Reportedly, guests who are visiting Walt Disney World and staying at the Walt Disney World Swan or the Walt Disney World Dolphin resorts will no longer have the option of the popular Disney Transport Buses, as the service has been switched to Mears Transportation, according to WDWMagic.
What’s Happening:
- The popular Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resorts near EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios have reportedly dropped the Walt Disney World Disney Transport Buses and have chartered buses from Mears Transportation Systems to provide their resort guests with transportation to the Disney theme parks.
- With this change, that means buses traveling from the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin will no longer utilize the Disney Bus pick up and drop off locations at the parks, and guests will find themselves in the drop off and pick up zones for chartered buses.
- For example, let’s look at the Magic Kingdom. Disney Operated Buses use the Disney Bus stops near the park entrance, where chartered buses like those from Mears and other non-Disney hotels in the area, have a dedicated zone at the Transportation and Ticket Center across Seven Seas Lagoon.
- The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin are not owned by the Walt Disney Company, but rather by divisions of Marriott Hotels. While the specific reasons for the switch are unclear, it is like that Marriott is looking to cut costs by providing their own bus service instead of using Disney’s, or that Disney cut the service themselves to save labor costs and prioritize their own hotels.
- The bus service from the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin has now been scheduled as every 20-30 minutes from the resorts aboard the Mears Buses with signage around the hotels, and the language on the official website also reflects this. Friendships to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT are not available at this time.
- Mears Transportation is a Central Florida staple, and is also the operator behind the popular Disney’s Magical Express shuttle service, as well as the buses that transport guests to Port Canaveral for journeys aboard Disney Cruise Line.
- Reactions to this change have been mixed on social media and online discussion boards, with most guests saying they’ll stay at the Swan and Dolphin for the lower price, but walk to the neighboring Disney’s Boardwalk Resort or Disney’s Yacht Club Resort and use the buses there.
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