Parking fees at Resorts

[Dad 2 M & M]

I just went to find info on Resort Parking, and discovered Theme Park Parking info i wasn't aware.....did anyone know Standard Theme Park Parking was included to resort Guests?

Below in bold Red is something I was not aware:
Theme Parks

Guests pay one fee for a parking pass good all day at all 4 theme parks—Magic Kingdom park, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park. Our special preferred parking lots are located conveniently close to the theme park entrances. All parking fees include applicable sales tax.

• Preferred parking: car or motorcycle – $50 per day
• Standard parking: car or motorcycle – $25 per day
• Oversized Vehicle Parking: Shuttle, Limo, Camper Trailer, RV, Bus or Tractor Trailer - $30 per day

Standard theme park parking is included for registered Guests of Disney Resort hotels and select Annual Passholders. These Guests can also choose to enjoy preferred parking by paying the difference in cost between their included standard parking and preferred parking (difference is currently $25).

I didn't know Theme Park standard parking was included for resort Guests!!

Here is the Resort Parking info:

Resort Hotels
Registered Guests:
Overnight Self-Parking

• Effective for reservations made March 21, 2018 and thereafter, standard overnight self-parking is available to registered Guests for a fee that will be applied to their hotel folio upon check-out. All parking fees include applicable tax.

Standard Overnight Parking charges per Resort Category:

• Disney Value Resorts: $13 per night
• Disney Moderate Resorts: $19 per night
• Disney Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts: $24 per night

I was aware of the fees above, but no where does it mention HOW the fees are applied.

Here is the link to everything pasted above

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/parking/

 

[I am Timmy]

Nothing at all. I'm sorry for your unfortunate experience, but I think your post may be interpreted by some to mean you were told Disney automatically adds a parking charge to every reservation at one of its resorts, and that people are informed of that online. I've looked through the online information and there's nothing about automatic charges. It wouldn't be the first time someone received questionable information. Also, where the internet is concerned, asking for evidence is kind of a good thing . . .

I didn't mean to offend you by misrepresenting your gender - just used "he" instead of "he or she" or even worse, "they."

It's been my experience over the years that, while Disney often (maybe too often) makes mistakes, their policies usually make sense. I was just pointing out that adding a parking fee to every reservation regardless of whether or not the guest has a car to park doesn't make good business sense.

I wasn't offended. I just pointed it out as I thought it was funny, it's happened before. And you are correct, I was told Disney automatically adds a parking charge to reservations - I was like, "what?! No....". That's when she told me it was in the "fine print" online. I've looked, I have not been able to find this "fine print" anywhere. I have found vague print, since the parking fee language doesn't really go into detail about how we'll be charged. Maybe that's what she meant? Open to interpretation based on the individual CM? Moral of the story - everyone double check your receipts when you check out!

 

[eliza61nyc]

I just went to find info on Resort Parking, and discovered Theme Park Parking info i wasn't aware.....did anyone know Standard Theme Park Parking was included to resort Guests?

Below in bold Red is something I was not aware:
Theme Parks

Guests pay one fee for a parking pass good all day at all 4 theme parks—Magic Kingdom park, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park. Our special preferred parking lots are located conveniently close to the theme park entrances. All parking fees include applicable sales tax.

• Preferred parking: car or motorcycle – $50 per day
• Standard parking: car or motorcycle – $25 per day
• Oversized Vehicle Parking: Shuttle, Limo, Camper Trailer, RV, Bus or Tractor Trailer - $30 per day

Standard theme park parking is included for registered Guests of Disney Resort hotels and select Annual Passholders. These Guests can also choose to enjoy preferred parking by paying the difference in cost between their included standard parking and preferred parking (difference is currently $25).

I didn't know Theme Park standard parking was included for resort Guests!!

Here is the Resort Parking info:

Resort Hotels
Registered Guests:
Overnight Self-Parking

• Effective for reservations made March 21, 2018 and thereafter, standard overnight self-parking is available to registered Guests for a fee that will be applied to their hotel folio upon check-out. All parking fees include applicable tax.

Standard Overnight Parking charges per Resort Category:

• Disney Value Resorts: $13 per night
• Disney Moderate Resorts: $19 per night
• Disney Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts: $24 per night

I was aware of the fees above, but no where does it mention HOW the fees are applied.

Here is the link to everything pasted above

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/parking/

Yes if you are staying on site you are able to park at the parks (lol, say thaqt 7 times fast) for free. Before magic bands they use to give you a paper placard for your card that had the valid dates on it. Last year I believe they just scanned my magic band.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

Yes if you are staying on site you are able to park at the parks (lol, say thaqt 7 times fast) for free. Before magic bands they use to give you a paper placard for your card that had the valid dates on it. Last year I believe they just scanned my magic band.

Correct....now they just scan your band. I guess the reason we were not aware of this is because we used busing almost exclusively until free parking was included in APs. Now we rarely use the busing......

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

Yes if you are staying on site you are able to park at the parks (lol, say thaqt 7 times fast) for free. Before magic bands they use to give you a paper placard for your card that had the valid dates on it. Last year I believe they just scanned my magic band.

So I just popped in on this thread. Are you saying that if I stayed at (for example) POP Century....which you now have to pay to park.....my family could then drive each day to the various theme parks and park at Epcot, or HS or MK for free? That would save time waiting for the buses

 

[Tuvalu]

So I just popped in on this thread. Are you saying that if I stayed at (for example) POP Century....which you now have to pay to park.....my family could then drive each day to the various theme parks and park at Epcot, or HS or MK for free? That would save time waiting for the buses

Yes. And this is nothing new. Resort guests have ALWAYS been able to park at the theme parks for free.

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

Yes. And this is nothing new. Resort guests have ALWAYS been able to park at the theme parks for free.

I bet many people did not and do not know that

 

[eliza61nyc]

So I just popped in on this thread. Are you saying that if I stayed at (for example) POP Century....which you now have to pay to park.....my family could then drive each day to the various theme parks and park at Epcot, or HS or MK for free? That would save time waiting for the buses

Yep. it's actually why we started renting a car on our stays. I hated doing the bus thing with the kids when they were smaller, especially at the end of the night. just was not pleasant. with the free park parking, it made our lives easier.

 

[Disneyismylife]

I am a huge opponent of this relatively new fee aka tax placed upon The “local” clients(Floridians especially) and the driving population to Walt Disney World. While they continue to raise entry fees, food prices, room rates, soon to be pay for Fast passes.... they decide to charge a fee to park at the resort..... so I asked a reservation specialist, Does Disney discount my rate for not using the Magical Express from the airport, I was told no. So why is Disney trying to charge to park my car on property that was paid for by Walt Disney 40 plus years ago?????
The answer: greed. The magic is fading ladies and gentleman. It feels like Gordon Gecko is running Disney lately..... very sad.

Disney is literally the last resort to charge for parking. Others have been doing it for YEARS. They’ve let us park for free for a lot longer that they could’ve. This doesn’t bother me at all.

 

[Janir]

I see this in conjunction with the DVC maintenance fees increase as the resorts looking to generate more money to support the newly renegotiated labor contracts with resort staff and resort upgrades and refurbishments. It is what it is. I used to drive from Wisconsin to WDW vs flying but now the gas and the resort parking fees add up to make it cheaper to fly vs drive.

 

[Ninja Mom]

SNIP!
Note to anyone that has a dining ressie at a Deluxe Resort - Disney also keeps records on anyone that scans their Magic Band at a Deluxe Resort guard-shack (for parking at their dining ressie), and then uses the same band to gain park entry!

That is something asked frequently on all blogs. "Can I leave my car at the resort if I have a breakfast ressie, and then go to the Park that day"? If you scan your band at the guardshack, AND go to the Park afterwards, they know yo did it, they track it and it's in your "file".

Our file MUST be thick as many times as we've been. I'm sure they not only have every credit card, phone number, address, tag number of ours, but also of anyone ever traveled with us, ate a meal with a split bill and paid with their own credit card, etc......

So, I guess when I pay for valet parking, with cash, and no one scans my band, because valet doesn't do that, I get "dinged in my MDE file for going to the parks after a meal? Because that is allowed, officially by Disney.

Where did you get your tinfoil hat?

~NM

 

[chad386386]

My vote: OP is a troll.

Stay vigilant friends.

 

[Deadphish]

Disney is literally the last resort to charge for parking. Others have been doing it for YEARS. They’ve let us park for free for a lot longer that they could’ve. This doesn’t bother me at all.

Wrong. I just stayed at Dollywood dream more resort and it put the Disney resorts to shame and no parking fees

 

[Hamlit]

Was there a new announcement? Last time I checked AP holders don’t pay for parking at parks and they can’t charge DVC members to park at resorts. We fly in, rent a car for $20 per day and have our own express transport around WDW. Adding the TiWL card even gets valet included. So, if you are a frequent visitor of WDW, after they started resort parking fees, it might be worth it to compare hotel costs with DVC. If you aren’t a frequent visitor I’d suggest taking the magical express and use Disney transport to avoid the parking fees. A lot of people won’t even use their cars the entire time they are there anyway. They are really trying to avoid overcrowding of the roadways down there and it’s about to get worse with Star Wars Land.

 

[flynnibus]

I didn't know Theme Park standard parking was included for resort Guests!!

Don't misread this... what it means is 'you don't have to pay twice'... not that you get free theme park parking. If you've paid for resort parking, you don't have to pay for theme park parking - that's what this means.

 

[Ninja Mom]

A) Disney is far from being the last resort to charge parking fees. Case in point: Last fall I stayed at a Palm Parkway resort (Less than 5 minutes away from Disney property) that had no resort or parking fees. For an average of $101 a night over 17 days I stayed in a suite that had a full kitchen, minus an oven, a living room and 2 queen beds in the bed room. This hotel had a gym, business center, laundry facilities, a pool, recreation areas for the kids and a hot tub. There was also a free hot breakfast every morning and a complimentary happy hour at night (wine and beer). As a reminder, for a FULL service resort, that was $101 a night including tax.

When I was doing my due diligence and researching resort costs I came up with multiple resorts that were in the area and had comparable offers in amenities and rates.

B) it's an unfortunate and common business practice to hide fee information in the small print. Do you ever wonder why you still get that paper folder in your room with resort information? It's so the lawyers can say you were informed of the resorts fees and business practices. Disney, like any business, is hoping that you will miss the fact that you were charged for something that you weren't supposed to be.

If you've ever read your bill from Disney, you'll see that the way they have the information organized is in a way that does not make it easy for you to interpret how and what you were charged for. As you're reading that you are saying to yourself "There has got to be a clearer way to organize this information". Then you remember that Disney's new focus is entirely on charging more and offering less and you comprehend that it's not in Disney's best interest for YOU to keep track of what you were charged. That's the new customer service focus at Disney.

C) As for the "Disney is going to charge more and more until people stop coming and if you don't like it don't come" crowd... you do realize that the people who read these boards are the Disney Super fans. They are a small drop in the Disney guest "bucket". If all the people who read these boards and had trips planned this year cancelled them, Disney would hardly notice. So, this advice is not helpful and is short sighted to say the least. Your time would be better spent sharing successful strategies with your fellow Disney super fan for saving money on a Disney trip.

For example, my tip above about researching resort rates off site works even better if ONE of the members in your traveling party has an annual pass. That way you qualify for free parking at the parks, and restaurant and merchandise discounts. Like anything you must do the math and see if the amount you would pay for an AP would exceed the greater amount of money that you would have to pay if you didn't have one.

In summary, the guests who have to effect the "Stop coming if you don't like the prices!!!!" mentality are the ones who will never read this board and have no clue about all the up charges, dirty resort rooms, poor customer service, long bus lines, decreasing park hours, lack of facilities up keep, $18 dollar, low quality "American Kobe" burgers, etc., etc., etc... that is the "Now" Disney.
(BTW there is no such thing as 'American Kobe beef', it's a marketing up-sell for an improvement in quality that doesn't exist. Con job compliments of the New Disney. )

These days, Disney is existing on marketing up sell, and is coasting on a reputation that no longer exists. Making the kind of effort that we traditionally associate with a Disney vacation experience costs money. These days, as much money as possible goes to paying the pimp, meaning the stock price. The stock price is the most important thing, not the guest, not the experience, not the Imagineering, not the innovation.

Disney is counting on the fact that the public is uninformed about the turn down "Profits above all else lane" that the company has made. The Disney of today over promises and under delivers and they are counting on a new fool, born every minute, not to realize that.

So instead of whining about how "If you don't like it don't come!", how about if you share the tips and strategies that YOU use to save money on your Disney vacation... or are you just the type that bends over, spreads their cheeks and lets Disney take all your money because businesses have to make money too ?

~NM

 

[eliza61nyc]

Don't misread this... what it means is 'you don't have to pay twice'... not that you get free theme park parking. If you've paid for resort parking, you don't have to pay for theme park parking - that's what this means.

it was included when parking was free also.
It was always, if you stayed on site you parked at the theme parks for free. I've never paid to park at any of the parks. I'm a dvc member so I still do not pay for resort parking.

 

[flynnibus]

it was included when parking was free also.

Yes, but that was under a different system. It was a model that was challenged when Disney changed the resort parking. Disney is expecting a resort guest entering a park parking lot, has already dealt with the parking criteria for that car at their hotel and hence gets a 'credit' for doing that.

You can't for instance.. just park in the TTC lot to avoid paying parking fees at the Poly.

Disney always had this 'pay once' model for parking.. where theme park parking was per day, not per park, etc.

But it would be interesting to see if a person staying at a hotel, but not paying (or entitled) to parking (say.. a DME guest), could ride in another person's vehicle and get them free parking.

Disney has lots of exceptions to the 'resort parking fee'.. so it's not as practical to track if someone 'paid' or not at all the other park entries, parking POS, etc, but rather they should track if someone is 'parking entitled'.

 

[Deadphish]

Yes, but that was under a different system. It was a model that was challenged when Disney changed the resort parking. Disney is expecting a resort guest entering a park parking lot, has already dealt with the parking criteria for that car at their hotel and hence gets a 'credit' for doing that.

You can't for instance.. just park in the TTC lot to avoid paying parking fees at the Poly.

Disney always had this 'pay once' model for parking.. where theme park parking was per day, not per park, etc.

But it would be interesting to see if a person staying at a hotel, but not paying (or entitled) to parking (say.. a DME guest), could ride in another person's vehicle and get them free parking.

Disney has lots of exceptions to the 'resort parking fee'.. so it's not as practical to track if someone 'paid' or not at all the other park entries, parking POS, etc, but rather they should track if someone is 'parking entitled'.

Ooo I see a new business opportunity. Local handicapped people charging Disney resort guests to ride in with them for free parking

 

[tagguy]

Nothing to do with greed, just allocation of pricing to socially engineer its guests and get the expected outcome that they want. Trust me, a corporation is as aggressive as it can be with prices, don't worry about that. If they wanted to give away free parking, and make wash and wax your car for free too, they can and will... but you'll never an uptick in everyone's ticket prices, or they'll tack it onto the price of the hotel.

Think of it as you requesting for a reimbursement to park, and the park preferring to give a discount to those who can find other ways in. You can probably imagine that Disney does not keep enough parking spots on campus (including the resorts, hotels, waterparks, water treatment plants, parks, corporate offices) if EVERY park guest, employee, and contractor drove their OWN car and expected it to be sheltered by the park. So as an incentive to minimize the risk of running out of spots, you give people a reward for carpooling, taking a bus, Ubering, walking, etc. by not paying $25, and in the case of carpooling, only paying $25, and not paying her person.

Obviously in the case of the hotels, its the same logic. They're more than happy to accommodate your car, but they're much happier with you if you find a more practical way to get to the park.

One of the most precious economic resources that we have is land -- maybe the most precious resource. Disney could buy up more and more land around it to accommodate your precious cars, but that would be difficult and prohibitive. Plus, parking lots filled with cars are kind of ugly -- it goes against the image that it wants to portray.

So that's my lesson to you on why its important for parks like Disney to charge appropriately for the privilege to park.

I have driven to a WDW resort at least 10 times and never once had any issue finding a place to park my car. They don't care about how ugly the parking lot looks it's all about the "benjamins". Disney want's to keep you a captive audience so you spend all your time and more importantly your MONEY with Disney exclusively. I for one have found other places to vacation with my family. I've had it with the greedy mouse.