Go back to showing hotel ids for transportation?

[snackyx]

I would be interested in knowing just how big of a problem this is? Do off-site visitors who are going to the parks really go through the hassle of parking in DTD, walking to SSR, waiting for the bus and riding it to the park to save $11.00? When you figure exactly what a day at the WDW parks is going to cost a family doesn't the $11 somewhat pale in comparision? I am not saying that there won't be some who will find it worth the end-around, but are there really that many to warrant the kinds of changes being discussed?

 

[Alexander]

I would be interested in knowing just how big of a problem this is? Do off-site visitors who are going to the parks really go through the hassle of parking in DTD, walking to SSR, waiting for the bus and riding it to the park to save $11.00? When you figure exactly what a day at the WDW parks is going to cost a family doesn't the $11 somewhat pale in comparision? I am not saying that there won't be some who will find it worth the end-around, but are there really that many to warrant the kinds of changes being discussed?

My thoughts exactly! When DS and I came off the cruise ship in April, we had one day to spend at WDW before flying home. He chose Epcot. Because our AP's had expired and we were using old park hoppers, we had to pay $11 for parking. I thought about the alternative: DTD--Walking--SSR--Bus--Epcot--Bus--SSR--Walking--DTD and figured, "no way, my time is well worth $11!"

 

[zumfelde]

I think Disney really needs to up their security. There are always reports of people parking at resorts to go to parks and locals or offsite people using the pools at many of the resorts. These people are stealing from Disney and the people that follow the rules and pay to stay at these resorts. DVC owners pay for buses at their resort and expenses of the pools.

 

[madcoco]

DTD is not an attraction--it is a shopping and restaurant destination, and Disney does NOT want to discourage anyone from visiting there because of a parking fee that may be validated or not.

Don't be so sure. Like someone mentioned earlier DTD in CA,went to a free and fee and validation parking system. In the grand scheme of things there are other reasons for going that route than just for some people sneaking on a bus imho.

 

[Brian Noble]

Do off-site visitors who are going to the parks really go through the hassle of parking in DTD, walking to SSR, waiting for the bus and riding it to the park to save $11.00?

Given the number of people who were livid that an "extra bun" at Pecos Bill's went from $0.25 to $1.99, making it less effective to split the double cheeseburger meal, yes, I'm guessing some folks do this.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Early one morning last week, I rode the bus to DHS to get a couple of quick rides on Toy Story Mania while Will slept and Bill went running. As the bus neared DHS the driver announced the park hours and that any of the guests who wanted to go to DTD after the park closed should take the SSR bus as a way to get closer to DTD. She proceeded to tell the bus riders to either take the DTD bus from SSR or get off at the Congress Park stop and walk over via the path.

I just shook my head.

 

[crisi]

I have to say I almost did this last week.

I was at a conference staying off site. The day I flew in, I drove to DTD to pick up a DDE and AP for my October trip. I had a late lunch at Bongos - which included a mojito. I now had an AP, so was going to go into one of the parks - but also had just had a drink, so shouldn't drive. I had serious thoughts about hopping a resort bus (I was going to take a DTD bus to BW and walk to the Studios - not do the SSR thing), but in the end the thought about the hassle to get back kept me from doing so. I wandered DTD for an hour or so and then drove over. I certainly wasn't trying to avoid parking fees - just avoid driving.

 

[TDC Nala]

I can understand that. They need to have buses dedicated to DTD then, because it is a huge pain if you're staying in that area of Saratoga. Having exclusive use of transportation has always been one the "perks" of staying on property that we no longer seem to have, but that they still advertise.

They used to have buses from the parks to DTD. Folks parked at DTD and used the buses to get to the parks, bypassing the parking fee. Therefore, you now can't use Disney transportation to go from a park to DTD unless you take the extra added step of going through a resort.

I don't think WDW will be amenable to restricting its transportation to WDW resort guests only - and especially not to guests of the particular resort on that bus/boat/monorail route. They want everyone to have access to the shopping and dining.

Last trip I was staying at the Boardwalk Villas. Wanted to see the Star Wars show at the Studios at 7 PM and then head to the Adventurers Club. I took the bus from Studios to SSR and caught the Downtown Disney bus there.

There isn't an easy or particularly fast way to get to a resort from the Studios to switch buses. Could have walked to the Boardwalk but chose to wait for the SSR bus.

(I may have been staying at BWV but I own at BCV and SSR - I guess maybe it's OK for me to ride that bus, then)

 

[Christine & family]

For those of you that own at SSR, I wanted to let you know that writing to DVC using the contact us link from the DVC member site works! I wrote to them yesterday regarding my concerns about people at the off-site hotels using the SSR buses and having our dues affected. I wasn't home at the time, but Joy from DVC called and left a message on my answering machine saying they would like to discuss my concerns. I don't know if anything will come from it, but it's nice to know someone is listening. So please, if you have an opinion and you want to make it known, write in to DVC. The more people that write, the more chance we have of something being done.

 

[disneyfinatics]

Of course, paid parking at DTD wouldn't keep the Downtown Disney hotel guests off the SSR buses - those that are on the close end and walk down to DTD/SSR to catch buses - but SSR is a pretty long walk from most of the DTD hotels, I can't believe this is a HUGE issue.

I know a lot of hotels offer free shuttles to Disney. What I don't know is if they drop them off at DTD. Then all they have to do is catch a bus to the park they want, take the ssr bus back when they're through to catch their shuttle at DTD. Maybe we hav noticed it more because of the time of year we go, which is always in the off season. We didn't ride a single time that it wasn't completely packed. People even had to wait for other buses. We were at the stop before Congress Park, the bus was packed after we stopped there.

 

[Simba's Mom]

The simple solution would be to put a gate (requiring key access) on the trail between DTD and SSR. This is what is done at US resorts to keep park guests from parking at their resorts and walking through the resort and in to the parks. If I were an SSR owner I would request this be done, rather than just emailing them with a problem, provide them with a solution.

The only problem is-who'd pay for the gate? Disney should if they're the ones encouraging people to use the SSR buses for theme park transportation when they park at DTD. But they'd probably say "Not our problem-you pay for it" to DVC,

 

[Deb & Bill]

The only problem is-who'd pay for the gate? Disney should if they're the ones encouraging people to use the SSR buses for theme park transportation when they park at DTD. But they'd probably say "Not our problem-you pay for it" to DVC,

Even if it costs $5000, that would be cheap for the members. Probably less than a dollar per member on the dues.

 

[WolfpackFan]

Even if it costs $5000, that would be cheap for the members. Probably less than a dollar per member on the dues.

I would not be willing to have this added to my dues, because I really don't see it as a problem.

 

[disneyfinatics]

I'm beginning to think the best solution would be to have buses running to DTD again from the parks. I like the gate idea, but they would need to fence a large area or people would just walk around it. People could always use the boats, but I think they start running later than the buses.

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm beginning to think the best solution would be to have buses running to DTD again from the parks.

This won't happen as along as parking at DTD is free.

 

[Christine & family]

I finally spoke with Joy at DVC member correspondance (I had written to them from the DVC member site using Contact Us). She said they appreciated hearing from members about their concerns and she would pass the information on so that DVC could consider options. Please write if you are concerned. The more they hear from us the more likely they are to do something.

 

[johngpa705]

You are 100% dead on correct!!!!

They need to have the busses go back the the old "loop" routes, get rid of dispatch, and have busses dedicated for resort use. They could have differnt colored busses for resort guest use and off-site guest use, but staying in the world has been a hassle because you cant go where or when you want to.

I would eveen pay $5 a night if the had theold style system, whena bus for each destination would be there every 20 minutes. last trip I spent well over $150 in taxi fares because a bus never appeared.

 

[spiceycat]

I know a lot of hotels offer free shuttles to Disney. What I don't know is if they drop them off at DTD. Then all they have to do is catch a bus to the park they want, take the ssr bus back when they're through to catch their shuttle at DTD. Maybe we hav noticed it more because of the time of year we go, which is always in the off season. We didn't ride a single time that it wasn't completely packed. People even had to wait for other buses. We were at the stop before Congress Park, the bus was packed after we stopped there.

I though Disney had stopped this - when they changed DTD buses.

definitely write to disney and tell them what you have found out. list the hotels if possible.

this was the reason that DTD to theme park buses were cancelled.

disney could live with the few people who were during it. but when entire hotel chains started doing it. they had to stop DTD to theme park buses.
they were losing money because the buses have to pay Disney to load and unload at Disney theme parks.

if they found away around - and are using SSR - then definitely ride to Disney. list the hotels if you know them.

 

[disneyfinatics]

I e-mailed Disney a few days ago and haven't heard anything yet. I called some of the hotels closest to DTD. They said they have buses that go to the parks and DTD. I'm sure they aren't going to tell you over the phone that you could use the DTD buses. Some of the hotels park buses only run every 30 min. It's something Disney should have thought about when putting SSR in place. One of the hotels says it's only 3 blks from DTD, if the bus only runs every 30 min. I would probably walk to DTD and catch the bus also. One thing my husband pointed out is that they kind of have the owners in a tight spot. I mean we own there, what are we going to do, threaten to stop going?

 

[DoOverDreams]

We're going to be at SSR July 3-6. I will be curious to see how the buses go. I'll post what it's like while we're there.