Lets Respect
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a way to sneak in a type of resort fee without having to put it on the actual booking
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News WDW Resorts to add fees for parking
- Thread starter The Visionary Soul
- Start date
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Actually, I have found it pretty easy to avoid it offsite. I have even seen where hotels use a large space on their external sign to put messages in like... "we don't charge for parking and never will". All Disney is trying to do is get everyone to use that magical prison bus and not have any way to get on the outside cheaply for the duration. It could easily backfire big time unless they don't charge for people that are staying at the resort and only do that for people trying to get free parking and then going to the parks. I'm sure that if a restaurant is involved they will validate the parking as well. It is only logical to do so. There is a lot of competition in the area and only people not far sighted enough to do the math will soon figure out that there are other very good options.
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disnyfan89
Well-Known Member
Except it is much more lucrative to an AP to park at the Boardwalk or Yacht/Beach Club and enter WS for a bite to eat and drink, especially during festivals. It's also easier to park at say contemp and walk over than park at the TTC. It happens A LOT.
They do, but its also very easy to modify a dining reservation once you park to another day and then cancel it.
It depends on the resort and the time of year. Most of the time you can just say you are going to eat and they will let you in. The monorail resorts tend to be a bit more stringent and will confirm that you have an ADR especially around the holidays.
You are quite correct that it is common almost everywhere, but that does not take any of smeg off of it. I can understand a parking fee if you are somewhere where parking is at an absolute premium, but not when you quite literally have more than one spot per room already available.
There are still a handful of holdouts, but it seems like they get fewer and fewer every year. I just had to book a room for my MIL is Valdosta Georgia and nearly every place I checked had resort and/or parking fees.
disneyflush
Well-Known Member
If its above free then it is too high. The Disney Difference used to mean something. People only have so much money to hand over in exchange for what Disney is offering and the constant search for cost resistance is brutish.
Lets Respect
Well-Known Member
That's a big loophole
cosmicgirl
Well-Known Member
Imho this could give a lot of people the final push to go off site, especially those who drive there. Let's face it, many of the people who drive don't do it because they like being on the road for 10+ hours each way, they do it to save money.
It would almost certainly change the way we plan our stays, as well, because we tend to do something like 7 days of Disney parks, then rent a car and do 3-10 days of other stuff while still staying (and eating at least partially) on site. Heck, we've stayed on site with a rental car without visiting a single park just for the atmosphere. I realize that their reasoning is likely to keep people within the bubble to spend all their money, but this would have the opposite effect on us as we would spend less time and money there than we do now.
It would almost certainly change the way we plan our stays, as well, because we tend to do something like 7 days of Disney parks, then rent a car and do 3-10 days of other stuff while still staying (and eating at least partially) on site. Heck, we've stayed on site with a rental car without visiting a single park just for the atmosphere. I realize that their reasoning is likely to keep people within the bubble to spend all their money, but this would have the opposite effect on us as we would spend less time and money there than we do now.
THIS! Trying to extract every last penny from the walking ATM's (aka. Guests) just because little Johnny and Susie HAD to have their MAGICAL!!! Disney World vacation will win you no new customers and will turn off existing ones. But as long as the quarterly financials look good, that's all the Bob's care about. They won't be around to reap what they're sowing.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
Many hotels charge for parking though. And no one blinks an eye (where's the outrage at Universal, who does this). I don't support this decision at all, but just saying ... Universal charges to park at their resorts, which bothered me, considering I have an annual pass and don't pay to park at the parks .... it's ridiculous they charge for parking. Disney should be different but are we really surprised by this? I'm disappointed. But we should have seen this coming.
Goofyernmost
Well-Known Member
Parking fees can be hidden in resort fees and, frankly, psychologically it is a much better option. Disney has a Magic Bus, the outside hotels do not in that same sense. Basically outwardly asking for a parking fee is the same as expecting their guests to walk there dragging their baggage behind them and then not having a workable transportation system to get people to the areas attractions. Greed could kill the goose that has been laying the golden egg.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
That's how it should be, hidden in the overall resort fee. I absolutely hate being asked to pay the parking fee, even if it's not a big amount. It just seems tacky to me to have to tell the guest that. JMO.
Amos1784
Well-Known Member
This would be insane. Especially say a resort like Old Key West or Saratoga where parking is plentiful and the resort is so spread out. My husband and I fly, but my family drives down and stays at Old Key West for long stays to add 300+ just to have your car there is ridiculous.
We do a lot of off site dining so I would hope it would be Disney daily rate so that if we were going to say Jiko we were not paying the rate to park at our lot and then to enter AKL. The nickel and diming is getting crazy, have your after hour events and all that that is a choice to attend, having a car for some is not a choice. However for Disney its a win win, they literally have to do nothing and drive people towards their overpriced Minnie Van service and to park next to their already expensive resort room. If this does get implemented they better get the bus/monorail service ready and improved.
We do a lot of off site dining so I would hope it would be Disney daily rate so that if we were going to say Jiko we were not paying the rate to park at our lot and then to enter AKL. The nickel and diming is getting crazy, have your after hour events and all that that is a choice to attend, having a car for some is not a choice. However for Disney its a win win, they literally have to do nothing and drive people towards their overpriced Minnie Van service and to park next to their already expensive resort room. If this does get implemented they better get the bus/monorail service ready and improved.
Universal and off-site hotels don't have 40+ sq. mi. of land to use. Disney has plentiful parking as-is, as has been stated. There is no reason to charge a parking fee other than some TDO execs wanted a new revenue stream to satiate a TWDC directive to maintain and increase profit margins.
simbastitch
Member
Same. I have a reservation for November with a hire care that I can't change... if it's like $20 a night thats $280 extra on top of my stay. That's not a small amount of money for people that have to save up a long time to make it to Disney, and I bet it'll be higher than $20. I get it's about making money but it's not really fair to suddenly add a ton of money to someone's stay a few months before they go.
GoofyInOhio
Member
So they will be adding this fee to everyone regardless of if I have a car or not?