Mears Connect, the spiritual successor to Disney’s Magical Express, that offers ground transportation between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World is implementing a fuel surcharge. This post covers increased pricing, reasons for the extra fee, and why this could be a canary in the coal mine for lower summer crowds at WDW.
Let’s start with a quick recap. Walt Disney World’s free shuttle service from MCO to the company’s resorts, Disney’s Magical Express, ended last year. Guests now need to find their own transportation from the airport to their hotel, and we cover the range of options in our Guide to Airport Transportation for Walt Disney World. There is no one-size-fits-all perfect solution; it depends on your party size, budget, and other factors.
Mears Connect is one of the options, and it’s actually a shuttle service by the same company that operated Disney’s Magical Express. Mears Connect literally uses the exact same buses, just minus the Disney-branded wraps. Some of the buses look strikingly similar to the old ‘ocean-liner’ DME buses, with only Disney logos and characters removed.
Mears Connect has two options: Standard and Express. The standard level of service is a shared ride service on Mears Connect (bus or van) that is economical. Standard service makes a “limited” number of stops and will have you on your way to your resort.
The Express level advertises a direct service with limited to no wait time (emphasis on both advertises). Note that Express is not private transportation. We mention this because we’ve booked the standard service and been put on small vans with guests who booked Express…who then proceeded to complain about their experience (and rightfully so, quite frankly).
The only advantage the Express guests received over us was that they were the first stop. (I also question that “limited to no wait time.” We all definitely waited!) Both the Standard and Express levels include all tolls and other surcharges, minus the fuel fee that is being added as of Spring 2026.
Here’s a look at current pricing before the new fuel surcharge:
Mears Connect is notifying guests booking airport transportation that there will now be an added fee for fuel added to all reservations. Here’s the new ‘warning’ notice at the top of their website:
Please Be Advised: A 3% Fuel Surcharge Will Be Added to All Reservations Until Further Notice – Thank You
Although two of the 5 big selling points of Mears Connect is that the shuttle doesn’t charge surge pricing like rideshare and being cheaper than rental cars, they are now adding a fuel surcharge to all reservations going forward.
Here’s a look at the new prices for a hypothetical booking, post fuel surcharge:
The fuel surcharge doesn’t appear until you start the checkout process, so you have to reverse engineer it from the total fare ($62.64) versus the previous totals after the PFRC ($60.90).
As you can see, a 3% fuel surcharge amounts to roughly an additional $1 for an adult round trip and a little less for kids. Conversely, it’s $7.50 for the Express Service.
In fairness, that’s simply a matter of passing along the higher gasoline costs to end consumers, and 3% may not even cover that completely. Moreover, it’s likely that Uber and Lyft are likewise doing the same (there isn’t transparency with their dynamic pricing, so it’s hard to say) and guests renting or using their own vehicles will be paying more for fuel, too. So whatever ‘competitive advantage’ Mears Connect offered before arguably still exists.
U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. One month ago, gas was less than $3 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s the largest monthly jump the motor club has seen on record.
The last time gas prices broke the $4 per gallon barrier was during the inflationary surge in 2022, fueled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and lingering effects of the pandemic. Back then, the price per gallon eventually climbed above $5, fueling a run-up in inflation that weighed heavily on the economy, prompting many to predict a recession. It was a hot topic here for over a year, as discussed in What Does Walt Disney World Do During A Recession?
That didn’t happen then, but it was a valid concern. Gasoline prices can play an outsize role in consumer psychology, and the $4 per gallon threshold is viewed as key to that. Consumer sentiment fell in March, according todata from the University of Michigan. Over half of Americans say the rise in gas prices has affected their household finances, a Reuters/Ipsos poll. All of that surveying occurred before the $4 barrier was broached.
This Mears Connect fuel surcharge could be a canary in the coal mine; the first sign of higher travel costs that cause consumers to rethink summer travel plans. If the nationwide average is over $4 per gallon for an extended stretch, that will cause at least some people to cancel Disney trips, trade down on summer travel, and stay closer to home.
One thing that’s actually and consistently been a difference-maker for Walt Disney World attendance and hotel occupancy is the price of gas. We’ve seen this repeatedly when gas prices spike, over the course of decades, under multiple different administrations and economies.
The cost of airfare is already up 15-20% in the last month, and is forecast to continue increasing. I don’t want to fixate on this too much as it’s a subject we recently covered at length in Why the Iran War Could Cut Crowds at Walt Disney World & Negatively Impact Your 2026 Travel Plans.
As mentioned in another post predicting more aggressive WDW discounts to come, I was actually surprised by the pushback to the assertion that rising gas prices will have a material impact on Walt Disney World crowds. Multiple readers argued that it would “only” add $100 or so to the cost of a trip, which isn’t outcome-determinative for most families.
This Mears Connect fuel surcharge is a good illustration of that (hence it being a potential canary in the coal mine). For most guests using the standard service, this will only be a few dollars for their entire families, round-trip. Less than the cost of a coffee or Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bar! Completely inconsequential; a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of a Walt Disney World trip.
Given that, this fuel fee is more interesting from an awareness or symbolic perspective. This surcharge makes the news cycle, gets guests thinking about rising costs for their summer vacations, and maybe has some of them rethinking their plans.
It probably won’t be because of that few dollars that they don’t do WDW, but it could be what starts a family dialogue about staying closer to home or doing something cheaper.
And obviously, it won’t be as if everyone does this–maybe a couple of precent of planners. (Whenever we’re discussing this type of thing, the impact is almost always to what I’d call a ‘small but meaningful minority.’ The parks aren’t going to feel like ghost towns or dead, but even 3-5% of guests changing behavior can be felt in crowds.)
We’d also add that the thinking that rising costs “only” adding another $X won’t be make or break. This is something we see constantly when it comes to the new fiscal year price increases, often condescendingly framed. That if families can’t afford another couple hundred of dollars, maybe they shouldn’t be visiting in the first place.
I’ve always felt that the more honest framing would be: my family can still afford to go after these higher prices. But everyone has a breaking point. If we subscribe to the logic that each incremental increase is “only” $X, we can justify endless nickel & diming and ever-rising costs. Everyone has a budget, though, and there’s a point at which those higher prices put a trip out of reach.
This isn’t conjecture (“budgets are a thing” should be self-evident without much further explanation). We’ve seen this play out in recent years as Walt Disney World attendance still remains well below 2019 levels as the company raises prices to chase higher per guest spending–or more revenue on fewer visitors.
If Disney wanted higher volume, they could easily achieve that by lowering prices and expanding the pool of income qualified guests. And I’d be careful what you wish for with shrinking that pool as opposed to growing it, because there comes at price point at which you, too, shouldn’t be visiting in the first place. Again, though, all of this should be fairly obvious.
Another thing worth addressing is that gas prices do not exist in a vacuum when it comes to airfare or ground transportation or other vacation costs. Unlike price increases on churros or Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bars that exist only within the Disney Bubble, higher oil costs are more significant in the real world.
When gas goes up, that cuts into household budgets and exacerbates inflation. It won’t just be higher prices at the pump, it’ll be across the board since so much is reliant upon oil–so much of what people consume involves oil in some capacity. People will have less disposable income, and that is the bigger factor when it comes to travel plans.
With that said, it is possible that whatever impact exists won’t be felt at Walt Disney World until later in Summer 2026. The company had the foresight to release special offers earlier, and most guests have likely already locked in airfare between now and at least June. Although there could be some impact in shoulder season, we’d expect the worst of whatever decrease happens (assuming gas prices remain elevated) to arrive sometime in summer due to the lag between booking and traveling.
Circling back to Mears Connect, we’ve used it a lot. Both as a family and (especially) me as a solo traveler.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m the most frequent rider with Mears Connect. I’ve used it for most of my research trips since the service launched, so probably an average of 1.5 rides (I often use Uber/Lyft for the return trip) per month since it debuted.
In Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine Review: Is Disney World’s Airport Shuttle Still Good?, I mention that the number of stops has increased. That review is from a couple of years ago (it’s probably due for an update), and this issue has only worsened during non-peak times more recently.
For solo travelers or couples, the math works out on Mears Connect. It’s going to be slightly cheaper than Uber or Lyft transportation between the hotel and airport the vast majority of the time. However, the convenience, efficiency, and private ride offered by Uber or Lyft mean we’d take one of those ridesharing services over Mears Connect every single time.
For families with small children, Mears Connect might be a great option as it avoids hassles with car seats and provides more convenient transportation. For groups with only older kids or adults, the economics of Mears Connect won’t work out. Even if they’re unconcerned about convenience or efficiency, Uber or Lyft will win handily on cost.
For others, a rental car will make more sense. As with anything, there are undoubtedly additional personal considerations we aren’t taking into account in the Uber/Lyft v. Mears Connect v. rental car comparison. Your mileage may vary.
With that said, let’s take a look at hotels at and around Walt Disney World that are serviced by Mears Connect…
ELIGIBLE DISNEY OWNED HOTELS (SPOILER: IT’S ALL OF THEM)
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort & Gran Destino Tower
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (Listed as Fort Wilderness Lodge on the site)
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas — Kidani Village
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
ELIGIBLE ON-SITE THIRD PARTY HOTELS
Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet CreekWaldorf Astoria OrlandoJW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek ResortWyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek- Drury Plaza Hotel Disney Springs
- Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace
- Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista
- Holiday Inn Orlando
- Wyndham Lake Buena Vista
- Renaissance Orlando Resort & Spa
Four Seasons Resort Orlando- Shades of Green
- Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
- Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
Eligible Off-Site Hotels
- Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center
- Orlando Marriott World Center
Strikethroughs are hotels that Mears Connect has stopped servicing since launch.
You can view pricing, FAQ, other info, and book reservations for Mears Connect here.
Ultimately, the fuel surcharge probably won’t be what dissuades many people from using Mears Connect.
Maybe a few percent, at the absolute most. If Mears Connect made sense before, it probably still does given that the rising cost of gasoline will likewise hit the alternatives, if it hasn’t already, and be equal to or higher than a 3% bump.
This fuel surcharge probably also won’t be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for a family budgeting a Walt Disney World trip. Maybe a single percentage point, at the absolute most. The bigger impact will be that this is an ‘early’ headline that ties the Iran War directly to the cost of a Walt Disney World vacation, making it a potential canary in the coal mine for crowds.
While this won’t cause the vast majority of guests to rethink their trips or transportation from the airport, it’ll get some families thinking about gas prices, and contemplating how else rising costs might balloon their budgets for Walt Disney World in Summer 2026. It’ll be an interesting story to follow, and we’re curious as to whether Walt Disney World will directly address it on the next earnings call or indirectly via another release of discounts. We’ll keep you posted!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Mears Connect implementing a fuel surcharge? Think this could be a canary in the coal mine for summer crowds, or is this completely inconsequential? Other thoughts on this? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!