Disney Resorts to start charging parking fees....

[scjo68]

As I was reading all the previous posts, yes, all of them, lol, it occurred to me that Disney might have another more subtle reason to announce this parking fee at this time. Maybe Disney was looking at lower than expected resort capacity for the summer and wanted a way to sell a bunch of rooms without offering any kind of discount or incentive? Quite a few posters here have suggested that they were going to hurry and book before the parking fees came online. So if Disney fills up a bunch of rooms during the summer and starts raking in the parking fees on top of it, they may not need to offer any kind of discount for the summer at all. I guess we'll see if/when the summer offers are announced, or not.

I admit I thought of this. I have no idea what hotel bookings were like for the summer, but if they were down, it sure got people booking quickly. It would be an interesting marketing strategy....

 

[lambdabeta]

Hmm. We went in the 70's and 80's and it was quite an expense for my parents. My dad did have to save and splurge on it. I was the only kid I knew at the time in my grade school who got to go to Disney - they thought we were rich!!!

We went on 2 trips in 6 years. No one thought we were rich. I didn't know any kids in my school who went either but everyone's situation was different. I don't know what your circumstances were. You totally missed my point. Disney WAS affordable for the AVERAGE MIDDLE CLASS family. I guess the kids in your school weren't average middle class.

Then count yourself very lucky. We were definitely middle class and a trip to WDW was well out of reach. We were lucky to drive 4 hours and spend time near the lake.

Btw, I'm 51 years young. My mom worked in a factory and my dad was a retail manager. Trips to WDW were not in the budget. You were very fortunate.

I don't know what you consider middle class but we were definitely lower middle class based on my parents income. We drove to Disney, Niagara Falls, New England, the Jersey Shore and many years drove to Ohio from NJ to visit family for a week. We couldn't afford to fly but still vacationed somewhere almost every summer of my childhood. My Mom was actually cheap and tried to save money where she could. If she didn't think that Disney was worth the expense we wouldn't have gone. Everyone's circumstance was different but because you couldn't go to Disney doesn't mean it wasn't affordable for the AVERAGE MIDDLE CLASS family.

Same here. I'm 38. My mom is a college-educated professional and even though she was a single mother we were solidly middle class. But Disney was out of reach for most of my childhood and we didn't go for the first time until the summer I graduated from high school. A lot of that was the airfare, which cost more in 1997 than I've ever paid as an adult even without controlling for inflation, but it was also the resorts and park tickets... we stayed offsite because the choice was a Disney resort and no waterparks/extras or an offsite resort and a day at River Country and two sit-down meals in the parks.

I wasn't talking about your circumstance. I was talking about the 1970's as I said in my post. That was before you were even thought of. My DD is not much younger than you and we couldn't afford to take her to Disney until she was 13 and that was because my DH had gotten a college degree and had been working several years. Prior to that with both us working but only me having a degree with a profession we could not afford it.

None of you get my original post. Your individual circumstances are just that. INDIVIDUAL. They are irrelevant to the fact that Disney was once affordable to an AVERAGE MIDDLE CLASS family. It hasn't been that way for a long time. Now the customer service has gone down hill. IMO it is no longer worth the great expense to go there. I can afford it now but won't be going back because of the continued increases in price with no added value or customer service for me. I am not alone as many people on this thread have also stated. This will hit them eventually, not immediately but it will hit them. I am just waiting until it does and the discounts come back.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

I am all for the parking fees. If it helps cut down on crowds, while keeping profits up....win win for share holders and Disney fans. Sorry....much like everyone can't afford to vacation in Europe......disney just may not be the vacation for everyone now. Either save more to pay the price, or go to Dollywood.

How would this significantly cut crowds? It's not enough money to keep people from vacationing there, but is enough money to make people reconsider renting a car...which means more crowds on Disney transport, which is already overtaxed.

Not to mention that if there were some sort of significant decrease in crowds, you would never notice it because WDW will cut capacity and staff to accommodate that decrease - which helps their bottom line, but not your park experience in any way.

There is no altruistic "crowd lowering" " less cars on the road" "better for environment" "lowering traffic" reasoning for this. Its just to increase revenue. Period.

 

[Kevin355]

How would this significantly cut crowds? It's not enough money to keep people from vacationing there, but is enough money to make people reconsider renting a car...which means more crowds on Disney transport, which is already overtaxed.

Not to mention that if there were some sort of significant decrease in crowds, you would never notice it because WDW will cut capacity and staff to accommodate that decrease - which helps their bottom line, but not your park experience in any way.

You make an excellent point.

I will liken it to this. Many grocery stores are now using the internet to allow shoppers to place their orders and have an employee pick out your order, bag it, then at the appointed time, deliver it to your car for a minimal fee. So now lets say that the grocery store decides it needs to make a few more bucks, so they charge for the parking spot that those of us who like to look at and pick our own groceries. Then to make more money, they have 3 levels of shopping carts...large at one price, medium at another, and small at another price. Then they have the carry basket at a minimal cost as well. Well now, you have those who are environmentally friendly, and bring their own bags. Now we are going to charge them a fee for not using our bags. At what point does it not make any sense to go to that store, when the store across the street offers the same groceries and free shopping carts?

This is where WDW is at for me.

 

[Tink-osophy]

Disney's calculations, I'm sure, are that these parking fees will be positive for them. But they should be careful about making the same mistakes that Starbucks admitted in the 2000s:

You can make hundreds of decisions, increasing prices here and there, cutting corners in small ways. Each one of those little decisions, on their own, may be perfectly correct and logical for the business. But when you add them all together, they devalue the brand and the experience.

Well said!

 

[megs1313]

Not to get OT, but didn't BC just finish room renovations? I thought they included new mattresses. I can't do sunken mattresses either...

As we were staying this this january (2018) they were literally putting in new mattresses to all the rooms. we had new ones, they were fabulous.

 

[MICKEYFAN28]

As we were staying this this january (2018) they were literally putting in new mattresses to all the rooms. we had new ones, they were fabulous.

I put my parents up on my DVC points in a studio. Not sure if they replaced the mattresses there yet. His was really bad. He had me come over and check it. I was surprised how bad it was. Our mattress at the boardwalk was perfect.

 

[fla4fun]

I have a travel agent license and graduated DCoK, which allows me to book Disney. If I go into their site, there is no mention of the new fee. I only know because of this board. It will be interesting to look at come the 21st.

Wow, that's really poor communication on Disney's part. The worst part is, if the TA's aren't informed, they will be the ones taking the heat from their customers instead of Disney, when it should be laid right at Disney's doorstep.

 

[KNovacovschi]

I've read, somewhere on this site I believe but may have been somewhere else, that they may be giving tickets to day guest with a specified amount of time on it and when you leave if you are past that time you will be charged for parking. I think that this is a great idea that way there is no way, or I should say, will deter people from parking at the resorts and going to the parks for the day.

If this has already been brought up I do apologize but 75 pages is a lot to go through, lol.

 

[KNovacovschi]

I have a travel agent license and graduated DCoK, which allows me to book Disney. If I go into their site, there is no mention of the new fee. I only know because of this board. It will be interesting to look at come the 21st.

The parking fees are actually on the Disney site, it's under guest services and parking.

 

[Ninja Mom]

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

 

[lambdabeta]

I've read, somewhere on this site I believe but may have been somewhere else, that they may be giving tickets to day guest with a specified amount of time on it and when you leave if you are past that time you will be charged for parking. I think that this is a great idea that way there is no way, or I should say, will deter people from parking at the resorts and going to the parks for the day.

If this has already been brought up I do apologize but 75 pages is a lot to go through, lol.

Yes this has been brought up but it is just speculation. No one really knows what they will do. The only thing they have said in the press release was there would be a 3 hour limit for day visitors when they are really busy. To me that means they really don't care and probably won't police it.

 

[little_orange_bird]

Because the more people have access to those "perks", the easier it is to upsell paid experiences above and beyond standard EMH & FP+. When EMH start feeling too crowded and 60 day FP are impossible to get, Disney can helpfully offer to sell you something (like Early Morning Magic and Disney After Hours) to give you a leg up on the masses. Opening the perks up to more hotels makes the whole system more crowded and in turn increases the number of people who will reach the tipping point of willingness to pay for those extras.

Because once SWL opens, Disney won't have the hotel capacity.

Both very interesting thoughts. The first is very clever. I never would have thought that up, which goes to show you how terrible of a businesswoman I would be. And about SWL.... wow. That makes perfect sense too. I guess it’s really gonna be a madhouse! Hopefully maybe everyone will be in that corner of HS, leaving the other parks emptier? Wishful thinking, I know!

 

[sunocox]

As we were staying this this january (2018) they were literally putting in new mattresses to all the rooms. we had new ones, they were fabulous.

That's really good to hear because we stayed at BC right after the renovations (you could smell the new carpet) and yet the mattresses were horrible. Mine was sunken so bad I had to sleep on the edge and hope I didn't fall off the edge.

Last year (Feb), we stayed at SSR (paid) and the mattress was literally broken including the box spring. We complained and they replaced the mattress with a brand new one. I don't understand why housekeeping doesn't report broken beds and leave it to the guests to report it.

Anyway, its things like this that have me scratching my head at how Disney can raise room rates so high and get away with things like this. Now with the additional parking fee, it's really just an insult.

The silver lining here is that it's opened my eyes to the resorts/options outside the Disney bubble

 

[DISNEY1975]

The parking fees are actually on the Disney site, it's under guest services and parking.

View attachment 309518

I qouted someone stating that the cast member will be instructed to inform the potential guest of the new parking fee. I was stating on the Disney booking engine, there is no mention of it. Agents dont book on the regular Disney website and practically never go into the resort details looking for new fees. Agents are only alerted, when booking for a guest, of any construction or amenity (pool / restaurant) closure. Now since this fee is new, it could be a new alert when booking after the 21st, but as of today, there is nothing in the booking engine that gives the information about parking.

 

[Iya]

The parking fees are actually on the Disney site, it's under guest services and parking.

View attachment 309518

It comes and goes. It's disappeared at least twice that I've noticed since the fee was rolled out a couple days ago.

 

[Fldisneyfamily4321]

Well I love Disney like a lot of people and between APs and being a go res. I have given Disney 25+ years of vacations from our family .. including DCL .. well we are frankly over it .. still love Disney , will still keep our April trip ( especially since being given a fabulous upgrade to poly ) but for the next several years or maybe longer we are done .. no more APs or long weekend trips ( onsite at that ) .. nope ! We do love the Disney experience but it has just gotten to much for less ..
I’m sure they will still get our DCL money but weeks of onsite stays and mostly sticking to Disney is over and we will enjoy seeing more of the world which is just as magical... and not just because of this but after falling completely in love with the UK this past year I look forward to many more trips of that nature . I honestly enjoyed England so much more then our recent past Disney trips .I am no longer interested in the price hikes and crazy crowds .. my kids are surprisingly pretty over it also and want to go places like Ireland and Greece so those will be our next family trips .Im glad so many are still “ Disney die hard “ but really enough is enough , not even sad about it .

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

A lot of posts seem to assume that there are people waiting in the wings that have been turned away from visiting Disney and now will be able to jump in and fill things up. I can't say I know of a single person that fits that - everyone I know, if they want to go, they have been able to go. The single exceptions are some event that keeps people there longer than they otherwise planned - weather etc.

It does make one curious as to why they extended the perks to those outside the bubble. Any theories?

I suspect those hotels offered to pay Disney to get those perks for their guests. It didn't give a lot of thought to Disney's own onsite guests but it likely benefited their bottom line for that moment. Now it may come back to bite them.

 

[lambdabeta]

I suspect those hotels offered to pay Disney to get those perks for their guests. It didn't give a lot of thought to Disney's own onsite guests but it likely benefited their bottom line for that moment. Now it may come back to bite them.

That is very interesting. That makes the most sense to me. It may have been Disney that approached the hotels since they are different brands. We all know they don't really care about guests just money.

 

[DISNEY1975]

The parking fees are actually on the Disney site, it's under guest services and parking.

View attachment 309518

And even on the Disney site where I guess 50% book their trip, who looks at the guest services and parking page? If youve been there before and know where you want to stay, you proceed to enter your dates of travel, number of guests, chosen resort and you are given the various prices for room levels. You click on the resort you want, asked if you want to add tickets and dining, ground transportation etc...then you are headed to checkout. No info on the parking fee. This is quite similar to the agent page, with a little more information. Since all pricing was upfront in the past, resort, ticket, dining, there was no need to alert of hidden fees. Posttible starting the 21st there will be, but at this time, unless you heard on the news or website, an agent would not know yet that this is happening. Most Disney agents work from home, so you wouldnt hear it at work either.