If Disney hotels are "just like" or "no better" than a Motel 6 or a Days Inn, why do you stay on property?
I saw 3/21/2018 coming the day Disney began to charge for Valet Parking. How many on here are comparing Disney hotels to offsite hotels like Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn, Hyatt Place, Hampton, Holiday Inn, Fairfield, Days Inn, Comfort Inn, etc.? You can't compare them with most offsite hotels. You get the parks and all the dining options, plus other amenities.
Is it? What do the Contemporary, Coronado Springs, Boardwalk and the Yacht & Beach Club have in common? They're all Convention Hotels along with the Swan and Dolphin. Parking is always a "top of this list" negotiating point for any convention. I know, I organized a national convention in 2017. First thing to go was the parking fees. Next was the resort fees. These hotels are exactly like the ones I mentioned on I-Drive. They are all convention hotels. We did this for Coronado Springs, the Swan, the Hilton in DS, the Rosen Plaza and the Hilton and Hyatt on I-Drive. Just because someone stays at CS or BW because they like the theming doesn't negate the fact that they are convention hotels.
The problem Disney has always had is people not paying to park at the theme parks. They would park at any MK resort and hop on the monorail or park in Disney Springs and hop on a bus or park in any resort and do the same thing. Does anyone remember the days where if you were staying at a Disney resort you didn't pay for theme park parking? Show them your card key and they waved you in. I had a friend who kept a collection of keys in his car. I know of several families who would park at any All Star resort and take the bus to a theme park. Another would park at the Campgrounds, PO or CBR and hop on a bus to Epcot or DHS. So they decided to charge for resort parking to make up for the lost income from theme park parking.
Also they are trying to incentivize people to not drive to WDW. The issue, and it happens all over Florida, is tourists driving and not knowing where they are. Every time I drive on Buena Vista Dr. I see an accident. On World Dr. south of US 192 the speed limit drops to 35 miles per hour yet drivers who are lost go flying down the road towards I-4/Celebration. Disney is dong more than a money grab; they are trying to reduce cars on the roads on property.