Paid parking is coming to WDW resorts March 2018

[desertbloom]

We won’t stay at hotels that charge a resort fee or parking fees. I find it an offensive practice. Disney will be no different. We get free parking at the parks with the AP and my $400 a night will get me a much ritzier hotel offsite.

 

[PirateSAM]

After hearing this rumor last year, I was extremely disappointed that Disney was even considering this. Now that it is fact, I feel the decision I made late January during my 6th annual, two-week vacation to WDW, that I would not be returning there or going to any Disney Resort property/cruise, was the right decision. Over the past few years, the ever-increasing money grabs cannot be justified by the ever-diminishing "magical" returns. This last trip and the new, out of control security measures designed to make me feel like a criminal while I spend thousands of dollars with them just left the impression that Disney is no longer a place where the magic comes to life.

Coupled with this is the fact that I know for a fact my bags were gone through during room checks, and that housekeeping did less and less as my vacation progressed which culminated in being left a blood-stained bath mat. Add to this, the transportation system has gone from what I originally thought as great to fully packed, standing-room only, never on-time buses that you wait 45 minutes or longer for. Even the restaurant food quality was absolutely horrible with increased price. I even felt Pandora was less than stellar!

And now they expect us to pay yearly increasing, exorbitant room rates for less benefits (think 60 day fast pass and EMH now shared with off site hotels) AND want an extra $300 just to park my car in a relatively empty resort parking lot during my stay... they are out of their minds.

This blatent cash grab is the final straw for me. I can no longer justify spending thousands of dollars each year for what little they offer. And maybe that's what they truly want... unfortunately for them, they forget there are a lot more of us poor middle class vacationers than the wealthy 1% they are courting.

Sorry for the rant...but now I feel better.

 

[ChipnDale79]

To add to that if I may - staying off-site but still eating in their restaurants, going to their parks isn't going to make any difference at all. Or cutting your trips from 3 times a year to once a year isn't going to make any difference.

Not that you shouldn't do what you feel is right, just don't have the illusion Disney cares. There will always be people to fill your spots and you are still giving them your money.

No, there will not always be people to fill their spot. This is said a lot, but that statement is just not true, the only way it is true is if Disney parks and hotels are at capacity year round. They aren’t.

Will they make up the money? Sure more than likely, but there is no waiting list to get into the hotels or parks. If Susie and Joe decide to cancel, someone doesn’t just take their place.

I think Disney has lost sight of long term goals, it’s all how do I pad the stock price for the next quarterly report. The people that are making the decisions won’t be here long term, they don’t care what happens to WDW 10-20 years down the road.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I wonder how long it will be before they will say parking is free only for DVC if you bought direct.
Also I wonder how DVC works for renters, do they pay to park? Just a thought.

I saw that at David’s DVC rentals they posted that as long as you are staying using points - even if they are rented - you get the free spots. Not sure if that is official but I would think they would not want to be wrong about that

 

[dina444444]

I saw that at David’s DVC rentals they posted that as long as you are staying using points - even if they are rented - you get the free spots. Not sure if that is official but I would think they would not want to be wrong about that

The parking is written into the DVC Deed.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I understand what you are saying. I’m not a naive, emotional person who believes Disney exists to bring joy to the masses. I understand and support capitalism.

On the other hand, my local QuickTrip is a corporation that exists to maximize returns and I don’t spend thousands and thousands of dollars there every year. Vacation spots have to be conscious of the feelings people associate with them. Otherwise, we don’t choose them as vacation spots. I will continue to purchase gas at the QuickTrip because it is convenient. But when I stop having positive feelings about Disney, I won’t continue spending my money there or on their merchandise.

Understood and agreed - with anything you need to determine if the return is worth the cost ... and return is measured many ways including emotional satisfaction

 

[Farro]

No, there will not always be people to fill their spot. This is said a lot, but that statement is just not true, the only way it is true is if Disney parks and hotels are at capacity year round. They aren’t.

Will they make up the money? Sure more than likely, but there is no waiting list to get into the hotels or parks. If Susie and Joe decide to cancel, someone doesn’t just take their place.

I think Disney has lost sight of long term goals, it’s all how do I pad the stock price for the next quarterly report. The people that are making the decisions won’t be here long term, they don’t care what happens to WDW 10-20 years down the road.

Oh I don't know about that. With all the new things that are being done in the next few years (and let's admit it, it's a lot), the big anniversary...they will find a way to fill up resorts. Guaranteed.

I get not wanting to go anymore, I've had my moments. But I just don't think it will make much of a difference unless it's a large amount of people, which it just won't be.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

To add to that if I may - staying off-site but still eating in their restaurants, going to their parks isn't going to make any difference at all. Or cutting your trips from 3 times a year to once a year isn't going to make any difference.

Not that you shouldn't do what you feel is right, just don't have the illusion Disney cares. There will always be people to fill your spots and you are still giving them your money.

I need the illusion that Disney cares. When they don’t care, I don’t care.

I fully understand that they will not change a policy because it makes some people sad. But they will if it negatively affects profits.

I agree with you that my cutting a few trips won’t matter to them. But thousands of people cutting trips and not spending money there will impact them. I can only hope there are enough people talking with their wallets that Disney changes its mind.

In the long run, my choice of where to vacation will not be made to “teach Disney a lesson.” I understand my impact is small. My choice will be made based on whether the destination offers me the type of vacation I love at a place where I feel happy. Charging for parking will impact my feelings about Disney and my desire to go there tremendously. It just won’t be the same place. I feel that I am losing something important to me, but I’ll get over it.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

The parking is written into the DVC Deed.

But does it say in the deed who can use the parking? Just the deed holder or anyone the deed holder allows?

 

[Farro]

I need the illusion that Disney cares. When they don’t care, I don’t care.

I fully understand that they will not change a policy because it makes some people sad. But they will if it negatively affects profits.

I agree with you that my cutting a few trips won’t matter to them. But thousands of people cutting trips and not spending money there will impact them. I can only hope there are enough people talking with their wallets that Disney changes its mind.

In the long run, my choice of where to vacation will not be made to “teach Disney a lesson.” I understand my impact is small. My choice will be made based on whether the destination offers me the type of vacation I love at a place where I feel happy. Charging for parking will impact my feelings about Disney and my desire to go there tremendously. It just won’t be the same place. I feel that I am losing something important to me, but I’ll get over it.

Oh I get it, and I feel for people. While the parking isn't a big deal to us, I am worried with Star Wars prices will increase so much in the Epcot resort area we won't be able to afford it anymore - and that does make me sad. We travel all over, but no trip makes me as excited as going to WDW. But I know they don't care how I feel!

 

[Planogirl]

People do keep coming no matter what but everything has a limit. People aren't all rich and can't just keep on paying more and more. Plus it's hard to justify all of these costs even if it is still affordable.

 

[Doug M]

Sure but if you have to rent a car for the week when you otherwise wouldn't have that really cuts into the $350 savings also. I agree, the really big savings come in on food if you can have things for breakfast, lunch, and snacks in the room which you can do in a value room now since they all have mini fridges. It ends up coming down to what you want more, space or convenience.

Well this discussion centers around parking fees so having the car is assumed here, rented or not. We rent a car if we fly so we always have a car there, and getting free resort and park parking has factored into onsite vs off for us. Now i have to back that savings out of the equation and the price difference suddenly moves even heavier to offsite.

 

[Linkura]

I was just reminded why my dad always rented a car even though we stayed onsite at the Poly all but once as a kid. My dad has severe motion sickness in cars unless he is the driver. He will literally throw up on a bus, and it's happened to him before. So if he were to go to with this new policy, he'd be stuck paying even though it's literally a medical issue, just because he doesn't have a disability placard or DVC.

 

[K Gragg]

As a shareholder though do you feel this is a good move to make more money or do you feel this could hurt your stake? Would you consider getting rid of your Disney stock because of it?

I'm a shareholder and I don't feel this moves the stock one way or the other. Disney is too big of a company for this to have any affect...

 

[yaksack]

I found this on the website. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/parking/

 

[sweetyk83]

So I’ve been thinking about this since hearing the news this morning. I emailed Disney like many others but have heard no response. We usually drive to Orlando. It’s a 20 hr drive and we usually split it into three days. The cost for us to drive is usually less or equal to a plane ride for my family of 6. So we opt to drive because I get terribly sick on airplanes.

I’ve already been somewhat disappointed with Disney with the excessive (IMO) MNSSHP nights during our usual sept trips. Watching Happily Ever After on one of the few nights they show it is miserable.
Then booking our trip for this year they dropped military discounts approximately 5%. Not a HUGE deal but this is our first time booking at a deluxe and it was a shock to the budget with the change. Not to mention that I spent hours on the phone trying to get clarity as they released no info on the change. Even the cast member who booked my room stated I was saving 40%. That added to the confusion.
Now this....
We are planning to do a big family trip in 2020. So now I’m bummed at the additional $100-200 expense for parking!

Then I was considering staying offsite but if we drive it wouldn’t matter since we would be paying to park at the parks anyway, right?
Even at shades of green we would pay their $7 parking fee PLUS the parking at the parks.
So it looks like if you are someone that drives to Orlando and uses your personal vehicle to visit the parks you are stuck paying the parking fees either way.
Does that sound right?

 

[charlesredmore]

I was talking with my husband about this and he said under Iger, it's like Disney has turned into the EA of entertainment companies. If anyone knows anything about the video gaming industry, you know what I'm talking about. Paid resort parking is just another microtransaction to them.

That is so true. I have never thought of it like that, but you are so right! It's like micro-transactions for your vacation!

 

[jlwhitney]

So I’ve been thinking about this since hearing the news this morning. I emailed Disney like many others but have heard no response. We usually drive to Orlando. It’s a 20 hr drive and we usually split it into three days. The cost for us to drive is usually less or equal to a plane ride for my family of 6. So we opt to drive because I get terribly sick on airplanes.

I’ve already been somewhat disappointed with Disney with the excessive (IMO) MNSSHP nights during our usual sept trips. Watching Happily Ever After on one of the few nights they show it is miserable.
Then booking our trip for this year they dropped military discounts approximately 5%. Not a HUGE deal but this is our first time booking at a deluxe and it was a shock to the budget with the change. Not to mention that I spent hours on the phone trying to get clarity as they released no info on the change. Even the cast member who booked my room stated I was saving 40%. That added to the confusion.
Now this....
We are planning to do a big family trip in 2020. So now I’m bummed at the additional $100-200 expense for parking!

Then I was considering staying offsite but if we drive it wouldn’t matter since we would be paying to park at the parks anyway, right?
Even at shades of green we would pay their $7 parking fee PLUS the parking at the parks.
So it looks like if you are someone that drives to Orlando and uses your personal vehicle to visit the parks you are stuck paying the parking fees either way.
Does that sound right?

For the most part you are right about that except for those with Annual passes and then they get free parking at the parks.

 

[sleepydog25]

I need the illusion that Disney cares. When they don’t care, I don’t care.

In the long run, my choice of where to vacation will not be made to “teach Disney a lesson.” I understand my impact is small. My choice will be made based on whether the destination offers me the type of vacation I love at a place where I feel happy. Charging for parking will impact my feelings about Disney and my desire to go there tremendously. It just won’t be the same place. I feel that I am losing something important to me, but I’ll get over it.

This is a very salient post. As many have stated, Disney will continue to make money and there will always be others to take the place of those who opt to stop going. But, what you said in bold above struck home. Over the past few years, they have continued to make decisions that impact how I feel about them, and most of them haven't been decisions with which I agree. I know it doesn't matter--they're a business. However, they're a business that once demanded the best, and we paid for it. Now, they demand the middling many times, and we still pay for it. That's fine. But, the honeymoon is definitely over. We'll continue to go as we're DVC members, but even so, we're edging ever so close to selling and not returning. The magical part is largely gone. And, that's why I voted OTHER in the poll.

 

[Sue M]

I voted on the poll other because I wanted to qualify my reason. It wouldn’t affect my stay because I don’t keep car rental. I’m in Florida almost a month because I have family in S. Fla. I fly into Ft Lauderdale and rent car, after I finish visiting we drive rental to WDW for 2 week stay. After I check into my resort and drop off luggage I return rental to the Car Care Centre.

If Disney is trying to make guests use the WDW transportation rather than rent a car then Disney better be providing decent bus service. We were in WDW for 10 days late Nov/early Dec and had the worst bus service we’ve ever experienced. 30-40 min waits were more the rule than the exception. Totally unacceptable.