Paid parking is coming to WDW resorts March 2018

[lucas]

I've seen this sentiment several times. Don't understand it, you want an ME charge just out of spite?

I don't want to be punished daily for driving.

 

[Rob Troxel]

Disney has removed the parking fee and will be raising room rates as follows on reservations starting March 21st:

• Disney Value Resorts: $13 per night
• Disney Moderate Resorts: $19 per night
• Disney Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts: $24 per night

....I wouldn't put it past them to do this instead.

At least the fees are upfront and loaded into the room rate which is better than a mandatory add on fee snuck in at check out.

 

[lucas]

An up-side for me... If more people are "done" and more stay off-site, maybe it will be easier to get a ressie at POP.

 

[ifitzger]

With all the ways Disney nickel and dimes, maybe its about time Florida revokes their little government set-up.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

It is all priorities in the end. For some off site is a great option and may be a great new option. For others they don't want it. We all have different budgets and how we want to spend our money on and worth/value is all in the eye of the individual.

For us, we are 2.5 hours away so obviously we drive. We have found we dislike parking at the parks and driving around. We like the buses, even though at times they are frustrating. Neither of us want to drive around orlando more than we have too. Many of the off site hotels that we would even consider have parking fees anyway.

Oh for sure - this was just in response to someone saying “well, off site places charge for parking too” - and my point was (at least to me) when you are only charging 1/2 the price Disney is for the room you can still wind up saving money even if off site charges for parking and one of the reasons Disney can charge more is because they included more benefits in that cost (which is now lessened by charging for parking)

There are still lots of other reasons someone would want to stay on site for sure

 

[Planogirl]

This is me, too. I've spent SO MUCH MONEY at Disney World starting in 1986 when I went there for the first time and fell in love. I saw the place as a magical, wondrous fantasy that I could use as an escape, returning to it again and again over the past 30 years to renew my spirit.

This recent change finally ripped away that last shred of magic and made me see Disney World for what everyone else who wasn't addicted was seeing it as: A corporation that viewed me not as a valued guest or returning family member, but as an ATM.

Once that magic is gone, it's gone. It's that ephemeral feeling that Walt Disney was so brilliant at understanding and tapping into that made repeat business almost guaranteed for the next 100 years as parents take their kids, then their kids take their kids, and so on and so forth. But once that chain is broken, it's broken. And there's no getting it back.

You said this perfectly. I've been at this point for a while now and it's sad.

The worst part of all of this for me is that I keep wondering what is next. That shouldn't be a concern.

 

[bluezy]

That is exactly what I was saying. They are penalizing us drivers.

(Plus, we drivers already have to pay for gas, tolls and the wear and tear on our cars.)

That's what I keep saying. And to make it worse, we don't even use our car once we're on property. So why should we be treated differently than those arriving by DME? We have a trip coming up this summer. We're arriving by car but our son is flying and arriving by DME. DH & I will never touch the car all week, but our son will most likely use Uber/Lyft/taxi to go off property to meet up with friends a few nights during our stay. So.....if we hadn't booked by 3/21, my husband and I would be paying $91 in fees even though we're spending *all* of our money on property but my son would pay no fee even though he's taking his money off property several times during the week. Yeah, that seems fair (and I can hear myself telling my kids "life isn't fair").

 

[WDWFan0813]

I may get blasted for this, but I would rather they charge for theme park parking than resort parking. There are more ways to “avoid” the parking charges at the theme parks - Disney transportation, Minnie Vans, Uber/Lyft, being an AP holder/DVC. And, if you are not going to a park one day (or several days), you don’t pay.

You would get an angry reaction from me if I could put one. Not because I am angry at you..I actually feel the same way..I wasn't posting it because I didn't want anyone from Disney to read it and use the idea.

 

[Roxyfire]

We got a nice sedan for 19 a day at MCO. Same class of vehicle was 62 at LAX last summer. You would need a lot of days rented to get to 450. May want to look at rentals again.

That number is what I found last night (for an intermediate) on multiple sites including carrentals.com, hotwire, kayak. I didn't pull it out of thin air or anything. I'm not willing to pay the full amount up front, rent from a company I've never heard of, or travel very far from the airport. There are rates really low around the Orlando area but I don't want to schlep all my stuff around just to do that. We're traveling May 29-June 6th so that's just as summer is starting to gear up. I'd expect that's part of it. Our other trip is Columbus Day weekend, which is also a very busy time.

 

[Roxyfire]

Question about DVC concerning the post from mickyminniemom. It states that DVC is still going to be complimentary for DVC Deluxe Villa guests. Is that ALL room types
including the DVC studios or just the 1 BRM, 2 BRM and Grand villas? Most of our trips involve using the studio size rooms. Second: So a person has a dinner reservation at a specific resort, are they going to be required to pay the parking fee just to eat dinner?

All room types, if you are a member staying on points. This is because our dues have already paid for maintenance of the parking lots.

 

[mrswillson]

You said this perfectly. I've been at this point for a while now and it's sad.

The worst part of all of this for me is that I keep wondering what is next. That shouldn't be a concern.

Unfortunately I have predictions (that while I hope are not true) I believe will come to fruition within the coming years... eventual parking charges for DVC, parking charges for Disney Springs (CityWalk is $20 per day, and since they've announced they're now aiming to be part of the industry standard, Disney will hop on this bandwagon too at some point), higher parking charges for the theme parks.

It's neverending.

 

[Planogirl]

Unfortunately I have predictions (that while I hope are not true) I believe will come to fruition within the coming years... eventual parking charges for DVC, parking charges for Disney Springs (CityWalk is $20 per day, and since they've announced they're now aiming to be part of the industry standard, Disney will hop on this bandwagon too at some point), higher parking charges for the theme parks.

It's neverending.

City walk is at least heavily discounted in the evening. I wonder if Disney will emulate that?

It's all speculation but I hate even thinking about it.

 

[Rich M]

Don't most of the offsite places charge a resort fee that has parking built into it? I remember paying $12 to $25 at some places recently. They are cheaper per night but I feel that is because they aren't Disney.

 

[Roxyfire]

Unfortunately I have predictions (that while I hope are not true) I believe will come to fruition within the coming years... eventual parking charges for DVC, parking charges for Disney Springs (CityWalk is $20 per day, and since they've announced they're now aiming to be part of the industry standard, Disney will hop on this bandwagon too at some point), higher parking charges for the theme parks.

It's neverending.

I would be surprised if they changed the parking situation for DVC. As I understand, it would require an overhaul of the dues system and there are Florida Timeshare laws to work around. Ultimately it would probably cost them more headache and trouble to do that. Instead, it might be plausible to expect more paid add-ons available for members, similar to Reunion Station.

 

[Sophie_inBflo]

I may get blasted for this, but I would rather they charge for theme park parking than resort parking. There are more ways to “avoid” the parking charges at the theme parks - Disney transportation, Minnie Vans, Uber/Lyft, being an AP holder/DVC. And, if you are not going to a park one day (or several days), you don’t pay.

I “like” this option, too. Some people have zero choice about how they get to the resort, but we have a several transportation choices when it comes to getting to the parks. So if you choose to use your own car for the parks, you pay!

 

[Sophie_inBflo]

I don't want to be punished daily for driving.

We usually park our car at the resort and leave it there for the length of the trip- so that money feels like just like paying rent on a house we don’t live in, Or a hotel room we don’t even sleep in. We are getting zero value for our money. If a business right outside Disney offered long term parking for $10/day, they’d make a killing!

 

[Madame]

I've seen this sentiment several times. Don't understand it, you want an ME charge just out of spite?

I assume the previous poster sees it as only fair, not spiteful. Parking & ME costs were previously rolled into the high price tag of staying onsite. Now they’ve unbundled the parking without lowering the resort price. So, drivers are subsidizing ME costs AND getting hit with an extra parking fee. Hardly fair.... or magical.

 

[jade1]

City walk is at least heavily discounted in the evening. I wonder if Disney will emulate that?

It's all speculation but I hate even thinking about it.

And our US AP gives us free (no extra charge) parking, maybe at least DS will offer that as well.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

I (and for my entire life up until this moment would never believe I would be saying this) very proudly checked the "will not be returning" button for the poll. Quite frankly, I'm done.

I grew up practically living in WDW and on DCL. My family was DVC. I became a Cast Member for the Disney Store for several years, which was one of my dreams since I was a little girl. When my husband and I married, it was inside AKL overlooking the savannah. Last year, my husband and I sailed on the Fantasy for our honeymoon, and I've personally sailed on 6 DCL cruises growing up. Until this year, my husband and I were annual passholders as well, as we live in such close proximity to the parks (and because I have been such a die-hard Disney fan for as long as I can remember.)

That is no longer the case now. Between the astronomical price hikes for DCL, another price hike for annual passes and park admission, and now overnight parking charges for the resorts, we've washed our hands of Disney. My parents have sold their DVC membership. I haven't and will not be renewing our annual passes. And we have also switched this year's EC cruise from DCL to Royal, and quite frankly, couldn't be more excited about it.

The bottom line: we won't be returning to Disney at all for the foreseeable future.

Disney is a business - this is common knowledge, and I nor anyone else is refuting this fact; this is the most frequently used argument from Disney proponents and fans every time a change like this occurs. However, I am a firm believer that a business should continue to better its product, and if it is going to raise prices, it shouldn't be on the heels of cut corners and lost amenities. The Disney that I grew up with and worked for no longer exists. Once upon a time the company stood to a different standard, and the primary aim has inched away from providing magic to its guests to now milking them for revenue. A previous poster echoed my thoughts exactly: the reasoning behind this decision is to fit the industry standard... and since when has Disney fit that mold? I was always under the impressed Disney offered a premium experience that was not available anywhere else, and yet now we have a company, whose letterhead is a mouse, that has become just like any other big business driven by the goal of corporate expansion at the cost of its magical touches.

At one point in time I would have balked at the idea of going to a different theme park, or sailing with another cruise line. However today I welcome the change, as Disney's decisions have made me realize that there are other companies whose product can rival theirs now that they have lowered themselves to the same standard. There is a whole big world out there to see, and now that I've taken off my rose colored Mickey glasses, I look forward to experiencing it.

Well said. And me too.

I am most angry at the people who are making decisions that are ruining Disney parks and resorts. They’ve been entrusted to care for a very special place and they seem determined to ruin it. They have a business model that has thrived for decades, yet current management seems to want change just for the sake of change (and the vast majority of changes negatively affect guests).

Perhaps shareholders, who are looking at short term profits, are happy. But the guest experience is suffering, and long term, so will the profits.

Makes me wonder if those making managerial decisions have a good chunk of their private portfolios invested in Comcast.

 

[Redarrow5150]

It's not about crowd control and people gladly pay fees? Really? You gladly pay fees? Crowds get smaller? Seriously you think this fee will make crowds smaller? The only time crowds will become smaller is another recession.

#1...thank goodness for DVC...for at the moment, we still get free parking. Just another incentive to go DVC, which I belive in the coming years will be the only way to afford a Disney vacation.

#2...it is a crowd control scheme. for every 1 person who says that's it, we are not going to Disney.....there will be 10 people who gladly pay the fees. crowds get smaller, and revenue stay up.

#3...it is supply and demand. if enough people say no, fees go away. but we all know Disney is operating from a position of strength here.

#4....for those who say they have to save years for a trip to Disney and now can't afford it. truly I am sorry, but it is not your right that you get to go to Disney. Disneys job is to make shareholders money 1st. Just like everyone can't afford a high end German car and have to buy a cheaper more affordable car, vacations are the same thing. Not everyone can afford 2 weeks in Hawaii, and not Disney is one of those high end vacations. either find a way to save more money, or go on cheaper vacations to Dollywood. But Disney is now an even more high end vacation then ever before.