News WDW Resorts to add fees for parking

[ford91exploder]

Can we drop the 'ban uber' theories? You know it's not going to happen.

Do we?

A bunch of Airports have banned Uber/Lyft a city in my state just arrested and fined a uber driver 15K for operating a 'unlicensed cab' (ride sharing services are illegal in that city) It's more a matter of when ride sharing services are banned from Disney to keep Mears happy.

Full disclosure I'm a very happy Uber customer so I'd be one of the unhappy ones.

 

[flynnibus]

Gate guy does not have to grill the driver as Uber/Lyft cars are required to show logo on windshield

No they are not

 

[flynnibus]

Do we?

A bunch of Airports have banned Uber/Lyft a city in my state just arrested and fined a uber driver 15K for operating a 'unlicensed cab' (ride sharing services are illegal in that city) It's more a matter of when ride sharing services are banned from Disney to keep Mears happy.

Full disclosure I'm a very happy Uber customer so I'd be one of the unhappy ones.

Disney would never do it on their own as a private business - they don't need that lightning rod for no benefit of their own. Maybe they'd help lobby for state laws banning/regulating it.. to help their buddy Mears.. but the idea they are going to individually ban them on their property is fantasy. They'd hide behind government actions.

 

[GoofGoof]

Disney would never do it on their own as a private business - they don't need that lightning rod for no benefit of their own. Maybe they'd help lobby for state laws banning/regulating it.. to help their buddy Mears.. but the idea they are going to individually ban them on their property is fantasy. They'd hide behind government actions.

That's the passive aggressive TWDC I know and love

 

[LAKid53]

I would Hazzard to guess AP holders and DVC holders will have some kind of "perk" for free parking at resorts. It's something else they can advertise. But than again DVC holders are clearly financially able to pay the fees and locked into the sale soooo maybe not?

We're already paying for upkeep through our annual dues. You want us to now pay for parking at a resort we hold a lease title in? BTW, we're not "locked into the sale" - we can sell our interest at any time. There's quite an active third party market for DVC resales.

*shakes head*

 

[LAKid53]

So what is the "resort fee" for? There has to be a list. It's not just an arbitrary charge.

To cover the cost of your free resort magic band, Disney buses to parks & Disney Springs, things like that.

 

[LAKid53]

They might need a 4th parking garage at Disney Springs.

All in all, charging for parking at the resort's is good strategy for a host of reasons. Although this does give Universal an edge I guess.

You pay to park at Universal resorts. I think I paid about $20 for self parking at Royal Pacific last October.

 

[SugarMagnolia75]

If it costs me more to park at the hotel than at the parks, I don't think the other onsite benefits keep me on property.

 

[LAKid53]

You're DVC right.. in all of your years at Disney do you actually see them adding a fee without any new services? Taking exactly what is there now and charging for it. Alienating their guests and most likely receiving heavy criticism in the press. Can you give me an example of anything like this that has ever occurred?. Apples to Apples, not a dessert party or holiday party which actually do add something extra.

There's been prior discussions that Disney will start charging for services now included in your room rate. Other than those services you listed in your post that aren't applicable to Disney resorts (no casinos or movie theatres), everything is currently included in your room rate. So Disney will now make you start paying for fitness center, public WiFi, local phone calls, Disney transportation, that crap they call coffee and throw in two bottles of water to justify a resort fee? Can guests staying at Values finally have coffee makers in their rooms?

You do realize the trend is just the opposite. Universal has removed the mini bar from their hotel rooms. All the rooms in their deluxe resorts have Keurigs. And nicer beds, linens, bathrooms, etc. Better transportation- you can walk to the parks. For much cheaper. And they don't charge a resort fee....

So if the idiots in Burbank think they can charge for services already included in your room rate, without some exceptional additions, then they should prepare for some serious blowback. Especially from DVC members.

 

[21stamps]

There's been prior discussions that Disney will start charging for services now included in your room rate. Other than those services you listed in your post that aren't applicable to Disney resorts (no casinos or movie theatres), everything is currently included in your room rate. So Disney will now make you start paying for fitness center, public WiFi, local phone calls, Disney transportation, that crap they call coffee and throw in two bottles of water to justify a resort fee? Can guests staying at Values finally have coffee makers in their rooms?

You do realize the trend is just the opposite. Universal has removed the mini bar from their hotel rooms. All the rooms in their deluxe resorts have Keurigs. And nicer beds, linens, bathrooms, etc. Better transportation- you can walk to the parks. For much cheaper. And they don't charge a resort fee....

So if the idiots in Burbank think they can charge for services already included in your room rate, without some exceptional additions, then they should prepare for some serious blowback. Especially from DVC members.

That's exactly what I've been saying. IF they add a resort fee, and especially if they do not throw in any "extras", things that aren't already included.. there would be huge blowback. From the majority of guests. I don't think they're that stupid to even try. We'll see.
The list from Atlantis includes things to try and justify it, the casino lessons are fluff...just to look good..most people won't utilize it, but at least it's something. Most resorts/hotels have some kind of "extra" if they have a fee. Not just "hey, we've decided to start charging you a resort fee for the same things that have always been included". Some things will be the same..but I've never seen one without any additions. My opinion is still that Disney is not going to implement a resort fee.
But--
Resort fees or not- the Values need to get coffee makers asap. The fact that they don't have them is ridiculous and pathetic. I was floored when I read it.

 

[GoofGoof]

If it costs me more to park at the hotel than at the parks, I don't think the other onsite benefits keep me in property.

There's an easy answer for that. If the resort parking really is $30 than raise the parks parking fee to $35. Problem solved

 

[GoofGoof]

There's been prior discussions that Disney will start charging for services now included in your room rate. Other than those services you listed in your post that aren't applicable to Disney resorts (no casinos or movie theatres), everything is currently included in your room rate. So Disney will now make you start paying for fitness center, public WiFi, local phone calls, Disney transportation, that crap they call coffee and throw in two bottles of water to justify a resort fee? Can guests staying at Values finally have coffee makers in their rooms?

You do realize the trend is just the opposite. Universal has removed the mini bar from their hotel rooms. All the rooms in their deluxe resorts have Keurigs. And nicer beds, linens, bathrooms, etc. Better transportation- you can walk to the parks. For much cheaper. And they don't charge a resort fee....

So if the idiots in Burbank think they can charge for services already included in your room rate, without some exceptional additions, then they should prepare for some serious blowback. Especially from DVC members.

I'm curious to see if they can or will try to charge DVC members a resort fee. It would be hard to do. The maintenance fees already have a line item charge for things like transportation, entertainment and common areas (pool, lobby, etc). Maybe the extra magic hours, DME and advance FP reservations could be rolled out as the reason for the charge, but it would be a tough sell. I'm not even sure if it's legal based on timeshare laws.

As far as hotel guests go, most of the resort fees I've seen in places like Vegas, Hawaii and the rest of Orlando cover very basic services like fitness centers, WiFi, local phone calls and some even list the pool as an amenity. I can't say whether these resorts previously charged a separate charge for these things as you used them, but the trend is to list a bunch of stuff to justify the fee. I have seen some list parking as well. I don't see Disney offering a whole lot more to justify the fees. Possibly something trivial like an upgrade to the coffee like you said but I wouldn't hold my breathe waiting for a big increase in amenities.

 

[L.C. Clench]

I'm curious to see if they can or will try to charge DVC members a resort fee. It would be hard to do. The maintenance fees already have a line item charge for things like transportation, entertainment and common areas (pool, lobby, etc). Maybe the extra magic hours, DME and advance FP reservations could be rolled out as the reason for the charge, but it would be a tough sell. I'm not even sure if it's legal based on timeshare laws.

As far as hotel guests go, most of the resort fees I've seen in places like Vegas, Hawaii and the rest of Orlando cover very basic services like fitness centers, WiFi, local phone calls and some even list the pool as an amenity. I can't say whether these resorts previously charged a separate charge for these things as you used them, but the trend is to list a bunch of stuff to justify the fee. I have seen some list parking as well. I don't see Disney offering a whole lot more to justify the fees. Possibly something trivial like an upgrade to the coffee like you said but I wouldn't hold my breathe waiting for a big increase in amenities.

Yeah but the Hilton doesn't offer you magic. That's worth $30+ all by itself.

 

[Bandini]

Completely separate parts of the company. DVC reports its own numbers and the hotels report theirs. When they convert rooms to DVC it comes out of their numbers. They can still rent them out but they no longer factor into the hotel occupancy counts.


Not saying they are hurting for guests but they are reducing their inventory of hotel rooms by converting to DVC and taking rooms out of the counts for refurbishment helps inflate the numbers. It makes for good headlines but may not be real.

They also boost their occupancy when they remove rooms from their current inventory for renovations. I really think it's difficult for anyone to know what the actual occupancy is, since the management can shift things around.

 

[LAKid53]

I'm curious to see if they can or will try to charge DVC members a resort fee. It would be hard to do. The maintenance fees already have a line item charge for things like transportation, entertainment and common areas (pool, lobby, etc). Maybe the extra magic hours, DME and advance FP reservations could be rolled out as the reason for the charge, but it would be a tough sell. I'm not even sure if it's legal based on timeshare laws.

As far as hotel guests go, most of the resort fees I've seen in places like Vegas, Hawaii and the rest of Orlando cover very basic services like fitness centers, WiFi, local phone calls and some even list the pool as an amenity. I can't say whether these resorts previously charged a separate charge for these things as you used them, but the trend is to list a bunch of stuff to justify the fee. I have seen some list parking as well. I don't see Disney offering a whole lot more to justify the fees. Possibly something trivial like an upgrade to the coffee like you said but I wouldn't hold my breathe waiting for a big increase in amenities.

That brings up a good point. Existing properties would have a difficult time adding resort fees to new contracts. I'd be ed as hell if an additional 100 points added to my existing ownership at Poly resulted in a $30 night resort fee when I stay at my home resort. But I could see Disney potentially charging me a fee when staying at a non-home resort. But what about those of us who are owners at Boulder Ridge? If Disney decides to add a resort fee to the new Copper Creek resort and charge such a fee to everyone but those with a leasehold, they absolutely must exempt owners at Boulder Ridge since we're already paying for the common areas - fitness center, pool, lobby, etc.

Just considering if/how to treat DVC members at DVC resorts will be an administrative nightmare for DVC. And since that appears to be where TWDC is adding occupancy, why off that lucrative market? And cash guests? It's not going to be win-win for Disney. Imagine people clamoring to stay at CR for the 50th - especially those who were there in 1971. And 50 years later you decide to tack on a resort fee for things that used to be included in your room rate.

 

[LAKid53]

Disney would never do it on their own as a private business - they don't need that lightning rod for no benefit of their own. Maybe they'd help lobby for state laws banning/regulating it.. to help their buddy Mears.. but the idea they are going to individually ban them on their property is fantasy. They'd hide behind government actions.

All attempts to regulate Uber failed in the 2016 Florida legislative session - the Legislature even banned existing local regulations.

The 2017 session starts March 7th. A bill was filed to regulate TNCs, but it's very favorable to them. Bill requires background checks on drivers and minium insurance levels provided by the TNC. The proposed legislation has been opposed by taxi and limo services, including Mears, the largest in Central Florida. I don't see the Florida Legislature passing any legislation that would negatively impact TNCs or ban them outright.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Any official word on this as of yet? I haven't heard anything and am hoping this is just a rumor. Marie

 

[Grimley1968]

Any official word on this as of yet? I haven't heard anything and am hoping this is just a rumor. Marie

At this point, it's still just a rumor.

 

[21stamps]

Any official word on this as of yet? I haven't heard anything and am hoping this is just a rumor. Marie

I asked my TA about it too. She hasn't heard anything.
She usually knows when something is about to increase. I don't know if you guys have inside connections or receive a heads up..but I'm taking it as a good sign if TA's haven't been informed of this.

 

[wannabeBelle]

I asked my TA about it too. She hasn't heard anything.
She usually knows when something is about to increase. I don't know if you guys have inside connections or receive a heads up..but I'm taking it as a good sign if TA's haven't been informed of this.

Yes we usually do get updates as well, but you never know if Disney decides to surprise us with this one!! Marie