Didn't take long for WDW to gouge, I mean, increase the resort parking fees

[Ninja Mom]

When did I say DVC resorts didn't mean more people in the parks? My point is DVC leadership does not care about park capacity or attendance.

As far as Star Wars yes it has a special GE enterance likely and at the same time why wouldn't it have transportation throughout WDW? The whole concept of the hotel is a multi-day immersive star wars adventure experience. It's a whole new hotel category. How is being at Magic Kingdom from 9am to 9pm immersive for Star Wars? How is going to eat at California Grill a Star Wars immersive experience? If you are limited to 2 or 3 days of a 7 day vacation at Star Wars Hotel and you are huge Star Wars fan why would you spend those days at Epcot?

The star wars hotel is not just another hotel because there is a rumor it will only have like 60ish rooms which means it's going to be almost impossible to book.

As far as the Star Wars hotel, I disagree with you that people staying there won't be interested in visiting the parks.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

~NM

 

[jbehr12]

I said the same thing in post #25 but jbehr12 seems to think Walt opened Disney to get rich. Of course they have to make money to stay in business but its getting absurd.

You don’t think Walt worked as hard as he did to not be rich? Thinking anything other than that is pure ignorance. He did it in an amazing, unique way, but his end game was the same as every other entrepreneur out there.

 

[portocall]

If you look at the big picture, not that Disney is gouging, what they’re trying to do is cut down the use of personal and rented cars to minimize the ever growing traffic on the property. They want people using Magical Express and the on-site transportation system. The parking charge is basically Disney’s way of telling you they don’t want you driving on property. It’s most likely the reason too that Magical Express is still free.

While there may be truth to that, I want to drive to Florida because Disney isn't my only destination and the Magic Express doesn't get me to my mother's house. I wouldn't mind turning in my keys valet style until I leave and using internal transportation for the exchange of free parking. But when the resort I want to stay at is $300 a night when factoring in taxes, I am not willing to pay a parking fee on top of that.

This is probably the mindset Disney is going for as to alleviate the crowds and overcrowding while still maintaining the same bottom line. They would prefer to further distinguish themselves as a vacation destination rather than a local amusement park.

I do want to point out that while at one time I was a local, I haven't been since 1993. During my years as a local, most people I knew stayed as far away from Disney as they could. There was a reason we dressed like tourist for Halloween. Now I lived beach side so an hour away but generally speaking, Disney was not the place locals went to just hang out. Disney World was always full of people from somewhere else unlike my visit to Disneyland. I realize that Florida has changed a lot since I lived there, Orlando in particular including people who move there because of their love for Disney so perhaps there is a larger local presence now than previously. I haven't been in a while.

 

[jbehr12]

While there may be truth to that, I want to drive to Florida because Disney isn't my only destination and the Magic Express doesn't get me to my mother's house. I wouldn't mind turning in my keys valet style until I leave and using internal transportation for the exchange of free parking. But when the resort I want to stay at is $300 a night when factoring in taxes, I am not willing to pay a parking fee on top of that.

I do want to point out that while at one time I was a local, I haven't been since 1993. During my years as a local, most people I knew stayed as far away from Disney as they could. There was a reason we dressed like tourist for Halloween. Now I lived beach side so an hour away but generally speaking, Disney was not the place locals went to just hang out. Disney World was always full of people from somewhere else unlike my visit to Disneyland. I realize that Florida has changed a lot since I lived there, Orlando in particular including people who move there because of their love for Disney so perhaps there is a larger local presence now than previously. I haven't been in a while.

When I said that I was more referring to people who live within 20 minutes of property. I would think at least 80% of that population makes up “Disney World locals”. I can imagine those an hour away are detached enough that tourists would annoy them, as well as me if I were them lol. DL is also is a much more urban area so the population is more dense (see: smaller area but bigger number).. so just based on location it’s easier to distinguish WDW as a resort destination rather than a local park and I would assume Walt factored that into his decision making

 

[Mikamarii]

It's sad for fans who love the company to witness what Disney is becoming. You may disagree with that sentiment but it doesn't account that more and more of us are seeing it very clearly.

The interesting thing about this is it’s not what it is ‘becoming’ it’s what it has always been. I don’t know how old you are or how long you’ve been going to the parks but quick google searches revelead some interesting articles:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-behind/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a11898fbe77e
This WP article is from June 2015 and discusses this very thing we are discussing now. Nothing has changed.

South Park did a Disney parady show in 2009 called the “ring”where it showcases the evil corporation side of Disney.

Family guy did a parady in 2005 where it highlighted a couple corporate jokes about Disney operations.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-02-18-1993049186-story.html
This Baltimore article is from 1993 where, again, points out some of he criticism Disney faces as being an evil corporation. Granted much of that article discusses the cultural aspect of Disney; it does discuss a little the Econimics of the company and references criticism back to the 60s

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/a-nice-history-of-the-contemporary-hotel.543635/
This link contains an interesting article on the history of the contemporary resort where it states a couple years after it was built they did a major refurb where they removed everything with a Disney logo not nailed down as people would steal it. They made everything generic. Some people criticise the hotels now are too generic but the same thing happened in the 70s.

Wikipedia has pages dedicated to criticism of Disney. Yes I understand Wikipedia is not a great information portal but just shows the level of critism Disney has gotten over the years.

I’m not defending what Disney has done or what Disney is doing just pointing out that the arguments are nothing new. So to those saying ‘in my day it was great but now it’s all about money’ isn’t necessarily true. It’s always been the same. When it was great for one person there was still the exact same arguments as to why it was bad as there are now. People just chose to ignore it because, at the time, they enjoyed it.

 

[jbehr12]

The interesting thing about this is it’s not what it is ‘becoming’ it’s what it has always been. I don’t know how old you are or how long you’ve been going to the parks but quick google searches revelead some interesting articles:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-behind/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a11898fbe77e
This WP article is from June 2015 and discusses this very thing we are discussing now. Nothing has changed.

South Park did a Disney parady show in 2009 called the “ring”where it showcases the evil corporation side of Disney.

Family guy did a parady in 2005 where it highlighted a couple corporate jokes about Disney operations.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1993-02-18-1993049186-story.html
This Baltimore article is from 1993 where, again, points out some of he criticism Disney faces as being an evil corporation. Granted much of that article discusses the cultural aspect of Disney; it does discuss a little the Econimics of the company and references criticism back to the 60s

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/a-nice-history-of-the-contemporary-hotel.543635/
This link contains an interesting article on the history of the contemporary resort where it states a couple years after it was built they did a major refurb where they removed everything with a Disney logo not nailed down as people would steal it. They made everything generic. Some people criticise the hotels now are too generic but the same thing happened in the 70s.

Wikipedia has pages dedicated to criticism of Disney. Yes I understand Wikipedia is not a great information portal but just shows the level of critism Disney has gotten over the years.

I’m not defending what Disney has done or what Disney is doing just pointing out that the arguments are nothing new. So to those saying ‘in my day it was great but now it’s all about money’ isn’t necessarily true. It’s always been the same. When it was great for one person there was still the exact same arguments as to why it was bad as there are now. People just chose to ignore it because, at the time, they enjoyed it.

If I could love this post I would, thank you for the logic and research and time spent.

 

[kaytieeldr]

"Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money."
"I'd say it's been my biggest problem all my life... it's money. It takes a lot of money to make these dreams come true."

Important word, there.

 

[DebbieB]

Twenty five dollars a day X10 for us is a charge. Is it to much to ask when you are giving Disney 20K+ for a break? In our case I am going to game the system. I have a sister who just retired and her and her husband bought a house near Disney. She is going to drive us from her house to the hotel. No car staying at Disney. This is the last 10 day trip. From now on Universal gets 3 days. Iger is just greedy watch any time now he will announce a new raise for himself. The 1st major recession we get is going to hammer them hard.

Universal resorts charge for day parking and overnight parking. If a recession hits, they will do promotions. All they have to do is say “free dining” and the phones light up.

Well, you have to admit Walt didn't open Disney to not get rich

I agree. It drives me crazy when people claim they know Walt’s vision or what he would think today. Most executives have a public vision that is put out for publicity but may have a different private vision for the executive board. Unless you knew him personally, you don’t know. He’s been gone over 50 years, no one knows what he would think today.

As far as the Star Wars hotel, I disagree with you that people staying there won't be interested in visiting the parks.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

~NM

My bet is they will spend the couple nights there with the immersive experience and then move elsewhere for park time. It doesn’t make sense to pay all that money for the immersive experience and not take maximum advantage of it.

 

[sbd78]

Universal resorts charge for day parking and overnight parking. If a recession hits, they will do promotions. All they have to do is say “free dining” and the phones light up

Universal Resorts are also much more reasonably priced than Disney hotels. My daughter loves Harry Potter and wants to check out Universal, so out of curiosity, I was checking out their hotel prices for Summer 2020. I was SHOCKED how much lower they were than Disney hotels. While I don't love hotel parking fees anywhere, they feel less insulting when the hotel isn't so overpriced to begin with.

 

[SL6827]

Doesn't the Port of Canaveral charge by the day? Double dipping? Wonder if that will ever hit Disney?