Parking fees, valet fees, whats next for Disney?

[toddlers_mom]

I think that one of the reasons that Disney is charging more is to keep people from using their cars. They want people to stay onsite and spend all their money at Disney. I would hope that they have the sense to realize that if they start charging resort guests for parking (or for ME) they will have less of an incentive to stay on-site.

But not everyone using a car is staying off site...

I flew down in May and absolutely detested using the buses. I liked to be able to come and go as I pleased and not have to wait in the steaming hot mess for a bus. I still stay on site because I get far more perks (including free parking, DDP, and EMH), but I plan on driving down this year. It saves me money to do that and I would prefer to have my car with me.

 

[brergnat]

And no job is 100% secure anymore. There is no such thing as a guaranteed income unless you are independently wealthy. And those that are independently wealthy make up a small percentage of the population.

Sorry, but that's simply incorrect.

My husband's job is 100% secure. The only way he will lose his income is if he dies or does something illegal. He's an officer in the USMC...

Every military job is 100% secure. It's a volunteer military. The only way out is by CHOICE, DEATH, or BREAKING THE LAW.

There are no layoffs, no closures, and no getting "fired". As they say in the military "The Eagle (expletive for "poops") every 1st and 15th."

And, I didn't make any assumptions about anyone's lifestyle. I simply provided the other side of this argument, which most people just don't want to hear. It will take a LOT to make the Disney company "go under." A LOT. Much more than some people boycotting WDW because of a $2 parking increase...

 

[DebbieB]

Disney doesn't call THEMSELVES a "family company." They are a FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT company. There is a huge difference. WE call them a "family company."

And, yes, Capitalist=Greed. Usually. Disney is not a charity, they don't owe anybody anything. They have not promised anything to their customers. They are not morally in the wrong by raising prices.

Disney is a public company, their only obligation is to their shareholders. Just like GM, Sony, etc. They will push it as far as they can to make as big a profit as possible. This is the same company that is offering free dining, 4 for 7, etc. So where they are reducing profits there, they have to make it up somewhere else.

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

My husband's job is 100% secure. The only way he will lose his income is if he dies or does something illegal. He's an officer in the USMC...

Sorry

brergnat - from one Marine family to the another Semper Fidelis. A heartfelt thank you to your husband.


This thread is very interesting. Being a small business owner we have to cater to our clients or we lose their business. Without them we don't have a business. Big corporations are a whole different ball park.

We can either make the choice of giving Disney our money or going some place else. For us, we will continue to give Disney our money as this is where we love to vacation. But that's our choice.

 

[Mamalisa58]

SO MUCH DRAMA ON A WHAT IF.....REALLY!

 

[ShellyLynn3630]

SO MUCH DRAMA ON A WHAT IF.....REALLY!

True!!!

 

[Halbleib1]

Sorry, but that's simply incorrect.

My husband's job is 100% secure. The only way he will lose his income is if he dies or does something illegal. He's an officer in the USMC...

Every military job is 100% secure. It's a volunteer military. The only way out is by CHOICE, DEATH, or BREAKING THE LAW.

There are no layoffs, no closures, and no getting "fired". As they say in the military "The Eagle (expletive for "poops") every 1st and 15th."

And, I didn't make any assumptions about anyone's lifestyle. I simply provided the other side of this argument, which most people just don't want to hear. It will take a LOT to make the Disney company "go under." A LOT. Much more than some people boycotting WDW because of a $2 parking increase...

He could be released if he were to get ill as well. If he can not perform his duties for whatever reason they could discharge him. There are no guarantees in life.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Ok folks. Bring it back to the topic of parking please.

Disney ceased to be a "family company" the day Walt took some money from investors (including some banks) and issued shares in the corporation as a result. That was 1955 (at the latest)

Disney supports families as much as doing so supports their bottom line.

People think parking lots are 'maintenance free' - but just look at the number of CM's who work the parking lots, from guiding you to your spot, the tram operation, the security vehicles running around..

And that doesn't include repaving and repainting the lots which has to be done every few years... I know how much it costs to pave a driveway.. I can imagine how much it would cost to pave 110 acres of parking lot!

Add to that tram operation and maintenance (those trams run on diesel or gas too eh?), they need repairs.. they have costs which aren't fixed but variable based on a number of external factors over which Disney has no control.

Add to that, there are union contracts which stipulate pay increases for CM's on a regular basis. Those agreements have to be kept - good economy or bad. Over 25,000 CM's just got a raise recently. Even if it was only 25c or 50c an hour.. spread that over 30 to 40 hours a week and 25,000 employees and that's a huge chunk of money.

Disney is a business - in particular a corporate entity with duties and responsibilities to the shareholders.

Since 1995 I've worked for large corporations almost exclusively and in my current position, it has been drilled and drilled into me to watch every expenditure super close. I have to be a good steward of the money entrusted to me or I will lose my job. At a certain point, the prices have to adjust to reflect the costs of doing business.

And honestly, with the various offers and discounts out there, you can save a whole lot more than $2 a day ... in fact you can save the whole price of parking by staying on-site. Lots of people choose to stay off-site for whatever reason - but that is indeed a choice.

In the words of Ursula from Little Mermaid, "Life's full of tough choices ain't it?"



Knox

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

Very well said CanadianGuy

 

[Halbleib1]

A $2.00 increase may not seem like a lot of money but when you put it into perspective with the other increases they have been doing that $2.00 adds up. I am sick of people using shareholders as an excuse to justify anything and anything that a company does. Just because it is a public company and there are shareholders does not make it right. It also does not mean that you can not criticize that company for anything. Yes a business has to make a profit I agree there or they can not stay in business. But they do not have to take advantage. They need to draw a line between being profitable and being greedy. Yes they have some good deals out now I agree. We have even been able to take advantage of them in the past. But they are only offering those deals because they can not bring people into their parks at regular prices. So why keep raising the prices and have to do discounts? Wouldn't it make more sense to keep costs down to bring in customers on a more consistant basis? Possibly even bring in higher numbers of people and make even more money. Also with all the nickle and diming going on how much are they really discounting your vacation? Unless you are like us and do not drive to the parks or stay on site, you get free dining so the holiday surcharge does not affect you etc. The only price increase that has ever affected us are the ticket and room prices. But with the way disney has been going lately I can see where that is likely to change in the near future. When that time comes we will just take our vacations elsewhere. There are many other vacation sites out there. From the way Disney has been behaving lately you would think they are the only destination in the world for people to vacation at. They may be the most popular but that can change if they are not careful.