Disney’s Magical Express is a key part of the resort’s plan to keep Guests located on property for their whole vacation, which puts their money in Disney’s wallets. The service is a ‘free’ (ie, it’s built into your vacation package price whether you use it or not) shuttle to and from the Orlando International Airport and separate delivery of your luggage right to your room. Of course, the service isn’t free for Disney. They pay for the shuttles and the space at the airport.
Disney and the airport just negotiated a deal to keep this whole ball of wax rolling through 2016 (with an extension to 2021 possible) at today’s rates.
Under the terms of the deal, the airport agreed not to raise the 75-cent-a-passenger fee it charges the resort for Disney’s Magical Express. The previous contract would have allowed the airport to raise the fee to as much as $1.50 a passenger under certain circumstances.
The airport also agreed to raise the threshold under which it could have forced Disney to open a second customer check-in location in the airport’s main terminal. Under the previous deal, OIA could have required Disney to rent more counter space once Magical Express reached 2.2 million arriving travelers in any 12-month period; now, it can do so only once the shuttle service reaches 2.5 million arriving passengers.
Of course there is one more benefit to Disney’s shuttle system, it keeps cars off the roads to and from the airport making a nicer commute for everyone and is quite a bit friendlier to the environment as well.
(Via the Orlando Sentinel)