Paid parking is coming to WDW resorts March 2018

[Sue M]

I could see them doing it. Guests at the three DLR hotels are required to pay for parking if they have a vehicle.

Disneyland is plop in the middle of a city. They don’t have the room WDW has. I can understand DL doing this, but not WDW.

 

[MommyinHonduras]

Do the good neighbor hotels that now get the 60 day fast passes all charge resort fees and parking? might be time to look at those

all 7 have parking fees. 6 also have resort fees, Doubletree does not. But since they have loyalty programs and places like Mousesavers offer deals as mentioned, there are ways to get around them if that is worth seeking out to the person booking.

 

[buzznina]

They have been charging resort guests for parking at the Disneyland resort hotels for years now. I'm surprised WDW has taken so long, to be honest. Not that I like it; I think it's super stingy.

Disneyland hotels charge $20/night I think. Valet is $30/day for resort guests. Non guests can only park for free for 3 hours with validation from a TS restaurant. Non guests using valet are charged $30 for the first hour, $10 per additional hour.

True, but DL has a parking lot shortage. When we stayed there we had to drive around a bit to find a spot and then their spots are very narrow to try and maximize the parking lot. Where as most WDW resorts have ample parking spaces, especially Mods and values. Just another $$ grabbing tactic by WDW

 

[Monykalyn]

Do the good neighbor hotels that now get the 60 day fast passes all charge resort fees and parking? might be time to look at those

all 7 have parking fees. 6 also have resort fees, Doubletree does not. But since they have loyalty programs and places like Mousesavers offer deals as mentioned, there are ways to get around them if that is worth seeking out to the person booking.

And sometimes there is a deal booking with disneyspringshotels.com that will wave fees or give upgraded rooms as well.
Stayed at both Doubletree and B Resort with waived fees (at BResort think it was parking and I still payed resort fee, but got poolside room for great price.) Really liked both of them, but we didn't use any amenities so can't comment on that.

 

[JungleCruiseFan]

I didn't read all through the thread but this could be a game changer for us. Very disappointed. We almost always drive as we have family in Florida and spend some time outside of Disney.
We stay on site from 2-3 weeks. Even "just" a $20 a day parking fee would be a huge charge for us. We have never had problems finding a space although we don't stay on the monorail line. We have parked at Saratoga, Caribbean, Coronado, Pop and All Stars. We have driven to dinners or shows at Poly and Wilderness multiple times and have never had trouble getting a spot. Always in the middle of the summer "busy" season too. This summer we are planning on staying at the Poly for the first time.
Seems like a cheap shot from Disney when they clearly have the room for parking.

 

[DizneyMommy]

DLR is not even in the same realm as WDW as far as parking. You cannot compare the two. DLR has a parking shortage and, being smack in the middle of a very densely populated area, a large volume of locals that will come to DTD and the parks for a couple of hours at night or after school. If they didn’t charge for parking the lots would be packed with locals trying to avoid paying for the garage. The parking lots for the hotels are more convenient than parking in the garage and using the tram to the park for some people and at some times of day. I don’t see why someone would park at a value resort and have to hassle with the bus to save a few dollars.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I am supposed to regret not going to a Disney resort. By the silly things that Disney resorts is doing. I am not regretting it one bit

 

[Airb330]

I thought DVC gets 2 cars at no charge?

That said, I think the hard ticket events are much easier owning DVC.

Almost embarrassed our Platinum Plus AP was $505 tax included, and Deluxe rooms under $100 a night in dues, as well as more and more choices of DVC Resorts.

My guess is Riviera will be open to DVC as well, another to try-and with the gondola. Can't wait.

Yeah I don’t think it will affect DVC. I just mean in general I (and other DVC owners on the disboards) feel Disney has prioritized once in a lifetime trips or those with wealth over those of us who travel multiple times a year which are typically AP holders, DVC owners and disboards members.

 

[XXRAINMANX]

Screamscape and WDWMagic are reporting Disney could roll out paid parking at its resorts in the coming weeks. No word on exact pricing possible yet.

While I'm probably in the minority I think this makes perfect sense. Here's why.

More people are taking advantage of low cost car rentals to drive to WDW from the airport. This means more people using the road network that is heavily used for bus travel. This means longer times for buses to get from point A to B, additional wear and tear on the roads, and the necessity to build more lanes and more parking at the parks. The hotels are designed to keep guests on site and going to the parks. It's a money machine guests staying in Disney Hotels eating Disney food, buying Disney merchandise, going to Disney parks. Reality, guests now see Universal as an appealing place to visit in addition to Disney parks. If guests are driving to Universal they aren't staying on property and Disney is sees that as lost revenue, longer stays at the hotels meaning less people that can book them which leads to higher prices because demand is higher, this is seen as a negative to guests trying to book hotels etc. Also, this puts wear and tear on the roads and requires etc. Those are investments are zero income generating. Plus take into account nonguests lying about the reason they are at a hotel to take advantage of proximity to a desired place and it all makes sense to me.

To break it down.

More cars means:

1.more parking needed that doesn't generate income.

2. More maintenance on the roads.
3. Necessity for more lanes on the roads.
4. Longer travel delays on property for buses and cars alike.
5. More strain on existing nonvehicle transportation.
6. More employees needed to patrol parking and working parking lots.
7. Lost income due to traveling outside of WDW.
8. More hotel books driving up prices and putting people off going to Disney.
9. People "going to eat at X restaurant" but instead are going to park closer to desired park without having to deal with the end of day traffic etc.
10. Eliminate nonguests from using hotel pools.

None of us like that we're headed in this direction and many see it as another money grab, but given that all of the above are common occurrences that negatively affect Disney's income I see this as one of it's limited options in trying to combat the problems it's facing and get people think twice about taking advantage of the company.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I always thought parking was a loss leader for Disney https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader. If its not they really need to 'fix' the busses. Brisbanes are easier to use only just though

 

[Tksolomom]

I don't know. I am sure someone more experienced with Disneyland could help with that question.

I think it is 50 at one store for 3 hours of parking.

 

[Rich M]

If I remember Disneyland eliminated the Southern California Annual pass as they continue to discourage locals that are congesting the parks. Is Disney World possible doing the same and raising prices for this purpose or maybe like another poster said they are trying to get everyone to not leave and stay on property via air travel.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I think it is 50 at one store for 3 hours of parking.

DTD is currently 3 hours free with $20 spent in a store or quick service or 5 hours with select table service dining or a movie

Hotel lots are 3 hours free with select table service dining.

 

[Rich M]

Something tells me that Uber and Lyft drivers are going to become in high demand at the world and people can make some good money driving in a small distance around the world.

 

[Planogirl]

If they are trying to get people to stay onsite then why did they give more benefits to the good neighbor hotels? It doesn't add up.

People predicted this some time ago. I'm impressed but I think that I'll stick to offsite.

 

[DizneyMommy]

If I remember Disneyland eliminated the Southern California Annual pass as they continue to discourage locals that are congesting the parks. Is Disney World possible doing the same and raising prices for this purpose or maybe like another poster said they are trying to get everyone to not leave and stay on property via air travel.

Not exactly. There were 2 SoCal passes, they just eliminated one of them. I thought the two SoCal levels were confusing, their names were too similar.

 

[DisFanDad]

Oh they're not just pushing away those with smaller wallets. They're pushing those with the money to spend away as well. I'm willing to spend a premium but only for a premium experience which Disney World I'm sorry is no longer providing. I sold my DVC contract at BLT several years ago in anticipation of Disney's new priority towards those who are addicted without limits and will spend without adequate compensation. Charging for things they didn't in the past does not provide more benefit for increased cost. Theres a line between just raising the price beyond the average consumer but providing exemplary service thus justifying the cost vs just raising the cost without an experience which justifies the increase.

I can't even park my Tesla at ANY of the onsite resorts and plug in because Disney claims there is "no demand for electric vehicle charging at resorts". Universal has chargers, Chargepoint managed to get approval from Disney for a handful of points at Epcot, AK, TTC and the DS garages but only a handful and most are always occupied. Will maintenance let me borrow the plug they use to charge their golf carts? Sometimes but not often enough for me to rely on it. What exactly am I getting for this new premium expense?

Great post. We generally feel the same, we aren't in the Tesla owning category (i am jealous, and I ran the numbers on the model 3, it would make sense for us, but needed a new car THIS year, not in 2 years), anyway, we have enough money to afford these trips, but its starting to turn us off too, even though we just bought DVC a couple years ago (resale, before they excluded us from member perks). Now, we are likely going to keep going for the next several years ... 5 - 10, we have a 1.5 year old, the reason we bought DVC. But, we used to talk about how this was our 42 year plan (how long our DVC contract was). To do a Disney trip each year for the rest of our lives, we LOVE it, honeymooned there, everything. But now, now we talk about getting another 10 years out of the contract and then selling it off at a crazy profit because even ticket / merch / dues / add-ons (that they keep adding) are going to price us out. Not that we -couldn't- pay it ... but that the value wont be there.

I mean, there is a lot of stuff coming online in the next 4 - 5 years, but over the last 6 - 8 years ... the product has gone downhill significantly, and the price has gone up extraordinarily. The prices are nearly double to what we paid for trips 6 or 7 years ago, the product is arguably worse (though there are some bright spots), but lets say its gotten marginally better ... the price is DOUBLE. Anyway ... this is a bit ranting, just to say I agree, we are troubled by the trajectory, and at some point if they continue like this they are going to push us away too.

As an aside, the real question will be what happens during the next economic downturn (and its coming, its due already really). If they push away some of the diehards, if they appeal to a slimmer portion of the market, and then things go awry .... its going to get real lean really fast.

 

[DisFanDad]

I find from reading here and elsewhere that there are quite a number of people who don't mind this approach though, although I don't actually believe that is what is happening.

For us it just means spacing out our trips even more so we can afford to stay where we want - which for us is on-site Epcot Resort area. We like to travel other places, so all of our vacation budget can't go to WDW - now we have to save an extra couple months to pay the increases. Which we will do until we don't want to, but for now Disney is still one of my favorite places to visit.

Iger has said this is their exact approach in several of the last quarterly investor calls. This is exactly what is happening.

 

[dina444444]

Not exactly. There were 2 SoCal passes, they just eliminated one of them. I thought the two SoCal levels were confusing, their names were too similar.

And they only eliminated the SoCal pass for new purchases. You can renew to it. The other pass is called SoCal Select.

 

[Krandor]

$34 a day is ridiculous. Swan/Dolphin is $20. It really discourages people within driving distance.

That is me. If I have to tack on 34/day go park I’d reconsider going even with as much as I like my rundisney races.