Paid parking is coming to WDW resorts March 2018

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Maybe I’m still one of those crazy people who has to rationalize their purchase , but I still do think that Disney park tickets are somewhat reasonable. Expensive? Of course! They’re expensive just like many other forms of entertainment. I don’t thibk they’re insanely so especially when you are able to go for longer. $50 or so per day is really not that crazy, IMO. Even $80-90 for a shorter term ticket, I don’t feel that’s outrageous for the ability to spend an entire day at a higher end entertainment venue.

It’s some of the restaurant prices and resort prices that have me cringing. The park tickets almost feel like a downright bargain in comparison.

I think the rate is high but so are other amusement/theme parks--but I also think that compared to other amusement/theme parks the rate at which they increase is different.

In terms of overall budget they can eat quite a lot out of it. For 2 people with a 4-day park hopper plus 1 day free bought at 2015 prices in 2016 through Undercover tourist cost us $734 ($367.00 PP)..the pricing is a good amount higher nowadays. It's actually a staggering $916.66 ($458.33 PP) for a 4-day park hopper plus 1 day free. *gulp* maybe I shouldn't have looked. That's an increase from UT's prices (which are considered a discount compared to buying direct through Disney) of $182.66 in a 3-year time span. And that's just for 2 people to go. I expect prices to increase but the rate at which they do is not easy to swallow TBH. Direct through Disney for a 5-day hopper is $1001.10 and a 4-day hopper is $969.16 both for 2 people.

Restaurant prices I'll give you that in part. But that's in large part to what you choose to do. If you're doing all buffets and character dining...yeah it's a pretty penny. If all you want is chicken nuggests you're paying quite high for something that is likely just so-so in quality. We however didn't find the pricing to be crazy crazy. Then again we only ate at 3 TS in 5 days the rest being quick service. We also did not have breakfast as a paid meal. We had brought food with us due to Irma and ate some of that on the way to the parks (we would have gone to the grocery store anyways if Irma wasn't an issue). People still book those buffets and character meals and thus Disney continues to charge high.

Resort prices I'll give you that. But again in large part that's where you stay. I do agree that even the Values since price increases have creeped up higher than comfortability and that in part is why the parking fees suck. They suck on principle but they suck more because the longer you stay the higher it's eating out of your budget, add in the park tickets, the food budget, the resort stay, etc...

 

[SaharanTea]

I think the rate is high but so are other amusement/theme parks--but I also think that compared to other amusement/theme parks the rate at which they increase is different.

In terms of overall budget they can eat quite a lot out of it. For 2 people with a 4-day park hopper plus 1 day free bought at 2015 prices in 2016 through Undercover tourist cost us $734 ($367.00 PP)..the pricing is a good amount higher nowadays. It's actually a staggering $916.66 ($458.33 PP) for a 4-day park hopper plus 1 day free. *gulp* maybe I shouldn't have looked. That's an increase from UT's prices (which are considered a discount compared to buying direct through Disney) of $182.66 in a 3-year time span. And that's just for 2 people to go. I expect prices to increase but the rate at which they do is not easy to swallow TBH. Direct through Disney for a 5-day hopper is $1001.10 and a 4-day hopper is $969.16 both for 2 people.

Restaurant prices I'll give you that in part. But that's in large part to what you choose to do. If you're doing all buffets and character dining...yeah it's a pretty penny. If all you want is chicken nuggests you're paying quite high for something that is likely just so-so in quality. We however didn't find the pricing to be crazy crazy. Then again we only ate at 3 TS in 5 days the rest being quick service. We also did not have breakfast as a paid meal. We had brought food with us due to Irma and ate some of that on the way to the parks (we would have gone to the grocery store anyways if Irma wasn't an issue). People still book those buffets and character meals and thus Disney continues to charge high.

Resort prices I'll give you that. But again in large part that's where you stay. I do agree that even the Values since price increases have creeped up higher than comfortability and that in part is why the parking fees suck. They suck on principle but they suck more because the longer you stay the higher it's eating out of your budget, add in the park tickets, the food budget, the resort stay, etc...

That's a point I haven't really seen anyone talk about, but that I certainly noticed. The parking fees eat into that longer stay value.

If you add on days, you can get those per day costs down a bit. A seven-day ticket vs. a ten-day ticket isn't a huge jump, but parking doesn't change and makes longer stays less feasible. It's a bummer any way you shake it.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That's a point I haven't really seen anyone talk about, but that I certainly noticed. The parking fees eat into that longer stay value.

If you add on days, you can get those per day costs down a bit. A seven-day ticket vs. a ten-day ticket isn't a huge jump, but parking doesn't change and makes longer stays less feasible. It's a bummer any way you shake it.

Oh it's been talked about a few times including myself just buried by other talk, it's probably on another thread too.

As far as tickets the problem is when you want to do both WDW and Universal. I don't do just WDW so buying more days to get the cost per day down won't work for someone like me. We ended up staying 9 nights and 10 days back in September..those parking fees would have added up real quick.

 

[DisFanDad]

I agree with the ticket prices for the most part, though there are exceptions like DHS where the one-day price should have dropped during construction. I would totally pay the price for the other parks. One thing I rarely buy anymore because of the increases is park-hopping. It's a big jump for a limited gain when you're buying 4 tickets.

I think what really bugs people about the parking fees is that you can't connect it to a value. When theme park tickets go up, you can point to new attractions. That's also why it bothers me when food prices keep increasing beyond just the typical higher costs. When a $40 meal becomes a $60 meal in a few years and also is lower quality, that's bad news. I am willing to pay a lot to visit Disney World, but there needs to be a valuable experience connected to it.

Yea I don't begrudge the ticket price of WDW, I mean thats a reasonable value I suppose. Its the total package price, its all the nickle and dimeing. Its the fact that some food and bev literally costs double or triple of what it did 5 or 6 years ago and it hasn't gotten better, its gotten worse. Josh at easywdw has done some great stuff on this, particularly the cost of drinks, in some case triple. Its just crazy. Add in another new fee, which adds absolutely NO value to the trip, just costs more for the same thing you used to get and ... nope.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Yeah - no joke. I know the quiet pools at Beach Club and Villas were definitely open later, but they never have lifeguards. So

But you'd think that they'd keep at least the bar portion of Hurricane Hannah's open through fireworks - I know it's considered a "pool bar", but it's the only one I know of that is outside of the pool gate and is in a highly trafficked area.

We were at Beach Club in February and the weather was very warm and perfect pool weather. Nonetheless, we closed the pool down at 8 pm a couple of nights and there was practically no one else there. I think there were probably more lifeguards than resort guests. I was surprised, too, at the early hours, but if guests aren’t there late at night, then it makes sense that they close them early.

Plus, even though the weather is very warm in the day, it does cool down quite a bit at night in the spring. Maybe they will extend the hours in summer.

I am with everyone on the frustration at getting less for more, and I’m still furious about the parking fees. But I don’t see how it makes a lot of sense to continue to pay a lot of employees for something so few guests are using.

 

[dreiwhit]

Anyone else altering their behavior?

We are. We're no longer planning a trip for next year, and the years after. I don't know when we'll be going back to WDW.

But, the resort fees don't apply to us, since we stay off site, but they are just confirmation that its time to find another vacation spot or spots.

Why? In the two years that we've been going back to Disney as adults with a family, the costs have gone up and the perceived value has gone down. What do we get for increased ticket prices? Higher prices for parking. Higher prices for food that is so-so quality. Parks with closed rides (Epcot, DHS.) More crowded parks. Longer waits.

For us, the magic is gone. Its time to move on.

 

[ChipnDale79]

We tossed around the idea of going to disney for a resort only trip this weekend, as i mentioned earlier, but decided to stick to our beach plans.

We had a great time on our trip, so much in fact when we asked our kids (6 and 5) if they wanted to do the beach this summer or go to disney, they both said the beach. We were shocked. I'm not sure what we'll do, but now our 2018 summer plans might be up in the air.

 

[bluehen]

I have been on these boards for 11 years and have been going to WDW since a week after it opened. There have always been threads complaining. In the last year or so though those have been going up by leaps and bounds. This thread is 109 pages long with very little support for disney and is far from the only negative thread at this time. When the people who love Disney the most are changing plans ( we did due to the reports of ride breaking and capacity lowering) there is a problem. My hope is that Disney goes back to giving a magical experience at a decent price. I see us as the canary in the coal mine and Disney would be wise to take the warning._

 

[UncleMike101]

I have been on these boards for 11 years and have been going to WDW since a week after it opened. There have always been threads complaining. In the last year or so though those have been going up by leaps and bounds. This thread is 109 pages long with very little support for disney and is far from the only negative thread at this time. When the people who love Disney the most are changing plans ( we did due to the reports of ride breaking and capacity lowering) there is a problem. My hope is that Disney goes back to giving a magical experience at a decent price. I see us as the canary in the coal mine and Disney would be wise to take the warning._

Yup......
Disney, like any business that relies on Public trust and good will, is not too big to fail.

 

[SJMajor67]

Well everyone that wants to stay offsite will have a new option up I-4 at Disney's biggest rival.

"Both hotels will offer rates as low as $73 per night and introduce Universal Orlando’s all-new Value hotel category."

Plus, there will be two-bedroom suites. "These suites will feature two separate bedrooms, a kitchenette and dining area, and a bathroom with a separate shower and vanity so the whole family can get #ReadyForUniversal. The 2 Bedroom Suites will sleep six for as little as $111 per night."

Maybe Disney should take a note...

https://blog.universalorlando.com/w...r-resort/?__source=av.TWITTER&linkId=50093458

 

[fla4fun]

I am willing to pay a lot to visit Disney World, but there needs to be a valuable experience connected to it.

And that’s what we used to get. A fair value for the price.

A lot of people say we don’t know what Walt would think of things today, and that Walt was a businessman, etc. But I think there are a lot of clues in how he operated Disneyland. There is an example of Walt randomly taking a ride on the Jungle Cruise and coming back to the dock furious that the boat ride that should have taken seven minutes only took four. He supposedly said he couldn’t tell the elephants from the hippos because the boat was going so fast and demanded that it be fixed. He later came back and rode every boat to make sure the guest was getting the full intended experience. If you look at some of the TV specials he did about the park and new attractions there is almost always the mention of “plussing” the attractions, giving the guest that little something extra. Roy was the real businessman of the team, and while I don’t doubt Walt wanted his park to be successful, he didn’t want to do it at the expense of the guest experience.

Personally, I feel that things like the parking fee that give the guest no new value or benefit would really go against the grain of what Walt wanted guests to feel when they came to his park. I think if additional revenue was required, he would have found a way to do it that kept the quality of the guest experience intact.

 

[Linkura]

Well everyone that wants to stay offsite will have a new option up I-4 at Disney's biggest rival.

"Both hotels will offer rates as low as $73 per night and introduce Universal Orlando’s all-new Value hotel category."

Plus, there will be two-bedroom suites. "These suites will feature two separate bedrooms, a kitchenette and dining area, and a bathroom with a separate shower and vanity so the whole family can get #ReadyForUniversal. The 2 Bedroom Suites will sleep six for as little as $111 per night."

Maybe Disney should take a note...

https://blog.universalorlando.com/w...r-resort/?__source=av.TWITTER&linkId=50093458

Disney really screwed the pooch with failing to build reasonably priced value suites. The ASMu and AoA suites are way overpriced. And they aren't building any more in the near future. Sounds like Uni is happy to gobble up all that business for Disney. And I don't think they'll make up enough of that business with all the luxury hotels they're building. Especially since we are due for a recession.

 

[Moliphino]

Well everyone that wants to stay offsite will have a new option up I-4 at Disney's biggest rival.

"Both hotels will offer rates as low as $73 per night and introduce Universal Orlando’s all-new Value hotel category."

Plus, there will be two-bedroom suites. "These suites will feature two separate bedrooms, a kitchenette and dining area, and a bathroom with a separate shower and vanity so the whole family can get #ReadyForUniversal. The 2 Bedroom Suites will sleep six for as little as $111 per night."

Maybe Disney should take a note...

https://blog.universalorlando.com/w...r-resort/?__source=av.TWITTER&linkId=50093458

One bathroom for six people? That's a big nope from me.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Disney really screwed the pooch with failing to build reasonably priced value suites. The ASMu and AoA suites are way overpriced. And they aren't building any more in the near future. Sounds like Uni is happy to gobble up all that business for Disney. And I don't think they'll make up enough of that business with all the luxury hotels they're building. Especially since we are due for a recession.

Not only that but as a couple of us were talking on the New Round Up thread Universal caters to a wider array of traveling parties. True 2-bedroom suites plus at an affordable price point.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Well everyone that wants to stay offsite will have a new option up I-4 at Disney's biggest rival.

"Both hotels will offer rates as low as $73 per night and introduce Universal Orlando’s all-new Value hotel category."

Plus, there will be two-bedroom suites. "These suites will feature two separate bedrooms, a kitchenette and dining area, and a bathroom with a separate shower and vanity so the whole family can get #ReadyForUniversal. The 2 Bedroom Suites will sleep six for as little as $111 per night."

Maybe Disney should take a note...

https://blog.universalorlando.com/w...r-resort/?__source=av.TWITTER&linkId=50093458

Maybe Universal will not charge for parking for these new resort hotels, would be interesting to see if Disney would take any action at their value resorts.

 

[macraven]

Maybe Universal will not charge for parking for these new resort hotels, would be interesting to see if Disney would take any action at their value resorts.

Adventura hotel parking is $12 + tax per night
Parking rates kick in at midnight


All the onsite hotels have parking fees
Hotel guests with a car and day guests that park in their hotel lots

I have stickies in the UO hotel forums that list each hotel parking info

 

[Rich M]

Well everyone that wants to stay offsite will have a new option up I-4 at Disney's biggest rival.

"Both hotels will offer rates as low as $73 per night and introduce Universal Orlando’s all-new Value hotel category."

Plus, there will be two-bedroom suites. "These suites will feature two separate bedrooms, a kitchenette and dining area, and a bathroom with a separate shower and vanity so the whole family can get #ReadyForUniversal. The 2 Bedroom Suites will sleep six for as little as $111 per night."

Maybe Disney should take a note...

https://blog.universalorlando.com/w...r-resort/?__source=av.TWITTER&linkId=50093458

This sounds really cool but for me Universal is not an option as a man of size (before anyone judges I know that's my problem and I agree with that). I just can't put money out to go to a place that I can't enjoy at all. At Disney I can go on every single ride there with no problems at all except for a little discomfort on 7DMT. So for me the money value still stays with Disney and the entertainment I can get. I do hope to drop some weight and get to enjoy Universal at some point but even then I will still mix some Disney Days in. I do hope though Universal is successful with this and Disney decided to build more value resorts but I also hope there successful so it spreads more people around and maybe makes Disney a little less crowded.

 

[mshanson3121]

Well everyone that wants to stay offsite will have a new option up I-4 at Disney's biggest rival.

"Both hotels will offer rates as low as $73 per night and introduce Universal Orlando’s all-new Value hotel category."

Plus, there will be two-bedroom suites. "These suites will feature two separate bedrooms, a kitchenette and dining area, and a bathroom with a separate shower and vanity so the whole family can get #ReadyForUniversal. The 2 Bedroom Suites will sleep six for as little as $111 per night."

Maybe Disney should take a note...

https://blog.universalorlando.com/w...r-resort/?__source=av.TWITTER&linkId=50093458

Wow. Just wow. 2 bedroom suites for as little as $111? Nothing at Disney can touch that. Universal means serious business.

 

[mshanson3121]

Disney really screwed the pooch with failing to build reasonably priced value suites. The ASMu and AoA suites are way overpriced. And they aren't building any more in the near future. Sounds like Uni is happy to gobble up all that business for Disney. And I don't think they'll make up enough of that business with all the luxury hotels they're building. Especially since we are due for a recession.

Agree. The ASMu suites in particular look kinda crappy quite honestly. I've seen nicer suites at chain hotels for half the price.

 

[dlavender]

Agree. The ASMu suites in particular look kinda crappy quite honestly. I've seen nicer suites at chain hotels for half the price.

Not only are the rooms inferior at ASMu, so are the resort amenities at that price point.