Brocktoon
21st Century Schizoid Man
- Joined
- May 5, 2006
There's supposed to be another Harry Potter supplemental book coming before the end of the year, and I believe they've planned 2 or 3 more 'Fantastic Beasts' movies so I see Harry Potter continuing to go head-to-head with Star Wars from an IP standpoint in the parks. I'm not particularly a Harry Potter fan but I know plenty of people who traveled to the Orlando area and their #1 priority of all the area attractions was the Wizarding World.
I've been wondering about this also.
MickeyMinnieMom
If you ticket it, they will come... ;)
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2007
Just saw Halloween stuff today... wish we were here for that!
skier_pete
DIsney-holics Anon
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2006
Geez- I miss a couple of days and ALL this stuff happening!
Is it sad that the first thing I thought of when I read this post was "Yeah, but only 38 of the them actually worked." But seriously, GMR had a huge number of animatronics but most of them were EXTREMELY static. Think of Mary Poppins bobbing up and down, Tarzan swinging on his vine, Sigorney Weaver hiding from an Alien, Indiana Jones lifting the ark up and down. Besides the Wicked Witch, the rest of the animatronics in GMR were rather cheap versions of what we think of a good animatronics. Even compared to ancient stuff from Pirates and HM they weren't very impressive. Now the Ellen AAs were nifty as hell.
A while ago there was rumor they would put a Carthay Circle restaurant into DHS - but I will also point out there already IS a Carthay circle building in DHS. It's down towards the Theater of the Stars. It's a souvenir shop!
I was surprised to see this go so fast - what about 6 months of operation, but here's what I think was likely to have happened:
1) Started it up at a low price, saw some success - but was not profitable.
2) Raised the price and business went down - yet still was not profitable.
As others said, it wasn't particularly well advertised, and from the sound of it not frequently very busy. It only makes sense to do it if it's profitable.
I don't really get the "Minnie Vans are replacing it" talk. There are already busses that go from park-to-park. Taking a Minnie Van should show no advantage over the park busses besides not having to wait the 10-20 minutes for the bus, and even that is assuming that they stock Minnie Vans in front of the parks.
We were considering it for our trip in November, but in the end had decided it wasn't worth it, we were thinking that we might use it twice, and to pay $60 to save maybe 40 minutes of time seemed like a really poor use of money. Too bad though - because even if we didn't use it, it was something that people could pay extra to actually GET something extra, while at the same time not affecting those that chose not to use it.
Is it sad that the first thing I thought of when I read this post was "Yeah, but only 38 of the them actually worked." But seriously, GMR had a huge number of animatronics but most of them were EXTREMELY static. Think of Mary Poppins bobbing up and down, Tarzan swinging on his vine, Sigorney Weaver hiding from an Alien, Indiana Jones lifting the ark up and down. Besides the Wicked Witch, the rest of the animatronics in GMR were rather cheap versions of what we think of a good animatronics. Even compared to ancient stuff from Pirates and HM they weren't very impressive. Now the Ellen AAs were nifty as hell.
A while ago there was rumor they would put a Carthay Circle restaurant into DHS - but I will also point out there already IS a Carthay circle building in DHS. It's down towards the Theater of the Stars. It's a souvenir shop!
I was surprised to see this go so fast - what about 6 months of operation, but here's what I think was likely to have happened:
1) Started it up at a low price, saw some success - but was not profitable.
2) Raised the price and business went down - yet still was not profitable.
As others said, it wasn't particularly well advertised, and from the sound of it not frequently very busy. It only makes sense to do it if it's profitable.
I don't really get the "Minnie Vans are replacing it" talk. There are already busses that go from park-to-park. Taking a Minnie Van should show no advantage over the park busses besides not having to wait the 10-20 minutes for the bus, and even that is assuming that they stock Minnie Vans in front of the parks.
We were considering it for our trip in November, but in the end had decided it wasn't worth it, we were thinking that we might use it twice, and to pay $60 to save maybe 40 minutes of time seemed like a really poor use of money. Too bad though - because even if we didn't use it, it was something that people could pay extra to actually GET something extra, while at the same time not affecting those that chose not to use it.
SaharanTea
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 21, 2016
This was me on our last trip. Too many of our hops came at times the service wouldn't even be running, or it would be really close to those times. Plus, we sometimes hop to dinner and then back to another park. I tried, but I couldn't ever square the cost with the benefit in my plans, especially having to pay for four.
I've seen quite a few on this board rave about it, but almost every single one of them talked about how few people were on the buses. Kind of makes it seem obvious why it's not continuing.
OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
I'm curious how successful the Minnie Vans will be.
Personally, I won't pay $20 for a Minnie Van when I can pay $7 for an Uber, but I guess we'll see.
Personally, I won't pay $20 for a Minnie Van when I can pay $7 for an Uber, but I guess we'll see.
I think if I was a family of 4-6 and needed car seats, I think Minnie Vans would be great. As a solo traveler I wouldn't do it.
MickeyMinnieMom
If you ticket it, they will come... ;)
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2007
I wonder if they're aiming for...
- Families with young kids... reliable car seats available
- Those not familiar with or trusting of Uber/Lyft but who'll trust Disney (international and otherwise)
Roxyfire
Is butter a carb?
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2015
That's exactly who they're aiming for. Add in people who resort hop a lot OR don't like park buses and/or waiting on buses to return from the park.
AMusicLifeForMe
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2016
I would fall into this category.
I might try the Minnie Van once, but I wouldn't see myself doing it every time. It would probably depend on how quickly I'm wanting to get to my next location and not worry about waiting for busses.
jade1
I spend half my money on WDW, and waste the rest.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2001
Maybe as an uber and app replacement?
Anyway, these were in the MK lot last month, not sure if they were to be painted and part or the plan though.
Roxyfire
Is butter a carb?
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2015
That does look like the traverse to me, but it's kinda small to be for sure. They just need to put a vinyl wrap on it, I think it's a pretty quick process for one but would get tedious to do a bunch!
Those are Chevy Equinox's not Traverses. Those would only be able to hold 4 people not 6.
jade1
I spend half my money on WDW, and waste the rest.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2001
Must be a different project. There were way more than in that pic.
Just weird S Pete mentioned a stock in front of the parks, triggered my memory of the pic.
jade1
I spend half my money on WDW, and waste the rest.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2001
Still curious why the "pick up" spot on the app couldn't be in the back of the park (like express had) and then avoid screening at the next park. But I was never back there so maybe it's not a feasible area.
Last edited:
Candlelady
A dream is a wish your heart makes
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2001
Just a thought. Does the app ask how many people in your party? If so, maybe these will be used for parties of 2 or three which leaves the Traverses for 4 or more, or those that require car seats.
MickeyMinnieMom
If you ticket it, they will come... ;)
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2007
Then they'd need CMs on hand to walk each party back... and don't get me started again on the weather-suspending-service issue because of that fact...
Last edited:
I don't believe it does. So far it has only been the Traverses. They also have a large van for handicap accessibility.
Share this page
-
Walt Disney World Bounce Back Offer Can Save You 25% to 35%!
-
Tokyo Disneyland to Replace Buzz Lightyear with Wreck-It Ralph Attraction
-
Does Anyone Have Disney Jollywood Nights 2024 Predictions?
-
Top 4 Reasons to Stay at Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter
-
A Brief History Of Disney: Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsleds
GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
