We are there

[WDW_Ding]

I can't believe I actually thought 5 or more years ago that Universal upping its game was going to force Disney to be more reasonable with its prices to compete. Boy was I wrong!

Universal charges for parking at their resorts. FYI.

I'm not saying that to defend WDW charging for parking at the resorts, I wish they wouldn't, just pointing it out so that people can compare apples to apples.

 

[OKW Lover]

I can't believe I actually thought 5 or more years ago that Universal upping its game was going to force Disney to be more reasonable with its prices to compete. Boy was I wrong!

It seems to me that Universal simply waits until Disney does its next round of price increases and then follows with a price increase of its own.

 

[disneyholic family]

There are no busses from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Blizzard Beach.

I'm not going to do the work for you, but many of the resorts now require you to take a bus to Animal Kingdom and then transfer to the Blizzard Beach bus.

AK / AKL....you understood what i was saying...the point is, they've stopped running buses from the resorts to BB and TL making it so much more difficult to get there for guests who don't have cars....
that was a huge downgrading of service....though supposedly we pay a premium to stay onsite because of the great bus transportation....


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[Jeff Laughlin]

Universal charges for parking at their resorts. FYI.

I'm not saying that to defend WDW charging for parking at the resorts, I wish they wouldn't, just pointing it out so that people can compare apples to apples.

Oh I know, I'm just talking about everything in general. I thought their competing with each other was going to be good for the consumers' wallets maybe in some ways, instead it seems it just brings more people to Orlando than ever and has actually helped each other. A healthy economy doesn't hurt either obviously

 

[disneysteve]

I don't want this to come across "judge-y", but you are biased against buses.

To a certain extent, absolutely. I won't deny that.

Disney's transportation doesn't provide the service that we want when we are vacationing there. We like to resort hop. We like to shop and dine offsite. We like to go places and do things that Disney transportation doesn't currently allow us to do. And we value our time. It is almost always faster to hop in our own car and drive than to use Disney transportation.

I'm not knocking Disney. I think they do an amazing job of moving literally millions of people around property each year. And certainly we do use their transportation when it is convenient for where we are trying to go. There are just a lot of times where the limitations of the system as it currently exists make us use our own car to get around.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Oh I know, I'm just talking about everything in general. I thought their competing with each other was going to be good for the consumers' wallets maybe in some ways, instead it seems it just brings more people to Orlando than ever and has actually helped each other. A healthy economy doesn't hurt either obviously

Well, it is good for the consumer in that it is driving each other to increase and improve their offerings .... but all magic comes with a price, deary

I mean, look at smart phones - Apple and Samsung keep trying to one up each other but prices also keep going up and up as the phones are doing more and more

 

[Alicenwonderment]

That sad Sarah Maclachlan song from the animal commercials should play whenever someone opens this thread.

This one??

Not sure how you would get it to play once thread is clicked but now I have this song stuck in my head. Lol

I started thinking about another reason I wouldn't want to use Disney's transportation. Germs. Especially if someone has a low immune system. At least if you use your own car you are getting less germs than being in a packed bus with 50 of your best friends. Lol.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Stay off site, so much comfortable clean and affordable hotels. To me the point of vacation is staying in my room least as possible! To each their own, but try and make it work for your family as opposed to letting Disney frustrate you!

 

[disneyholic family]

Stay off site, so much comfortable clean and affordable hotels. To me the point of vacation is staying in my room least as possible! To each their own, but try and make it work for your family as opposed to letting Disney frustrate you!

any recommedations?
i found a few nice ones when i looked around yesterday...
replacements for SSR....wyndham bonnet creak, sheraton vistana, 3 different marriots that are all together....they all were reasonably price with good facilities...

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[disneysteve]

any recommedations?
i found a few nice ones when i looked around yesterday...
replacements for SSR....wyndham bonnet creak, sheraton vistana, 3 different marriots that are all together....they all were reasonably price with good facilities...
.

There are literally hundreds of options, especially if you include rental properties in your search.

We always rent a condo, townhouse, or pool home when we go. We can get a 3-bedroom, 3-bath townhouse for $70/night. That blows away anything onsite in our opinion. Windsor Palms, Windsor Hills, Crestwynd Bay, etc. These are all great places to stay depending on what you're looking for.

 

[disneyholic family]

There are literally hundreds of options, especially if you include rental properties in your search.

We always rent a condo, townhouse, or pool home when we go. We can get a 3-bedroom, 3-bath townhouse for $70/night. That blows away anything onsite in our opinion. Windsor Palms, Windsor Hills, Crestwynd Bay, etc. These are all great places to stay depending on what you're looking for.

i almost rented a house for this past summer..
but when i read the contract it was so draconian, i got cold feet and didn't book...

do people just not read the contracts? or don't care?
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[disneysteve]

i almost rented a house for this past summer..
but when i read the contract it was so draconian, i got cold feet and didn't book...

do people just not read the contracts? or don't care?
.

What was in the contract that was bad? We’ve rented a couple dozen properties over the years and never had a problem.

 

[disneyholic family]

What was in the contract that was bad? We’ve rented a couple dozen properties over the years and never had a problem.

well if you don't have a problem you're ok..
but if you do, that contract will screw you to the wall..

the problem is, those contracts are written by lawyers to protect owners...
i'm sure the vast majority of people never read the rental contract..

but what can you do - i always do and they're so bad for the renter i just can't bring myself to rent when i'm bringing the whole extended family and can't run the risk of something going wrong..

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[disneysteve]

well if you don't have a problem you're ok..
but if you do, that contract will screw you to the wall...

What kinds of terms are you referring to?

 

[disneyholic family]

What kinds of terms are you referring to?

all the terms....all in favor of the owner..
the owner has zero liability for anything that happens..nothing...they promise you absolutely nothing..
and you have zero recourse...basically you're banking on their goodwill because legally you have no leg to stand on at all..
and you have all liability....in all cases..

it is an extraordinarily draconian contract..
but it is obviously the industry standard as i've read many and they're all the same..

the podcasters even have a contract like that....kevin and john rent properties out and they have just as draconian a contract as everyone else..
it's industry standard...

i'm just not comfortable renting under those conditions..
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[disneysteve]

all the terms....all in favor of the owner..
the owner has zero liability for anything that happens..nothing...they promise you absolutely nothing..

i'm just not comfortable renting under those conditions..
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I'm curious if hotel terms are really any different. I don't have any recent hotel confirmations saved so I can't check but I suspect they also absolve themselves of pretty much any liability for anything. That's standard legalese in every industry. I'll bet the terms and conditions of your Disney park passes are similar.

 

[KingLlama]

*somewhere, a siren goes off in Jack Burgin's house. He throws down three raw eggs and two Pixi Stix, cracks his knuckles, and logs on to the DIS boards.*

 

[disneyholic family]

I'm curious if hotel terms are really any different. I don't have any recent hotel confirmations saved so I can't check but I suspect they also absolve themselves of pretty much any liability for anything. That's standard legalese in every industry. I'll bet the terms and conditions of your Disney park passes are similar.

no definitely not...there is nothing in the hotel T&C to equal what is in the rental contract...not at all...
when you rent that house, you open yourself up to significant liability - whether it comes to pass is another story..
but it is a risk...

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[disneysteve]

there is nothing in the hotel T&C to equal what is in the rental contract...not at all...
when you rent that house, you open yourself up to significant liability

For the third time, can you explain what you're talking about here? Can you give any specific examples so that we can understand what you mean?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Looking at it a different way: would you rather WDW charge extra to use the bus/monorail/gondolas/boats or ask the people that (perhaps) unnecessarily insist on driving their cars, even though they are staying on property?

I suppose you could say having a car is unnecessary but I for one think it would be unnecessary to have to get a taxi just to get to CVS if I want to or need to (which we did that on our past trip) or have to get a taxi just to go to Universal or have to get a taxi just to get to the grocery store should we want to when other means of transportation is feasible. And while Uber/lyft is an option in terms of alternative transportation they are relatively new. Plus even Disney has a rental car facility onsite.

Funny thing is Disney promotes that rental car facility as "Enjoy the convenience, comfort and flexibility of having a rental car during your stay at Walt Disney World Resort" FWIW we would have a rental car with us because we don't like the captive feel and we like the convenience (which it is to us) of being able to go when and where we want.