and go get a big red. That would get the big red over at Ailehouse. Miller's Ailehouse. The advantage of having your own car, if you drive, or if you get a rental car is you can eat off property. And then when you eat off property,

It's like kids order whatever you want. It really is. Because you're like, this is the cheapest stake I could have anywhere because it's so much elastic. $80 is the key. Yeah, you're like, I can, you can order as much stuff that you can all have appetizers, dessert, whatever. And it's going to be less than my one meal. So yeah, sometimes we'll go to like ailehouse on to like kids, whatever you want. But yes. And I really, I hate to say it, but not only are the prices better.

I've also had better service off property. Well, there's a lot of things really close. I mean, when I used to work there years ago, long, long time ago, there was nothing around property. And I remember like having to take one of the Disney cars somewhere to get prescriptions for somebody or drink sodas or whatever and bring it back. there was nothing around now, you get to a target, a wall, you get to anything in minutes, depending on what hotel you're at, especially if you're over by animal kingdom, you get

to flamingo crossing a lot of stuff over there really quick. So. And if you if listeners, if you have never experienced a Orlando area Walmart, it's, it is a tourist traction in and of itself. It is interesting how crazy it is. I had a beat up, did I drive my old Honda? There was, like I had a beat up Honda and I drove it to that Walmart. It was the nicest car in that parking lot. It was like, it was like, it was anyways. So like, but it's the craziest experience

when you go to a relationship, like Disney World's Walmart. But they have like a whole like aisle of just Disney stuff, like souvenirs. Like, so if you want to save money and then they have a whole aisle of like British food items. I don't even know what those are. Like when it's on that aisle, because I've never paid attention enough. Like what? Frank and Bean. Frank and Bean. It's like pear chocolates and the biscuits. It's a sponge cake called spotted dick.

You know, the things that come over because you I'm not even going to get into that. We're not familiar with that. Because it's there. Is it there? That is fit. There is paid more attention to that. I hold it. I have. Well, see, I don't like to have a rental car. I don't feel like I'm on vacation if I'm driving. I don't want to be in a car. I don't want to think about a car. I don't want to drive myself everywhere. So I don't do the rental car option.

I'm going to compare surge pricing between Uber and Lyft. I'm also not a fan of shared shuttles, so I personally don't use mirrors, but mirrors is an option. They have taken over where our beloved magical express used to be, so you can still go to that same part of the Orlando airport and take a shared shuttle through mirrors. You just make a reservation online, and it pretty much works the same way. It just doesn't have the Disney flair to it. So if you are looking for a shared shuttle,

you still have that option, you just now have to pay for it. But I think Uber and Lyft is really convenient. If you have two or three people, you go more than that if you're a family of four or five, you're gonna have to get the XL and then that gets priced prohibitive. It's pretty expensive with the larger parties or you have to get multiple vehicles. The thing I really like for my clients state deluxe level is the minivan service. So when you're on Disney property

through the lift app, not the Uber app, but the lift app, you can sell an event through geo location that knows you're there on Disney property. And you can pay a little bit more and have a super cute Chevrolet either equinox or traverse. And it's red, what could odds driven by a Disney cast member, not some random person. And they are usually playing Disney music and they might have bottles and flatter and they'll give you trivia and they can use special parking areas.

And it's really nice. It is expensive. I want to say the last time I did it, it was $65 as opposed to it would have been $10 or $11 for a non-Disney vehicle. But that's when you're on property. But if you're coming in and you're staying at a Deluxe property, you just call the Signature Services line and you give them your flight information and they will pick you up at MCO, Sanford, but they'll pick you up at MCO. And they watch your flights. They know you have a delay,

they've got you puff, they'll meet you in the luggage area with a little sign, they'll help you with your bags, take you down to the VIP tunnel and then take you directly over to your Disney resort and then same in reverse. I booked it for someone today and it was 249 each way. So it's It's a little pricey, but it's definitely a special way to start or end your trip. Okay. Something about many VAN2 is car seats, because a lot of people that are coming with little ones,

Uber and Lyft isn't really easy because they don't have car seats. I think there is some Uber family. I am like, yeah, but sometimes you need, you know, even more than one car seat you need to or more. And so many van has up to two and even private transfers that if you book, you know, they can provide car seats. So because no one wants to lug their car seats with them on vacation either. Yeah, it's a pain. Mm hmm. There you go. The mirror doesn't require car seats because that's like a charter bus or shuttle that you don't need car seats for but.

I have seen some of the mirrors buses that have the fold down car seat built into the seats. Oh, okay. So it's it's it's not like a like a transportation safety rated seat. It is really met more as a secure element, not necessarily full traffic protection. But yeah, I saw pictures recently of some buses that newer buses that they had just added to their fleet that had those. So, nice. As soon after, if you remember, soon after, magical express met its untimely fate,

the sunshine express came out, and it was like a train thief, Yeah. And that I loved that. But I thought it was just the coolest thing because I like trains and it was had that Disney kind of element do it. Yes. But it didn't take what? Maybe a year and a half, two years before they merged operations with mirrors. Yeah. I just looked it up because I was like, whatever happened to that. And yeah, mirrors of course was like, yeah, we're not letting this happen.

And then they bought them. It went by. And then what they do just get rid of them. They just re-themed them to Mearsbuses. It was. Yeah. They were a few that were operating. No more fun. Maybe three to four months. No. Into the merger, but yeah. I mean, I've used Uber. I've used Lyft.

Of course, any time I fly into Sanford, I do a rental car. And I recently had my first experience with an electric car. I had not driven one before. I've ridden them, ridden them before, but it was fantastic. The rate was lower than anything else available. I stopped on the way back. It took 20 minutes to charge it. I was able to walk a couple laps around the parking lot, got a tax message that the car was charged. And it was about, I think it was about $20,

which is less than what I would have spent on filling up a tank and gas. So it was, it was a great experience. But I actually, I have to make a brief comment. I stopped at the car chargers at the outlets on International Drive because that's where the car, like you can search through the car system and it will direct you to the closest charger. But all of the chargers at the International Drive outlets were defunct. They none of them. One of the chords was like halfway ripped off

and the other one, the system didn't even power up. So it was like, well, off to the next one. So that was kind of an interesting experience as well. But that would be so direct because I'd be like, all right, I've got 10 more miles. And then I show up and they're like, all broken, I'd be like, oh my God. Well, the thing is they have to return, you have to return the car at the level that it was given to you charge. I just see why it did like a 70%

So I had to return it at least 70% and hack it. Like I said, it only took 20 minutes to give it a full charge. And it was only 20 bucks. So I returned it at 100%. So very cool. How long does it take you to drive from Sanford? If they're okay, there are a couple different strategies here. One is completely toll free. toll free is about 35 to 40 minutes. If you take the toll route, I think you can do it in as little as 25 minutes.

Let me actually, let me do a quick check here. And I'm just gonna say two, I'm just gonna say to the contemporary because that's one of the far ends of the, or ins of property. So if you do it without tolls, that drive would be 50 minutes total. But if you do it with tolls, it would be ironically at this very moment. It would also be 50 minutes because there's a major traffic blockage on one of the toll roads. So about 35 to 40 minutes is typical if you take the toll route.

So this is about the same as Orlando. Where's about 40? Yeah, 34 minutes. It's a lot closer than that. If you do an Uber, it can be, let's do. So Orlando? Just straight up drive time. If you do an Uber from the airport to the contemporary, it's 29 minutes. Oh yeah. All right, so that's not bad for Orlando. I mean, if you factor in another 20 minutes or less if you do, if you do the toll route. But I don't mind the drive. It's, because I always like to stop,

I mean, Lisa can attest to this. I stopped and got snack foods and stuff that are healthy and keeping the room. So he stopped at three or four different stores for me. Nice. I was looking for gloves and hats. Yes, because we needed a roll. We needed a roll. Because it was gold. He's like, I found some children's hat. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Yeah. Wow. One thing to keep in mind with renting a car too is if you're staying off property, off Disney property, most hotels will charge overnight parking fees.

And then if you're driving to the theme parks, you'll have to pay for, you know, daily parking at the theme parks. If you're staying on Disney property and you have a rental car, they do not charge overnight parking for resort guests and they also do not charge for parking at the theme parks. It's just nice. I think sometimes people forget, well, they keep they switched it up. They have to pay for parking at the parks. Yeah, that's definitely something to check out if

if you are planning to rent a car, make sure see what the cost is, because if safe for instance, I mean over at Universal, I think it's $27 a night. So I mean that essentially, if I hadn't known that, it would have doubled the cost of renting a car because that's, I basically paid about 20, I think I paid like $26, $27 a day for the rental car, and then it would have paid the same to park it. So I've really missed the name your own price on price line,

the name your own price feature. I used to get incredible car rental deals through there. That was fun. It's like how cheap can I be and still get it? My best ever was a convertible in Southern California to refer $12 a day. Wow. It was incredible. Yeah, that is pretty good. And it was unlimited mileage. Wow. Hmm. That's amazing. That's a steal. Yeah. It was crazy. You should like rent that for the whole year because it's probably cheaper. Yeah. Yeah.

That's the car payment, a monthly car payment of $360. So depending on the car you have, that is a really good deal. Well, yeah, it seriously. And in that, yeah, it would have been. Those days are long gone. It sure beats like a lease because unlimited mileage. Yeah. something to this. Oh, but you can't do name your price anymore. No, and you can't do it for 365 days. I'm sure. You could do it in. I think I think the most they will allow typically on or the

most they used to allow that was like a 30 day rental. I think we just think about that. No car maintenance, no oil changes. Yeah. No tire replacement. You're right, Lisa. That would have And that would have been a killer deal. I've been saying. You're really what? So the other things, I don't know. The only other little transportation things we do is sometimes getting around property at Disney World's taking the regular transportation, which is included.

But sometimes it's just a haul. And you're like, I got to be it. I got to go from animal kingdom to the contemporary for dinner. And I don't want to do whatever and dangled bus route shenanigans to get there. So you used to be able to call one of the mini vans, but now you can just call an Uber or a lift. And for a very minimal price, you can pretty much get anywhere and not have to deal with all the waiting for the bus, get on the bus, get off the bus, go find the other bus, wait for that to take you to

wherever or however you need to get there. Because some of that is fun. If you love Disney and you get to ride on the boat and the monorail and all this stuff. But then sometimes it takes Sometimes it's a math equation to figure out how to put it together. I remember once I was going from animal kingdom to the Polynesian and it took over an hour. Yeah, see, then that's where you're like, yeah, it's just too much. And then if you miss, if you just miss a bus or something, it's like, and it just is too

much if you got to hit dinner. So now since super and lifter, you know, they're kind of everywhere. You can just get one and pay, I don't know, and bucks, 15 bucks, something or other and you're there and you don't have to deal with any of it. So it's nice to do that once in a great while. So I have a random transportation question and I'm going to ask everybody. Oh no. Lisa, what is your favorite transportation route? What do you mean route? It can be a specific eye, you're like, I'm just using this in the example. You can say, I love taking a bus from this point to this point, just because of what you see.

Okay. I love taking the monorail from here to here. So like not necessarily a form of transportation, but what is your favorite route on a form of transportation. Okay, so it's kind of both. It's the Skyliner. And I talked about this recently because when I was there in what was it January, maybe I don't know when I was there recently. I did the Skyliner and it's so nice. And I loved that I was like put into a cabin cab with other people because I was a single, um, a lot of the time. And it just made for great

conversation and it's relaxing and it was a beautiful day and it wasn't terribly hot. So I'm going to skyline her to anywhere. Does that count? That's that's that's good enough one. Caitlin, what's what's your favorite transportation route on property? My favorite is writing the boat from the Polynesian to Magic Kingdom. Okay. So it's just it's so easy to just pop on the boat and pull up to the Magic Kingdom. And as you're pulling up, you see the grand Floridian and the Polynesian in the

background. And then you pull up to the Magic Kingdom and you can hear the train horn going and see the monorail going by. Or if you're writing it at night, you may even catch like the fireworks going off if you're going back to the grand Floridian of the Polynesian. Yeah, I just like writing on seven seas lagoon. Debbie. I like to get around by my feet. I stay places where I can walk. I walk everywhere that I can. I don't have patience to wait for transportation.

And so I like to go, I know how to get places by my feet. So if I'm staying in a monorail resort, All three of those properties have a walking path that the Magic Kingdom. I'm saying at the boardwalk area, I can walk to Hollywood and Epcot. I like to walk. But if I had to pick an actual mode of transportation, I love the ferry that runs between Epcot and Hollywood. I think that's a lovely little way to get from one place to another. It makes three little pit stops at those hotels in the water.

And it's just lovely. It means just a really nice way to get from one place to the other. than walking because I walk pretty quickly. But it's nice when you want to sit down. So I'm going to double down on this one. The question for you because I want to ask what is your favorite pedestrian path? Like what's your favorite walk to take it, isn't it? I really like the walk from the boardwalk hotel to Hollywood Studios. You walk through and kind under a little bridge and there's always like birds that I can't identify.

Florida, you know, it's like oh there's something that looks like a stork, maybe it's some stork kind of creature, but a crane perhaps. But it's a really nice little walk you go under a little bridge and no one ever takes it. It's always just me and whoever I'm with. So that's probably my favorite stroll. I do like some of the walks. So I like going magic kingdom to the grand Floridian. That's a good one. I'm glad they finally connected that. Yeah.

Because it was disconnected for all of eternity in magic kingdom years. Yeah. I mean, that route was never, it was meant to be connected, but they never finished the path I'm a magic kingdom to, uh, well, they had the canal. That's a great walk. Well, the canal was there where they store the seven seas, Lagoon, uh, water pageant. And then I think they built a bridge, right? I haven't walked it since they did it, but I assume they built a bridge that goes

up and down over that. So then they could finally, yeah, I got stopped by it once. They could finally do it.

But yeah, yeah, when then they had those pavers that everybody bought, that they like ended. because of the canal, like, yes. Yeah, it makes it nice so you can walk. Yeah, I like Debbie's walk too.

For whatever reason, I'm more afraid of alligators on the Hollywood Studios walk than I am on the Magic Kingdom walk. I don't know why, but I'm like paranoid. Don't ask me. But if you don't get into water, they're not gonna bother you. You're probably there. I've actually seen one in the Magic Kingdom itself. When they had Tom Sawyer's island, there was a little water, but yeah, I actually saw one in there. And of course they, I have as well. Yeah, yeah.

So alligators don't bother me. I mean, I live in the South. You can't go anywhere with any natural body of water and not see an alligator, but if you don't mess with them, they're not gonna mess with you. I'm not getting into that murky water, so it's all good. So how about you, Steve? What's your favorite transportation route? Well, we just did this and it was fun. It's not very long. So we're at Magic Kingdom and Lisa and I are there. We have both the kids and we're just got into Main Street.

And you always walked on Main Street and I was like, let's take the little fire engine because it was right there. Oh, we did that. Yeah. And so we got on the fire engine and it's just like a whole different experience. Like the kids were all happy and it's this old fire engine and Brooker Amber got to do the horn to get people out of the way. And then it drops you off almost right at the castle. And it's the same thing you do over and over again, but it's like totally different

when you do it. I want to those little vehicles. So it was cool. We ever done the double decker bus. No, I need to see. I haven't done forever. Yeah, see, but you never do any of that stuff. And you've been, you know, I've probably done it once in my life at some point, but I'm sure we've never all got on it. But yeah, that stuff is cool. and fun to do. Sharpie, what's yours? My favorite transportation route. Yes. It's a close tie. Mm-hmm. It's either the bus or sorry, not the bus.

The boat from Wilman is large. I love the bus, I love the bus. I love the bus, I love the bus, is sure. The boat from wilderness lodge to Magic Kingdom. Yeah, that's always good. or the boat from Portland's Riverside to Disney Springs.

Yeah, that's cool too. Yeah, that's a pretty great way. Kind of for the same reason that you said, Debbie, is there are so many birds. Yeah. I've seen birds, I've seen otters. You just, I've seen deer, you just see all sorts of creatures. Cause it really is like a river way. So it's, I love that route. it's so pretty. It's nice and shaded for quite a bit of it. So it just kind of feels, it feels old. It's a definitely a different experience when you're leaving the Magic Kingdom late

at night. And I would always go back to the Grand Florida and you get on the little boat and it's dark out and it's got a nice breeze and it feels good and you're right by the water and then drops you off at the other dock and it's the hotel's lit up at night. It's a really nice experience versus walking to the bus, standing there and waiting and then crowding on the bus and then trying to stand up and not fall over while you're holding on to everything with a bunch of people on the bus.

I don't know. It's definitely a lot more. I have a lot more fun memories of getting on the boat than on the bus. I always think it's cool too when you take the boat from wilderness lodge to magic and him how you go over that little. It's cool. Like highway pass. Yeah, the water bridge. Yeah, the water bridge. And I whenever we go over it, I'm always like, oh, this is we're going over the highway. Yeah, it's like one of the only places where the boats go over you and the cars go

under. Yeah, I guess it's not a highway, but it's a roadway. Yeah, it's cool. Yeah. And every time You know, kids that were going underneath the boats. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. So many cool transportation things. Nobody talks about the monorels. Oh, maybe you need a

There were kind of remember Sharpie on shows years ago. They were going to redo the amount there were like contracts and they were looking at what and there there was even like final talk with Siemens to do their sponsorship for the nighttime show at Epcot and And that fell through and they basically have like put lipstick on a pig since then. I mean, they've added LED lights and upgraded sticker. They put new rims. I'll package it. I know, they put it.

Yeah. They put on like replace the carpet and like the upholstery. Yeah. And it's the cars. I mean, do you remember when that the wheel assembly fell off the one in the parking lot at fgot? Yeah. It's like, come on, people. These these vehicles are way past their expected life. Yeah, it's a nice time for replacement. Yeah, they're cool. They're very cool. It would be cool to get some new ones. The thing is, is they don't make any money for them. Yeah, but the one at Disneyland is so nice and it really does nothing.

It's just there for show, but it's really nice one. nice one. And then the ones that you actually need are really integrated. Yeah, they need to because the only benefit of the one at Disneyland is you can get off with the Disneyland hotel. So what would be what would be a cool addition to the transportation family? We've done it all. Back magical express. Well, yes, yes, that's a given.

Yeah, I think they need a dedicated form of transportation. from animal kingdom lodge to animal kingdom. I think the fact that they run buses on that loop is just absurd. I think if they were between some type of like light rail system or something, or even a skyliner. I mean, it's just so crazy that those, both those hotels are so close and they run buses on that route constantly. The skyliner is pretty amazing the way of how many people they probably get on that thing and how it just continually goes.

That's probably the best bang for their buck when they put that in. It's down for what? One week a year for maintenance? Yeah, it's like hardly at all. And it just goes and goes. I mean, versus monorails and everything else. It just, that was a smart decision. Yeah. Are they going to put it? And clearly I I'm quite amused by it. You know what they're putting in at universal From universal to epic

It's not it's not is it not officially done? Oh, what's the I had heard the purple I had heard they were gonna do the boring group and go underground and Do the Tesla's like they haven't Vegas from And do underground transportation to get over to epic I I think that would be the absolute worst option they could choose. Yeah. What would happen? Low traffic. Like you're not going to get the volume that would with like a skyliner or a monorail or a people mover type system.

And then the water table in Florida. I don't know how the water table were. That has disaster written all over it. They must have a way where they have to pump it out or it has a thing where it is constantly kind of, I don't know how that were as it is low, but I mean, they obviously have to know how to do that. I don't know how to do it. But yeah, because of the volumes of rain that say, oh, I know. Yeah. It's crazy. But also think of what happens during hurricane season.

Yeah. I mean, inches upon inches upon inches of foot of water can fall. Yeah. And it's going to take days to get that thing pumped out. It's I think that I think if they move forward, but that's going to be the one of the the most big dog will project or land to see. It could. But I don't know if they own enough to put their own thing above. What do they mean? Because it's all probably, it's all probably city streets or I don't know who owns all the property. But then if you go under, I guess you only

have to own where you go in and where you come out. I don't know how that works. It could be interesting. Yeah, because we did the bus and it was okay, but it It wasn't as quick as I had thought from one of the universal hotels over there because it takes a while just to get to the dedicated bus lane. Like a lot of stoplights until you finally get into it. Right. So it's like, oh, this is, it takes, you know, I don't know. Five or 10 minutes just to get to the part where you can finally get into the dedicated

lane. So anyway, lots of cool transportation, anything else on transportation? Well, we didn't really talk about it. you know, we have Pixi Vacations has dedicated drivers that are licensed bonded and insured, all that good stuff that we can connect you with. We've got several different companies that we work with. I won't name drop any of them now, but we're happy to range private transportation. What are you going to the port or universal or Disney or SeaWorld? We have people who can

transport you and one of the companies has 11 passenger vans. So if you're a larger party, instead of getting like, you know, four oobers. It'll actually save you money to get one of these larger passenger bands. So lots of options there. If you don't want to use maybe mirrors of the shared shuttle or there's too many of you to use uber or lift. Has you ever had a client used to a limousine? Yeah. Yeah. I had an audience about, I think it was about two years ago did limousine from MCO to their resort. It was like big milestone family

celebration. I was like, okay, we can make this happen. Yeah, it's good for honeymooners or your anniversary kind of romantic. Yeah. And if you if you happen to be one of the few people coming from south, we can book Brightline, which is the train, which is awesome. So if you're either going in such a nice way to travel. Oh, my God, it's so nice. I'm disappointed that they're not doing Brightline to downtown Disney. Well, they're gonna there's still there's still some plans to get

over to the convention center and to the from the airport. I don't know. I don't know what the other plans are yet. There there are still talks. Yeah, there's still about a Disney property stop. It's not it's not dead yet. So that yeah, that bright line is amazing. So if you're going from Disney and you're going on a cruise maybe down in Miami or for Lauderdale, you can do that. Or if you're coming from Florida, Miami, down in that area, because you live there

or from a different part of your vacation, you can take it to the Orlando airport and then you just gotta get from the airport over to Disney or Universal. And it's not any faster than a flight, but it's much nicer, much, much nicer in the way of Rome and food and internet and giant bathrooms and really nice seating and yeah, it was much better.

All right. All right. I guess with that, we're going to wrap up the show. I'd like to thank Pixy Vacations for sponsoring the podcast. If you have questions or comments for us, you can write to us at comments at masschat.net. Thank you so much for listening and please join us again next time on Mouse Jam.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Disney's Magical Express still available?

No. Disney's Magical Express, the free motorcoach service that took guests from Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World resorts, ended on January 1, 2022. Disney resort guests now need to arrange their own transportation from MCO, though several paid alternatives are available.

What replaced Disney's Magical Express?

Mears Connect is the closest direct replacement — it's a shuttle service from the same company that used to operate Magical Express. The Sunshine Flyer is another shared shuttle option with Disney-themed decor. Beyond shuttles, most guests now use Uber/Lyft, rental cars, or private town cars. Some guests are starting to use Waymo's autonomous ride service in Orlando as well.

How much does Mears Connect cost to Disney World?

Mears Connect pricing varies by tier, starting around $17 one-way per adult at the Standard level, with Express (dedicated motorcoach) options available for more. Kids under 3 typically ride free, and round-trip pricing offers a slight discount. Check current rates before booking — prices have changed several times since Magical Express ended.

Should I rent a car at Disney World?

It depends on your plans. If you're staying on Disney property and only visiting Disney parks, you probably don't need a car — Disney transportation (buses, monorails, Skyliner, boats) covers everything. But if you plan to visit Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, Kennedy Space Center, or off-property restaurants, a rental car is often cheaper than multiple rideshare trips.

Is Orlando Sanford Airport (SFB) a good alternative to MCO for Disney?

Orlando Sanford (SFB) is about 45 miles from Walt Disney World — farther than MCO (about 20 miles). But for travelers flying certain budget airlines like Allegiant, SFB can be dramatically cheaper on airfare. It's worth comparing total trip cost including transportation to your resort, not just airfare.

About MouseChat & Pixie Vacations: MouseChat is a MouseChat-hosted podcast brought to you by Pixie Vacations, a Disney, Universal, and Sandals/Beaches specialist travel agency based in Atlanta, GA. Planning a Walt Disney World vacation? Pixie Vacations is a Disney-specialist travel agency — free to use, and we handle the dining, FastPass planning, discounts, and any changes that come up.

Get a free Disney quote at PixieVacations.com →

Also from the Pixie family: Pixie Vacations · Pixie Honeymoons · Universal Family Vacations · Caribbean Magazine · MouseChat.net Podcast


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