Walt Disney World will soon be expanding eligibility for the Minnie Van Airport Service, which offers private transportation between Orlando International (MCO) and select resort hotels. Here are full dates & details on pricing, eligibility and more. Plus our commentary about what this means for the potential return of Disney’s Magical Express and whether this service is worth it or a rip-off.
For those who are unfamiliar with it, Minnie Vans are private vehicle service at Walt Disney World, powered by the Lyft, but operated by Cast Members in fun polka-dot covered cars. Each standard Minnie Van accommodates up to 6 guests, with the accessible Minnie Vans capable of seating 7. Critically for families, Minnie Vans each come equipped with 2 child safety seats that Cast Members can install for you.
Regular Minnie Vans within Walt Disney World can be requested at every resort via the Lyft app, plus the Swan & Dolphin and Four Seasons Orlando. Prices vary based on distance traveled from pick-up location to requested destination within Walt Disney World Resort; the Lyft app provides a fare estimate once you select a destination, so you know what to expect. Payments are processed directly through the Lyft app. Walt Disney World considers it a ‘priority’ transportation option, with private point-to-point service that’s almost always more efficient than buses. For everything you need to know, read our Guide to Minnie Vans at Walt Disney World.
Minnie Van Airport Service
All of the above concerns the normal Minnie Van point-to-point transportation within Walt Disney World. This is the more common option, which has been back for a while in full form. What’s rolling out this week to more guests is the Minnie Van Airport Service.
Walt Disney World has announced that starting Wednesday, August 13, 2025, all guests staying at a Disney Deluxe Resorts will be able to book the Minnie Van Airport Service. What’s unclear at this point is whether this will include Deluxe Villa Resorts or just standalone Deluxes. (We’ve reached out to Walt Disney World for clarification and will update if/when we receive a response.)
For those thinking, what’s the difference?!, if this is limited to Deluxe Resorts, it would basically just exclude Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Riviera Resort, and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Those are the only villas that aren’t attached to a Deluxe Resort.
Up until now, limited Minnie Van Airport Service has been available to and from Orlando International Airport, only for guests staying Club Level. It’s been bookable by the resort concierge team (also known as Disney Signature Services). Unlike the point-to-point service, it’s not bookable via the Lyft app.
Pricing is $199 plus tax for a one-way trip between any Walt Disney World and Orlando International Airport. Reservations for airport Minnie Van transfers can be made up to 60 days prior to your arrival date by contacting Disney Signature Services at (407) 939-7777 or via email.
The Minnie Van Airport Service is offered to guests with airline flight departures out of MCO between 9 a.m. and midnight and flight arrivals 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. Airport Minnie Vans can accommodate up to 6 people per vehicle, including up to three car seats for guests. Availability is limited, but it’s unlikely you’ll need to book 60 days in advance. For return tips to MCO, you should be able to speak with the resort concierge for bookings.
As of August 13, 2025, the above changes to include all Deluxe Resort guests. Otherwise, none of the above is changing. Minnie Van transportation between Walt Disney World and Orlando International Airport is still not available for any other guests. Between this and the end of Disney’s Magical Express, other guests now need to find their own ground transportation from the airport to their hotel.
We cover the range of options in our Guide to Airport Transportation for Walt Disney World. There is no one-size-fits-all perfect solution–it depends on your party size, budget, and other factors.
Is This The Long-Awaited Disney’s Magical Express Replacement?
Of course not. I doubt anyone seriously thinks that a $199 (or $398 roundtrip) service is a comparable product offering to a free airport shuttle. However, I absolutely foresee some fans saying, “well now we know why they got rid of Disney’s Magical Express–so they could ‘force’ us to pay for this pricey upcharge instead!” Or “now Walt Disney World has no incentive to bring back DME or else nobody will book this!”
For fans with shorter memories, the Minnie Van Airport Service is nothing new. It launched back in Summer 2018, roughly one year after point-to-point Minnie Vans, and cost $150 each way at the time. Back then, the Minnie Van Airport Service actually had more expansive eligibility. It was available to all Disney-owned hotels–Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Villa Resorts–as well as a number of third party options. This included the Swan & Dolphin, Bonnet Creek, Disney Springs, and even Flamingo Crossing. (But oddly enough, not Shades of Green.)
At the risk of stating the obvious, Disney’s Magical Express existed back then. So unless Walt Disney World was playing the long game and was just waiting for a global pandemic to knock out the free service, and then let ~5 years lapse before bringing back the paid airport shuttle (and only to a small subset of the original eligibility pool), it’s highly unlikely that the Minnie Van Airport Shuttle has any relation whatsoever to Disney’s Magical Express. Both are airport transportation, but that’s where the similarities begin and end. Mopeds, mules, Maserati, and monorails are also types of airport transportation–but I wouldn’t compare them, either.
The other obvious difference is scalability. Minnie Vans simply do not scale. The fleet is not large enough to effectively transport all guests between MCO and WDW, and the price is prohibitive for the vast majority of guests. These facts are interrelated, and why the return of Minnie Van Airport Service has no bearing on the potential (but likely) comeback of Disney’s Magical Express. Just like the original launch of the service had nothing to do with the demise of DME.
There’s been renewed hope for the comeback of Disney’s Magical Express this year thanks to Return of Resort Airline Check-In Service at WDW as a Pilot Program. Although it’s been radio silence about that and the luggage handling hasn’t expanded at all since early April, so maybe we shouldn’t hold our breath. (As a non-update update to that, we haven’t heard anything. We’re shocked it hasn’t expanded again, but maybe more test & adjust and scale-up time is needed?)
Is Minnie Van Airport Service Worth It?
“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
That’s a concise summary of this commentary. If Walt Disney World made this announcement a few years ago, my commentary would’ve been scathing–that this is absurdly overpriced relative to the alternatives. I would’ve compared Minnie Vans to Uber or Lyft, noting that my average fee is a fraction of this price (in the last year, my WDW to MCO average is around $25 before tip). I would’ve done the same for Mears Connect, which offers a much cheaper service for those uncomfortable with traditional rideshare.
Speculation isn’t really necessary here, as this isn’t the first time Minnie Vans have expanded to the airport. I did those things before, albeit not with Mears Connect since it didn’t exist then. Instead, there was Disney’s Magical Express, which was free (or “free” in the sense that it was built into room rates, but the point is that it wasn’t an upcharge).
Unsurprisingly, that was the Walt Disney World fan consensus on the Minnie Van Airport Service. After all, it’s a very pricey upcharge and by its very nature, it’s a niche product offering aimed at a very small subset of guests. The vast majority of guests will never even consider using it since they aren’t the target audience. Opposing that type of thing is easy and obvious low-hanging fruit.
Now that I’m older and wiser dumber (or at least, have a different viewpoint thanks to a wider variety of experience), I have a slightly different perspective on the Minnie Van Airport Service.
Let me preface this by saying that, when traveling solo to Walt Disney World, I always use either the standard Mears Connect service or rideshare. I use the former about two-thirds of the time, and only use the latter at this point when returning to the airport. When I do use Uber or Lyft, I always select the ‘wait and save’ options. Both as a matter of frugality and because it’s an easy ‘hack’ since there are usually a ton of drivers so the wait is about the same, either way (I’ve never waited the full 15 minutes). Point being, it’s not as if I’m mindlessly making it rain on airport transportation.
Even when traveling as a couple, we’d always take Uber and Lyft. Doubling the cost of Mears Connect made Uber or Lyft a close enough call and we favored the efficiency. Plus, Sarah seems to enjoy chatting up rideshare drivers, whereas I do not. (I swear my accounts must be flagged with a notice: this dude likes hearing about conspiracy theories and fringe political movements.)
Those days are over for us now that we’re traveling as a family with a toddler.
Uber or Lyft are a nonstarter now. The simple reality is that I really don’t trust the maintenance and safety standards of a random stranger’s personal vehicle when traveling with our daughter. Ditto the driver’s safety behind the wheel–as it seems Uber and Lyft use Crazy Taxi and Grand Theft Auto for their training. While the vast majority of rideshare experiences are perfectly fine, I’ve had enough questionable ones to give me pause about gambling my daughter’s safety on it.
It’s funny. I had never given a second thought to any of that when using Uber or Lyft alone. It wasn’t even on my radar until our first rideshare experience with her; I was consumed with stress for the entire ride. Enough to make it a non-starter as a family. It’s to the point that this has even spilled over into solo travel, as I’m more cognizant of my own safety. Being a father brings your own mortality into sharp relief, but that’s slightly off-topic.
In any case, all of this makes Mears Connect our new de facto option when traveling as a family. Which is fine. We’ve used it several times to mixed results–nothing bad enough to push us over the edge towards a private transfer. (We have zero interest in driving on vacation unless absolutely necessary; Walt Disney World is far from a destination where it’s ‘absolutely necessary’ for us, so renting a car is out. YMMV.)
The real potential issue is for us as a family now that Megatron does not fly with a car seat but does need one in cars. This is of no concern on the big buses, but is a potential problem now that Mears is using smaller vans more frequently (in my experience).
According to the Mears Connect website: “While we are not required to offer a car seat in our small vehicle fleet, limited car seats are available in our shuttle vans should there be an on-demand need. We do have limited access to additional car seats if needed or the ability to get an alternative vehicle.”
Mears may not be required to have car seats under Florida law, but the law of the land in our family is dictated by Sarah. This is not a problem when traveling from MCO to WDW. If we were to get assigned a van as a family, we’d simply ask for a car seat and they’d have them on hand. We wouldn’t get into a vehicle until something was figured out, and would have plenty of options and time since we’re at the airport.
It’s a different story when traveling from our resort to the airport. There are no car seats simply on hand or alternative vehicles that can be easily deployed. Our solution is to call Mears Connect in advance and relay the ‘car seat needed’ information and hope for the best, which has been a winning strategy thus far. But we have friends who have run into problems with this, and it’s the #1 reason why several now use private airport transfers.
Prior to this announcement, I suspected/feared that would be us sooner or later. And in fact, I had already started pricing out Tiffany Towncar for our family Christmas trip. All of our friends seem to love that, and it’s also been highly recommended by countless readers. From what I’m seeing, Tiffany Towncar is about half the cost of the Minnie Van Airport Service.
Obviously, a price difference of ~$100 is fairly significant. There are also other reasons to use a private transfer, especially from MCO to Walt Disney World. But we’d use the standard Mears Connect service from MCO, and only the transfer when returning.
And although we probably will not opt for the Minnie Van, I can absolutely see the appeal. Having a vehicle that dispatches from within Walt Disney World, has experienced Cast Members, and is of a more on-demand nature are all really appealing. Probably not “pay $100 extra for peace of mind” level of worth it, but I can absolutely see the appeal. Certainly more so for something like this than Lightning Lane Premier Pass (or even Lightning Lane Multi-Pass for Animal Kingdom).
I also know what services like this cost in the real world, because we’ve priced them out for other trips. Orlando is actually one of the cheaper U.S. markets, presumably thanks to competition. We haven’t booked any private transfers yet, but one for us to LAX would actually cost around the price of the Minnie Van Airport Service. And that’s without polka-dots on the outside! Everyone knows that classes up a car, and each dot is worth a $2 pricing premium.
Ultimately, I guess what I’m saying is that I’m now less inclined to dismiss a Walt Disney World upcharge like this out of hand. Minnie Van Airport Service is not only for “suckers” or guests splurging without considering alternatives or those with bottomless budgets. As it turns out, different offerings have different target audiences and not everything that isn’t aimed squarely at me (past, present or future) is inherently bad or pointless. Who knew?!
I’m glad that the Minnie Van Airport Service exists and happy that we’ll have this option at our disposal, should we end up needing it getting from Walt Disney World to MCO. But you know what? I’d be even more happy if they’d bring back Disney’s Magical Express already! Then this would go back to being pointless for me, and I could bash the chumps who would even dare think about dropping $200 on a ride to the airport! 😉
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Your Thoughts
Thoughts on Minnie Van Airport Service rolling out to all Deluxe Resort guests? Wish this news were instead that Disney’s Magical Express were returning? What do you think of the $199 each way price point–too high, or fair for what’s offered? Any questions about Minnie Vans we can help you answer? Is this a good fit for your family, or too expensive of an upcharge? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of airport transportation options? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!