And The Beat Goes On!

[rwdavis2]

Resort fees are never optional. So whether it's buried in the room rate or a separate charge we still pay it. Anyone think WDW will lower rooms rates by $15? Me neither.

 

[CMNJ]

I wonder if the fee is $15 per day per room or $15 per person per day per room?

It says "$15 per night", not per room. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdE0D-gWAAQtjoZ.jpg

Sorry I guess I wasn't clear, I meant per room per night-your original question was if it was per room per night or per person per night

 

[Minnesota!]

At some point you have to just marvel at the gall.

Yep. And then this, charging for DME, will be what pushes me to Universal once and for all. Right now, the "free" transport to WDW is what is keeping me. But, if I have to pay, regardless, I will go somewhere that actual has a future vision and not the "same old, same old".

Swan/Dolphin has a $25 daily resort fee plus $18 for self park.

http://allears.net/acc/faq_dol.htm

Which is why I refuse to stay there (or anywhere, in any place) that has a resort fee or parking fees. No thank you.

 

[mom2rtk]

For the love of God Disney, just raise the room rates $10 a night!

You know they're going to do that too, right?

 

[jsmla]

I am not an economist but surely they can't use inflation as a reason.

Be Our Guest breakfast $19.99 to $24.00, up 20%
Annual Pass $659.00 to $749.00, up 14%
Tables in Wonderland $100.00 to $150.00, a whopping 50% increase

Inflation in the US was 0.7% for 2015.

 

[tlmadden73]

It seems the reason to do this is probably financial, but could have pretty bad PR.

It allows them to have a "base" price (that they can increase at will) that will never be affected by room discounts or promotions. It probably looks good on the books.
Even if they lowered room prices by $15, because a fee isn't calculated into a discount, they would make more money per room.
(Say I pay $115 for a value room now .. that is $92/night with a 20% discount -- say they charged $100/night with $15 fee and a 20% discount) .. that is $95/night. That adds up (for Disney).

If they ever need more revenue or their operating costs go up . .they just up the fee by a dollar and they can still advertise $100/night hotels in big bold print on all their ads. (With a tiny little asterisk telling us that it doesn't include resort fees or taxes).

Though .. guess what?
Unless you are on these boards .. you probably won't notice it. Your typical Disney vacationer will book their vacation .. see the final TOTAL price .. and never look at the line item per night and then have their fun.

 

[Dis703]

I have to say as much as I wasn't so bothered by expected ticket price increases, and I know that resort rates go up yearly too, this rubs me the wrong way for some reason. I mean the whole perk of staying onsite was that it included all of these things that they now want to charge you a separate fee for. And what if you don't use any of those things anyhow? If you aren't using DME, EMH, etc. do you get the fee waived? I would guess not.

I assume if they were to add this they would still be raising the room rate annually and add this on top of that and like parking fees this fee would also be raised periodically. And as someone pointed out not included as part of the discounts.

The difference between onsite and offsite with a car for our family of five hasn't been significant enough to justify staying offsite, but I'm thinking with changes like this it will get there sooner rather than later.

 

[SaintsManiac]

They know people like me will pay the damn fee anyway, so they don't care. I guess the money I saved buying tickets early will cover the DME and MBs *sigh*

 

[rwdavis2]

Yep. And then this, charging for DME, will be what pushes me to Universal once and for all. Right now, the "free" transport to WDW is what is keeping me. But, if I have to pay, regardless, I will go somewhere that actual has a future vision and not the "same old, same old".



Which is why I refuse to stay there (or anywhere, in any place) that has a resort fee or parking fees. No thank you.

Universal's is, I think, $20-$30 a day. I still pay it though.

 

[Livvie]

Sorry I guess I wasn't clear, I meant per room per night-your original question was if it was per room per night or per person per night

Right, and that question is unclear on whether it is per room or per guest per day.

 

[Minnesota!]

Universal's is, I think, $20-$30 a day. I still pay it though.

Good to know I am a Universal noob, and have yet to take that final step there. But, I will. WDW has me thisclose to converting. Ugh.

 

[Livvie]

Swan/Dolphin has a $25 daily resort fee plus $18 for self park.

http://allears.net/acc/faq_dol.htm

We have never stayed at the Swan and Dolphin due to the resort fees.

 

[KT0191]

Oh and look..another increase.
http://blog.touringplans.com/2016/03/09/disney-dining-plan-rates-increasing/

 

[MrsHull]

So, if they just increase all their rates by $15 per night, without calling it a resort fee, would you all continue to stay on property then?

Personally, I would rather the rates go up across the board, if they have to, than to have another $15 per night tacked on at check out.

 

[monorailrabbit]

Oh and look..another increase.
http://blog.touringplans.com/2016/03/09/disney-dining-plan-rates-increasing/

Stop. Ugh! Of course they are. So glad I booked my package last year and ducked all this. I can't even anymore.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I want to know who is actually going to take the survey and answer yes to this question.

Why yes, Disney, I would like to pay an additional $15 fee for services that are already included in my stay, thank you for asking.

 

[shanethesaint88]

As far as appearances yes, this would help. Like I said, for some reason it's an extra sting to me to A. Make me pay for "free services" and B. Make me pay for things I won't use (if I'm using the free DME, why on earth would I be paying for parking?)

However, seeing as how now when they do discounts on room rates it wouldn't apply to this fee it wouldn't help in that aspect.

I agree. I think it makes it even worse when these things were already free to become with

I want to know who is actually going to take the survey and answer yes to this question.

Why yes, Disney, I would like to pay an additional $15 fee for services that are already included in my stay, thank you for asking.

I bet they come out and say that the reason for this increase is due to guest demand lmao I remember them doing that back in the day

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Nothin' better than getting charged extra for something that used to be included.

 

[JimmyV]

So let's see now. Get up at 6:00 a.m. to make Rope Drop. Stay until the park closes, then head back to the resort to crash. Rinse. Repeat. What exactly am I paying for with this resort fee? And if your answer is, "well, for one thing, Magical Express", then simply charge the people who take Magical Express a fee that is a few bucks less than what a taxi or an Uber costs. People will still sign up for it because it is Disney and it is Magical. It is getting harder and harder, (impossible, really) to justify choosing a Disney resort over the Swan and Dolphin. Even if the S&D charge me a resort fee, I still come out ahead several hundred dollars a day.

 

[Jcon]

So, if they just increase all their rates by $15 per night, without calling it a resort fee, would you all continue to stay on property then?

Personally, I would rather the rates go up across the board, if they have to, than to have another $15 per night tacked on at check out.

If the price is going up $15 per night, what difference does it make if it's in the base rate or tacked on at the end? I don't understand the difference.


Ultimately, this is supply and demand pricing. Disney will continue to raise rates and find creative ways to raise them, until the demand goes down. It's up to us, really.