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

[SteveAZee]

Volvo is testing wireless charging of cars while parked.

Volvo is testing wireless EV charging tech in Sweden

Electric taxis will be able to top up the battery by parking over charging pads.

www.engadget.com

Seems like a good idea if, for example, someone wanted to park for a long period of time (let's say they're visiting an amusement park for the day) and would like to come back to a fully charged EV.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Volvo is testing wireless charging of cars while parked.

Volvo is testing wireless EV charging tech in Sweden

Electric taxis will be able to top up the battery by parking over charging pads.

www.engadget.com

Seems like a good idea if, for example, someone wanted to park for a long period of time (let's say they're visiting an amusement park for the day) and would like to come back to a fully charged EV.

I don’t see how this would be any different from a plug in system as it pertains to WDW and usage. You will still have the issue of a car parked in that spot and either it being fully charged and “wasting” the spot, or need The driver to come back out of the park to move their car to allow another vehicle to come in and charge.

 

[SteveAZee]

I don’t see how this would be any different from a plug in system as it pertains to WDW and usage. You will still have the issue of a car parked in that spot and either it being fully charged and “wasting” the spot, or need The driver to come back out of the park to move their car to allow another vehicle to come in and charge.

I may be wrong about this, but I'm under the impression that this approach is lower tech and less expensive (also slower in charging) so it can be more widely implemented. If it's not, then I agree that there's no inherent value with this, other than not having to manually plug in.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

the concept of wireless charging has been in the works for a number of years. The advantage is that it makes charging even less effortless than using a plug, so with an EV you would save almost ALL the time people now spend driving to/from a gas station/filling the car. Conceptually, that will alleviate some of the anxiety people feel when considering electric.

If these were around, then just about the only time drivers would ever wait for charging is during a long road trip.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

I may be wrong about this, but I'm under the impression that this approach is lower tech and less expensive (also slower in charging) so it can be more widely implemented. If it's not, then I agree that there's no inherent value with this, other than not having to manually plug in.

And definitely no inherent value as it pertains to WDW. I mean sure if there is less infrastructure, its easier to implement, but the biggest hurdle for WDW is that people go to the park for a day, or at least half a day. They are not going to leave the park to go move a car.

 

[Kamikaze]

And definitely no inherent value as it pertains to WDW. I mean sure if there is less infrastructure, its easier to implement, but the biggest hurdle for WDW is that people go to the park for a day, or at least half a day. They are not going to leave the park to go move a car.

The idea is that if it costs less with less infrastructure, they could build more EV spots.

 

[SteveAZee]

The idea is that if it costs less with less infrastructure, they could build more EV spots.

Yes, that's the point. Perhaps there's a separate parking area for day guests to park and charge, but not have to move. Perhaps Disney splits the charging fee. Lower costs to implement, so you're trading off the time to charge (long) for cheaper systems to do so. Doesn't matter if it takes 8 to 10 hours to charge... perhaps they're there for a couple of hours and it 'tops them off' or they're there for 16 but there are enough wireless chargers to go around so no problem.

 

[mkt]

For the past few weekends, I noticed something that annoys me about the EV spots at Disney.

Tesla drivers who show up early and take the spots without charging, just to get a front row spot without paying extra for it.

And neither security, nor parking, nor guest relations do a thing about it.

 

[bhg469]

For the past few weekends, I noticed something that annoys me about the EV spots at Disney.

Tesla drivers who show up early and take the spots without charging, just to get a front row spot without paying extra for it.

And neither security, nor parking, nor guest relations do a thing about it.

People gaming the system!?!! I'm appalled!

 

[ceecee101]

I say this with qualifiers, but newest Electrify America brand rapid chargers claim they can add up to108miles of charge in 10 minutes.

I rarely use rapid chargers though, and have never used that network, so I can't say I have any experience with those.

Rapid chargers usually cost more, so that is part of it. Mostly though, I just don't need them.

We bought a VW EV and use Electrify America because we got 3 years of free charging with them. I can top off from 20% to 80% in less than 30 minutes. Once you hit 80% you get a text to get off, lol. You get a 10 mKnute grace period and then they’ll charge you if you go past that. The charging also slows WAY down past 80%, as others have said. Electrify America’s app will easily guide you to chargers near you. Some are in bank parking lots, some shopping areas, restaurant, coffee shops. Haven’t looked at WDW because we are West Coast but they’re all over the LA area so no problem for DL. Hopefully plenty in Orlando. Good luck.

 

[mkt]

The charging also slows WAY down past 80%, as others have said.

Yep, that's to help preserve the batteries.

 

[Hcalvert]

For the past few weekends, I noticed something that annoys me about the EV spots at Disney.

Tesla drivers who show up early and take the spots without charging, just to get a front row spot without paying extra for it.

And neither security, nor parking, nor guest relations do a thing about it.

Yep, that happened during my trip in June too.

 

[mkt]

Today at MK, all of the EV spots were taken, but at least they were being used to charge.

 

[bhg469]

Today at MK, all of the EV spots were taken, but at least they were being used to charge.

I mean, they were plugged in, but were they actually charging? Again I don't own an ev yet but to know that someone just takes the spot for the convenience of the spot, which is better than a disabled space in most cases, is just staying plugged in despite being fully charged? That's gotta be maddening. They really need to do two things. The first being make more charging spots and second, make them less convenient. The ev spots should not take priority over any spot. In that case, those who drive evs and have a full charge don't take spots that they don't actually need.

 

[mkt]

I mean, they were plugged in, but were they actually charging?

All EVs have a charge light that's visible from the outside that'll tell you it's charging. I didn't look at all of them, but the ones I could see were charging.

 

[bhg469]

All EVs have a charge light that's visible from the outside that'll tell you it's charging. I didn't look at all of them, but the ones I could see were charging.

I think we both probably know that regardless if they were charging or not, no one would be coming out to move their car.. The amount of EV spots is laughable though. I mean why even bother?

 

[mkt]

Interesting detail - in Disneyland they have 80 EV Charging spots in their parking garage, and the parking CMs are trained to know whether or not its an EV and if it's charging or not. And apparently they will tow you if you're blocking it. 80 chargers for two parks, and entertainment complex.

Using that logic, and the fact that Florida is one of the top states for EV drivers, WDW should have at least 25-30 EV spots per park.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I mean, they were plugged in, but were they actually charging? Again I don't own an ev yet but to know that someone just takes the spot for the convenience of the spot, which is better than a disabled space in most cases, is just staying plugged in despite being fully charged? That's gotta be maddening. They really need to do two things. The first being make more charging spots and second, make them less convenient. The ev spots should not take priority over any spot. In that case, those who drive evs and have a full charge don't take spots that they don't actually need.

That won't happen. Folks who own EVs are at a much higher virtue level then the rest of us.

 

[mkt]

That won't happen. Folks who own EVs are at a much higher virtue level then the rest of us.

We absolutely aren't. We just don't want to pay for gas.

 

[bhg469]

We absolutely aren't. We just don't want to pay for gas.

For me, EV owners come in two flavors..
Those who are normal, enjoy the perks of no gas, much less moving parts etc...
Then you have the people that think the cyber truck has any redeemable qualities.