Gee, what a surprise

[MM32830]

Universal Studios just raised their parking fee from $12.00 to $14.00, just a few days after Disney did.

SeaWorld is still at $12.00. I wonder how long they will remain at $12.00?





_______________
Armand

 

[DisneyKevin]

They dont usually raise their prices until the price of widgets goes up.

 

[wdwpins]

Almost a 17% increase.

Imagine if the price of something you liked increased about 17% overnight. That $100 a night hotel room now costs $117 a night, or that $2.35 gallon of gas now costs $2.75.

How would you feel?

 

[Cyrano]

Almost a 17% increase.

Imagine if the price of something you liked increased about 17% overnight. That $100 a night hotel room now costs $117 a night, or that $2.35 gallon of gas now costs $2.75.

How would you feel?

That is a good way to look at it

 

[wdwpins]

I don't see the parking fee of $14 so much as a fee as I do a penalty for not being:

1. A DVC member (minimum buy in of about $18,000),
2. An annual passholder ($369 plus tax for FL residents, $489 plus tax for everyone else.)
3. A Disney hotel guest.

 

[Chernabog#1fan]

I do not think it can be considered a penalty for not being one of these 3 things. If you are one of these 3 things, you are paying for parking, just in a different means.

The resort may not explicitally say there is a fee for parking, but the nightly charge is higher than any other hotels in Orlando (generally speaking), so you can bet they have the fees built in.

In addition, if we did not want parking to be included in the annual pass, we could buy a seasonal pass. So by paying $100 more a year, we get the parking and no black out dates.

Finally, for DVC, we pay annual dues and a portion of the dues we pay go to cover taxes, transportation, maintenance, and I am sure parking.

 

[mel&me]

Last time there was a parking increase, I believe all 3 raised within 1 month of each other.

 

[mel&me]

Chernabog could not have said it any better myself.
I am a DVC member and between what I paid to buy in and my maintenance fees. I am sure I more than covered parking. As did anyone paying higher hotel rate to say on grounds.

 

[KittyKitty]

My medical insurance premium went up 36% this year. Talk about a hike.

 

[jb01]

I don't know about others but I find this outrageous. So if there is 30 days in a month @ $14/day the parks make $420/month for a little patch of asphalt built over a swamp. Oh yea you do get to take a tram ride to the gate.

 

[wdwpins]

$420 a month--interesting way of looking at it. At that price (I would have to do some measuring, comparing square footage) it looks like it's cheaper to rent a Manhattan City apartment.

 

[WDWBlaze]

$420 a month--interesting way of looking at it. At that price (I would have to do some measuring, comparing square footage) it looks like it's cheaper to rent a Manhattan City apartment.

But about the same price for monthly parking. Which is one of the reasons why no one has a car in Manhattan.

 

[wdwpins]

Well, when you take into account the cost of 24-hour parking in Manhattan and the price to park at Disney for less than that, say, 12 hours, the cost per hour at Disney may, in fact, be more than in Manhattan. Can anyone out there figure this out? Anyone reading this know of average parking prices in NYC?

Imagine if you will having to pay for parking at your local car dealer, whether for shopping for a new car or for service. Imaging having to pay for parking at your local supermarket. What would you do if your family doctor put up parking meters in his parking lot? What would you do if Home Depot installed parking meters in their parking lots? Would you accept that?

 

[MM32830]

Well, when you take into account the cost of 24-hour parking in Manhattan and the price to park at Disney for less than that, say, 12 hours, the cost per hour at Disney may, in fact, be more than in Manhattan. Can anyone out there figure this out? Anyone reading this know of average parking prices in NYC?

Imagine if you will having to pay for parking at your local car dealer, whether for shopping for a new car or for service. Imaging having to pay for parking at your local supermarket. What would you do if your family doctor put up parking meters in his parking lot? What would you do if Home Depot installed parking meters in their parking lots? Would you accept that?

Forgive me for saying this if it offends anyone, but these parallels are a bit silly.

You all have a method of not paying for parking. Simply stay on property.

If you are local, buy an annual pass.

Disney is giving you a choice. If you pay for parking, it's your choice.




_________________
Armand

 

[wdwpins]

Oh, you're correct in that it is a choice, for sure. If my local supermarket started charging for parking in their lot, I could certainly go elsewhere. Same applies to Disney.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Forgive me for saying this if it offends anyone, but these parallels are a bit silly.

You all have a method of not paying for parking. Simply stay on property.

If you are local, buy an annual pass.

Disney is giving you a choice. If you pay for parking, it's your choice./QUOTE]

I guess I'm surprised that you dont see that a great many people find this to be something to be discussed and not dismissed as "good business".

Look at pretty much any forum on the Dis and you will find this is a topic being discussed....and usually the feelings are pretty strong.

I have spent a great deal of my professional life in some sort of Customer Service position. I can put the corporate spin on pretty much anything. It would be tough to do with this one.

It's my opinion that this was very poorly timed, and from what I'm seeing.....alot of folks agree.

People are seeing prices increase and the level of service and the quality of the product seeming to decrease. That's a bad combination.

I understand your theory that Disney is giving guests a choice. For some guests, staying on property is not a choice. And I also understand your theory that some guests are disposable and Disney will still see a profit, but nobody likes to think that Disney feels that way about them.

I'm pretty sure everyone that posts here can tell you the story about Walt wanting someplace for families. It's starting to feel like that is less and less true and I think that's what's making people react so strongly.

No one wants to see that feeling disappear and lately....it seems that the folks that make decisions at Disney are doing their very best to make sure it does.

 

[ADP]

The other theme parks usually follow Disney's lead. What I find even more incredible is the need to raise the parking prices by $2. Couldn't they have just raised it by $1??? Raising it by $2 almost seems like they are kicking us while we are down.

 

[MM32830]

The other theme parks usually follow Disney's lead. What I find even more incredible is the need to raise the parking prices by $2. Couldn't they have just raised it by $1??? Raising it by $2 almost seems like they are kicking us while we are down.

This is going to sound silly (yep, I'm pretty good at that sometimes) but I wonder if they didn't raise the price by only $1.00 because that would make the price $13.00. Does superstition come into play here?




________________
Armand

 

[ADP]

This is going to sound silly (yep, I'm pretty good at that sometimes) but I wonder if they didn't raise the price by only $1.00 because that would make the price $13.00. Does superstition come into play here?




________________
Armand

LOL! Never thought of that. In the grand scheme of things I'd be willing to pay a $1 less and take my chances.

 

[MM32830]

I guess I'm surprised that you dont see that a great many people find this to be something to be discussed and not dismissed as "good business".

Look at pretty much any forum on the Dis and you will find this is a topic being discussed....and usually the feelings are pretty strong.

I have spent a great deal of my professional life in some sort of Customer Service position. I can put the corporate spin on pretty much anything. It would be tough to do with this one.

It's my opinion that this was very poorly timed, and from what I'm seeing.....alot of folks agree.

People are seeing prices increase and the level of service and the quality of the product seeming to decrease. That's a bad combination.

I understand your theory that Disney is giving guests a choice. For some guests, staying on property is not a choice. And I also understand your theory that some guests are disposable and Disney will still see a profit, but nobody likes to think that Disney feels that way about them.

I'm pretty sure everyone that posts here can tell you the story about Walt wanting someplace for families. It's starting to feel like that is less and less true and I think that's what's making people react so strongly.

No one wants to see that feeling disappear and lately....it seems that the folks that make decisions at Disney are doing their very best to make sure it does.

I DO see that this is a topic to be dicussed rather than dismissed but what is to be gained by just complaining about it and continue paying the fee? If you don't like something, do something about changing it.

There are two issues at work here. One is that Walt wanted a place where families could go and enjoy themselves. I've ready much about Walt's philosophies and today's Disney is doing a poor job in fulfilling those dreams when it comes to affordability. Disney Parks is still a great place for families to spend time together but it is getting pricey.

The other issue is that of profits. It's a dirty word with many but one that is necessary in sustaining a business. One argument I hear so often is that if you just lowered the price you would make more money. Unfortunately it just isn't that simple. Lowering the price on something rarely produces greater profits. That just basic economics.

I own a fairly successful business and I understand the cause and effects of pricing and volume. While many here work FOR a business, they don't understand the complexities involved in the fine points of setting price.

Today's Disney is nothing like Walt could ever envision. It has grown tremendously and while that is good, growth means increased costs and increased costs mean an increase in price. You are probably asking right now where does it stop? I think the answer is only when people stop going to Disney.

It's interesting that we complain more about the cost of going to Disney on vacation but we don't address the issues that affect the necessities in our daily lives. Florida recently raised the rates for auto registrations from $27.10 a year to $45.65 a year, a 68% price increase. Also, Florida increased driver's license renewals from $20.00 to $48.00, a 140% price increase. When WFTV did a story on this in August just before the increases, people interviewed weren't happy but simply accepted it. I don't understand why we simply accept these increases (having a car and a driver's license is a must these days) but we complain about the price of taking vacations, a luxury, at Disney.

I'm not happy with the price increases and the diminishing level of service at Disney either but I have a choice to accept it or simply not go to Disney. Unfortunately, so many other services and goods that are necessary in our lives are also increasing in price and that is where we should be addressing our efforts.



_________________
Armand