Talk to me about the Minnie Vans

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

What do you think of them? How do they work? How was your experience, especially if you rode with a child who needed to be in a car seat?

 

[iheartbelle87]

I'm interested in what others think as well - we plan on using the Minnie Van service from the Beach Club to AK and MK in May!

 

[WillandJennB]

Also interested in this. We are visiting WDW in July, staying at OKW, and have a few early morning ADRs around property.

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

We used Minnie Vans twice on our last trip. We tried to use them a few more times but there was very limited availability especially during peak "park open" and "park close" travel times, but this was back last December.

First, you use the Lyft app. If you open the app at a participating resort it should register that you are there and give you an option for it. I had to stop at the front desk for some reason but it only took them a minute to get it working.

First experience was emergency toddler evac from DHS for naptime. I requested it, we walked to the meet point (which at the time was near charter buses, but I believe they have moved them closer). A super friendly guy appears in a cute car. Sizes up my son, starts adjusting the carseat, asks me how he rides at home to make sure its the same. Within a minute or two he had the seat ready to go, I put my son in, and I saw him checking to make sure he was snug and it fit right. Was super impressed. He was Disney cast member friendly (genuine, interesting, some nice trivia, etc) and made our ride back to BLT a breeze. During our chat, I asked about the carseat training and he did confirm it was a full week. You could tell, though, he was super confident and experienced in how quickly he set it up and how he knew all about adjustments and sizes and such.

We used it a second time as a family of four going from BLT to Beach Club (I wanted to see the Christmas decorations but we also were headed to World Showcase and Akershus). Picked up outside our resort with little wait (since there was one just doing a dropoff at MK), super friendly driver, my daughter goes bonkers over the Minnie design. Carseats set up properly for each kid in no time, into the car we go, same pleasant conversation (did a great job keeping kiddos involved and entertained too). Resort to resort has always been a genuine PITA - this was awesome! Next trip will include some plans to eat at other resorts instead of dismissing it as too big a logistical annoyance.

I would note that we are a big vehicle safety family (my dad was killed in a car crash) so taking a taxi or Uber or Lyft with a carseat of dubious quality and/or just lap holding is not an option. For us, Minnie Vans are a lifesaver!

So - 10/10 would recommend. We expect to use them again on our next trip, especially for off-time travel, resort to resort, etc. For your early morning ADRs, its perfect. I've heard they have more of them now, and now its $5 more, so more recent experiences might help.

 

[MarBee]

We only used it once and found it to be a pleasant experience. We had actually attempted to use it several times but the wait times were always longer than the buses from AKL.
One night we wanted to go from Epcot at 7:00 to AK which closed at 8:00. My kids are 6 and 7 and use boosters. The boosters were set up no problem. The kids rode in the center captains chairs, DH in passenger seat, and I in the third row. The third row had ample legroom, but I couldn’t see 3 adults fitting back there comfortably width wise. Three kids would be no problem though.
The car was immaculate! Our driver was super friendly and had Disney music playing the whole time. The whole experience was very nice and felt like we were in the Disney “bubble” the whole time.
However, I don’t know that I’d use it again except for if I was in a time crunch. $25 was a bit steep, plus there’s the tip. With an uber it would’ve been cheaper, but you’re rolling the dice on what the experience will be like.
Overall I liked it, but it seemed a bit pricey.

 

[bdgrbckr13]

We used it twice on our trip the first week of March. We were fortunate that Lyft sent us a 50% off promotion for use during our week at Disney. We stayed at Movies but had our app authorized at Animal Kingdom on a previous trip.

The first day we used it to go to Magic Kingdom the line for the bus was wrapping around the end of the building. It was 7 minutes from the time we reserved a minnievan until it showed up. Dropped us at the MK bus stop. The next time was on a Sunday morning when we were doing the Cali Grill Brunch. We were dressed up and wanted to make it a special occasion so got a minnievan. Was dropped at the front door of the Contemporary.

Not sure how much I would use it at 25 bucks a crack but with the incentive it was well worth it. Drivers have all been great with interesting back stories.

 

[AngiTN]

We've used them on several trips, going back to last August. Never with a need for a car seat though, so no help there. I do know they all have 2 identical car seats and all drivers have gone through identical training on how to install car seats from a certified car seat tech.
We've had great luck until our recent trip last weekend (in March)
On all our past trips we were able to get connected with a vehicle without issue. This last trip we were not. Several attempts over our 4 day trip all failed. They have expanded to several more resorts than our January trip had, which has to be the difference.
The drop off at MK is the only one that is a huge benefit.
The drop off at AK is actually a lot worse, as it's at the end of the furthest most bus stop. When they moved that location we stopped using it to AK and only use regular Lyft/Uber there now. It's a much better location. I don't want to walk further to use Minnie Vans
Epcot and HS are similar enough to make little difference.
At $20 the cost for XL and Minnie Van was close, if not cheaper when I look back over my XL costs. I don't compare it to X as it's not the same size vehicle as X, it's XL. At $25, it's a bit more but still within reason. I do however, hesitate to suggest anyone rely on them until I learn that they've expanded the fleet. I have the business card from a driver. I will be back in April and if I have issues again may try to call and see if I can learn anything

 

[WillandJennB]

Thank you AngiTN! Do you think the time that you were requesting them also played a part in not being able to get one? Also, are you able to request them in advance? We have an ADR at 9:15AM at BC, and would like to request the Minnie Van around 7:30AM for a pickup at 8:30AM at OKW.

 

[AngiTN]

Thank you AngiTN! Do you think the time that you were requesting them also played a part in not being able to get one? Also, are you able to request them in advance? We have an ADR at 9:15AM at BC, and would like to request the Minnie Van around 7:30AM for a pickup at 8:30AM at OKW.

No you can not request them in advance.
I tried to request them on the last trip at various times so no, I do not think that was it. I think they have over extended the service at this time.

 

[WillandJennB]

Thank you! Please let us know how they are in April, although I have a feeling its going to be tough in July bc of TSL opening.

 

[RCID]

Any idea if the Minnie Van drivers are allowed to pick you up right at your Fort Wilderness Cabin?

 

[holden]

Any idea if the Minnie Van drivers are allowed to pick you up right at your Fort Wilderness Cabin?

Yes. They will come directly to the cabin.

 

[NJlauren]

We loved it our trip! March 1-8, we only took the monorail, walked and Minnie vans. This was not the plan going in, but it ended up being what happened. To be honest it was pricey, but worth it for us. For 3 days we were 6 people, 5 adults 1 child. 6 is the max they take. The other 3 Park days were 2 adults 1 child. We took 6 total rides, I think. We were staying at the beach club. Our longest wait was 15 minutes one morning becasue we tried to take the bus, and well let’s say we got spoiled and no one wanted to stand on the bus and there were already 30+ people waiting for the bus to MK. Staying at the beach club we walked to Epcot and HS and took the monorail back from MK once. Otherwise all Minnie vans!

We chatted with most of the drivers, they said they are expanding the service and currently I think they said there are 45 vans. Up until now it was all long time cast members some said 10-20 years they had been there! All really nice to chat with! They are adding more vans and drivers.

They were usually pretty quick at putting in the car seat, and I’m pretty sure they are required to do it.

I would recommend this service, let me know if you have questions happy to answer what I can.

 

[holden]

We used them in November and plan to use them again on our next trip. The convenience is wonderful. Sure you pay a decent amount of $, but I’d much rather travel by Minnie Van than wait for crowded buses.

We won’t use them every time we are traveling somewhere, but probably much if the time.

 

[iheartbelle87]

The drop off at AK is actually a lot worse, as it's at the end of the furthest most bus stop. When they moved that location we stopped using it to AK and only use regular Lyft/Uber there now. It's a much better location. I don't want to walk further to use Minnie Vans

What a bummer! We're staying at the Beach Club in May and planned on taking the Minnie Van from AK to BC (taking a bus from AKL where we are eating breakfast to AK), is the pick up just as far?

 

[bdgrbckr13]

What a bummer! We're staying at the Beach Club in May and planned on taking the Minnie Van from AK to BC (taking a bus from AKL where we are eating breakfast to AK), is the pick up just as far?

It's pretty much the same distance as the All-Star buses. It's farther than what it used to be but by a couple hundred yards. I get not wanting to pay to walk farther but over the course of a day at Disney it's not a lot of extra steps.

 

[AngiTN]

Pick up and drop off are at same spot, end of very last bus stop. Right by where the drivers station is. If you have ever taken a bus to another park it's by those stops

It's pretty much the same distance as the All-Star buses. It's farther than what it used to be but by a couple hundred yards. I get not wanting to pay to walk farther but over the course of a day at Disney it's not a lot of extra steps.

True. But I like to save steps when I can for that reason

 

[tinkerbella16]

We used the Minnie vans 4 times when we went in September and LOVED it! My sister loved the Traverse so much, she bought one when we got home from our trip. The vehicles were very comfortable and we love the captain seating. We had a 2 year old with us, so we did need a car seat each time. My niece loved when we used it, as she actually had fun in the car seat in the "Minnie Car" lol. Our experiences were wonderful. They showed up quickly, the drivers were very nice. We used it from Disney Springs back to Beach Club one night, to and from Hoop Dee Doo one night, and another night after MK closing. We were very excited that they have added POR and POFQ to the list of resorts, since we are staying at POR this year and plan on using them again.

 

[joelkfla]

We were very excited that they have added POR and POFQ to the list of resorts, since we are staying at POR this year and plan on using them again.

Once you've been activated for the service, you don't need to be at a participating resort to use it; you can use it anywhere on Disney property whether you're at a resort or not, including future visits. I don't know whether it survives if you change your phone or phone number.

 

[AngiTN]

Once you've been activated for the service, you don't need to be at a participating resort to use it; you can use it anywhere on Disney property whether you're at a resort or not, including future visits. I don't know whether it survives if you change your phone or phone number.

It does survive a change to a different phone. It's part of your Lyft account, not your phone. So not sure either about phone number, since Lyft is tied to phone number, not email, right?