Disney OPEN to Sunrail Station (Not a Guarantee of Execution)

[Sparrow'sLady]

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-open-to-on-site-sunrail-station/

This is interesting, but I am not really seeing the benefit if it does not get you from the airport to your hotel.

 

[leebee]

If the Disney rail station had Bell Services, so you could drop your luggage and go do whatever, and your bags would magically appear at your resort, I can maybe see it. Honestly, I never understood why they gave up Magical Express. Talk about a way to keep a captive audience! Now that we have to rent a car, we do fewer park days and venture off-property more frequently to visit other locations and go to more-affordable restaurants.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

If the Disney rail station had Bell Services, so you could drop your luggage and go do whatever, and your bags would magically appear at your resort, I can maybe see it. Honestly, I never understood why they gave up Magical Express. Talk about a way to keep a captive audience! Now that we have to rent a car, we do fewer park days and venture off-property more frequently to visit other locations and go to more-affordable restaurants.

I was told by several in mgmt at Disney it was because people were so scared of getting Covid by riding with people on the bus. Makes no sense....you are around all of those people on the internal bus system, in the resorts and at the parks.

Many businesses used Covid as their caveat to do cost-cutting measures and of course this economy is awful. I doubt ME would make financial sense for Iger and the gang. I think if they brought it back for a reasonable price, guests would pay it.

 

[ShannonG]

Would certainly bring attention to SSR. Walking distance to the train station? That’s a big perk.

 

[Elijah Abrams]

I was told by several in mgmt at Disney it was because people were so scared of getting Covid by riding with people on the bus. Makes no sense....you are around all of those people on the internal bus system, in the resorts and at the parks.

Many businesses used Covid as their caveat to do cost-cutting measures and of course this economy is awful. I doubt ME would make financial sense for Iger and the gang. I think if they brought it back for a reasonable price, guests would pay it.

I think Iger’s replacement(s) should bring Magical Express back.

 

[LoveDaisy]

Ride shares changed everything. Magic express used to make you a captive audience but ride shares made it easy for people to leave. Why pay for transportation when people can leave to shop/eat/go to other parks easily? I suspect that had more to do with that than people being afraid to ride a bus together, because if that was the case would they be going to a crowded theme park? Plus people squeeze onto buses and the monorail at Disney with no concerns.

I used magical express but I would not pay for it, unless they bring the luggage service back. I have opted for ride shares over mears, if I’m paying I don’t want to wait for a bus to load and stop at multiple resorts before I’m dropped off.

The train sounds like a logistical nightmare with luggage to me.

 

[ParrotBill]

I don't think the pandemic killed ME... it ended almost 2 years after the pandemic started.
Disney was on a all-fired program to cut freebies and increase discretionary spend at that time. Genie+ and LL+ launched, extended hours reduced and changed to deluxe only, hard ticket late hours started, etc.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

I don't think the pandemic killed ME... it ended almost 2 years after the pandemic started.
Disney was on a all-fired program to cut freebies and increase discretionary spend at that time. Genie+ and LL+ launched, extended hours reduced and changed to deluxe only, hard ticket late hours started, etc.

I agree with this 100%. That is just the excuse some at Disney were using.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

I think Iger’s replacement(s) should bring Magical Express back.

It would be great, but unlikely. Disney has found they can still get people to pay for over-priced food,, entertainment and add-ons without offering transportation to and from the airport.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-open-to-on-site-sunrail-station/

This is interesting, but I am not really seeing the benefit if it does not get you from the airport to your hotel.

I do not see a benefit for it either.

If guests all unload at Downtown Disney, they would need to have an Uber/Lyft area because that would become a complete cluster.

 

[DodgerGirl]

What I think Disney is trying to do in my eyes is build their own version of San Francisco's BART "Bay Area Rapid Transit" and make a new version of Magical Express. But what I can see is that if Disney plans on this new transportation system is they'll have shuttles that will be express and direct and guests will be able to go straight to their hotel with having to deal with stops to drop off other guests. Because the problem with Disney's transportation system with their bus services has always been people that have to deal with annoying stops having to pick guests up/drop guests off at their hotels and when you get the general picture it's like a school bus picking up kids and dropping kids off at school and in my eyes Disney needs to improve this which this new system would help a lot. The only other suggestion would be if Disney was to have a subway like transportation system where you could tell the conductor before you went on where you wanted to go like say Epcot the subway would take you there and if you stayed at a resort "Let's use Disney's Port Orleans Resort as an example" you tell the conductor by telephone that you want to be dropped off at Port Orleans Resort and when the subway came it would take you in a flash and the stops would have wall phones to call the subway for rides to your hotel or to go elsewhere and it would be a grand idea if it were to exist for Disney to do
Do you agree?

 

[Alice Sr.]

I have opted for ride shares over mears, if I’m paying I don’t want to wait for a bus to load and stop at multiple resorts before I’m dropped off.

Embarrassed to ask but who/what is ride shares, is it Uber? Who do you use and what is the approximate cost?

 

[LoveDaisy]

Embarrassed to ask but who/what is ride shares, is it Uber? Who do you use and what is the approximate cost?

Ride share is Uber or Lyft. I used Lyft and I think it was around $40 plus tip. If you don’t need a car seat I would recommend it. Less than a car service and there was no wait or riding to other resorts before yours on mears busses.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

Embarrassed to ask

Don't ever be embarrassed to ask. One of the main reasons for DISBoards existence is to ask questions.

 

[jade1]

Wouldn't D Springs become overrun.

Seems like guests going back and forth from US, D Springs guests, plus airline arrivals and departures? Arrivals likely trying to get to a park (or hotel), assuming they have some kind of locker/luggage system.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

Wouldn't D Springs become overrun.

Seems like guests going back and forth from US, D Springs guests, plus airline arrivals and departures? Arrivals likely trying to get to a park (or hotel), assuming they have some kind of locker/luggage system.

That is my initial thought. Unless, they see this as another way to make money.....get people there with a few hours to spare and then they will spend.

 

[Tigger's ally]

I would think that Dis would develop some sort of luggage delivery since the people and their luggage would then be on disney property. The people themselves could use the busses from DS. It wouldn't take near as much as the old luggage service attached to ME because it wouldn't be attached to a bunch of airlines and wouldn't have to be transferred 30 miles from the airport.

 

[BK2014]

The benefit of a Disney Sunrail station wouldn't just be for Disney guests.

As a local who lives near Disney, I think that a Disney SunRail station would provide a benefit to area residents. Right now, the only Sunrail line runs north and south. And currently, the trains only run during the week. An east-west line between the airport and Disney would likely increase local ridership, and possibly allow SunRail to operate on the weekends. It would allow residents not only to get to and from Disney easier, but to other areas in the three counties serviced by SunRail. Even though it would not save me time, I would seriously consider driving and parking at a Disney Springs station in order to take the SunRail downtown to work, just to avoid traffic, tolls, and all the hassles that come with commuting.

I could also see it being a benefit for castmembers if they are able to take the train in from other areas, assuming they could use internal transportation to get to their work locations.

 

[bsmcneil]

Ride share is Uber or Lyft. I used Lyft and I think it was around $40 plus tip. If you don’t need a car seat I would recommend it. Less than a car service and there was no wait or riding to other resorts before yours on mears busses.

See - this is the thing. I feel like, sure - rideshares take away from the captive audience piece. But aren't there a ton of families with car seats for whom rideshares are really not a great option and for whom ME WAS a great option? Blah. I really enjoyed ME (before bringing kids with carseats, even) and am sad it's gone.

 

[IanDLBZF from MCMagic]

I hate to do armchair imagineering here, but why is the station poised for Disney Springs as opposed to the Transportation & Ticket Center?!

Honestly, the station should be at the TTC, and connect, not only to the parks and hotels, but also to Amtrak and Brightline, thus making the TTC not only an entry point into the Magic Kingdom, but also a multi-modal hub.