Airport transportation to Disney World can be a… touchy subject for many fans. There was a time when travel between Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Disney World was built around the Magical Express. This service, included in Walt Disney World vacation packages, ferried guests back and forth from MCO while transporting their bags directly from their flight to their hotel room and vice versa. The popular service was discontinued in 2020, creating a vacuum for many guests, who have resorted to other methods.
Mears Connect
Recently, one of our team members decided to use the Mears shuttle service to travel to and from MCO, and had an… unexpected experience where they learned a few things.
The Waiting is the Hardest Part
Our team member and their family were staying at the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground, so after disembarking from their flight (which did arrive in Orlando on time) and gathering their bags, the group went to the Mears waiting area and joined the line for the campground… only to wait for approximately 45 minutes without any updates.
Mears Connect at Orlando International Airport
Buses Can Only Make a Limited Number of Stops
However, things got confusing once the bus arrived. As they were preparing to board, a staff member asked which Disney hotel they were staying at. When they responded with Fort Wilderness, the group was told that the recently arrived bus had “too many” stops to make and they would need to wait for the NEXT bus, even though they had joined the line marked for Fort Wilderness.
MCO transportation lines
After being told they’d need to wait another 40-45 minutes, our rightfully somewhat incredulous team member informed the staff member how long their group had already waited. The staff member then moved the group to another arriving bus that was scheduled to head to different hotels after 20 more minutes of waiting. However, the group was told that they would be dropped off first.
Riders Should Give Themselves a Few Hours’ Cushion to Get to Their Hotel from the Airport
Once boarding the bus, our team member noted that the bus’s TVs were broken. From there, despite what they were told before leaving that they’d be the first stop, they were actually the last, leaving the whole experience lasting about 3 hours.
Inside a Mears Connect bus
According to our team member, they’ve used Mears multiple times without any similar issues, but this was “just a long, stressful, and crummy experience.” Was this just a one-off experience or a harbinger of things to come for MCO to Disney transportation?
Overall, the buses were nice, clean, and COLD. But adding 3 hours onto an already long travel day with a toddler pushes everyone’s buttons. Next time this team member plans to just Uber or book a private service!
Stay tuned to DFB for more!
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I know it costs more but Happy Limo is great. More costs but when the most expensive Mouse in the World is waiting. Priceless
That’s exactly what happened to us last year (2025). My son and I waited in line for 40 minutes, just to be moved to another line. At first, I was happy about being moved to a line that was getting ready to board a bus, but by the time we were dropped off at our resort, we had been on that bus for an hour and a half. Sadly, this also happened to us in 2024. This year, we are skipping Mears and renting a car.
Uber is the way to go. I absolutely despise Mears
Having used Mears for many years, including as DME, we were surprised in January that our bus was actually just a minivan, as there were not many of us. We were also, the only Disney resort passengers. The other families were heading to non Disney resorts and we went to these first. The experience was ok though, the driver kept us amused with trivia and stories throughout the whole drive. A normal bus collected us to go back to the airport at the end of our holiday.