Disney Resorts to start charging parking fees....

[scrapquitler]

Just wondering because I have no idea. Do you not have to pay to park at the parks if not staying on property?

We have annual passes, so we do not pay for parking at the parks, even if we stay offsite.

 

[Redarrow5150]

So for those driving in another option could be going to MCO economy lot and paying $10 a day and taking MDE.

 

[Tink-osophy]

... A WDW vacation no longer seems to have the value that it used to, or at least to justify the price tag.

And, while I appreciate that other may not agree, I don't know how anyone who is a long term WDW person could honesty say that the experience is as good as it used to be.

All of the comments like "a day at WDW is better than a day somewhere else" - I use to agree. I don't anymore. I also don't believe in giving WDW a pass based on its former glory. ...

Well said; I wish it wasn't true, though. If Disney are now preferring to target one-off visitors who are happy to pay almost anything for the Disney experience, don't they need to preserve and, even, build upon the "Disney" bit of the experience? At least, what it used to mean. It's particularly hard to accept all these price increases, when, at the same time, the quality of products and services are diminishing. Does Disney still care about the reality of the Guest experience?

Weren't they already, essentially, charging for parking within the resort price per night? And as for charging resort Guests extra to park, but not non-paying visitors... I always loved visiting the resorts to wander, shop, eat (not swim!), but I still think they need to prioritise paying Guests better and, to some extent, reconsider how visitors to the resort affect the resort Guests.

 

[mousefan73]

I don’t understand why the cost is different between different tiers of resorts. It’s not like the deluxe resorts have “nicer” parking lots. In fact, I’d contend that parking at the deluxes is LESS convenient than at the values and mods because at the values and mods, you can often park very close to the room. Not so at the deluxe resorts after meandering through the lot and finding a place in the back row not occupied by the shopping/dining people (who will park for free).

That last part is probably an exaggeration but...I still don’t get it.

What I find d simply insane is that for the 200-300 more I’m paying at BC or Poly I have the honor of paying MORE for parking than a guest at a value?? Shouldn’t one get more things when one pays more?? Disney is reverse. Paying Deluxe prices gives DIsney more ways to rape you of your cash.

 

[tony111]

Me and my wife go twice a year from the UK and stay at an All Star Resort usually between 10 to 14 nights.I have been slowly but surely getting less impressed each time we visit. I'm already getting fed up paying top money for poor food served on a paper plate, hotel rooms that require up-grading among other issues. The reason I keep going is my wife loves staying on site just because it's Disney.We have just arrived home today after 11 nights, and usually start looking to book our next trip, I honestly don't think we'll be coming back any time soon.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Perhaps I am mistaken, but isn’t parking at the Parks included when you’re a Disney resort guest?

So if they are going to charge you to park at your resort, will they continue to include parking at the theme parks?

Yes, but those who stay at deluxe resorts will be charge $24/night to park. Theme-park parking is *only* $22/day.

 

[sbd78]

So for those driving in another option could be going to MCO economy lot and paying $10 a day and taking MDE.

And this option will cost Disney much more money than just letting their guests park at their resort for free. I hope everyone does this!

 

[minorthr]

What I find d simply insane is that for the 200-300 more I’m paying at BC or Poly I have the honor of paying MORE for parking than a guest at a value?? Shouldn’t one get more things when one pays more?? Disney is reverse. Paying Deluxe prices gives DIsney more ways to rape you of your cash.

Guess they think if you are staying at a deluxe you have the money to pay extra for parking.

 

[dizanimator]

I think Disney really needs to start looking at the big picture of a trip to Disney, or they'll lose out on a lot of money. Guests will be more likely to spend money places other than Disney, and Disney will have to work to get that back. A trip to Florida isn't cheap, and Disney used to have a "Disney Difference" that seems to have been replaced by industry standard, without the industry standard price to go with it. So Disney is asking people to pay more for a room with few of the Disney touches in it, and pay to park, and have no guarantee of privacy in the room. Then selling some of the remaining on site perks to good neighbor hotels, so other than location, those places are a lot like staying on site, but potentially cheaper does not seem like a good idea. Make the higher cost seem worth it, even with small details that won't cost much if bought in bulk, and fewer people will complain, but overpriced, plain rooms with no real perks are available not far away, and may end up full while Disney looks at empty rooms in the hotels.

 

[rdaky]

We are staying at AKL this summer. So can I just "visit" the resort every day by grabbing a muffin and showing them my receipt in order to get free parking? I mean seriously...

 

[CaptHomer]

So for those driving in another option could be going to MCO economy lot and paying $10 a day and taking MDE.

You are going to have to have a resort reservation to get on MDE. Your car is now at the airport so you are reliant on Disney transportation for your stay.

 

[Roy Disney]

What if you have a handicap pass, will Disney still charge you per day to stay at their hotels ?
You can park your car at any hotel, even with free valet, if you have a handicap pass.

 

[married2mm]

Good Neighbor hotels and the Four Seasons so far.

Thank you.
I didnot realise emh would be a perk from an offsite hotel..

If no car parking charges or resort charges -they are becoming more appealing be the minute.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I see families changing their vacation dollars, they will spend less on over priced food to pay for this park. They will spend less on parties and other hard ticket events. People only have so much money. I think people have a breaking point. I see some serious backlash over this.

Just last year, they were giving 20% AP discounts at many of their restaurants. I can tell you right now that if I were staying at a Disney resort with a car, I’d cut out a restaurant or two to pay for parking my car.

I also think it’s very disappointing that they cut pool hours at the resort. Half the fun of staying at a Disney resort for my family was swimming after being in the parks all day.

 

[gratefulfred]

You are going to have to have a resort reservation to get on MDE. Your car is now at the airport so you are reliant on Disney transportation for your stay.

sounds good, Disney will have to pay for more mde buses and for more of them around the parks

 

[Scrapdolly]

Disappointed to read this. My experience in moderates is there are always loads of spaces, I am not sure why they are adding the charge other than to make more money of course, their reason for existing. Will we also have to pay to park In The parks? From the uk we come for 2 weeks so that is an additional $200+ on something that doesn't need to be charged for. What about the fact I am not using Magical Express .. Do I get a refund on that to offset my parking? I choose not to use the buses ... Do I get a refund on that please as it is included in my resort package. I use my own car and pay for the gas etc so I'd like the fact I free up bus spaces and charges taken into consideration. I love Disney and will continue he to visit but I think this will be our last stay in the beautiful but overpriced Disney resort hotels.
Staying at Disney was about the magical experience which over the thirty years we have been visiting has diminished over and over.

If they really need the money I am sorry but a small percentage increase in room rates for all would have caused less anger than highlighting nefarious charges

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

What if you have a handicap pass, will Disney still charge you per day to stay at their hotels ?
You can park your car at any hotel, even with free valet, if you have a handicap pass.

They say handicapped will still receive free self parking too

 

[JacknSally]

If they really need the money I am sorry but a small percentage increase in room rates for all would have caused less anger than highlighting nefarious charges

They're able to pocket more money by adding a fee than they would if they just increased room rates.

 

[Colleen27]

I keep reading this that Disney has plenty of parking. I know sometimes when we drive and stay at WL I have (not exaggerating) drove around the lot 30 minutes waiting for someone to leave so I could get a free parking spot. Had the same problem with YC. No problem at all at POR though. With that said I’m not defending the decisions just stating what I have experienced that some places have limited parking.

But what they're doing is just the opposite of a correction for that - instead of cracking down on people parking at the park-area resorts to eat and just leaving the car while they hit the parks, they're continuing to allow that practice while cracking down on guests who want a parking spot at the resort they're actually staying at.

Please ignore my ignorance-
However; I had no idea emh were available with offsite stays?!

So, you are able to book fp+ at 60 days and have emh perks?
Is this with all the disney springs linked good neighbor hotels?

We will definitely never stay onsite again if this is the case for such savings..

There are seven Disney Springs hotels plus Four Seasons that get the benefit. And I'm right there with you... the Doubletree looks quite nice for the price, and with an AP/TiW, the dining plan isn't enough of a perk to keep me on site. Especially not if I have a car.

If I were staying on site and there was ever a bus issue (took 30 minutes to arrive / not enough busses coming to fit everyone) I know I'd be firing off a complaint to guest services saying that if you're going to discourage people from transporting themselves, they sure as hell better make sure they're providing reliable and sufficient bus service. Every minute of my time I lost due to buses I'd be sure to ask Disney to grant back with Fastpasses. And I suspect the buses are going to get more overburdened with this change. That'll be fun.

Oh yeah. I've already e-mailed a bus complaint about our last trip. It isn't as though they're getting that service right at the moment with the number of people using it now. I can't imagine it will get better when guests are penalized for having a vehicle on property.

 

[nllmncsu]

I have a question. The hotels and tickets increase every year. Will this mean this will increase every year too?