The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[Figgy1]

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

Long story but I would up landing at JFK instead of EWR once and took my luggage with me into Jersey by public transportation. It was either sit out there and wait for a ride or haul my stuff and get home sooner. Have I mentioned I haven't flown commercial since before 9-11

It's a little difficult to drive there for some of us.
Did I mention I haven't turned right getting onto a plane for over 10 years

 

[Figgy1]

It's a little difficult to drive there for some of us.
Did I mention I haven't turned right getting onto a plane for over 10 years

 

[Goofyernmost]

Disney had so much input on the train having a stop at Springs I have confidence Disney has already has a concept. Magical Express cost wise wasn’t working nor was the time commitment. We were using it less and less especially for shorter trips.

Buzz is Disney could absorb the train ticket cost which rack rate is expected to be $10 one way And be tacked into room rates just as Mears ME expenses are built into rooms. There is some expectation that luggage would travel in the same manner for resort guests as with ME, trucked by baggage tags. It wouldn’t matter if you were on a Mears bus or the train If what speculated plans are. The train would just be rapidly faster than buses and just the toll fees alone would be a major savings. Me, I’d welcome the change. Just odd that the 2021 end date for ME. I would hope that has some wiggle room if Disney Station is not ready to roll by January 2022.

Just a thought here, I haven't seen (doesn't mean it isn't there because I might have just missed it) but this train thing? Unless the tracks run next to EVERY resort how do you get from the train station to your resort? Seems to me that unless they have reconfigured something that will give you a need to transfer everyone and luggage to each resort the hassle factor is multiplied pretty significantly. Without knowing the inside plans it just seems to me that Disney has finally given the surrounding economy a chance to participate in the windfall from the park being there. Offsite car rentals should boom again and Disney will profit more from that since they charge for parking at their over priced resorts and have no expense connected with it. Hotel will also be able to work because if you don't have any major perks to onsite staying then the need for a vehicle expands, the temptation to leave the grounds and explore the many other treasures of central Florida will increase. Couldn't happen to a greedier group of people. For me, life won't change except the competition for the massive numbers of resorts/hotels along International Drive and Route 192 will create some really good rates even if they do charge for parking, but that will be an item to use for leverage as well.

 

[Songbird76]

Magical Express started in 2005 and Disney opened in 1971 so there has been no bus service before. Just how are they going to get you from the airport to the train station? Another monorail?

Sure, but the fees have increased in the last couple of years. You used to get free parking if you stayed in a Disney resort, but now you have to pay an overnight parking fee. And right now there's no fastpass, so the perk of having early access to the reservation system is gone. Slowly, all the perks of staying on property are being taken away. You can't have your purchases sent to your resort anymore...or at least not to the front of the park....I'm not sure about to the resort. But considering the number of layoffs, I'm betting they just don't have the manpower for all those little touches. But they still charge just as much for the rooms, even though what you get for that price is reduced significantly. It's always been cheaper to stay off property, but what kept people coming back to the Disney resorts was those little benefits like not having to worry about transportation, not having to pay the parking fees, having early access to reservation systems, etc. If the cost of Disney rooms stays the same, but there's no more benefit to staying on property, why would people choose to pay more for less? Sure you're closer, but that doesn't help if you have to pay for a rental car anyway...then you might as well stay off property and drive yourself. It's faster than staying on property and taking the buses. It took us over 2 hours to get from CBR to GF for an ADR in 2019. I thought I was giving us plenty of time by leaving an hour and 3/4 before our ADR, but we ended up being 10-15 minutes late. We didn't have a car there, but if I'm forced to rent a car anyway because there's no shuttle to get me to Disney property, then there's no reason for me to waste so much time waiting on resort buses that are not very predictable. And if I'm not going to use the Disney bus service because it's unreliable and I have a car to use, then it's cheaper for me to stay off property, even if I have to pay for parking at the parks each day. The benefits of staying on property no longer balance out with the price of the rooms, and the convenience of the inter-park/resort bus system is rendered useless if everyone has to have a car anyway, and driving is much faster. What's left as an incentive to stay in the bubble?

 

[Figgy1]

Sure, but the fees have increased in the last couple of years. You used to get free parking if you stayed in a Disney resort, but now you have to pay an overnight parking fee. And right now there's no fastpass, so the perk of having early access to the reservation system is gone. Slowly, all the perks of staying on property are being taken away. You can't have your purchases sent to your resort anymore...or at least not to the front of the park....I'm not sure about to the resort. But considering the number of layoffs, I'm betting they just don't have the manpower for all those little touches. But they still charge just as much for the rooms, even though what you get for that price is reduced significantly. It's always been cheaper to stay off property, but what kept people coming back to the Disney resorts was those little benefits like not having to worry about transportation, not having to pay the parking fees, having early access to reservation systems, etc. If the cost of Disney rooms stays the same, but there's no more benefit to staying on property, why would people choose to pay more for less? Sure you're closer, but that doesn't help if you have to pay for a rental car anyway...then you might as well stay off property and drive yourself. It's faster than staying on property and taking the buses. It took us over 2 hours to get from CBR to GF for an ADR in 2019. I thought I was giving us plenty of time by leaving an hour and 3/4 before our ADR, but we ended up being 10-15 minutes late. We didn't have a car there, but if I'm forced to rent a car anyway because there's no shuttle to get me to Disney property, then there's no reason for me to waste so much time waiting on resort buses that are not very predictable. And if I'm not going to use the Disney bus service because it's unreliable and I have a car to use, then it's cheaper for me to stay off property, even if I have to pay for parking at the parks each day. The benefits of staying on property no longer balance out with the price of the rooms, and the convenience of the inter-park/resort bus system is rendered useless if everyone has to have a car anyway, and driving is much faster. What's left as an incentive to stay in the bubble?

We haven't stayed in the bubble for years except for SOG. We drive so DME wasn't a factor and we like side trips but the parking fee will make us want to stay inside even less. Now EMH have gone to 1/2 hour any park which while an advantage is not the same as a full hour or 2-3 hours at night. UNI is more to the guys liking but we're not going anywhere this year. Older ds is getting a total room makeover.

 

[EagleScout610]

Lunch break doodle

 

[Songbird76]

Just a thought here, I haven't seen (doesn't mean it isn't there because I might have just missed it) but this train thing? Unless the tracks run next to EVERY resort how do you get from the train station to your resort? Seems to me that unless they have reconfigured something that will give you a need to transfer everyone and luggage to each resort the hassle factor is multiplied pretty significantly. Without knowing the inside plans it just seems to me that Disney has finally given the surrounding economy a chance to participate in the windfall from the park being there. Offsite car rentals should boom again and Disney will profit more from that since they charge for parking at their over priced resorts and have no expense connected with it. Hotel will also be able to work because if you don't have any major perks to onsite staying then the need for a vehicle expands, the temptation to leave the grounds and explore the many other treasures of central Florida will increase. Couldn't happen to a greedier group of people. For me, life won't change except the competition for the massive numbers of resorts/hotels along International Drive and Route 192 will create some really good rates even if they do charge for parking, but that will be an item to use for leverage as well.

That's exactly what I'm thinking. Disney will lose out on a lot of revenue because the benefit to cost ratio of staying on property is tanking. I always wanted to stay in the bubble when I was growing up. Whenever we went, we stayed with relatives and drove a long way to get to Disney. We couldn't afford to stay even in a hotel off property, let alone at a Disney Resort. So that was always my dream. We did that the last two trips, and I really do love it, but a LARGE part of that was not needing to drive at all. No car rental costs, no parking fees, not having to drive after you've spent a day walking around the parks. But if there's no shuttle, then I have to rent a car anyway, and if I'm going to pay for a car rental, I might as well get my money's worth from all the fees and get around faster than those buses can take me, plus then I know I get to sit and I don't have to stand for 30 minutes in the bus because the seats are full. And if I'm going to drive anyway, then I might as well stay off property where it's cheaper, to make up for the cost of the car rental and parking fees. Disney has had that advantage for years...now they are kind of letting go of all their good cards. Now their competitors might finally have a better hand to play.

I'm sure some people will still stay on property, especially DVC members and maybe annual passholders who get discounts. But I think there will also be a large number who will take the opportunity to visit places they've always wanted to, but didn't because they would have to rent a car. Now if they have to rent one anyway, why NOT go spend some days at Uni or Seaworld, etc? And for that matter, why NOT stay at a cheaper hotel and maybe even get to take a longer vacation? And if other places like Uni, Seaworld, etc create better packages that are more attractive for guests, people will spend less time (and therefore money) at Disney and spend it elsewhere.

 

[John park hopper]

I remember when they first announced the resort parking fee there were endless pages of comments and the general theme was Disney was trying to cut down on people driving and going off site. Well with the current ME cancellation that idea of cutting down on people driving seems to have flown out the window.. The parking fee IMO was simple a money grab costs them nothing pure profit.

 

[DryerLintFan]

We haven't stayed in the bubble for years except for SOG. We drive so DME wasn't a factor and we like side trips but the parking fee will make us want to stay inside even less. Now EMH have gone to 1/2 hour any park which while an advantage is not the same as a full hour or 2-3 hours at night. UNI is more to the guys liking but we're not going anywhere this year. Older ds is getting a total room makeover.

Yeah a half hour is too little of an incentive... I guess maybe when the kid is older and can focus on getting somewhere, but we usually spend that first fifteen minutes in awe of the castle right now

 

[Goofyernmost]

That's exactly what I'm thinking. Disney will lose out on a lot of revenue because the benefit to cost ratio of staying on property is tanking. I always wanted to stay in the bubble when I was growing up. Whenever we went, we stayed with relatives and drove a long way to get to Disney. We couldn't afford to stay even in a hotel off property, let alone at a Disney Resort. So that was always my dream. We did that the last two trips, and I really do love it, but a LARGE part of that was not needing to drive at all. No car rental costs, no parking fees, not having to drive after you've spent a day walking around the parks. But if there's no shuttle, then I have to rent a car anyway, and if I'm going to pay for a car rental, I might as well get my money's worth from all the fees and get around faster than those buses can take me, plus then I know I get to sit and I don't have to stand for 30 minutes in the bus because the seats are full. And if I'm going to drive anyway, then I might as well stay off property where it's cheaper, to make up for the cost of the car rental and parking fees. Disney has had that advantage for years...now they are kind of letting go of all their good cards. Now their competitors might finally have a better hand to play.

I'm sure some people will still stay on property, especially DVC members and maybe annual passholders who get discounts. But I think there will also be a large number who will take the opportunity to visit places they've always wanted to, but didn't because they would have to rent a car. Now if they have to rent one anyway, why NOT go spend some days at Uni or Seaworld, etc? And for that matter, why NOT stay at a cheaper hotel and maybe even get to take a longer vacation? And if other places like Uni, Seaworld, etc create better packages that are more attractive for guests, people will spend less time (and therefore money) at Disney and spend it elsewhere.

Not just those two. There are all kinds of things to do that don't cost anywhere near as much as Disney or Uni. International Drive has all kinds of attractions. Different, of course, but it doesn't stop them from being interesting. Just a few miles down the road is Legoland (once was Cyprus Gardens) I have taken helicopter tours that originate offsite. Made side trips (often) to the Kennedy Space Center. I even used Kissimmee as a base to take a couple of days and got to Key West. A long way, but worth it, especially driving through the keys themselves. Explored the Everglades, Bok Tower and countless others. There is a new venue that I am looking forward to going too. It's name is Dezerland Park. Don't get me wrong, I love WDW, but there is so much more to see and experience and I hated to always think about the effort to get to the place and then only see one resort is just not something that I enjoy.

I remember when they first announced the resort parking fee there were endless pages of comments and the general theme was Disney was trying to cut down on people driving and going off site. Well with the current ME cancellation that idea of cutting down on people driving seems to have flown out the window.. The parking fee IMO was simple a money grab costs them nothing pure profit.

And if they semi-force the onsiters to rent a vehicle then they will collect the parking fees and you can bet that the room rates will not go down because of it. And will have eliminated a very costly transportation expense. One thing one can be sure of with the current Disney company is that they spend a lot more time imagining ways to squeeze more money out of loyal customers (sorry, Guests) then imagining new things for those "guests" to see and experience.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yeah a half hour is too little of an incentive... I guess maybe when the kid is older and can focus on getting somewhere, but we usually spend that first fifteen minutes in awe of the castle right now

Believe me after taking my girls to WDW for many years, the excitement only increases as we traveled, a short distance, to MK from our offsite hotel. Couple that with the ferry ride were they were able to watch MK get closer and closer and closer, more then makes up for any speedy way to get to the park, but bypasses so many fun things like the ferry ride or the longer anticipation. All those Type A personality perks are good for some people, but for those of us that still like the general excitement of the experience so much is missed by short cuts either in transportation or in Fastpass usage. It isn't called a short cut for nothing, the experience is also short of added experience. One of the things most mentioned as the magic of Disney is the theming experience of not only the ride or show, but also the imaginative design of so many queue's as well. As is stated so many times... it's the details that count. Speeding through a queue line is hardly savoring the whole experience.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

That's exactly what I'm thinking. Disney will lose out on a lot of revenue because the benefit to cost ratio of staying on property is tanking. I always wanted to stay in the bubble when I was growing up. Whenever we went, we stayed with relatives and drove a long way to get to Disney. We couldn't afford to stay even in a hotel off property, let alone at a Disney Resort. So that was always my dream. We did that the last two trips, and I really do love it, but a LARGE part of that was not needing to drive at all. No car rental costs, no parking fees, not having to drive after you've spent a day walking around the parks. But if there's no shuttle, then I have to rent a car anyway, and if I'm going to pay for a car rental, I might as well get my money's worth from all the fees and get around faster than those buses can take me, plus then I know I get to sit and I don't have to stand for 30 minutes in the bus because the seats are full. And if I'm going to drive anyway, then I might as well stay off property where it's cheaper, to make up for the cost of the car rental and parking fees. Disney has had that advantage for years...now they are kind of letting go of all their good cards. Now their competitors might finally have a better hand to play.

I'm sure some people will still stay on property, especially DVC members and maybe annual passholders who get discounts. But I think there will also be a large number who will take the opportunity to visit places they've always wanted to, but didn't because they would have to rent a car. Now if they have to rent one anyway, why NOT go spend some days at Uni or Seaworld, etc? And for that matter, why NOT stay at a cheaper hotel and maybe even get to take a longer vacation? And if other places like Uni, Seaworld, etc create better packages that are more attractive for guests, people will spend less time (and therefore money) at Disney and spend it elsewhere.

I still wouldn't rent a car unless you truly needed one. A car rental, unless you've got just two or three people and can make due on a midsize, can run you $400-$500 per week unless you get some sort of deal with your airline. Then many hotels, not just Disney, charge parking, so that can run $10-$25 on top of what you're already paying, though I've seen some hotels charge more. Then amusement parks charge for parking, so you'll pay an additional $10-$25 daily on top of that. Meanwhile, if you stayed on Disney property or another nearby hotel that had transportation, if you had a family of four with luggage, you could get a shuttle for $85 each way and then use Lyft/Uber if you wanted to see other stuff, avoid the parking fees, and you wouldn't need to drive. Meats also has a thing called attraction transfer, so if you didn't want to stay at Disney the entire time and you wanted to go to Uni, that's still cheaper than renting a car.

We're planning California this year as long as restrictions there ease, but we're probably going to still use Super Shuttle to get to the hotel and then Lyft if we want to get around. It runs cheaper than a rental car.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I still wouldn't rent a car unless you truly needed one. A car rental, unless you've got just two or three people and can make due on a midsize, can run you $400-$500 per week unless you get some sort of deal with your airline. Then many hotels, not just Disney, charge parking, so that can run $10-$25 on top of what you're already paying, though I've seen some hotels charge more. Then amusement parks charge for parking, so you'll pay an additional $10-$25 daily on top of that. Meanwhile, if you stayed on Disney property or another nearby hotel that had transportation, if you had a family of four with luggage, you could get a shuttle for $85 each way and then use Lyft/Uber if you wanted to see other stuff, avoid the parking fees, and you wouldn't need to drive. Meats also has a thing called attraction transfer, so if you didn't want to stay at Disney the entire time and you wanted to go to Uni, that's still cheaper than renting a car.

We're planning California this year as long as restrictions there ease, but we're probably going to still use Super Shuttle to get to the hotel and then Lyft if we want to get around. It runs cheaper than a rental car.

That is due to lack of competition. Back before the magical prison bus you could rent a car for $100.00 per week. Once rentals cut back on their inventories (specifically in Orlando) due to less demand, the supply became smaller and prices to rent went upward. I just rented a full sized car locally for $32 dollars a day. Inventories here are huge and demand is small. I haven't priced it in the last 10 years because I can and do drive there now. Ten easy hours on the road and a tank of gas, I'm there. The difference between outside hotel rates and onsite were so drastic that you could pay for the rental, gas and parking fees and have hundreds left over. I doubt it is much different now, especially since rentals have been down in Orlando for quite a while now. But that parking fee thing really never was a good arguing point. You always save lots of money staying offsite and paying the parking fee then staying onsite and not paying the parking fee. So it was more the promotional effort of Disney convincing people that a lot happens when they are asleep to make it worth that much money to stay onsite.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

That is due to lack of competition. Back before the magical prison bus you could rent a car for $100.00 per week. Once rentals cut back on their inventories (specifically in Orlando) due to less demand, the supply became smaller and prices to rent went upward. I just rented a full sized car locally for $32 dollars a day. Inventories here are huge and demand is small. I haven't priced it in the last 10 years because I can and do drive there now. Ten easy hours on the road and a tank of gas, I'm there. The difference between outside hotel rates and onsite were so drastic that you could pay for the rental, gas and parking fees and have hundreds left over. I doubt it is much different now, especially since rentals have been down in Orlando for quite a while now. But that parking fee thing really never was a good arguing point. You always save lots of money staying offsite and paying the parking fee then staying onsite and not paying the parking fee. So it was more the promotional effort of Disney convincing people that a lot happens when they are asleep to make it worth that much money to stay onsite.

That's basically all airport rentals. I looked into it for my trip to South Carolina and was like . Ended up just getting my aunt to drive us; she also lets me drive her car. A rental car from your local place will cost less than one at an airport. The only way to do it is if you package it with your airfare; some airlines will do a cheaper rental car with your airfare (I think when I looked into it for Hawaii it was an additional $200 on top of my airfare, my parents got theirs for nothing with the three of them). It depends on the airline, though. Southwest does discounted car rentals, but they're still expensive. Especially for someone who has 40,000 points in her account and currently pays $5 per flight.

When I did one for two days in California, it was cheaper to do it out of Anaheim than an airport, even though I dropped it at an airport and had to pay a fee. I only did that because we were going to San Diego. I still wouldn't do it in Florida if you're just going to a bunch of the parks.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

@Songbird76 @SteveBrickNJ

 

[SteveBrickNJ]

I still wouldn't rent a car unless you truly needed one. A car rental, unless you've got just two or three people and can make due on a midsize, can run you $400-$500 per week unless you get some sort of deal with your airline. Then many hotels, not just Disney, charge parking, so that can run $10-$25 on top of what you're already paying, though I've seen some hotels charge more. Then amusement parks charge for parking, so you'll pay an additional $10-$25 daily on top of that. Meanwhile, if you stayed on Disney property or another nearby hotel that had transportation, if you had a family of four with luggage, you could get a shuttle for $85 each way and then use Lyft/Uber if you wanted to see other stuff, avoid the parking fees, and you wouldn't need to drive. Meats also has a thing called attraction transfer, so if you didn't want to stay at Disney the entire time and you wanted to go to Uni, that's still cheaper than renting a car.

We're planning California this year as long as restrictions there ease, but we're probably going to still use Super Shuttle to get to the hotel and then Lyft if we want to get around. It runs cheaper than a rental car.

I agree with so many points you made here....i.e the rental car for the week is expensive and then every day you park it at your on property Disney Resort hotel you have to pay for daily parking as well. It would be best to get a ride from MEARS or whatever other source you select....then just use the free Disney buses to get from your on site Disney Resort hotel to the various parks.
Yet this is such a disappointing change Disney is putting into place. ( I'm sure the Mears Transportation Company is thrilled though)

 

[Figgy1]

That's exactly what I'm thinking. Disney will lose out on a lot of revenue because the benefit to cost ratio of staying on property is tanking. I always wanted to stay in the bubble when I was growing up. Whenever we went, we stayed with relatives and drove a long way to get to Disney. We couldn't afford to stay even in a hotel off property, let alone at a Disney Resort. So that was always my dream. We did that the last two trips, and I really do love it, but a LARGE part of that was not needing to drive at all. No car rental costs, no parking fees, not having to drive after you've spent a day walking around the parks. But if there's no shuttle, then I have to rent a car anyway, and if I'm going to pay for a car rental, I might as well get my money's worth from all the fees and get around faster than those buses can take me, plus then I know I get to sit and I don't have to stand for 30 minutes in the bus because the seats are full. And if I'm going to drive anyway, then I might as well stay off property where it's cheaper, to make up for the cost of the car rental and parking fees. Disney has had that advantage for years...now they are kind of letting go of all their good cards. Now their competitors might finally have a better hand to play.

I'm sure some people will still stay on property, especially DVC members and maybe annual passholders who get discounts. But I think there will also be a large number who will take the opportunity to visit places they've always wanted to, but didn't because they would have to rent a car. Now if they have to rent one anyway, why NOT go spend some days at Uni or Seaworld, etc? And for that matter, why NOT stay at a cheaper hotel and maybe even get to take a longer vacation? And if other places like Uni, Seaworld, etc create better packages that are more attractive for guests, people will spend less time (and therefore money) at Disney and spend it elsewhere.

If you have a car next trip you may want to look into the new hotels at UNI that just opened. They have suites priced between a Disney value and moderate. The food choices in them don't look great but there are lots of options on and off property within a few minutes.

 

[Figgy1]

I agree with so many points you made here....i.e the rental car for the week is expensive and then every day you park it at your on property Disney Resort hotel you have to pay for daily parking as well. It would be best to get a ride from MEARS or whatever other source you select....then just use the free Disney buses to get from your on site Disney Resort hotel to the various parks.
Yet this is such a disappointing change Disney is putting into place. ( I'm sure the Mears Transportation Company is thrilled though)

We've always paid $5 per night for parking at Disney, when we've stayed onsite. Runs and hides under boulder

 

[John park hopper]

Just remember the current resort parking fees were jacked up (price increase) shortly after they started it. We will see fees continue to increase that you can be sure of.