Paid parking is coming to WDW resorts March 2018

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

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.

Well no to many flying is a luxury..and it's not something they can afford due to either how many people or the airline ticket prices or both.

But what you're describing is different. There is feasibility of time off from work and time it takes to drive.

It would take 18+ hours to drive where I'm at. It would mean 2 days to get there and 2 days to get back or 4 days out of vacation just used driving to our destination. Financially speaking it would be cheaper to drive and with jobs it's just taking PTO time (for someone who wouldn't get paid for the days off that becomes a factor in can they afford viewpoint). But with my time I value flying,at the present moment, more than I would saving the $$$--it's a 2hr 45min non-stop flight. I don't have children so I've never flown with my own children so I can't say never to driving.

 

[Arielfan98]

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.

I'm in the same situation. It's especially sad for me because I haven't had a chance to live my fullest Disney life. I just turned 21, but I'm still in college and a dependent. I didn't even get the chance to have 1 Disney vacation I paid for. All those personal dreams of having my Disneymoon, first adult only trip, trip with my family are quickly changing and it's really disappointing. I do stand by my previous response to say I won't be going as much or staying off-site. Just sad.

 

[bluecastle]

I hope it's OK to ask this here, but when people mention the tiering that is coming in the fall, are they talking about different ticket prices for different times of year?

Arielfan98: it made me so sad to read your post. Don't lose hope!! The way I've managed to not be totally deflated by the loss of how we've always done WDW is to challenge myself to look for alternative ways to make it work for me. No, I will no longer be in the bubble and believe me, I have always declared that I will NEVER stay offsite. But now, with a little time to live with this new reality, I am thinking about ways to give up the big bubble and just seek out small magical moments in the future. I am researching options at Universal hotels and thinking of planning either a split trip or using Uni as our home base and taking day trips to WDW. I am also thinking that we will just wait more years between trips. The one thing I am not willing to do, yet, is to say we will never return. I may be angry at them and far less willing to fork over humongous amounts of money to them, but I am not ready to never see the castle again.

 

[mshanson3121]

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.

This would be similar to us, except we have the luxury of time, since my husband has his summers off. We are 28 hours away (driving time). We took 3 days each way. Our total for the trip down/back in 2015 including gas, hotels, meals etc... was $800 US. Granted, we didn't know about Frontier at the time, but we did price Allegiant, Southwest, Jet Blue etc... and the cheapest we could have flown was $1200 round trip. Then we had to add on another $120 in gas to get to/from the airport, another $300 for a car rental, and another $120 for a hotel for the night before our flight (since the flight out was at 7 am). So, total trip would have been $1740. Over double our cost to drive. So, it was no contest since we had the luxury of time. If we hadn't had the luxury of time, we just wouldn't have gone.

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.

My husband is also terrified of flying. When we initially started planning our 2015 trip, he was willing to, but not anymore. *If* we go again (and that is one heck of a mighty big if), we will probably do something similar: we'll all drive down together, but the kids and I will fly home. None of us minded the drive down at all, the drive home.... not as pleasant.

I hope it's OK to ask this here, but when people mention the tiering that is coming in the fall, are they talking about different ticket prices for different times of year?

Not talking, they've already decided and it's been announced by Iger. Yes, they will be doing different ticket prices for different times of the years, on the multi-day tickets, by end of year, is what they stated. It will more than likely cause a significant price increase for those who have to travel during peak pricing times.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

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.

It’s not just about park and resort revenue, either. I hope they are factoring that in.

Loyal Disney fans spend a lot of money on merchandise. I have the Shop Parks app on my phone and in the last several years, I’ve spent (insert insane dollar amount that would make my husband’s eyes pop) on Disney Dooneys, clothing, and housewares. When this parking fee fiasco came about, I decided not to buy anything else for a while. Had my eyes on three dresses and two Dooneys and planned to purchase them through the app. I’m not going to do that now.

As a previous poster said, this just feels like a finger in the eye. This really could affect the Disney brand- not just the resorts.

 

[fla4fun]

One of my coworkers, who lives in Four Corners, has offered to drop me off on her way home and pick me up when I check out, since she drives right by Disney anyway. I can leave my car at work where there is no charge for parking. I thought that was very generous, since even though she isn’t into Disney like I am, she feels strongly enough about the principle of the thing that she wants to do her part to help out.

I can see WDW from my house. There is no way I could fly to Disney. I don’t feel it’s fair that I am subsidizing DME in my room rate, just like those who use DME say they shouldn’t have to subsidize complimentary parking. I do wonder how many people will be singing a different tune when they start charging for DME.

And just when you think it couldn’t get worse, I saw a hotel listing (not Disney) that has a resort fee, and housekeeping is one of the “perks” the fee covers . . .

 

[ShadeDK]

In the interest of avoiding confusion, they really should remove the “Free Parking” space on Monopoly - Disney Theme Parks Edition. For added realism, maybe they could revise the instructions to require any players landing on the space instead to pay money into the Community Chest - where the amount paid increases depending on whether the player has hotels on the value “Baltic Avenue” properties, moderate “Marvin Gardens” properties, or deluxe “Boardwalk” properties.

I have to agree with some of the PPs that have noted the double-dip for guests that fly-in and get rental cars. I already pay anywhere from $75 to $150 in airport parking fees for most trips - can’t imagine getting a rental in Orlando now and doubling that amount with resort parking fees, too. I have the benefit of living within driving distance (assuming I want to drive 12 hours each way) - but the parking fees just make that even less convenient or worthwhile than it already was.

 

[Arielfan98]

I hope it's OK to ask this here, but when people mention the tiering that is coming in the fall, are they talking about different ticket prices for different times of year?

Arielfan98: it made me so sad to read your post. Don't lose hope!! The way I've managed to not be totally deflated by the loss of how we've always done WDW is to challenge myself to look for alternative ways to make it work for me. No, I will no longer be in the bubble and believe me, I have always declared that I will NEVER stay offsite. But now, with a little time to live with this new reality, I am thinking about ways to give up the big bubble and just seek out small magical moments in the future. I am researching options at Universal hotels and thinking of planning either a split trip or using Uni as our home base and taking day trips to WDW. I am also thinking that we will just wait more years between trips. The one thing I am not willing to do, yet, is to say we will never return. I may be angry at them and far less willing to fork over humongous amounts of money to them, but I am not ready to never see the castle again.

Thanks for your thoughts @bluecastle I genuinely appreciate it considering I know I shouldn't be taking this personally. I will definitely try to see the bright side of this. My current partner has only been to WDW once when he was a toddler and barely recalls it, so needless to say he is not a huge Disney fan like me. I plan on taking this to my advantage and starting our new Florida vacation traditions perhaps doing what you said and giving Universal a whirl and just doing Disney day trips.

 

[Rich M]

Thanks for your thoughts @bluecastle I genuinely appreciate it considering I know I shouldn't be taking this personally. I will definitely try to see the bright side of this. My current partner has only been to WDW once when he was a toddler and barely recalls it, so needless to say he is not a huge Disney fan like me. I plan on taking this to my advantage and starting our new Florida vacation traditions perhaps doing what you said and giving Universal a whirl and just doing Disney day trips.

I agree to not lose hope and also don't dismiss your dream. I know I will start lookin offsite now because I will be going with a large number of people in the future but I still might go a couple days and stay on property. Its just getting harder and harder to do the 10 days stays. The parking was a wake up call until I actually did some other calculations and then the parking wasn't so bad. The problem I am having justifying now is the $470 for 7 day park hopper tickets. That was mind blowing to me. I normally get a package and don't pay attention to the cost of tickets but I rented DVC this trip so bought tickets separate and I was in shock. With prices only going up from here I can see a 7 day ticket going to $700. I just don't know if I can justify that much longer.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

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".

It's all good. We all have opinions and we are all right and all wrong all of the time

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

In the interest of avoiding confusion, they really should remove the “Free Parking” space on Monopoly - Disney Theme Parks Edition. For added realism, maybe they could revise the instructions to require any players landing on the space instead to pay money into the Community Chest - where the amount paid increases depending on whether the player has hotels on the value “Baltic Avenue” properties, moderate “Marvin Gardens” properties, or deluxe “Boardwalk” properties.

I have to agree with some of the PPs that have noted the double-dip for guests that fly-in and get rental cars. I already pay anywhere from $75 to $150 in airport parking fees for most trips - can’t imagine getting a rental in Orlando now and doubling that amount with resort parking fees, too. I have the benefit of living within driving distance (assuming I want to drive 12 hours each way) - but the parking fees just make that even less convenient or worthwhile than it already was.

View attachment 311850

WAIT! How did I miss that they have a Disney Parks Monopoly!?

I already have a special edition one that's about my alma mater but seriously tempting about Disney one.

 

[nco91590]

It’s not just about park and resort revenue, either. I hope they are factoring that in.

Loyal Disney fans spend a lot of money on merchandise. I have the Shop Parks app on my phone and in the last several years, I’ve spent (insert insane dollar amount that would make my husband’s eyes pop) on Disney Dooneys, clothing, and housewares. When this parking fee fiasco came about, I decided not to buy anything else for a while. Had my eyes on three dresses and two Dooneys and planned to purchase them through the app. I’m not going to do that now.

As a previous poster said, this just feels like a finger in the eye. This really could affect the Disney brand- not just the resorts.

People have such different spending habits at Disney. I go every 2-3 years and spend upwards of $3k during a 7-10 day trip on food and drinks. I never buy shirts or purses. But on the flip side, someone might buy a $150 Dooney and not spend more than $20 on food per day.

I’m just going to take a stab in the dark that someone who comes 1x/month spends less than a family that saved for a few years and buys ALL THE THINGS. Of course there are always exceptions, but I think Disney is trying to attract people who visit less and spend more.

They are willing to alienate long weekenders that can drive in and are so familiar with Orlando that they feel comfortable hopping in a car and driving off site. Just a hunch. Not saying that any guest is “better” than the other just maybe a rationale for their current business model.[/QUOTE]

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

People have such different spending habits at Disney. I go every 2-3 years and spend upwards of $3k during a 7-10 day trip on food and drinks. I never buy shirts or purses. But on the flip side, someone might buy a $150 Dooney and not spend more than $20 on food per day.

I’m just going to take a stab in the dark that someone who comes 1x/month spends less than a family that saved for a few years and buys ALL THE THINGS. Of course there are always exceptions, but I think Disney is trying to attract people who visit less and spend more.

They are willing to alienate long weekenders that can drive in and are so familiar with Orlando that they feel comfortable hopping in a car and driving off site. Just a hunch. Not saying that any guest is “better” than the other just maybe a rationale for their current business model.

[/QUOTE]
Certainly possible. They are doing things that suggest they are favoring those who visit less often. But I wonder if they are underestimating the business (as well as the referrals) they are getting from those who do visit often.

I’m sure they have statistics of spending on which they are basing decisions, but straight numbers rarely tell the full story.

 

[nco91590]

Certainly possible. They are doing things that suggest they are favoring those who visit less often. But I wonder if they are underestimating the business (as well as the referrals) they are getting from those who do visit often.

I’m sure they have statistics of spending on which they are basing decisions, but straight numbers rarely tell the full story.[/QUOTE]

Totally. But a body at the park is a body at the park at the end of the day. And if you’re there every week for an Instagram story and not spending $$ It doesn’t make sense to pay for all the staffing and take all the negative press for not being able to keep up with the crowds cleaning wise and wait time wise. They’re like “I don’t need to fill your room at Pop Century on Fri-Sun.” They need a Sun-Sun family of 4 who will spend 8k or more on tickets, DDP, Bibbity Bobbity, Memory Maker etc.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

It's all about our vacation budget for us. I have a max spending limit for our once a year trip of $15K which includes resort, food, shopping etc. We leave our car parked for the entire stay so we're looking at $270 for 10 nights. I'll just skip one California Grill dinner and it all equals out. We love disney and our girls and us parents are really excited about going to the new Toy Story Land this September! Next year we're doing Universal/Sea World just to avoid the SW:GE crowds and to give our girls a new vacation. But we will be back in 2020. Parking fees or not.

 

[nco91590]

I think people forget how much information is available online now vs 10 years ago about how to do Disney on a shoestring budget. And I admit that these websites and blogs are super helpful and with the crowds you need to have help to actually go on rides and eat at restaurants while you’re there. But Disney probably doesn’t want you to skimp and they aren’t going to make it easier for you to do so.

 

[SaharanTea]

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

It's certainly possible that there weren't any more recently. The latest I could find one posted on YouTube was 2009. I could have sworn I've seen a version of it since my kids were both here, but it's possible it was one someone posted to the board.

Either way, it seems Disney has taken a different mindset.

 

[TLM2015]

People have such different spending habits at Disney. I go every 2-3 years and spend upwards of $3k during a 7-10 day trip on food and drinks. I never buy shirts or purses. But on the flip side, someone might buy a $150 Dooney and not spend more than $20 on food per day.

I’m just going to take a stab in the dark that someone who comes 1x/month spends less than a family that saved for a few years and buys ALL THE THINGS. Of course there are always exceptions, but I think Disney is trying to attract people who visit less and spend more.

They are willing to alienate long weekenders that can drive in and are so familiar with Orlando that they feel comfortable hopping in a car and driving off site. Just a hunch. Not saying that any guest is “better” than the other just maybe a rationale for their current business model.

[/QUOTE]

I think that you are right about the direction as far as attracting the once in a lifetime person versus the longtime fans. It's already been mentioned but that is very short sighted in my opinion. If these once in a lifetime visitors are coming, shelling out a lot of money but don't find the parks up to standard for the amount of money spent, then they and their kids are not coming back. Eventually it's not sustainable because Disney's reputation starts to change and it stops being the vacation that you "have" to take your kids on. No company is immune to people moving on. Look at Sears or Toys R Us, they were once the standard too.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

I think that you are right about the direction as far as attracting the once in a lifetime person versus the longtime fans. It's already been mentioned but that is very short sighted in my opinion. If these once in a lifetime visitors are coming, shelling out a lot of money but don't find the parks up to standard for the amount of money spent, then they and their kids are not coming back. Eventually it's not sustainable because Disney's reputation starts to change and it stops being the vacation that you "have" to take your kids on. No company is immune to people moving on. Look at Sears or Toys R Us, they were once the standard too.[/QUOTE]
I've seen many comments regarding this subject on this thread. And I agree with you that their actions are short-sighted. Here's the thing though, they do not care! Iger has 1/2 a foot out the door, the only thing the current executives are protecting are their own bank accounts - not the company!

 

[mshanson3121]

People have such different spending habits at Disney. I go every 2-3 years and spend upwards of $3k during a 7-10 day trip on food and drinks. I never buy shirts or purses. But on the flip side, someone might buy a $150 Dooney and not spend more than $20 on food per day.

I’m just going to take a stab in the dark that someone who comes 1x/month spends less than a family that saved for a few years and buys ALL THE THINGS. Of course there are always exceptions, but I think Disney is trying to attract people who visit less and spend more.

They are willing to alienate long weekenders that can drive in and are so familiar with Orlando that they feel comfortable hopping in a car and driving off site. Just a hunch. Not saying that any guest is “better” than the other just maybe a rationale for their current business model.

[/QUOTE]

Haha, and then there's people like us, who struggled to afford the most basic of vacation in the first place, and spent relatively very little! Outside of splurging on CRT and BBB ($300), we spent a total of about $300 on souveniers over 7 days in park, and that was only because a grandparent gave each child $100. We are definitely not the people Disney wants. No wonder they're trying to price us out