Mears Connect Transportation Service Review

At the beginning of 2022, unfortunately one of the great free perks of staying at a Walt Disney World Resort came to an end: Disney's Magical Express. This has left guests to search for new ways to get to the Walt Disney World resort from Orlando International Airport. There are several options that guests can utilize: renting a car, ride share services (Uber or Lyft), taxis, or a paid bus service. With the end of Disney's Magical Express, new options have emerged including Mears Connect and the Sunshine Flyer. We utilized the Mears Connect service and I will compare both options in this post and share our experience.

Mears Connect offers two different services from the Orlando International Airport: the Standard Service and the Express Service. We utilized the Standard Service which is advertised as a "shared service with monitored wait times and limited stops." With this option, you can choose a round trip or a one way service. The Express Service is advertised as a "direct shared service that transports guests directly to their hotel with limited wait time" and is only offered as a round trip service at this time.

I'll break down the major details and differences in a chart below:

Details	​Mears Connect Standard	Mears Connect Express	Sunshine Flyer
Pricing	$16 per adult one way ($32.00 round trip) and $13.50 per child* one way ($27.00 round trip)	$250.00 for up to 4 people, $55.00 for each additional passenger	$17 per adult one way ($34.00 round trip) and $12.50 per child** one way ($25.00 round trip)
Accessibility	Both handicap and car seat accessibility	Both handicap and car seat accessibility	Both handicap and car seat accessibility
Pick-Up Time	3 hours before for a domestic flight, minimum of 4 hours before for an international flight	2.5-3 hours before for a domestic flight, 3.5-4 hours before for an international flight	3 hours before for a domestic flight, minimum of 4 hours before for an international flight

*Child aged 3-9, children under 3 are free

**Children under 2 may sit in a parent's lap for free

The Sunshine Flyer is also an option to consider when traveling to and from the Orlando International Airport. The departure location is also located in terminal B of the Orlando International Airport on level one between bays B5-B9. The price comparison can be seen above and they offer very similar services to Mears Connect. The exterior of their buses are designed to look like steam engines and according to their website, there is entertainment available during your ride. I do not have any experience utilizing their service, but will link their website below to allow you to compare. They only offer transportation to the Walt Disney World Resort Hotels only, while Mears Connect offers transportation to Walt Disney World Resort Area hotels. The website states that guests will not have to wait longer than 20 minutes at the airport for the bus and the bus ride to their resort will not exceed 65 minutes. There was previously a guarantee on the Mears Connect website that guests will not wait longer than 20 minutes, but that has since been eliminated from their website.

The Sunshine Flyer website is: https://sunshineflyer.com.

You must have an airline reservation to book Mears Connect and you book directly through their website: https://www.mearsconnect.com/#reserveForm. You will receive a confirmation email for your reservation and a QR code. The person who made the reservation will receive the confirmation email with the QR code that includes everyone included in the reservation. The Mears Connect reservation is NOT connected to your Magic Band or My Disney Experience account. You will need to have the QR code accessible to scan prior to boarding the bus to your resort. In the case your flight is delayed, your QR code is valid for 48 hours. If your arrival flight is canceled and you reschedule a flight arriving within 48 hours of original flight time, your QR code will be valid and you do not need to modify your reservation; this applies even if your flight is earlier than your original date. You can modify your reservation on their website.

The departure location from Orlando International Airport is in terminal B on the first level where Disney's Magical Express was previously. Currently, they are not offering services to pick up your luggage from baggage claim and deliver it to your resort. You have to claim your luggage upon landing at Orlando International Airport at baggage claim. There was an employee at the Mears Connect location who scanned our QR code and directed us to the specific line for our resort. For reference, we landed at 7 PM on Wednesday the week of Princess Half Marathon and there was no one in line. We were staying at Coronado Springs this visit. We had other guests staying at All Star Movies and Music, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, and the Gaylord Palms on our bus. The bus driver assisted us with loading our baggage safely into the storage area underneath the bus. The time frame from getting in line to departure from the airport was approximately 10 minutes. Princess Half Marathon is a very busy week to be at Disney, your wait time may vary depending on the time of year of your trip and at what point during the day you are traveling. The buses were your typical charter buses with a bathroom available in the back of the bus, foot rests and arm rests, and individual controls for lighting and air conditioning. The seats were very comfortable and did not seem like they were recycled Magical Express Buses (the upholstery on the seats did not seem worn down and the foot rests appeared to be new). We did not have any concerns with the ride to our resort. One of the big differences is the lack of "Disney magic" on the buses: no characters on the outside or the welcome video that you watch on your way to and from the resort. It's just a regular bus ride. That one was thing that separated Disney from other theme parks: you were immersed at soon as you stepped onto the bus and until the very last second you were on the bus.

This is the view from the waiting area from Mears Connect. It was once a hoppin' place for Disney's Magical Express!

With returning to the Orlando International Airport, the pick-up location at the resort was where the previous Disney's Magical Express Departures location once was. The boarding pass/QR code was sent the day before we left via email and we received a text 15 minutes before we departed our resort to remind us of our reservation; we were even provided a link to track the location of the bus. The bus driver scanned our QR code before departing and confirmed our party name and the number of guests. There was a party who was supposed to be picked up with us, but they were not there and the bus unfortunately left without them, so make sure you are there at your allotted time! The bus driver assisted with putting our luggage on and taking the luggage off the bus. We stopped at several other Disney resorts prior to heading back to the Orlando International Airport. Once again, the bus was very clean, well-kept, and air conditioned. It was a comfortable ride.

Overall, we really enjoyed using the Mears Connect Service and will continue to use the service for future trips. I highly recommend using it for the ease of comfort/assurance that you have guaranteed transportation to and from the airport. The bus ride was very comfortable, our wait time for the transportation was minimal, and the staff we came across were friendly and professional. For smaller parties or for quicker transportation to your resort, I would suggest looking into ride share options such as Lyft or Uber to compare pricing and to make the most out of your trip if time is limited. For our trip and a party of 4, I thought it was reasonable even though you had to pay per person (versus an Uber or taxi you can split the cost). I would continue to check back on the Mears Connect website, they may look to add luggage services in the future similar to Magical Express. We will be utilizing their service again round trip for Springtime Surprise in April and will update this post with more information as needed based on our experience. I hope this posts gives you more insight on this transportation option to and from the Orlando International Airport and am happy to answer any questions you have about this service.