Parking fee when visiting a resort--apparently just a rumor! My apologies!

[DSLRuser]

I would support this....IF....they have a way to "validate" they parking. IE...pay $20 to park, but if you spend $20 on food or merchandise at the resort, you get your parking validated.

It is not possible for Disney to roam parking lots looking for expired 2 hour parking passes. As you enter the lot, pay gate $20, gate gives you a $20 gift card back, that has a time stamp and must be used in say 2 hours, or you don't get the credit. Seems simple enough to implement and a win win for resort hoppers and Disney.

If I am going to a resort to not spend money, plenty of other free places to park if you are so inclined.

 

[HopperFan]

There may be an obvious answer I'm missing, but why doesn't the Yacht Club/Beach Club have the off site parking issues like Boardwalk does? They are in close proximity to each other.

They probably do have issues, but my guess is that BW is VERY convenient to DHS and Epcot while YC/BC is only convenient to Epcot. BW also has to contend with guests visiting the Boardwalk venues as well. Their parking spots become more priceless. If they are starting with Contemporary and Boardwalk, that is probably the two worse lots they are dealing with.

If they are not going to enforce their policies and let people park longer then 2 hours, then they brought it on themselves. Include the cost of parking into the cost of a theme park ticket and make parking "free". People will still pay admission, there is no need to cheat the system. Then lots are only for those with reservations and resort guests. If you want to visit the resort and are not a resort guest, go park in the TTC and then resort bus back (it's going to take you some time, but you should have stayed on property then)

Or just build bigger parking garages at the resorts to accommodate the extra flow of people. If guests are using the boardwalk because of the IG entrance to get to world showcase, then install a people mover or omnimover, or a couple of long moving walkways (like at Atlanta's airport) to high-tail it from Epcot's main gate to world showcase's International Gateway. They connect the outside of the parks, not the actual inside of the parks.

Cheaters brought this on, we can blame them.

WHY should people pay more for their tickets? That is like the new APs. Not only do we ALL get free parking we ALL get Memory Maker even though only one per party needs it. The rest are all just paying more for their tickets.

WHY should Disney build bigger garages or people movers for people who are cheating the parking system? I want the money spent on attractions in the parks.

 

[HopperFan]

I would support this....IF....they have a way to "validate" they parking. IE...pay $20 to park, but if you spend $20 on food or merchandise at the resort, you get your parking validated.

It is not possible for Disney to roam parking lots looking for expired 2 hour parking passes. As you enter the lot, pay gate $20, gate gives you a $20 gift card back, that has a time stamp and must be used in say 2 hours, or you don't get the credit. Seems simple enough to implement and a win win for resort hoppers and Disney.

If I am going to a resort to not spend money, plenty of other free places to park if you are so inclined.

WAY too much work. Key is ONE transaction per car.

- You get a time stamped ticket upon entering.
- You get two hours for free. This is to eat quick service or explore the resort.
- You get it stamped with an ADR dining, massage, fishing trip etc (PAID service) you get three hours free.
- You leave and the CM at guard shack slides in a machine.
- Machine calculates free or charge.
- You pay then, one transaction.
- All charges after the 2 or 3 hours must be substantial to make it unattractive to theme park use.
- Say after the free two hours it is $5 per hour (so a 6 hour stay to go in for a short park "half" day is still $20).
- When you calculate in going on a bus or walking to the park, that is not a great value.
- Also no hopping or returning on this parking fee, so not a plus for break in middle park stay to hop to another later.
- No roaming or extra CMs checking cars, the fee at exiting keeps control of the lot.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

TIW requires a restaurant receipt for free valet, with a time no more than 3 hours before the attempt to redeem the car. Something like that might be a little more difficult with self parking, unless guests are asked to show receipts or validation on the way out of the lot.

Not everybody has a car, so not sure what the point is regarding having "free" parking for all. You bring a car, you don't stay at a Disney resort, you pay for parking at the theme parks, unless you have an AP. There is no theme park that does it any other way. Universal even has guests at their own resorts pay a daily fee for self parking. Reports about the test even say that Disney would exempt guests of the resort from the fee.

 

[DLM1980]

It can cost a lot more than that to retrieve a car from impound.
(Depends on who's running the impound, of course.)

Add the tow fee and you've got yourself a real jackpot!

I get that tow fees are expensive but I'm not talking an outside company. Disney Towing a subsidiary of Disney Transport.

 

[DSLRuser]

- No roaming or extra CMs checking cars, the fee at exiting keeps control of the lot.

This is what I do not want. Yes, I park at resorts, and I go to parks after I do. But what resport i go to is for a specific reason, and I either eat there, or am there to buy a specific item. It is crazy to then move a car so you can go someplace else.

Now, I agree, one should not park at a resort and only go to a park.

 

[DLM1980]

This is what I do not want. Yes, I park at resorts, and I go to parks after I do. But what resport i go to is for a specific reason, and I either eat there, or am there to buy a specific item. It is crazy to then move a car so you can go someplace else.

Now, I agree, one should not park at a resort and only go to a park.

Every year for MNSSHP I book dinner at Citricos cause thats where my partner likes to eat. I explain to the guard my intensions. "I've got dinner reservations at Citricos, and then afterwards we have MNSSHP Tickets. Can I leave my car here or would you like me to move it over to the TTC after dinner?"

Sometimes the guard says just stay here, other times they say move it after dinner. Whatever they say, I do

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Disney started towing a.few.years ago and I am seeing more and more reports of repost lots having cars towed out.

AKK

 

[bumbershoot]

Disney really doesn't like following through on policies. They'd just rather change the policy for everyone.

Exactly. So many big changes recently didn't have to happen, if Disney CMs would just follow through on their own rules.

Cheaters brought this on, we can blame them.

I strongly disagree.

Having had experience with this, I can tell you that the guards have never once told us about any sort of time limit on parking. Everyone here says there is one; I say there is, supposedly, one. I have NEVER heard this from a guard or a CM at WDW.

What I *have* been told is "oh don't be silly, you don't have to move your car, just keep it here and go to MK after breakfast!" by a passel of Poly lobby concierge CMs, when I went to ask for the best way to move over to "MK parking lot".

And at any guard shack when we tell them what we're doing (checking out the resort, swimming as we are allowed to do as DVC members at allowed pools during allowed times, having QS, etc), I have never once been told much of anything than to have a nice day. They have never given me any sort of verbal or written notice of a time limit.

So Joe-the-guard tells no one of this time limit, then Mike-the-lot-wanderer goes back to his bosses talking of cars parked all day, of seeing people coming from the monorail obviously having been to a park, etc etc etc, and it goes up the chain and gets logged as statistics. They never once talk to the guards who aren't telling anyone of a limitation, or the CMs at the resorts who aren't telling anyone and are telling people the *exact opposite*, so they just think "cheater", and never stop to think that maybe the *problem* is with the CMs and their utter inability to follow policies.

So huge changes are made.

And changes wouldn't have to happen if it weren't for Disney's own employees and/or data-collection procedures.

Sometimes the guard says just stay here, other times they say move it after dinner.

Exactly. You're just following what the employee in front of you is telling you.

 

[ArwenMarie]

If they do charge, it would still need to have a time limit.

 

[JasonMouse]

Problem is if you end your night at a different resort, transportation is done for the night and your car cannot be parked at the park or you'll never get back to your resort. I don't mind doing extra walking or waiting, but I also don't want to be up till midnight moving my car around.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

well, they will tell you that transportation is only done for the night when buses quit running to Disney Springs. It's a pain to use Disney Springs as a hub because you can't go directly there from a park, but it's possible up until around 2 AM.

I don't know why they'd think about charging for parking if they don't have issues with resort guests being able to find parking because other guests have taken up all the parking spaces so they can get to the parks. Of course some resorts have more available parking than others do.

 

[AngiTN]

Why did you change it to be rumor only? It's not evidently. There are valid reports it is testing.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

personally I think they'd be OK doing what they are doing, which is cracking down at busy times. This month they did have an issue with people trying to park at the Epcot resorts to get to the Osborne lights because DHS lots were full at times.

 

[kathy884]

They should have a policy where you can park your car at a resort if you are attending a seminar there or at least be able to pay and park your car there. DH had a four day seminar at the Contemporary, but unfortunately he couldn't get a room there as they were sold out. Overflow conference attendee people were put at POR. And buses don't go resort to resort. That meant I had to drive him over each day and pick him up, meaning missing rope drop or have him take a bus to the Magic Kingdom in a suit in the hot weather and then take the monorail over to the Contemporary or do the walk overdressed in the heat. // They would not let us park the car there for more than three hours. I thought this was pretty ridiculous, and this definitely put a damper on my stay.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

I am glad they are doing this. We stay at BW and BC all the time and it has been an issue many times.

I can not tell you how much when it came to the holidays to go to Epcot and DHS on the boat.
I stood there listening to 2 groups of locals discussing how they always park here and take boat or walk to save the $ of parking. I watched as we were able to get on the boat to DHS and lots behind us in line were left on the dock. Sorry, but I feel that those paying to stay at the property should have priority, both for transportation and parking.

 

[DebbieB]

They'd need to make the fee larger than the regular lot or people would just park at a convenient resort and pay the fee if it's the same as offsite parking. It'd only really discourage on site parkers who would be free.

I read they are charging $25 for the test. I think it should be hourly. Maybe 2 hours free and then an hourly charge. Make it expensive to leave it all day.

 

[mom2rtk]

I read they are charging $25 for the test. I think it should be hourly. Maybe 2 hours free and then an hourly charge. Make it expensive to leave it all day.

I agree. But it needs to be crazy expensive.

 

[Otter49]

Disney started towing a.few.years ago and I am seeing more and more reports of repost lots having cars towed out.

AKK

Just to correct the record, Florida law is very very specific and very strict on when private property owners can tow cars.

There is very particular signage that must be at every public entrance to a parking lot and it must include the phone number and name of the towing company.

To my knowledge, none of the Disney resorts currently meet the requirements of Florida law. If they're towing in spite of this, they have all sorts of civil liability.

 

[Jennasis]

Can't quite seem to figure it out...do they mean they are charging all off-site guests who try to park at a Disney resort without an ADR, or are they charging ANYONE, including WDW Resort on-site guests who parks at a resort if they aren't staying there?

We are DVC and drive to WDW. We usually drive our car to the parks and have free parking. We drive to resorts, usually to an ADR but sometimes just to hang, but never to go to a park. That would make no sense lol.