Theme Park Parking Fee Increase Tomorrow (update in first post)

[Zeebs]

oh my word. Do lots of people do this? Is this why we could never find parking at DTD? Ok, honestly? I wouldn't mind if disney started charging parking at DTD so this stuff stops. If I'm spending the day or night shopping there I want to find a place to park. Ugh! I wonder if they will charge for the parking garage when it's done.

Can I just clear a few things up.

1. I suspect not many people do it because it saves you no money. Unlike previously when the buses use to run directly from DDT to the parks. Clearly people were doing it then to save the parking fee. Which is why the buses no longer go direct.

2. I have never done this but given we are at Disney for 14 thought it might be something different to do. It is not to save the parking fee, it is to just see the sights a bit, to then eat dinner in DTD, shop and head home from there.

3. I don't agree with the increase because I feel that putting the prices up while testing a glitchy system is wrong.

4. That said I will paid said parking fee because I want to visit the parks, it's like Christmas with the inlaws I don't want to but I have too.

The reason you can't find a park is because there aren't enough parks.

Kirsten.

 

[Mrsjvb]

They should just allow a shop or restaurant to validate your parking fee. If you're shopping, you can park free. If you're not, you have to pay.

hopefully if the rumors of the new parking garage being a pay venue are true this will also be implemented. In fact I would go one step further.. implement a local parking pass that can be obtained by FL /Orlando residents. prove you live in the area, get a free or discounted rate.

of course this wouldn't stop the truly cheap from parking anyway and buying a Ice cream cone at Ghiardelli although maybe they should put a time stamp.. anything less than say 2-3 hours with validation is free. more than that and you pay

 

[morethananyonex]

Weren't the park to DTD buses a test that was fairly short lived? Getting between the parks and DTD is not easy at all. Getting between resorts and DTD can even be a pain. I doubt there were too many people parking there and busing. That takes hours out of your day to save 15 (now 17) dollars.

 

[purple figment]

hopefully if the rumors of the new parking garage being a pay venue are true this will also be implemented. In fact I would go one step further.. implement a local parking pass that can be obtained by FL /Orlando residents. prove you live in the area, get a free or discounted rate.

of course this wouldn't stop the truly cheap from parking anyway and buying a Ice cream cone at Ghiardelli although maybe they should put a time stamp.. anything less than say 2-3 hours with validation is free. more than that and you pay

Maybe they'll have a system similar to DTD in Disneyland. It's 3 hours of free parking and an additional 2 hours if you dine at one of the TS restaurants or go to the movie theater for a maximum total of 5 hours free. After that it is $6 per hour, charged in 20 minute increments.

 

[rockiesfan]

Does the resort not give out the paper parking passes (for dashboard) anymore?

We had the dashboard pass but the CMs still checked our MB.

 

[MichelleVW]

We had the dashboard pass but the CMs still checked our MB.

Weird..we always just showed them the pass and they waves us on.

 

[Cinerama261]

Coincidentally that's the amount my extra night in POP costs for late May...

They always find a way to get that $ back

$136 for one night in a hotel room? I'm paying $199 for a week (5/17-24) at a 2 bedroom sleeps 8 timeshare just outside of Disney. RCI had a sale a few months ago. I am renting a car so thats about $200 a week plus parking $136.

 

[Love Tink]

$136 for one night in a hotel room? I'm paying $199 for a week (5/17-24) at a 2 bedroom sleeps 8 timeshare just outside of Disney. RCI had a sale a few months ago. I am renting a car so thats about $200 a week plus parking $136.

Whenever people post things like this I wonder why. Are you trying to impress everyone with the deal you got? Because, at least for me, my immediate reaction to the idea of staying in a place that sleeps 8 and costs $200 for a week is not, "Wow! I'm so jealous and impressed!"

 

[lugnut33]

It certainly would be nice if the parking lot tram service was improving as the price for parking keeps going up. Unfortunately, it is exactly the opposite. The tram system is completely broken and the service continues to decline every year.

It used to be the tram would pull up, give about 30 seconds to load, then take off. They would give a safety spiel on the way and then you'd get there. When one tram left, another would be there within a minute or two.

Now they often run only 1 or 2 trams in each parking lot. The trams sit at each stop for 5 to 10 minutes doing nothing. Then, the cast member at the back of the tram has to walk the entire length of the tram to make sure the doors are closed. Then they have to play a 45 second pre-recorded bi-lingual message. If anyone gets on the tram during this time, they have to play the same 45 second message again. It is absolutely absurd.

Just out of curiosity, I actually timed this whole process last week at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It was mid-afternoon when we were leaving and we were parked in the next to last row of the parking lot. My kids were very tired from vacation and asked to take the tram. We begrudgingly said yes. As we walked to the tram pickup, there was not a tram there and about 1/3 of the rows had people waiting. I pulled up the stopwatch on my phone and timed it:

7 minutes 47 seconds: Time it took for the tram to finally arrive (during which time the entire queue area completely filled up)

4 minutes 52 seconds: Time the tram sat there after arriving before they started the safety message, even though it took maybe 35 seconds for the tram to fill up from the queue

43 seconds: Time it took to play the safety message.

31 seconds: Time from when the safety message ended until the tram started moving

Total time from arriving at the tram station until the tram started moving:
13 minutes 53 seconds


This is just one instance of this occurring. It is very common these days. We often only take the tram at the Magic Kingdom because of this just because of how far it is to some of the lots.

They need to:
1. Run more trams
2. Do away with the ridiculous safety message
3. Keep the trams moving. Pull up, load, and go. Don't sit at each stop for 5 - 10 minutes.

They added the doors and safety spiel after that lady fell out of a tram and got a serious head injury (or died due to it, I don't totally remember).

Did you also know that you cannot jump on a tram has stopped and let passengers off in a parking lot? Example, we were walking to our car at DHS when the tram pulled up to let people out at the first stop. So we jumped on since we were in the second stop. They told us to get out or they would have to play the safety spiel again.

One thing that really grinds my gears about parking though, is if you get there late in the afternoon they really should allow people to go find the empty spots up front rather than parking everyone at the end of the lot.

 

[ucfknight]

They added the doors and safety spiel after that lady fell out of a tram and got a serious head injury (or died due to it, I don't totally remember).

I'm not sure of the incident you are referring to, but the doors they added keep people from falling out. The safety spiel needs to be cut down to about 5 seconds and not 45:
"Don't be an idiot. Stay seated while the tram is in motion"

 

[lugnut33]

I'm not sure of the incident you are referring to, but the doors they added keep people from falling out. The safety spiel needs to be cut down to about 5 seconds and not 45:
"Don't be an idiot. Stay seated while the tram is in motion"

I agree on the safety thingy.

Here's the lawsuit:

LOS ANGELES — A Chinese woman who fell out of a moving Disneyland tram and suffered serious injuries that left her needing 24-hour medical supervision for the rest of her life has reached a settlement in a lawsuit she filed against the Walt Disney Co.

Lawyers for Qi Zhao and Disney reached the agreement Tuesday, bringing a two-week trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court to an abrupt end.

Details of the accord were not released.

Zhao, 48, filed her suit in 2007, alleging the tram driver was going too fast. She was riding the tram with two sisters and a niece. According to the complaint, one of the sisters fell from the King tram as it moved toward a parking lot.

Reacting to the fall, the other two sisters also fell out. One suffered minor injuries and Zhao hit her head on the pavement, suffering severe traumatic brain injuries and skull fractures and was in a coma for three weeks.

Her husband, Zuchun Wang, became a plaintiff last October, alleging loss of consortium.

Zhao and her husband were born in China, but were living in Northern California when they visited the Anaheim theme park in February 2007.

Zhao is now being cared for in Beijing.

Disney contended the tram was not moving too fast and had a device limiting its top speed to 11 mph.

Company officials said in a statement they were pleased to have resolved the case and said safety is their top priority.

The settlement came just as attorneys had begun their closing arguments. The judge told jurors of the resolution and dismissed them.

Zhao's two sisters settled their claims against Disney before the trial.

 

[ucfknight]

I agree on the safety thingy.

Here's the lawsuit:

Happened at Disneyland... probably why I hadn't heard much about it here in the Orlando area.

Like I said, though, the trams had doors added to prevent careless people from harming themselves, and they now even go super-slow through any sharp turns. The safety message is about 9 times too long and is redundant.

Still, annoying as it is, the safety message and the cast member having to walk the entire length of the tram from front to back accounted for only about 3 minutes of the nearly 14 minutes I waited for a tram to arrive and finally leave the time I timed it and posted it earlier in this thread. That ridiculous length of time is about average these days.

 

[Stinasmom]

-- sorry I didn't read all 8 pages so not sure if this came up---

Can you use a Disney Gift Card (purchased from our local grocery store) to pay for parking at each park?

If so, I think I'll put just enough on one and leave it in the car. Won't feel the burn quite as much that way...

I hate that it keeps getting more expensive to park but we also stay at a 3 bedroom timeshare for a week that we traded for our 1 bedroom unit in Cabo.

Still worth it for us to pay it, have the flexibility of a car, and stay off site in a larger unit for 5 people.

We are taking a 7 night Fantasy cruise after our week at WDW the Mouse is certainly getting enough of our $$!

 

[Cinerama261]

Whenever people post things like this I wonder why. Are you trying to impress everyone with the deal you got? Because, at least for me, my immediate reaction to the idea of staying in a place that sleeps 8 and costs $200 for a week is not, "Wow! I'm so jealous and impressed!"

It could be "Maybe there are other options than a hotel room on Disney property".

You could buy a timeshare on eBay for like $1. Trade in that week at RCi and get a week at a DVC timeshare.

 

[hakepb]

It is $24 to park at the Navy Pier in Chicago. and most people are there a whole lot less time then they are at Mouse Town.

Plus that may not be the only thing you visit in a day (museums, etc) my last mini trip to Chicago made me realize how affordable DW seemed.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

UPDATE: The pricing increase did in fact go in effect today with a standard car, limo, or motorcycle costing the previously mentioned $17. RVs and trailers will be $18 and busses and tractor trailers will be $21. What I didn't predict was the $5 price increase in Disney Resort Hotel valet parking, which is now $20 (up from $15).

They had to increase the valet parking so it would still be more expensive than self parking at the parks, especially MK. Personally, I would still prefer to pay valet at the Contemporary for the convenience.

 

[MolonLabe]

I'm not understanding the comparison to parking in Chicago. Taxes account for a huge portion of those fees.

Growing up in Florida and moving to the Chicago area gives me the perspective of both views.

People from big northern cities are clueless about what is "normal" for the rest of the country, especially when it comes to parking.

You simply can't compare downtown Chicago or N.Y. to Florida. Not if you want anything beyond apples and oranges.

Two bucks a day won't change my plans in the least... but for families se eing increases all over the ' world', it does start to add up.

 

[MolonLabe]

oh and six flags is $20 but an AP is $89 and you can score free parking for the year when you buy an AP early. Not exactly a great comparison either.

 

[ucfknight]

I'm not understanding the comparison to parking in Chicago. Taxes account for a huge portion of those fees.

It isn't just taxes, it is the fact the land parking lots are built on in the downtown areas of major cities is very valuable. A parking lot has to make a lot of money for its owners to justify its existence. That, plus supply and demand.

 

[Lehuaann]

We had the dashboard pass but the CMs still checked our MB.

Interesting. Thank you for the response.