Paid parking is coming to WDW resorts March 2018

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

This parking fee is seriously going to put a damper on their warm DVC welcome.

“Welcome Home! That’ll be $25.”

 

[Dznefreek]

I have spent more than 3 hours at a resort bar/bars.

 

[jade1]

seriously, I get to hear that from my wife every day! Hi-yo!

Ed McMahon......

 

[tlmadden73]

Yes, it says that complimentary self-parking is available for guests dining, shopping, etc at resorts.

It will be interesting to see how they enforce that.
"Parking fee? I am, uhh .. umm ... I am here to check out "Everything Pop!" .. I heard it's a really unique gift shop. What? The kids sleeping in the back? It was a REALLY long ride from the other hotel. The luggage? Why ..errr... those are all empty and ready to be filled by all my purchases from the gift shop!".

 

[rteetz]

This parking fee is seriously going to put a damper on their warm DVC welcome.

“Welcome Home! That’ll be $25.”

DVC doesn’t have to pay it though...

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I didn't include my number but they still called me..

They must have used my email address to find my disney experience account

Darn it. I don't want a phone call.

 

[mom2rtk]

It will be interesting to see how they enforce that.
"Parking fee? I am, uhh .. umm ... I am here to check out "Everything Pop!" .. I heard it's a really unique gift shop. What? The kids sleeping in the back? It was a REALLY long ride from the other hotel. The luggage? Why ..errr... those are all empty and ready to be filled by all my purchases from the gift shop!".

The fee is for "overnight" guests (for now anyway). They'll probably check the lots overnight.

 

[Scifidiner]

I do think there is an interesting human behavior about value in the outcry. Disney has raised the cost of many things periodically for years and people generally are ok with it, however the charging for something that was previously free drives them crazy. If you had taken the same $24 a day and tacked on to Poly / GF / Yacht club room rates, no one would have even noticed or cared, but by calling it a parking charge, it is an outrage.

I believe the lesson is people do not put any value on something given to them for free. Person A stands inline for 4 hours and drops $200 on a concert ticket, they will move heaven and earth to make the concert. If for some reason they can't make it and hand the same ticket to Person B for free, they may or may not make the concert. It is still the same event, but since person B received the ticket for free, they really don't value it as like the person who made the value/cost decision to buy it.

We had a slightly different problem at a company I previously worked. Upon our companies inception, leadership made a poor decision to give a key service for free to their initial customers. Over time, the cost of providing that service became severe, the company started to lose money, and people were losing their jobs. The company was in danger of going under do to the poor business model. Eventually they changed and told the customers that we were going to have to charge for this service that they had been getting for free for years. Customers nearly lost their minds. They just didn't see they were getting any value for this new charge, because this service had been provided to them for free for years. We even showed them that our rates were going to be lower than all our competitors and it was not gouging the consumer, but they still were seriously considering going to a competitor to pay more for the same service. In their mind, the competitor's service had to provide more value because our competitors had always charged for it where ours had always been free.

I agree 100% with this. If I give free advice people usually value it as nothing, however if I charge them $75.00/hr for exactly the same information they will listen & be far more likely to do what I tell them. That's why I as a rule don't give free recommendations (and the fact I had to pay for college to gain the knowledge).
The bigger question is why would Disney do this? You know darn well they have marketing out the wazoo that probably suggests just this. Why not slightly raise room costs rather than do it this way?

 

[mikebb]

It will be interesting to see how they enforce that.
"Parking fee? I am, uhh .. umm ... I am here to check out "Everything Pop!" .. I heard it's a really unique gift shop. What? The kids sleeping in the back? It was a REALLY long ride from the other hotel. The luggage? Why ..errr... those are all empty and ready to be filled by all my purchases from the gift shop!".

In going back and reviewing the language on their page, it seems they’ll be doing some kind of validation, note the use of select which tells me you won't be able to just park and wander the grounds...

Complimentary standard self-parking is available while enjoying select dining, shopping, entertainment, and recreation experiences at Disney Resort hotels.

 

[bluezy]

Honestly is there any reason that anybody would really accept and be ok with all of this?

Well, if they were going to do an oil change, rotate the tires, wash, and detail my vehicle I might be ok with it.

If they're doing this to keep people on property, I'd be fine with handing over my keys...or parking in a gated lot...or whatever just so they could be sure we weren't <gasp> leaving propery for any reason. We drive to Disney but once we arrive, we don't touch the car until the day before we leave when we start packing it up.

 

[DLgal]

I just got off the phone with someone from "The Office of George Kalogridis." Talked to the guy for almost 20 minutes. I made it very clear how I (And many others) feel about this. The guy was very sympathetic, listened, and actually agreed with many of my points. He reiterated that they really do value guest feedback, particularly from their most loyal guests. He gave me the "in line with industry standards" and I pushed back with "Disney is supposed to be better than the industry standard. You put yourselves above the standard in all your advertising and promises of magical experiences. Doing something just because "everyone else does it" takes you down to their level and exposes this for what it truly is, a cash grab." I also pointed out that a hotel in NYC can get away with charging $50/night for parking because there is NO LAND in NYC and parking space is limited. But they own ALL the land at WDW so there is NO excuse for charging to park on lots that they own and operate as part of the hotel. He was like "that's a good point. You're right about that." I also said that this one is particularly infuriating because the guest gets NOTHING for this fee that they weren't getting before. It has no added value (unilke all the other cash grabs, which at least give you something in return). He agreed that was a good point too.

Honestly, the guy was super nice. He kept asking me to expand further and really seemed to want me to spill it ALL. LOL. I eventually had to go to pick up my kid at school but he basically gave me his number and said to call him back if I had anything further to add. I told him to go online and read some message boards and social media comments and he'd have more than enough feedback.

FWIW, I did not include my phone number in the email either.

 

[Dashzap]

We drive to Disney but once we arrive, we don't touch the car until the day before we leave when we start packing it up.

Oooooooo, entrepreneurial opportunity: let's open an offsite parking lot with shuttle bus service to the resorts! Just like at airports...

 

[MommaBerd]

So for those who have received replies, do you have stock, own DVC, or typically stay at deluxe etc? I've not heard anything.

Boom.

I emailed Chapek's office but didn't include my phone number because I have no desire to be told that they don't value my business or opinion.

I heard back from George Kalogridis’ office. I did not include my phone number. I do own DVC, but that was not at all brought up in the conversation. I would NOT want that CMs job. I was reassured that I was “heard” and that they take guest feedback very seriously. He also said they they have been deluged with guest response, many of whom mentioned the same (other) things I did - feels like a penalty to those of us who drive, 60-day FP reservations extended to other hotels, too many added costs in general. I sincerely hope the feedback continues.

 

[MommaBerd]

Darn it. I don't want a phone call.

You can always ignore it.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

DVC doesn’t have to pay it though...

Maybe not.

But they give that greeting to all guests staying at DVC resorts- whether they stay DVC or not. I stay at DVC resorts frequently but don’t stay in the DVC rooms. That greeting makes me feel all cozy.

Now I’ll just be mad. “Home, my foot! I don’t pay $25 to park at my house!”

 

[MommaBerd]

@DLgal - You made some great points! I didn’t get the “in line with industry standards” line - maybe I preempted it with some of my comments about already paying a huge premium to be on-site...

 

[Linkura]

I just got off the phone with someone from "The Office of George Kalogridis." Talked to the guy for almost 20 minutes. I made it very clear how I (And many others) feel about this. The guy was very sympathetic, listened, and actually agreed with many of my points. He reiterated that they really do value guest feedback, particularly from their most loyal guests. He gave me the "in line with industry standards" and I pushed back with "Disney is supposed to be better than the industry standard. You pit yourselves above the standard in all your advertising and promises of magical experiences. Doing something just because "everyone else does it" takes you down to their level and exposes this for what it truly is, a cash grab." I also pointed out that a hotel in NYC can get away with charging $50/night for parking because there is NO LAND in NYC and parking space is limited. But they own ALL the land at WDW so there is NO excuse for charging to park on lots that they own and operate as part of the hotel. He was like "that's a good point. You're right about that." I also said that this one is particularly infuriating because the guests gets NOTHING for this fee that they weren't getting before. It has no added value (unilke all the other cash grabs, which at least give you something in return). He agreed that was a good point too.

Honestly, the guy was super nice. He kept asking me to expand further and really seemed to want me to spill it ALL. LOL. I eventually had to go to pick up my kid at school but he basically gave me his number and said to call him back if I had anything further to add. I told him to go online and read some message boards and social media comments and he'd have more than enough feedback.

FWIW, I did not include my phone number in the email either.

Sounds like a good phone call. It will give them something to think about at least. Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to be honest with them about it. It's exactly the same reasoning I (and many others here) would have told them. As mentioned, I don't even use parking at WDW and haven't since my parents took me there on childhood trips many years ago. It's the principle of it all that has got me really upset.

 

[Leelo]

Forgive me if this has already been asked and answered. I tried to look through but there are lots of pages.

What what are the implications on DVC point rentals (non-owners)?

What are the implications on Annual Passholders who get free theme park parking but stay on-site?

 

[rteetz]

Forgive me if this has already been asked and answered. I tried to look through but there are lots of pages.

What what are the implications on DVC point rentals (non-owners)?

What are the implications on Annual Passholders who get free theme park parking but stay on-site?

1. If a DVC room is reserved on points you shouldn't have to pay for parking.
2. APs still get free parking at the parks but that does not apply to resorts.

 

[BWallaceKY]

I'm DVC and never have a car at Disney so this fee doesn't affect me. But I went ahead and sent an email to Bob Chapek. This is purely a cash grab and wanted to let them know we see that. Just because it doesn't apply to us this time the next one likely will.

Disney has sold itself for decades as a company that is about more than just a bottom line. I have no issue if their new business model is bottom-line driven, but they better expect customer perception to change as well. I don't think one person can say a trip to WDW is a good financial decision, but we do it because of the "magic". That involves customer service, amenities, entertainment, and yes the fact we believe the company really cares about our experiences through making sure things go as well as possible (and making amends when they don't). I think brand loyalty has been very profitable for Disney, but maybe they don't see it that way. I'm sure they have people much smarter than me assessing that on a regular basis.

Thank you! It would definitely affect our family, so I appreciate the solidarity.