PLEASE SHARE -What is it like to resort park now?

[pattyw]

OK, so a paying guest at ASMu drives to POFQ to have dinner -- (OK, beignets, but enough for a meal ...) no charge for parking, right?

No additional charge for POFQ

 

[AngiTN]

OK, so a paying guest at ASMu drives to POFQ to have dinner -- (OK, beignets, but enough for a meal ...) no charge for parking, right?

Only a guest staying overnight pays, so no.

 

[Walt4ever]

He said that if we didn't have a restaurant reservation he couldn't let us in.

I hope that there was a "because the lot is full" that was true, but that he neglected to add on to his reason. If it was full, then perfectly understandable that he turned you away. WL does seem to have limited parking if I remember correctly (been a while since we stayed there). However, if it was NOT full, and this was his interpretation of current policy (or his managers), then they will end up turning away potential $. Even as resort guests, we would often go to another hotel without an ADR for walk-up seating at one of their restaurants, or to shop because the shopping app told us that their gift shop had what we wanted in the size we wanted (sometimes, we called ahead to have the shop pull the item to make sure it was physically there before driving there). We hardly ever bother with dining reservations. We just aren't planners when on vacation and abhor schedules in general (rarely bother with fastpasses either). We have very rarely not been able to get a walk-up table for 2 or 3. Sometimes we have to wait 30-45 minutes, but we just browse the shops and enjoy the resort ambiance while we wait. Since resort hopping, even as a resort guest, is rather inconvenient using Disney transportation, we always drive and would need to park. If they stop letting us in without an ADR, then we will start taking a different route that brings us off site to eat.

 

[hsmamato2]

well what about a lot like at Ak lodge, which is out of the way of the parks, is VAST and never fills up all the way...who would care if a day guest parked in there and just left the car for a week? or then took the bus to a park,since it saves them money? from what I can see, there'a fee but no oversight as to it's use.

 

[n2mm]

I’ve been turned away to park at beaches and cream. We were going to rake our chances at getting a walk in for two at the counter which is easier to get esp for 2. But because we didn’t have a confirmed reservation we were nit allowed in. So we left and ate elsewhere. So it does happen. We were told only guest with an adr or resort guest only. This was last year, not recently.

 

[Amanda999]

I’ve been turned away to park at beaches and cream. We were going to rake our chances at getting a walk in for two at the counter which is easier to get esp for 2. But because we didn’t have a confirmed reservation we were nit allowed in. So we left and ate elsewhere. So it does happen. We were told only guest with an adr or resort guest only. This was last year, not recently.

Last summer there was construction at BC's parking lot which took some parking spots away.
We stayed at BC Aug 2017 (and 2016), and often couldn't find even 1 parking spot if we returned from a park early afternoon. Not even a handicap spot (DS has a placard). (But mysteriously closer to dinner time there would be plenty of spots - its clear to me people park at BC to go to Epcot for the day.)

 

[pattyw]

Staying at Universal and offsite and eating at Disney resorts the last few times, we've see signage at most (deluxe)resorts that parking is only available for resort guests and those with dining reservations. We've been able to park at moderates no problem(I like POR food court!)

 

[n2mm]

Last summer there was construction at BC's parking lot which took some parking spots away.
We stayed at BC Aug 2017 (and 2016), and often couldn't find even 1 parking spot if we returned from a park early afternoon. Not even a handicap spot (DS has a placard). (But mysteriously closer to dinner time there would be plenty of spots - its clear to me people park at BC to go to Epcot for the day.)

I know how bad it gets. We are Bwv owners and fight for parking too. The time we got turned away from eating at beaches and cream, I think we were at AK that trip. Normally we’re at Bwv, so just walk.

 

[Upatnoon]

I guess my whole ideological confusion is ...what is the purpose? Is it merely revenue? Is it to dissuade people from bringing cars? Is it to 'thin the herd' as to volume? Why not just build in the assumed costs of parking to the next price increases of the hotels; that way, all this ire and confusion is avoided. The technology to not allow non-'residents' of a hotel or those who do not have restaurant reservations has been available for a while now...so I have a hard time believing that to be the motivation. ...it's just perplexing to me.

The purpose is merely revenue. The easiest, fastest way for Disney to increase revenue is to charge overnight guests for parking. It doesn't require Disney do anything than ask you if have a car and they tack the fee on your bill.

No doubt someone at Disney has long argued that the company is just leaving money on the table by not charging for parking. They've also probably argued for resort fees as well, and that could be next.

Disney doesn't want to charge day guests because it would stop people coming to eat and spend money at the resorts. Another reason is they don't want to spend a penny on any type of enforcement. Hiring more guards to collect parking fees or police the lot for parking violations is a waste of money. Towing people is just bad for business. They don't care if a few people "break the Disney rules" so long as they are collecting thousands in cash from all the people staying in the hotel.

 

[Upatnoon]

Nope. And it all goes back to the fact that to my mind, it only makes the most sense to charge day guests parking and let those who pay overnight fees park free. They'd even eliminate the guest who parks at the resorts in an attempt to not resort hop but to avoid a parking fee at the park. Which we know happens because they do not monitor the lots. They haven't done it so far and they aren't going to start now. At least I don't think they will. Charging day guests would have solved so many problems. Sure, the day guests would have been annoyed but really, if you have to annoy someone, pick them vs. your overnight guests who are spending more than the day guest.

You don't want to charge day guests because if you do they will not come and you will lose that revenue.

You don't want to monitor the lots because enforcement is expensive. The sight of cars being towed might bring joy to us rule-following visitors, but it invites lawsuits and bad publicity for Disney. They just want the parking money, and know most people will follow the rules, so they really don't care about a few rule-breakers.

There are 2,880 rooms at Pop Century. If 75 percent of those rooms are filled by people who arrived by car, that's 2,160 parking fees a night. How many day guests does Pop get? 100? 200? If you charge them, suddenly you get 50 and you've go to pay someone to collect parking fees.

It is depressing that Disney has joined the hide-the-true-cost of a hotel room crowd. They just want the money and know they can get it.

 

[UncleMike101]

The purpose is merely revenue. The easiest, fastest way for Disney to increase revenue is to charge overnight guests for parking. It doesn't require Disney do anything than ask you if have a car and they tack the fee on your bill.

No doubt someone at Disney has long argued that the company is just leaving money on the table by not charging for parking. They've also probably argued for resort fees as well, and that could be next.

Disney doesn't want to charge day guests because it would stop people coming to eat and spend money at the resorts. Another reason is they don't want to spend a penny on any type of enforcement. Hiring more guards to collect parking fees or police the lot for parking violations is a waste of money. Towing people is just bad for business. They don't care if a few people "break the Disney rules" so long as they are collecting thousands in cash from all the people staying in the hotel.

Yup....
As happens far too often the innocent, the overnight guests, are paying for the transgressions of the miscreants, the day guests who abuse WDW's parking system.
It's apparently harder for Disney to turn down an easy profit from their "captive" guests as opposed to fairly enforcing the rules upon day visitors.

 

[sbd78]

The purpose is merely revenue. The easiest, fastest way for Disney to increase revenue is to charge overnight guests for parking. It doesn't require Disney do anything than ask you if have a car and they tack the fee on your bill.

No doubt someone at Disney has long argued that the company is just leaving money on the table by not charging for parking. They've also probably argued for resort fees as well, and that could be next.

Disney doesn't want to charge day guests because it would stop people coming to eat and spend money at the resorts. Another reason is they don't want to spend a penny on any type of enforcement. Hiring more guards to collect parking fees or police the lot for parking violations is a waste of money. Towing people is just bad for business. They don't care if a few people "break the Disney rules" so long as they are collecting thousands in cash from all the people staying in the hotel.

I agree with all this as far as Disney's reasons to implement this parking fee. If they do nothing to enforce it though, what is stopping hotel guests from claiming to be "day guests" and just leaving their car at their resort for the week?

 

[AngiTN]

I had a thought this morning, in relation to how the resort knows who has a car, and who doesn't. How does Swan/Dolphin know who has a car, and who doesn't? We have stayed there but we didn't have a car, so it wasn't an issue. I can't remember if they asked us or what. We arrived by Uber, otherwise, that's all I know.

 

[famsen]

We were staying at WL last September and had never visited Fort Wilderness. The idea of staying in a cabin always interested me so we wanted to check out the grounds and the layout and see the decorations that the campers put up for Halloween. It was early in the afternoon and we drove over; just hubby and I. We got to the guard post and said "we are just visiting". The guard said "Who are you visiting?". We said "just the resort to look around and maybe grab something to eat and shop". The guard told us it was up to management to let in visitors and they were told no visitors were allowed. I was shocked. I had never been turned away from visiting a resort. It wasn't crazy busy at all. It was not a holiday week or summer vacation or spring break. I said to the guard "So if we come over by boat from Wilderness Lodge where we are staying, there is no problem with us visiting?" He said nope, we could just come over by boat and walk around. Well we certainly did not want to walk miles around campground loops all day so Ft. Wilderness will not get my business in the future site unseen. I wonder why suddenly it seems Disney is welcoming day guests with open arms encouraging them to come and visit resorts and park for free but when we attempted to do that a few months ago as guests already staying on property (a sister property for that matter) we were shunned.

 

[famsen]

There's not many first hand experiences on this thread. Has anyone heard of recent parking experiences at the resorts?Any word on other sites or groups? I am slightly surprised by the lack of information since this new fee has been in effect for a couple weeks now. Maybe everybody ditched their cars.

 

[PrincessV]

There's not many first hand experiences on this thread. Has anyone heard of recent parking experiences at the resorts?Any word on other sites or groups? I am slightly surprised by the lack of information since this new fee has been in effect for a couple weeks now. Maybe everybody ditched their cars.

I'm friends with a bunch of WDW locals and keep waiting to hear what they experience next time they park at a resort, but I think we Floridians are avoiding the place during Spring Break, lol! I'll be that way in a couple weeks, but not sure if I'll visit any resorts. I might drive in and right back out if I happen to pass one on my way somewhere, just to see...

 

[lanejudy]

We were staying at WL last September and had never visited Fort Wilderness. The idea of staying in a cabin always interested me so we wanted to check out the grounds and the layout and see the decorations that the campers put up for Halloween. It was early in the afternoon and we drove over; just hubby and I. We got to the guard post and said "we are just visiting". The guard said "Who are you visiting?". We said "just the resort to look around and maybe grab something to eat and shop". The guard told us it was up to management to let in visitors and they were told no visitors were allowed. I was shocked. I had never been turned away from visiting a resort. It wasn't crazy busy at all. It was not a holiday week or summer vacation or spring break. I said to the guard "So if we come over by boat from Wilderness Lodge where we are staying, there is no problem with us visiting?" He said nope, we could just come over by boat and walk around. Well we certainly did not want to walk miles around campground loops all day so Ft. Wilderness will not get my business in the future site unseen. I wonder why suddenly it seems Disney is welcoming day guests with open arms encouraging them to come and visit resorts and park for free but when we attempted to do that a few months ago as guests already staying on property (a sister property for that matter) we were shunned.

Were you there shortly after the hurricane? I believe Fort Wilderness sustained considerable damage to the grounds and was closed for an extra week or more. It wouldn't surprise me in the least that they restricted visitors arriving by car. Also, I don't believe you would have been allowed to drive through the camping loops as a visitor; more likely you would have been asked to park and walk or take the internal bus. It may also be possible to rent a golf cart, though that is based on availability. Vehicular traffic around Fort Wilderness is limited; basically drive to your site and park.

As to why there are very few first-hand reports -- I suspect most guests at this point had reservations made prior to March 21st and the parking fee hasn't impacted them. It could well be several months before "most" guests notice the fee. I'm not surprised there is very little change. I don't think the fee was intended to create a big difference that would be noticeable by day guests.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[AngiTN]

There's not many first hand experiences on this thread. Has anyone heard of recent parking experiences at the resorts?Any word on other sites or groups? I am slightly surprised by the lack of information since this new fee has been in effect for a couple weeks now. Maybe everybody ditched their cars.

Nope. And not surprised. There are not very many who make last minute trips to Disney that also post on message boards. So you are only "talking to" people who booked prior to 3/21.
Any day guest wouldn't be impacted
So basically, there's no one to report back yet. Or such a small number they haven't posted anywhere.

 

[Cloe Colton]

I stayed at Pop 3/23-3/27 and obviosuly was booked prior to 3/21, but no one asked me when i had booked and the guard merely checked that we had a reservation on the way in. I also utilized online check in.
So maybe they are waiting to enforce it once they know a majority of people would have booked after 3/21? Or maybe the guard would have instructed me at the gate if my reservation had popped up for him as a reservation made after 3/21? Its hard to say

 

[KrazeeK120]

I had a thought this morning, in relation to how the resort knows who has a car, and who doesn't. How does Swan/Dolphin know who has a car, and who doesn't? We have stayed there but we didn't have a car, so it wasn't an issue. I can't remember if they asked us or what. We arrived by Uber, otherwise, that's all I know.

Does S/D have a way to bypass the front desk at check-in? If not, I’m sure they ask at check-in. This is how it’s worked at all hotels where I’ve paid to park.