Blown away by this "budget suggestion" is this STEALING to you

Is this stealing??

  • HELL YES!!!

  • NO way!

  • other.....because there is always an other


Results are only viewable after voting.
Is it stealing? No. Is it wrong? Yes.

We are DVC owners at Wilderness Lodge and this year we had a very hard time finding parking when coming back from dining or the parks. One night we drove around multiple times and we were lucky enough to catch someone leaving. There were other cars looking for parking spots as well.
 
I think they're starting to do this again. We went to dinner at Ft. Wilderness last week, and they checked my ID against the ressie list.

What about people without reservations but who seriously are interested in seeing if they can get a table. Do you seriously think they are going to stop allowing people to try to dine at one of their restaurants without a reservation? Take the extra time to call the restaurant and see if there's an opening? Hmmmm....doubtful.

ETA: nevermind the fact that lots of people just enjoy checking out the other hotels...........ESPECIALLY at Christmastime (and they encourage it). Do you really think they will disallow that because of a small percentage of bad apples? Absurd.
 


That resort looks fantastic!

I couldn't find the rest of my pictures. There were two master bedrooms with King beds and ensuite baths. Three more bathrooms. A formal dining room with seating for ten. Another living room. a 50 inch flat screen and tv's in every bedroom.
A pool and lanai out behind the house. A slide at the resort pool and a huge hot tub. A movie theater. Small store with reasonably priced stuff. A game room at the resort clubhouse. It's also gated. We rented a car for $100 for the week with coupons and discounts found through Mousesavers and a few tricks we learned on the transportation board here.

It took less time to drive to the parks than it did to bus to them when we stayed onsite.
Yeah, if it's more than just dh and I, or dd and I, we will be staying at Windsor Hills. :thumbsup2
 
I worked with a woman who did this, except she parked at Fort Wilderness when their over flow lot used to be open. Now, it's all fenced off, and I'm sure people like her are the cause. It's super annoying when my parents are staying, and I can't park in the over flow lot to drop off my daughter, they drive their golf cart up to pick her up in the lot. Now, I have to go through the gate and talk to the guard. More than likely because people like the as for mentioned. Thanks for making my life harder.

What's more amusing, and I don't know for sure, but I ran the numbers a couple of years ago and the difference between a Fl. Resident Ap and the seasonal worked out that if you went once a month the price difference equaled out to the total you would have paid for parking. Meaning, you aren't really saving anything if you fully use your pass (or maybe I'm spoiled, and I don't think going to Disney 12 times is a lot, lol). I even pointed out to her that she got more benefits by having one regular AP and then seasonal APs for the rest of her family, but she told me it was easier to park in the over flow lot and take the bus. I know she parks at EPCOT resorts and did the same thing if they were going their as a family for the day.
 


Personally I think more on site guest illegally pool hop. whenever I'm at the WL, we always get tons of guest from Ft. Wilderness who take the boat over to use the pool. Twice last August at stromalong bay guest from the value resorts were told they could not use the pool
 
We stayed at Windsor Hills last trip and I agree it was fantastic. I also think that people assume Disney transportation is faster and it really isn't always the case. Driving from these close by resorts is really quick. We also have one person buy an annual pass so parking is free.
 
thankfully, the BW is cracking down more on non-resort guests using the lots (more fri-sunday, and any busy time).
and in response to pp, yes, they absolutely will have guests who are not staying there park in the overflow lot or use valet. if those are near capacity, drive-ups (even those who just want to see the resort, go to jellyrolls, shop, etc) will be denied.
in may, even after informing the guard that a rep from alamo was coming to help us (dead battery in rental car), he refused her access to the BW parking lot. i had to walk back to the guard shack, show my resort id, and explain it all again before he would let her in.
we don't mind a little inconvenience in return for a parking spot at the resort we are paying to stay at :)
 
I think Disney has caught onto this trick. When we went to the Grand Floridian for dinner reservations, we were given a 3 hour ticket to put on our car so that we could park at the GF! I can't imagine they would just let someone in without a pass.

Forgot to mention, the only way I see staying onsite cheaper is if you do value during free dining. Other than that, with promo codes for a rental car, a timeshare and/or a house/condo at Windsor Hills, you will be ahead. No flea bag hotel necessary! Yes, it doesn't have all the magic but a three bedroom house with it's own pool as well as a community pool has its advantages when you travel as a group of 7.
 
If someone is going to the MK and is worried about parking fees, then legally go in through the back for heaven's sake. No parking fee, no cheating, just simply driving.

Wait, there's a parking entrance where you don't have to pay? How does that work? (We always stay on property or have AP's, so parking isn't an issue, but I just need to understand this statement -- it seem weird)
 
Forgot to mention, the only way I see staying onsite cheaper is if you do value during free dining. Other than that, with promo codes for a rental car, a timeshare and/or a house/condo at Windsor Hills, you will be ahead. No flea bag hotel necessary! Yes, it doesn't have all the magic but a three bedroom house with it's own pool as well as a community pool has its advantages when you travel as a group of 7.

Have to agree - we always stay offsite and have never been in a flea bag hotel. There are so many beautiful places to stay around WDW which can be far more luxurious that Disney hotels. For example I think that the value hotels are just run of the mill cheap hotels with mickey decoration and a mickey price tag to match. You are paying extra for a Disney hotel and can get something just as nice or nicer for the same or cheaper elsewhere. You are paying extra for the magic of staying there. For some people its worth it and for some it isn't. Personal preference.

But to say the other hotels are flea bag hotels just shows how little someone knows about the alternatives.

My personal preference is not stay in a value hotel room cramped in with few facilities when I can stay off site in a beautiful house with private pool and all the space we need for less money. An extra hour in the park does not sell it for me I'm afraid. Not when we are there for 16 nights!

It would be nice to experience one of the deluxe hotels sometime though I have to admit - maybe just for a few nights!
 
That was a long time. As with most things it depends. Last Oct dh & I stayed at the Waldorf
Astoria for 1/3 of the cost of a Disney delux. Even with the cost of the car rental, it was way cheaper. Now just like Disney car rentals offer deals.

Generally I could make it cheaper but I'd have to go down a level in accommodations.

And the Waldorf is a true deluxe hotel. :)

Off-site is almost always cheaper..it just depends on what you're looking for. There are lots of choices for everyone. ;)

As was mentioned before, the Disney buses/monorail/boats are for everyone, NOT just people staying at a Disney hotel.
 
so my friend posted on her facebook that she i looking for help to book a disney vacation. i of course jump all over that because im addicted to disney and find her the best deal and walk her through how to book it online to get the same price i did (needs 2 rooms) and a couple other people chiming in staying that staying off property would be cheaper (it isn't.....i did the math once you factor in a mini van for a rental car, parking, and then of course since this would be staying off site for budget reasons you might get the flee bag motel) and one women posted this to my arguement that parking and gas would eat up a huge chunk of her budget




and i about died!!! that is sooo stealing!!! stealing a parking spot from someone who paid the cost to stay on propery, stealing the use of the disney transportation that is built into the hotel costs and just soooo wrong! and this lady use to be a disney travel agent :scared1:

ok i'll get off my soapbox now but here is the question, stealing or being super frugal? and i thought i was frugal!

Boy oh Boy do I agree with you and have felt that way for years but have learned on her when you bring something like this up on here you get blasted as the morality police....
In this instance I do have and interest in DVC and pay big buck for it and when I see people who I know are taking up my parking space at BWV especially in Oct when I can't park there and sitting a a lounge chair at my pool when I can't I am :mad: and they are brazen about it too...
 
They may check ID but they don't do much else.

We went to BC and were told to only stay for 2 hours. We ended up staying over 5 between having to wait quite a while for our food (it took about 3.5 hours just in the restaurant!)
and then walking around and sitting down to talk and enjoy the place.

We weren't staying there either. Noone said a word and our car wasn't towed or marked at all.

Dawn

Stealing. Especially if I saved all year to pay for that trip and you and your family of four are taking up space in the pool and I have a hard time squeezing into it. I suspect you'll get some pretty heated responses.

This is why I like BC, they check ID.

Now that being said I have parked at a hotel when I really did have dinner ressies. That is not the same thing at all.popcorn::
 
I know we drive down, so renting a car isn't in the mix, but staying off site is alway much, much cheaper for us. We stay in a 2 bedroom condo and will never go back to a hotel room if we can at all avoid it.
 
Wait, there's a parking entrance where you don't have to pay? How does that work? (We always stay on property or have AP's, so parking isn't an issue, but I just need to understand this statement -- it seem weird)

Yeah. I once went in that way by accident as I was coming from a different direction and was really surprised that it brought me to the magic kingdom behind the booths where you pay for parking.
 
It may be rude, but it's not stealing.
However 'budgeting' should take account of time as well as money.
Is it worth hours of valuable vacation time to save a few $$.
To me, it certainly isn't.
 

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