Parking fees at Resorts

["El Gran Magnifico"]

This is the new norm for Disney. The game isn't necessarily making more money (although they do).......it's making more profit. They achieve this several ways.

Charging for something that was not previously a cost consideration for us...i.e. parking fees, soon to be resort fees, and probably a few other "magical" surprises they have in store.

I think the brilliance (which deserves condemnation) in their strategy is that they have all of us talking about what is visible......Ticket Increases, Parking Fees and everything else that becomes publicized. Yes. They do take a hit for this. But apparently not as substantial of a hit to impact profitability.

While they do this "the other hand" is really sticking it to us. And what that "hand" is doing is a combination of lesser type increases combined with a reduction of quality/quantity/service. To me this is the real issue. It's kinda like that bag of Doritos that when you popped it open 10 years ago was 90% full. It went down to 3/4 full.....and now a days I've seen bags that are about 40% air and 60% Doritos. But the lack of quantity doesn't stop the price from gradually increasing.

Case in point (I'll stick to beer - cause I like beer). About a year ago you could get a 16oz beer at EPCOT for about $8. They cut down the size to 12oz and temporarily reduced the price by about a buck fifty.......Fast Forward a year.......12oz beer = $8 (and will keep rising).

This is their strategy. Look, even burgers are up to about $17 (factoring in a soda and tax)......the quality of the burger (which equates to Disney's cost of the burger) is down.

Even the quality of a T-Shirt is down. I remember about 2 decades ago I had Mickey shirt that lasted about 5-7 years. You buy a T-shirt today (for $25-$30) and the pattern is pretty much worn after 2 years of washing while the general quality of the shirt doesn't hold up. They are slightly better than the 3 for $20 shirts you can get anywhere on Irlo Bronson.

It's because of these things - I find that Disney is forcing me off property more and more for meals, shopping, other experiences, and activities.

I don't mind paying a bit of a premium to experience these things "on-property" -- but to pay a premium for a lesser experience/quality of product?............at least that's where my mindset is heading these days.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

All I know is that the parking fees are more of an open and shut money grab. It's far less subtle that the after hour "parties" where they get people who already paid for park tickets to come on back for another 3 hours at the price of a single day ticket. For that you get some stale cupcakes and a few rides with less lines...wow what a party and privilege. Its defenders will say it's great they give you the opportunity, but then I remember when the park would be open till 1am sometimes and all you needed to get that was be a resort guest not 125 dollar. Those were the days indeed.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

At least hogwarts doesn’t charge tution

 

[Ninja Mom]

This is the new norm for Disney. The game isn't necessarily making more money (although they do).......it's making more profit. They achieve this several ways.

Charging for something that was not previously a cost consideration for us...i.e. parking fees, soon to be resort fees, and probably a few other "magical" surprises they have in store.

I think the brilliance (which deserves condemnation) in their strategy is that they have all of us talking about what is visible......Ticket Increases, Parking Fees and everything else that becomes publicized. Yes. They do take a hit for this. But apparently not as substantial of a hit to impact profitability.

While they do this "the other hand" is really sticking it to us. And what that "hand" is doing is a combination of lesser type increases combined with a reduction of quality/quantity/service. To me this is the real issue. It's kinda like that bag of Doritos that when you popped it open 10 years ago was 90% full. It went down to 3/4 full.....and now a days I've seen bags that are about 40% air and 60% Doritos. But the lack of quantity doesn't stop the price from gradually increasing.

Case in point (I'll stick to beer - cause I like beer). About a year ago you could get a 16oz beer at EPCOT for about $8. They cut down the size to 12oz and temporarily reduced the price by about a buck fifty.......Fast Forward a year.......12oz beer = $8 (and will keep rising).

This is their strategy. Look, even burgers are up to about $17 (factoring in a soda and tax)......the quality of the burger (which equates to Disney's cost of the burger) is down.

Even the quality of a T-Shirt is down. I remember about 2 decades ago I had Mickey shirt that lasted about 5-7 years. You buy a T-shirt today (for $25-$30) and the pattern is pretty much worn after 2 years of washing while the general quality of the shirt doesn't hold up. They are slightly better than the 3 for $20 shirts you can get anywhere on Irlo Bronson.

It's because of these things - I find that Disney is forcing me off property more and more for meals, shopping, other experiences, and activities.

I don't mind paying a bit of a premium to experience these things "on-property" -- but to pay a premium for a lesser experience/quality of product?............at least that's where my mindset is heading these days.

In my opinion, This is exactly what Disney is doing.

Now, the primary purpose of EVERY Disney effort is to increase the stock profits. Disney is no longer about animation, films, parks, resorts, sports channels, TV networks, etc., etc. It's about the STOCK PRICE. All of these other things are tools that enlarge the stock profit. Disney cares not at all about the quality of the product. They care only if the public will buy it and these days Disney is continually pushing the edge on how low of a quality experience they can get the public to buy at the highest possible price point. THIS is the new Disney "Imagineering".

People have this romantic notion about Disney. Their minds exist in the Disney of the past where quality and innovation were the primary focus. Now, current management is trading on the brand, and running it into the ground while mining all the profits they can to increase the stock price.

Don't believe me? Watch what they do and ignore what they say.

So for example, let's take this "We must increase costs associated with a Disney vacation because the parks are too crowded" Bull crap.

First of all... if the parks are "Too Crowded" where are all the phased closings that would be necessary? We should be seeing them on a regular basis, correct?? The fact is that the parks are not too crowded. It's more like people don't like it when a lot of OTHER guests are at the parks besides themselves. So, playing to people's sense of entitlement, (It's OK if I'm at the park but I don't like when others are), Iger is using this false premise to jack up prices to unreasonable levels.

At the same time management is reducing offerings and park hours, replacing access to the parks with up-sell opportunities and, at times, cutting staff so that the attractions are not operating at full capacity. This results in long lines for guests who paid full price for their tickets. This offers a convenient scapegoat to support the false premise that "The parks are too crowded". That plays into the hands of the people that think this but aren't paying attention to what is really going on. So the net effect of having fewer working and thus not being paid, with the same people in the park, generates a higher profit for Disney.

Actually it's Disney management's DREAM that the parks would be too crowded. More people in the park means more people spending MONEY on food and merchandise and that means MORE PROFITS TO BOOST THE STOCK EARNINGS.

Disney is hedging their bets that the crowds will come anyway and that they will pay $7 PLUS dollars for a pretzel, which has an enormous profit margin, or pay upwards of $17 plus dollars for a crappy, low quality hamburger (Add $2 to the price for the nonexistent "American Kobe Beef" marketing upsell). Remember, it goes against Disney's best intere$t$ if the parks are not as full as they can be. Since that's the case AND that it's a safe bet that people will come, WHY NOT RAISE PRICES AS HIGH AS THEY CAN MANAGE AND KEEP RAISING THEM.

If the parks are too crowded then why is Disney making a concerted effort to build more resorts and increase hotel capacity? No, the parks are not too crowded. Too crowded would mean MORE people would want to be in the park than there is CAPACITY to allow them in. Disney is hoping that you only consider crowded as meaning what YOU feel comfortable with.

If you were a business person, wouldn't you see crowds as an opportunity to grow your business? Disney just sees it as a lazy opportunity to rip people off by charging more and offering LESS. It's literally the laziest thing that they can do. Bob Iger is counting on the "sheeple" not to think this one through.

Now we get to the argument that Disney is building new lands!!! Yes, BUT really, they are refurbishing existing lands while making cuts in entertainment and park hours, and replacing park hours with up-sell events. If you've ever tried to go to the MK from September through to December, some weeks have 3 or 4 party nights restricting your access. And let's not forget about those disappearing Extra Magic Hours (replaced with PAID EMH).

So you can say that Disney is giving you MORE but with all the cuts guests are experiencing in aggregate I'd say that is a minus for the guest. Remember, it costs money to add capacity so Disney provides the illusion that they are offering additions while hoping no one does the math and sees instead that they are refurbishments. This does nothing to increase capacity to alleviate the overcrowding.

Now let's talk about what Epcot has become. It's now a perpetual, up charge, food, and wine event. Remember when Epcot was a THEME park (Probably not). Now the focus of this park is getting you to spend money on food and wine.

Just like Disney Springs is a giant mall, Epcot has devolved into a giant, over priced, poor quality food court, serving tiny portions of alcohol and reheated, sometimes previously frozen premade food at outsized price levels. Every once in a great while we get something like a reskinned ride (Soarin, Frozen and Guardians). Ratatouille is the only NEW ride. But don't be distracted. Epcot's primary purpose now is as a food court designed to get you to pay high prices for small portioned, low quality offerings. This focus very efficiently feeds the stock profit priority.


If you've ever stayed in a Disney resort you know you're being charged way more than the facilities or service warrant. The only argument supporting those obnoxious price levels is that the resorts are close to the parks and people want to be in the Disney bubble. As the room prices go ever higher, guests are experiencing a decline in the quality and frequency of housekeeping and resort upkeep. The time between desperately needed refurbishments has increased, which means guests are paying obscene prices for rooms that are not being properly cleaned and maintained. Disney defenders will say it's worth it because I'm IN THE DISNEY BUBBLE and Disney management is counting on the 'sheeple' to continue to pay premium prices for subpar rooms.

The next time you're walking through the hallways of that deluxe Disney resort, the one that you paid $400 PLUS a night for, and you pass that room service tray that's been laying in the hallway for 3 days, ask yourself if that would be acceptable at literally any other resort that you paid that much money to stay at. You'd be crazy if you said yes, so why are you saying it's ok for a Disney resort to do this. In fact, ask yourself why it's ok when Disney expects YOU to manage THEIR problems during YOUR vacation. If you've been following along, you are reading an increasing number of reports of guests that must spend valuable vacation time herding Disney management into taking care of problems that they are experiencing.

So now we will get to the thought that Disney resort rates are worth it because Disney transports me! Yes, Disney is transporting you to your resort and to the parks, but it's not to Disney's advantage to have everyone use their own transportation to the parks and resorts. That would clog up the already overburdened road ways and allow guests to spend less time (and thus less money) on Disney property. So you could say that it's to the guest's advantage that Disney provides transportation, but you could also say that it's to Disney's advantage to limit the guest's ability to leave property and spend money elsewhere, ESPECIALLY in attraction saturated Orlando. So I'll call that one a wash as it benefits both the guest AND Disney.

So we see that Disney management is counting on guest ignorance to continue to allow them to rip you off with overcharging you for your vacation. This is in direct comparison with other comparable vacation experiences, but Disney is counting on the sheeple not to think to hard on that one. Yes, they will continue to promote the Disney Vacation experience with marketing that plays on your sense of nostalgia, all while hoping that you don't pay attention to the cost versus the experience you are getting (Higher and higher prices with reductions in quality, offerings, and hours).

The point of my post is that I am amazed that not only are people ok with all Disney is doing to degrade a Disney vacation, they defend what Disney is doing, all the while not realizing that THEY must pay the price for this unfortunate focus. I'm thinking that they just can't get past their nostalgia for all that a Disney Parks vacation used to be and they refuse to see what it is becoming. Until enough people catch on and start to vote with their wallets, Disney is going to rip people off for as much money as they can.

It’s a bummer that there is such a concerted effort by Disney to jack up the prices and reduce the quality of a Disney vacation, all in the name of stock profits. I think a lot of people long for the days when Disney was all about quality and innovation. I’m fairly certain that those days are gone and people just haven’t caught on.

~NM

 

[Chi84]

In my opinion, This is exactly what Disney is doing.

Now, the primary purpose of EVERY Disney effort is to increase the stock profits. Disney is no longer about animation, films, parks, resorts, sports channels, TV networks, etc., etc. It's about the STOCK PRICE. All of these other things are tools that enlarge the stock profit. Disney cares not at all about the quality of the product. They care only if the public will buy it and these days Disney is continually pushing the edge on how low of a quality experience they can get the public to buy at the highest possible price point. THIS is the new Disney "Imagineering".

People have this romantic notion about Disney. Their minds exist in the Disney of the past where quality and innovation were the primary focus. Now, current management is trading on the brand, and running it into the ground while mining all the profits they can to increase the stock price.

Don't believe me? Watch what they do and ignore what they say.

So for example, let's take this "We must increase costs associated with a Disney vacation because the parks are too crowded" Bull crap.

First of all... if the parks are "Too Crowded" where are all the phased closings that would be necessary? We should be seeing them on a regular basis, correct?? The fact is that the parks are not too crowded. It's more like people don't like it when a lot of OTHER guests are at the parks besides themselves. So, playing to people's sense of entitlement, (It's OK if I'm at the park but I don't like when others are), Iger is using this false premise to jack up prices to unreasonable levels.

At the same time management is reducing offerings and park hours, replacing access to the parks with up-sell opportunities and, at times, cutting staff so that the attractions are not operating at full capacity. This results in long lines for guests who paid full price for their tickets. This offers a convenient scapegoat to support the false premise that "The parks are too crowded". That plays into the hands of the people that think this but aren't paying attention to what is really going on. So the net effect of having fewer working and thus not being paid, with the same people in the park, generates a higher profit for Disney.

Actually it's Disney management's DREAM that the parks would be too crowded. More people in the park means more people spending MONEY on food and merchandise and that means MORE PROFITS TO BOOST THE STOCK EARNINGS.

Disney is hedging their bets that the crowds will come anyway and that they will pay $7 PLUS dollars for a pretzel, which has an enormous profit margin, or pay upwards of $17 plus dollars for a crappy, low quality hamburger (Add $2 to the price for the nonexistent "American Kobe Beef" marketing upsell). Remember, it goes against Disney's best intere$t$ if the parks are not as full as they can be. Since that's the case AND that it's a safe bet that people will come, WHY NOT RAISE PRICES AS HIGH AS THEY CAN MANAGE AND KEEP RAISING THEM.

If the parks are too crowded then why is Disney making a concerted effort to build more resorts and increase hotel capacity? No, the parks are not too crowded. Too crowded would mean MORE people would want to be in the park than there is CAPACITY to allow them in. Disney is hoping that you only consider crowded as meaning what YOU feel comfortable with.

If you were a business person, wouldn't you see crowds as an opportunity to grow your business? Disney just sees it as a lazy opportunity to rip people off by charging more and offering LESS. It's literally the laziest thing that they can do. Bob Iger is counting on the "sheeple" not to think this one through.

Now we get to the argument that Disney is building new lands!!! Yes, BUT really, they are refurbishing existing lands while making cuts in entertainment and park hours, and replacing park hours with up-sell events. If you've ever tried to go to the MK from September through to December, some weeks have 3 or 4 party nights restricting your access. And let's not forget about those disappearing Extra Magic Hours (replaced with PAID EMH).

So you can say that Disney is giving you MORE but with all the cuts guests are experiencing in aggregate I'd say that is a minus for the guest. Remember, it costs money to add capacity so Disney provides the illusion that they are offering additions while hoping no one does the math and sees instead that they are refurbishments. This does nothing to increase capacity to alleviate the overcrowding.

Now let's talk about what Epcot has become. It's now a perpetual, up charge, food, and wine event. Remember when Epcot was a THEME park (Probably not). Now the focus of this park is getting you to spend money on food and wine.

Just like Disney Springs is a giant mall, Epcot has devolved into a giant, over priced, poor quality food court, serving tiny portions of alcohol and reheated, sometimes previously frozen premade food at outsized price levels. Every once in a great while we get something like a reskinned ride (Soarin, Frozen and Guardians). Ratatouille is the only NEW ride. But don't be distracted. Epcot's primary purpose now is as a food court designed to get you to pay high prices for small portioned, low quality offerings. This focus very efficiently feeds the stock profit priority.


If you've ever stayed in a Disney resort you know you're being charged way more than the facilities or service warrant. The only argument supporting those obnoxious price levels is that the resorts are close to the parks and people want to be in the Disney bubble. As the room prices go ever higher, guests are experiencing a decline in the quality and frequency of housekeeping and resort upkeep. The time between desperately needed refurbishments has increased, which means guests are paying obscene prices for rooms that are not being properly cleaned and maintained. Disney defenders will say it's worth it because I'm IN THE DISNEY BUBBLE and Disney management is counting on the 'sheeple' to continue to pay premium prices for subpar rooms.

The next time you're walking through the hallways of that deluxe Disney resort, the one that you paid $400 PLUS a night for, and you pass that room service tray that's been laying in the hallway for 3 days, ask yourself if that would be acceptable at literally any other resort that you paid that much money to stay at. You'd be crazy if you said yes, so why are you saying it's ok for a Disney resort to do this. In fact, ask yourself why it's ok when Disney expects YOU to manage THEIR problems during YOUR vacation. If you've been following along, you are reading an increasing number of reports of guests that must spend valuable vacation time herding Disney management into taking care of problems that they are experiencing.

So now we will get to the thought that Disney resort rates are worth it because Disney transports me! Yes, Disney is transporting you to your resort and to the parks, but it's not to Disney's advantage to have everyone use their own transportation to the parks and resorts. That would clog up the already overburdened road ways and allow guests to spend less time (and thus less money) on Disney property. So you could say that it's to the guest's advantage that Disney provides transportation, but you could also say that it's to Disney's advantage to limit the guest's ability to leave property and spend money elsewhere, ESPECIALLY in attraction saturated Orlando. So I'll call that one a wash as it benefits both the guest AND Disney.

So we see that Disney management is counting on guest ignorance to continue to allow them to rip you off with overcharging you for your vacation. This is in direct comparison with other comparable vacation experiences, but Disney is counting on the sheeple not to think to hard on that one. Yes, they will continue to promote the Disney Vacation experience with marketing that plays on your sense of nostalgia, all while hoping that you don't pay attention to the cost versus the experience you are getting (Higher and higher prices with reductions in quality, offerings, and hours).

The point of my post is that I am amazed that not only are people ok with all Disney is doing to degrade a Disney vacation, they defend what Disney is doing, all the while not realizing that THEY must pay the price for this unfortunate focus. I'm thinking that they just can't get past their nostalgia for all that a Disney Parks vacation used to be and they refuse to see what it is becoming. Until enough people catch on and start to vote with their wallets, Disney is going to rip people off for as much money as they can.

It’s a bummer that there is such a concerted effort by Disney to jack up the prices and reduce the quality of a Disney vacation, all in the name of stock profits. I think a lot of people long for the days when Disney was all about quality and innovation. I’m fairly certain that those days are gone and people just haven’t caught on.

~NM

We had three resort stays last year and all the resorts were clean and beautifully maintained. Cast members were friendly and fun. We enjoyed wonderful dinners and entertainment in Disney Springs and loved being able to walk there from SSR. The parks were busy but not overly so (of course Disney will use and objective standard for what is overcrowded - that only makes sense).

I think Disney is making a mistake with all these upscale "upcharge" events and the parking fees, and I told them so in an email and subsequent phone conversations. Yes, nostalgia is involved in choosing Disney - we had wonderful times bringing our kids (and parents) in years past and we continue to have wonderful times to this day. In large part, though, it's because we can afford the additional events. What I told Disney is that I think they're in danger of pricing themselves out for the future. What drew us to Disney all those years ago was the "all-inclusive" feel of it - you weren't constantly opening your wallet. As a young family, we would not have been able to pay for dessert parties and the other extras Disney has added on these days. I don't believe the company is interested in running itself into the ground, but they have taken an unfortunate turn. But Disney is a vacation venue - nothing more, nothing less. When the value is gone, my family will go elsewhere.

People have different opinions about Disney and express those opinions in different ways. Some people actually do have a romantic notion about Disney - I imagine most who keep going do so because they enjoy the experience. Calling them names ("sheeple"), labeling them (Disney defenders) and using demeaning, offensive language to suggest they enjoy being taken advantage of (post #108) is a pretty cheap way to make your point.

 

[Ninja Mom]

We had three resort stays last year and all the resorts were clean and beautifully maintained. Cast members were friendly and fun. We enjoyed wonderful dinners and entertainment in Disney Springs and loved being able to walk there from SSR. The parks were busy but not overly so (of course Disney will use and objective standard for what is overcrowded - that only makes sense).

I think Disney is making a mistake with all these upscale "upcharge" events and the parking fees, and I told them so in an email and subsequent phone conversations. Yes, nostalgia is involved in choosing Disney - we had wonderful times bringing our kids (and parents) in years past and we continue to have wonderful times to this day. In large part, though, it's because we can afford the additional events. What I told Disney is that I think they're in danger of pricing themselves out for the future. What drew us to Disney all those years ago was the "all-inclusive" feel of it - you weren't constantly opening your wallet. As a young family, we would not have been able to pay for dessert parties and the other extras Disney has added on these days. I don't believe the company is interested in running itself into the ground, but they have taken an unfortunate turn. But Disney is a vacation venue - nothing more, nothing less. When the value is gone, my family will go elsewhere.

People have different opinions about Disney and express those opinions in different ways. Some actually do have a romantic notion about Disney. Calling them names ("sheeple"), labeling them (Disney defenders) and using demeaning, offensive language to suggest they enjoy being taken advantage of (post #108) is a pretty cheap way to make your point.

I did not call specific people "sheeple". If I said that 'Joe' was a sheeple I could see your point. I think it's valid to refer to a group that possesses those behaviors as sheeples. As far as the term 'Disney defenders' is concerned, they do in fact exist, and including them as a category when I was making my points is also valid.

In summary, I did not make my post personal. I spoke in general terms. I respect your opinion and your right to express it but I'm not buying that I did anything wrong by pointing out that Sheeple and Disney Defenders do exist and are participants in perpetuating a modern narrative that is, in my opinion, destructive to the Disney legacy.

~NM

 

[Andrew M]

We had three resort stays last year and all the resorts were clean and beautifully maintained. Cast members were friendly and fun. We enjoyed wonderful dinners and entertainment in Disney Springs and loved being able to walk there from SSR. The parks were busy but not overly so (of course Disney will use and objective standard for what is overcrowded - that only makes sense).

I think Disney is making a mistake with all these upscale "upcharge" events and the parking fees, and I told them so in an email and subsequent phone conversations. Yes, nostalgia is involved in choosing Disney - we had wonderful times bringing our kids (and parents) in years past and we continue to have wonderful times to this day. In large part, though, it's because we can afford the additional events. What I told Disney is that I think they're in danger of pricing themselves out for the future. What drew us to Disney all those years ago was the "all-inclusive" feel of it - you weren't constantly opening your wallet. As a young family, we would not have been able to pay for dessert parties and the other extras Disney has added on these days. I don't believe the company is interested in running itself into the ground, but they have taken an unfortunate turn. But Disney is a vacation venue - nothing more, nothing less. When the value is gone, my family will go elsewhere.

People have different opinions about Disney and express those opinions in different ways. Some people actually do have a romantic notion about Disney - I imagine most who keep going do so because they enjoy the experience. Calling them names ("sheeple"), labeling them (Disney defenders) and using demeaning, offensive language to suggest they enjoy being taken advantage of (post #108) is a pretty cheap way to make your point.

The 'extra hours' upscale charges are what really is starting to get to me. I just checked my itinerary from October 2012. The Magic Kingdom was open at 8am and stayed open til atleast 10pm 4 out of 7 nights with EMH til 1 and 3am over the course of a week. Hollywood Studios regularly open until 9pm with EMH til midnight twice in one week.

Now for my trip in March, HS is not open any night past 8pm with no EMH. I can stay one night at MK til 10pm and one night at Epcot til 11pm through EMH. But meanwhile there are 5 separate 'upcharge' events in that 6 day span.

Granted I know the seasons are different, but just disappointed at the constant chipping away at what used to be 'free' and is now something you have to pay extra for.

 

[monothingie]

The 'extra hours' upscale charges are what really is starting to get to me. I just checked my itinerary from October 2012. The Magic Kingdom was open at 8am and stayed open til atleast 10pm 4 out of 7 nights with EMH til 1 and 3am over the course of a week. Hollywood Studios regularly open until 9pm with EMH til midnight twice in one week.

Now for my trip in March, HS is not open any night past 8pm with no EMH. I can stay one night at MK til 10pm and one night at Epcot til 11pm through EMH. But meanwhile there are 5 separate 'upcharge' events in that 6 day span.

Granted I know the seasons are different, but just disappointed at the constant chipping away at what used to be 'free' and is now something you have to pay extra for.

If it's any consolation, Disney park hours published months out are almost never set in stone. Often these hours are increased 3-4 weeks out. Example, in February when I'm going they had initially shown MK closings of 8PM all week and weekend, this was bumped up to 10PM, 11PM, and 9PM for Friday-Sunday.

Your other points about shortened evening hours are spot on. The shortened hours, addition of hard-ticket evens, and reduction of evening EMH is maddening. There is no reason to close parks before 9PM. Considering how crowded the parks are, an extra couple of hours can really help spread things around.

 

[fngoofy]

Welcome to the boards......

or what?? Remember the outrage when airlines began charging baggage fees? I'm old enough where I remember and then what happened? I remember when that use to be Southwest airlines claim to fame that they had no baggage fees, but now they have raised their prices significantly.
fast forward, now the airlines have a myrid of fees. sit in an aisle seat? extra. upgrade your boarding pass? extra

Now IMO the thing is Disney was the very last to the world of parking fees so no one is upset about them. In fact most people are shocked if you can book a hotel (not motel) without a parking fee.

Now of course someone will say how Disney is supposed to be "above" that and do things differently which I still don't get because Disney is a corporation, they will go along with industry "standards".

Disney is not going to refund those fees nor change their policy because they have absolutely no reason to. Hotels are still full and if you travel just about any popular vacation destination resort/parking fees are common so I'm going out on a stretch and say many of today's first time visitors wouldn't bat an eye. look at it this way, folks who are already dropping 5K on their vacation are not going to howl at an additional 200 bucks from fee.

Additionally, WDW would like you to not have a car on site.
Using their transport keeps you on site and reduces cost for parking you at the parks.

We always fly in and rent a car. We normally get a midsize SUV for under $200 for the week. We stop at Target and get snacks and water and it more than pays for the cost of the car...
Until
With the new fees they are more than the car. So this last time in Nov we still got the car and I justified using the valet parking at AKL since it was only $8 more per day.
BUT,
We discussed while there what it would be like to mix up getting around via Bus, MinnieVan, Monorail, and Gondola.
We are thinking we might order in the groceries and skip the car next time.
OR
If we do Vero Beach prior to our week at WDW, just get the car for 2 days, hit the store, and then drop at the Resort and return the car on property.