Mears Connect Now Taking Reservations

[Yinn]

The only issue I ran into with Lyft/Uber in March was that they aren’t always able to get there fast if it is a prime time. It was week before Easter and the pricing and times were definitely inflated.

We were in line for DME and figured we’d check. It made no sense when they said how long It would take and price it would be.

But, for a family, there may be other options that will work out better and faster than Mears will. It will be interesting to see how the waits are once it officially starts.

Their surge pricing will definitely be an X factor. The availability of cars with carseats for families may be an issue too.

Did you try using the scheduling feature? Or did you just do it on demand? Most of the time I use do airport rides I do a scheduled rides which eliminates the waiting, but I haven't done that at Disney before.

 

[corpcomp]

Just ran a couple of things using today as the price to compare to Mears for anyone who's interested - standard pricing/no coupons were used.
These are round trip prices from MCO to BLT

$72.00 - Lyft/Uber / Fits up to 4
$94.00 - Hertz One Way Medium Sedan / Fits up to 5
$100.00 - Uber XL / Fits up to 6
$118.00 - Mears Standard / 2 Adults & 2 Kids
$144.00 - Taxi Service / Fits up to 4
$180.00 - Lyft/Uber Black / Fits up to 4
$196.00 - Hertz One Way Medium SUV / Fits up to 7
$200.00 - Mears Connect Premium / Fits up to 4
$280.00 - Uber Black XL / Fits up to 6
$310.00 - Minnie Van Airport Service / Fits up to 6 (Not currently running)

The rentals have extra complexity and may only work for specific scenarios. I would not want to transfer everything at the WDW Car Care center and take a Disney bus back to the hotel, especially if a Lyft/Uber is cheaper.

If I had to do it I would stop for groceries, then drop the family off to check in, get settled and do pool time. I'd have no issues going by myself to return the car and taking the shuttle back while they relaxed. Realistically unless we also planned on going to Universal, Sea World, visiting family or working the day for multiple family pickups, this probably isn't a cost saving option.

What is the diff between Mears Standard and Premium? Different types of cars?

 

[CarolMN]

What is the diff between Mears Standard and Premium? Different types of cars?

Standard is a bus that makes multiple stops - similar to DME.

Premium is a private vehicle that goes directly to your hotel.

 

[cthorne98]

opps I found the answer thanks

 

[Sandisw]

Their surge pricing will definitely be an X factor. The availability of cars with carseats for families may be an issue too.

Did you try using the scheduling feature? Or did you just do it on demand? Most of the time I use do airport rides I do a scheduled rides which eliminates the waiting, but I haven't done that at Disney before.

No, just real time as we had planned on DME. Then we got in line and after 15 minutes of waiting, we decide to check. If I remember, it was going to be 20 minutes for a car so we figured it probably be just as fast using DME for free. Sure enough, it was less than 10 minutes later we were on the bus and 5 minutes after that on our way!

 

[DaveH]

Before DME, the bus from Mears was cheaper for 2 over a town car. Mears was slightly cheaper for 3. When you had 4 or more most cases was going with town cars or vans. Mears town cars and vans were more than the other private services. Taxis were much higher. There was not LIft/Uber back then. We were just 2 adults, we started to like the grocery stop and someone met us at the luggage pickup to help us with our luggage. The difference was a judgement on the extra touch was worth the additional cost. Mears got alot of their business, because you could book Mears with Disney direct. The internet did have today's social media to get more information. The DIS boards was a great help back then.

 

[zavandor]

Just ran a couple of things using today as the price to compare to Mears for anyone who's interested - standard pricing/no coupons were used.
These are round trip prices from MCO to BLT

$72.00 - Lyft/Uber / Fits up to 4
$94.00 - Hertz One Way Medium Sedan / Fits up to 5
$100.00 - Uber XL / Fits up to 6
$118.00 - Mears Standard / 2 Adults & 2 Kids
$144.00 - Taxi Service / Fits up to 4
$180.00 - Lyft/Uber Black / Fits up to 4
$196.00 - Hertz One Way Medium SUV / Fits up to 7
$200.00 - Mears Connect Premium / Fits up to 4
$280.00 - Uber Black XL / Fits up to 6
$310.00 - Minnie Van Airport Service / Fits up to 6 (Not currently running)

The rentals have extra complexity and may only work for specific scenarios. I would not want to transfer everything at the WDW Car Care center and take a Disney bus back to the hotel, especially if a Lyft/Uber is cheaper.

If I had to do it I would stop for groceries, then drop the family off to check in, get settled and do pool time. I'd have no issues going by myself to return the car and taking the shuttle back while they relaxed. Realistically unless we also planned on going to Universal, Sea World, visiting family or working the day for multiple family pickups, this probably isn't a cost saving option.

What would work for a family of four with 2 small kids that need seats? Is there any option with carsharing for 2 children seats?
Thanks

 

[Yinn]

What would work for a family of four with 2 small kids that need seats? Is there any option with carsharing for 2 children seats?
Thanks

In both the Uber and Lyft apps you can request cars with carseats when you select the vehicle type.
There's a couple of things to keep in mind:

1) A car seat vehicle will have a $10 surcharge on the ride.
2) There's also no guarantee they will have 2 car seats.
3) Not many car share drivers actually have car seats
4) Of those that do, what is your confidence level that they have non-expired ones and are installed correctly in the first vehicle that comes to pick you up?

If you need full carseats, it's possible to use ride sharing but I don't typically recommend it or use it myself unless it's the Minnie Vans.

If your children are of booster age, there are compact travel boosters such as the mifold or bubblebum that are easy to throw into a carry on or backpack.

 

[zavandor]

In both the Uber and Lyft apps you can request cars with carseats when you select the vehicle type.
There's a couple of things to keep in mind:

1) A car seat vehicle will have a $10 surcharge on the ride.
2) There's also no guarantee they will have 2 car seats.
3) Not many car share drivers actually have car seats
4) Of those that do, what is your confidence level that they have non-expired ones and are installed correctly in the first vehicle that comes to pick you up?

If you need full carseats, it's possible to use ride sharing but I don't typically recommend it or use it myself unless it's the Minnie Vans.

If your children are of booster age, there are compact travel boosters such as the mifold or bubblebum that are easy to throw into a carry on or backpack.

Thanks for the information. It's not for me but for friends, I guess it would be better for them to rent a car.

 

[CarolynFH]

Thanks for the information. It's not for me but for friends, I guess it would be better for them to rent a car.

I've read either here on the Transportation board or on the Disney Resorts board that some of the limo services can provide car seats - might be worth contacting one or two.