Minnie Van Transportation Service: A Disney World Review

During our recent trip to Disney World, we experienced all that the Minnie Vans had to offer!

During our last trip, we had booked a 7 a.m. reservation at Chef Mickey’s so that we could make it to park opening with time to spare. I had planned on using bus transportation to get us to the Contemporary, but when we arrived at our resort, we found out that the buses would not be running early enough to get us there on time!

After a little bit of panic, I spoke with the Concierge and he talked to me about the Minnie Van Transportation. Disney has partnered with Lyft to offer the Minnie Van service through their app, but each Minnie Van is driven by experienced Disney Cast Members. Each vehicle is a Chevrolet Traverse that offers seating for up to 7 passengers and also offers car and boosters seats for younger guests. He helped me download the app and understand exactly how it worked, so my husband and I decided to give it a try for getting to our early breakfast. We LOVE cast members!

The morning of our breakfast, we used the app to call for our ride as early as possible (6:30 am) to meet us in the parking lot right outside of our room. (There were several pickup location choices, including the lobby/front desk area, any of the bus stops, and the parking lots.) We instantly got the message that our ride was on it’s way and would meet us in less than 10 minutes.

When our driver arrived, he greeted us politely and asked us how many car seats we would be needing for our trip to the Contemporary. We told him we would need a booster and a full car seat. He opened the back of the car, pulled out the seats and got to work installing them right away! The Disney Minnie Van drivers that we met during our stay were long-time Disney Cast Members who had moved to the position of driving Minnie Vans. Each of them were well-trained in car seat safety and installation as part of Disney’s Minnie Van training program for drivers.

Our driver was able to quickly and correctly install the seats (I’m a bit of a stickler about car seat safety, guys, so I was hovering a little) and got us on our way in less than 10 minutes. Our driver was friendly and happy to answer all of our questions as we drove to the Contemporary for our breakfast. He made the entire trip ━ from start to finish ━ very comfortable and easy, and got us there with plenty of time to spare before our reservation time!

We enjoyed our experience so much that we decided to use the Minnie Van service one more time before we left Disney property to avoid the large Spring Break crowds on the buses and monorail after a late dinner.

Pricing

For some, the price tag seems steep at $20 (plus optional tip) one way, but for us it was really worth every penny. There is always the option to use traditional Lyft and Uber instead of resort transportation like the buses or Minnie Vans, but with Minnie Vans you are always guaranteed car seats if you have little ones and you are driven by a friendly, helpful Cast Member who will get you around property quickly and safely. Using the Minnie Vans was definitely one of the best transportation experiences we have ever had at Disney, and since we’ve always had great transportation experiences before, that’s saying a lot!!

Update

The pricing scale has changed a bit and will now be based on the distance traveled from the pick up location to the requested destination. You will see the total cost through the Lyft App and will also be required to pay for the service.

Now Available:

Announced recently, Minnie Van Transportation Service will be available to ALL Disney World Resorts AND available from the Orlando International Airport. Click the link and read all about it from our friends at Disney Parks Blog!

Last summer, the Minnie Van personal ride service debuted to offer guests eye-catching rides throughout the Walt Disney World Resort. Now, guests staying at any Walt Disney World Resort hotel can also use Minnie Vans for travel to and from Orlando International Airport.

Whereas Minnie Van transportation on property can be arranged through the Lyft app, Minnie Vans airport shuttle service reservations must be made by calling 407-WDW-PLAY. The service is available to guests staying at any Walt Disney World Resort hotel. Hours of operation for the shuttle service is for flight arrivals 7 a.m.-10 p.m. for flight departures 9 a.m.-12 a.m. Each Minnie Van can hold up to six passengers and eight medium-sized suitcases. Up to three complimentary car seats can also be provided and ADA accessible vehicles are available.

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