Parking fees at Walt Disney World theme park increase effective October 4

[French Quarter]

It is also a very safe bet that extra magic hours will be phased out in the next 24 months.

There are some pretty good assumptions made on this forum and several others that ehms may go away. Morning emhs will likely survive but evening hours is whats most at risk. A likely thing in its place is resort guests get more fp+ options. Im sure there is a fp+ 2.0 that will roll out within the next 5 years and be targeted for resort guests. My theory, resort guests will get more fp+ reservations and the ability to make reservations for more than one park in the same day 60 days in advance. Of course, this is only my assumption.

This is an interesting theory. I had never thought about it but it seems to make sense. I would rather have more FPs too. I always avoid the parks with EMH anyway, so I don't take advantage of that perk. It will be hard now to know which park to avoid but perhaps that's the point. Maybe they are trying to even out the crowds among the parks.

 

[raven]

I still find it funny how parking rate increase. The same car you drove 5 years ago still fits into the same space. No upgrade to shade or anything to merit the price increase.

Radio DJ quote "Why do places charge for parking? Don't they want you to come to their business?"

 

[JourneysEnd]

I still find it funny how parking rate increase. The same car you drove 5 years ago still fits into the same space. No upgrade to shade or anything to merit the price increase.

Radio DJ quote "Why do places charge for parking? Don't they want you to come to their business?"

Yes, but, they have to pay the tram drivers and hopefully that goes up every now and then. Would imagine there's some serious insurance there somewhere. Replacement and repair of trams ?

 

[raven]

Yes, but, they have to pay the tram drivers and hopefully that goes up every now and then. Would imagine there's some serious insurance there somewhere. Replacement and repair of trams ?

That falls under Transportation, not parking. And no, no ones wages are going up enough to merit $20/vehicle. 80% of WDW make less than $10/hour, even after 5 years of service.

 

[JoeCamel]

The parking costs very little to run, I would think they make more off parking than they do at the gate of MK so it pays for the TTC (monorail/bus/ferry) operation and the parks work on their own.

 

[French Quarter]

They charge you $20 per car to make a profit. Plain and simple. I have no problem with this. This is what businesses exist to do.

 

[flynnibus]

The parking costs very little to run, I would think they make more off parking than they do at the gate of MK so it pays for the TTC (monorail/bus/ferry) operation and the parks work on their own.

Parking is very capital intensive. Very expensive to build, expensive to repair. And when it's very big like ttc- there is a lot of labor involved during busy hours. It's not very cheap... But it does work on its own for long periods. Don't think it's cheap... It's just costs that most business roll into their overhead vs charging for it. Theme parks do it because they can... Not as much because they need to..

 

[Goofyernmost]

Parking is very capital intensive. Very expensive to build, expensive to repair. And when it's very big like ttc- there is a lot of labor involved during busy hours. It's not very cheap... But it does work on its own for long periods. Don't think it's cheap... It's just costs that most business roll into their overhead vs charging for it. Theme parks do it because they can... Not as much because they need to..

I used to have a boss whose favorite expression was... "the graveyards are full of businesses that were afraid to raise their rates." I wasn't immediately sure what that meant, but, quickly learned that catching up when you haven't kept up, is nearly a death sentence. People adjust to small changes, which this is BTW, much easier then huge increases when costs dictate that they must.

 

[Jon81uk]

People adjust to small changes, which this is BTW, much easier then huge increases when costs dictate that they must

I would say that $17 to $20 is quite a big change. Going up to $18 would have been a small change, same as most years. But jumping up to $20 feels like they are trying harder to get people to stay onsite (or get AP).

 

[alissafalco]

I would say that $17 to $20 is quite a big change. Going up to $18 would have been a small change, same as most years. But jumping up to $20 feels like they are trying harder to get people to stay onsite (or get AP).

Or just make more $$ off you, plain and simple.

 

[Figment2005]

That falls under Transportation, not parking. And no, no ones wages are going up enough to merit $20/vehicle. 80% of WDW make less than $10/hour, even after 5 years of service.

Trams are parking, not transportation. Parking attendants operate them.

 

[French Quarter]

I would say that $17 to $20 is quite a big change. Going up to $18 would have been a small change, same as most years. But jumping up to $20 feels like they are trying harder to get people to stay onsite (or get AP).

It's good business is the point. Charge money for something that doesn't have a lot of overhead. Keep raising the price for that service for until you find the maximum that customers are willing to pay. I am always baffled at why people think that Disney would act as anything other than a very successful business providing a quality product.

 

[Jon81uk]

It's good business is the point. Charge money for something that doesn't have a lot of overhead. Keep raising the price for that service for until you find the maximum that customers are willing to pay. I am always baffled at why people think that Disney would act as anything other than a very successful business providing a quality product.

There is a difference between getting more revenue by finding the maximum that customers are willing to pay and good business. Raising by $3 all at once can be enough to make people think about what they are paying and leaves a bitter feeling. A smaller increase every six months could have made better business sense as it is less noticeable to guests.

I know Disney is a business blah blah but some of their recent moves look more like cash grabbing than running a good business.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I would say that $17 to $20 is quite a big change. Going up to $18 would have been a small change, same as most years. But jumping up to $20 feels like they are trying harder to get people to stay onsite (or get AP).

When one considers what it costs for everything else... $3.00 is chump change. If three bucks affects my plans then I will pretty much stop going there. Hasn't happened yet.

 

[JoeCamel]

Should speed up the queue at the toll booths, a twenty handed over without having to fork back three ones, now if they just put in a CC lane and a AP lane they could really get some throughput

 

[French Quarter]

There is a difference between getting more revenue by finding the maximum that customers are willing to pay and good business. Raising by $3 all at once can be enough to make people think about what they are paying and leaves a bitter feeling. A smaller increase every six months could have made better business sense as it is less noticeable to guests.

I know Disney is a business blah blah but some of their recent moves look more like cash grabbing than running a good business.

Yes...there is a balance, to be sure. You want to make maximum profit without turning off your customers. I get that. But clearly there are less people who are bothered by the "cash grab" than you think. The place is busting at the seams. Customers are obviously not turned off.

 

[AEfx]

There is a difference between getting more revenue by finding the maximum that customers are willing to pay and good business. Raising by $3 all at once can be enough to make people think about what they are paying and leaves a bitter feeling. A smaller increase every six months could have made better business sense as it is less noticeable to guests.

I know Disney is a business blah blah but some of their recent moves look more like cash grabbing than running a good business.

It's really a shame how many people don't realize that actions have consequences, which is exactly what some of these price increases are starting to do. Eeking out every last buck you can only works until folks find you too over priced and stop giving you any bucks at all.

 

[French Quarter]

It's really a shame how many people don't realize that actions have consequences, which is exactly what some of these price increases are starting to do. Eeking out every last buck you can only works until folks find you too over priced and stop giving you any bucks at all.

Exactly...simple supply and demand. That's what I have been talking about. So long as the demand continues to grow, so will the price point. Clearly, Disney has not reached the point of over-supply. They will keep raising prices until they do.

 

[raven]

Maybe the $3 hike is paying for the loss of income from Speedway.

 

[Jeff456]

Crazy they can charge that much really... But it hopefully won't have an impact on me as I'll always look to stay on site.
At universal I stayed at the hard rock for a Night last year and had to pay to park at hotel despite staying there!