20 dollars for parking now...? Come on now...

[ols386]

Luxury by definition is something that you do not need to survive. Therefore vacations are a luxury. You do not have to visit WDW.

No, not a luxury for everyone.

 

[maxiesmom]

No, not a luxury for everyone.

Yes the are. We could all survive just fine without vacations. We may all want them, but we can live without them.

 

[bpadair32]

Yes the are. We could all survive just fine without vacations. We may all want them, but we can live without them.

Correct.

 

[brunette8706]

I too find that the parking is out of control, it's an 18 percent increase. Tables in Wonderland went from $75.00 3 years ago to $150.00 that's a 100 percent increase, Annual passes have increased. At the same time the quality has gone down. The food at various restaurants have diminished in quality, the decorations at the holiday parties are not as elaborate, the Halloween candy is really cheap now. If the pricing is going up I expect the quality to stay the same not go down.

 

[Disneyliscious]

Couldn't disagree with you more. I think the food is great, the crowds are part of going to a theme park, the FP+ and ADR system work great for us, and its as magical as ever.

Thats great! But people think and feel differently about all kinds of things.

I don't get why it's "dismissive" to tell someone not to go. If I felt like:

The magic is not meeting the money. We have drunks roaming Epcot, fights breaking out in parks with no one being held accountable, a disastrous FP+/ADR system, food that is lack luster, crowds that take heavily from the guest experience, and more. Aside from its size, Disney is on its way to becoming the next Six Flags.

...I would definitely not go!

Well, its not your business to tell people not to go. What other people do with their money is none of yours or anyone's business. I'm sorry that my cancelling a CP ADR (which we don't need anyway) upset you so bad. Thats my way of continuing to find value in going. When I feel prices have gone above what I want to pay (not what I am able to pay) then I will make adjustments. Its my money, that I work for, and I can do that. You cannot, sorry.

We all have to decide what to do w our money. If I didn't love our experiences at WDW and feel they were worth the cost, I wouldn't spend the money on them. So if the people above who said those things are still going to go, then obviously there are some positives that they're just not mentioning, which happen to outweigh those negatives and make the trip still worth it to them.

Our trip was paid for months ago and Im pretty sure it can't be refunded at this point. Also, I never said it wasn't worth going. I said I cancelled a $100 ADR to now make it worth going If I ever do go to Disney again, I will do the same. I will only spend what I'm going to spend and thats that. The $3 a day didn't all of a sudden break me. Its the principle to me, which I will stand firm on, in addition to the other increases such as AP's which I don't even use. What they did to AP holders is robbery.

If you look at my signature I have quite a few trips under my belt, including a couple deluxe resort stays. We eat onsite every meal but breakfast, we do two MNSSHPs every trip, we do plenty of shopping. We buy anywhere from 7-10 day tickets. We don't just "pop in and out". And we pay to park. We spend plenty of money every trip. I just like getting more bang for my buck and Disney is slowly taking that away.

Sometimes, people who have never had to "do without" or set a "budget" have no concept that there is actually a different way of life for the average person. You can't blame them. Their way of life is all they know. Its inconceivable to them that some people save years to go to Disney and because of their entitlements, they feel they also have the authority to tell other people how to spend their money, judge them for any discrepancy in actions if they differ from their own, or even try to appear as if Disney is a "luxury" only for the rich. They really do live in a bubble.

Oh stop...Potato Potaaaato

Really? My 14 year old was saying that when he was 12. It was the "cool" thing for the kids to say. Kids. Yes, kids. Not adults.

 

[ols386]

Yes the are. We could all survive just fine without vacations. We may all want them, but we can live without them.

Nope

 

[brunette8706]

I have to believe the above poster is trolling. I refuse to believe there is a person in the entire world who truly believes we "need" vacations.

Well I need my vacation! LOL!

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

It's probably half of that, half that they always had to give change back for a $20. It is what it is. Thankfully, our Annual Passes all now include it.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Parking is limited in cities; therefore, the price is up. Basic supply & demand.

This is parking at a theme park in which attendance is up; therefore, the price is up. Also supply & demand. (and it doesn't matter that it used to be a swamp; it's currently one of the top vacation destinations in the world - they aren't charging you to park in a swamp.)

Other than a handful of days a year, are the Disney parking lots ever full? I've been in June, October, and December and I've always been struck at how many empty parking spots there are...like vast, half empty lots. When I'm in downtown Chicago or Washington DC (two places I travel to frequently) it is difficult to find parking garages with any availability. You're right that price is usually a function of supply and demand, but in this case, the "thing" being paid for (parking) isn't in limited supply at Disney. I'm not sure it's valid to say that they should charge more for parking because attendance is up...theme park admission is a separate "thing" you're paying for and the pricing for parking should be independent if they're working on a supply and demand model for parking. My point is...Disney isn't working on a supply and demand model for parking. Instead, they're trying to generate additional revenue from a specific subset of guests that tend to spend less at Disney (i.e., offsite guests).

I've got no dog in this fight. I'm an out of state AP holder who stays onsite so this doesn't affect me at all. But I still think it sucks for those who are affected.

 

[lroger01]

Nevermind

 

[amylevan]

Oh stop...Potato Potaaaato....What is a luxury to you is a necessary part of my budget. I don't need a definition to determine what I consider to be a luxury. For me a Lexus that has a payment associated with it is a luxury and my 2004 highlander paid in full when I bought it 11 years ago is not. But to the guys who work for us, that old car would be a luxury and the bike they ride is not.

A vacation to WDW is a luxury. You will not die if you do not go. If you lost your job, are you telling me you'd not put food on your table so that you could go to WDW?

Food = necessity.
Shelter = necessity.
Transportation = necessity? Maybe to get to your job. (Yes, the Lexus is a luxury, when you have something else that will do the job).
Vacation = luxury.

End of story.

 

[brunette8706]

A vacation to WDW is a luxury. You will not die if you do not go. If you lost your job, are you telling me you'd not put food on your table so that you could go to WDW?

Food = necessity.
Shelter = necessity.
Transportation = necessity? Maybe to get to your job. (Yes, the Lexus is a luxury, when you have something else that will do the job).
Vacation = luxury.

End of story.

Most people do "need" a vacation. That could be spending time out of the office. Everyone "needs" a getaway now and then. I do think in 2015 it is a necessity. It doesn't have to be Disney, it could be somewhere much less expensive.

 

[MischaOz]

If you are struggling, why are you springing for a luxury vacation. People in this country have their priorities seriously out of whack.

Yeah, this rubbed me the wrong way too. Maybe it's a widowed mom who wants to give her kids a special vacation despite losing their dad to cancer. Maybe it's a service-member who wants to have that once-in-a-lifetime experience with his family before deploying oversees. Maybe someone's just had a really tough year and needs to get away from it all. I can think of a lot of reasons one might want to vacation at WDW even if their budget is tight.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Going back in one year. Budgeting for 20% more across the board. Padding it by 500 for two adults too. It won't hurt because it will all be paid off by then without a credit card charge.

Stop whining and start budgeting my friends. You'll sleep better.

 

[momof2n2]

It makes my campsite an even better deal...
10 in our offsite party.

So campsite six nights = $433.15 total
Parking would be $100.
Bands would be $129.50 + tax

Actual "cost" of campsite is $203.65, or $20.37 pp.

SMH

 

[JimmyV]

Luxury by definition is something that you do not need to survive.

But that is not how people are using the word in this context. The word is being thrown around in the context of Disney being very expensive, and not everyone can (or should be able to) afford it. As opposed to pitching a tent and fishing for your dinner with worms you dug from the ground. When you see posts like the ones below, it is clear that the level of expense is what is being considered a luxury, and not the very fact that something is not essential to survival. That context is far too broad. By that definition, peanut butter is a luxury. But would anyone playing Family Feud answer the question: "Name a luxury food item" respond by saying "Peanut Butter"? Survey says....? XXX

Disney is a luxury. I really think that you are not the target audience for Disney. They are not that interested in people that stay offsite and pop in and out. They want people that stay onsite, eat onsite, shop onsite, etc., and for those people this changes nothing.

Disney is a luxury not a right, so some people can't afford it, thats the way it is.

If you are struggling, why are you springing for a luxury vacation.

When the words "target audience"; "can't afford it" and "struggling" are used, it is clear that the context is: "Disney is expensive" and not "Disney is not needed to survive."

As for the notion that offsite guests are not Disney's target audience, nothing could be further from the truth. Right now, Disney hotels are running in excess of 85% capacity. There simply isn't any room to stuff any more on site people. Disney cannot say to the 150,000 people who turn the turnstiles every day that "We want you staying on site", because Disney only has room for half that number. If all the offsite guests stopped coming, WDW would be a ghost town. We're talking crowd levels of 1-4 every day. In order to drive that up to 5-10, Disney has to "target" offsite guests. Plain and simple.

First, Disney is only a luxury if you consider it a luxury. I do not. I consider it a vacation.

This. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves here. WDW is a collection of amusement parks. That is not a luxury. Or at least, it shouldn't be. The guy selling hot dogs down the street could raise his price from $3.00 to $45 for a hot dog. And if he did that, would you all be saying that his food is a "luxury"? It's still a hot dog, isn't it? There is no way that a 5 night stay at Pop for $115 per night with meals taken at Pecos Bill's and Flame Tree BBQ is a luxury vacation by any use of the term, other than the use that says that all vacations are luxuries because no vacation is essential. But when you toss that definition aside, it becomes clear that staying at a Value resort and riding on amusement park rides is decidedly not a luxury vacation.

 

[jmkjr72]

We attend NFL games a few times a year and multiple MLB games a season. The most we've paid to park is $15.

Parking at Lambeau field can run 45 bucks an the parking pass we get at miller is 20 to 25

 

[dhardawa]

We have two local theme parks. One was a Six Flags, but isn't now. It's $8 to park. The other is Holiday World where parking is free as well as all sodas. Ticket prices are about half what Disney charges too. I love Disnay World, but the greed is about to the point where I'll take my business elsewhere.

 

[fbarker]

I paid $45 to park a mile away from a U2 concert.....

Good point!! and it costs $50 to park in downtown Chicago for the day and the only ride is the "L" which doesn't compare to anything at WDW!! and there is also a very good chance you will come back and your car has gone missing!!

 

[kathy884]

As a hard core offsite visitor, I figure Disney needs some more incentives to get people to stay onsite and fill up their pricey (IMHO) 35,000 or so rooms.