Minnie Vans!

During our whirlwind "Do or Die" trip this past August, we utilized Disney's Minnie Van service.
Powered by Lyft, Minnie Vans are an additional transportation option available on Walt Disney World property.

Our first Minnie Van ride!

To utilize Minnie Vans, you need to use the Lyft app. Once on property, open the app (making sure location services are on). It will detect that you're on property and offer Minnie Vans as an option. Select where you want to go and it will send a Minnie Van to retrieve you. Depending on where you are, the app will have you select your pick up location (example: when we had it pick us up at the All-Star Movies Resort, we could select from the different areas of the resort or the main lobby). You'll also get what van number to expect, along with the estimated arrival time.

Once your van arrives your driver will verify where you are wanting to be taken to and whisk you off to your destination. As Minnie Vans are run by Disney Transportation, they are able to utilize the backstage roads and have designated areas within the bus depots at the parks (Hollywood Studios has an off area that's actually closer than their bus area due to construction). They even have their own in car music. Minnie Vans are able to take up to 6 people, and come equipped with 2 car seats. (The ones we used were Chevrolet Traverses, to give you an idea of size). Once you arrive, you'll receive an automatic notification from Lyft, giving you the option to add a tip to your ride as well as rate your ride.

The cost of a Minnie Van is a little on the pricier side. One ride is $25. Many may argue that why pay for this when the resort busses are free. And to some extent I agree. However, if you're in a pinch to get somewhere quickly, or are wanting to go from your resort to another and not have to ride a bus to a park then switch busses, then Minnie Vans is an option. I think for families with small kiddos Minnie Vans would be a nice way to get to and from.

On one of our Minnie Van rides (our first one in fact), we had the most amazing driver. His name was Wes, and he has worked for Disney for 41 years! He told us about the first time he went to Walt Disney World (a month after it opened in 1971); he said then he wanted to come back and work there on the Jungle Cruise and sure enough, when he got a job at Disney, he was a skipper on the Jungle Cruise. He was also on the opening team for Tower of Terror (he said there are still 3 or 4 of that opening team that work on Tower of Terror still today)-he shared of the first time Disney hosted a wedding at Tower of Terror and him and another cast member ended up being ushers for the wedding in their bellhop costumes. I spent the entire ride geeking out. I of course took a selfie with him at the end.

Wes, our first Minnie Van driver (and my personal favorite of the ones we had)

All in all, I really enjoyed our Minnie Van experience. Was it a little on the pricey side? Yes. Was the convenience worth it? I think so. My theory is that within the next few years Minnie Van service will be fully integrated into the My Disney Experience app (which may allow for lower costs, or a buy so many days at a lower rate/day type situation). Already within the first year of service, Minnie Van service has expanded from a select few resorts to resort-wide and is now about to roll out service to and from Orlando International Airport.


***UPDATE: after this was published, Minnie Vans switched their pricing from a flat rate pricing, to a distance-based pricing, which has made them more than the pricing discussed earlier in this post. I still think that once it's fully Disney's, it may lessen the cost some (fingers crossed).