Sunshine Flyer Experiences

[DaviVascaino]

Not the OP, but I watched the review as I found it pretty concerning. Although this vlogger was very patient and kind about it, she was also very clear that they waited 24 mins. in the unorganized ourside heat and then were on the bus for another 90 mins. This review is giving us serious pause on trying the service.

I did more digging and I believe that was an outlier. The website itself says you won't be in th bus for more than 65 min. Most reviews say that it does not take any longer than the Disney express.

 

[Figment Mom]

I rode today. It was a great experience.

Bus pulled up less than 10 minutes after we checked in and we were on our way exactly 10 minutes after check in.

There were 4 resorts on our route. We were the 3rd. We were on the bus for exactly 60 minutes.

 

[leebee]

Can't decide between Mears and SF. We have waited at MCO for Magical Express for over 30 minutes in prior trips, so waiting for Mears or SF to depart isn't an issue. I'm just worried about the pick-up for the return to the airport. I do not want to miss my flight (well, I do... aka, more Disney time, but you know what I mean!)

 

[Leigh L]

Can't decide between Mears and SF. We have waited at MCO for Magical Express for over 30 minutes in prior trips, so waiting for Mears or SF to depart isn't an issue. I'm just worried about the pick-up for the return to the airport. I do not want to miss my flight (well, I do... aka, more Disney time, but you know what I mean!)

I felt the same way.
What I ended up doing was booking SF down and Mears back, figured I'd give them both a whirl.

We used Mears' Universal shuttle in April and that went pretty seamless. No wait at all except we were the 3rd or 4th resort for drop-off - not a huge deal since we were a morning arrival. Getting back to the airport was smooth also.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Can't decide between Mears and SF. We have waited at MCO for Magical Express for over 30 minutes in prior trips, so waiting for Mears or SF to depart isn't an issue. I'm just worried about the pick-up for the return to the airport. I do not want to miss my flight (well, I do... aka, more Disney time, but you know what I mean!)

We just had a great experience with SF. They were on time picking us up to the airport. They were actually a few minutes early.

 

[DaviVascaino]

just booked sunshine flyers for our upcoming trip in february 2023. we took advantage of the kids free sale, since we are taking a double stroller and one large bag, I did not want to take chances with uber or lyft.

 

[Leigh L]

Just boarded and on our way to wdw!
Very smooth process and great customer service.

Waited about 15 min, but then 3 busses pulled up. Also had made a change (twice) due to my changing flights and very quick responses via email.

About 6 resorts on the bus.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I posted in the thread comparing Sunshine and Mears, but wanted to add my comments here.

We booked Sunshine with the kids fly free promo because, with a family of five, it was a no-brainer price wise. Service was excellent and timely, both to and from the airport. There was a bus waiting for us at MCO that was moving within 5 minutes and our return bus was exactly on time.

That said, they assigned us a return time of 6:35am for a 10:00am flight. I understand they have to account for possible traffic, multiple pick ups, etc, but for our domestic flights with precheck, the early pick up was entirely unnecessary. I tried to email to get it changed but received no response (this was over the holiday weekend). So, we ended up through security and twiddling our thumbs at 7:15am when our flight didn't board until 9:30.

In the future, I would not hesitate to use them outbound, or if car sizes and car seats prevent the use of rideshare. But, now that our girls are old enough to use super slim booster seats, we'll pay the extra few dollars for a Lyft XL and 90 minutes of sleep.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I've heard from earlier reports that the screens are dark and that other than the outer wrapping, there is nothing especially fun or whimsical about the bus ride. Can any one who has ridden recently report on that? My kids really loved the videos and trivia on the old Magical Express.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I've heard from earlier reports that the screens are dark and that other than the outer wrapping, there is nothing especially fun or whimsical about the bus ride. Can any one who has ridden recently report on that? My kids really loved the videos and trivia on the old Magical Express.

Ours had old, non-Disney cartoons running 8/25 from the airport. Lights were kept dim and screens off on our early morning return bus.

 

[MinnieMSue]

There was not really anything entertaining in the bus. They were very clean and new. They played some kind of old cartoon on the way to hotel and nothing on way to airport. We were fine with that as we just looked out the windows and relaxed.

 

[heresabe]

Apologize if this was previously mentioned...It appears that Sunshine Flyer windows are obstructed with signage. Can one see outside?

 

[MinnieMSue]

Apologize if this was previously mentioned...It appears that Sunshine Flyer windows are obstructed with signage. Can one see outside?

The bus wraps are see through. No issues looking out the windows at all.

 

[smjj]

Apologize if this was previously mentioned...It appears that Sunshine Flyer windows are obstructed with signage. Can one see outside?

Yes you can see through them. You will notice just about all the onsite Disney buses have this same type of wrapping.

 

[Henlady]

Just booked for a trip from POFQ to MCO. Flight leaves at 6:35pm for a domestic flight. I picked a time for pickup from 3:00-4:00. Should I have chosen maybe 2:00-3:00 instead

 

[AntJulie]

Just booked for a trip from POFQ to MCO. Flight leaves at 6:35pm for a domestic flight. I picked a time for pickup from 3:00-4:00. Should I have chosen maybe 2:00-3:00 instead

They will send you an email with the pickup time a few days before your departure day. Our pickup time was 3.5 hours before our flight (had more than enough time because our flight was delayed).

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Just booked for a trip from POFQ to MCO. Flight leaves at 6:35pm for a domestic flight. I picked a time for pickup from 3:00-4:00. Should I have chosen maybe 2:00-3:00 instead

Neither. You pick the actual flight window (6-7) and they subtract the 3 hours when they schedule your pick up. You should email the reservation account to have them fix it for you.

 

[Henlady]

Neither. You pick the actual flight window (6-7) and they subtract the 3 hours when they schedule your pick up. You should email the reservation account to have them fix it for you.

My flight departure time of 18:35 (6:35pm) is noted on the confirmation / Booking Details email I received from sunshine flyer but guess I email them anyway. Thanks

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

My flight departure time of 18:35 (6:35pm) is noted on the confirmation / Booking Details email I received from sunshine flyer but guess I email them anyway. Thanks

I honestly don't know why they ask for both the exact flight details and the window as it seems redundant. However, since they ask twice, I'd assume there's some reason and would correct so that it's accurate in both places.

 

[Disturbia]

I honestly don't know why they ask for both the exact flight details and the window as it seems redundant. However, since they ask twice, I'd assume there's some reason and would correct so that it's accurate in both places.

Double check flights. Our Dec flight on AA got cancelled and our TA had to rebook.

Here is the current entertainment on Mears:

Personally, mears was a great experience going to our resort (AOA) and took only 35 mins. Coming back to MCO was really bad and we had to wait 40-45 mins past our pickup time (was nerve wrecking); we were already waiting 40 mins beforehand to get our luggage (bell services is short staffed so budget extra time). Sunshine season had 5-6 buses going by while we waited. We did get to the airport in 30 mins (2 hours before the flight).

This was April 2nd and at that point we were only aware of a one hour flight delay (eventually almost all flights were cancelled; airlines chose to strand passengers at the airport)