Premium Parking coming to Walt Disney World's parking lots?

[WondersOfLife]

Now that's just stupid....

Parking should ALREADY be free!! Not even Carowinds charges guests to park. So stupid.

 

[dstrawn9889]

Now that's just stupid....

Parking should ALREADY be free!! Not even Carowinds charges guests to park. So stupid.

everything i see shows carolwinds has between a 10-15 dollar parking fee

 

[JohnD]

Nope, never have brought any in, so it is status quo for me.

I bring in water all the time. Think about it. $2.75 for one 20 oz bottle of Dasani. Or purchase a 24-pack of $16 oz. Zephyrhills or comparable for $4.99. I always bring two bottles with me -- one in each bottle holder in my backpack.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I bring in water all the time. Think about it. $2.75 for one 20 oz bottle of Dasani. Or purchase a 24-pack of $16 oz. Zephyrhills or comparable for $4.99. I always bring two bottles with me -- one in each bottle holder in my backpack.

My water must be cold so I don't do it that way. I buy a cold water, sit quietly and drink it or walk toward my next attraction and discard it (appropriately). I do not carry anything around with me. They aren't likely to stop anyone from bringing water in anyway, so let's not panic prematurely.

 

[JohnD]

My water must be cold so I don't do it that way. I buy a cold water, sit quietly and drink it or walk toward my next attraction and discard it (appropriately). I do not carry anything around with me. They aren't likely to stop anyone from bringing water in anyway, so let's not panic prematurely.

You can ask for a cup of ice. Water is the extent of what I bring. Many families bring entire meals with them.

 

[Goofyernmost]

You can ask for a cup of ice. Water is the extent of what I bring. Many families bring entire meals with them.

Yes, I know you can, but, I don't feel comfortable doing that. It's just me, I don't really mind if others do it. It's just something that I cannot do unless I'm buying stuff at the same time. When younger I used to live by the something that, if I remember correctly, was once said by J. Paul Getty. "If you have to ask for a price, then you can't afford it." Never wanted to be seen that way. Call it vanity, pride or foolishness, it is part of my makeup.

 

[WondersOfLife]

everything i see shows carolwinds has between a 10-15 dollar parking fee

You know what.. You are right. I totally forgot that I have always had gold passes which include parking........ But with that said, parking and one-day theme park admission together is only $65... Heck, only $45 if you come after 4 PM. Much better than $140 for one day at a park at Disney. (at least, outside of magic kingdom?) Just a big rip off.

But still the same point, to an extent. An annual gold pass for Carowinds costs only $90 and includes free parking AND Scarowinds.

However, a "Disney Platinum Pass" already costs $749.00 ....... Let me spell that out. Seven. Hundred. Forty. Nine. Dollars. This may include theme park parking... But it already cost $20 a day to park.

It would take about 6 trips to Carowinds to be equivalent to the parking prices without an annual pass... However at Disney, you would have to go about 40 times to get your parking pass-equivalent.. And that doesn't include Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Disney's deal comes with photopass downloads (worthless if you have your own camera), parking (not really saving you much there, if you don't live locally), and "special discounts" (you know... for you to be more confident on spending money on something you wouldn't normally spend money on.)

I'm NOT saying a park like Carowinds is better than Disney World.... But I AM saying that a park like Carowinds treats its guests more fairly when it comes to money. $90 for theme park admission, parking, and unlimited access to a 2 month long halloween event... Disney: $750, which includes parking, pictures, aaaaaandddd.... "discounts."

There's the "Disney has four theme parks" argument, but that's another extra few hundred dollars of lodging in itself. In the end, you really are ripped off. Disney rips you off, especially with all of these budget cuts, half closed parks, and fee considerations. Carowinds? $90 will cover your entire trip, excluding food. But hey, even the food is cheaper at Carowinds.

And I understand that Disney can add these prices because there are like.. Too many people coming to vacation. But that doesn't mean you're not being completely ripped off.

 

[dstrawn9889]

Yes, I know you can, but, I don't feel comfortable doing that. It's just me, I don't really mind if others do it. It's just something that I cannot do unless I'm buying stuff at the same time. When younger I used to live by the something that, if I remember correctly, was once said by J. Paul Getty. "If you have to ask for a price, then you can't afford it." Never wanted to be seen that way. Call it vanity, pride or foolishness, it is part of my makeup.

all three... LOL

 

[MrPromey]

What absolute moron of Disney's executive idiot team thought this one up (probable the same idiot that wants the resort fee). Disney would appear to be trying to appeal to once a decade (or less) visitors. People like myself who have been to Disney multiple times over the years will now probably look for other venues to spend our vacation time at. When you appeal to the one percenters, you lose 99 percent of your customer base.

Freaking morons!

Well... It sounds like they are targeting people like... you. Once they inch all of us into this categorey, we'll be the ones paying for these stupid things...

I'd seriously like to know who the 7% are in that survey that said they'd be cool with choosing to pay $35 to park (or the bargain price of $15 as a resort guest paying a $15 a day resort fee or annual pass holder). I would like to talk with these people about some investment opportunities...

This'll have little impact on a lot of us but unless they are building new parking lots, Epcot seems like the only place this would have any real advantage and if you get there early in the day, that would only be if they created a good sized buffer between the end of the premium parking and regular parking. Wouldn't you be ed as a first time guest to get there and see you're only about 100-150 feet closer than where they'd have parked you, anyway?

 

[Andrew C]

I'd seriously like to know who the 7% are in that survey that said they'd be cool with choosing to pay $35 to park

I assume they are just people who have enough money and are willing to pay for premium parking. I am not one of those people, however.

 

[MrPromey]

There are nearly 10000 things that the've done or could do.
I have a hell of a lot less of a problem with them introducing an overpriced paid VIP parking which some people may pay for (but is not required) than I do them raising the prices on parking wholesale (like they did recently).
Adding paid experiences in which I'm not forced to use and has no bearing on my visit bothers me not at all.

For most of us, that's a good point.

I assume they are just people who have enough money and are willing to pay for premium parking. I am not one of those people, however.

And that's exactly why I'd like to talk with them about an investment opportunity!

 

[matt78]

Iger should just change Disney's official mascot from Mickey Mouse to Scrooge McDuck. Though I don't think even Scrooge is a greedy as Disney has become.

 

[halltd]

I fully understand the intent and the concept however the reality of a whimsical idea in 1971 vs the reality of 2016 is vastly different. No one could have foreseen 20-odd million people a year swarming upon MK. Or it taking an hour (on a good day!) just to get back to your car at the end of the night.

You can park - and walk - easily to any of the other three parks. I never take the tram at Epcot for example. I just walk it. Always winds up faster. It doesn't ruin anything for the enjoyment of my day. But leaving MK can ruin the fun you had when you're tired, it's packed, a monorail is down, they're only running one ferry, etc. Ugh it's exhausting just thinking about it sometimes. Have you ever tried leaving on New Year's Eve? Or when it's at capacity? The system was never designed to handle that sheer amount of people. (I've been on nights where they were running BUSES!!! just to help shuttle people back to the TTC because it was multi-hour wait times.)

I've been literally hundreds of times. And the arrival is never the problem. But the leaving...oh I'd be perfectly fine with it being a little less "magical" and just getting me to my car so I can drive 90 minutes home.

You posted the root cause of the issue in your post and none of it was the parking being on the other side of Seven Seas Lagoon. The issue was transportation not working or not being fully utilized. Fix the transportation so it can handle all those people, don't build a parking lot right at the front gate of the MK.

The attitude of "just make it a little less magical so it's super convenient" is what leads to all the competitors of Disney getting better and Disney being closer to "just another theme park".

 

[jensenrick]

I thought they did this already.

 

[TTA94]

What is the current acceptable reasons to give security for parking at the contemporary or poly when your not staying there?

 

[CJR]

The Future: Eventually, I see them just charging by the hour for parking, with a base fee of course. The spots closest to the front will cost the most, but none of them will be a good value. Take Uber's self driving car? Just a $15 drop off fee.

 

[MissM]

You posted the root cause of the issue in your post and none of it was the parking being on the other side of Seven Seas Lagoon. The issue was transportation not working or not being fully utilized. Fix the transportation so it can handle all those people, don't build a parking lot right at the front gate of the MK.

The attitude of "just make it a little less magical so it's super convenient" is what leads to all the competitors of Disney getting better and Disney being closer to "just another theme park".

First off, I never said "right at the front gate of the MK" what I DID say was "next to (or behind) MK" - obviously it doesn't have to sit squat right in front of the train station. The Contemporary parking lot doesn't "ruin" the magic and it's right next door for example.

It's pretty much impossible for transportation to EVER keep up with - again - 20 million people a year and growing. You can say it just needs to "work better" or be "more fully utilized", but that still overlooks the fact that trying to shuffle 20 million people a year 1.5 miles to a SECOND transportation hub for ANOTHER round of shuffling them to the lots is just insurmountable. It's never going to just be a matter of "throw more monorails or ferries" at it to solve the problem.

And also again, ALL THREE OTHER WDW PARKS have lots right up front. Zero loss of magic. Epcot is no less Epcot for the fact you can actually get to and from your car without an act of god and an hour or two of your life you'll never get back.

Finally, I also never said to move ALL the parking closer to MK. But if they had a lot in walking proximity that was an upcharge, that might be worth it to me. You could continue to park 1.5 miles away to have your perfect "magical arrival" and I could just get onto the actual park which is where I want to be, not stuck in a line for transportation. Win-win.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

My water must be cold so I don't do it that way. I buy a cold water, sit quietly and drink it or walk toward my next attraction and discard it (appropriately). I do not carry anything around with me. They aren't likely to stop anyone from bringing water in anyway, so let's not panic prematurely.

Nope . . . Now is the time to panic and cancell everything Disney related for life

 

[Yankee Mouse]

Almost all theme parks and entertainment venues have some version of premium parking so I really don't have a problem with the idea behind it. In fact I usually upgrade when we go to Busch gardens Williamsburg because we usually walk back to the car for lunch and it is a day trip, not multi day like Disney. But $15 is too much, most parks only charge an extra $5-10 which seems more reasonable for this kind of perk.

 

[lostpro9het]

Curious what will hapen when the peasant lot fills up. Will guests be forced to purchase the premium spots?