Everthing you wanted to know about Uber/Lyft at WDW

I will have a family of 4 (2 large adults, a 6 yo and a 4 yo) and probably 2-3 suitcases plus 4 backpacks. If we take Uber from the airport, what size Uber should we request? We'll have our own boosters for the children, so car seats are not a factor.
 
I will have a family of 4 (2 large adults, a 6 yo and a 4 yo) and probably 2-3 suitcases plus 4 backpacks. If we take Uber from the airport, what size Uber should we request? We'll have our own boosters for the children, so car seats are not a factor.
I would use UberXL. You'll have plenty of room for everything, and you'll be much more comfortable. It's a 30 minute or more ride, and you don't want to start your long-awaited magical adventure uncomfortable.

XL will be more than X, but still considerably less than a taxi. If you order X and get a compact car, you will either be cramped and uncomfortable or simply not fit. FWIW, when we travel -- me, DW, and DD15 -- we use XL back and forth to the airport.

Also, just FYI, your 6 year old is not required to use a booster under Florida law -- only 5 and under.
 
I would use UberXL. You'll have plenty of room for everything, and you'll be much more comfortable. It's a 30 minute or more ride, and you don't want to start your long-awaited magical adventure uncomfortable.

XL will be more than X, but still considerably less than a taxi. If you order X and get a compact car, you will either be cramped and uncomfortable or simply not fit. FWIW, when we travel -- me, DW, and DD15 -- we use XL back and forth to the airport.

Also, just FYI, your 6 year old is not required to use a booster under Florida law -- only 5 and under.

Thank you!
 
50 miles is not a long trip for Uber/Lyft; it's a nice trip...unless you are just about ready to quit for the evening. Also, at least with Uber, there is a "Long Ride" notification that is part of the ride request. It doesn't tell the driver your destination, or even direction, but it will tell them "Long Ride, 45+ minutes." So they will know, and they may call you and ask where or which direction you're headed.

Lyft also supposedly does the same thing, although I've personally never had one of their long ride notifications. Long rides, yes; notifications, no.

10 PM is also not late at night, especially on a Saturday. You might be taking that driver right where they want to be at 11 PM.

I know there are posters who have used Uber/Lyft from Sanford. Hopefully one of them, or one of the Orlando area drivers, can respond.

The other thing you can do is this Saturday about 10 PM, open up your Uber app, place your pin on the Sanford airport and see if you see any little ants crawling around. If you do, you won't have any trouble getting a ride. Just be sure your app is set on the correct type of ride (X, XL, etc) because it will only show cars in that class of service.

Great to know.
 


Does lyft have cars with car seats for a 5 year old? Where do they pickup at the airport? Thanks
Uber has some cars -- both X and XL -- which have ONE child seat. Those vehicles are subject to availability, of course, so there might not be one available when you need it.

My suggestion is to bring your own booster seat. Bubblebum makes an inflatable, packable booster seat that will work fine and they sell from about $30-$50 on Amazon. It will raise your 5 year old up enough that the seat belts will fit properly and you're all set.

With your own seat, you don't have to worry about availability of the right kind of Uber, you don't pay extra, and you can also use Lyft if you prefer.
 
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A cautionary tale:

I was in Manhattan recently attending a conference at the Javits Center. At the end of the day, I went outside and used the app on my phone to request an Uber. A driver was assigned to me and the app gave me the driver's license plate number.

As I was waiting for the driver, a car pulled up and stopped in front of me. It had an Uber sign in the front passenger window. The driver rolled down the window and called to me, "Uber?"

I said, "You have the wrong license plate number."

Driver said, "It doesn't matter."

I repeated, "You have the wrong license plate number."

Driver said, "I can take you anyway."

I yelled, "YOU HAVE THE WRONG LICENSE PLATE NUMBER" and stepped away from the vehicle.

I was too shocked and exhausted to say anything else (such as, I just memorized your license plate number and am about to call the police).

He might have taken me to my destination and charged me a reasonable fee. He might have taken me to my destination and charged me an outrageous fee. He might have kidnapped me, or worse.

I wonder how many unsuspecting tourists think that you request an Uber and then just get in a car which has an Uber sign, without making sure it is the right vehicle.

Moral of the story: If a friend or family member tells you that they will be using Uber or Lyft for the first time, you might want to make sure they know how it works.

(And yes, the assigned driver showed up a few minutes later and took me to my destination.)
 
A cautionary tale:

I was in Manhattan recently attending a conference at the Javits Center. At the end of the day, I went outside and used the app on my phone to request an Uber. A driver was assigned to me and the app gave me the driver's license plate number.

As I was waiting for the driver, a car pulled up and stopped in front of me. It had an Uber sign in the front passenger window. The driver rolled down the window and called to me, "Uber?"

I said, "You have the wrong license plate number."

Driver said, "It doesn't matter."

I repeated, "You have the wrong license plate number."

Driver said, "I can take you anyway."

I yelled, "YOU HAVE THE WRONG LICENSE PLATE NUMBER" and stepped away from the vehicle.

I was too shocked and exhausted to say anything else (such as, I just memorized your license plate number and am about to call the police).

He might have taken me to my destination and charged me a reasonable fee. He might have taken me to my destination and charged me an outrageous fee. He might have kidnapped me, or worse.

I wonder how many unsuspecting tourists think that you request an Uber and then just get in a car which has an Uber sign, without making sure it is the right vehicle.

Moral of the story: If a friend or family member tells you that they will be using Uber or Lyft for the first time, you might want to make sure they know how it works.

(And yes, the assigned driver showed up a few minutes later and took me to my destination.)
I don't even bother with the plate. I can't usually see that anyway, seeing how it's in the back of the car
I make sure the driver knows MY name, and I match their photo to the person that shows up.
At Disney there are many, many Uber/Lyft vehicles picking up riders. You'd better be in the habit, even experienced users, in checking to be sure it's your car by having them tell you who they are picking up and checking with the photo of the person assigned to you. It is the first advice I give everyone using the service and something you never stop doing.
 
I match their photo to the person that shows up.
^^^^^This is really THE KEY to rider safety, but I'll give you the full spectrum of ways to get in the right car:

As your Uber/Lyft is en route, you will get the following information:
  • description of the car picking you up -- with picture
  • tag number of the car picking you up -- not as helpful in Florida as some other states, because our only tag is on the rear of the vehicle
  • real first name of the driver (more on that later)
  • the ability to call or text the driver while they are en route (call only on Lyft)
  • PHOTO of the driver
In some locations (Denver, Miami, Nashville, and now distributing in NYC, Chicago, and San Francisco), some Ubers (the more experienced, higher rated drivers) will have an Uber Beacon mounted on their front windshield. If you get lucky, when the driver is a couple of minutes away, you will be asked to "Select a color." When you select a color, the Beacon on your Uber will magically start pulsating in that color. Very cool, and makes pickups in crowded venues easier.

(Lyft has a similar device in some markets, called the Lyft Amp, but I've never used it and don't know how it works.)

When the driver approaches, do NOT ask, "Are you Jim?" Yeah, sure lady -- I can be Jim!

Ask, "What is your name?" The driver should do the same -- NOT "Are you Angi?" but what is your name?

But most important, take a good look at that driver's face, and compare it to the picture on your rider app. It MUST be the same...or you DON'T even think about getting in that car.

Just FYI, Uber periodically requires us to do a live update of our driver photo. We attempt to go online to start driving, and the app won't let us until we take a selfie with our driver app, AND it is verified by Uber's facial recognition software. Only Uber does this; Lyft does not, and I wish they did.

What if the photo does not match?

First, what does that mean? Very simple. It means that neither you, nor Uber/Lyft, have any idea who is behind the wheel! That driver almost certainly has NOT been background-checked, and the company doesn't even know they're driving!

Anybody can go to Google Images, download a picture of an Uber or Lyft logo, print it and put it in their window. Then they can troll around, looking for suckers in precisely the manner that Best Aunt was approached. It happens hundreds of times daily -- especially at busy venues.

Don't put yourself at risk. The companies go to a lot of effort and expense to keep you safe -- do your part. CHECK THE PHOTO!
 
Yes. Florida law is anyone younger than 6 needs a car seat.Maybe yes, maybe no. Technically, they should not drive you, but many drivers will. The key is availability at the time you place your ride request. If there is a car seat car available, they will be in the same staging lot as the other rideshare vehicles.

I don't know how the Orlando drivers play that one. To me, it would seem like MCO would be the perfect place for a car seat vehicle because there aren't that many of them, and the trips are almost guaranteed to be nice long trips. But I don't drive that market. Joel can answer that much better than I.
HOw far in advance can you request a car? I'm concerned that later at night (maybe 10:30 pm) we need a uber xl with carseat it's going to be a long wait b/c of availability
 
I've read through about 30+ pages of this thread now as I've never used uber before and I've been very worried about how safe it is. At least now I know it's safe in Florida, so now I've just got to find out if the safety checks for uber is as strict as with any taxi service here in the UK. I have a couple of questions though. I've downloaded the app, but is it the same app no matter which country you use it in? Also with the tipping, will the driver know if and how much I tip? And how much is it customary to tip a driver percentage wise?
 
I've read through about 30+ pages of this thread now as I've never used uber before and I've been very worried about how safe it is. At least now I know it's safe in Florida, so now I've just got to find out if the safety checks for uber is as strict as with any taxi service here in the UK.
I don't know what your checks are in the UK, but here's what Uber does throughout the US...as a minimum.
  • Criminal history checks (in the US, we have multiple levels of criminal records)
    • Local (usually county) criminal history
    • State criminal history
    • Federal (FBI) criminal history
  • State sexual predator registry check
  • Federal sexual predator check
  • Terrorist watch list check
  • Complete driving record check
  • Vehicle ownership verification
  • Insurance verification
  • Residence verification
  • Email and cell phone verification
  • Real-time photographic facial recognition confirmation, to confirm that the driver behind the wheel is the same person who passed all of the above requirements.
There are probably other checks that I've missed. But it's very thorough. I'm a retired law enforcement officer, and I can tell you that it is an extensive background check.

I have a couple of questions though. I've downloaded the app, but is it the same app no matter which country you use it in?
Yes. Same app. The ride categories will change from market to market, but your UK app will work fine in the US. So far this weekend, I've driven people using Italian, German, and Guatemalan Uber apps, and they worked fine.
Also with the tipping, will the driver know if and how much I tip?
Yes, but not right away if you tip in the app. (The UK version of your app probably will NOT allow in-app tipping, so you may want to update your app when you arrive in the Colonies.)

You can also tip in cash, of course, and if you are worried about your rider rating, I would do that. Just so you know, "I will tip you in the app" is kind of a joke among Uber/Lyft drivers, and not likely to improve your rating.

I have noticed that London drivers apparently rate rider pretty harshly, so a US visit might be an opportunity to improve your rating. But you can expect a ratings boost anyway, because English people are so "lovely." You really are...except I can't understand the language you speak!
And how much is it customary to tip a driver percentage wise?
If you have the latest update, Uber now offers the option of tipping by percentage, or by amount. I'd love to tell you 400%-500% of your fare, but you're way too smart to believe that! :rotfl2:

When I get % tips, they are either 15% or 20%. I tip in cash, so I haven't seen the % options, but in the US restaurants typically offer options of 15%, 18%, and 20%
 
I didn't read through all the threads, so if this has been asked and answered, please excuse me.
Will the Minnie Van Service take Visa or Disney gift cards as payment? Thanks,

Dee
 
I didn't read through all the threads, so if this has been asked and answered, please excuse me.
Will the Minnie Van Service take Visa or Disney gift cards as payment? Thanks,

Dee

The Minnie Van operates on the Lyft platform. I don't believe you can use Visa gift cards on there. You almost assuredly won't be able to use a Disney gift card.
 
You could update your payment method in the Lyft app using the Visa gift card number, just making sure to go spend more than the gc amount.
 
I could be wrong, but I think Lyft does allow accounts tied to a pre-paid card like a gift card. Uber does not.

Pre-paid cards are a bone of contention with drivers, because we have no idea who that person really is, and that tactic is commonly used by drug dealers and other criminals to make tracking more difficult.
 
If I'm wanting to order a Uber for pickup at MCO very should I go to order it and where does it pick me up? We have used Uber to get from resort to MCO but not the other way around and I want to make sure I order it properly and know where I should be. I had an issue with pick up at one of the outlets last August and I don't want to repeat the problem.
TIA
 
If I'm wanting to order a Uber for pickup at MCO very should I go to order it and where does it pick me up? We have used Uber to get from resort to MCO but not the other way around and I want to make sure I order it properly and know where I should be. I had an issue with pick up at one of the outlets last August and I don't want to repeat the problem.
TIA
Request when you are ready to go. Part of the request includes specifying which door number you are standing by.
You'll look up, see the door number and select it
 

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