How Does Somebody Get an EV Parking Space at Disney World?

[WishIWasRetired]

The chargers at Disney are level 2 chargers, which aren't fast chargers. Saying that, many public L2 and L3 (fast) chargers will charge idle fees when the car is parked and plugged, but full.

Not paying those fees is a solid financial incentive to move elsewhere once charged.

How much are the idle fees now? They would probably have to charge allot for Idle fees at Disney because people will just treat it as another add on like Genie +

 

[SteveAZee]

As a gas powered vehicle owner that has to drive a lot for work I cannot commit yet. I would be interested in an EV, specifically the Ford Lightning. My mileage varies a lot day to day and I have to drive to some remote areas in Florida. Right now, the change is impossible for me. One day maybe I will.. My personal thoughts, because I am a bit of a nerd. I know battery technology is bad. Its going to be bad for a while too.. I know the technology is being improved but I don't see it happening for a while. On the reverse side, there are no gaskets to blow, no coolant to change and less moving parts.. It's a better machine..

Currently at isney the EV parking is a joke.. They need to make a huge section, in the back of the Lot and make charging available to the needs of the massive amount of EVs coming on property. 3 Charges are the front of the lot is just stupid. There also needs to be an incentive for the users to charge and GTFO of the spots!! You don't need to park there for 6 hours when, to my knowledge, they only take a short time to charge..

Things are still in the early stages of EV's. It's a process. Tons of people park on the streets or live in apartments and park in garages, so figuring out how to do overnight charging for them still needs to be worked out (the same as trying to share chargers at Disney). It's possible/likely that there will be EV's, hybrids, and ICE's on the road for many decades. People will transition because it makes sense to do so. VHS>DVD>Blu-Ray>Streaming. Incandescent>CF>LED.

 

[mkt]

They'll run out of water before electricity.

I think Utah will run out first.

 

[mkt]

How much are the idle fees now? They would probably have to charge allot for Idle fees at Disney because people will just treat it as another add on like Genie +

They vary by provider. IIRC, Tesla charges $0.50-1.00 per minute, Electrify America charges $0.40 per minute after a 10 minute grace period.

It's not a lot if you're quick, but it can add up quickly.

Given the how large distance between the parks and the parking, I'd be a bit more generous with the grace period, but hit them hard with the per minute fees. free 30 minute grace period, $5 for the second 30 minutes, and then $1/minute afterward.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

As a gas powered vehicle owner that has to drive a lot for work I cannot commit yet. I would be interested in an EV, specifically the Ford Lightning. My mileage varies a lot day to day and I have to drive to some remote areas in Florida. Right now, the change is impossible for me. One day maybe I will.. My personal thoughts, because I am a bit of a nerd. I know battery technology is bad. Its going to be bad for a while too.. I know the technology is being improved but I don't see it happening for a while. On the reverse side, there are no gaskets to blow, no coolant to change and less moving parts.. It's a better machine..

Currently at isney the EV parking is a joke.. They need to make a huge section, in the back of the Lot and make charging available to the needs of the massive amount of EVs coming on property. 3 Charges are the front of the lot is just stupid. There also needs to be an incentive for the users to charge and GTFO of the spots!! You don't need to park there for 6 hours when, to my knowledge, they only take a short time to charge..

The closest charging station to me is at a little restaurant area where there are about 5 restaurants and a few cafes. They have 2 chargers there, I was reading how the charges work there and if you don't move the car after it hits full charge you will be charge $25per hour that you leave it there. Now that is incentive to move.

 

[SteveAZee]

The closest charging station to me is at a little restaurant area where there are about restaurants and a few cafes. They have 2 chargers there, I was reading how the charges work there and if you don't move the car after it hits full charge you will be charge $25per hour that you leave it there. Now that is incentive to move.

There has to be some fee for people hooking up and leaving... it's an opportunity cost, i.e. the lost opportunity to charge/charge the next person.

 

[bhg469]

There has to be some fee for people hooking up and leaving... it's an opportunity cost, i.e. the lost opportunity to charge/charge the next person.

Seeing as how that fee is so high, they may not want people to return!

 

[SteveAZee]

Seeing as how that fee is so high, they may not want people to return!

Yeah, there's what they actually earn per hour when there's a good flow of cars getting charged vs. the raw profit of charging people for overstaying their welcome. LOL, overdraft fees come to mind. It's a bit 'wild west' at the moment. The free market will probably straighten it out.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Yeah, there's what they actually earn per hour when there's a good flow of cars getting charged vs. the raw profit of charging people for overstaying their welcome. LOL, overdraft fees come to mind. It's a bit 'wild west' at the moment. The free market will probably straighten it out.

I'm apt to think each location/business has some say with the fees. Both this one near me and vero beach dvc were charge point chargers. The Vero one had no fees for staying plugged in after full charge.

 

[Hcalvert]

I charged my hybrid Jeep at Hollywood Studios one time during my trip in June. I had to report ChargePoint to my credit card company. They kept billing my credit card $10 every few days eventhough I used it one time and my bill was $5.35. I also had signed up for being charged each time I used it not the option of reloading every time my balance went below $10. I ended up having to cancel that credit card as I could not get them to remove my payment method in the app and stop charging me. A big pain.

As for the getting a spot, the best time is at park opening. I saw someone ranting because they wanted a spot and a Tesla was in it but not charging. The parking attendant didn't seem to be able to do anything.

 

[WishIWasRetired]

As for the getting a spot, the best time is at park opening. I saw someone ranting because they wanted a spot and a Tesla was in it but not charging. The parking attendant didn't seem to be able to do anything.

This would be a bigger problem since I don't know how they would be able to charge idle fees when a car was never plugged in, and there will be some people that will treat it like their own personal parking spot. There is a name for those types, but I will keep it to myself

 

[DryerLintFan]

So been driving a rented Tesla S for several days. It's a bit older and only has 225 range, which seems to be even less, is it the heat? Anyway, while it's been fun it was a bit stressful finding charging. As I mentioned we stayed at the Poly...no charging there. The charging stations at the park were always full(BTW Epcot has a terrible spot for theirs, literally the same lane as the Rideshare pickups and dropouts so cars are always behind tour parking space). Car got down to just 6 miles left today on it when I pulled into a lot with supercharger. This after driving by several gas stations. Fun but a little stressful.

Where are you going that you need charging every day at Disney and you got down to six miles?? Or have you not charged at all yet and that was The first time?

If you buy your own EV, you’d typically not want to let the battery get that low on a regular basis. It’s not like a cellphone battery where letting it drain helps preserve it. They recommend not draining it and not fully charging it unless you’re on a trip and it cannot be avoided. Which is also a good reason why buying an EV that was previously a rental car should be STRONGLY avoided

 

[DryerLintFan]

Maybe a little less carrot and a little more stick? Enforce fines maybe? Maybe have a charger that will charge a card as its plugged, not necessarily while charging. I don't know the solution but like all things lately Disney is way behind the curve. Way too few spots for the demand.

We kinda discussed this up thread, but the problem is that there’s very low possibility the cost you could associate with this would be enough to pull anyone from the parks from an hour.

Like, say the charger costs a fee for when you sit fully charged like the Tesla charger does. Say that fee amounts to $40 for the time you’re in the parks finishing up your park day. Your would either spend an hour going out of the park to move the car to some undetermined spot, or consider the $40 a sunk cost for knowing your car is in a close spot, remains fully charged, and you don’t miss out on any fun.

The fee would have to be astronomical before people choose to not just pay it.

 

[mkt]

It's a bit older and only has 225 range, which seems to be even less, is it the heat?

Like all batteries, EV batteries lose range as time progresses. That's why by law they have an 8 yr/100k mile battery warranty (10 yr/160k mile in CARB states)

As far as temperature, hot climates (unless extremely absurdly insanely hot) tend to not be an issue for EVs. However cold climates - usually below 32F - are an issue, and they can reduce range temporarily.

 

[mkt]

It's a bit older and only has 225 range, which seems to be even less, is it the heat?

Like all batteries, EV batteries lose capacity as time progresses. Most EVs tend to have very powerful thermal cooling systems to lengthen the battery life as long as possible (except the Nissan Leaf). But by law in the US, EVs have an 8 yr/100k mile battery warranty (10 yr/160k mile in CARB states).

As far as temperature, hot climates (unless extremely absurdly insanely hot) tend to not be an issue for the majority o fEVs. However cold climates - usually below 32F - are an issue, and they can reduce range temporarily.

 

[mkt]

We kinda discussed this up thread, but the problem is that there’s very low possibility the cost you could associate with this would be enough to pull anyone from the parks from an hour.

As a stick, I'd allow for a pretty decent grace period, plus a larger per-minute fee (without a maximum).

But as the carrot, I'd include some sort of option to extend a reservation that would've been delayed due to having to go unplug and move your car, as well as a guarantee that you'd be allowed back in the park if this were a capacity day.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It’s not like a cellphone battery where letting it drain helps preserve it. They recommend not draining it and not fully charging it unless you’re on a trip and it cannot be avoided.

You don’t want to be draining down your phone battery either. Modern phones use the same type of battery (lithium-ion) and so the same tips apply.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Where are you going that you need charging every day at Disney and you got down to six miles?? Or have you not charged at all yet and that was The first time?

If you buy your own EV, you’d typically not want to let the battery get that low on a regular basis. It’s not like a cellphone battery where letting it drain helps preserve it. They recommend not draining it and not fully charging it unless you’re on a trip and it cannot be avoided. Which is also a good reason why buying an EV that was previously a rental car should be STRONGLY avoided

I may have mentioned this...oh half a dozen times. Poly and SSR have zero charging stations....and everytime I went to the parks they were not available (there were only like 4 or 6) so I had not had a chance to charge till it got near the end after about 5 days. After that found good tesla chargers nearby, and tried some sort of biscuit place for breakfast that is popular in FL. I didn't understand the hype.

 

[DryerLintFan]

I may have mentioned this...oh half a dozen times. Poly and SSR have zero charging stations....and everytime I went to the parks they were not available (there were only like 4 or 6) so I had not had a chance to charge till it got near the end after about 5 days. After that found good tesla chargers nearby, and tried some sort of biscuit place for breakfast that is popular in FL. I didn't understand the hype.

Ah. Yeah we charged near Chipotle before our drive back and it was the best meal of our trip. Man it was hard to eat at Disney last time we went.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

There has to be some fee for people hooking up and leaving... it's an opportunity cost, i.e. the lost opportunity to charge/charge the next person.

Wow! The chargers in my area don't have an idle fee, I don't think. Maybe the Tesla owned ones? I don't use those.

I mostly use public chargers casually just while I shop or maybe eat at a restaurant, so I don't often fully charge my car at a public charger, but I have never seen any indication that any of them charge an idle fee. It is helpful to know some places do charge such a fee though.

Actually, at least half the chargers in my area are just flat out free!

Inexpensive/free chargers are now maybe at 10-15% of local shopping plazas. The ones that charge higher rates tend to sit idle. If one tried to charge an idle fee it would just go unused. The free/inexpensive ones are very popular though.

I sometimes see cars not charging, and it is a little annoying, but chargers are so common, it has just not been much of an issue.