Minnie Van Service Retired at Walt Disney World

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Via wdwnt.com

In the wake of mass layoff announcements, it has been confirmed that all Minnie Van Cast Members were among those terminated at Walt Disney World. Despite early talks of the service’s demise ultimately brought on by the pandemic, Disney initially squashed rumors by including Minnie Vans in a resort transportation update that mentioned guests should “stay tuned” for return dates. There were no plans at that time to bring the service back, and the vehicles were already gone from the property.

It has been a tumultuous existence for the Minnie Van service at Walt Disney World, a point-to-point transportation option owned and operated by Disney that launched back in 2017. A pet-project of now-CEO Bob Chapek, Minnie Vans were Disney’s response to many of their guests choosing not to use the provided, complimentary (and honestly, often unreliable) transportation options Disney provides their guests and instead booking a Uber, Lyft, or similar transportation method to get around The Vacation Kingdom of the World. Minnie Vans were deemed overpriced by most guests, and they were also hard to get when you actually wanted them, like around park opening and closing times. After years of hemorrhaging money, Cast Members already believed the service was soon being brought to an end.

The Minnie Van fleet was leased through an agreement with Disney corporate partner Chevrolet, but it’s likely they were returned as these vehicles are no longer seen anywhere on property.

New Donald Duck Bus Wrap Arrives

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Shortly before Walt Disney World Resort closed due to COVID-19, we started seeing new character bus wraps themed around some of our favorite classic Disney characters. It seems that Donald has just joined the fleet as well!

The bus features horizontal striping in Donald’s classic colors: red and white, with a very large blue stripe and finishing with an orange at the bottom. In the window of the bus we see a very happy Donald Duck grinning at those passing by.

With the first fleet of large character face wraps set to be phased out by these new wraps, we should expect to see new character bus wraps show up around the resort.

The Disney Skyliner Resumes Service at Walt Disney World

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

EPCOT reopened to the public yesterday, and so has the Skyliner station at the International Gateway.

Signs advertise flights to Disney’s Riviera Resort, Caribbean Beach Resort, Pop Century Resort, Art of Animation Resort, and Hollywood Studios, which also reopened. Caribbean Beach Resort has not yet reopened, but its Skyliner station acts as a major hub for other lines. Pop Century is open and Riviera Resort is open for Disney Vacation Club members only. Art of Animation will be reopening in August.

Walt Disney World Releases Phased Reopening Dates for Resort Transportation

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

“START YOUR ENGINES!” Walt Disney World took to Twitter today to release phased reopening dates for resort transportation as they “gear” up for the parks phased reopening.

Disney Parks Twitter states: “START YOUR ENGINES! Our transportation cast members are “gearing” up for the phased reopening of our resort transportation. We look forward to getting everything running!”

The dates are as follows:

  • Buses: June 22
  • Monorail and Ferry Boats: July 7
  • Skyliner: July 15
  • Minnie Van Service &Watercraft: “Stay tuned for return dates”

As the parks begin their phased reopening on July 11 (Magic Kingdom & Disney’s Animal Kingdom) and July 15 (EPCOT & Disney’s Hollywood Studios), it’s good to see most forms of transportation will be up and running.

Annual Passholders were told via the preview registration email confirmation that transportation would not be available. It looks like this has changed for resort guests!

Disney Skyliner Will Be Resuming On July 15th

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts

Already seen testing on various lines throughout the latter half of the extended parks closure, the Disney Skyliner will be back in full swing starting July 15.

While we were aware that transportation to the parks would resume upon the reopening of the theme parks, we now have confirmation that all three lines of the Disney Skyliner will be in operation for the reopening of EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Hours for the Disney Skyliner are slated to be 10:00 AM – 11:00 PM for EPCOT, and 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM for Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Disney’s Pop Century Resort, which will be reopening on July 10, and Disney’s Riviera Resort, which is now open, will have transportation to the two newly-reopened parks. (Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort will not reopen until July 29, and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will not be reopening until August 12.)

Other forms of theme park transportation will also be available, albeit on a limited basis, via Monorail, ferryboat, and resort buses.