Disney Testing Paid Parking at Walt Disney World Resort Hotels

[Nubs70]

Just like drilling a test well, when the revenue begins to flow, this will no longer be a test and will expand.

 

[rioriz]

One money grabbing scheme im not opposed to

 

[biggy H]

I wonder what it would be like if all industries were as sneaky in their charging practices as the lodging / hosp. industry.

You buy a box of Cheerios from a supermarket with a sticker price of $2.89, and when you check-out at the counter, it comes to over $10.00 due to bagging and wholesome breakfast fees.

Happens already when you see the price on the shelf and when you get to the check-out they add sales tax to it.. Why isn't the shelf price displayed including the tax? Not every one knows that tax is to be added or what amount it is especially if they don't live in the area.

 

[boufa]

As with everything, our true reaction should come from the details. (though, that has never stopped us on the these forums form speculating wildly and getting really upset)

- IF, and I think this is likely, the fee will only be for non-resort guests, as a way to stop people from parking and going to the parks, then this is an awesome idea, and definitely needed. Beyond all other discussions, from a Disney POV, why let people dodge your parking fee. Its a huge loophole and should be closed. AP's and resort guests would be free. So that ends all the complaining. The only people who would pay are those who are skirting the rules.

How much are they losing by people parking at the resorts and heading to a park. I am sure they did a cost - benefit analysis. If it was costing them more to staff, and upgrade equipment daily than they were recovering in parking fees they wouldn't do it.

Lets not forget, it also costs them on busing. Not everyone parks at the poly and goes to the MK. People park at a value and grab a bus to the parks too. That just clutters up the buses. We all talk about people parking at DS and taking 2 buses to get to a park, but doing it at a mod or value is even easier than DS. Its amazing how much time and money some people will spend to save $20.

 

[Thelazer]

Here is what will happen.

Automatic gates installed at entrance and exit to each hotel. You pull up, if you have a magic band, with active hotel / dinning reservation, your allowed in, perhaps you might scan a credit card to also locate your active reservation. If not, you receive a parking ticket. You proceed to park, you can then A, have your ticket validated at any restaurant in the hotel or by the hotel front desk if your a guest or B, when you leave insert your parking ticket and pay the fee via credit card. The system will also capture your plate code, and perhaps your credit card info, validating who you are and storing it in case of future use (much better than a silly "why are you here today?" question from a "Silly" Security CM.)

I'm sure, a 2 hour window were you can come in and go, without paying will be setup in the system.

This will do 2 things.

A: Remove the need for security personal (cost SHIFT, who can be moved over to bag / park checks)
and
B: Increase revenue from non hotel / dining guests who use the lots a "day lots"

Mark my words, it's coming, Disney doesn't care how you feel about it, doesn't matter if you don't like the idea of paying at the resort and could care less about if this turns away guests. They know the numbers the revenue will bring in VS lost guests who won't park at that hotel and they know the cost savings...

 

[jakeman]

As with everything, our true reaction should come from the details. (though, that has never stopped us on the these forums form speculating wildly and getting really upset)

- IF, and I think this is likely, the fee will only be for non-resort guests, as a way to stop people from parking and going to the parks, then this is an awesome idea, and definitely needed. Beyond all other discussions, from a Disney POV, why let people dodge your parking fee. Its a huge loophole and should be closed. AP's and resort guests would be free. So that ends all the complaining. The only people who would pay are those who are skirting the rules.

How much are they losing by people parking at the resorts and heading to a park. I am sure they did a cost - benefit analysis. If it was costing them more to staff, and upgrade equipment daily than they were recovering in parking fees they wouldn't do it.

Lets not forget, it also costs them on busing. Not everyone parks at the poly and goes to the MK. People park at a value and grab a bus to the parks too. That just clutters up the buses. We all talk about people parking at DS and taking 2 buses to get to a park, but doing it at a mod or value is even easier than DS. Its amazing how much time and money some people will spend to save $20.

But...but...hysterical overreaction is way more fun!

As for your post, everything is spot on. Done correctly, the only folks upset about this will be the ones skirting the rules.

 

[afb28]

as long as APs don't have to pay I'm all for it but if APs have to pay then it's pretty ridiculous

 

[mm121]

Interesting, and agree with others that I am surprised it took Disney this long to do this. I think a receipt validation would be a reasonable measure for guests with dinner reservations (though it would require a CM at the parking exit). Maybe they could credit the parking fee as a discount off your meal?

they definitely should have a "window" of either free or discounted parking for those wishing to explore the resorts visit the quick service or shops.

either like a free first 2 hours, or say like 1.50 per hour for the first 2 hours then, on the third hour the full rate of like $20 or so kicks it, which allows the freedom that exists now, while eliminating people parking there to go to the parks

Wouldn't necessarily require a cast member at the exit, just take a ticket when you enter, it gets run through some mechanism at the restaurant and then inserted at the exit to open the gate.

in lots of paces automated systems though they sometimes cause backups as people dont know how to use them or they forget to pre pay at a kiosk before heading down the ramps in their vehicle

Oh, I don't know.....maybe a "flashing" light to notify someone if the Park-N-Pay machine hadn't been fed enough. Not to hard to tie those sensors into different things.

most parking systems just give a ticket and then are payed at a kiosk before exiting, rather than "parking meter" type systems that are pre-paid versus post paid.

I'm surprised it took this long to come up with the concept…

Between that and the obscene amount of money they're charging for passes these days, the lots should pretty much be empty.

The days of being able to park at the resorts are long gone. I blame the rise of Disney social media and the life stylers for ruining it for everyone…

yea social media ruins everything, social media ruined discrete pool hopping too, why cant people learn to just shut up about things if they are bending the rules of things. a few people pool hopping here and there wasnt hurting anything, what really killed it was people "locals" coming in from off property with huge groups to have kids birthday parties and things when no one was staying on property nor visiting the parks

I can see where this would be coming from as well as security issues but there should be some common sense rules used here. For example what if you are local and are going to a lounge in one of the resorts such as POFQ, Riverside, Coronado Springs etc? Why shouldnt you be allowed to patronize these venues? I know I do when I Am visiting and I do drive there. Parking at Boardwalk for Jellyrolls or Atlantic Dance? Same idea. If there is a validation process, that would be fine. I love the idea that Disney resorts never charged a resort fee or a parking fee. The resort charges were very transparent and I liked that about Disney resorts. I have only stayed at one resort in the area that charged a parking fee and resort fee, which I thought was ridiculous. I will not stay at that other resort again, and that is a part of the reason why. Here is to hoping that this new parking fee is tempered with a good dose of common sense. Marie

i definitely hope they make some kind of maybe 2 hours free/heavely discounted no questions asked, maybe up to 3 hours if have receipts showing you spent money.

If the true intent of this is to prevent off-property guests from avoiding the parking fees, they need to make resort parking MORE than the park parking. Otherwise, if I'm paying anyways, why wouldn't I still park at The Contemporary? It's closer to the MK and cost me the same and/or less.

They need to just turn people away from the resorts if they don't have a reservation for food. But as others have said, you then just can't walk around resorts, etc...

cast members are also super guilty about parking at resorts to go to the parks as they know what to say to get thru the gates

Here is what will happen.

Automatic gates installed at entrance and exit to each hotel. You pull up, if you have a magic band, with active hotel / dinning reservation, your allowed in, perhaps you might scan a credit card to also locate your active reservation. If not, you receive a parking ticket. You proceed to park, you can then A, have your ticket validated at any restaurant in the hotel or by the hotel front desk if your a guest or B, when you leave insert your parking ticket and pay the fee via credit card. The system will also capture your plate code, and perhaps your credit card info, validating who you are and storing it in case of future use (much better than a silly "why are you here today?" question from a "Silly" Security CM.)

I'm sure, a 2 hour window were you can come in and go, without paying will be setup in the system.

This will do 2 things.

A: Remove the need for security personal (cost SHIFT, who can be moved over to bag / park checks)
and
B: Increase revenue from non hotel / dining guests who use the lots a "day lots"

Mark my words, it's coming, Disney doesn't care how you feel about it, doesn't matter if you don't like the idea of paying at the resort and could care less about if this turns away guests. They know the numbers the revenue will bring in VS lost guests who won't park at that hotel and they know the cost savings...

i definitely wouldnt count on a window of free parking, though is something that they should do or like i said above have like a 2 hour window of free/ discounted parking before instating the full rate as that would limit people from parking there all day, without punishing those that just want to explore/visit the resorts

i would hate to see them completely block access to the resorts as its nice to be able to check out places to see them before booking a next visit or go to the restaurants/shops, not always the table service.

one thing i hate about this as ive had locals visit me on property before to hangout etc, and it would suck for them to have to pay huge fees. would be nice if maybe the front desk could validate the parking tickets for those visiting a resort to see a guest.

also dont know how this would work if say part of a party is staying at the contemporary and part of a party is staying at a value resort, as up until now access has been pretty open,

so many questions, hardly any answers

sometimes i wish i could be a fly on the wall in these meetings, as it seems like sometimes people that are in the decision making positions have no working knowledge about how people actually visit the wdw resort as a whole and how little changes can cause all types of inconvenience which takes away from the magic and just adds confusion and frustration

 

[mm121]

But...but...hysterical overreaction is way more fun!

As for your post, everything is spot on. Done correctly, the only folks upset about this will be the ones skirting the rules.

key phrase "done correctly" unfortunately many times they rush into things without thinking about or simply not caring about how the change affects the magic, only about how the change can increase profit

has there really been an issue of resort lots being "full"

i'm defintely not opposed to the change if its implimented in a way that only punishes those that have been skipping paying the theme park parking free, while enabling otherwise open access

this can be simply accomplished
- use automated ticket dispensers or maybe even high tech plate scanners (though generally I dont like the use of plate scanners) to allow 2 hours free access, 3 hours with a purchase of say 10 dollars
-upon passing the 2/3 hour mark instate the full parking fee, this creates a true wall discouraging theme park parking while allowing exploration
-give the front desk discretion to validate tickets for guests of on site guests such as the case of a party meeting up at contemporary where some guests are split around property, or cases where someone staying at the resort paying the fees of 500 plus per night is allowed to have a non guest vehicle visit for the day/night without additional charge as the main people this plan should be designed to punish are those that have no "connection" to a guest of the resort who are simply trying to avoid the parking fee

 

[Master Yoda]

key phrase "done correctly" unfortunately many times they rush into things without thinking about or simply not caring about how the change affects the magic, only about how the change can increase profit

has there really been an issue of resort lots being "full"

i'm defintely not opposed to the change if its implimented in a way that only punishes those that have been skipping paying the theme park parking free, while enabling otherwise open access

this can be simply accomplished
- use automated ticket dispensers or maybe even high tech plate scanners (though generally I dont like the use of plate scanners) to allow 2 hours free access, 3 hours with a purchase of say 10 dollars
-upon passing the 2/3 hour mark instate the full parking fee, this creates a true wall discouraging theme park parking while allowing exploration
-give the front desk discretion to validate tickets for guests of on site guests such as the case of a party meeting up at contemporary where some guests are split around property, or cases where someone staying at the resort paying the fees of 500 plus per night is allowed to have a non guest vehicle visit for the day/night without additional charge as the main people this plan should be designed to punish are those that have no "connection" to a guest of the resort who are simply trying to avoid the parking fee

At certain resorts and at certain times of the year, yes. It is not an everyday thing, but it is becoming more common as attendance increases.

 

[wannabeBelle]

At certain resorts and at certain times of the year, yes. It is not an everyday thing, but it is becoming more common as attendance increases.

Typically the Polynesian, the Beach Club and Yacht Club seem to have this problem during more popular times of the year. I have seen the lots be totally full and the guards only allowing people in to valet park their cars. Marie

 

[The Mom]

At certain resorts and at certain times of the year, yes. It is not an everyday thing, but it is becoming more common as attendance increases.

It was not uncommon even a couple of decades ago. I remember checking into the Poly one early afternoon and having to walk forever from my car (ended up having to park almost at the gate), with luggage, due to the lot being almost full. I'm sure I'm not the only guest who complained that day that they had the choice of paying for valet or having to drag a suitcase half a mile. The same has happened at Boardwalk, where I finally just gave up and now use valet parking.

 

[DisneyCane]

The only reason some hotels call part of the room charge a "resort fee" is to try to mislead customers about the true cost. Hopefully Disney is still above that sort of thing.

The resort fee phenomenon was a result of internet hotel searches. When people are searching based almost entirely on price, the "resort" hotels needed a way to show up in the same price range as a more "bare bones" property.

While Disney may need to do this at some point with the value resorts to compete with off property, for the high end ones, there is no reason to. Nobody is searching the internet for a good deal to end up at the Grand Floridian. If they want the revenue, they'll just raise the rate $25. No need to hide it. People overpay anyway.

 

[Master Yoda]

It was not uncommon even a couple of decades ago. I remember checking into the Poly one early afternoon and having to walk forever from my car (ended up having to park almost at the gate), with luggage, due to the lot being almost full. I'm sure I'm not the only guest who complained that day that they had the choice of paying for valet or having to drag a suitcase half a mile. The same has happened at Boardwalk, where I finally just gave up and now use valet parking.

Quite correct and it is getting progressively worse. If anything, Disney is really late to the party in addressing this issue.

 

[ToInfinityAndBeyond]

It might be worth noting that every time I go in to any lot, they've asked to scan a Magic Band if I was wearing one, even after I explained I was not a resort guest. I have a feeling they have been monitoring traffic as best they can for a while now and this was the decision based on the information they gathered.

 

[ford91exploder]

key phrase "done correctly" unfortunately many times they rush into things without thinking about or simply not caring about how the change affects the magic, only about how the change can increase profit

has there really been an issue of resort lots being "full"

i'm defintely not opposed to the change if its implimented in a way that only punishes those that have been skipping paying the theme park parking free, while enabling otherwise open access

this can be simply accomplished
- use automated ticket dispensers or maybe even high tech plate scanners (though generally I dont like the use of plate scanners) to allow 2 hours free access, 3 hours with a purchase of say 10 dollars
-upon passing the 2/3 hour mark instate the full parking fee, this creates a true wall discouraging theme park parking while allowing exploration
-give the front desk discretion to validate tickets for guests of on site guests such as the case of a party meeting up at contemporary where some guests are split around property, or cases where someone staying at the resort paying the fees of 500 plus per night is allowed to have a non guest vehicle visit for the day/night without additional charge as the main people this plan should be designed to punish are those that have no "connection" to a guest of the resort who are simply trying to avoid the parking fee

Or GASP try tying the parking entitlement to the MB - Supposedly MDE knows you have an ADR at a resort, Drive up scan and gate lets you in, For non WDW resort guests issue a ticket which the restaurant can validate.

But neither of these are a new revenue source so let's say hi to our new 20-30 dollar/night parking upcharge.

 

[Katie G]

Everyone crying that this is terrible clearly hasn't been out to the resorts to see what is actually happening.

Right now the resorts are packed and standard procedure is to turn guests away when parking lots are full. THAT HAS NOT CHANGED. They are not charging you to park, they are telling you lot is full or reserved for resort guests and ADR guests. They redirect you to MK parking lot or let you know that paid Valet is available. There is NOT a self-park charge at the resorts for any guests.

CM are told the same thing. They can only park at the resort if they are working there or have clearance to be there. Otherwise they are turned away as well. This is completely normal for the resorts when parking is constrained.

 

[mikenatcity1]

I am happy about this! There have been a few times where I couldn't find parking at one of my resorts. As for paying for parking for resort guests, I just spent several days at the Disneyland Resort (Paradise Pier, Grand Californian and Disneyland hotels) and all charged us for parking, even being a resort guest. While I hated it, I paid it...(I REALLY hope they don't do that at WDW).

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

I am happy about this! There have been a few times where I couldn't find parking at one of my resorts. As for paying for parking for resort guests, I just spent several days at the Disneyland Resort (Paradise Pier, Grand Californian and Disneyland hotels) and all charged us for parking, even being a resort guest. While I hated it, I paid it...(I REALLY hope they don't do that at WDW).

I hope they don't start charging for parking at WDW either...but I could see it happening in the future.

 

[asianway]

The resort fee phenomenon was a result of internet hotel searches. When people are searching based almost entirely on price, the "resort" hotels needed a way to show up in the same price range as a more "bare bones" property.

While Disney may need to do this at some point with the value resorts to compete with off property, for the high end ones, there is no reason to. Nobody is searching the internet for a good deal to end up at the Grand Floridian. If they want the revenue, they'll just raise the rate $25. No need to hide it. People overpay anyway.

Disneyland already did the resort fee thing and did away with it two years ago or so. The main component of the fee was parking, which is now added if you have your own car.