I understand many many places charge a parking fee..and a resort fee for that matter, but with Disney charging practically double of a normal hotel without any reason to be charging as much as they do, I, for one, pretty much thought the inflated rate was because they included the parking and resort fee (and were still high priced). If I will now be charged in addition to the inflated room rate, I feel they are just stealing from me.
Do I have $$ to pay for parking..sure. We all probably do, but I feel like there is absolutely no value for me in the extra $288 I will need to give them to park my car. Typically we stay 11 - 12 nights. Ive been asked why I dont stay 2 full week, or just one week and my answer is always re: the tickets. The best ticket VALUE is the 10 day. Assuming I wont go to a park my first or last day, 11 - 12 nights is our best value. Yes, we pay for more nights at the hotel, but that way we can go to parks for 1/2 days, still see it all and be able to relax a bit during our stay. Years ago I went for only a week and needed a vacation after I returned from a Disney trip.
I can easily spend our money on what we prefer, but I would always buy the mansion one block from the ocean opposed to the same priced 1 bedroom ocean front condo which will charge me condo fees every month. When I feel like Im being ripped off, I wll walk away. Yes, over $5, $288 or $2,000,000.
Keep in mind it's been revealed that Disney will institute SEASONAL UP-CHARGING for MULTI-DAY tickets. That is expected to happen some time THIS YEAR.
I personally suspect that resort rates will go up again THIS YEAR.
Basically Disney thinks that the resort room and ticket prices are undervalued when they compare them to
perceived and
forecast demand. This is why they are hitting the guest with crap charges like parking. There is also speculation among assorted bloggers that in addition to raising resort rates Disney will tack on resort fees.
None of the rate increases and fees are going to stop because Disney is so sure that the demand for Star Wars Land will be huge, thus driving an uncontrollable (except by astronomical pricing) demand for offerings.
Expect that customer service, housekeeping and transportation will continue to decline as the current strategy is that the guest can keep dealing with these problems while Disney jacks up prices.
For the most part room discounts have also evaporated. Yes, Disney can advertise that they still offer them but the volume of the discounted room inventory is so small it is useless for most people. Logically the tiny number of rooms eligible for any paltry discounts will only be offered for "construction site" resorts like Caribbean Beach or Coronado Springs where most people would avoid because of the construction.
I'm not really sure about free dining for the future but I think the last few years with the degradation from multiple meals per day to 1 quick service meal per day or what ever it was does not portend well for the future.
I also believe that Disney will eliminate daily housekeeping at the values and moderates... because, you know... the GUEST "wants" it. That's what I believe that "Decline housekeeping and get a gift card" thing is a test for. That's what the industrial remodel style is all about.
Disney is coming from a place where they think that demand will outstrip supply. They are thinking that Star Wars Land will be a home run and drive traffic to the parks like Frozen did.
I'm thinking that once people do the math and calculate how over priced Disney is after all these price increases in anticipation of Star Wars Land opening they will not come in huge numbers and Disney won't hit their pie in the sky projections. I also think a lot of those Pie in the Sky projections are meant to drive Iger's bonus up, which incidentally was rejected by the majority of shareholders, although that vote was non-binding (how convenient!).
Still don't see it? Remember the New Fantasyland Expansion that was supposed to blow the socks off of everyone? ... and didn't. Same for Pandora... and Toy Story Land is a kiddie spinny ride and a kiddie coaster, so that will be another footnote. Yes, the initial demand will be there but for how long? Disney has been over-hyping and under-delivering for years now and people are taking notice. And all
that was before Disney REALLY started jacking up prices and eliminating perks (you ain't seen nothing yet.... you know, because they can...)
I'm betting that Star Wars Land (SWL), with it's 2 rides and restaurant and gift shops will be an entirely (and outrageously priced) separate admission from Hollywood Studios. At first I was thinking that SWL would be a timed ticket with Morning, Mid-day and Evening time limitations but then Flights of Passage keeps breaking down and they haven't been able to move people through it efficiently. I'm betting that something similar will happen to the Millennium Falcon ride so timed admission tickets are out. So unless you have little kids that are begging to be taken to see Rey and Kylo, SWL moves from a "Must do" to a "Let's wait and see" unless you are a major fan boy/girl.
So, to bring it back home, Disney is counting on an endless stream of "trip of a life time" affluent guests, but we all know how well that promotion went over. If that marketing plan was ever really going to work they wouldn't be investing so heavily in the construction of new DVC units, right?
It's great that people are sending emails to guest services
wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com complaining about the degradation of the Disney experience, the ubiquitous up-sells and the nickle and diming. Anyone that you hear back from at Disney (and you will hear back) will never tell you what you want or even need to hear. The Cast Members communicating are not authorized to say anything of substance about what is happening.
But know that
the push back is being noticed and taken into account. Cast members won't put it like that but they do say that the managers are reading all of the guest emails. I'm sure someone is compiling the data. The only way that Disney will know that they've gone too far is when the guests lets them know. (So let them know!)
A Disney vacation is quite the EXPENSIVE GRIND. I'll bet that for every 10 first time guests that go, maybe 3 talk about ever going back and only 2 ever really do. Disney isn't stupid. They know it's those 2 regulars that keep the numbers up through thick and thin. And they also know that the economy fluctuates. And they also know that much like baseball, if you are not hooking the next generation on park trips and Disney products, those park numbers will definitely decrease. That's why Disney is searching for media acquisitions.
Back in the days when there were 3 channels on TV and EVERYBODY went to the movies it was easy for Disney to stand out. Now Disney will need lightning to strike, like it did with Frozen, and these new Star Wars Movies just aren't having the impact that they need to justify this increased pricing/decreased offerings strategy. A spin off of a 'spin off character' movie is only placating the usual fans, not building the next generation.
So don't buy it when Disney says that they absolutely HAVE TO RAISE PRICES because it will be SOOO crowded! You know how they deal with crowds at Disney? They have a Phase 1 or 2 or 3 etc closing like the USED to have at Christmas. They haven't had too many of them lately have they? BTW the parks can look way more crowded than they are when the rides are only operating at 1/2 capacity or are breaking down frequently because of a lack of maintenance. That's the other up-charge that Disney is charging you for. You paid an ever increasing park admission for rides that are broken or half staffed, driving up your wait time. What? Did you think they would only be ripping you off at the resorts?
~NM