POLL: Will transportation within WDW - (bus/boat/Skyliner/monorail) remain free?

[Brian]

An insignificant amount of guests fall into this category.

Additionally, there is incentive to get day guests to Disney Springs, and to a lesser extent, the resorts, for the additional revenue by way of dining and shopping.

 

[monothingie]

If this was something Disney could realistically implement, it would have been done long ago.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

An insignificant amount of non-resort guests fall into users of buses.

And those that do are almost all resort-diners.

 

[The Colonel]

Of course they will. The real question is: will they charge us for charging us? They have to cover the cost of charging us. Charging people is not free. It's not charity folks. Shareholders, profits, Wall Street, bonuses, etc. etc.

 

[Kingoglow]

You're already paying for transportation as a resort guest. They have no qualms about raising hotel prices to match their revenue needs, how is this any different?

Disney transportation is already incredibly fragile. They can not afford to have more vehicles and ride shares (except for Minivans) on their already congested roads. Disney isn't stupid enough to mess around with this.

We thought that was the case with resort parking as well, but now we pay overtly.

 

[Brian]

If there were to be a charge for transportation for day guests, it would come alongside a ticket price increase (still baked into the price), with new advertising highlighting "complimentary transportation throughout Walt Disney World Resort" as being included in the admission price.

 

[mikejs78]

They'll never do this. Not in their interest.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

They'll never do this. Not in their interest.

I agree in theory, but I can't wrap my head around their decision to discontinue Magical Express. Of all the puzzling operational decisions they've made recently, that's the one that really jumps off the page as egregiously short-sighted.

 

[Nottamus]

I’d say it stays free

Plenty of unhidden ways to pay for it.

 

[Vacationeer]

A proportion of these transportation costs are baked into DVC dues and the hotels pick up their share. Monorail resorts chip in for that, and similar for skyliner and boat resorts. Then they pay their share for bussing depending how much is used. Something like this. It’s not just all pooled together and split equally across resorts.

The people best able to utilize these are onsite at the related resorts. The fraction of offsite guests using complimentary transport are likely spending to do so, whether it’s taking skyliner from the back of Epcot to Riviera’s Topolino or going to Disney Springs where they’re likely to spend. The people riding for ‘free’? Well it’s good advertising. I doubt they’ll ever turn any of these into pay per ride. It’s part of what intrigues people to return to WDW or stay onsite.

 

[Texas84]

I remember having to show a resort room key to get on busses to the hotels and the monorail resort loop.

Yep, had to show the plastic card.

 

[John park hopper]

The only thing you can be certain of with WDW nothing will remain "free" Like the resort parking
fee probable was part of the room fee- then they just double charged you for parking by tacking it onto your bill never reducing the room charge.

 

[monothingie]

We thought that was the case with resort parking as well, but now we pay overtly.

Just remember when they implemented it, the excuse given was that they were simply conforming to established industry norms. Everyone else does it, so can we.

If they’re going to go down this route, why not charge for elevators then?

 

[Ayla]

They'll never do this. Not in their interest.

There are a lot of things I swore they'd never do that have been done over the last 2-3 years.

 

[Greg in TN]

I could see the busses remaining free, but having to pay for "premium" transportation (monorail, skyliner, boats, etc.).

 

[vikescaper]

Not that I want this to happen but I could see them start charging if you want to use the parking lot trams. Pay a certain amount to use them and if you don’t want to pay, you walk.

 

[Nubs70]

They are already charging for transportation. It's embedded in the room cost. They will eventually charge more for it by increasing room rate. Again, you will never see it unless it is displayed as a specific line item on your bill.

 

[Wilbret]

Ride to the parks: FREE
Return trip: $5

 

[Disstevefan1]

But it's a huge cost center, and we've seen what they do with those... monetize them or cut them.

In my mind, is not possible to cut transportation out completely.
Maybe cut number of busses/boats/monorails?
Or both cut number of busses/boats/monorails AND resume charging for transportation.

The thing I am getting at is, there looks to be a trend begin (or resume) charging for something that was previously free, like:
Free Magical Express gone
Shopping bags
Resort parking
Magic Bands
Faspasses

in the future possibly:
housekeeping
transportation
Park Pass reservations

Who knows? Time will tell.

 

[Wilbret]

In my mind, is not possible to cut transportation out completely.
Maybe cut number of busses/boats/monorails?
Or both cut number of busses/boats/monorails AND resume charging for transportation.

The thing I am getting at is, there looks to be a trend begin (or resume) charging for something that was previously free, like:
Shopping bags
Resort parking
Magic Bands
Faspasses

in the future possibly:
housekeeping
transportation
Park Pass reservations

Who knows? Time will tell.

They'll call it a la carte, like the budget airlines.

You can fly to Orlando for $20!
(I'm exaggerating for emphasis here, no need for anyone to correct me)
-$20 for carry-on
-$20 per checked bag
-$5 for soda
-$50 to select your seat
-$20 for boarding priority
-$25 in fees
-$5 convenience fee

lol It's a deal!