Overnight Self-Parking at Disney Resort Hotels at Walt Disney World® Resort

[davper]

I am completely not sure about this, but I doubt they can legally charge them. If they could have charged DVC owners, I am sure they would have. We are a captive audience, so why not make a few extra bucks?
They don't charge us because we are already paying for parking. If they charge renters, then they are taking our money anyway and not using it for its intended purposes. It would be like charging renters to use the pool or washers, which are paid for with our money.

If the did charge renters, wouldn't this money have to go towards the reduction of MF?

 

[DebbieB]

I'm not surprised that the formal notification doesn't address people who are staying on rented points--they don't even like to talk about this phenomenon happening, so.... I will say, though, they do specifically mention that the change will make things like they are at Aulani, and when people stay on rented points for Aulani, they are treated just like a Member--they get the sparkly wristbands, and they get the free parking.

I think since the points used to book have paid parking fees, rented reservations will come with the free overnight parking. MO

A couple rental agents posted on Facebook last night, David and another one, that they contacted Disney and renters of DVC points will be free. All the talk about showing your member card wasn't true.

 

[Ben E N]

A couple rental agents posted on Facebook last night, David and another one, that they contacted Disney and renters of DVC points will be free. All the talk about showing your member card wasn't true.

So rentals most likely just increased in value by about $1 per point, most likely.
That also means that I bet parking leaves MFs and becomes charged to DVC guests as well within 2 years or so.

 

[RescueRanger]

So rentals most likely just increased in value by about $1 per point, most likely.
That also means that I bet parking leaves MFs and becomes charged to DVC guests as well within 2 years or so.

I don’t think we will ever have to pay. I see DVC using this as a selling point. Guides will be able to tell prospective buyers “You know that $24 parking fee that everyone has to pay? Well DVC is exempt. You just saved almost $200 dollars on a weeks vacation. Isn’t that great?”

 

[Ben E N]

I don’t think we will ever have to pay. I see DVC using this as a selling point. Guides will be able to tell prospective buyers “You know that $24 parking fee that everyone has to pay? Well DVC is exempt. You just saved almost $200 dollars on a weeks vacation. Isn’t that great?”

Yeah that's a good point. And I guess that the number of units available for rental will stay fixed at a relatively low number, so even if a ton of people are looking to save money on parking costs by renting DVC points instead, they will not be able to because demand will outpace supply.

 

[tjkraz]

So rentals most likely just increased in value by about $1 per point, most likely.
That also means that I bet parking leaves MFs and becomes charged to DVC guests as well within 2 years or so.

Doubtful. That attitude isn't particularly representative of Disney's policies toward DVC owners, particularly of late. They've been charging parking fees to hotel guests of Grand Cal and Aulani for a decade, but DVC owners have always been exempt. Additionally, as drubsa explained in another post (see below), the parking lots are common elements of the condo association and it's no small task to change that legal status.

I do not believe Disney can do that at WDW. Years ago we had free valet parking because the costs of the valet employee services were included in dues. Disney then outsourced the valet service to a separate company, which was allowed to charge us for parking because we no longer paid dues for the valet services. They cannot outsource the parking lots. Those are common elements in which each member has an ownership interest. Under both the law of condominiums in Florida and the declarations for the resorts, each member has a right to use the common elements including the parking lots, each member is required to pay dues for the maintenance and repair of those common elements, and the common elements cannot be separated from the ownership interests of the members absent a majority vote of the actual members. This is not like outsourcing a service and then removing its costs from dues. Disney would have to separate the parking lot/common elements from the ownership interests to cease having the members freely use it and pay the dues to maintain it. Moreover, for like reason Disney should not be able to create a rule charging new resale purchasers for parking while not charging original owners because the same Florida law specifically provides that a sale of a unit (or the timeshare interest therein) expressly includes the sale of the original owner's interests in the common elements.

 

[emilymad]

So if I am staying POR on cash I would still need to pay for parking since it is not through DVC? I saw a post about an email from Mousesavers then indicated differently but that is not how I interpreted the information.

 

[tjkraz]

So if I am staying POR on cash I would still need to pay for parking since it is not through DVC? I saw a post about an email from Mousesavers then indicated differently but that is not how I interpreted the information.

Yes.

DVC Resort stay on points = Free
DVC Resort stay on cash = Free
WDW Hotel stay on points = Free
WDW Hotel stay on cash = Not Free

 

[emilymad]

Yes.

DVC Resort stay on points = Free
DVC Resort stay on cash = Free
WDW Hotel stay on points = Free
WDW Hotel stay on cash = Not Free

Got it. Thanks!

 

[sgtdisney]

Hotels everywhere charge a "resort fee" and/or a "parking fee." I don't understand the outrage. It's not like a lot of other resorts where if you don't have a car, you are stuck at the hotel all day. Disney provides transportation to and from the airport and between the parks.

Not everyone flies into MCO and not everyone wants to be without a car. You may not be stuck at the resort hotel you are staying at Disney World BUT you're kind stuck at the Walt Disney World Resort. There is no cheap or convenient travel to go outside of Disney. Taking cabs and busses isn't convenient. Not everyone who spends vacation time at Disney wants to be there 24/7 for the entire vacation, and not everyone wants to take a cab or uber. How does a big family do that, take two cabs, rent a limo? What about people who want to do day trips to the beach, etc.

Also if Disney is just like "Hotels everywhere" then it's really not all that magical. They are already charging a premium for the "magical" quality of their resorts . However, sadly, the "magical" component is starting to wear off.

I understand what you are saying, but what Disney is doing is pretty heavy handed in my opinion. It's also pretty lousy to have a tiered parking charge. If that's how they want to do it, then they should cut the room rates slightly, and charge for Parking and DME, so however you chose get into the "world" your choice is charged. Next will be charging for fastpasses, they are already testing those waters. They will have tiers for that too, in fact they kind of do now. Want fastpasses 90 days out, pay $$$$, want them 60 days out, then it's only $$$. Are you on a budget, well got them 30 days out for $$. Can't afford that, well same day Fastpasses are free! I really feel this is not a "if Disney does this", it's more like a "when Disney does this"

 

[bobbiwoz]

“Industry Standards” ....saw it mentioned in Resorts. How many major hotel chains have “loyalty programs?”

Here’s the excellent post.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...ng-parking-fees.3670107/page-42#post-58948335

 

[n2mm]

“Industry Standards” ....saw it mentioned in Resorts. How many major hotel chains have “loyalty programs?”

Yea but I wanted to stay with Disney which always was above industry standard in the past. I use to brag to my friends how Disney didn’t nickel and dime you. That was then, this is now. Hanging up my rose color glasses. WDW just became an industry standard resort by their own hands. They didn’t have to do this because the one thing they have is lots of space and land.

 

[Fangorn]

"Industry Standard" is generally a euphemism for mediocre. Particularly when a company uses the term in describing/justifying their actions.

Steve

 

[ziravan]

"Industry Standard" is generally a euphemism for mediocre. Particularly when a company uses the term in describing/justifying their actions.

Steve

Just like treating resale members like 2nd class citizens is an “industry standard”.

It is. No doubt.

One of the things that used to make DVC magically different is that they could afford not to be so jaded.

They could afford to treat their customers (no matter which silo they spent their money) like they were special. That was never cheap but it paid dividends. It paid the kind of dividends in loyalty that TWDC used to believe was essential to its business model.

 

[wnielsen1]

Yes.

DVC Resort stay on points = Free
DVC Resort stay on cash = Free
WDW Hotel stay on points = Free
WDW Hotel stay on cash = Not Free

Give it a few more months and it will be:

WDW Hotel stay on cash = Free*

* Direct purchasers only (75+ points)

 

[Ben E N]

Just like treating resale members like 2nd class citizens is an “industry standard”.

It is. No doubt.

One of the things that used to make DVC magically different is that they could afford not to be so jaded.

They could afford to treat their customers (no matter which silo they spent their money) like they were special. That was never cheap but it paid dividends. It paid the kind of dividends in loyalty that TWDC used to believe was essential to its business model.

I blame ESPN for this. They have been pulling down Disney as a whole. The parks are doing great, so they are squeezing that area for every penny possible in order to make their stock show some sort of growth. Not all investors are patient in looking for returns on their investments, and couldn't care less if it affects us or not.

 

[hakepb]

Hotels everywhere charge a "resort fee" and/or a "parking fee." I don't understand the outrage. It's not like a lot of other resorts where if you don't have a car, you are stuck at the hotel all day. Disney provides transportation to and from the airport and between the parks.

People are wired to hate parking charges.
It’s the same reason that grocery stores offer “fuel savings”. People are happier paying less for gas than paying less for food.

My small city was trying to revitalize its downtown and was involved building an area with a few restaurants with a paid parking area. After enough complaining (and lack of customers) the city had to give up the idea of paid parking because it’s not an everyday life expense for 95% of the cities population.

 

[SomDayMyPrnceWillCom]

It doesn't affect me this trip, but it may in the future. My daughter is the actual DVC owner and I'm an associate on the account. This trip, she gave me points so she's not even going. If I do any trips in the future without her, I'm wondering if I'll be stuck paying parking fees. I also think it's strange that if they are trying to keep people on property, why add an extra charge? Are they trying to cut back on traffic and doing what they can to ensure guests use WDW transportation? Or is it just the bean counters as a pp said and nickel and diming?

 

[johnsgrl]

Hotels everywhere charge a "resort fee" and/or a "parking fee." I don't understand the outrage. It's not like a lot of other resorts where if you don't have a car, you are stuck at the hotel all day. Disney provides transportation to and from the airport and between the parks.

Not everywhere, there isn't a single hotel in my immediate area that charges for parking, and there are a lot of hotels due to proximity to a large military base. Big cities, absolutely..I have paid for parking in Boston, LA, New Orleans. What all of these locations have in common is very little land and what there is it exceedingly expensive so they need to charge for parking to afford to buy and maintain parking areas. Disney already has all of the parking spaces and control of the surrounding land within the limits of rules for environmental concerns and zoning.
They don't need to charge for parking, they are choosing it, whether to increase their bottom line to make up for the fall in share prices for stockholders (of which I am one and I seriously doubt my stocks will increase in per share price even enough to park there for a single night) or to reduce the amount of traffic on their roads.
Not all guests fly in to the airport. There are several states, most of the southeast in fact, that live in a reasonable driving distance and prefer to drive. There are those who just hate flying and will drive for days to get there, and there are those who measure the time and realize driving will take them at most an hour or two more than flying when connecting flights and checking in 1.5-2 hours before flight time figured in. That calculation does not consider the time to get to the resort on DME, which means it is faster for me to drive there than to fly and take DME since my local airport does not fly directly to anywhere but Atlanta and the next nearest airport is a minimum of 1.5 hours away in no traffic, which never happens.

 

[n2mm]

I can also add that hotels in my area do not charge for parking, neither does either race track (horses or race cars). The casio doesn’t charge either. We live outside the dc area and you can visit harpers ferry and not be charged parking. As someone mentioned that industry standard is mediocre. I never thought WDW resorts would think it’s ok to be considered a mediocre resort.