For so many years, Disney has been able to charge whatever they wanted because they had the "Disney Difference". They thought they were the only game in town and that they were offering a unique experience with a level of service that was in a level above everyone else. For a while, they might have been right, but they set the standard and other companies took notice and followed their lead. Now, Disney has created competition and it's not only nipping at their heels, but poised to quickly overtake them. Disney no longer has a monopoly on the Orlando theme park and resort business and they cannot get away with thinking that people will blindly pay whatever they charge simply because its Disney.
I think Disney burst their own bubble. This latest move was a money grab, pure and simple. There is simply no justification for it...at all. The only possible way to defend this fee would be if they had extended it to day guests as well, and the logical reason for NOT doing so is because there is no practical method already in place to collect it. Since that is not the case, this is pure greed on Disney's part and because of that, Disney has made themselves look very bad in the eyes of many die-hard Disney fans, myself included.
With the way Disney has reduced the quality of their "product" while simultaneously raising their prices, they have already priced out many families who can no longer afford to take annual vacations. Now, they are adding insult to injury by tacking on fees for no apparent reason other than to pad their profits. That's just sleazy and those who can afford to go might not want to spend their vacation dollars at a destination that is just looking to squeeze every dollar out of them that they can without providing any real benefit in return. I don't think it's the fee itself that has set people off. It's the principle of the whole thing. Disney already charges 25-50% more than other hotels in the area, yet they don't offer amenities like free breakfasts, king size beds, and frequent visitor programs. Now, they are trying to justify adding on additional fees by saying that it's the industry standard. Well, if you aren't going to follow the industry standard in terms of cost or amenities, then there is no sense in trying to follow the standard when it comes to tacking on extra fees either.
This move is going to hurt them on two fronts. First are those who have never considered staying off-site and now see that there are other, cheaper options without the parking fees. In this thread alone, there are dozens of people who have realized that there are off-site options that will fit their needs as well, or better, than Disney's options. Resort occupancy is going to decline, no doubt. Second, they might even lose some theme park attendance too if people decide that they just don't want to visit Disney AT ALL. Some people here on this thread have had enough and cancelled their vacations altogether. They see Disney getting just a little too greedy and this was the final straw. Sometimes business is not all about the numbers. I think Disney looked a little too hard at the numbers and forgot about the human beings behind the numbers on this decision. The "human factor" is what they underestimated in their equation and it's going to come back and hit them in their bottom line. I sincerely hope that they take this backlash under consideration and take some serious steps to correct it going forward. They have really tarnished their reputation on this one...maybe they need to give Olivia Pope a call
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