News WDW Resorts to add fees for parking

[Rodan75]

I can totally see this at the 30/30 or 30/50 Parking/Resort fees for the MK and Epcot Deluxe resorts without much pushback from most guests. Almost all of the 'tourist' areas charge them and you just have to deal with it and at the Deluxe price points, guests pretty much expect it.

I question if they can get away with it at the Moderates and I think if they try it at the Value, there will be a full out revolt of guests staying off property. And could trigger all sorts of defensive maneuvers from Disney to block guests from trying to get around the fees and still take advantage of the resorts. Can't wait to see them scanning magic bands before you can get on a bus or use a pool.

Of course, once added, this will be the most regularly discounted fee. I'm sure international packages will 'waive' these fees, instead of offering free Dining.

 

[Lets Respect]

how does that impact you?
It is a net loss for everyone when you will be paying $30 to park your car every night... there is no plus here...
it is motivated by pure greed.

It impacts me when I can't get a spot at a resort I am staying at

 

[Laketravis]

I suspect a resort fee could be very difficult for WDW to implement either across the board or at selected "resorts" and would therefore be short lived if at all. Frankly I'm surprised that Premium Internet Access didn't make the rumored list of additional charges - the bean counters must not have been paying attention.

The parking charge could make sense not only as an additional sort of revenue with practically zero added cost base but also as a response to changing behavioral patterns providing an extra incentive to bolster the use of Magical Express. I wonder if the isolated bubble strategy has been losing it's grip over the years and they are seeing more and more guests escape errrr, travel to other destinations during their stay because they rented a car at the airport rather than take advantage of the luxurious and "free" ME coaches waiting for them at the transport terminal.

More guests in the rooms with less cars in the lots means more prisoners.

 

[Grimley1968]

It impacts me when I can't get a spot at a resort I am staying at

I'm pretty sure that, if they implement this, parking enforcement is the least of the reasons for it. It would be a money-grab, plain and simple.

 

[21stamps]

I'm really surprised it's taken as long as it has for them to charge for parking. Almost every 4 star hotel/resort around Disney charges at least $25 dollars to park the car per night. This includes the Waldorf, Ritz Carlton, Marriott and the hotels on hotel plaza blvd. It won't hurt Disney one bit to start charging. It also might keep those abusing the system by parking at the resorts away. I think they will keep Disney Vacation Club Members free as long as they are using points, but not Annual Passholders.

The "abusers" would be a horrible excuse. There are much easier ways to solve that than alienating your own guests.
Valet only for any guest who is not staying at that specific property- this should already exist and I don't understand why it doesn't.

Universal Orlando's hotels already charge for parking as well, no surprise there.

I typically agree with you, but not in this case. It would be a huge surprise. WDW is not Universal. How can they offer..and advertise, Magical Express and on resort transportation for "free", but then charge people who rent or drive their own car for parking? That part doesn't add up.

 

[Laketravis]

How can they offer..and advertise, Magical Express and on resort transportation for "free", but then charge people who rent or drive their own car for parking? That part doesn't add up.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lets Respect]

I'm pretty sure that, if they implement this, parking enforcement is the least of the reasons for it. It would be a money-grab, plain and simple.

Parking is a problem at the resorts that are close to the parks. We have circled the lot for 30 minutes sometimes.

You're only supposed to park for 3 hours with an ADR but that is hard to enforce. This will make it easier

 

[Bocabear]

Parking is a problem at the resorts that are close to the parks. We have circled the lot for 30 minutes sometimes.

You're only supposed to park for 3 hours with an ADR but that is hard to enforce. This will make it easier

Well as long as you are happy paying an additional $30 per night to park at your hotel, well yes, then it will be easier...

 

[Bolna]

It most definitely will not. When it comes to parking prices, resort parking always needs to be more expensive than theme park parking. Otherwise you'd just park at the resorts instead of parking at the theme park parking lots. (Look to Universal as an example)

Any idea whether the parking fee will cover all the resorts, or would you have to pay at every resort separately. Let's say you are staying at the WL and paid for parking there and want to have dinner at Flying Fish, will they make you pay another $30 at the Boardwalk?

They are pushing hard with commercials here in the UK and i don't see how they could suddenly tack this on for international visitors easily. Upping the price by this much would deter a large percentage of people from staying onsite.

Things might change for the UK in the future, but currently under EU law it is illegal to advertise a product without showing the full price and informing about all fees that can be incurred. So, there is no chance they can add this on for people that have booked already through Disney UK. That's why here in Europe resort fees don't exist and even European websites selling rooms in the US will have to advertise the price including the resort fee, i.e. the real end price (also including taxes).

 

[GhostHost1000]

ah...the new Disney never ceases to amaze me.... in all the wrong ways


They are getting to the point of pushing regular visitors off the magical edge

 

[DisneyJayL]

Ain't no way. I will continue to keep doing what I have been doing. I get tired of the "industry standard" crap. Be better, but I guess that's asking too much.

 

[beertiki]

I just don't see it happening at the value or moderate resorts. They risk angering long term customers who are on some sort of budget. The parking and or resort fee would have to be in large print and easy to see when you made a reservation. The complaints the first year would be insane. It's not good to make your customers angry at check in. I can already hear my wife at check in "What do you mean, parking fee?! We have been parking here for free the last 10 years! Get me a manager!" Then some poor manager is going to have to smile while getting yelled at. It will be OK, because it happened 3 times already today, and it's only 10am. 2 advil and a quick pull of a hidden bottle of fireball eases the pain.

It will be ugly.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I could very easily see Disney charging a resort fee of $15 or $20/night for the values and moderates. Not enough to scare customers away completely, but something to help pad the bottom line. Would an extra $105 a week change your mind about staying on property? Probably not.

Nearly all Vegas Strip hotels (regardless of quality) charge a resort fee. The price varies property to property, but once you put it in the minds of visitors that it's "the norm", they're much more likely to accept it.

 

[Kingtut]

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.

Charging for parking makes sense in New York, Chicago, or downtown in any major city. It does not make sense in 48 square miles of prior swampland where the company can build what they need for each resort. In the WDW setting hotel parking is not competing with any other business that requires parking spaces - I mean there are no office towers with workers who would park at the hotel for free and then go to work at the Poly or GF.

I also suspect that parking lot maintenance in Florida is a very low cost endeavor compared to here in PA where we have the dreaded freeze/thaw cycle ( unique to PA according to Penndot) which causes parking lots to require actual repairs.

 

[wdwfan22]

The "abusers" would be a horrible excuse. There are much easier ways to solve that than alienating your own guests.
Valet only for any guest who is not staying at that specific property- this should already exist and I don't understand why it doesn't.

While it's a horrible excuse, that's not the main reason for charging for parking. They are charging because they can, and it isn't going to make any difference with Guest staying at the resorts. Guests will pay and still stay on property whether or not they have to pay for parking and a resort fee.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The "Magical Bus" is a great example of how to keep guests onsite by adding ammenities without charging. This ENTICES a potential visitor when they see a perk that is INCLUDED. The cost of operating Magical Express could be somewhat offset by increasing room occupancy and onsite guest spending. It was smart because it was not a price hike that was visible. It was not blatantly obvious.

True, but, it is there, just hidden. In a funny way they are just opening up more ways for guests to consider. They don't have to be captive, they can rent a car and leave the grounds for the outside world when ever they want too. So in a way a parking charge might even be cheaper then staying onsite with no alternate transportation. They don't exactly give food away, even though many people think that they do. They have already built that in and now they are just going to be able to add to that and still say, well, we didn't raise the prices any further then usual. Just added a few.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I think a lot of us knew this was going to happen, eventually, but it was all a question of when. Never underestimate the greed of the Iger-led House of Mouse and his minions.

Disney PR - "We've MAGICALLY!!! lowered resort prices! With these new MAGICALLY!!! lower prices, a family of four can save up to $100 on a 7-night stay at a Disney Value Resort!!" Then, in the fine print... Additional resort fee of $19.99/night applies to each room. Additional parking fees of $30/night may also apply.

 

[Me 'Earties]

I have paid parking fees at hotels in the middle of large cities where parking is at a premium. (Baltimore, New York) I have never paid a parking fee at a freestanding not urban location where there is plenty of parking on property owned by the hotel.
that's the difference here.

I was thinking the same thing. Hotels in big cities-yup, pay parking fees. Outside big hubs though-I can't remember ever paying for hotel parking. So when folks make the argument that you always pay parking fees, that is incorrect. And I do a decent amount of business travel.

 

[HauntedPirate]

They make you scan your MagicBand when you enter a resort via car. Why not tell that person, when they scan their MagicBand - "By the way, you'll be charged $30 to park here if you don't scan out in 3 hours". To me, that would be a much simpler way to cut down, if not eliminate, people parking at resorts for "an ADR" and then hopping on the bus to whatever park they want to visit.

 

[21stamps]

I was thinking the same thing. Hotels in big cities-yup, pay parking fees. Outside big hubs though-I can't remember ever paying for hotel parking. So when folks make the argument that you always pay parking fees, that is incorrect. And I do a decent amount of business travel.

Most vacation destination resorts/hotels have it. I said earlier, the closer you get to whatever the main attraction in the area is, the more common it is. I can't think of many hotels/resorts near an ocean or city center (in a popular destination) that don't have them. Like I said, quite a few have valet only, which to me is much worse. I have to pay to park and tip every time I leave and return? Plus pay a resort fee. It's bs, but it's pretty common.

I am NOT saying that WDW should now have them as well.