Minnie Vans are now in a soft opening phase at Walt Disney World and select guests are able to take a ride around property ahead of the official June 29th return of the service. Earlier today, we took a Minnie Van from EPCOT to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to experience the service and see how it will operate when it officially returns on June 29th.
In order to secure a ride on a Minnie Van, guests must download the Lyft app. The service runs exclusively on the Lyft app and there is currently no other way to secure a ride. Once you have selected your destination, the Lyft app will calculate the route and fare before providing you with options. As you can see below, Minnie Van is currently an option for select guests during the soft opening test phase. If you scroll down to the bottom of the vehicle options, you will find the Accessible Minnie Van, which is available at no additional cost. Pricing is dynamic.
According to drivers that we spoke with, about 50% of Lyft users in the area will be presented with Minnie Van as an option today. That number will increase the closer we get to the June 29th opening. The selection of users is random and can change daily.
Back to our experience getting from EPCOT to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, once we hit the “Select Minnie Van” button, the app quickly searched for available drivers. Disney boasts that Minnie Vans are “usually minutes away” from being able to pick you up. Indeed, we requested a ride as we were walking out of EPCOT and a driver was found in seconds. The app shows you how many Minnie Vans are nearby with customized Minnie Van vehicle icons.
After finding you a Minnie Van, the app then presents you with details such as what vehicle number you’ll be on the lookout for and the license plate of the vehicle. This is pretty standard with ride-share apps, but there is a custom vehicle number and Minnie Van photo displayed.
For a closer look at Minnie Van pricing, check out our article below.
Upon reaching the Minnie Van staging area at EPCOT, our driver was already outside of the vehicle and ready to greet us. He opened the door and ensured that we were buckled before departing for Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The Minnie Van vehicles are all Disney-owned and we found the Chevy Suburban to be immaculately clean and like-new. Disney originally debuted the Minnie Van service with the Chevy Traverse for driving around Walt Disney World and reserved the Suburbans for Airport Service. However, the Minnie Van fleet was updated before and through the COVID-19 closures to all Suburbans, regardless of destination. At this time, Airport Service is not available and Disney has not announced when it will return.
Here’s a look at the Minnie Van vehicle and amenities.
According to the Lyft app, a regular Minnie Van seats up to 6 people, if the front passenger seat is used. The seat configuration is two captain’s chairs in the middle and a bench in the back that can seat up to 3 people.
One of the defining benefits of Minnie Van’s is their car seats. Each vehicle is equipped with two seats and they are required for children under 6 years old. The car seats have extra accessories if your child doesn’t fit in the standard configuration and each driver is knowledgeable about the child seats.
Other offerings include a pet mat for service animals and an umbrella for your driver to use to keep you dry when entering and exiting the vehicle.
For guests looking to recharge during the ride, cables are offered with Lightning, USB-C, and micro USB connectors.
During your ride, Disney music will play as you’re whisked off to your next destination. Appropriately enough, EPCOT music was playing when we were picked up at EPCOT and it changed to Hollywood Studios music as we approached the bus loop at Studios.
As you might expect, the Cast Member driving you around will be knowledgeable about the Walt Disney World roadways, which can be a nice change of pace from the typical ride-share experience.
Additionally, you’ll find dedicated Minnie Van pick-up/drop-off locations. They will typically be more convenient or exclusive when compared to other ride-share locations. Most notable is the Magic Kingdom Minnie Van location is at the bus loop whereas ride-share is all the way back at the Ticket and Transporation Center.
We’ll have a more thorough review of the service when it returns, but wanted to at least provide a high-level look at the soft opening of the Minnie Van service!
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!