CONVENIENCE
Now, this answer will be an emotional one; let me explain. The whole reason for us using the Minnie Van service came from what can only be described as a disastrous bus ride to Magic Kingdom. If you listen to our previous podcast episodes, you will understand. To sum it up, our toddler was in the middle of a stage 5 melt down; it was hot, and we were ready to get to the pool! Alright, now to one of the best parts of the Minnie Van: convenience. It was so nice being able to order the van through the Lyft app on the way out of the park and walk to where the buses drop off and pick up. If I remember correctly it was bus stop one or two, so right up front! We waited maybe 15 minutes for our van, which they are all Chevy Suburbans. I can’t stress enough about how amazing it was to have a personal car to pick us up, essentially in front of Magic Kingdom!
SERVICE
Everyone that has been to Disney World more than once knows how great the cast members are. They are always nice, willing to help in anyway they can, and really do care about their jobs (or at least they pretend to if not). The Minnie Van is not driven by some random Lyft driver, each driver is a Disney Cast member who works at Disney. They are very knowledgeable about the parks and the resorts. When our van arrived, our driver immediately got out and asked us how man car seats we needed and which way they needed to face. We have an infant that’s rear-facing and a toddler that’s forward-facing. Every Minnie Van comes with two car seats. Then, she asked how much each child weighed. She then installed the car seats, and while we put the kids in the seats, our driver proceeded to load all our bags and the double stroller. We did not touch anything other than putting our kids in the car seats. Our driver was very attentive to our needs and asked us questions about our trip. When we were getting close to our resort, she asked which building we were staying in. Being kind of confused, we told her, and she asked if we would like to be dropped off next to it or at the front of the resort. Now, all Ubers and Lyfts have to drop off and pick up at the front of every resort. However, the Minnie Van service, being part of Disney, is allowed to pick up and drop off next to your building! If you are familiar with some of Disney resorts, you know they are HUGE, and it can be a very long walk to the front! So, being able to be dropped off next to our building was a life saver at the moment!
COMFORT
The most rewarding part of using the Minnie Van service was when we finally sat down in the seats. A collective sigh of relief could be heard between us. This Suburban was immaculately clean, AC was cold, it smelled wonderful, seats were comfortable and an old- school Mickey Mouse cartoons were playing on both iPads on the back of the driver and passenger front seats! The ride was smooth. One kid was quietly watching the old- school Mickey cartoon, and the other one was trying not to fall asleep. If it was a little later, I would have fallen asleep on that ride home! Needless to say, it was a great ride back to the resort!
Well, as you can tell, we highly recommend the Minnie Van if you can fit it into your budget for your next Disney trip. For us, it makes sense to use it for our Magic Kingdom day, since we drive to the other parks. Being dropped off up front and being picked up there after a long, hot day at the park, with kids and probably parent melting down, is worth the higher cost to us. For our one-way trip from Magic Kingdom to All-Star Music we paid $57, which included the tip. As always, if you have any questions, reach out, and we would be happy to answer them!