Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer Merging

Where will the pick up spot be at? Where Mears is or where Sunshine is? (Important for those of us with mobility issues/travel with a wheelchair.)
I would fully anticipate it being where Mears currently picks up, the former DME location. It is fully set up and big enough to handle the crowds.

While I really liked Sunshine Flyer and it’s location in the airport the couple of times I used it, its location could not possibly handle the demand of the people. It’s quite small and does not have any real lines per resort.
 
I'm currently looking at transfers for an upcoming September trip.

I think I'll likely go for Mears for MCO-Disney, since there's no risk of missing a bus when departing from MCO. But on the way back for Disney-MCO I think I'll probably take a taxi or Uber instead as I really don't want to be stranded at my resort when trying to catch a flight (read too many horror stories)...
 


The Street did an article on this today and the author writes that the service is "free". Sadly, the author of the article missed one key word, the press release says the service is "hassle free".

https://www.thestreet.com/travel/travel-disney-world-orlando-free-service-mears-sunshine-merge

I saw that article and read it 3 times trying to figure out what they were saying was the new free thing for Disney world guests. I finally decided they just had it all wrong and somehow thought the service was free. Terrible article
 
I’m thinking we might do Mears to AKL, but Uber back. On our last trip we used Sunshine Flyer and they picked us up over four hours early for our flight. I know it’s good to be early, but we preferred when they picked you up three hours early.
 


I’m thinking we might do Mears to AKL, but Uber back. On our last trip we used Sunshine Flyer and they picked us up over four hours early for our flight. I know it’s good to be early, but we preferred when they picked you up three hours early.

Last year was the first time we used Uber, and I couldn't believe it only took 25 minutes from the hotel to the airport. In the past, Disney Magical Express would take 1.5 - 2 hours and pick you up 3 hours before the flight. Total cost for the Uber last year was $25. Instead of having to be outside at 6:30 AM, we left at 7:45 AM.
 
Yep and prices for Uber, Lift, Private Town Cars, Taxis, etc. will follow.
Uber/Lyft haven’t raised their rates at all since pre-Covid. They honestly really need to raise their rates by 20-30%. The average rideshare driver in Orlando earns less than a McDonald’s worker and they get zero benefits.

The result is that the good drivers leave and go find another job, and you’re left with mostly drivers with old beat up cars that can’t hold a job anywhere else.

To give you an example, a Lyft driver from the Disney Springs area to MCO will get paid about $10. They were probably waiting 15-20 minutes for the ride, and had to drive a few miles to get to you, so all in all the trip takes up about 1 hour including the time they waited to get the ride. Now subtract 1 gallon of gas and they just made about $6 in 1 hour. Maybe they get lucky and get a $5 tip so that’s $11 with zero benefits and the cost of vehicle maintenance and depreciation that needs to be taken out.
 
Return trip was the problem with us with Mears on our last trip. We had been standing there waiting for the bus for about half an hour (it was 15 minutes late) and when it pulled up, it waited TWO MINUTES before leaving again. We did not have time to board it and it pulled away as we watched. I called customer service and they told me we were marked as no-shows. There were at least 20 people standing around out front of the resort. They did not send the bus back or offer any solution. We were left to figure out last minute transportation so we could make our flight with our two young kids. And after the fact, customer service confirmed that the bus only stopped for less than two minutes, and acted like that was not a problem, blamed US, and acted like they were doing us a favor for refunding the money for the return trip. No apology, nothing. After some research I've found that this is a known issue, and that sometimes there is a specific spot for pick-up, like a certain bench or area that you're supposed to be at. However, if that's the case, no one ever told us about it. I checked and double checked all the emails to make sure I didn't miss anything, but no such thing was ever communicated.

I am very very reluctant to use them again, but unless we want to spend double for a private service it feels like we don't have a choice now.
This! I could have written this exact experience myself. They marked us as no shows and offered no options for getting to the airport. Our hotel front desk helped us get a cab with a car seat. I won’t give another dime to Mears.
 
I enjoyed my Mears experiences (when it was free)...their airport setup is efficient and will now be put to more use. Better to have one viable option than to have two money-losing entities.
 
The Sunshine Flyer was bleeding money with all their promotions and was dragging down Mears as well since they couldn’t control pricing as much as they wanted due to the dirt cheap prices The Sunshine Flyer had.

So it was only a matter of time before either Sunshine Flyer went bankrupt or was bought out by Mears.

Also, travel agents hated Sunshine Flyer because of how poorly they ran their business. They even accidentally sent out client lists from various travel agencies to other agencies by mistake. I know several travel agencies that stopped using Sunshine Flyer after that.
Hmmm...we're definitely bummed. We've had over the top excellent service for the 7 times we've used SF. We have not had that with Mears in the past and now 0 bus competition will cost us all more. Blah.
 
So good chance that now there is only one major bus system with no competition prices will be going up?
Maybe. The problem is the math is already tough competing against rideshares so I just don’t know how much wiggle room they have. The first benefit to them is consolidating operations will decrease their operating costs as each bus will now take more people.
 
I just went on to the Sunshine Flyer site today to see if they were running any deals for my upcoming trip next month. That's when I noticed the merger thing and my first thought was "I need to check the disboards to see if anyone is talking about this!" I have used Sunshine Flyer twice. First wasn't the greatest, but the most recent time was amazing and I was looking forward to using them again. After reading the issues with Mears, I'm not so sure now. The problem is, I'm travelling solo and I really don't want to use an Uber by myself. Just one more of those things to worry about now.
 
Uber/Lyft haven’t raised their rates at all since pre-Covid. They honestly really need to raise their rates by 20-30%. The average rideshare driver in Orlando earns less than a McDonald’s worker and they get zero benefits.

The result is that the good drivers leave and go find another job, and you’re left with mostly drivers with old beat up cars that can’t hold a job anywhere else.

To give you an example, a Lyft driver from the Disney Springs area to MCO will get paid about $10. They were probably waiting 15-20 minutes for the ride, and had to drive a few miles to get to you, so all in all the trip takes up about 1 hour including the time they waited to get the ride. Now subtract 1 gallon of gas and they just made about $6 in 1 hour. Maybe they get lucky and get a $5 tip so that’s $11 with zero benefits and the cost of vehicle maintenance and depreciation that needs to be taken out.
Interesting economics. I wonder why people still drive for these companies.
 
I just went on to the Sunshine Flyer site today to see if they were running any deals for my upcoming trip next month. That's when I noticed the merger thing and my first thought was "I need to check the disboards to see if anyone is talking about this!" I have used Sunshine Flyer twice. First wasn't the greatest, but the most recent time was amazing and I was looking forward to using them again. After reading the issues with Mears, I'm not so sure now. The problem is, I'm travelling solo and I really don't want to use an Uber by myself. Just one more of those things to worry about now.
I use Uber and Lyft as a solo frequently In Orlando. I am going to try Mears for the first time going to my resort in August, since I will be landing very early and am not in a huge hurry, but will be using rideshare to get back to the airport.
 
I just went on to the Sunshine Flyer site today to see if they were running any deals for my upcoming trip next month. That's when I noticed the merger thing and my first thought was "I need to check the disboards to see if anyone is talking about this!" I have used Sunshine Flyer twice. First wasn't the greatest, but the most recent time was amazing and I was looking forward to using them again. After reading the issues with Mears, I'm not so sure now. The problem is, I'm travelling solo and I really don't want to use an Uber by myself. Just one more of those things to worry about now.
Fwiw I enable the trusted contacts options so I can share my location with a family member when I’m on a ride.
 

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