Walt Disney World theme park parking fees set to rise tomorrow

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Its magical asphalt

 

[unkadug]

I would not argue with that but it's not free at places like parks, sporting events, concerts, even some shopping trips to malls etc. Just a cost of going to one of these places these days. Like I posted earlier Uni charges to park at the hotels on property.....

And it always rubs me the wrong way when I pay good money to stay at a hotel and then they double tax me by charging a daily parking fee.

 

[unkadug]

If you consider that every 5-7 years the lots need to be repaved and keep in mind they have some of the largest parking lots in the world then add in the trams and the cost of maintenance, re-striping and sealcoating the lots every 2 years, maintenance on the drainage / water retention systems in addition to staffing and cleaning, expenses do add up. Now i'll agree they do make a profit but it is a justifiable one considering the millions in maintenance costs per year. Additionally part of that profit goes towards maintaing the feeder roads.

I understand your sarcasm, I just think it's unjustified.

Oh please...the cost of maintaining a parking lot is quite negligible compared to the income that Disney makes from the parks.

A couple of days income from the lot would pay to have it repaved.

 

[BigTxEars]

And it always rubs me the wrong way when I pay good money to stay at a hotel and then they double tax me by charging a daily parking fee.

Yeah that is the craziest thing, paying to park at a hotel you are staying at? I know it goes on outside of Uni as well but that just makes little sense to me. If they have issue with non guest parking there just give the guest a placard for their dashboard for free parking. Either way I knew about it going in so I paid it. I think it was $15 per night.

 

[BigTxEars]

Hope they lock down DTD parking soon - the "free parking at DTD" experience is highly likely to rise....

I would think they might, but with the "nightlife" at DTD it will be hard to do IMO. I am not sure a $2 increase will drive more "parking cheaters" to go to DTD and park, but it might. Heck of a lesson to teach the little ones....here how we cheat the system Bobby......

 

[PhotoDave219]

I would think they might, but with the "nightlife" at DTD it will be hard to do IMO. I am not sure a $2 increase will drive more "parking cheaters" to go to DTD and park, but it might. Heck of a lesson to teach the little ones....here how we cheat the system Bobby......

There isnt any Nightlife at DTD.

 

[BigTxEars]

There isnt any Nightlife at DTD.

Dinning, movies, shows, shops......plenty of things to do for folks looking for a night out.

 

[Goofnut1980]

I have a PAP so parking is not an issue for us, but I don't agree with them raising the prices for valet. $20 for Valet at DTD is a rip off. It is not our fault that we can't find a spot to park with the 50 that are left at DTD while the garages are under construction. The only way we can park is with valet!

 

[unkadug]

I have a PAP so parking is not an issue for us, but I don't agree with them raising the prices for valet. $20 for Valet at DTD is a rip off. It is not our fault that we can't find a spot to park with the 50 that are left at DTD while the garages are under construction. The only way we can park is with valet!

There's plenty of parking if you are willing to walk.

 

[Goofnut1980]

There's plenty of parking if you are willing to walk.

hehehe and at Disney.. you can walk! a lot! lol... Where else can you park? is the lot down by Cirque open?

 

[Mouse_Trap]

Attendance is fabricated, the numbers reported at events are never correct or accurate. Sporting events announce attendance and it is very loosely based on what they expected. Events like fairs, festivals and theme parks are often padded by extreme amounts often double and triple what they claim.

You know those numbers that they show you on a score board at sporting events? They aren't made up, they come from people like me. And I have never given a number that wasn't padded by someone down the line.

Here in the UK we have a football team (soccer) in the Premier League, Arsenal. A few years back they started announcing the number of tickets sold rather than the number through the gate. Now normally the difference isn't noticeable as they sell out their stadium just about for each game.

However, a few years back they required season ticket holders to also purchase tickets for their cup games i.e. a money grab to shift additional tickets. However, especially in the earlier rounds they would have thousasands not attend. Despite this the attendance was still reported as the number of tickets they sold. This becaome really funny during one game where they declared yet another a sell out, full attendance (around 60,000) despite the stadium being obviously no more than half full i.e. 30,000 empty seats. Pretty funny....I think they may have stopped doing this now, but not sure.

That's just being too cheap IMO. It's $17 lousy dollars, if that amount of money is a budget breaker then being at WDW is a poor choice for that person.

Not condoning such evasion tactics either, but its not just "$17 lousy dollars", it's $17 lousy dollars a park day. That could be $170 for a 10 day trip, now that a decent size addition that most people would want to factor into their trip.

 

[BigTxEars]

Here in the UK we have a football team (soccer) in the Premier League, Arsenal. A few years back they started announcing the number of tickets sold rather than the number through the gate. Now normally the difference isn't noticeable as they sell out their stadium just about for each game.

However, a few years back they required season ticket holders to also purchase tickets for their cup games i.e. a money grab to shift additional tickets. However, especially in the earlier rounds they would have thousasands not attend. Despite this the attendance was still reported as the number of tickets they sold. This becaome really funny during one game were they declared yet another a sell out, full attendance (around 60,000) despite the stadium being obviously no more than half full i.e. 30,000 empty seats. Pretty funny....I think they may have stopped doing this now, but not sure.




Not condoning such evasion tactics either, but its not just "$17 lousy dollars", it's $17 lousy dollars a park day. That could be $170 for a 10 day trip, now that a decent size addition that most people would want to factor into their trip.

I have been as broke as anybody on here in my life I would guess, had some very broke days early on in my marriage. I understand the value of a dollar all too well. But if someone is taking a ten day trip to WDW and $170 over those 10 days is a deal breaker, then don't take a ten day trip to WDW, you can't afford it! Not to mention we are really talking about an extra $2 per day that the old price so it's $20 more for the ten days. I just think is a cruddy thing to teach the kids. Just my .02

As I posted I am no fan of parking fees but if I know about them going in and I still choose to go then I am obliged to pay them IMO.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Uni runs a great park but the two of them can not hold attention for a full week we found out last year. Seven days at Uni is just too long IMO. Seven days at WDW is not IMO.

It's all subjective and up to personal preference on which set of parks is best. I am a WDW guy who likes Uni but loves WDW. Well I do love Ripsaw Falls

Oh I absolutely agree. We always do both UNI & IOA in one day. But the OP was acting as if UNI wasn't doing anything in their parks which wasn't true at all.

 

[BigTxEars]

Oh I absolutely agree. We always do both UNI & IOA in one day. But the OP was acting as if UNI wasn't doing anything in their parks which wasn't true at all.

Now I want to ride Ripsaw Falls Man I love that thing! And Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges...and have lunch at that burger place near Jurassic Park, the one with the patio over looking the water.....Love that view

 

[mm121]

Areas of business are run separately. The parking fees go towards operational and maintenance cost for the parking lot.

definitely a huge money maker i'm sure, maitenance aside.. i mean they haven't built a new parking lot for years.. at least not at the parks..

it would be curious to find out if the theme park parking money is whats paying for the "free" garages at DTD. Though I dont know how long they will be free.

You can pretend like it's going to open before 2017.

Does anyone know if we are suppose to call it avatar, or pandora.. I mean yes the movie was called avatar but the land is called pandora.

i think they've been taking their sweet sweet time to 2017 as the movies have been pushed back.. so there isn't much if any buzz for the new franchise right now.

I'm suprised they haven't begun charging to park at the water parks. Wet n Wild started doing that many years ago, same with Aquatica. I don't agree with it, just making the observation that Disney seems to be one of the only places in town that doesn't charge for water park parking.

this has kind of surprised me too, granted they already charge more for their waterparks then the other orlando waterparks, and dont offer florida resident discounts on single day admissions.

I agree that parking fees go towards operational and maintenance, but if that was the only thing it went to, there would be a price decrease. There is a lot, a whole lot of profit in there.

unfortunately places NEVER decrease prices.. they will use the excuse that maintence costs are constantly increasing.

$2 up?

They just have to be the most expensive at everything huh?
The most expensive theme parks in Orlando.
The most expensive water parks in Orlando.
The most expensive hotels in Orlando.
The most expensive parking in Orlando.

Makes me sick.

they seem determinted to win the most expensive award.. which is partially to give the impression that they have the most premium offerings, when in many areas they dont

shhh, dont let them know...

on serious things.. maybe its due of capacity and usage wise?
MK is always filled to the teeth with people.
I Disney wants them all to use the Bus system at all costs.

i'm surprised they dont charge more for the MK lot..

does anyone know how it works ifyou pay for parking at say epcot in the morning and then drive over to MK do you have to pay again?

good thing they are expanding the parking garage at DTD. I know where I will parking.

i'm sure at some point they may start scanning magic bands on the busses.. I totally wouldn't put it past them especially now that they are rolling bands out to offsite guests

It's strange that I NEVER hear anyone I know talk about Avatar. Everyone I know that goes to WDW on a regular basis has no interest in it whatsoever. Never see Avatar posters, tshirts or ads about it anywhere. What gives?

well the sequals got delayed..
originally i thought avatar was a good idea.. but now i would of rather seen the original beastly kingdom as I'm not sure how mnuch can really be done to expand avatar land in the future.

Not that I in any way condone parking-fee evasion...but has anyone else noticed that lot CMs don't scan magic bands? I'm assuming it's just a time efficiency thing, since getting one of those bands to scan is often like coaxing a toddler to eat broccoli. So once you have a magic band, you can get waved-through for life. Again, I wouldn't do this, but that's me. I have to wonder about the general population, though, with increases like these that are multiples of the general inflation rate.

Transformers and Springfield Expansion were done last year.
The London side of Harry Potter is going to be far better than anything in NFL. Not to mention they are making some changes to the original Harry Potter side in IOA.
They are just about finished Cabana Bay Beach Resort, which looks amazing for being a value resort. Last year, they renovated rooms at Portofino Bay to a minion themed suites.
IOA is rumored to be building a King Kong ride and expanding Jurassic Park. (construction has already began.) Also adding a new ride to Seuss Landing as well.
There is also rumors than a new water park could be coming to Universal as well.
CityWalk was just given a ton of new restaurants with more to come.

definitely would love to see a real uni waterpark.. though i dont really see it happening anytime soon.. since they own wet n wild.

Hope they lock down DTD parking soon - the "free parking at DTD" experience is highly likely to rise....

they've said they wont charge, so only time will tell.. i dont know how big this problem is, simply due to the inconvenience of it

Yeah that is the craziest thing, paying to park at a hotel you are staying at? I know it goes on outside of Uni as well but that just makes little sense to me. If they have issue with non guest parking there just give the guest a placard for their dashboard for free parking. Either way I knew about it going in so I paid it. I think it was $15 per night.

i do hate that.. especially when you dont know about it.. when you book the room on expedia, priceline, hotwire etc.. thinking your picking the nmost reasonable room just to get slapped with an extra free once you get there

 

[RSoxNo1]

I'm not surprised. Having said that, I have never paid for parking at WDW.

 

[cw1982]

I'd be interested to know how many people actually do pay to park each day, since, as someone else pointed out, between onsite guests, AP's, and CM's, there are a lot of people coming to the parks who do not have to pay for parking.

Paying $170 over a ten day period for parking would be a bit much, IMO, but if I was already planning to pay $150 over those ten days, is another $20 really breaking my budget?

This is where it would be nice if WDW would offer some kind of parking pass for sale with advance ticket purchases for offsite guests, although I guess that would decrease the likelihood of Disney being able to push more people into staying onsite. After all, not enough people sit down and price everything out to see which way they really get the best deal. They see a price, see a "save x%" notation next to it, and assume it's a good deal.

Of course, none of this matters to me, since we're staying onsite in June

 

[ford91exploder]

Dinning, movies, shows, shops......plenty of things to do for folks looking for a night out.

You mean there USED to be these things at DTD... Now its free parking and construction walls

 

[cw1982]

You mean there USED to be these things at DTD... Now its free parking and construction walls

Yeah... DH and I are going to DTD one night while we are there in June, and I figure we're going for dinner, ice cream, and maybe a few drinks at best. At least we will have a safe way to get back to the hotel after drinking

 

[BigTxEars]

You mean there USED to be these things at DTD... Now its free parking and construction walls

Uh OK...sensing some DTD hate here.....

We have plans next trip for shopping, Ragland Road and Splitsville! At night no less!