Car charging at DVC resorts

[Spivey378]

I saw a charger at Riviera when I stayed there last December. I’m staying at SSR and there doesn’t appear to be one there. I plan to use the Supercharger near Disney Springs. I’d like to see chargers at each DVC resort.

What has your experience been with charging at Disney?

 

[Narcoossee11]

I think the biggest issue is guest only need to charge a few hours but keep car in slot all day or night. So only a few car owners can use it each day

 

[Spivey378]

I think the biggest issue is guest only need to charge a few hours but keep car in slot all day or night. So only a few car owners can use it each day

Yeah. We need a rhyme to remind people to be courteous. Something akin to “Be Kind, Rewind.”

I charged overnight at a hotel destination charger last night and it was almost done when I was ready to leave (parked at 3:00am ). I always move when my car is done charging.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

I haven't noticed any charging stations at any of the resorts. I'm guessing if we are to go electric cars, we are going to need a lot more charging stations everywhere and we will need a universal charging setup so you can charge any car at any charging station. I guess the reason some people seem inconsiderate while charging their car is they may have gone to a park or they in bed for the night so not moving their car. That could be a big problem if we all start driving electric cars.

 

[Noodlez]

I haven't noticed any charging stations at any of the resorts. I'm guessing if we are to go electric cars, we are going to need a lot more charging stations everywhere and we will need a universal charging setup so you can charge any car at any charging station. I guess the reason some people seem inconsiderate while charging their car is they may have gone to a park or they in bed for the night so not moving their car. That could be a big problem if we all start driving electric cars.

We've only parked an electric car at Aulani so far, but this has been true for us so far. We usually park up when we've finished for the day and are heading to bed (which is much earlier than usual) or because we're going for dinner and having a few drinks, and we don't drive after drinking! Thankfully, the spaces there have never been full, but what they actually need is longer charging cables, so that they can be unplugged after a full charge and used by a car in another location.

They definitely need more chargers, rather than expecting people to head back to their cars in the middle of the night.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

We've only parked an electric car at Aulani so far, but this has been true for us so far. We usually park up when we've finished for the day and are heading to bed (which is much earlier than usual) or because we're going for dinner and having a few drinks, and we don't drive after drinking! Thankfully, the spaces there have never been full, but what they actually need is longer charging cables, so that they can be unplugged after a full charge and used by a car in another location.

They definitely need more chargers, rather than expecting people to head back to their cars in the middle of the night.

Yes, if this is the way we are headed a lot more needs to be done to accommodate powering-up electric cars. I think it's going to take a substantial amount of time and financial investment before we are ready. I also think that all electric cars need to have a universal charging setup so all cars can be charged at all charging stations.

 

[dez1978]

And here I am mad when someone gets gas and goes inside to pay/shop without moving their car lol

 

[pianomanzano]

I haven't noticed any charging stations at any of the resorts. I'm guessing if we are to go electric cars, we are going to need a lot more charging stations everywhere and we will need a universal charging setup so you can charge any car at any charging station. I guess the reason some people seem inconsiderate while charging their car is they may have gone to a park or they in bed for the night so not moving their car. That could be a big problem if we all start driving electric cars.

Riviera has a couple spots dedicated for car charging. Haven’t noticed (or looked for them) anywhere else

 

[Matty B13]

I'm surprised more hotels haven't starting installing chargers in their parking lots, as a paid perk for their hotel guests. And especially surprised more upscale hotels don't have them installed with all the expensive EV's out there.

I know the VGF parking lot doesn't have a charger (at least back in April 2022), but not sure about the Main GF parking lot. Only charger I saw on property was at Hollywood Studios parking lot.

 

[tjkraz]

Yeah. We need a rhyme to remind people to be courteous. Something akin to “Be Kind, Rewind.”

I charged overnight at a hotel destination charger last night and it was almost done when I was ready to leave (parked at 3:00am ). I always move when my car is done charging.

Best of luck with that. We can't even get people to set an alarm for 60 minutes to move their lanudry from the washer to the dryer.

 

[CarolMN]

Best of luck with that. We can't even get people to set an alarm for 60 minutes to move their lanudry from the washer to the dryer.

Maybe there needs to be a $$ cost for time in the spot, even if no electricity is being used.

 

[D-Trick]

Disney can set the chargepoint rates. They just need to set a parking fee of like $5/hour after charging ends or 4 hours, whichever comes first. That'll get the car owner to move.

 

[Spivey378]

I’m currently charging at a ChargePoint charger at Hollywood Studios. Started at 30% and am presently at 76% at a charge of $8.60. It is slow but I’m glad I don’t have to go to the supercharger tomorrow. There is no charger at SSR where I am staying.

 

[sheilafri]

I saw a charger at Riviera when I stayed there last December. I’m staying at SSR and there doesn’t appear to be one there. I plan to use the Supercharger near Disney Springs. I’d like to see chargers at each DVC resort.

What has your experience been with charging at Disney?

Off-site we have stayed at Sheraton Vistana which has a couple Level 2 chargers. We would just hook up for an hour or so which recharged our PHEV then we moved the car. Now that we have a full EV, I’ve noticed that PlugShare shows chargers at the parks, some resorts, DS garages, and some offsite hotels. I expect it could be difficult to get a spot as what is the likelihood that someone will leave the park to move their car when it fully charges?

 

[LYSE]

I'm surprised more hotels haven't starting installing chargers in their parking lots, as a paid perk for their hotel guests. And especially surprised more upscale hotels don't have them installed with all the expensive EV's out there.

I know the VGF parking lot doesn't have a charger (at least back in April 2022), but not sure about the Main GF parking lot. Only charger I saw on property was at Hollywood Studios parking lot.

Actually disney is behind the curve, most mid to high end hotels have FREE charging.

As for disney charging
Disney has paid charging, Riv, wilderness lodge and Coronado have it plus the parks, limited spaces of course but I charge at the parks often on day trips and have used the chargers at wilderness lodge and riviera when staying there..the lodge has extremely slow chargers that make it easy to have to charge the entire day depending on your battery size and if your sharing the station

They also recently replaced the charge points at disney springs with some off brand that doesn't really work...don't bother with those.

In general the lack of chargers at on site hotels is actually embarrassing, we are doing a 2 week road trip next week and without even planning it all our hotels offer free charging.

 

[supersnoop]

Actually disney is behind the curve, most mid to high end hotels have FREE charging.

It seems like free charging would exacerbate the problem of people using and not moving. At least if they're getting charged, there's an incentive to open up the spot when you're finished.

I also think that all electric cars need to have a universal charging setup so all cars can be charged at all charging stations.

All electric cars work on the same standards for charging. Some just have different plugs which require an adapter. The only caveat is Telsa Supercharger stations which are DC and communicate with the car to authorize and bill for use since they don't have any interface on the unit. But any charger installed at a hotel should be capable of charging any vehicle over night.

 

[LYSE]

It seems like free charging would exacerbate the problem of people using and not moving. At least if they're getting charged, there's an incentive to open up the spot when you're finished.

All electric cars work on the same standards for charging. Some just have different plugs which require an adapter. The only caveat is Telsa Supercharger stations which are DC and communicate with the car to authorize and bill for use since they don't have any interface on the unit. But any charger installed at a hotel should be capable of charging any vehicle over night.

Stations can charge an idle fee if they want, disney just doesnt (they charge per KWh received)...and I tend to agree with no idle fee at destinations where you are far from the car or will charge over night, ealier this week I charged for 8 hours at magic Kingdom and just got enough to make it back home with a good safety cushion..it would have been another 90 minutes to 100 percent, even if it sat after that it wouldn't allow that much time for someone else.

The better solution for destination chargers (where the car is parked for a long time) is more chargers on shared circuits, the more cars are charging the slower it goes...as cars finish everyone else speeds up. This is what the four seasons orlando does, but they also have valet handle the charging.

 

[AliceIn]

There are chargers at Wilderness Lodge for sure.

 

[Noodlez]

People seem to be responding to a problem that doesn't exist yet! The thread was started by someone stating they couldn't find a charger at SSR and that Disney should install them at all resorts. I fully agree with this! No one yet has reported finding all of the available chargers full, but for some reason people are responding to this 'problem'.

I have parked an electric car at Aulani this year, and previously in 2019. There are only two chargers and I have never seen the other one in use. Admittedly, this is a very small sample size, but given the time it takes to fully charge a car I really don't think I should be charged if I don't move my car at 4am when no one else is trying to charge theirs! This isn't the way to encourage more use of electric vehicles.

I've checked a couple of articles and it appears that there are only 4 WDW DVC resorts with chargers (this may have increased since last year). As the OP says, we should be trying to encourage them to install electric charging points at all DVC resorts, rather than blaming people for parking in spots that don't exist!

 

[CmdrThor]

People seem to be responding to a problem that doesn't exist yet! The thread was started by someone stating they couldn't find a charger at SSR and that Disney should install them at all resorts. I fully agree with this! No one yet has reported finding all of the available chargers full, but for some reason people are responding to this 'problem'.

I have parked an electric car at Aulani this year, and previously in 2019. There are only two chargers and I have never seen the other one in use. Admittedly, this is a very small sample size, but given the time it takes to fully charge a car I really don't think I should be charged if I don't move my car at 4am when no one else is trying to charge theirs! This isn't the way to encourage more use of electric vehicles.

I've checked a couple of articles and it appears that there are only 4 WDW DVC resorts with chargers (this may have increased since last year). As the OP says, we should be trying to encourage them to install electric charging points at all DVC resorts, rather than blaming people for parking in spots that don't exist!

It is absolutely a problem. The scant few chargers at each park are almost always full. Yes there are often vehicles done charging that don't move, but I don't think that should be an expectation at a theme park. At a hotel I think maybe 12 hours grace period should be given so if you finish charging while you are asleep or at a park, you can move at your first convenience when you return to your resort.

The chargers Disney does have are mostly painfully slow. The Wilderness Lodge chargers are 3 kW shared, which means you only get 1.5 kW if both are in use. The parks are mostly 3 kW dedicated, maybe some are 6 kW. It takes 10-12 hours to recharge fully at the faster ones, it would take me like 2.5 *days* to recharge at the Wilderness Lodge charger assuming both were in use.

On our last trip that we drove to WDW in our EV we stayed at SSR. Thankfully there was a Tesla Supercharger close by which I used twice. I only managed to plug in at a park once I believe and we weren't there for a lot of hours that day so I didn't get all that much charge.

As of today the parks need about 50-100 chargers each and the resorts need probably 10-20 each. I would do no idle fees at the parks, just have enough that everyone who wants to can plug in. Maybe up the minimum charge (currently is $1.50) to make sure people actually need to charge and aren't just plugging in and shutting off the charge after an hour. At the resorts idle fees of $5 an hour after 12 hours should work well.