I too stay mostly at deluxe resorts. But I also love to shop and get something special while I am there. I have a hard enough time convincing myself its OK to spend $260 on a handbag, or piece of jewelry, but I do it because Im on vacation, I love Disney and its something special for me, which I never ever do at home. All my "special" shopping is for my kids. I only buy myself necessities. Now knowing they are going to take $300 from me just to park when that could be my shopping money makes me sad. Knowing I have a $300 bill coming, will make me think twice about buying a $300 item at the parks, plus everything my kids want.This is me too. We stay deluxe and an extra $24 per day is not going to break the bank, but I've been having a difficult time justifying the cost recently. I've been telling myself part of the higher price is they don't charge for parking or resort fees. Well, no more...
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.
I think we have done with Disney. We won't be renewing our AP's next month or booking our usual 11 night stay..............I have just to let the wife know , so everything you have just read might be a lie.
Good Grief...This reply makes me very sad...
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Lol I really don’t care what you believe .. but yep absolutely true , flew thomas cook airline out of Orlando to Manchester round trip for 420.00 plus got my hotels on booking.com .. mostly raddisons and a Hilton I believe .. plus arrival night and night before departure at the hotel in Manchester airport business class .. did you know there are TONS of free things to do in and around Manchester ? Including all types of museums.. trains cost about 4.00 pp to get to outside areas and then you mostly walk .. most of what I spent was shopping , food is shockingly inexpensive there ...
But yes it CAN be done .. the only price difference as you go along is mostly airfare which you can find cheap and plan early ( like I did with Disney also ) some people on here are paying 10-15,000 for one family trip to Disney when they can go overseas for half that even as a family .. your fooling yourself if you think Disney is not overpriced compared to many other vacation spots . I enjoy Disney but I’m not fooled into thinking it’s not overpriced .FYI even alone half of that cost was me shopping ( I had to buy and pay for a extra suitcase for return ) so yes more then one person could easily afford it and still come in under that many days at Disney .
Alright............my plan has been executed:
Sent off 2 emails
Gonna let our AP lapse. No more 3 to 5 visits a year for us!
Agreed. They are setting all these increases because they are counting on opening SW in 2019. But, as it is, they are saying SW will open "late" 2019. And we know how openings can get pushed back (new Fantasyland, which was originally rumored for summer or fall 2012 didn't open until December 2012, ROL, was pushed back a year, even Toy Story, which as rumored for Memorial Day and has been pushed back slightly). So, when Disney says that SW will not open until "late" 2019, I think best case scenario is that it will open for Christmas 2019. And based on the push-backs, I would venture that many will wait until there is an official announcement of a specific date.People keep talking about the craziness that will come when SW:GE opens, but I feel like that may very well be counting chickens before they hatch on Disney's part.
Personally, I don't see this parking fee as a deterrent to crowd levels. Locals will still go, DVC people will still go, discounts will off set the fees unless they completely stop those as well, military discounts, festivals are bringing in record crowds when they use to be lower during those times. "This too shall pass" and it will be business as usual..imo. FWIW....DCL parking was also increased by $11 a day and the parking garage was full.perfect. Crowds are already starting to go down. And there are 10 people who will continue to go to Disney 3-5 times a year and will pay the parking fee. So you not going has zero effect on Disney's bottom line, but lowers the crowds that little bit. Just like voting, every little bit counts.
I certainly respect your opinion. And a WDW vacation may not be for everyone, but I believe that you are missing much of the angst the people have.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.
I went on a week long Northern European cruise, and to London for a week with my Mom last August. Had an AMAZING time. Flew from Seattle to Heathrow for $550 on a Virgin Atlantic deal. By the time the hotels, cruise, and airfare were paid, I paid less for myself to go and do all over 2 weeks than for just my daughter and I to go and spend 5 nights at the Poly with dining and airfare.
People think Europe isn't within reach, and I think Disney would like us to think that. It isn't, not even a little bit. If you plan 12-18 months out, or take a last minute deal, it can be much cheaper than WDW.
By doing this as publicly as they have, Disney will make some people think about other options (offsite hotels, Uber, etc.). That will reduce the number of cars, or if nothing else, drive the more price sensitive out of the onsite hotels. During peak periods they are looking at filling their hotels with guests that they can get a higher conversion rate from. The average revenue per guest will go up. Disney would rather the sold out hotel be filled with people who are shopping and dining onsite rather than swinging over to the closest Walmart for groceries. It's hard to fault them for that.
I would expect the reaction here and on social media is exactly what Disney was expecting, and likely plays into what they would want to see. When you book, they don't know if you'll be a high revenue guest or low revenue guest. By implementing the parking fees, they get the lower revenue guests to self-identify and steer themselves towards other hotels.
This entire play is not about the revenue of the parking fees themselves. It's about filling hotels with customers that will spend more money. It's about weeding out the price sensitive. The "backlash" on social media actually helps Disney with that.
Hmmmm .... okay. Afford doesn't come into the picture for us. I think many of us are used to paying 3000 - 5000$ per trip all total so the extra 24$ x # of days is not a deal breaker. However those of us who do the planning(yes I do the planning for our house and love doing it) for the trip have seen a sharp incline in prices over the last 5 - 10 years(mainly the last 5 or so). That would be great if there where added value but overall there is not, in fact I would say there has been a bit of a decline. As I have been planning the last 10 years I have seen increases in the prices to stay at resorts of all level, the price increase of park admission, the price increase of APs, the price increase of TIW membership. Don't even get me started on the preferred parking garbage that sprung up the last few year. Nothing like showing up at AK super early and parking at one of the farthest spots from the entrance(honestly I think there are some parking spots at AKL that were closer then we got to park last time.
So yes we can afford it but as we plan and we see our dollars getting less and less return, we start to think about alternatives. For some that is trying Swan and Dolphins, for others that might be staying offsite completely(maybe even giving Universal a try), and for others that might mean going to a completely different destination. I guarantee there are some who will choose the later 2 choices and that will achieve the opposite of what Disney intended.
In the end(and I am just speaking for our family), we go to Disney because on our vacations to the World we seemed to come closer together. We all treat each other better and we are willing to go on rides and attractions that we might not normally go on by ourselves but since our Wife or Son want to go on it we are game(does this make sense?). We also go for the Nostalgia, I can remember our first time staying onsite we were on the Nemo ride 7 year old son next to me, 4 year old in my lap listening to the characters sing "its a big blue world". Every trip since then that part of the ride takes me back and for a brief moment my sons are 4 and 7 again(I also like to pretend I am not 42).
With every one of these little cash grabs Disney is losing a little peice of that. Who is to say that if we try Universal, or take that trip to the beach that we might not find the same happiness and Nostalgia? Would we then feel the need to come back and pay 24$ a night for the privilege of parking at a Disney Resort?
By doing this as publicly as they have, Disney will make some people think about other options (offsite hotels, Uber, etc.). That will reduce the number of cars, or if nothing else, drive the more price sensitive out of the onsite hotels. During peak periods they are looking at filling their hotels with guests that they can get a higher conversion rate from. The average revenue per guest will go up. Disney would rather the sold out hotel be filled with people who are shopping and dining onsite rather than swinging over to the closest Walmart for groceries. It's hard to fault them for that.
I would expect the reaction here and on social media is exactly what Disney was expecting, and likely plays into what they would want to see. When you book, they don't know if you'll be a high revenue guest or low revenue guest. By implementing the parking fees, they get the lower revenue guests to self-identify and steer themselves towards other hotels.
This entire play is not about the revenue of the parking fees themselves. It's about filling hotels with customers that will spend more money. It's about weeding out the price sensitive. The "backlash" on social media actually helps Disney with that.
Like I said before, I can afford it. I won't pay it.Because we are allowed our opinion just like you. sorry but, just because people disagree, does not mean the are belittling you.
Sorry...but maybe it is time for you to change to a cheaper option like Dollywood. Not everyone can afford a BMW.....it now seems that not everyone can afford Disney. Not belittling you...it is just economics
For every one person who stops going, there are 10 who will gladly pay the fees. Crowd sizes go down...profits for stock holders stay up. Seems like a win win to me.