A little parking tip....

[roymccoy]

Some will call this ticky-tack, but I thought I would share an experience that we had.
Sometimes, when we are only going to DD, we will park in the DD parking lot by ESPN. They let you park there for three hours for free. Twice in the last two months, we were charged $2 when we went over the three hours, by 2 minutes the first time and by about three minutes the second time. We thought, by our watches, that we were right on time in both instances. Both times, rude CM's told us that they go STRICTLY by the clock and they are now giving NO leway on time. Today, just for grins, we parked in the DD parking lot and when we entered, we synchronized our watch to the entry time on the ticket. Lo and behold when we exited, the exit clock is THREE MINUTES FAST. Coincidence? I wonder. Funny how it's in Disney's favor. I brought this up to the parking attendent and he referred me to management. You can bet that I will.

Just thought I would pass this little "scam" along to you, so that you've got some ammo if they try to get you for $2 for a minute or two over your parking time at DD.

Roy

 

[year2late]

Maybe Eisner changed the clocks himself when he came down to Disneyland to express sympathy for the BTMRR tragedy.


Honestly Roy, just inform manegement that there is a discrepancy between the clock you come in on and the clock you check out on. Does it have to be a scam?

 

[roymccoy]

Hey, all I know is that both times that we mentioned to the parking CM who was charging us $2 for going over our allowed time by three minutes or less, we were blown off. In both instances we told the CM that we were right on time by our watch and both times we were told that they go by the exit clock. It didn't dawn on me at the time that there would be a difference in the times of the two clocks.

This kind of reminds me of a little problem I had with a BMW I leased a couple of years back. It was the first car in my life that registered the miles quicker than I was actually driving them. If I drove 7/10th's of a mile, the odometer would read 1 mile. Obviously, this would benefit the dealership or the car maker because they get money for every mile (a LOT of money) that you go over your agreed to mileage. Bottomline with that was, when I turned the car in, they wanted to charge me $1700 for over mileage. I was on the phone with them for maybe five minutes explaining my story and they agreed to drop the charge. Sounds a little fishy to me. Now you may say that the extra miles that the car is registering would also lower the cars value when the dealer went to sell the lease return, but the few extra miles wouldn't deduct anywhere NEAR as much as the $.25 a mile that they got on the lease overage.

Hey, I may be picky but the devil is the details.


Roy

BTW - years2late...why blast me for trying to help someone that may be overcharged? The clock is incorrect and people are being overcharged.

 

[pamkass]

Aren't we getting a little picky here. All theme parks are expencive. If you don't want to pay $2.00. Just make sure you leave 5 min.before the hour. It is costing me $ 2700. for 7 days at the Grand Cal.

 

[year2late]

Originally posted by roymccoy
BTW - years2late...why blast me for trying to help someone that may be overcharged? The clock is incorrect and people are being overcharged.

My blasting isn't about the clock being incorrect, It is characterizing it as a scam.

 

[pamkass]

Disney is been generious to give you any parking for Free. Last week I payed $12.00 for parking at Bush Gardens in Va. I pay $7.00 at all the Six flags, even if you are staying 5 mins. So even if they chare you after 2 hours and 45 min. they are still giving you free time. See what other park does that.

 

[roymccoy]

Generous?? To park at a "shopping mall" for free?? This is parking for Downtown Disney...you know....where you pay $15 for a hamburger. This is not parking for the theme parks.

My whole problem with this is that the parking CM's have obviously been told to give no mercy on charging for parking. This had to be a management decision because we had never had a problem before (even being 10-15 minutes over) and now we were charged for less than 2 minutes over on two recent occasions. NOW I find out that, conveniently for Disney, their "check in" clock and their "check out" clock are not synchronized...in favor of Disney.

I have made a call to Disney to let them know about the clock. I have also informed them that if it is not corrected quickly I will investigate a class action lawsuit for anyone that has been charged for parking since the opening of DD and has been charged $2 for being over the three hour time limit by a couple of minutes. (I'm sure that this charge has probably netted Disney a pretty penny if you take into consideration how many cars have gone through there a day since the February of 2001 opening)

If you're okay with Disney erroneously overcharging for parking that's one thing....I , for one, would never stand for that...but I don't understand why anyone would try to defend such a practice?? Would you give the CM at the ticket booth $52 for a DL ticket if she asked for it? or would you point out that the posted price is $47? Maybe you'd rationalize that Busch Gardens charges $55 so even the DL CM's mistaken price quote was still a good deal? No, I'm sure you'd say something to the effect of "Excuse me, you're sign says $47".


Roy

($2700 for 7 nights at the GC? Who's you're travel agent?? Michael Eisner?)

 

[disneychrista]

This happened to me PRE DTD. We parked that the disneyland hotel to watch the fantasy waters show and I was pretty certain that we hadn't exceeded our time (I think 2 hours) but when we left it showed that we had. For me it wasn't worth the stress of ruining our evening for a couple of bucks.

 

[year2late]

I will look foward to the class action lawsuit.

I am with Pamkass, I think the few hours of free parking is nice even if it 2 hours and 55 minutes rather than 3 hours.


By the way, who sells the $15.00 hamburger? I go to Brennens, ESPN, and Rainforest alot and I feel they have decent value.

That parking area is where we always park on our last day (if we are not staying at DLR). We have breakfast at Goofy's or Rainforest and slip in a Soarin ride (or two) and do some last minute shopping. I guess what I saying is we always cut it close - and we have never been charged extra.

 

[disneychrista]

if you eat you can get your parking pass validated which will allow you an extra few hours (don't know the right amount).

 

[roymccoy]

Catal has the $15.00 burger.

Roy

 

[year2late]

That is your choice to have the $15.00 burger at Catal. ESPN and Rainforest are cheaper and have decent childrens options as well.


I leave Rainforest for just under $20 for myself and my son - and a meal in a real fun place to boot!

 

[pamkass]

Class action lawsuit , OK. but how do you prove it when you are admitting that you stayed over your time. And for parking at a shopping center, I take it you don't travel much because any tourist area like New Orleans charges for parking anywhere in the city. Also you were right about Michael Eisner being my travel agent, He was. But he realy gave me a great deal because what I am getting on my package is round trip air fare from New Orleans to John Wayne air port, SUV car rental for 7 days, Grand Cal with a Theme Park view, 5 day hopper in the parks, Knotts Berry Farm tickets, Universal tickets, and Last but not least food tickets for 6 days. I realy have to thank him, because I know I am getting a great deal. And Yes I am PRO-Disney. I have been to Disney World and DisneyLand 15 times.

 

[roymccoy]

I consider myself pro-Disney, too. Since my first trip in 1965, I estimate that I've probably been to DL and WDW about 500 times. (Mostly to DL with my AP that I've had since 1981). It's kind of blowing me away that there is an argument in favor of Disney wrongly overcharging for parking. I was simply pointing out to boardmembers that if they park in the DD parking lot and are charged $2 for being over the time limit by a couple of minutes, then they should fight it because the check-in clock is not synchronized to the check-out clock. I didn't expect the "I should be happy for any free parking" angle.

Roy

 

[year2late]

Originally posted by roymccoy
I consider myself pro-Disney, too. Since my first trip in 1965, I estimate that I've probably been to DL and WDW about 500 times. (Mostly to DL with my AP that I've had since 1981). It's kind of blowing me away that there is an argument in favor of Disney wrongly overcharging for parking. I was simply pointing out to boardmembers that if they park in the DD parking lot and are charged $2 for being over the time limit by a couple of minutes, then they should fight it because the check-in clock is not synchronized to the check-out clock. I didn't expect the "I should be happy for any free parking" angle.

Roy

Good grief. Nobody is in favor of wrongly overcharging for parking. Qualifying it as a scam is the problem. Informing them they may need to synchronize their clocks is one issue. Talking about a class action lawsuit for consumer fraud is another.

Let us know when you find the member of Disney Management who is intentionally unsynchronizing the clocks to perpetrate the scam, ok?

3 hours is generous. I live very near SF and there is not one garage that I have been to that will cut you slack for 1 minute over. I would not expect to hold Disney to a higher standard. I personally always use this lot on our last day and always cut it very close and never have had to pay over.

Would I like free all day parking? Heck yeah! But do I consider the free 3 hours (or even two hours and 59 minutes ) a great value - you bet!!! It is convenient, too!!

 

[roymccoy]

Here we go again! They offer free 3 hour parking BUT we should be happy to have 2 hours! I guess it's okay for Disney to charge you even if you have only been there 2 hours because they're just so nice and all to give us the 3 hours free. What sweethearts! I live in the middle of Orange County and I can't think of a single SHOPPING MALL (which is basically what DTD is) that charges for parking AT ALL. (Valet doesn't count)

Do I think that management is purposefully messing with the clocks? Who knows. Who cares? The point is moot. The clocks ARE screwed up and they DO overcharge the guests. Disney should fix this.

Roy

 

[year2late]

Originally posted by roymccoy
Do I think that management is purposefully messing with the clocks? Who knows. Who cares? The point is moot. The clocks ARE screwed up and they DO overcharge the guests. Disney should fix this.

Heck yes I care Roy. If they are purposefully messing with the clocks to get $2 from the occasional customer, there should be legal ramifications. You are saying "scam" and class action lawsuit, so I assume you are thinking that fraud is being perpetrated. Yes I think scamming and an innocent mistake are two separate things. If your child makes an innocent mistake you cut her slack, right? If she scams you and lies, there is punishment. Yes I think it is that simple. If it is $2 out of my pocket kind of mistake, I feel ok with letting it go as long as they address the problem. Is $2 worth smearing the name of Disney with the word "scam" if it is a correctable honest mistake?


If their clocks are not synchronized and it is an innocent mistake, they should fix it and so what.? If they refuse to fix it or even address the problem that is a whole different issue. Like I have said before, I use this lot to get breakfast on the last day of our trip and to sneak in a few last rides on Soarin...so I frequently cut it very close, but I have not been charged yet.


The fact that I do not mind being charged in the lot after the initial free hours reflects the fact that I think it is a nice convenience and a good value. It is a "what the market will bear" thing.

It is obvious (from many of your past posts) so many aspects of your Disney trips anger you, have you thought of taking a breather for awhile?

 

[roymccoy]

I'm not angry...I'm just a little befuddled by all of this cost cutting. I don't think I'm the only one, either. If you only want to think about the positive things that Disney is doing, then I suggest you put me (and a few others) on ignore. I think my posts are pretty relevent and I try to call a spade a spade. Many of my posts point out the good things about the DLR (Blue Bayou, Redd Rocketts, Soarin' Over California, etc) but I will admit that lately, I have seen the quality slipping at the parks. Come on, right now people are paying $47 to go to Disneyland with no BTMRR, no Space Mountain, no Splash Mountain, nothing in the Submarine Lagoon, no Rocket Rods, no Circlevision, no Skyway, nothing in Big Thunder Ranch, etc. Also, the quality of the restaurant food is getting pretty bad. (I had a pot roast at the Plaza Inn the other day that bordered on dog food.) I don't want this current management team to destroy the good Disney name irrepairably. I say it again, the devil is in the details.

Roy

 

[year2late]

Originally posted by roymccoy
If you only want to think about the positive things that Disney is doing, then I suggest you put me (and a few others) on ignore.

Roy, I am not saying people should not complain or express their concerns with Disney or on the boards. I am saying that misrepresenting a situation is WRONG. By virtue of the fact that you are calling some simple problem a scam and talk about threatening a class action lawsuit makes me suspicious of other posts (that might actally have merit).

Now if you actually have evidence that there is knowingly unsyncronizing the parking machines, please enlighten me.

 

[roymccoy]

If you noticed, in my OP I put the word scam in quotation marks, denoting that it was merely a figure of speech. You know, like "pinhead". This means someone that is small minded...not someone who has a pin for a head. Sometimes people will refer to other people as "pin-headed", not to suggest that they have a pin for a head but to use a colorful metaphor to drive a point home.

Again, I was merely trying to let boardmembers know about something that may save them a couple of $$.

You're welcome.

Roy