News WDW Resorts to add fees for parking

[larryz]

Unless you don't indicate you are staying on property and you tell them you are visiting?

They check IDs at the gate. They check the IDs against the arrival list.

 

[LAKid53]

Unless you don't indicate you are staying on property and you tell them you are visiting?

You are very likely to be told to turn around.

That is not 100% accurate, maybe restricting, based on traffic, but I have NEVER been turned away from a resort when we go to resort hop and visit, NEVER

I have.

 

[Dave B]

I am sorry you have, but again, I have never

 

[LAKid53]

I am sorry you have, but again, I have never

It was the GF. I would expect it to happen more frequently at that resort than others.

 

[21stamps]

I am sorry you have, but again, I have never

I can’t speak for the Contemporary, but I know for sure that Poly and GF can be strict.. especially around holidays. I had a guest on Labor Weekend at Poly.. they would not let her park until after she received her key card and the pass for her car.

Similar situation at GF the next year on Thanksgiving weekend.

 

[LAKid53]

I wonder how this will affect those of us DVC members who can pool hop? When the guard at GF told me I couldn't park there, I was tempted to pull out my phone, show him my GF contract to prove I was an owner and tell him I was pool hopping. But I decided to just go park at TTC.

 

[LAKid53]

No one in the party of 10 people had any details or confirmation information about what you had booked? ("Hey guys, just in case you need to know this or if you need it to book a spa trip or something these are the details for our big group vacation....) For the costs, my family would have had 8 out of 10 people with specific folders for fast pass times, dining reservations, park operating hours, etc. That said, this would have been a once in a lifetime trip for my 10 but if you had 800 points then I assume you were doing this pretty frequently with large groups in expensive resorts.

I just went back and re-read his last few sentences. If Disney, as he alleged, cancelled his points reservation, those points would have been returned to his account in the current use year. The only way points are forfeited is if YOU cancel the reservation less than 30 days before check-in. A simple call to Member Services would have clarified everything. Which is why I'm calling foul on his story.

Another hole in his story. The GF front desk CANNOT make DVC point reservations, especially when it involves RCI, which is using your points to make a reservation at a deluxe resort. The two systems do not talk to each other. He'd have to get on the phone with DVC Member Services to do so. Which you'd think he'd have mentioned.

 

[nickys]

That I cannot answer - I've never attended any of the condo association meetings. But we should all get some type of disclosure letter if they go this route for owners.

I believe there is a limit to the amount they can increase the MFs. I'm sure it's posted somewhere on the DVC sub-forum threads ... Florida or County statutes or some such?

 

[LAKid53]

I believe there is a limit to the amount they can increase the MFs. I'm sure it's posted somewhere on the DVC sub-forum threads ... Florida or County statutes or some such?

It would be covered under Florida statutes. I'm not reading through that entire Chapter again.

 

[nickys]

It would be covered under Florida statutes. I'm not reading through that entire Chapter again.

You're not? I'm truly shocked.

 

[LAKid53]

You're not? I'm truly shocked.

I spent 30+ years digesting the Florida Statutes for work. I'd have to have a pretty compelling reason to do it now - like a gun to my head.

 

[The Mom]

There is nothing nefarious going on aimed at me specifically, I assume Disney is simply doing what Airlines do all the time it's called yield management, If you have 2 bookings for the same ovesold seat airlines will give the higher priced seat preference in boarding. It's generally OK there because there is always another flight so its an annoyance. But there is only ONE block of time for your vacation so it sucks to be on the left hand side of the poisson distribution because you are out of luck.

But when it's your vacation and now you have no assurance that you will have somewhere to stay because the hotel can auction off your reservation to a higher bidder well why would one voluntarily subject themselves to that kind of uncertainty.

Also remember last year Disney pulled that same 'cancelled due to maintenance' stunt at CRT so they could instead do a $500 plate dinner special and they only got busted because a local with a reservation saw the advertisement for the $500 plate dinner and outed Disney on Facebook.

WDW is now totally driven by financial incentives, guest service means nothing any longer and that's why I despise the current management team because for 45+ years Disney did not run that way.

As to the 'Guest Recovery'

The accomodations were in no way similar and I had to cough up 2,500 bucks for a suite at the Marriott Grand Vista for the ones who would not fit in the room(s) as we had some extended family with both couples the GV sleeps 12 and the GF rooms slept 4 and we had 10 people total. To top it off Disney charged the same as they did for the Grand Villa mainly because the way it was put to me was take the rooms or forfeit the points

So not one of Disney's more stellar customer service moments, But it does fit the 'Unforgettable Happens Here' narrative out of Disney marketing no chance of any of us forgetting that stay.

Took it as the universe saying it's time to be done giving money to Disney, Sold our points after the last renter finished their vacation. Hell will freeze over before we return to a Disney property.

Again, you have not given any proof that what you assume is actually what happened. As I stated, it is much more likely that someone just made a mistake - unless you are someone who always assumes the worst of a company - which you have shown over and over when discussing Disney.

And why on earth didn't at least one person have a printout of the reservation? Anyone who travels frequently brings a copy with them because they know mistakes do happen.

I'm sorry that they couldn't find enough extra rooms at the same level to accommodate your large group. Again, it was a busy weekend - should they have thrown people out of their rooms? But it would have been good customer service if they had covered your extra expanse in having to find rooms at a different hotel - if things happened as you said, and they couldn't find rooms for all of you at the same resort on WDW property.

But I do agree that the universe might be telling you that it's time for you and Disney to part ways. Perhaps you would be happier if you eliminated all things Disney from your life - including forums and websites where people spend so much time talking about it.

 

[Goofyernmost]

So I have a question, sorry if its been answered I didn't have time to go thru all 198 pages of this thread.

How will they know you have a car? I know you have to enter when you go thru security at the gate, but how do they know you have a car that will need the parking? I guess if you are driving up it will be obvious, but what's to stop from saying I am just having dinner or visiting the resort, which I understand is still free?

If they do it like every other place, you have to put your registration number on your sign in. If you don't and the see your car parked there and they don't have it registered there is a good chance they will simply tow it away. Then you will have to pay to get it back plus be charged the parking fee. Not sure that is worth it.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

I am sorry you have, but again, I have never

I also have never been refused entry as day or evening guest. Maybe its the AP (I don't think it is). I show my license together with my AP card and away I go.

I can’t speak for the Contemporary, but I know for sure that Poly and GF can be strict.. especially around holidays. I had a guest on Labor Weekend at Poly.. they would not let her park until after she received her key card and the pass for her car.

I've never had that happen (not doubting it did to you). I don't tell the gate guard anything other than "I'm just visiting". The conversation has rarely gone further than that. If they come back and ask me my specific purpose for visiting it could be one of many. As simple as "I'm scouting the resort as an option for my "bounce back" offer"; "We're renting some boats from the marina" or "It's my daughter's birthday and we wanted to check for any openings or last minute cancellations at Ohana, the Luau, Chef Mickey's etc"

Now, to tell you, I steer clear of WDW during three day weekends and major holidays....so that may factor into the equation.

 

[LAKid53]

I also have never been refused entry as day or evening guest. Maybe its the AP (I don't think it is). I show my license together with my AP card and away I go.



I've never had that happen (not doubting it did to you). I don't tell the gate guard anything other than "I'm just visiting". The conversation has rarely gone further than that. If they come back and ask me my specific purpose for visiting it could be one of many. As simple as "I'm scouting the resort as an option for my "bounce back" offer"; "We're renting some boats from the marina" or "It's my daughter's birthday and we wanted to check for any openings or last minute cancellations at Ohana, the Luau, Chef Mickey's etc"

Now, to tell you, I steer clear of WDW during three day weekends and major holidays....so that may factor into the equation.

The AP wouldn't matter at a resort.

If its a busy weekend or holiday, you can be turned away. Which is what happened to me.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

The AP wouldn't matter at a resort.

Depends on how you spin it. If I got turned away at the Contemp as an example, The first thing I would convey is that a perk of my AP is the 20% discount at the marina and I wanted to rent two boats for my family. I also have a 20% discount at the gift shop and I planned on buying a few things. Of course, I'd phrase it very politely and ask if they'd make an exception. And I'd make sure I called them by their name at least 3 times (so they new I remembered it), and throw in (again very politely) that they were not allowing me to take advantage of my perks)

Now sure, I could get the guy/girl who says I need to park at the TTC and monorail it over, but I'd have a fighters chance.

 

[LAKid53]

Depends on how you spin it. If I got turned away at the Contemp as an example, The first thing I would convey is that a perk of my AP is the 20% discount at the marina and I wanted to rent two boats for my family. I also have a 20% discount at the gift shop and I planned on buying a few things. Of course, I'd phrase it very politely and ask if they'd make an exception. And I'd make sure I called them by their name at least 3 times (so they new I remembered it), and throw in (again very politely) that they were not allowing me to take advantage of my perks)

Now sure, I could get the guy/girl who says I need to park at the TTC and monorail it over, but I'd have a fighters chance.

Very good point. I forgot about the discount at the marina. I'll add that to my arsenal of justifications.

 

[Master Yoda]

That is not 100% accurate, maybe restricting, based on traffic, but I have NEVER been turned away from a resort when we go to resort hop and visit, NEVER

I also have never been refused entry as day or evening guest. Maybe its the AP (I don't think it is). I show my license together with my AP card and away I go.

It all depends on when you are there.

If it is some random weekend then they typically will not bat an eye. However, if it is a holiday or there are special fireworks (4th of July, NYE, MNSSHP, etc) they will often not let you park at the monorail resorts without being a guest or having a dining reservation. The closer to launch time, the stricter they get.

Since we are semi-local we often do dinner at the Kona followed or preceded by the fireworks on the 4th, NYE and the like. On events like this they often have signs up indicating that parking is for those with an ADR or resort guests only..

 

[flyerjab]

Didn’t know where else to stick this and didn’t want to start a new thread. And this is not a joke, but it definitely falls under nickel and diming.

At the Grand today and saw the fire pit going with the marshmallows roasting. We happened to walk right by and saw that they are actually charging for this activity! Now, I am most definitely in the pixie dust category, especially within the rank and file of this site. That being said, even I will admit that this is ludicrous. Can’t a guy get a free marshmallow at least?

 

[Rteetz]

Didn’t know where else to stick this and didn’t want to start a new thread. And this is not a joke, but it definitely falls under nickel and diming.

At the Grand today and saw the fire pit going with the marshmallows roasting. We happened to walk right by and saw that they are actually charging for this activity! Now, I am most definitely in the pixie dust category, especially within the rank and file of this site. That being said, even I will admit that this is ludicrous. Can’t a guy get a free marshmallow at least?

I think they have done that for a while now. You buy like a "roasting kit" or something like that.