Telsa Full Self Driving feature's impact on Disneyland Parking Logistics/Operations

[TP2000]

I went to a dinner party last night, and the host has a two week old 2026 Tesla Y AWD sedan in a gorgeous shade of red with the "Full Self Driving" feature. After some bragging by the host during the meal, just after the Dessert Course the party devolved into a bizarre but very enlightening test drive session where we were split into two groups and all got shuttled around the neighborhood by his amazing fully self-driving car.

I was mesmerized. The future really is here.

And today, as I thought about it and mulled over a Tesla purchase in my mind, I thought of how revolutionary this technology will be to American roads and society. Not to mention Disneyland's famously crappy parking situation! Disneyland's parking structures and tram travails have been so bad for so many decades, that per Al Lutz over a decade ago TDA execs infamously refused to endure and now always have their cars valet parked at the Grand Californian so they and their families can avoid having to put up with the misery their own paying customers have to deal with.

Nevermind how badly that reflects on the management and failed leadership of those TDA execs, avoiding their own product.

So think about it. It's 2031, and just in SoCal alone there's over a million Tesla 3's and Y's and privately owned Robotaxi's silently buzzing around. Plus whatever the other auto makers of the 2030's have caught up to the Tesla technology of 2026. You are an upper-middle class family of 4 from Ladera Ranch, and the fireworks just ended, and you don't want to fight the soul-crushing humanity of the tram zone and the gridlock of the 17,000 space Mickey & Friends & Pixar Pals getting back onto the 5 freeway home. So you summon your Tesla 3 to pick you up at the International House of Pancakes just across Harbor Blvd, naturally. Problem solved! Except every other upper-middle class dad in that Disneyland crowd of 75,000 is thinking just like you, and now there are a thousand or more driverless Teslas leaving the parking structure all at once and heading to some convenient pickup spot on Harbor Blvd.

Is TDA considering this near-future scenario? This technology is already here, and being displayed at fashionable dinner parties across the country. I hope TDA planners and their Parking team is thinking about this. It's probably already happening a few times per night in the various parking lots around the Disneyland Resort.

 

[dmc493]

In the near future, where every person can still take control and drive and park per attendant's directions, nothing will change. I don't think TDA cares about accommodating autonomous vehicles at scale, and won't until it's something more ubiquitous in society. Even with the large # of Teslas in California (of which not all have purchased/paid for the autonomous upgrade). Get the 20+ automakers in the market today to push the idea forward, which isn't happening, convince society to get rid of all their old cars, etc etc etc. Just isn't going to happen. It's a pipe dream.

Plus, at a fictional point where all cars are autonomous, they all still need to park somewhere. At best, TDA restripes the parking lots and garages it has to accommodate a more efficient layout made possible by autonomous vehicles. ie if cars can drop their passengers off at a designated drop off point and then goes and parks itself. All still a pipe dream.

Now if we wanna talk big ideas, how about expanding and supporting further modes of public transit? Now that's an idea with some legs!

 

[DLR92]

Will Tesla even have a future? Lol

 

[TP2000]

In the near future, where every person can still take control and drive and park per attendant's directions, nothing will change.

I'm not so sure. In the last few years of my AP when I lived in OC, I was a late adopter of just taking an Uber to/from Disneyland from my suburban home 7 miles due East. The crush of Ubers on Harbor Blvd. on a Friday night in 2017-19 was massive. I learned the Grand Californian porte cochere trick at the same time.

The whole world changed with Uber seemingly overnight, from about 2015 to 2017.

Plus, at a fictional point where all cars are autonomous, they all still need to park somewhere. At best, TDA restripes the parking lots and garages it has to accommodate a more efficient layout made possible by autonomous vehicles. ie if cars can drop their passengers off at a designated drop off point and then goes and parks itself.

My concern is not in the morning as 15,000 cars arrive to park at Disneyland randomly over a few hours. The internal logistics of parking structures won't change much, if at all, just because the cars are not being controlled by the Dad in the "drivers seat".

My concern is in the evening, because Disneyland has spent decades making the parking logistics operation they have so miserably soul crushing and annoying and time-consuming. That's when any Tesla owner (or eventually other automakers too) will understandably command their car buried deep on Level 5 of Mickey & Friends to come pick them up at Harbor Blvd. or the Downtown Disney drop off zones, or what have you.

And that's where the logistical nightmare begins to set in, as a road system designed to dump 15,000 cars onto the 5 Freeway instead starts dumping thousands of cars onto surface streets all trying to get to the Harbor Blvd. Panera Bread.

Nightmare fuel on a busy Saturday night, if you think about it for a bit.

All still a pipe dream.

I just saw it with my own eyes at a dinner party two nights ago. Full Self Driving is already here. The Summon feature is currently limited to a half mile or less; think a big Costco parking lot or airport parking lot. But fully autonomous driving is already available for $99 a month with Teslas.

I've been doing some research into this since the dinner party. I'm floored at how advanced it now is.

The Tesla Robotaxi will go on sale to fleets and private individuals later this year, and it doesn't even have a steering wheel! It will drive itself empty from Yorba Linda to LAX to pick you up at baggage claim, then drive you home while you nap in the front seat.

Now if we wanna talk big ideas, how about expanding and supporting further modes of public transit? Now that's an idea with some legs!

If you want to try and get the average middle class family out of their car and into a city bus or streetcar after a long day at Disneyland, whether its a new self driving Tesla or just an old Camry, your going to need to work on a few things first.

Especially in Southern California...

Metro riders complain of transients sleeping on trains: 'They seem to be wanting to run a homeless shelter'

Early morning Metro riders say the trains are often filled with Los Angeles' homeless people sleeping. Some have even dubbed it the "Red Line Motel."

abc7.com

While homelessness surges in Disneyland's shadow, Anaheim removes bus benches

Sweat rolled down Ron Jackson’s face as he pondered, as he does every day just steps from “the Happiest Place on Earth,” where he would sleep.

www.latimes.com

 

[TP2000]

Will Tesla even have a future? Lol

It certainly seems to!

 

[dmc493]

This is a convo where we’ll agree to disagree on almost every point so how about you just hmu in 2031 and let’s see how close we've gotten to what you’re describing

 

[BrianLo]

I think due to ride sharing and rethinking landing logistics with Eastern Gateway has them slightly future proofed here. A different version of the future where we didn’t have the forewarning of ride sharing would have left them wildly under prepared.

As is, Disneyland is currently rethinking their landing while most other resorts are just baked in.

The worst case scenario if this really goes crazy is merely restructuring the parking garage itself.

Tesla is also somewhat behind the curve, though the big three wildly so. If any market breaks first it will be Shanghai.

WDW is also woefully underprepared for an electric vehicle future. Massive swaths of those lots need to be shaded with solar panels and charging ports.

 

[BrianLo]

Self driving adoption is also going to be glacial. This isn’t like ride sharing where anyone can flip their Rav 4 into an uber overnight. It requires significant consumer spending. As mentioned I think the first step is merely being ready to support charging infrastructure and even that has been progressing glacially.

Unsupervised self driving is still not commercially available yet on Tesla’s anyways.

 

[TP2000]

I think due to ride sharing and rethinking landing logistics with Eastern Gateway has them slightly future proofed here. A different version of the future where we didn’t have the forewarning of ride sharing would have left them wildly under prepared.

The worst case scenario if this really goes crazy is merely restructuring the parking garage itself.

I'm most worried about the exit roadways and infrastructure out of Mickey & Friends and Eastern Gateway. They were designed and built to get at least 80% of the exiting traffic to end up on a freeway on ramp, not on Harbor Blvd. or surrounding surface streets.

If I've got a Tesla 3 in 2027, and I leave after the fireworks and find this staring me in the face...

I'm definitely going to say "Screw that!" and summon my Tesla to come pick me up across the street at Panera Bread.

Then it's going to drive my family home while I eat a Panera cookie and scroll on my iPhone all the way back to Mission Viejo.

Tesla is also somewhat behind the curve, though the big three wildly so. If any market breaks first it will be Shanghai.

I hadn't even thought of Shanghai! They made a PR deal about how some of their parking infrastructure was set up to handle limousines, as so many wealthy Shanghaiers have chaufeurrs.

Self Driving cars suddenly give a chauffeur to the middle classes. And if you've got a chauffeur, you aren't waiting in a massive crowd for a packed tram back to Mickey & Friends!

WDW is also woefully underprepared for an electric vehicle future. Massive swaths of those lots need to be shaded with solar panels and charging ports.

They at least have the land to work with at WDW. Disneyland doesn't, especially Mickey & Friends which they're already locked in to 17,000 spaces of their parking capacity.

Once you've got 25% or more of the fleet of civilian vehicles able to Self Drive autonomously, you'd need a huge facility like the LAX Uber zones, the "LAXit" (get it?!) ; massive lanes and multiple islands for endless streams of cars picking up/dropping off. There's sort of a chance to maybe carve something out for the Eastern Gateway for Tesla Self Driving drop off/pick up, but not enough space for a long term fix as this sort of car becomes the new normal in the 2030's.

And I hope whoever came up with that terribly clever name of "LAXit" for this facility got a raise, or at least a muffin basket!

LAXit facility is the closest thing I can think of to the scale Disneyland would need...

 

[TP2000]

Self driving adoption is also going to be glacial. This isn’t like ride sharing where anyone can flip their Rav 4 into an uber overnight. It requires significant consumer spending. As mentioned I think the first step is merely being ready to support charging infrastructure and even that has been progressing glacially.

It will take some time, but just judging by the numbers of people I now know who have one of these Teslas, and the buzz it created at one single dinner party of old people, the adoption rate is going to be faster than we think. I can sense it.

I have a German car that does a sort of semi-autonomous driving cruise control thing when I'm on I-15 to San Diego, and it was very impressive to me when I got it. But this Tesla tech is something else entirely. This is now robot cars.

Unsupervised self driving is still not commercially available yet on Tesla’s anyways.

Not yet, you have to be reasonably conscious as you sit behind the wheel while your car drives you to Costco itself. Or drives you home from the bar.

But the government clearances have already been given to Tesla to start selling fully autonomous cars without steering wheels to the general public in 2026. That's now.

This isn't a gimmicky Futurama exhibit at the World's Fair any more, it's your neighbor's garage.

 

[Figments Friend]

That photo above, it reminds me yet again as to why I avoid going to LAX.

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[BrianLo]

Once you've got 25% or more of the fleet of civilian vehicles able to Self Drive autonomously,

Reminder that currently in the US only 2.1-2.5% of lightweight vehicles on the road are electric. With a period of significant subsidies to increase uptake. We are 18 years into Tesla. I agree, your future will exist, but not in 20 years.

And it’s worth reitierating they still aren’t unsupervised.

I’d anticipate though most Ubers will be robotaxis by then, but that doesn’t really meaningfully change anything.

you'd need a huge facility like the LAX Uber zones, the "LAXit" (get it?!) ; massive lanes and multiple islands for endless streams of cars picking up/dropping off. There's sort of a chance to maybe carve something out for the Eastern Gateway for Tesla Self Driving drop off/pick up, but not enough space for a long term fix as this sort of car becomes the new normal in the 2030's.

And I hope whoever came up with that terribly clever name of "LAXit" for this facility got a raise, or at least a muffin basket!

LAXit facility is the closest thing I can think of to the scale Disneyland would need...

View attachment 908987

I hate the LAX uber drop off, mostly because you have to schlep so far to it…. Actually LAX is frankly the worst airport I’ve ever been to.

 

[TP2000]

That photo above, it reminds me yet again as to why I avoid going to LAX.

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Now triple that volume on a Saturday night right after fireworks and World of Color, and shoehorn it into an infrastructure planned in 1995 that assumed Dad would drive straight back to the freeway. Think about what that means.

I really hope TDA is thinking about this, and how to mitigate it or manage it as best they can. The whole world is about to change in the next few years.

 

[TP2000]

Reminder that currently in the US only 2.1-2.5% of lightweight vehicles on the road are electric. With a period of significant subsidies to increase uptake. We are 18 years into Tesla. I agree, your future will exist, but not in 20 years.

Yes, but we are talking about SoCal here. Disneyland. Teslas already rule the road in SoCal. But eventually the other American car companies will catch up to where Tesla already is in 2026.

I'm really thinking as an AP'er here. That typical Friday night or Sunday visitor, who after a year or so visiting the place knows all the tricks and refuses to act like a tourist. That guy or gal isn't going to put up with Mickey & Friends when they're paying $99 a month for their Tesla to come get them wherever they are.

And it’s worth reitierating they still aren’t unsupervised.

They already have Waymo robotaxis in LA. They aren't in OC yet, but apparently it's because they aren't as good as Teslas and they are having a hard time getting approved. The Waymo technology uses some other sort of thing than Tesla does, and the Waymo can't operate well in the rain or snow. The Tesla Self driving cars use a different tech, something proprietary to Tesla, per the dinner party host who is now an expert.

Tesla sends out software updates automatically that keep making the function better and better, week by week. Incredible.

I hate the LAX uber drop off, mostly because you have to schlep so far to it…. Actually LAX is frankly the worst airport I’ve ever been to.

It is. They've got a Peoplemover system that's been delayed for years, but is allegedly going to open this summer. It would allegedly take you from several terminal stations to the LAXit facility and other long-term parking structures. I wish them luck.

 

[Parteecia]

Lol at the thought of driverless vehicles in line for the parking garage after dropping off the fam. How will the car pay for parking? Or show a Magic Key?

The mess going home won't be worse, just different.

 

[TP2000]

Lol at the thought of driverless vehicles in line for the parking garage after dropping off the fam. How will the car pay for parking? Or show a Magic Key?

The mess going home won't be worse, just different.

I really don't think the problems will be in the morning, because as you say the car has to pay for parking. Could they come up with an App for that? Sure, but that just invites problems. So I think that practice of having to pay for parking will self-regulate that morning logistics by TDA simply refusing to allow driverless robot cars to pay for their own parking.

The morning arrival traffic and logistics of 2030 won't be much different than what they planned for in 1995. 25,000+ cars coming off the 5 Freeway and heading into several large parking facilities en masse. Whether the car is driving itself or Dad is still driving, it's the same in the morning circa 2030.

It's the end of the night that got me thinking. They've made getting back to your car at Mickey & Friends/Pixar Pals such a horrible customer experience, that anyone with the ability to avoid it naturally would. And for decades, DECADES, they have refused to try and fix that horrible customer experience they created and routinely operate for paying customers.

So people will naturally try and avoid it. Especially if you are a local or AP'er who is unwilling to act like the Resort District spreadsheet said they would back in 1995.

Even with the technology of Summer, 2026, there's no way for Disney to prevent a robot car from exiting Mickey & Friends on its own and driving to pickup its family at McDonald's on Harbor. The technology of 2028 and '31 and '34 will be even less easy for TDA to regulate and manage.

This genie is already out of the bottle thanks to Tesla, and a TDA exec who has had comped valet parking at the Grand Californian and is clueless about their own customer operation won't be able to put it back in the bottle.

"Sorry you can't treat your customers better TDA, but I just fixed your mistakes for MY Tesla customers!"

 

[BrianLo]

They already have Waymo robotaxis in LA. They aren't in OC yet, but apparently it's because they aren't as good as Teslas and they are having a hard time getting approved. The Waymo technology uses some other sort of thing than Tesla does, and the Waymo can't operate well in the rain or snow. The Tesla Self driving cars use a different tech, something proprietary to Tesla, per the dinner party host who is now an expert.

I think your dinner host has it backwards. It’s a bit of propaganda because Tesla only uses cameras while the combination of LiDAR and cameras are superior.

It’s a bit of Tesla propaganda because they fell behind the curve.


I fully also experienced wide eyed delight by seeing driverless Waymo all over San Francisco for the first time a few days ago! So I’m not immune. But there’s really solid economics behinds robotaxis. A consumer use is more gimmicky for the cost. DLR is the absolute best use scenario, but in my general life 99.9% of the driving I do my car is parked out front. Perhaps that’s a bit of cheating as I get the most premium on call parking spot at the hospital though…

So it really depends on cost here. I get way more usage out of my heated steering wheel than I’d probably get from this, especially if companies gate the feature behind a subscription.

 

[BrianLo]

Here’s a fun Wylie coyote YouTube video for you TP on the downfall of cameras only.

 

[lazyboy97o]

They already have Waymo robotaxis in LA. They aren't in OC yet, but apparently it's because they aren't as good as Teslas and they are having a hard time getting approved. The Waymo technology uses some other sort of thing than Tesla does, and the Waymo can't operate well in the rain or snow. The Tesla Self driving cars use a different tech, something proprietary to Tesla, per the dinner party host who is now an expert.

It is Tesla that is way behind Waymo. Waymo actually operates autonomously without anyone in the car. Waymo does much better in adverse weather. It is Waymo with the advanced hardware stack and not just cameras. Tesla’s system also causes more crashes than human drivers. Their sales have also absolutely cratered as they claim to be pivoting away from personal vehicles.

 

[Figments Friend]

Self driving cars are pretty impressive from what I have thus seen.
We truly are living in the future….

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