Our preferred way to travel to Disney World is by car. Driving from New York takes one to two days, and being able to pack anything and everything we want is a dream. And if we have to fly, we tend to get a rental car because we often stay off Disney property. Our last option is to fly and have to get a Disney World airport bus.

19 Items On Our Disney World Packing

During our springtime trip, though, we only had enough time to fly down instead of drive, and since we were staying on Disney property, we skipped the rental car, too. Disney transportation is excellent, even at the budget hotels, so we were happy to skip the step of renting.

That left one to-do we weren’t used to: looking into Disney World airport transportation options.

Once upon a time, my family and I would always take the free Disney World airport shuttle. 🥺 Since that’s no more, Mike and I checked into a few options, mainly Sunshine Flyers and Mears.

Both services had similar pricing, but Sunshine Flyer didn’t pick up guests at Terminal C, which we were flying into with JetBlue. That left us with Mears.

Here’s what we experienced and why we won’t go with Mears again.

Bad Customer Service

Finding our way to the Mears desk wasn’t difficult, especially with the lovely surroundings of Orlando International Airport’s new Terminal C — it’s a gem.

Once we got to the Mears counter, we stood where it seemed the line was supposed to form.

When the Mears agent at the desk was free, he didn’t wave us forward, so we walked up. He then stared at us, so we mumbled something like, “…checking in?”

Once he’d finished marking our names off on his list, he didn’t tell us what to do. When we asked where to go, he half-gestured over to the (very dirty) waiting area and said something we couldn’t hear.

Too Long of a Wait for the Disney World Airport Bus

Since we’d scheduled the Mears pickup for a specific time slot, we didn’t expect to wait very long. We ended up in the waiting room for over an hour, along with a bunch of other people who’d also been waiting that much time or more.

Right when I was going to order an Uber, which would’ve been there within minutes, we were told the Disney World airport bus was on its way.

(For the return home, they picked us up on time at the Disney resort.)

Poor Communication

It was unclear how the Mears agents and bus drivers were communicating with those of us waiting.

Sometimes they’d come into the waiting area and say someone’s name. Sometimes they’d linger outside the waiting area and say something that was too low to hear. Sometimes they’d announce a Disney hotel, which meant that if you’re going to that hotel, your bus had arrived. 🤷🏻‍♀️

For our hotel (All-Star Music), they told us the Disney World airport bus was coming and showed up where to wait outside, but the bus had actually already arrived and was in another spot. The bus driver happened to spot us and asked where we were going, which is the only reason we ended up on that bus.

By the time we were going back to the airport at the end of the trip, only minimal communication was needed, but the Disney World airport bus driver was awkward and the process wasn’t very smooth.

It’s worth noting that a Sunshine Flyer bus was there at the same time, and that bus driver was super friendly when he asked us if we were riding with him.

Crummy Disney World Airport Bus

Disney World has its imperfections, and some of its transportation vehicles aren’t perfect (lookin’ at you, Monorail), but we never get an icky feeling from the buses.

Mears was different. Both the interior and the exterior had seen a lot of wear and tear, and it felt generally unclean when riding to the hotel. The seats are also really small and tight, which wasn’t a nice experience after being on an airplane.

The TVs either didn’t work or weren’t on, so there wasn’t anything to distract from the discomfort.

Final Thoughts About the Mears Disney World Airport Bus

Traveling can be a pain, and we don’t have crazy high expectations when going to and from Disney World. But by the time we’ve been through two airports and arrived in Orlando, it’s nice to feel like your vacation starts right away. Mears didn’t give us that vibe at all.

If we could do it again, we’d book a rideshare for a more spacious, faster and less people-y trip to the hotel.

Have you had good (or bad) luck with Disney World airport transportation options? Tell us about it in the comments!

Featured image: Brian McGowan via Unsplash