Non-Security Cast Members at Resort Security Stands trying to Better Collect Parking Fees

[Rteetz]

What I mean by why is it a big deal is why would people expect to park all day at a resort they are not staying at. I don’t think you should be able to do that period, because as you said people take advantage of it. I always assumed they didn’t let you in the regular parking lot without having ADRs.

Because it was that way for 40 years prior to this. I’m not saying this is right or wrong either.

 

[threvester]

That wasn't true for us. We just stayed for 8 nights at Contemporary and 8 Nights at Polynesian. Parking was not added until the end of both of our visits. We know this as we request print outs of our folio every 3 nights during our stay. Parking was never on the bill until the end of the trip.

maybe a deluxe thing since the other poster mentioned WL..I was at POP and payed my bill off every 3 days..the charges were on there

 

[DisneyGigi]

Because it was that way for 40 years prior to this. I’m not saying this is right or wrong either.

I understand where you are coming from, like I said I always assumed you could not park if you did not have adrs. What is the point of asking and scanning your band? Before then we always got a paper pass to park for like 3 hours to eat.

maybe a deluxe thing since the other poster mentioned WL..I was at POP and payed my bill off every 3 days..the charges were on there

Coronado Springs did it nightly as well. Each day we reviewed our charges it was on there.

 

[xdan0920]

Because parking, especially at the deluxe resorts around MK, is limited. There are PLENTY of people who would make up any kind of story to park at the resorts for free and take transportation from there to the parks. It's the same reason Disney Springs doesn't offer theme park transportation. A lot of people see this as a cash grab but even at the resorts that had what some would view as plenty of parking such as Coronado Springs, 1 day of a massive drive-in convention (people not staying on-site for the conference) and the calls would come pouring in from leisure guests that there was nowhere to park (because Cast Members would have to park in the leisure guest areas because their normal lot had been allocated for convention guests). Not to mention parking fees are industry standard, even if it wasn't a line item on your folio at checkout before Disney changed the rules, you were paying for it somewhere in the thousands of dollars your package cost.

So, if I may whittle down your post to it's bare bones....

Disney is charging overnight guests to park, in an effort to stop Day guests from parking, thereby improving guest experience?

Head scratcher indeed.

 

[Texas84]

It's truly bizarre. Boardwalk was built to be a nightlife destination, akin to Downtown Disney. Jellyrolls, Atlantic Dance Hall, Abracadabrabar are all operating venues. Where do they expect people to park?

Epcot and DHS

 

[TrojanUSC]

Epcot and DHS

Sorry but no. If Epcot closes at 8, how is one supposed to get from the parking lot to the Boardwalk? And are you really expecting people to walk nearly a mile from DHS to the Boardwalk just to get a few drinks at Jellyrolls?

 

[Thelazer]

Went there last week for Dinner at Boma.

Told the security guard we were going for Dinner. No issue at all, didn't ask for our reservation or anything else.

 

[cosmicgirl]

You do realize when you pay for a package you're not paying rack rate for the room, nor are the cost of individual line items broken down, right? You pay a flat rate per person, per night. The prices were going to go up either way. Who's to say the last price increase was at the normal rate less the cost of the parking fee per night which is being charged as a separate line item now? To put it another way, the cost per person may have increased commensurately more if they had not made the parking fee a separate line item.

There's no real way to prove you're being charged for it twice anyway since Disney never releases the cost breakdown for packages. Does this apply to room only? Sure. Rack rates went up, but if parking hadn't started being charged separately, they may have gone up more.

My post is not related to the parking charges, so sorry for being o/t, but this is simply not true.
Packages are not a flat rate per person, per night. The price is made up of the exact sum of the elements you are buying, plus a minor additional fee per person ($1.40pp last year) when booking with WDTC. They don't have to release the cost breakdown for packages, it's basic math so anyone can figure it out.

Now I haven't done the math with the dynamic ticket prices so I'm not sure how they allocate which days would become your park days and, thus, how they assign the price of your ticket if you have more nights than ticket days. However I just did a test case for Easter 2019 when you know ticket prices will cost the maximum no matter what. Result: the fee is now $1.30 per person per stay, including kids, and the rest of your package price is still simply the sum of its elements, give or take a few cents due to rounding errors.

Your nightly resort rate as displayed on the booking page, whether booked as part of a package or as room only, is simply the average of the individual nights. If you can book a promotion you'll get the sum of the nightly promotional rates, or if you don't you'll pay the rack rate from the published rate calendar. There are plenty of packages with full rack rate rooms. You don't get a discount simply because you're booking a package. In fact, as demonstrated above, you pay a tiny bit more.

The $1.30pp fee only applies to packages, so it is also irrelevant for parking. I guess this is is how they put the luggage tags and the mini golf vouchers on the books. The underlying room rate that used to include parking and now does not is the same, whether part of a package or room only. So yes, if you have a car you're getting charged twice.


Very o/t:
I did discover an odd "feature" of the new system: with two in the room at Pop you can book 2-day tickets and up to 9 days, but a single adult can only select a 3- to 10-day ticket for the dates I tried (4/13-20). At BCV one adult can pick 2 to 8 days, or 10, but not 9 . Looks like they're still having some integration issues...

 

[nickys]

My post is not related to the parking charges, so sorry for being o/t, but this is simply not true.
Packages are not a flat rate per person, per night. The price is made up of the exact sum of the elements you are buying, plus a minor additional fee per person ($1.40pp last year) when booking with WDTC. They don't have to release the cost breakdown for packages, it's basic math so anyone can figure it out.

Now I haven't done the math with the dynamic ticket prices so I'm not sure how they allocate which days would become your park days and, thus, how they assign the price of your ticket if you have more nights than ticket days. However I just did a test case for Easter 2019 when you know ticket prices will cost the maximum no matter what. Result: the fee is now $1.30 per person per stay, including kids, and the rest of your package price is still simply the sum of its elements, give or take a few cents due to rounding errors.

Your nightly resort rate as displayed on the booking page, whether booked as part of a package or as room only, is simply the average of the individual nights. If you can book a promotion you'll get the sum of the nightly promotional rates, or if you don't you'll pay the rack rate from the published rate calendar. There are plenty of packages with full rack rate rooms. You don't get a discount simply because you're booking a package. In fact, as demonstrated above, you pay a tiny bit more.

The $1.30pp fee only applies to packages, so it is also irrelevant for parking. I guess this is is how they put the luggage tags and the mini golf vouchers on the books. The underlying room rate that used to include parking and now does not is the same, whether part of a package or room only. So yes, if you have a car you're getting charged twice.


Very o/t:
I did discover an odd "feature" of the new system: with two in the room at Pop you can book 2-day tickets and up to 9 days, but a single adult can only select a 3- to 10-day ticket for the dates I tried (4/13-20). At BCV one adult can pick 2 to 8 days, or 10, but not 9 . Looks like they're still having some integration issues...

Does this also work for the special packages though, like when they have free dining offers? Are those simply the sum of the room cost plus tickets, with “free dining” thrown in? I always thought not, otherwise why would people always point out that “free dining” isn’t free?

Certainly for UK packages, this isn’t the case. When our packages are released, you can book the resort, the 14 days for 7 / 21 days for 14 tickets plus free dining for the period of the package. Getting both the dining and ticket offer by booking separately is much harder to do, although not impossible. It’s a matter of timing. Usually you can get free dining with a room booking from say April to December for the following calendar year. Whilst the special offer on tickets will run from Jan to August for the current calendar year, or from July to Dec for the following calendar year. So to get both, you have to book your room first, then add tickets later. But then you have to factor in that we don’t get room discounts, plus there are cancellation fees on a room- only booking. So there is no way the package cost is a simple sum of all elements. A package is usually a much better option and can save quite a bit over booking separately.

 

[Horizons78]

I also got right into the Lodge earlier this month and all we had to say was "we want to look at animals."

They send you to the line for the carving station at Boma?

 

[cosmicgirl]

Does this also work for the special packages though, like when they have free dining offers? Are those simply the sum of the room cost plus tickets, with “free dining” thrown in? I always thought not, otherwise why would people always point out that “free dining” isn’t free?

Certainly for UK packages, this isn’t the case. When our packages are released, you can book the resort, the 14 days for 7 / 21 days for 14 tickets plus free dining for the period of the package. Getting both the dining and ticket offer by booking separately is much harder to do, although not impossible. It’s a matter of timing. Usually you can get free dining with a room booking from say April to December for the following calendar year. Whilst the special offer on tickets will run from Jan to August for the current calendar year, or from July to Dec for the following calendar year. So to get both, you have to book your room first, then add tickets later. But then you have to factor in that we don’t get room discounts, plus there are cancellation fees on a room- only booking. So there is no way the package cost is a simple sum of all elements. A package is usually a much better option and can save quite a bit over booking separately.

Apologies for the long o/t post, but I always dissect prices no matter where I book, so I have detailed records to answer this question.

Yes, it does also apply to (most) special packages. I've not looked into things like the current Ultimate Christmastime package that includes many extras, such as MVMCP and after hours park access, because 1. those include elements that you can't buy separately, and 2. I would never ever book this. I'm sure they charge you for all the separate elements, plus a hefty super exclusive ultimate magic surcharge, though.

For free dining in the US your package total is the exact sum of the nightly rack rate from the published rate calendar + park tickets + the $1.30pp fee with free dining thrown in, as you say. The reason people point out that free dining isn't free is twofold:
1. you have to pay rack rate for the room during a time when room discounts are very likely to be offered, so you pay more for the room than you would without free dining; and
2. you have to buy the minimum ticket required for the offer (4-day hopper this year), when you could otherwise buy the ticket you actually need (e.g. less days or without a hopper option).
You're spending more on the room and possibly on tickets than you would without free dining, hence the argument that free dining isn't free. That said, depending on the number of people in the room it is still the cheapest option for many, especially in the values and moderates.

As for the UK, that's a bit of a different beast, but the essence remains the same most of the year: you pay the sum of the elements at the time of booking. I live in the EU, so I'm familiar with both the US and UK offers (and have booked both multiple times).
There are two exceptions:
1. depending on when you book you might indeed get 14 for 7 days, although I've never seen 21 for 14.
2. there are also times when a small room discount is applied if you book a package, but as far as I know this only applies when there are no other offers (no free dining or free nights). This percentage varies per resort category and time of booking. For the rest of 2018 it is now 6% for values, 8% for mods, and 10% for deluxes, whereas for 2019 it's 3%/4%/5%.

The free nights offer applies to both room-only and package bookings, so there is no package discount there. You might get the % discount mentioned above, but I've never booked this so I can't check.
The 25% off ticket offer they had in late 2016/early 2017 also applied to both packages and separate tickets, so no package discount there.

With the free dining offer you pay the sum of the individual nights + tickets at the time of booking. There is no additional discount for booking a package, with the exception of 14 for 7. The tricky part here is that they've started to fudge prices for free dining. When booking in 2017 for 2018 both hotel prices and tickets went down after free dining ended. Then the prices for 2019 were released and they were identical to the post-FD prices for 2018. Then they released FD for 2019 in April and prices went back up to the 2018 FD prices. I'm willing to bet that they'll go down again in the next couple of weeks after FD ends this week.

As an example take a CBR standard room in November:
- booked in late April 2017 for November 2018 with FD: £168/night
- booked in late 2017 for November 2018 without FD: £156/night + free nights offer
- booked in early 2018 for November 2019 without FD: £156/night
- booked in late April 2018 for November 2019 with FD: £168/night.

Last year they also fudged the ticket prices during FD: a 7-/14- day ultimate for 2018 was £399 during FD, then the 14-day went up to £419, yet if you bought one in December 2017 they were £369 (14 for 7). Buy one now and they're £365 (14 for 7). The 21-day was £439 during FD, £409 after FD, and now they're £405. So yes, they "give" you free dining and 14 for 7 (and free parking ) but it's not free free. We'll have to wait and see what they do with ticket prices for 2019 after FD. That said, you are absolutely correct that, despite the inflated prices to get FD, it is often still the best deal even if it's not free free.

Regardless, with the exception of the % discount mentioned a couple of paragraphs up and 14 for 7, the package price is the sum of the individual nights and tickets at the time of booking. My invoice for November 2019 for 21 nights in a standard room at CBR with a 21-day ticket and free QSDP is £3967 = 21 * £168 + £439, ergo the sum of the individual elements at the time of booking.

For free dining in particular: you can only get this when booking a package with tickets, so there is no way to book room+dining and tickets separately. I believe you made an error in your post there. This is no different from the US: only packages qualify for free dining.

I'm getting into the nitty gritty here but one big difference between the UK and the US is that in the UK any changes you make will be based on the pricing/offer valid on the day of your original booking, whereas in the US they recalculate everything based on the prices valid on the day of the change. This allows you to apply an offer if it becomes available in the US, but that's not possible in the UK. You'd have to cancel, pay the cancellation fee, and make a new booking. So even though ticket and resort prices may go down in the UK you can't simply call and ask for the price to be adjusted, because you're stuck with the pricing that was valid on the day you booked.

And now I'll let you all go back to discussing parking fees...

 

[Capsin4]

Parking at resorts was always free for everyone until this year.

I know. I’m referencing paid parking existing anywhere for decades and Disney seeming to be clueless in how to implement it.

 

[shernernum]

You do realize when you pay for a package you're not paying rack rate for the room, nor are the cost of individual line items broken down, right? You pay a flat rate per person, per night. The prices were going to go up either way. Who's to say the last price increase was at the normal rate less the cost of the parking fee per night which is being charged as a separate line item now? To put it another way, the cost per person may have increased commensurately more if they had not made the parking fee a separate line item.

There's no real way to prove you're being charged for it twice anyway since Disney never releases the cost breakdown for packages. Does this apply to room only? Sure. Rack rates went up, but if parking hadn't started being charged separately, they may have gone up more.

You are right, we can't prove it one way or the other, but if you really think they even considered reducing the amount they were going to increase the room rate price just because they are now charging for parking as a separate folio item, I have a bridge to sell you.

 

[Texas84]

Sorry but no. If Epcot closes at 8, how is one supposed to get from the parking lot to the Boardwalk? And are you really expecting people to walk nearly a mile from DHS to the Boardwalk just to get a few drinks at Jellyrolls?

When parking is closed that's your option. Or a bus from Disney Springs.

 

[TrojanUSC]

When parking is closed that's your option. Or a bus from Disney Springs.

Sorry but that is just not the case, nor should it be. You don't make people park at a theme park to eat at a nice restaurant at a hotel. What's next, do I park at Animal Kingdom to go to Jiko? Park at the TTC to go to Victoria and Alberts?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Industry standards would also include some kind of point or rewards system. Shouldn't Disney do that to get in line with industry standards?

Magic Kingdom Club, later Disney Club. It ended in 2002.

 

[larryz]

Magic Kingdom Club, later Disney Club. It ended in 2002.

Sorry, but the MKC was a corporate/organizational perk. It wasn't a loyalty program.

 

[The Mighty Tim]

off topic but..
anyone else notice folks parking at disney springs while staying at FQ or POR?

i have seen a few folks carting luggage from the DS boats to the DS parking areas

Long shot, but I wonder if it's people checking in for Virgin Atlantic flights. Apparently you can do that at Disney Springs.

https://www.virginholidays.co.uk/flight-information/virgin-atlantic (near the bottom of the page)

 

[King Panda 77]

Long shot, but I wonder if it's people checking in for Virgin Atlantic flights. Apparently you can do that at Disney Springs.

https://www.virginholidays.co.uk/flight-information/virgin-atlantic (near the bottom of the page)

Quite possibly. We have been checking in there for years. It makes the airport a lot easier.

 

[monothingie]

They send you to the line for the carving station at Boma?

And bathrooms are conveniently located within short walking distance from there.