News WDW Resorts to add fees for parking

[xdan0920]

My family is already 4, I have two daughters.

I don't have anything against people who drive. I rent a car myself sometimes and, as I said, I was a local for three years. But you're mistaken if you're denying that a core philosophy of the strategy and pricing folks in TDO is to keep as many guests as possible on property without a car. Without a car you're buying breakfast, lunch, and dinner right from Disney. All your souvenirs too. That's worth WAY more than $20 per room per night. And I'm not saying the fee itself plays no part. Of course it does. But captive guests are the bigger prize.

Sure. That makes sense. Your mistake is in thinking that this policy will cause customers to stop bringing their own cars. It won’t. It’ll just extract a little more money from their pockets. That’s the real prize here. Raising those net profits.

 

[BaconPancakes]

Welcome news and smart business. Get people onto the busses and out from behind the wheel. Should cut down on traffic and congestion across property.

Lol You’ve been such a troll on these forums for years I now consider you a forum staple.

 

[EpcotMark]

They are trying to incent people not to bring a car. That way you cant leave and go somewhere else and spend money. This way, you have to spend all your money at Disney while on vacation.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Sure. That makes sense. Your mistake is in thinking that this policy will cause customers to stop bringing their own cars. It won’t. It’ll just extract a little more money from their pockets. That’s the real prize here. Raising those net profits.

I don't think we'll get very far making predictions about the future, I can only speak for my family. This will 100% keep me from renting a car in the future. We usually do so if and only if we get a great deal on a minivan but this will tip the scales firmly in the direction of Disney transportation.

 

[DBF John]

"it brings the company more in line with the industry". = The company has lowered their standards to be in line with the industry.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Lol You’ve been such a troll on these forums for years I now consider you a forum staple.

People seem to like me.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

why don't they just beam you into your room while sleeping

 

[mm121]

I feel some of those Value and Moderate Resort parking lots are huge and expansive!!! Shrink them down and grow more green spaces. CBR, Riverside, and Pop all come to mind as having way too many parking spots.
Besides, Disney can make more money turning once parking views into garden/woods views.

or turn them into more non dvc rooms

however there are certain zoning requirements that require x number of parking spaces for properties that they'd have to find a work around for.

 

[Dvcreservations]

We did confirm today that, for the time-being this wil not affect DVC renters who use dvc points at dvc resorts. However, we are wondering if this may become a perk for those who buy through Disney direct in the future, as so many of the other perks have become.

 

[mm121]

We are in a similar situation, about 900 miles away, we drive straight through. So in addition to having to pay for the bus transportation we don’t use, we have to pay to park at the resort. Eventually, they will probably take away free parking at the parks for resort guests.

thatd be silly as it would increase demand on the bus system

people would really really be ed if they had to pay at the hotel and the park on the same property

 

[nickys]

We did confirm today that, for the time-being this wil not affect DVC renters who use dvc points at dvc resorts. However, we are wondering if this may become a perk for those who buy through Disney direct in the future, as so many of the other perks have become.

They can't charge DVC members to park. We pay for the upkeep through our dues, so this is not a "perk". So not something they can restrict to certain categories of members.

I guess their thinking on renters is they are using points on which dues have been paid; to make them pay could be tricky.

 

[bigorangeandy]

What will this new fee get me that I was not getting prior? The people who drive are already helping to pay for the Disney Magic Express from the airport, as that is part of your room rate.

 

[drizgirl]

They could have raised the room prices by $2 more than the parking fees, and I would grumble and pay it, and enjoy my time there. I expect prices to go up, it happens all the time.

Charge me for something that was free for the last 20 years that I have been visiting, and I feel ripped off.

Not to worry. That's coming too.

 

[nor'easter]

It's not a resort fee, it's a parking fee. No car, no fee.

This. EXACTLY this. Priority 1 of this change is to get resort guests to stop renting cars. The actual cash associated with the fee is a distant second.

Not exactly bucko. It's a revenue generator first and foremost.

Do you really think the transportation system at WDW is going to improve because of this? (We're talking about a company that has made the term "value engineering" part of its corporate ethos.) I've tried their magical transport system...and have given up on resorts that have only bus transportation, because the wait time can be interminable. (Waited 100 minutes for a packed bus last August from the Magic Kingdom's magical bus station, in blistering heat, to Animal Kingdom Lodge...got 3 free nights at our villa because of it, so even Disney realized the service sucked.) And now they are going to charge hotel guests with a car staying at the AKL $2 more to park than someone who drives in from a nearby 4 or 5-star resort in LBV?

 

[Mainahman]

We are in a similar situation, about 900 miles away, we drive straight through. So in addition to having to pay for the bus transportation we don’t use, we have to pay to park at the resort. Eventually, they will probably take away free parking at the parks for resort guests.

We dont drive once were there, although after the very poor bus experience we had last week, we may look to in the future if we stay on site. That and upgrade to a higher end resort. We also drive straight through. I usually do it all, but theres 3 capable drivers in the car ready for a leg of journey.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Not exactly bucko. It's a revenue generator first and foremost.

Do you really think the transportation system at WDW is going to improve because of this? (We're talking about a company that has made the term "value engineering" part of its corporate ethos.) I've tried their magical transport system...and have given up on resorts that have only bus transportation, because the wait time can be interminable. (Waited 100 minutes for a packed bus last August from the Magic Kingdom's magical bus station, in blistering heat, to Animal Kingdom Lodge...got 3 free nights at our villa because of it, so even Disney realized the service sucked.) And now they are going to charge hotel guests with a car staying at the AKL $2 more to park than someone who drives in from a nearby 4 or 5-star resort in LBV?

No crap it's a revenue generator, but everyone is focusing on the wrong revenue. They can get a $20 parking fee or they can get $X of incremental food, beverage, and merchandise revenue from a captive guest. My only thesis is that X > 20.

In fact, I bet that's how they came up with the different price levels for each class of resort. They figured out the incremental value of a captive guest versus a mobile guest at each class of resort.

 

[OneofThree]

Look! Your dream is coming true!

OneofThree - February 8 - speaking of crowd issues:
"What makes sense however (and however unpopular), is address the issue in the same way these problems are dealt with in other industries -supply and demand. I hate to say it, but the way to fix this by financially feasible methods is through pricing."

Unless they just added a bunch of rooms at existing resorts, it's just a nickel and dime money-grab.

 

[slappy magoo]

To all the questions about how people might game the system, my suspicion is that eventually, even with guards and magic bands that open gates to let cars in, there will also be tickets, just like most parking lots in urban areas or at airports or other mass transit stations. The ticket will have the time you entered the lot and a bar or QR code that translates that time in computer-ese. Even if you have a magic band or a resort card, you'll have to wave the band/card AND take the ticket in order to enter a lot (unless your band has the data that proves you never have to pay the fee or the guard raises the gate for you in order to exempt you. When you're ready to go, you'll have to use you ticket to determine if you pay and/or how much. Were you planning to pretend you were going to Contemporary to eat and shop but you're really walking over to MK? Well unless you're going for a super short amount of time, you'll still wind up paying (especially because you used your magic band to get entrance into MK). And when you try to exit the lot, whether they make you pay at the car or they'll be a payment station with a 15 minute window to leave or you can make the payment on your phone, there won't be much way to get around it...except keeping it honest, going to Contemporary (in this example) dining and shopping and leaving. The bands will do quite a lot to prove where you're going or staying and by tracking your movement, they'll be able to determine what if anything you should pay at the resort lots.

 

[SMS55]

Almost makes mute the benefit of not paying for parking while staying on site. Considering what the resorts were charging, it was hard to rationalize even that line of reasoning. This makes it certain there's no real benefit to staying on site anymore.

 

[tonymu]

So what is next quarters cash grab? Resort fees? Paid FP? Mobile bars in the MK?

Tolls on all property roads?