News WDW Resorts to add fees for parking

[Andrew C]

Parking fee canceled but resort fees raised.

lol...stop!

 

[coasterphil]

Wouldn't it make more sense to charge people who are NOT guests of the hotel? Like if you're just showing up for a reservation to eat at a restaurant, wouldn't it make sense for them to charge maybe $10 and then you have like maybe, 5 hours or so before you get towed? This would keep the people who use the parking lots just for sneaking in to go use the International Gateway or the hotel's transportation to get to the parks out and it saves the spaces for the people who are staying at the hotels who used a car to get there.

1. Resort F&B operations are already struggling mightily. Disney is desperate for non resort guests to utilize their hotel F&B outlets, as shown by the discounting and availability on Open Table. F&B leadership likely won a battle to prevent any charges, and they can’t use a validation system as it doesn’t sound as if Disney is going to institute new pay gates to enforce any charges.

2. That’s not really a “problem” that Disney is trying to solve. Do they want guests getting creative and avoiding the park lots, obviously no. They’d rather focus on the big fish and be ok with a handful of guests getting away with that while they charge hundreds of overnight guests the new fees. It’s all about level of effort vs the return.

 

[peter11435]

Well disneylands would show up on the tax maps for the city of Anaheim...

And disney worlds would show up on a tax map too...if they weren't their own jurisdiction

Yes. But his numbers are way off

 

[mikejs78]

If it isn't a mistake, it looks like they've killed the resort guest exemption from theme park parking charges. It's no longer on the "Parking" page they just updated.

So they'll get their $22 bucks from everyone who drives to the theme parks, resort guest or not!

That would be colossally stupid of them if they're walking this back because of negative reaction. If I were them (from a pure business/$$ perspective) I would walk this back completely, and then quietly raise rates in 6 months.

 

[Jahona]

Just in case anyone is curious about what the wording on Theme Parks before and after this afternoon.

Current as of 3-15-2018 (5:20pm CST)

Previous wording during the change to paid parking this month.

 

[FigmentForver96]

That would be colossally stupid of them if they're walking this back because of negative reaction. If I were them (from a pure business/$$ perspective) I would walk this back completely, and then quietly raise rates in 6 months.

When it comes to things like parking fees, you can't do it quietly. Word spreads fast and social media will carry it like fire. Nothing can be done in secret anymore

 

[Rteetz]

So it doesn't list the parking fees on the parking page anymore yet on each individual resort it still lists the parking fees.

 

[larry47591]

So now it’s going to be, If you drive to the park we are going to charge you

 

[IanDLBZF]

So it doesn't list the parking fees on the parking page anymore yet on each individual resort it still lists the parking fees.

And now we're still confused...

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

That would be colossally stupid of them if they're walking this back because of negative reaction. If I were them (from a pure business/$$ perspective) I would walk this back completely, and then quietly raise rates in 6 months.

I think that's the best you can hope for: a temporary delay

 

[IanDLBZF]

UK Residents & Ireland Residents won't have to pay parking fees for reservations made on or before December 31, 2019...

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I did 10 minutes of research and it seems that all the travel sites and most of the national news and local network affiliates posted articles about it today...

They realistically CAN'T walk it back right now...too much publicity/wall street backlash...we're talking money here

 

[TeriofTerror]

I didn’t realize how lucky we are with cheap direct flights to mco out of Birmingham. My wife and I are flying round trip first week of may to meet my parents at the fort for 237$ total on frontier.

I haven't paid for a flight in years. We fly down every year using points on Southwest.
I love Southwest.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I see this on the parking page

"A variety of parking options are available at Walt Disney World Resort, including preferred or standard parking at the theme parks and complimentary self-parking at Disney Springs, the water parks and all Resort hotels (for registered Guests). All parking fees include applicable tax. "

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

UK Residents & Ireland Residents won't have to pay parking fees for reservations made on or before December 31, 2019...

For god's sake why? That's the prime perpetrators of exhorbinant parking lot use?

 

[disney4life2008]

The only assumption for the value being cheaper is the same that

For all those, "everyone does this" folks. I just want to point out that, that's not true. Many hotels don't charge parking. A great example of this is the Hotel Hershey and the Hershey Lodge, neither of which charges for parking. So, yeah.

From

Maybe i'm wrong, but i still see the advantage of staying on property. At an offsite hotel you often have to pay a resort fee of some kind, or for parking, or both PLUS parking at all the theme parks. Disney is only charging for the parking at the resorts. I still think its bad they've decided to do this because obviously free parking is better.

As for the busses being more crowded, they are also implementing the gondola system which i'm sure will help alleviate some of the crowds.

Don't hold your breath. They will market it to the guests on the resort line but it will be an attraction. So hoards of people will be on it just because. The question though will they charge to use the system?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I haven't paid for a flight in years. We fly down every year using points on Southwest.
I love Southwest.

it was way better before they bought valuejet

 

[IanDLBZF]

it was way better before they bought valuejet

Or should I say AirTran

 

[TeriofTerror]

My point is because the parents weren't watching their child we had to pay the price.

Blaming the poor parents? Really? I'm going to try my hardest to be good and just say I find that incredibly mean-spirited. No one deserves to go through what those people have experienced.

 

[disney4life2008]

The issue with the values is that they have become equivalent to a themed super 8.