Latest Parking Rumor: Charging at Disney Springs (Unlikely)

Would you pay for parking at Disney Springs?


  • Total voters
    217

DisneyCane

Well-Known Member
If I didn't get parking free with my AP, I wouldn't go to Disney Springs anymore. When I go, I usually just browse and end up buying something once every 3 or 4 trips. That would drop to never since I wouldn't pay to browse stores. Even with validation, I'd end up having to pay 3/4 of the time.

Too much of a PITA to park at a park and take a bus over. I'm usually only there for a half hour to an hour. I can drive myself in 10 minutes from a park and then leave the property when I'm done. I'm not going to wait for a bus in both directions and end up spending longer going back and forth to a parking lot than I spend at DS.
 

IMFearless

Well-Known Member
Personally, I think it won't happen, the number of locals who can be bothered to park at DTD and travel via a resort to a theme park just to get free parking is insignificant to Disney.

Parking at the resorts is a much bigger issue I should think, I can see why Disney need to stop that, as it is damaging to guests who are genuinely visiting the resorts and wish to park while they dine, eat, shop or look around.

I think introducing a charge will make things worse. It will lead to people believing that they are entitled to park at the contemporary when they visit MK because they have paid to do so.

I think the simplest solution would be to limit parking at resorts to 4 hours for guests who are not staying at that resort. That gives people enough time to look around have a meal or whatever, but would likely prevent people using the resorts for parking to visit the theme parks.
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Quick update on why this isn't happening.

- The garages aren't setup for any form of payment system, and adding any such system would have a considerable impact on getting the cars in and out.

- The tenants have been brought onboard knowing parking will be free for guests.

- Ownership of the garages is RCID, which would mean a buyout of the garages would be needed.

- Free parking is one of the advantages Disney will be pushing in comparison to other locations.

I think we can call this rumor a no-go and put it to bed.
 

IMFearless

Well-Known Member
Glad to hear this - I don't think it would take long for traffic to backup down the ramp onto the I4 if this went ahead!

I should think the illicit parking at Yaught and Beach, as well as the various monorail resorts is a much more troublesome phenomenon for the powers that be.
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Quick update on why this isn't happening.

- The garages aren't setup for any form of payment system, and adding any such system would have a considerable impact on getting the cars in and out.

- The tenants have been brought onboard knowing parking will be free for guests.

- Ownership of the garages is RCID, which would mean a buyout of the garages would be needed.

- Free parking is one of the advantages Disney will be pushing in comparison to other locations.

I think we can call this rumor a no-go and put it to bed.

Yeah, Now I regret bringing it to class....
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Disneyland owns their garage, there's a big difference between a privately owned garage and one that's publicly owned. You really can't compare Disneyland. It would be more accurate to compare it to a city or county owned garage somewhere.

Many of which charge w/o issue.

Has everyone forgotten who put up parking meters? The local governments.

The whole idea that it was funded through bonds so it has to be free is ludicrous. Who gets the money etc could all be handled within a simple lease agreement.
 

s8film40

Well-Known Member
Many of which charge w/o issue.

Has everyone forgotten who put up parking meters? The local governments.

The whole idea that it was funded through bonds so it has to be free is ludicrous. Who gets the money etc could all be handled within a simple lease agreement.
Yes it could. As soon as Disney starts raking in the profits from the government funded garage you can bet people will be calling for the RCID to be disbanded though.

Disney has always been very careful not to unduly take advantage of RCID. Everything RCID does is for the public, serves the public interests at WDW and they do not actively take money from visiting guests. If you look at any project that RCID does it's clear they have plenty of money. They put far more into their projects than most other communities, private businesses or even Disney would. This garage is a great example of that with the parking spot locator system, light up pedestrian crossings and the overall quality of the garage itself.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
The Disney Springs parking garage is not owned by Disney it is a government owned public parking garage. They can't operate at a profit, they're not a business.

You have this ideal... And apparently not a lot of exposure to how it doesn't matter. Just how "nonprofits can't make profits". Simply the money has to stay in the system. Governments can be cash positive , just usually there are requirements written into the enabling legislation that pricing should be reasonable or only to cover expenses. There is no universal law that says things must be neutral.

The way you get around no profits is that you need to pay bonds interest... And save for capital improvements. You can't do that operating at a loss.
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Yes it could. As soon as Disney starts raking in the profits from the government funded garage you can bet people will be calling for the RCID to be disbanded though.

Disney has always been very careful not to unduly take advantage of RCID. Everything RCID does is for the public, serves the public interests at WDW and they do not actively take money from visiting guests. If you look at any project that RCID does it's clear they have plenty of money. They put far more into their projects than most other communities, private businesses or even Disney would. This garage is a great example of that with the parking spot locator system, light up pedestrian crossings and the overall quality of the garage itself.
Disney has constantly taken advantage of and been cavalier about using the power of the Improvement District. Disney profiting from the garages (which isn't the only outcome of charging) wouldn't be the first time people have called for Reedy Creek's dissolution.
 

s8film40

Well-Known Member
You have this ideal... And apparently not a lot of exposure to how it doesn't matter. Just how "nonprofits can't make profits". Simply the money has to stay in the system. Governments can be cash positive , just usually there are requirements written into the enabling legislation that pricing should be reasonable or only to cover expenses. There is no universal law that says things must be neutral.

The way you get around no profits is that you need to pay bonds interest... And save for capital improvements. You can't do that operating at a loss.
I never claimed to know a lot about the technicalities of how this situation works. All I know is that the garage is there it's paid for and it's operating and serving RCID and Disney's purposes perfectly. I'm sure there is some complicated round about way Disney could take it over and make a few bucks from it, I just don't see that being their motivation. They have enough business of their own to run, they're already outsourcing more and more. I just don't think they want to run a parking garage that's already running just fine. I was told by one of the persons with Disney overseeing the project that because of the way it was set up with RCID they could never charge for parking in future. This seemed like a reasonable reason to me and I assumed there may be a little more behind that than just the fact that RCID was involved and maybe had something to do with the way the whole deal was put together. I also wouldn't think Disney would want people to get upset over them using RCID to build a garage, then take it over and start making money from it. This is really just common sense on my part it could make them look pretty bad.
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You have this ideal... And apparently not a lot of exposure to how it doesn't matter. Just how "nonprofits can't make profits". Simply the money has to stay in the system. Governments can be cash positive , just usually there are requirements written into the enabling legislation that pricing should be reasonable or only to cover expenses. There is no universal law that says things must be neutral.

The way you get around no profits is that you need to pay bonds interest... And save for capital improvements. You can't do that operating at a loss.

I do think there's something to this and Disney will look into it.

However for the reasons Steve and s8Film put forth, its not horribly likely. Unless Disney wants to buy the garages from RCID....
 

s8film40

Well-Known Member
Disney has constantly taken advantage of and been cavalier about using the power of the Improvement District. Disney profiting from the garages (which isn't the only outcome of charging) wouldn't be the first time people have called for Reedy Creek's dissolution.
Do you have any examples of how Disney has taken advantage of RCID?
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Yes it could. As soon as Disney starts raking in the profits from the government funded garage you can bet people will be calling for the RCID to be disbanded though.

Disney has always been very careful not to unduly take advantage of RCID. Everything RCID does is for the public, serves the public interests at WDW and they do not actively take money from visiting guests. If you look at any project that RCID does it's clear they have plenty of money. They put far more into their projects than most other communities, private businesses or even Disney would. This garage is a great example of that with the parking spot locator system, light up pedestrian crossings and the overall quality of the garage itself.

Pfft... Bwi airport has had a similar system for many many years. The local shopping mall has it too (tysons). The new garages aren't any model of opulent. Their most impressive feature IMO is the quality of lighting.

Disney has to play a dance when it comes to Rcid- but your idea of what is possible is extremely limited and blind to the simple ways around things.

Who can tell us if Disney parking lots operate at a profit? Unless your the state government threatening to change the laws... No one is getting a real view of disney's true Costs at such a micro level. You get statements shaped to their agenda
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
I never claimed to know a lot about the technicalities of how this situation works. All I know is that the garage is there it's paid for and it's operating and serving RCID and Disney's purposes perfectly. I'm sure there is some complicated round about way Disney could take it over and make a few bucks from it, I just don't see that being their motivation. They have enough business of their own to run, they're already outsourcing more and more. I just don't think they want to run a parking garage that's already running just fine. I was told by one of the persons with Disney overseeing the project that because of the way it was set up with RCID they could never charge for parking in future. This seemed like a reasonable reason to me and I assumed there may be a little more behind that than just the fact that RCID was involved and maybe had something to do with the way the whole deal was put together. I also wouldn't think Disney would want people to get upset over them using RCID to build a garage, then take it over and start making money from it. This is really just common sense on my part it could make them look pretty bad.
Disney runs the Reedy Creek Improvement District, so Disney being busy is a meaningless issue. The deals involved are technicalities between Disney and an entity it controls regarding a non-safety related issue. The biggest issue wit's paying is the design of the garages themselves, multiple access points with a single lane of traffic.

Do you have any examples of how Disney has taken advantage of RCID?
By using it to acquire limited issue bonds, which means other agencies in the state could not acquire those bonds. By building a garage for Disney's own use. By trying to prevent access to Bonnet Creek. By being able to build with impunity despite impacts on the surrounding areas. Married to the Mouse is an entire book of such issues.
 

s8film40

Well-Known Member
Pfft... Bwi airport has had a similar system for many many years. The local shopping mall has it too (tysons). The new garages aren't any model of opulent. Their most impressive feature IMO is the quality of lighting.

Disney has to play a dance when it comes to Rcid- but your idea of what is possible is extremely limited and blind to the simple ways around things.

Who can tell us if Disney parking lots operate at a profit? Unless your the state government threatening to change the laws... No one is getting a real view of disney's true Costs at such a micro level. You get statements shaped to their agenda
I'm not saying the garage is a one of a kind, I'm simply saying they spent a lot more money than was needed. My point is simply they have plenty of money they don't need to charge money to keep the thing running. Therefore we can all agree they would need to sell it to Disney to justify a need to charge money. The question that comes up then is why didn't Disney just build it in the first place if they're willing to buy it. There's only one answer to that and that's to avoid paying taxes on it.

I think we both actually agree here. I never said it was impossible, I don't think any of what your suggesting with a certain amount of work and maneuvering couldn't be done. I'm simply using my common sense and I don't think that's going to happen. Disney got there garage built, they're happy end of story.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
I do think there's something to this and Disney will look into it.

However for the reasons Steve and s8Film put forth, its not horribly likely. Unless Disney wants to buy the garages from RCID....

An arrangement to lease and take over upkeep of the garages in a way that is fiscally advantageous to rcid is a simple way to not buy the garages and still have a way to collect fees.

Just look in your backyard about how mwata took over the airport toll road to pay for metro silver line - which they "paid for" in exchange for the control of tolls on the road.

Disney has been benefitting from rcid's model for decades. These garages change nothing.

Disney is building a retail, dining and entertainment complex far bigger than their tired theme park guests need. Why on earth would Disney want to start discouraging locals from coming or Orlando tourists?

It would just be shooting themselves in the foot. And to change their mind now, after hundreds of millions have gone into traffic management? Does not compute
 


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