Mears Shuttle Questions (Disney to Universal)

disneyworldfamily

Mouseketeer
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Hi everyone! I posted this over in the Universal thread, but didn't get any answers to my questions. Hoping some of my fellow Canadians can help...

Has anyone recently used the Mears shuttle to go to Universal for the day? We are staying on site but will be leaving the bubble for the first time to check out Universal. I realize that there are cabs and Uber, but the Mears shuttle is likely what we will go with.

The Mears site does not contain the info I need, I can't get a proper quote, not sure if it's because I'm in Canada? I've read a few threads here, but they are older, nothing recent. I want to be sure everything is correct.

1. What is the current price, per person, for a return trip? The site is not giving me a proper quote.

2. From what others have said, I have to call 24 hours in advance? Correct? And when we are leaving Universal, we have to call them t least an hour in advance for pickup. Is that correct too?

3. We won't be able to use our mobile phones to call them while at Universal to pick us up, are there pay phones we will be able to use at Universal? Silly question, maybe, but seeing a pay phone nowadays is so rare! :)

4. Do we have to be dropped off the same place we were picked up? We'll be picked up from our hotel but would like to be dropped back off at Disney Springs.

Thanks!
 
I haven't don't mears but have you thought about Lyft or Uber? I did Lyft a bunch last time I was down and I could get from Universal to Disney for under $20 each trip.
 
Lyft and Uber are driven by anyone that wants to make a quick buck. How can they stay operational for $20? I would not trust my children to be in one of those cars, conducted by most likely untrained and uninsured driver.

But that's just my opinion.
 
Sorry, I haven't. We usually stay on Universal property for a night of 2 then transfer to WDW resort. I've used a car service. Perhaps you can phone Mears to get answer.
We use our cell phones in Florida, with a US roaming plan. So I haven't noticed if there are pay booths. Maybe you could get a small roaming plan? This will be the easiest, rather then waste valuable Universal time hunting down a phone. Or crossing entire park to wait at customer service to see if they can help. I haven't been to customer service so don't know what they're like or what service they provide.
 


Lyft and Uber are driven by anyone that wants to make a quick buck. How can they stay operational for $20? I would not trust my children to be in one of those cars, conducted by most likely untrained and uninsured driver.

But that's just my opinion.
I don't think the company would allow them to drive without insurance.
 
At least in Ontario, all Uber drivers were not insured until last year. Intact is the only insurance company that sells that "semi-commercial" insurance. Most Uber drivers simply carry personal insurance, which would not cover any fare-paying clients.

https://www.thestar.com/business/2016/07/07/ontario-uber-drivers-now-automatically-insured.html

In the case of a car accident, your injury and liability claim will be denied if the driver does not pay extra to get that insurance. As far as I know, only Intact insurance in Ontario sells that type of coverage.
 
All Lyft drivers have 1 million in insurance through the company. All the ones I went with were very professional. Oh and it was under $20 each way. Cheaper than a cab.
 


I can answer some of the questions but I haven't used Mears since 2015 as we drove down last year. When we went it was $20 a person, if the price has changed, I don't think it'd be by that much. It was $20 the three years we used them. We went to concierge in the hotel and had them call and arrange our pick up time. We also did our departure time but we were doing HHN so we'd always have a late pick up. I believe when we did that, they told us we could change our time by calling but I knew we wouldn't be changing our time so I didn't pay too much attention to that part. I don't know if they'd drop off at Disney Springs, we always got picked up after midnight so we'd just be going back to the hotel anyways.

Not sure how much that helps.
 
It is between 18 and 24 dollars per person return. They will pick you up and drop you off wherever you want to go. Keep in mind that the drop-off location at Disney Springs is near La Nouba. You can just call Mears' 1-800 number and get all the information you need. And finally you can just set up a specific pick-up time when you make the reservation. If you want to change it the day of, you have to give at least one hour notice.
 
How many in your party? If Mears charges $20pp and there's 3-4 of you, you may do better by hiring a town car service in advance. You would get door to door service from your resort. We used Quicksilver To get from Universal to our WDW resort and price was $60.
There are some very good Town car services operating in Orlando. And some not so much.
 
Hi everyone! I posted this over in the Universal thread, but didn't get any answers to my questions. Hoping some of my fellow Canadians can help...

Has anyone recently used the Mears shuttle to go to Universal for the day? We are staying on site but will be leaving the bubble for the first time to check out Universal. I realize that there are cabs and Uber, but the Mears shuttle is likely what we will go with.

The Mears site does not contain the info I need, I can't get a proper quote, not sure if it's because I'm in Canada? I've read a few threads here, but they are older, nothing recent. I want to be sure everything is correct.

1. What is the current price, per person, for a return trip? The site is not giving me a proper quote.

2. From what others have said, I have to call 24 hours in advance? Correct? And when we are leaving Universal, we have to call them t least an hour in advance for pickup. Is that correct too?

3. We won't be able to use our mobile phones to call them while at Universal to pick us up, are there pay phones we will be able to use at Universal? Silly question, maybe, but seeing a pay phone nowadays is so rare! :)

4. Do we have to be dropped off the same place we were picked up? We'll be picked up from our hotel but would like to be dropped back off at Disney Springs.

Thanks!
We tried to use Mears once for a one day trip to Universal, just like you!. I said, Tried, because it didn't happen through no fault of our own.
I had concierge call the day before with a pickup time of 7am the next day for a trip to and from Disney, POR. We were at the bus stop at 6:45am and waited til 7:45am with no Mears in sight. We got tired of waiting and had the valet call a cab. The cab was waiting in front and we were whisked away quickly. I' m sure it cost more than Mears, but for some reason they were unreliable. The park opened at 8am and we wanted to get there before then - never happened.
So, that's our one and only experience with Mears. Maybe it was a "glitch" in the system, don't know? I do know we will not take a chance with Mears again. It messed up our plans for ropedrop. Good luck with it, but we would take a cab again over any other transportation.
 
We tried to use Mears once for a one day trip to Universal, just like you!. I said, Tried, because it didn't happen through no fault of our own.
I had concierge call the day before with a pickup time of 7am the next day for a trip to and from Disney, POR. We were at the bus stop at 6:45am and waited til 7:45am with no Mears in sight. We got tired of waiting and had the valet call a cab. The cab was waiting in front and we were whisked away quickly. I' m sure it cost more than Mears, but for some reason they were unreliable. The park opened at 8am and we wanted to get there before then - never happened.
So, that's our one and only experience with Mears. Maybe it was a "glitch" in the system, don't know? I do know we will not take a chance with Mears again. It messed up our plans for ropedrop. Good luck with it, but we would take a cab again over any other transportation.

I would go thru a car service before a cab. They seem to be unregulated in Orlando. And underhanded. I had a Sheraton call me a cab once. I thought this would be reliable. Some no name cab pulled up, we got in, driver said he'd be right back and ran into lobby and saw him pay the guy at the front desk. Everyone's on the take. Surprised me about a Sheraton though. And that cab meter was spinning so fast it made me dizzy. I could still see the hotel and meter was already $12. I was only going a short distance and had asked the hotel I was staying at how much cab should be from Sheraton to get me back to Marriot. Shouldn't be more than $15-$18. The way that meter was going it would be way more, told cab driver that so he says ok give me $18 and I'll turn meter off.

Go with a reliable car service. Never cab. Although Mears cab is ok. But so many aren't. Not every car service is reliable either. Same trip, same Marriot, we were transferring from Marriott to Universal Resort. I asked for Mears cab to be called. Bell Service said he could call me a Towne Car Service Marriott contracts out to. I thought, ok. Should be ok. Was given a price quote. Was reasonable. Driver took us to Universal hotel, I go to pay him and he adds $5.00 to bill. I told him that's not what I was quoted, he says it's extra because we had a lot of luggage. Marriott heard about that. Too many crooked drivers in Orlando. Be very sure who you go with.
Quicksilver is good, I've heard good things about Tiffany too.
 
I would go thru a car service before a cab. They seem to be unregulated in Orlando. And underhanded. I had a Sheraton call me a cab once. I thought this would be reliable. Some no name cab pulled up, we got in, driver said he'd be right back and ran into lobby and saw him pay the guy at the front desk. Everyone's on the take. Surprised me about a Sheraton though. And that cab meter was spinning so fast it made me dizzy. I could still see the hotel and meter was already $12. I was only going a short distance and had asked the hotel I was staying at how much cab should be from Sheraton to get me back to Marriot. Shouldn't be more than $15-$18. The way that meter was going it would be way more, told cab driver that so he says ok give me $18 and I'll turn meter off.

Go with a reliable car service. Never cab. Although Mears cab is ok. But so many aren't. Not every car service is reliable either. Same trip, same Marriot, we were transferring from Marriott to Universal Resort. I asked for Mears cab to be called. Bell Service said he could call me a Towne Car Service Marriott contracts out to. I thought, ok. Should be ok. Was given a price quote. Was reasonable. Driver took us to Universal hotel, I go to pay him and he adds $5.00 to bill. I told him that's not what I was quoted, he says it's extra because we had a lot of luggage. Marriott heard about that. Too many crooked drivers in Orlando. Be very sure who you go with.
Quicksilver is good, I've heard good things about Tiffany too.

Hi Sue: I can see why you are leery of cabs after those experiences. We have only had one experience with Mears, and were not happy. The cab operator we had was courteous and did not overcharge. I would have used uber or lyft, but didn't have a smartphone at that time. However, I have now entered the 21st century and have one. LOL. I will try it or next visit.
 
We had 6 of us and booked a private van thru Mears last November for to and from Universal. We paid about $50 each way. I booked online ahead of time and picked the time and place to be picked up and the time to be picked back up at Universal. That morning we walked to the front of POR and our driver was waiting by the van with our name on the board waiting for us (kids thought that was really cool!). I thought that worked good for our groop.
 
Hi Sue: I can see why you are leery of cabs after those experiences. We have only had one experience with Mears, and were not happy. The cab operator we had was courteous and did not overcharge. I would have used uber or lyft, but didn't have a smartphone at that time. However, I have now entered the 21st century and have one. LOL. I will try it or next visit.
They really need to get the cab situation in Orlando under control. Right now it's like the Wild West.
 
I haven't don't mears but have you thought about Lyft or Uber? I did Lyft a bunch last time I was down and I could get from Universal to Disney for under $20 each trip.

Is that $20/person or just $20 for the trip? We have 2 adults and 2 kids looking to make the trip to Universal.
 
I just booked Tony Hinds for 10-person pick up from Pop Century to Cabana Bay $70 + tip (but we are switching resorts so will have luggage). He has a 10-person van.
Not sure if he charges less for day trips / return.

I also found Quicksilver Transportation. They charge $45 one way for town car service to Universal.
http://www.quicksilver-tours.com/ratesquotes.asp#suv
Thanks for recommending Quicksilver as we were considering how to get 7 of us from Fort Wilderness to Universal or should we send the "young uns" in our Equinox and we oldies stay behind. Trip Advisor has 91% excellent reviews for Quicksilver so will keep them in mind.
 
In Dec of last year...the daughter and I were staying in Disney Springs and took a cab to universal We got the hotel to call us a cab...they called this company that had luxury sedans. It was a 27 ride to Universal They were so professional. The driver was giving us tips as to get around in the park. where to go to get a cab ride home. He did leave us a card so the same company would be able to get us back to the hotel. We couldn't use our phones either as we had no US plan. But when we were leaving the park, we found the same company waiting in the taxi service area before you go up the stairs to cross the street and go through security. I wish I could tell you the company name...but I'm drawing a total blank on it. It was 30 for the ride back. I would not hesitate to take that company again.
 
We have always used Mears shuttles to leave Disney and go elsewhere (once to SW, 3 times to Universal). It is as others have stated: Asked Disney concierge to book a pickup for in front of our hotel at least 1 day ahead of our US day. We never booked a return time as we wanted flexability, so we needed to call the 1-800 number on the back of the ticket. We just looked for payphones (usually found near bathrooms). We received the tickets when paying before getting on the shuttle at our resort. (Cash Only). I remember approx. $20-22 per person (I believe it depended on how far apart our resort was from US), which includes a full return trip (so $44 for 2 adults to get there And back). We usually stay at Pop. During 3.5 trips we had NO issues. Called 1-800 # at least an hour before we wanted to leave, headed to the shuttle pickup area (where we were dropped off) and handed over the ticket to get on. This last trip my husband had no problems doing that also (he left before me due to feeling unwell). However, when I called to get picked up at park closing... the shuttle never showed. Because I had used a payphone (in the park), I didn't want to leave the pick-up area to call again and had... trouble getting back to the hotel. I don't know why they never showed up for me. So... 1 issue in using 8X (4 pickups, 5 returns). So... mostly worth it? But thanks to others who suggested alternatives to consider for our next trip.
 

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