Spin-off Parking fees... switching hotels

[Paulll92]

I have fond memories of my visits to Walt Disney World. It has always been spotless and I've not ever had an encounter with a rude worker. Their souvenirs are right up my alley, the park theming is wonderful and Disney was always a premium vacation, bordering on some type of luxury really.
Now for the downside (definitely more recent). Disney vacations were always marketed as "family affordable" and "magical". When premium perks are negated and prices rise, that wholesome and unique philosophy of affordable magic becomes defunct. The Disney bus transportation is a laughable joke. Waiting upwards of an hour to board a crowded bus to get to the park is ludicrous. If hotel prices are already above the standard rates for that area, why are other fees tacked on? If they're charging for parking because they want to be on par with other hotels, why are hotels rates not decreasing to be on par with the other hotels in the vicinity? Why is a parking spot going to cost more at a deluxe hotel than a value hotel? There are no added perks to the spots, cement is cement. Why do people with disabilities not have to pay the fee, but non disabled people do? Is that not a form of discrimination?! Their cars are parked in the parking lots too, why is there preferential treatment there? They are also deterring people from staying at Disney hotels because the only people being charged the parking fees are over night guests. So logically, someone could stay offsite and save hundreds of dollars in hotel fees, drive to one of the Disney hotels everyday and park for free and take a bus to a park or in the case of Epcot hotels walk or Magic Kingdom hotels take the monorail or ferry. That makes no sense on Disney's end... The meal plans rise several dollars every year, but there isn't any added little perks to the dining options. The price of souvenirs has risen above the average national inflation rate. An ornament I have from 2004 of ceramic that cost $12 (still have tag on it) now costs $25-30. A 2004 $12 item would be equivalent to $16 dollars roughly now, yet the price of the ornament is almost doubled the inflated price rate. They are upgrading the parks (which is good), but when you pay quite a bit of money for an amusement park vacation, and so many rides are down for repairs, it leaves a sour taste in ones mouth. Characters used to roam the parks and you could get your photo and autograph with them. Now you have to go to certain spots and wait in long lines to see them. Loss of magic there.
I get Disney is a business, but the increased prices rise drastically and higher than people's pay and double the inflated price. I am done giving Bob Iger and other high management Disney execs. my money, so they can retire early. Thank you for the memories WDW, but I'm not going back to the most "Magical place on Earth" again. I also am no longer buying any Disney merchandise, enough is enough.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

UPDATE
We check in at the Holiday Inn and I have to say I’m literally 5 min drive from Disney and the room is double in size, have a Keurig coffee maker, bathroom are huge, full size crib, mini fridge, queen size beds, no stinky carpet, no mold, is spotless. I’m so glad I’m not going back to the bubble any time soon.
edited to add we have free wifi, and free kids breakfast with a $12 paying adult for a buffet.

The Holiday Inn DS is one of our favorites, their customer service is amazing!!! Love it there!

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Thanks for the tip. I do subscribe but don't always read their newsletters because we have stuck with on-site resorts and package tickets in the past. I'll keep a closer eye on it now because we're tenatively planning for Aug on a relatively tight budget (compared to our usual on-site/moderate resort/deluxe dining travel style) and between the cost difference and the extra space the Doubletree looks very, very good. And since I', an AP holder, parking at the parks doesn't cut into the savings.

And you'll get complimentary breakfast too!

 

[danielocha30]

I have fond memories of my visits to Walt Disney World. It has always been spotless and I've not ever had an encounter with a rude worker. Their souvenirs are right up my alley, the park theming is wonderful and Disney was always a premium vacation, bordering on some type of luxury really.
Now for the downside (definitely more recent). Disney vacations were always marketed as "family affordable" and "magical". When premium perks are negated and prices rise, that wholesome and unique philosophy of affordable magic becomes defunct. The Disney bus transportation is a laughable joke. Waiting upwards of an hour to board a crowded bus to get to the park is ludicrous. If hotel prices are already above the standard rates for that area, why are other fees tacked on? If they're charging for parking because they want to be on par with other hotels, why are hotels rates not decreasing to be on par with the other hotels in the vicinity? Why is a parking spot going to cost more at a deluxe hotel than a value hotel? There are no added perks to the spots, cement is cement. Why do people with disabilities not have to pay the fee, but non disabled people do? Is that not a form of discrimination?! Their cars are parked in the parking lots too, why is there preferential treatment there? They are also deterring people from staying at Disney hotels because the only people being charged the parking fees are over night guests. So logically, someone could stay offsite and save hundreds of dollars in hotel fees, drive to one of the Disney hotels everyday and park for free and take a bus to a park or in the case of Epcot hotels walk or Magic Kingdom hotels take the monorail or ferry. That makes no sense on Disney's end... The meal plans rise several dollars every year, but there isn't any added little perks to the dining options. The price of souvenirs has risen above the average national inflation rate. An ornament I have from 2004 of ceramic that cost $12 (still have tag on it) now costs $25-30. A 2004 $12 item would be equivalent to $16 dollars roughly now, yet the price of the ornament is almost doubled the inflated price rate. They are upgrading the parks (which is good), but when you pay quite a bit of money for an amusement park vacation, and so many rides are down for repairs, it leaves a sour taste in ones mouth. Characters used to roam the parks and you could get your photo and autograph with them. Now you have to go to certain spots and wait in long lines to see them. Loss of magic there.
I get Disney is a business, but the increased prices rise drastically and higher than people's pay and double the inflated price. I am done giving Bob Iger and other high management Disney execs. my money, so they can retire early. Thank you for the memories WDW, but I'm not going back to the most "Magical place on Earth" again. I also am no longer buying any Disney merchandise, enough is enough.

I’m planning to enjoy the time I have left in my AP, will definitely take a break and will be back for sure, but it will take some incentive from Disney to have me back.

 

[maxiesmom]

Characters used to roam the parks and you could get your photo and autograph with them. Now you have to go to certain spots and wait in long lines to see them. Loss of magic there.
I get Disney is a business, but the increased prices rise drastically and higher than people's pay and double the inflated price. I am done giving Bob Iger and other high management Disney execs. my money, so they can retire early. Thank you for the memories WDW, but I'm not going back to the most "Magical place on Earth" again. I also am no longer buying any Disney merchandise, enough is enough.

My memories of characters roaming the parks are not so great. I remember the minute someone spotted a character a mob would start to follow them around. And the only way for your child to get an autograph was to shove them forward at just the right moment. And you could wait and your child not get the opportunity for time with the character, you never knew! It wasn't magical at all, it was stressful. I much prefer the orderly lines they have now.

And I can't recall ever having to wait an hour for a bus in the 20+ years I have been going to the parks. If it was typical for you, then either I had great luck or you had horrible luck. I wouldn't appreciate those sorts of waits either.

My guess why Disney is not charging people with handicapped tags is that the tag makes it a necessity to have a car. Or at least, that is what could be argued, and Disney doesn't want to pick a fight with the disabled community over parking. Totally a guess, but that is what I think.

 

[bloomcruisers]

So I figured that with the cost savings from each night offsite vs moderate hotel, I can book a different hotel character breakfast every day. Then I park there for free as a day guest and just head to the park after eating.

 

[maxiesmom]

So I figured that with the cost savings from each night offsite vs moderate hotel, I can book a different hotel character breakfast every day. Then I park there for free as a day guest and just head to the park after eating.

That is not allowed. Typically you get a 3 hour parking pass. If you leave your car at a resort you are not staying at you risk it being towed.

 

[bloomcruisers]

That is not allowed. Typically you get a 3 hour parking pass. If you leave your car at a resort you are not staying at you risk it being towed.

Maybe technically, but from personal accounts on here (not my own), Disney doesn't seem to check or care if you leave it.

 

[maxiesmom]

Maybe technically, but from personal accounts on here (not my own), Disney doesn't seem to check or care if you leave it.

That depends on how lucky you are. There are posters who have seen cars towed away.

 

[bloomcruisers]

That depends on how lucky you are. There are posters who have seen cars towed away.

I guess I've not seen those posts. How do they know they were towed for parking too long and not just someone with car trouble?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

So I figured that with the cost savings from each night offsite vs moderate hotel, I can book a different hotel character breakfast every day. Then I park there for free as a day guest and just head to the park after eating.

Maybe technically, but from personal accounts on here (not my own), Disney doesn't seem to check or care if you leave it.

____________
That's actually a large reason why people are upset that they didn't charge for parking fees for Day Guests especially that parking spaces in certain resorts closer to the parks have been harder to find. No one can tell you not to do it but I wouldn't expect much support for doing it.

 

[bloomcruisers]

I'm an AP holder so get free park parking anyway.
I'm just pointing out that if Disney doesn't feel it's necessary to charge or monitor people parking for dining then they are effectively endorsing it, and yes people will park there.
So stay offsite at a less expensive Hotel with better amenities and free parking, and use the savings for a nice TS meal everyday. Helps keep you in the Disney mood.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm just pointing out that if Disney doesn't feel it's necessary to charge or monitor people parking for dining then they are effectively endorsing it, and yes people will park there.

What you are talking about doing has been going on long before the parking fees and it still annoyed a majority of people on this board just moreso now that Disney didn't also or start with charging Day Guests.

Disney isn't endorsing this but I would say they recognize that right now it would hurt their bottom line more to have a parking fee for Day Guests..but that may not be the case in the future...several things in the last couple of years have already been adjusted by Disney when it suited them.

You do you just don't expect a bunch of support for overstaying your welcome in the parking lots of the resorts by going to the theme parks instead.

 

[bloomcruisers]

What you are talking about doing has been going on long before the parking fees and it still annoyed a majority of people on this board just moreso now that Disney didn't also or start with charging Day Guests.

Disney isn't endorsing this but I would say they recognize that right now it would hurt their bottom line more to have a parking fee for Day Guests..but that may not be the case in the future...several things in the last couple of years have already been adjusted by Disney when it suited them.

You do you just don't expect a bunch of support for overstaying your welcome in the parking lots of the resorts by going to the theme parks instead.

The thing is, it doesn't really matter what you or I or anyone here feel about doing this. It matters what Disney thinks. Just like the resort parking fees which most people here disagree with but Disney thinks are now the best thing since sliced bread.
And what Disney feels is shown by what they do, not what they say. So if they allow day visitors to park for free all day then they are fine with that, so people should feel free to do it. Maybe if more do, then they will wise up and start issuing a ticket when you enter the lot like they do at DL and their Aulani resort. Then charge an hourly rate beyond the 3 hrs allowed. Which is what most people here, myself included, believe should be done.
But until they do that, I won't blame anyone who does what Disney allows them to do. Kind of like how people get all upset because others basically get double fast passes by using child swap. It is allowed which means it is acceptable to Disney. So feel free to do it.

 

[maxiesmom]

There is a difference between being allowed to do something and getting away with doing something. If you park all day at a resort at which you are not registered as a guest, you are getting away with it. Disney has signs up stating parking at resorts is not for theme park access. Can you get away with it? Maybe. But no, Disney definitely does not allow non guests to park at resorts all day long and then head of to a theme park.

 

[bloomcruisers]

There is a difference between being allowed to do something and getting away with doing something. If you park all day at a resort at which you are not registered as a guest, you are getting away with it. Disney has signs up stating parking at resorts is not for theme park access. Can you get away with it? Maybe. But no, Disney definitely does not allow non guests to park at resorts all day long and then head of to a theme park.

Again, and for the last time...
Theory and practice are 2 different things.
Disney can put up all the signs they want, but if they don't enforce it then it's not an issue for them. I remember a post where someone had to wait following the fireworks, for multiple monorails to get back to their resort hotel (don't remember which) then watched as a huge number of people went directly to the parking lot after exiting the monorail. That might annoy you and it might annoy me. But it apparently doesn't bother Disney execs or they would institute a practice that doesn't "allow" it. As it is, they have an ideal, not a policy.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The thing is, it doesn't really matter what you or I or anyone here feel about doing this. It matters what Disney thinks. Just like the resort parking fees which most people here disagree with but Disney thinks are now the best thing since sliced bread.
And what Disney feels is shown by what they do, not what they say. So if they allow day visitors to park for free all day then they are fine with that, so people should feel free to do it. Maybe if more do, then they will wise up and start issuing a ticket when you enter the lot like they do at DL and their Aulani resort. Then charge an hourly rate beyond the 3 hrs allowed. Which is what most people here, myself included, believe should be done.
But until they do that, I won't blame anyone who does what Disney allows them to do. Kind of like how people get all upset because others basically get double fast passes by using child swap. It is allowed which means it is acceptable to Disney. So feel free to do it.

Look all I'm telling you is you're not going to get much support. If you want to do it you're going to do it. But I wouldn't suggest looking for much support on the idea of not paying a fee. When the topic is posted as a thread the advice generally follows pay for Valet parking if you are wanting to stay at the resort beyond your ADR time spent.

 

[Paulll92]

My memories of characters roaming the parks are not so great. I remember the minute someone spotted a character a mob would start to follow them around. And the only way for your child to get an autograph was to shove them forward at just the right moment. And you could wait and your child not get the opportunity for time with the character, you never knew! It wasn't magical at all, it was stressful. I much prefer the orderly lines they have now.

And I can't recall ever having to wait an hour for a bus in the 20+ years I have been going to the parks. If it was typical for you, then either I had great luck or you had horrible luck. I wouldn't appreciate those sorts of waits either.

My guess why Disney is not charging people with handicapped tags is that the tag makes it a necessity to have a car. Or at least, that is what could be argued, and Disney doesn't want to pick a fight with the disabled community over parking. Totally a guess, but that is what I think.

That's terrible, I always laugh because it's just a "Joe Schmo" in costume and people go crazy haha. I have to say, our lucks have reversed. The first time I was there, with the characters walking around people formed lines, but the wait was very quick. The characters seemed decent enough to take photos and autographs with everyone there, then leave for their breaks. Again could have been luck, but never had a bad experience then.

Yes, unfortunately the last two trips, waiting around for the bus to show up daily was a miserable experience. It was so bad that to get from our hotel to Magic Kingdom, we would take the bus approaching to Epcot (Magic Kingdom bus kept getting postponed 45 minute wait). We would go through security and get on the monorail to the Ferry/Monorail station at the Magic Kingdom. From there we would either take the adjoining monorail or ferry. This would take the same time as waiting for the bus.

 

[maxiesmom]

Again, and for the last time...
Theory and practice are 2 different things.
Disney can put up all the signs they want, but if they don't enforce it then it's not an issue for them. I remember a post where someone had to wait following the fireworks, for multiple monorails to get back to their resort hotel (don't remember which) then watched as a huge number of people went directly to the parking lot after exiting the monorail. That might annoy you and it might annoy me. But it apparently doesn't bother Disney execs or they would institute a practice that doesn't "allow" it. As it is, they have an ideal, not a policy.

Again, getting away with something is not being allowed to do it. That is something a teenager would say when they knew they were doing wrong, but were trying to justify it.

You can park there if you like, but don't kid yourself Disney allows it. They don't. You are getting away with something contrary to the signs Disney has posted.

 

[bloomcruisers]

I'm not planning on doing it so I'm not looking for support.
I have 2 scheduled trips at ft wilderness upcoming and already cancelled another that was scheduled for a thanksgiving stay after I got so annoyed by the parking fees. I'm probably not going to renew my AP so I won't need to worry about future offsite stays.
I'm saying that the current setup for day visiting is lousy and it is ripe for all kinds of situations like I laid out. And as annoying as that is, I really can't blame people for taking advantage of it since Disney implicitly encourages it by not having any kind of system to control it. They have no problems controlling access to special events at the parks and it would be simple to do the same at resorts if they actually wanted to control day visitor parking. The posted signs appear to be more of a feel good thing so people staying there believe they care. But they don't.