NO MORE free valet parking for DVC members.

[tjkraz]

IF they can take the time to make and send out those stupid Deevey emails - then they could do this. I am willing to bet they could use the money they spend producing those stupid videos and keep paying for valet.

You may be right. But as others pointed out, that's a marketing expense and the two don't really have a direct impact on one-another. It's kinda like saying that Disney should stop running commercials and buying billboard space in Florida and instead put that money toward a new attraction. Not gonna happen.

Disney doesn't usually crow about changes which negatively impact guests. They don't issue press releases for ticket price increases or dining plan changes. Instead we have to rely on sites like the DIS or Allears to get that sort of info.

One could make the argument that we are "members" and deserve greater communications. I don't necessarily disagree, but I think in Disney's eyes it's a minor distinction. They placed a note on the member website and that's more than Disney usually does to communicate reductions in service. I believe I read somewhere here that Disney sent memos to current resort guests when the change occurred.

Disney has the resources to go further than that, but I don't think it would be consistent with their SOP over the last decade or so.

Maybe I have low expectations but I think the most they could have (would have) done was to put a note on DVCMember a few days earlier. Obviously they didn't but even then I don't know if DVC is to blame, higher-ups at Disney or if it's simply the result of drawn-out negotiations which left other divisions unable to respond in a more appropriate manner.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I believe I read somewhere here that Disney sent memos to current resort guests when the change occurred.

As a resort guest at the time of the change, I can attest to the fact that they did not provide any notification whatsoever. Not even when we valet parked the car on Oct 11 were we notified. We didnt know until it was time to pick it up and the Valet demanded $12.
We stayed at BLT and BCV Oct 10-16 and neither resort provided any type of notification and both issued the same Portable Perks
Had Friends on points (ours)at SSR and there was no notification over there either. So that is 3 out of 7.

 

[aes74]

Wait a minute....
someone wrote previously that dvc members do not get free parking at the theme parks. Am I misunderstanding this? I have always showed my dvc card at the parking gate and had free parking before. Is this still the case?

 

[Chuck S]

Wait a minute....
someone wrote previously that dvc members do not get free parking at the theme parks. Am I misunderstanding this? I have always showed my dvc card at the parking gate and had free parking before. Is this still the case?

DVCers have never, by virtue of DVC membership, been entitled to free parking at the theme parks. Free parking at the parks is an onsite perk, for all onsite guests, including people staying at a DVC resort.

If a DVCer stays offsite, they are not eligible for free parking at the theme parks, unless they also have an Annual Pass.

 

[aes74]

DVCers have never, by virtue of DVC membership, been entitled to free parking at the theme parks. Free parking at the parks is an onsite perk, for all onsite guests, including people staying at a DVC resort.

If a DVCer stays offsite, they are not eligible for free parking at the theme parks, unless they also have an Annual Pass.

Ok, I am feeling pretty sheepish for not having realized this. Somehow it must have gone right over my head. But, I am telling you, I live in Florida and we have gone to the parks many, many times, often without staying the night, and I have shown my card at the gate every time and been waved right on through.

 

[Chuck S]

Ok, I am feeling pretty sheepish for not having realized this. Somehow it must have gone right over my head. But, I am telling you, I live in Florida and we have gone to the parks many, many times, often without staying the night, and I have shown my card at the gate every time and been waved right on through.

I'm sure it happens, but it is not a DVC perk. The parking gate CMs were probably not properly trained, or simply let it slide.

 

[Maxwell]

Here's the lame response I got and I sent to Jim Lewis.

Thank you for contacting Member Services.

Effective Sunday, October 11, 2009, complimentary valet parking for Disney Vacation Club Members at the Walt Disney World Resort has been discontinued. The valet parking charge is $12.00, however complimentary self-parking is available, and Members and Guests who have disabled parking permits will continue to receive complimentary valet parking. As changes in pricing to certain aspects of our business are proprietary and subject to change without notice, they are not released in advance.
However, this change is being communicated through dvcmember.com, Member Services, an upcoming issue of Disney Files Magazine and Disney Vacation Club Resort Cast Members.

In the past, fees for valet parking have not been incorporated into Member Dues. Since the perk has been discontinued, similar to other fee-based services, such as additional housekeeping service or additional room amenities, only those Members who choose to valet park will be charged instead of increasing the annual dues for all Members.
As always, we will continue to monitor all parking areas and make adjustments as needed.

 

[VAgal76]

I had no issues at AKV - Jambo House. However, on 10/11 I got them to valet our van. Went to pick up in the morning on the 12th with the valet guy informing me that they no longer offered free valet to DVC members and that they will have to bill me $12 for the night of the 11th. The guy was very apologetic and was bracing himself for the argument. It's not his fault none of us had a clue. The valet said he didn't know about it until that morning. In fact, I need to go look at my bill to see if I was actually charged for the night of the 11th. It would've been nice to had some notice so we could've made our choice whether or not to pay for the service.

 

[manning]

Do you realize that Disney is set up to charge parking fees for everyone. They have the gates in place for all the resorts. If that ever happened I don't think I would be staying on site.

Swan/Dolphin charges for parking per day ($10.00). Found that out when I made reservations using reward points.

 

[crisi]

Ok, I am feeling pretty sheepish for not having realized this. Somehow it must have gone right over my head. But, I am telling you, I live in Florida and we have gone to the parks many, many times, often without staying the night, and I have shown my card at the gate every time and been waved right on through.

Flashing my annual pass to park and the attention they paid to it suggested I could probably flash one of my wallet photos and park for free. They are usually on autopilot - show them something and they wave you through.

(Note that I'm not suggesting people show them the photo of their dog to try and get free parking - that would be a violation of policy! Just that it doesn't seem to be a well controlled process.)

 

[Hazzard101]

Here's the lame response I got and I sent to Jim Lewis.

Thank you for contacting Member Services.

Effective Sunday, October 11, 2009, complimentary valet parking for Disney Vacation Club Members at the Walt Disney World Resort has been discontinued. The valet parking charge is $12.00, however complimentary self-parking is available, and Members and Guests who have disabled parking permits will continue to receive complimentary valet parking. As changes in pricing to certain aspects of our business are proprietary and subject to change without notice, they are not released in advance.
However, this change is being communicated through dvcmember.com, Member Services, an upcoming issue of Disney Files Magazine and Disney Vacation Club Resort Cast Members.

In the past, fees for valet parking have not been incorporated into Member Dues. Since the perk has been discontinued, similar to other fee-based services, such as additional housekeeping service or additional room amenities, only those Members who choose to valet park will be charged instead of increasing the annual dues for all Members.
As always, we will continue to monitor all parking areas and make adjustments as needed.

This looks a lot like what I got as well. It shows how much they care about what the members have to say, I sent an Email voicing my specific concerns. They sent back what seems to be basically a form letter with some tweaks.
I know we aren't guaranteed perks and privileges but when you go to the tour they inform you of all the perks and how membership has it's privileges. They use perks to help sell it but they take it away just as fast.
Here is the response I received:
Thank you for contacting Member Services.

As part of the normal course of doing business, we regularly evaluate
and adjust our pricing. As a result, effective Sunday, October 11,
2009, complimentary valet parking for Disney Vacation Club Members at
the Walt Disney World Resort has been discontinued. The valet parking
charge is $12.00 per day, however complimentary self-parking is always
available. Similar to other fee-based services, such as additional
housekeeping service or additional room amenities, only those Members
who choose to valet park will be charged instead of increasing the
annual dues for all Members. Members and Guests who have disabled
parking permits will continue to receive complimentary valet parking.

Thank you again for contacting us.

Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.

Sincerely,

Todd

Member Services | Online Communications
Disney Vacation Club

Anything look a little familiar?

I just realized. look at the words I put in bold. Is this not telling us that THEY made the decision to raise parking fees and to discontinue free valet parking for members? I sent my email to MS so it came from DVC mouse services

 

[Simba's Mom]

. The guy was very apologetic and was bracing himself for the argument. It's not his fault none of us had a clue. The valet said he didn't know about it until that morning.

Unfortunately, many valets and supervisors have gotten hammered so much by DVCers angry about the change that many of them have become defensive, fixing for a fight. But the supervisor told me the same as you, that they also got very little warning and are very unhappy that they have to be the "messengers" in many cases. And you know what they say about shooting the messenger-many people do!
BTW, I was at Jambo house that same week as you, but without a car.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

DVC hasn't really used email to communicate policy changes for some time now.

A statement regarding the policy change has been on DVCMember.com for more than a week, and I imagine the same statement will appear in the next issue of DisneyFiles.

I was just cleaning up lots of old emails yesterday and two were announcements from DVC. On Jan 23rd there was one about the 2010 point changes and the other was for the booking and waitlist changes so they did use email for those items. I can't think of any other big changes since those two.

 

[photobob]

Unfortunately, many valets and supervisors have gotten hammered so much by DVCers angry about the change that many of them have become defensive, fixing for a fight. But the supervisor told me the same as you, that they also got very little warning and are very unhappy that they have to be the "messengers" in many cases. And you know what they say about shooting the messenger-many people do!
BTW, I was at Jambo house that same week as you, but without a car.

Unfortunately the rank and file get to handle the ramifications of corporate decisions in many occasions. The people who make the decisions rarely are ones who work with the public.

 

[Dean]

Thanks Tim, do you know about DVD as well?

Mainly sales. Supposedly they don't make anything on the exchanges members make though I'm betting there is some consideration from RCI currently.

 

[tjkraz]

As a resort guest at the time of the change, I can attest to the fact that they did not provide any notification whatsoever. Not even when we valet parked the car on Oct 11 were we notified. We didnt know until it was time to pick it up and the Valet demanded $12.
We stayed at BLT and BCV Oct 10-16 and neither resort provided any type of notification and both issued the same Portable Perks
Had Friends on points (ours)at SSR and there was no notification over there either. So that is 3 out of 7.

Fair enough. I would swear that someone reported having a memo slipped under their door a couple days after the change was made. I'm on vacation now so I'm not going to go searching for it. But even if that memo did go out, it's clear the process was flawed (some guests may not have received, perhaps some were missed if it occurred during a resort switch, etc.)

I was just cleaning up lots of old emails yesterday and two were announcements from DVC. On Jan 23rd there was one about the 2010 point changes and the other was for the booking and waitlist changes so they did use email for those items. I can't think of any other big changes since those two.

Maybe I should have said "negative changes." Neither of those were inherently bad for ALL members, while the valet parking change is certainly viewed as hurting all.

Still, if I remember the email you are referring to, DVC didn't exactly highlight the changes. The mention was buried toward the end of the message.

I don't believe there were emails for many other things like the removal of glassware from Studios, change in booking policy or the II/RCI switch. But I'm just working from memory and could be wrong on that, too.

 

[granmanh603]

I have been here at BWV since Oct 13...I was not informed of the change...I knew about it before I came from these boards and then saw a small sign on the valet desk...but nothing under my door or even told or email...

 

[Dean]

I have been here at BWV since Oct 13...I was not informed of the change...I knew about it before I came from these boards and then saw a small sign on the valet desk...but nothing under my door or even told or email...

Unless you valet parked, it shouldn't matter though a more conspicuous sign than you reference would be nice.

 

[bzzelady]

I don't believe there were emails for many other things like the removal of glassware from Studios, change in booking policy or the II/RCI switch. But I'm just working from memory and could be wrong on that, too.

The above changes didn't incur extra costs to the members while they were staying onsite. The fact that a change was being made should have at least been communicated to the DVC guests who had cars in the valet parking lot the night before so that they could have had the opportunity to move their cars if they did not wish to pay the fee for continued valet parking (and it would not have been too difficult to write a short memo, make 200 copies, and place it beneath the doors of those who had cars in the valet lot). I feel bad not only for the guests that had no warning that this was coming, but also for the valet staff left on the front lines dealing with those who had no warning.

This was just done very poorly on both DVC and Disney's part.

 

[n2mm]

I just got back last night and was at the BWV 10/17-24. I also was never told either at checkin or a message under the door. Also in the portable perk pamplet I received at checkin in (they discontinued the book) it is still listed as a member perk. So if I hadn't known via the boards, I would have been clueless to this change. Poor communications IMHO by MS.