Disney Resorts to start charging parking fees....

[skippytx]

FUN FACT:

There are 15,248 hotel rooms on Disney Property (does not include campsites; source wdwmagic). There is at least 1 parking space for each room. If you consider HALF capacity at each hotel that would be 7624. If you do the AVERAGE cost of parking at $19, thats $144,856 PER DAY for parking fees. In a years time, that's a $52,872,440 revenue increase per year.

Seems like a lot of money, but in the grand scheme of Disney Park's revenue (17 Billion for FY 2017 and 5.2B last quarter (Q1 2018), it barely moves the needle. It is an interesting move though, the Parks division had a healthy operating income of 1.3B last quarter.

I think they're trying to increase revenue because they're gonna get hit hard by wage costs, not sure whats going on with the union battle recently though.

 

[Tonyz]

At the point they should bring back the $650 tomorrow land cabanas lol

Haha I forgot about that shameless failure!

 

[DISNEY1975]

One final thought: you might've noticed that the fees result in around a 10% increase per night at the Values. Since the Values typically only see about 10-15% as part of promotional discount rates, well - congratulations, Value guests, the discount for your next magical stay just went to pay for parking.

Story of my life. Got a small tax break in my paycheck, but my annual bonus was decreased. My annual review/raise is coming up soon, coincidentally it happens about a month before my annual benefits increase. I never win.

I can totally see Disney now using parking as a discount. Play/Stay/Park deal. They will make you think youre saving, even when you never paid for it before. Instead of free dining, it will be free parking.

 

[VFL]

I know this is probably a knee-jerk reaction and my kids would freak if I actually did this, but I almost feel like cancelling my trip in 2 1/2 months. I know the parking fee will not affect this particular trip, but I'm really mad and don't even want to give them any of my money at the moment. I feel like the fact that Disney didn't charge all these shady fees was one of the things that made Disney magical.

I didn't cancel but I did move from onsite to offsite today even though I wouldn't have had to pay.

 

[Tonyz]

I'm someone who will usually defend Disney, but this is absolute BS and a disgrace to Walt's legacy.

That being said, if you do call to voice your complaint, be respectable to the cast member on the other end of the phone. It's not their fault and you'll just be a jerk for yelling at them.

 

[amylevan]

I hate the idea and I really hate the implementation (more at the deluxes? Cmon man!)

BUT, I get the timing. It’s about to be a crazy busy time at WDW with Star Wars and then the 50th. By the time the dust settles after those, no one will remember that parking used to be free.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

Does anyone have the email to complain? Because I want to complain...

The parking fees were one of the things that kept me from the Swan/Dolphin. Guess they just became a much more enticing option. I can stay there for the price of a moderate, and have the location and amenities of a deluxe. Since we are a family of 5, we have to stay moderate or up anyway. (And I refuse to pay value family suite prices.)

We are staying at the Swan in May and we also have it booked for Christmas. Now I don’t feel so bad when I have to pay the parking and resort fee. Lol.

 

[Tonyz]

Not gonna lie, the quick change from the "i'd never stay outside the Disney bubble" folks to an off property exodus over a $14/night fee is pretty darn amusing.

The glories of never having a car on property!

 

[DizneyLizzy]

How much does it cost per day to park at MCO? I wonder if many folk driving to Orlando will park there, or nearby and just catch DME.

It's $10 per day in their economy lot. I already looked into it. I bet it's even cheaper at off site lots. Now that we are a family that has to buy 4 plane tickets, we're going to start driving. If we stay deluxe, we could save $100 by parking at MCO and taking magical express to our resort. We don't use the car when we drive anyway.

 

[Hisgirl]

They aren't reducing their rooms like they used to (barely), tickets are way up, and now we have to pay for the privilege of parking. Let them hear your voices people. Disney has changed new ideas, and please let this be one. There will come a time when they are pricing themselves out of my budget and honestly, once it happens, we will be done.

 

[HopperFan]

It's $10 per day in their economy lot. I already looked into it. I bet it's even cheaper at off site lots. Now that we are a family that has to buy 4 plane tickets, we're going to start driving. If we stay deluxe, we could save $100 by parking at MCO and taking magical express to our resort. We don't use the car when we drive anyway.

DS and DH have use ME to join trips midweek .... not sure .... do you not have to give them flight information to use ME?

And .......... I wouldn't be surprised at all if ME becomes a fee based shuttle ............. just like "industry standards" since that is their excuse.

 

[disneydreamer781]

I have no problem with most of what Disney does, including raises ticket prices but this just leaves a sour taste. It won't affect us most of the time because I own DVC but there are times we will stay at a resort with a cash reservation. We can always not rent a car, but after experiencing horrible transportation issues on a past trip, this is what we have chose to do. I really feel for people who drive to WDW though. I don't know if "everyone else does it" is a quote from a real person or not but I've always felt that Disney wasn't just "everyone else". Disney used to hold itself to a higher level. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I wouldn't mind the DME if I didn't have to stop at multiple resorts on the way to mine. I also wouldn't mind paying a reasonable fee to have direct transportation to my resort.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

I believe the bolded part is pure board speculation. We were there in November and it was more crowded than I've ever seen it. Many folks who have been in January and February have reported back here that it was more crowded than they've ever seen it at that time. I've read several articles lately that attendance is big-time up, not down.

Yes it’s more crowded but why is it more crowded? Do you think it can be due to the fact that a big chunk of MGM and Epcot are closed and people have nowhere else to go but to pile into MK and AK?

 

[DizneyLizzy]

DS and DH have use ME to join trips midweek .... not sure .... do you not have to give them flight information to use ME?

And .......... I wouldn't be surprised at all if ME becomes a fee based shuttle ............. just like "industry standards" since that is their excuse.

I mean, I guess I could give them flight info for flights I'm not actually on. It's not like they check. But DME is based on having a resort reservation, not a flight. Once I arrived at MCO without having booked DME in advance. I just walked up to a desk, gave my resort info and got a pass to a bus. No one asked me what flight I came in on.

 

[stayathomehero]

Ugh. On our last trip we had a car on property, and that small perk of parking free at the hotel and at the parks and the convenience of our own vehicle (drove from NY and stayed 12 nights).

This is a little much.

 

[photobob]

I bought annual passes in January 2017, we made 4 trips totaling 20 nights with those passes. The extra cost for those trips if they had been charging for parking would have been $381. Those of us staying on property are already paying a premium price for rooms compared to staying offsite. They know those of us who love Disney keep coming regardless of what they do to us pricewise. We'll complain for a while and then make reservations and pay for parking..it's what we do..and they know it..

 

[Tonyz]

Someone posted they will leave their room for someone richer. I wonder if this is Disney's goal? To try have the WDW for those who really have the money to burn. Certain class of folks will spend top dollar on food, parties you name it. While some are very budget conscious.

It absolutely is the goal. They don't care at all about the family that saves for years to go once or twice in their life. They care about the people that go every year, no matter what.

 

[Tonyz]

Considering how much Disney is now saving because of the tax cut, how can this be justified?

It's all gonna trickle down for us guests... any day now!

 

[a1tinkfans]

From Disney's website:
"Effective for reservations made March 21, 2018 and thereafter, standard overnight self-parking is available to registered Guests for a fee that will be applied to their hotel folio upon check-out. All parking fees include applicable tax."

Depending on how you read this, they may mean for Reservations made FOR March 21 and thereafter. Or they mean for Reservations made PRIOR TO March 21 and thereafter.

If it is the prior, they may be charging everyone after March 21, and they don't need to track when you made your reservation.

I interpret as After 3/21 All will be paying..
Ambiguous wording... to their advantage of course.
I’d be prepared to see it added to your folio at checkout ...( which is why they typically request a cc on file)
I guess we ‘ll see what guests report after 3/21.

 

[SoarinSC]

This is definitely a cash grab on Disney's part. They know they can get away with it and they will. I'll grumble for awhile, but will likely keep staying on-site just to have the Disney-bubble. They have their hooks in me.