People HATE suddenly having to pay for something they once got for free; there is a huge psychological revolt against this. I used to be able to justify paying somewhat outrageous (anywhere else but at Disney) prices for a hotel room because, well, it was Disney. Also, there were no resort charges and no parking charges, so I figured it was kind of an all-in-one deal. I live fairly locally and drive, so I never get to take advantage of DME--a free service--but I got to park my vehicle for free so it evened out.
Then they came along and tell me that now I have to pay to park my car. My car is my only way of getting to Disney, so we are a package deal. I can't just leave it at home. Now, it no longer seems fair to me that people who fly get free DME (that my resort charge is subsidizing) while I have to pay extra to park. I don't resent those of you who use it and I hope they keep it free for the sake of all of you, but it no longer seems like a fair deal to me.
I can afford to pay the extra $30 or whatever it is to park. I just won't because I am stubborn that way. If they had raised the price of the room I might have noticed and grumbled a little, but I would have paid it. Heck, i might not even have noticed. Now I'll stay at Bonnet Creek, where, yes, I will pay for parking, but I'll get a lot more for my money and earn Hilton points to boot. Or the Swan or Dolphin, which have always had both a parking and a resort fee, but which are more reasonably priced to begin with, and we can use Marriott points for free stays. The Disney resorts don't even have loyalty programs. Or for a budget trip, the cheapo Marriott Courtyard is perfectly clean, safe, and comfortable.
I guess what I'm getting at is I too wonder, like many of you, why Disney chose to add a parking fee rather than to continue to build it into the room price. I wonder if this will open the door to more "extra" charges related to the resort stay. I think DME and resort fees are on the horizon.