Paid parking is coming to WDW resorts March 2018

[Rich M]

Free breakfast is something that is very common though location will matter in terms of the amenity.

Just take Hilton for example: there are 43 out of 66 of their branded hotels within a 20mile radius of the location used of Walt Disney World. Embassy Suites, Hampton, Homewood Suites, Home2Suites are ones. In terms of Hilton's hierachy Embassy is Upper Upscale, Homewood Suites is considered Upscale, Hampton as well as Home2Suites is midscale/select.

I suppose it would help if you listed what you consider high end hotels.

I am just talking in general. I have a travel baseball team and we stay at Best Westerns for the breakfast as you need that for 18 and Under boys but when I travel for myself I stay at Marriott and Doubletree type places. I do love Embassy Suites though with the breakfast and happy hour.

 

[UncleMike101]

$1 to $1million is a huge difference. I said “is it possible”. I never said that’s exactly what they are doing. It was just a thought.

I wasn't being critical of your post. Sorry if it came off that way.
The $1 to $1M reference was an analogy meant to point out the folly of trying to sell an overpriced item when more profit will be made by selling many more reasonably priced items.
Disney is currently pricing those in the median, (average) bracket out of their market by making a vacation at WDW a "million dollar pencil".

 

[mshanson3121]

I agree 100%. I'm in an unusual position that allows me to view WDW's marketing a little differently than the average guest:
1. FL resident, 100 miles away - virtually no travel costs to get there and back
2. Single parent of an only-child who isn't involved in sports, etc. - with only two of us and little to no expenses for extracurricular activities, I can devote more of my discretionary funds to WDW than the average family
3. Income below average annual wage - I'm perfectly aware that I'm not who WDW markets to

Nothing WDW has done in recent years works for me and my needs. We've been priced out of the Halloween parties, I won't pay for special fireworks viewing or extra park hours, TIW is no longer affordable relative to our annual food/drink purchases, FL APs have new tiers and blackout dates along with higher prices. We still go to WDW because I can cut back on food expenditures to cover the higher AP rates, and I can stay offsite to mitigate increased resort costs - including the new parking fees - and we just don't do the other things that cost extra. And, to be clear, I don't feel like we're "missing out" in any way. We do WDW our way and it's all cool.

But watching how WDW markets and targets consumers over the past 20 years has been really interesting, and it's been particularly intriguing to see how effective it is. Often, when a new pay-to-play ploy comes out, I think to myself "Who on earth would pay extra for that?!" And then I visit the DIS or some of my Disney-centric FB groups and sure enough - loads of folks in a higher income bracket than mine are excited to pay for the hot new thing! I think WDW knows exactly what they're doing and, so far, it's working. I truly do not think the new parking fees will hurt WDW's bottom line at all.

I agree 100% with you It makes me wonder what Disney would have to do, or how high the prices will have to go, how far back they'll have to cut service etc.... before it might start swinging the other way? What *is* the threshold? Is the top 30% enough to keep Disney going?

 

[Scifidiner]

In 2017 we visited WDW twice, this is very unusual for us. The last time we went was 2013, before that was 2008. We go on average every 3-5 years, depending where else we want to vacation. We love WDW but we enjoy other vacation destinations, in the past it has had less to do with cost more with choice. So last year we went in January we spent the entire week in the Disney "bubble". Once I parked the car on Sunday night I didn't move it until the next Friday. All of our money was spent in Disney. In December we went back for a dog show and because of logistics and a lot of other reasons we stayed off site. We went to AK one day, Epcot one day and Disney Springs once. We also went to US for 2 days and City walk one day. We spent exactly the same amount of time in both places. Now granted we had just been to WDW 11 months before.
My point is this, if we stay at WDW we go back and forth from parks, the resorts and DS. We never leave WDW property. The next time we visit there is an 85-90% chance we'll stay off property. That means we will be visiting US, SW, Citywalk, and restaurants like Delmonico's off WDW property. We will go to WDW parks 2-3 days and DS once. We'll spend about $2,000.00 or more (guestimate) at places other than Disney. We will have a great time because we love those other place and it will provide much more variety. That means we will spend around $1,000.00 at WDW, whereas if we stayed on property we would drop $3,500.00-4,000.00 in a week. Instead of losing $150.00 for not charging a parking fee they will lose 25 times that amount. Will there be someone else that will fill my spot? Maybe. But it won't be MY money. We can afford the parking fee. But that's not the point. Not anymore.

 

[HopperFan]

To name a few:
Hilton brands: Hampton, Homewood Suites, Embassy Suites.
Marriott brands: Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Springhill Suites, TownPlace Suites.
IHG: Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites.

"High end hotels" is somewhat subjective in this context. I don't know if I would refer to Disney's hotels that way. In any case, the above listed hotels are comparable to Disney's quality.

The above hotels also provide a loyalty program with reward points - an industry standard. Even the hotels that DON'T provide free breakfast will have a loyalty program. Well, I mean, the NON-Disney hotels will....

And sometimes depending on your loyalty level you may get breakfast and concierge lounge for free.

We get free breakfasts at all levels of Hilton; Doubletree, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton ... and the ones with a concierge/lounges we can get some very nice eats and drinks all day long.

Hilton Bonnet Creek and Hilton Orlando, we can stay for less than a Disney moderate. The pools are MUCH nicer with lazy rivers, there are more recreational & sports activities, more restaurants/lounges, fitness center .....

BUT yes there are many hotels that offer breakfast that are as nice or nicer than a Disney hotel room. As Hilton folks, the Embassy Suites is our favorite! Breakfasts best we've ever had, we grab an apple for the backpack on the way out the door and will only need one other meal that day.

 

[Sophie_inBflo]

So I dropped out of this thread for a bit because my anger level had subsided a bit... until today! I unthinkingly added an extra night at a value for our arrival day--- it was going to be about $20 more than the Holiday Inn express down the way, but that was OK with me... then I got to the final screen after payment where they reminded me about the parking charge, basically a 10% increase over the nighttime charge. I got to have the satisfaction of getting on chat and telling them that I am now cancelling that room. I know that someone else will probably just book it and not care, but at least I got to vent! (I did give the CM an excellent rating, because this sure isn't his fault! But I also asked him to pass my complaint onto a supervisor.)

 

[Rich M]

I agree with everyone about nicer hotels with more space outside of Disney and it sure is making me thing about what I will do on my next visit. I guess the hard part for me is admitting that I am being taken for a ride and having to be out of the bubble. My first 3 visits were offsite and I hated getting kicked out of the park and hated taking the outside shuttles to the park. When I finally got to stay on property my first thought was I finally made it so its hard for me to give it up now but everyone makes such good arguments to stop doing so.

 

[TLM2015]

In 2017 we visited WDW twice, this is very unusual for us. The last time we went was 2013, before that was 2008. We go on average every 3-5 years, depending where else we want to vacation. We love WDW but we enjoy other vacation destinations, in the past it has had less to do with cost more with choice. So last year we went in January we spent the entire week in the Disney "bubble". Once I parked the car on Sunday night I didn't move it until the next Friday. All of our money was spent in Disney. In December we went back for a dog show and because of logistics and a lot of other reasons we stayed off site. We went to AK one day, Epcot one day and Disney Springs once. We also went to US for 2 days and City walk one day. We spent exactly the same amount of time in both places. Now granted we had just been to WDW 11 months before.
My point is this, if we stay at WDW we go back and forth from parks, the resorts and DS. We never leave WDW property. The next time we visit there is an 85-90% chance we'll stay off property. That means we will be visiting US, SW, Citywalk, and restaurants like Delmonico's off WDW property. We will go to WDW parks 2-3 days and DS once. We'll spend about $2,000.00 or more (guestimate) at places other than Disney. We will have a great time because we love those other place and it will provide much more variety. That means we will spend around $1,000.00 at WDW, whereas if we stayed on property we would drop $3,500.00-4,000.00 in a week. Instead of losing $150.00 for not charging a parking fee they will lose 25 times that amount. Will there be someone else that will fill my spot? Maybe. But it won't be MY money. We can afford the parking fee. But that's not the point. Not anymore.

This is what I'm wondering if Disney is factoring in, i.e. ppl leaving the bubble and spending less. Eventually, maybe it will take years, but if they erode their brand by moving towards being like everyone else, there won't always be the other customer to take lost loyal customer's place. I know I cancelled my reservation for this summer even though we would have been grandfathered in.

Earlier someone asked about factoring in the theme park parking and for me if I stayed off site at a comparable hotel (value level type) to Pop (which is where I was booked) I would probably about break even, with the current discount level that Disney is offering for the summer (20%) but I would come out ahead because of the loyalty points if I stayed at a place that I regularly go to, like the Hyatt, and value level hotels and even midscale places, offer breakfast, larger rooms, and honestly nicer accommodations. I have stayed at BC through a deal from a travel agency and it was nice and I liked the ambiance but even with the deal I didn't feel it was worth it based on the level that it felt it was at and I've read other comments to that effect from non repeat Disney goers who were disappointed for the price point they paid and probably the hype. Not that rack rate or even discounted rate of the values is up to their price point but it being cheaper I could justify it. Most of the time, all my money is spent at Disney. Even though this time we were going to leave the bubble and do other things, we still would have spent most of our time inside the bubble and spent our money there on food, souvenirs, at DS etc. But this time aside from tickets and theme park parking and maybe the occasional meal, they are pretty much not getting any other money. That's probably 3k or so less than what I spend the other times I went.

Hopefully some at Disney is actually looking at those numbers regarding repeat visitors changing their spending or going elsewhere instead of staying on site but I doubt it. Until there is a recession or they make less money.

 

[Sophie_inBflo]

...
Hopefully some at Disney is actually looking at those numbers regarding repeat visitors changing their spending or going elsewhere instead of staying on site but I doubt it. Until there is a recession or they make less money.

I know we are a drop in the bucket to their bottom line, but we always add 1-3 nights onto our (DVC) trip at a moderate or value. In addition to "losing" those nights, they're losing our breakfasts, evening lounge visits, etc.

 

[Arielfan98]

This is what I'm wondering if Disney is factoring in, i.e. ppl leaving the bubble and spending less. Eventually, maybe it will take years, but if they erode their brand by moving towards being like everyone else, there won't always be the other customer to take lost loyal customer's place. I know I cancelled my reservation for this summer even though we would have been grandfathered in.

Earlier someone asked about factoring in the theme park parking and for me if I stayed off site at a comparable hotel (value level type) to Pop (which is where I was booked) I would probably about break even, with the current discount level that Disney is offering for the summer (20%) but I would come out ahead because of the loyalty points if I stayed at a place that I regularly go to, like the Hyatt, and value level hotels and even midscale places, offer breakfast, larger rooms, and honestly nicer accommodations. I have stayed at BC through a deal from a travel agency and it was nice and I liked the ambiance but even with the deal I didn't feel it was worth it based on the level that it felt it was at and I've read other comments to that effect from non repeat Disney goers who were disappointed for the price point they paid and probably the hype. Not that rack rate or even discounted rate of the values is up to their price point but it being cheaper I could justify it. Most of the time, all my money is spent at Disney. Even though this time we were going to leave the bubble and do other things, we still would have spent most of our time inside the bubble and spent our money there on food, souvenirs, at DS etc. But this time aside from tickets and theme park parking and maybe the occasional meal, they are pretty much not getting any other money. That's probably 3k or so less than what I spend the other times I went.

Hopefully some at Disney is actually looking at those numbers regarding repeat visitors changing their spending or going elsewhere instead of staying on site but I doubt it. Until there is a recession or they make less money.

Yes, this is what I was thinking. People have suggested this new parking fee will keep people in the Disney bubble, but I think it will keep people out. My family will not stay as much or stay off-site now. We will not compromise renting a car. I have also speculated how this change will affect Disney long-term. Short-term I'm sure they will be fine and not notice much difference. But I am curious as to how well they will do if Disney fans continue to make plans to stay off-site/not visit as much.

 

[Scifidiner]

I feel like Disney has zero loyalty to fans like us. In return this does not engender a great deal of loyalty from me. In a weird way it's sort of liberating, it frees us up to have other experiences in Orlando. Honestly in the past decade we have enjoyed US and SW as much (maybe more) as WDW. My approach will be to visit only certain parts of WDW when I feel like it. 30 years ago had you told me that this would be our plan I would call you nuts. Funny how things change.
Kinda sad.

 

[Simba's Mom]

The FAQ for AP holders has a question that asks if AP holders get free parking at resorts and the answer says that AP holders get complimentary parking while enjoying select dining and shopping experiences at the resorts. It says that overnight guests must pay the fee for reservations booked after March 21st. I just checked the FAQs after seeing your post.

So yes, free parking if a day guest. No free parking if an overnight guest.

If you read carefully, it doesn't say that all day guests get free parking, but those enjoying SELECT dining and shopping experiences do. That word "Select" makes me nervous. Does that mean we can get free parking only if we show evidence of having spent, say, $50-$100 or more?

 

[jade1]

So I dropped out of this thread for a bit because my anger level had subsided a bit... until today! I unthinkingly added an extra night at a value for our arrival day--- it was going to be about $20 more than the Holiday Inn express down the way, but that was OK with me... then I got to the final screen after payment where they reminded me about the parking charge, basically a 10% increase over the nighttime charge. I got to have the satisfaction of getting on chat and telling them that I am now cancelling that room. I know that someone else will probably just book it and not care, but at least I got to vent! (I did give the CM an excellent rating, because this sure isn't his fault! But I also asked him to pass my complaint onto a supervisor.)

Hmm, so everybody could go online and set up a vacation, get to the last screen-then do a "chat" and cancel because of the surprise parking charge.

That might draw some attention.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

If you read carefully, it doesn't say that all day guests get free parking, but those enjoying SELECT dining and shopping experiences do. That word "Select" makes me nervous. Does that mean we can get free parking only if we show evidence of having spent, say, $50-$100 or more?

Disney often uses that exact word- “select”- to mean “all.” For example, they say that guests staying at “select resorts” get access to EMH. We all know that “select” in that case means all Disney resorts.

Sometimes it does mean “select,” and sometimes it does mean “all.” That does make it confusing. I think that they use that terminology for legal reasons and so they can change their minds at a moment’s notice. Right now, it seems they intend that all “day guests” can park for free, regardless of what they are doing. But that could easily change.

If they really mean “select,” it would be nice to know prior to arriving just which dining and shopping experiences they mean.

 

[Rjw615]

What about renting DVC points? Are you charged?

I tried searching this thread but couldn't find an answer.

 

[mom2rtk]

Disney offen uses that exact word- “select”- to mean “all.” For example, they say that guests staying at “select resorts” get access to EMH. We all know that “select” in that case means all Disney resorts.

Sometimes it does mean “select,” and sometimes it does mean “all.” That does make it confusing. I think that they use that terminology for legal reasons and so they can change their minds at a moment’s notice. Right now, it seems they intend that all “day guests” can park for free, regardless of what they are doing. But that could easily change.

If they really mean “select,” it would be nice to know prior to arriving just which dining and shopping experiences they mean.

I take it to mean all....... until they change their minds.

 

[Turn the Page]

I would just like to point out that some people seem to think flying is a luxury they can't afford so they have to drive. In our case, driving is a luxury we can't really work with so we have to fly.

If we drove to WDW it would cost us probably about $500 in fuel round trip but it would take us 24 hours each way and that is driving straight through without stopping for anything but gas and bathroom breaks the entire way. That means in order to make the trip worth it we need to stay for longer than a week which isn't feasible with DH's work schedule right now. So we have to fly. And that costs us around $1200 which may very well require 10 hours in the car and $70+ in parking fees on top of the $1200 in airfare.

Even with the parking fee it would be cheaper to drive to WDW than fly but we don't really have that luxury. There are pros and cons both ways.

 

[jade1]

I would just like to point out that some people seem to think flying is a luxury they can't afford so they have to drive. In our case, driving is a luxury we can't really work with so we have to fly.

If we drove to WDW it would cost us probably about $500 in fuel round trip but it would take us 24 hours each way and that is driving straight through without stopping for anything but gas and bathroom breaks the entire way. That means in order to make the trip worth it we need to stay for longer than a week which isn't feasible with DH's work schedule right now. So we have to fly. And that costs us around $1200 which may very well require 10 hours in the car and $70+ in parking fees on top of the $1200 in airfare.

Even with the parking fee it would be cheaper to drive to WDW than fly but we don't really have that luxury. There are pros and cons both ways.

Yea folks have many different factors.

Ours is similar actually. But flying wasn't a luxury-more like insane not to.

We did roughly 10 trips last year and 10 more this year, almost all were $29 one ways ($9 plus tax) some $39, on either Frontier or Spirit.

We did rent a car a few times depending on what we were doing though.

 

[Sophie_inBflo]

I would just like to point out that some people seem to think flying is a luxury they can't afford so they have to drive. In our case, driving is a luxury we can't really work with so we have to fly.

If we drove to WDW it would cost us probably about $500 in fuel round trip but it would take us 24 hours each way and that is driving straight through without stopping for anything but gas and bathroom breaks the entire way. That means in order to make the trip worth it we need to stay for longer than a week which isn't feasible with DH's work schedule right now. So we have to fly. And that costs us around $1200 which may very well require 10 hours in the car and $70+ in parking fees on top of the $1200 in airfare.

Even with the parking fee it would be cheaper to drive to WDW than fly but we don't really have that luxury. There are pros and cons both ways.

We have to do a hybrid of both... My husband had several bad flying experiences a few years ago, so he starts having panic attacks as soon as I book a flight, so it's not even anything that xanax can help. So he drives the 18 hours to Orlando, while daughter and I fly for the same scheduling reasons you have.

 

[beer dave]

Wasn't it just last year (might have been two years ago) when they had the "Disney is more affordable than you think" and "we can afford this" ads?

I think it was more like 8 years ago-- My daughter was an extra in those...