Hope DVC is ready for the cars in 2022!

[Chuck S]

I've never not driven my own car to WDW. It's only 1200 miles away.

We used to drive a lot from Texas, but for solo trips, if you count a one night stay each way, flying for 1 usually cheaper.

 

[sethschroeder]

The cheapest we could get away with was $300 for a compact. It got up near $450 for a larger SUV. I don't think a ton of people will actually end up renting cars to deal with MDE going away. For comparison's sake, a Lyft ride to or from the airport cost us $40-$50 each way.

Lyft doesn't support car seats and a bus service will be per person. There are towncar services though but those will go up in price if demand spikes.

In the end with your $300 compact that also means you can easily hit various restaurants in the area for a cost savings on food in addition to more easily getting to other parks outside of Disney if you want 1 day at Lego, Sea, or Uni. Heck even the beach isn't that far away to make a day trip with a car honestly.

I could also see this being a not every time sort of thing but when DME was around it was a never thing.

 

[Eric Smith]

Lyft doesn't support car seats and a bus service will be per person. There are towncar services though but those will go up in price if demand spikes.

In the end with your $300 compact that also means you can easily hit various restaurants in the area for a cost savings on food in addition to more easily getting to other parks outside of Disney if you want 1 day at Lego, Sea, or Uni. Heck even the beach isn't that far away to make a day trip with a car honestly.

I could also see this being a not every time sort of thing but when DME was around it was a never thing.

I don't think a compact car is working for a family with kids, especially not what rental car companies call a compact. Some people will get rental cars, but I don't think it will be enough to make a noticeable difference. An increase in demand could also lead rental car prices to spike along with Lyft and other means of transportation.

FWIW, I think Disney will release some kind of partnered transportation option by the summer for a price.

 

[New Mouse]

I don't think a compact car is working for a family with kids, especially not what rental car companies call a compact. Some people will get rental cars, but I don't think it will be enough to make a noticeable difference. An increase in demand could also lead rental car prices to spike along with Lyft and other means of transportation.

FWIW, I think Disney will release some kind of partnered transportation option by the summer for a price.

So they are going to charge us twice? Once up front and once hidden?

 

[Eric Smith]

So they are going to charge us twice? Once up front and once hidden?

I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.

 

[CarolynFH]

They could just stop renters from getting free parking. I'm not sure how many parking spots this would save. Aulani used to allow free parking for everyone staying on points, but now you must show a membership card to get free parking. An interesting side effect is now DVC members get free parking there, even if they are doing a cash stay.

The difficulty with penalizing “renters” in any way is that there’s no way to tell who’s a renter and who’s a family member staying on the owner’s points as a gift. And as long as my dues are paying to maintain the parking lot, they can’t charge my guests anything to park, whether my guests are paying me for their stay or not. I don’t know how Aulani is doing it differently, but for the WDW DVC resorts, they’d have to go through some serious legal changes in order to implement what you’re suggesting.

 

[CarolynFH]

I don't disagree with you and you have a great point. I was surprised to find out the changes at Aulani with the parking rule. But it's Hawaii, things run a little differently here to say the least. They also don't give out the sparkly wrist bands to renters anymore, either. You need to show your ID to get the special wrist bands, even if you are staying on points.

Let me say I’m not sure about parking at Aulani. If the person is staying on points, the dues on those points paid to maintain the parking facilities so even a guest of the owner should not be charged for parking.

 

[Chuck S]

There is the convention center and the Contemporary meeting rooms there too. I wonder how that impacts parking? I suppose they could make those people park in the MK lot and use the monorail to get there.

Another option for the convention/meeting rooms would be to have them in a designated parking area (like Fort Wilderness, which rarely has a full lot) and have Disney Buses transport those conventioneers to the convention center.

 

[CarolMN]

There is the convention center and the Contemporary meeting rooms there too. I wonder how that impacts parking? I suppose they could make those people park in the MK lot and use the monorail to get there.

Another option for the convention/meeting rooms would be to have then in a designated parking are (like Fort Wilderness, which rarely has a full lot) and have Disney Buses transport those conventioneers to the convention center.

I can't see Disney doing anything to make things inconvenient for Convention attendees. Disney wants that business

 

[Evita_W]

You are only allowed one vehicle per DVC reservation to my knowledge.

Actually, it is usually two vehicles per room, not per reservation.

It will definitely be interesting to see how 2022 pans out unless they come up with something to replace magical express.

 

[cruisin5]

We were self-sufficient before DME and will be after.

 

[mustinjourney]

Which relies upon locals wanting to be uber/lyft drivers. How many will want to deal with airport traffic on a regular basis, and the wear and tear on their vehicle from the luggage? I think it's a pipe dream to believe that enough uber/lyft drivers will exist to accept the hundreds of hourly trips that would be necessary to replace DME.

never mind the increase in carbon footprint from each family using a separate car instead of the buses.

Good thing Disney is doing its part by using paper straws.

 

[mustinjourney]

Lyft doesn't support car seats and a bus service will be per person. There are towncar services though but those will go up in price if demand spikes.

In the end with your $300 compact that also means you can easily hit various restaurants in the area for a cost savings on food in addition to more easily getting to other parks outside of Disney if you want 1 day at Lego, Sea, or Uni. Heck even the beach isn't that far away to make a day trip with a car honestly.

I could also see this being a not every time sort of thing but when DME was around it was a never thing.

One problem with car rentals on family vacations is that it is very difficult to get a sedan with a family of 4 or more when you consider the luggage. At least in the past, with DME, you could always have them ship your bags from MCO using the yellow tags and then get your own ride separate from DME...but that is no longer an option. Which means minivan/SUV most likely needed.

 

[Jillpie]

I just think it'll go back to how it was PRE ME. What did we do? We hired transportation to get us from the airport. My husband and I didn't want to drive anywhere on property! Once we were on vacation, we took the buses everywhere. Now, we take Uber once we're on property. I just think it'll all go back to that.

 

[808blessing]

Aulani info above is different than actual policy online today: "Members also will not be charged an overnight parking fee when using points to stay at an Aulani Resort hotel. This is also true for Guest-of-Member reservations."

https://www.disneyaulani.com/about-aulani/guest-services/
When I rented last fall, there was a parking issue but the front desk corrected it and ended up being free. I didn't get a sparkly band but I think that is only if you show the blue card. Not sure bc I wasn't a member at the time. I will find out later this year though.

 

[Sandisw]

I just think it'll go back to how it was PRE ME. What did we do? We hired transportation to get us from the airport. My husband and I didn't want to drive anywhere on property! Once we were on vacation, we took the buses everywhere. Now, we take Uber once we're on property. I just think it'll all go back to that.

To add, Mears will be there still and is planning to continue the service that DME provided. It will simply now require guests to evaluate the cost of that over other options.

But, we are like you. We are not going to do a rental car unless we have plans to go off property which normally we don’t.

 

[LPnerd]

I don't think a compact car is working for a family with kids, especially not what rental car companies call a compact. Some people will get rental cars, but I don't think it will be enough to make a noticeable difference. An increase in demand could also lead rental car prices to spike along with Lyft and other means of transportation.

FWIW, I think Disney will release some kind of partnered transportation option by the summer for a price.

It's my understanding ( and I could be wrong), ME went away because of Covid. But you guys are correct, parking spaces would be very difficult to deal with. Esp at hotels with limited parking to begin with, like Boardwalk. Minnie Vans also went away due to covid. If enough of us complain when making a reservation, they will be forced to figure it out. Plus, the day I have to pay for parking, is most likely the day I buy my annual pass at universal. Just sayin" My biggest concern right now, is bring back fast pass or something. Lines are too long, it's going to be HOT soon, and you'll have folks and kids passing out in line, social distancing in long lines is not being enforced very well, and so on. again I say Complain, when you call, write, fill out a survey online, any chance you get to tell disney where improvements should be made, do it. That's how chance happens!

 

[keishashadow]

know that I never brought a car in all my Disney stays, and my 2021 stays have no cars. But for 2022, we are flying into FLL and renting a car. I can see no ME impacting both parking and MCO, honestly.

Not a fan of ME nor the internal bus system. Generally, we rent a car.

The rental rates have taken a substantial bump. I watch them carefully, last October & early March were easily 1/3rd more than we’d normally pay. March would’ve been even higher but, i lucked into a special SUV rate.

The days of of $160 weekly midsize are long gone. If you can find a weekly rate for under $300, pounce on it as it’s more common to see $500+ for our standard weeks this year.

I’ve this pricing keeps up, may just book a towncar for the grocery stop feature and uber offsite to to our favorite local restaurants & often taking the bus to the parks.

 

[Eric Smith]

It's my understanding ( and I could be wrong), ME went away because of Covid. But you guys are correct, parking spaces would be very difficult to deal with. Esp at hotels with limited parking to begin with, like Boardwalk. Minnie Vans also went away due to covid. If enough of us complain when making a reservation, they will be forced to figure it out. Plus, the day I have to pay for parking, is most likely the day I buy my annual pass at universal. Just sayin" My biggest concern right now, is bring back fast pass or something. Lines are too long, it's going to be HOT soon, and you'll have folks and kids passing out in line, social distancing in long lines is not being enforced very well, and so on. again I say Complain, when you call, write, fill out a survey online, any chance you get to tell disney where improvements should be made, do it. That's how chance happens!

I think COVID sped up what was going to happen anyways. I've seen it said that DME ridership was declining consistently even pre-COVID and Disney was paying Mears a fixed cost on their contract. COVID and the associated drop in resort guests probably made that arrangement unsustainable.

I don't think that the DME change will make a lot of DVC members start renting cars. I feel like DVC members already either drive or rent cars at a higher rate than regular hotel guests. I don't see this pushing DVC to start charging for parking.

It's hot every summer, I don't think any more people will be passing out in lines than did in years past. A lot of the standby lines are actually shorter than they were pre-COVID and they move at a good clip since there isn't a FP+ line holding everyone up.

 

[Chuck S]

I don't think that the DME change will make a lot of DVC members start renting cars. I feel like DVC members already either drive or rent cars at a higher rate than regular hotel guests. I don't see this pushing DVC to start charging for parking.

DVC really can't charge for parking at the resorts as long as our dues pay for maintenance of the parking areas. That likely would not set well with state timeshare regulators. The exception is Hawai'i.

They could however, start charging us for parking at the theme parks...but I think that would likely be a big hassle for Disney without doing a lot of recoding on the magic band profiles. And I'm sure somewhere, our dues pay Disney for the same perks all other onsite guests receive. like resort package delivery. and such. It would be a hassle trying to separate cash guests from DVC point guests for all those perks.