News Round Up 2017

[closetmickey]

Yeah - so, basically, in most cases you drive up to a resort and the guard at the guard shack asks what you're doing ie. meeting friends for drinks at Trader Sam's, reservation at Cali Grill, etc. If you say anything reasonable other than "Going to Epcot" or "Going to Magic Kingdom", they'll just ask to see your ID, take a quick glance at it and direct you to self-park. That's it.

That's just crazy. With all the work Disney has put into late with regard to closing loopholes, and squeezing money out of visitors, seems like charging non staying hotel guests for parking (to also eliminate guests avoiding paying for parking at park lots) would be a no brainer. Especially because it sounds like the lots already have a paid employee at the entrance.

 

[Redcon1]

I can understand charging a non-property guest for parking, but IMO anyone staying on property should receive
free parking anywhere on-site. Couldn't Disney place a magic band scanner at the entrance of the parking lot
to verify you're booked at one of their hotels or have the attendant check that as well?

 

[jtwibih]

Are we ready for the next expo? This one probably won't have a lot of US news though...

View attachment 254223

So they do these every year but every 2 years in the US?

 

[jtwibih]

I can understand charging a non-property guest for parking, but IMO anyone staying on property should receive
free parking anywhere on-site. Couldn't Disney place a magic band scanner at the entrance of the parking lot
to verify you're booked at one of their hotels or have the attendant check that as well?

They do that now don't they?

 

[Keels]

I can understand charging a non-property guest for parking, but IMO anyone staying on property should receive
free parking anywhere on-site. Couldn't Disney place a magic band scanner at the entrance of the parking lot
to verify you're booked at one of their hotels or have the attendant check that as well?

I'm going to have to disagree.

You should be able to park at your OWN resort for free, and the parks for free.
But you should have to pay to park at another resort or take the transportation provided.

Those actually staying at the Monorail Resorts (especially Poly) and BC/YC/BW often can't find parking spots and have to pay to valet because people utilize those as "theme park lots" that are closer than having to Monorail or Tram into the parks just because they think they can park there. I didn't pay a premium to be close to these parks just so someone else could take my spot and put me a mile away from my own resort.

I have TIW, so when I go to other resorts, I pay for valet.

@ Jambo House & Beach Club, they do NOT just let anyone come in to park!
Every time we returned via Mears to our home resort//Jambo House--the driver always told the guard that we were staying there. YET. Every. Time. he insisted on scanning a magic band to verify.

He said IF a guest said they had an ADR, the MB had to show it.

He said that folks were getting in to use the pool who were not guests of AKL.


ALSO Beach Club was not easy to taxi over to.
Even though we were obviously not parking,
the guard did NOT want to let us in!
He saw we had an CP ADR, but he said over & over we shouldn't be @ the BC!

He stopped the car ahead of us for 10 minutes!


Find it impossible to believe these Guards are letting everyone in to take up parking spots SO guests can avoid paying for Theme Park parking!!!

IF they let everyone in for bogus excuses,
WHY bother to have ANY Guards
@ ALL!!?!?!?!?!

At Beach Club, you're right - they will check for an ADR. But they DON'T MAKE CARS LEAVE. You don't think people will eat the $10 cancellation fee just to park there and go into Epcot via International Gateway? Or you think people are genuine enough to leave and go park in general theme park parking after their ADR is over with?

ADRs should get two hours of valet parking comp'd and self parking should be restricted to hotel reservations only. IT'S THAT EASY.

 

[umichigan10]

Yeah, but will the Minnie-van drivers be as good at spreading rumors as the bus drivers are?

For the extra price they should be better and more fanciful

 

[rteetz]

So they do these every year but every 2 years in the US?

Every 2 years in the US yes. Japan usually has it in off years.

 

[DrunkJam]

Even with mine, I wouldn't expect him to stay up til midnight then rope drop the next day. It's just common sense. You have to pick and choose those times of staying up late vs getting up early. Personally, I'd rather push the boundary at night, collect all the cool mom tokens and sleep in the next day. We often do this on our last night at disney because we'll swap over to universal or have a late flight out. Obviously it doesn't work for those taking that 5am DME. Even smarter is to do it midweek so you aren't hoping your last night doesn't get torrential rain. Obviously the holiday season makes it even harder to manage this. But I feel like with kids, you gotta pick one or the other or you're setting yourself up for misery!

This. We typically pick ONE night to stay at MK for the fireworks, for the atmosphere, otherwise we watch them from the hotel. And we won't do it on a night before we have an early breakfast booked. I don't think it is setting your kids up to have a great time to get them to rope drop and close out parks every day.

 

[AnnaKat]

...

 

[rteetz]

Nobody knows that it's not a fake/off-service cab thatjust going to park. Or a fake/off-service Uber/Lyft doing the same thing.

The BC doesn't have room to allow the Mears taxis to sit there as per their Valet Services told us.
The Yacht Club allows Mears taxis to sit on premises.
The Valet Services whistle for them!

I don't understand what the issue is. Please take it to a more appropriate thread as this is not on topic in the news thread.

 

[writerguyfl]

For MK transport options, it need not go crazy to alleviate some of the burden. They've talked about stuff on the western side of the park. A garage there with minimal footprint could be hidden in plain site, it would offer an alternate route out. It would also create the bridge across the canal that has been desperately needed to make a walking path to Grand Floridian. Would also open the opportunity for more beds in that area.

A garage on the western side of Magic Kingdom would have many obstacles to overcome. First, Floridian Way would probably need to be expanded to handle the extra vehicular traffic. Let's face it; that site would become the first choice for parking because it wouldn't require the transfer via monorail or ferry. All those extra cars would overtax the road that wasn't designed for that amount of traffic.

Second, that connects to the Rivers of America. Extra high clearance is needed in order to get ships in and out for maintenance. That's why the monorail beam is so high as it passes over the canal. Any vehicular bridge added would need to be a drawbridge or lift bridge. Those aren't cheap. (It's also one reason a path to Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa hasn't been completed.)

Finally, that location is very close to the fireworks location. I used to work in the Entertainment division and was based out of offices that are adjacent to this location. (Behind Pirates of the Caribbean and next to the parade facilities on Caribbean Way, if you look the linked aerial map below.) Every night, anyone with driving access would get trapped back there during the fireworks. I'm not sure what the exact radius is for "no traffic" perimeter with the fireworks. An access road close to the monorail beam may be permitted. Still, it's another possible problem with the location.

Link to Bing Maps "Bird's Eye" view of the location: https://binged.it/2vDGpty

 

[crazy4wdw]

Video of audio-animatronic head of the Pandora Navi Shaman

 

[Tiffany_m15]

Does anyone know if the new Skyliner air gondolas will be air-conditioned or will they be little greenhouses in the sky? The picture is vague, almost looks like window vents.

 

[nkosiek]

I can understand charging a non-property guest for parking, but IMO anyone staying on property should receive
free parking anywhere on-site. Couldn't Disney place a magic band scanner at the entrance of the parking lot
to verify you're booked at one of their hotels or have the attendant check that as well?

I disagree here. If you're staying at All-Stars and decide you want to drive to MK but come park in the BLT/Contemporary lot without going into that resort for food/shopping, I think you should have to pay at that location.

 

[umichigan10]

Does anyone know if the new Skyliner air gondolas will be air-conditioned or will they be little greenhouses in the sky? The picture is vague, almost looks like window vents.

That's been a bit of heated contention between people on different threads. It's unclear at this time

 

[STLstone]

Does anyone know if the new Skyliner air gondolas will be air-conditioned or will they be little greenhouses in the sky? The picture is vague, almost looks like window vents.

Truthfully, nobody on here "knows," but there are a lot of opinions in the 2 gondola threads and the D23 Expo thread.

The insiders seem to believe that Disney has determined that they don't need A/C.

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

That's been a bit of heated contention between people on different threads. It's unclear at this time

Understamement of the year I've been staying very clear of all that!

 

[umichigan10]

Understamement of the year I've been staying very clear of all that!

I've never in my life seemed so much debate about air circulation and ventilation, nor do I think I ever will again

 

[lockedoutlogic]

That's been a bit of heated contention between people on different threads. It's unclear at this time

What the hell is that supposed to mean?!?

 

[umichigan10]

What the hell is that supposed to mean?!?

I'm not sure you've heard since it looks like you've got your head in the sand (had to get the obligatory joke outta the way)