Resort Parking

[gepetto]

Originally posted by Andrew015

What confuses me is that you have a 3 hour limitation, which is ample time to go take a dip, dry off in the sun, and go on your marry way.

The "3 hour limitation" is there because there were obviously enough people staying at the monorail resorts (and paying well over $300/night) complaining about the parking situation. There were obviously enough people with PS (paying $$$ for a meal at that resort) complaining about parking. When all the internet sites and unofficial guides are telling people to park at CR for the entire day it BECOMES a problem.

 

[DancingBear]

Originally posted by Andrew015
Now, the reason Disney puts up the red flag is that people park at a resort and jump in the nicer hotel pools.

Andrew, you're not listening. As many others have posted, the problem was not pool-hoppers, and it's not those like you who want to visit the resorts. The problem was people parking at the resorts and then going into the theme parks for the entire day, which really ties up the lots and screws up the traffic patterns.

The only place where pool-hopping has been a significant problem is Stormalong Bay at the YC/BC and they have gotten much stricter about checking resort IDs as a result. It was very easy for folks from Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin to walk to Stormalong Bay, which made the problem worse there. Since every hotel in FL has a pool, and every Disney resort has a pretty darn nice pool, my guess is very few folks jump in a car to go visit another resort's pool.

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

I may regret jumping in with my two cents but I'm not understanding all the ruckus! I thought part of the cost for a monorail resort is access to the monorail - if I pay for WL (which I will be) then I must use their facilities of bussing to TTC and going from there. I would be pretty ticked off if I paid big bucks to stay at CR/GF/Poly spent a day offsite (or wherever) came back and found I had to hike it from who knows where because there was no parking for me. I think Disney has done a good job with transportation even though there'll be problems and I think they keep tweaking it to make it better.

Bottom line if you're going to any resort for just a meal then 2-3 hours is plenty! Otherwise if you know you're going to hop from resort to resort then just park at TTC or take transportation from your own resort. I don't think there is anything wrong with the current system just those who abuse it.

 

[Poly Pal]

I tried to resist...but must chime in!

As a Polynesian loyalist who pays MULTIPLES of what people pay to stay at non-monorail properties, it does tick me off to have hordes of people board the MK resort monorail at park closing to ride over to the Polynesian then walk downstairs, out the front doors and to their cars in the Polynesian's parking lot. I'm paying big bucks for the monorail and the Polynesian's facilities, including its pools and parking lot.

Yes, Disney resort guests used to be able to park at any other resort. But that was before they built all of the additional resorts with thousands more rooms on property. I agree that if you have legitimate business at a resort (a PS, you want to visit the shops, or just take a look around) then go ahead and park a the resort. If you're looking to park all day at a monorail resort to go to the MK, then reserve and pay for a room at one of them.

 

[MarkMichaels]

After reading this thread, I had to chime in.

I'm guessing that Young Andrew has not had to pay for accomadations at the CR or Poly before. Monorail resorts are more expensive for a reason. Poly Pal hit the nail on the head, watching 20-50 cars pull out of the Poly parking lot after MK closes makes me furious. We stayed at the WL two years ago, I won't go back because of the transportation even though we loved the hotel. We stay at the Poly now because I love the hotel and it has great transportation options even though its more expensive.

Why do they even need three hour passes for resorts? Seems to me that resort guests can park for free to their hearts content at TTC and go to any resort for as long as they need using several different modes of transportation.

Ignoring rules because we disagree is wrong, period. In our society, if we don't like a law or rule, we speak up and work to have it changed.

 

[jlima]

Last year, on July 5, we had a PS for the 1900 Park Faire character breakfast & DS7 did the pirate cruise, then we went into MK for the rest of the day. We valet parked at the GF and I remember it being FREE without any mention of 2 or 3 hour limits. Did I imagine that?

I never felt like I was taking a space away from hotel guest. If the hotel is going to have amenities such as the pirate cruise and cooking programs for kids, a wedding chapel, water mice & other boating attractions, etc. that attract people who aren't hotel guests, then they should provide adequate parking for those people.

Has anybody ever been towed from a Disney property before? I'd like to hear from that person!

 

[lvs_eeyore]

You may get around being issued a 3 hour pass for parking but you WILL be carded trying to walk from the resort to MK. We were staying at the Contemporary and we were carded by the staff that stands near the walkway.

Just my opinion but if someone is not paying to stay at that resort they should park at the TTC. We get what we pay for.

 

[MarkMichaels]

I believe the only way valet parking is free is if you have a handicap sticker. jlima, Disney does provide ample parking for non resort guests at the TTC. Its even free provided you are staying somewhere onsite.

 

[Andrew015]

Posted by MarkMichaels: I'm guessing that Young Andrew has not had to pay for accomadations at the CR or Poly before.

UMmmm No you're wrong. I've stayed at GF 2 times, Poly 3 times, and CR 2 times. You really think you know everything. I'm sick of arguing with everyone. I feel my opinion is right, and I'm going to stick to it. You feel yours is right, so you can do what you want. I don't like people that tell me how I should think/act. If everyone minded their own business, and did their own thing.....

 

[jaguar9748]

Hey y'all, I am one of those recent Contemporary guests who arrived to checkin and couldn't find a parking space. I had to put both cars in valet at a cost of $6 per day. That sure didn't make me happy.

 

[manning]

Andrew015, stick around a few more years. You'll be surprised how much smarter the rest of the world becomes. You kind of remind me of someone I knew. He wasn't liked very much except for the few like him. Maybe you have met him? His name is Me Myself and I.

You say you obey only the rules you like. You should be glad you have rules and laws. If you don't think so, go to some of those countries that have only the law of revenge. It ain't pretty.

You say there aren't enough free parking. I found plenty of free parking. It's over there in that section called theme park parking.

Actually, Disney doesn't have to tow cars, just do the smart thing. It's called the Denver Boot. When someone gets booted, they have to pay a fee to have it removed. Someone will say that's not right. At the same time it's not right to break the rules.

Why change the rules you say? Actually the rules haven't changed except for the one that gives you three hours. Parking has always has been for resort guests. Before you challenge me on that one, let me point out that I have been going to Disney since March of 1972 and I know you couldn't have been going any earlier than 1984.

There is technology to monitor parking if Disney wants to pay the money for it. It's the same as what is being used on toll roads. In Illinois it is called I-Pass. You are given a coded transmitter and every time you go thru a gate, you are charged a toll. The same technology could be used at Disney. You are given a transmitter upon check-in and you turn it in when you check out. It can be a drop-off box for express checkout. If you lose it, you pay for it. When you make a PS it can be coded into the computer and when you go thru the gate, your 3 hours start. If you have other events included, additional time is added. You exceed your time limit you get charged for parking at an hourly rate.

 

[Wonderlandmom]

This is not a problem unique to WDW. We stayed at the Don Cesar this summer, an upscale resort on St. Pete Beach. We were required to take a ticket whenever we parked in the lot. When we left, our "guest pass" we received at check-in was shown to the guard(in a little booth), therefore we did not have to pay for parking. There are several restaurants there(including 4*) and shopping underneath. Day guest pay $10 for the day, and I think there was a lower amount for a couple hours. We saw many people paying to park there.
We thought this was a good system. We never used valet as we could always find a place.

 

[MarkMichaels]

Andrew, staying at and paying for the hotels are two very different things. It is impossible to appreciate the costs of those resorts until you work your hind end off to pay for them.

Thank goodness we live in a country where you can have your own opinion. At the same time we have to live by rules and laws. I am not debating your opinion, you can believe whatever you want, thats not the point. Breaking rules because they are inconvenient is another thing though.

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by jlima
Last year, on July 5, we had a PS for the 1900 Park Faire character breakfast & DS7 did the pirate cruise, then we went into MK for the rest of the day. We valet parked at the GF and I remember it being FREE without any mention of 2 or 3 hour limits. Did I imagine that?

I never felt like I was taking a space away from hotel guest. If the hotel is going to have amenities such as the pirate cruise and cooking programs for kids, a wedding chapel, water mice & other boating attractions, etc. that attract people who aren't hotel guests, then they should provide adequate parking for those people.

Has anybody ever been towed from a Disney property before? I'd like to hear from that person!

Hi jlima,

You did not imagne that valet parking was free July 5th, 2001.

As of July 6th or 7th of 2001 there is now a $6 per day plus tip fee for valet parking at the duluxe resorts unless you have a handicapped sticker or are a DVC member at a DVC resort( I could be incorrect on the DVC point).

When we have ressies at a resort for a meal we always valet park so the 3hr limit does not effect us.

We always valet parked before the time limit was impossed and plan to always valet park in the future.

 

[DancingBear]

Originally posted by jlima
If the hotel is going to have amenities such as the pirate cruise and cooking programs for kids, a wedding chapel, water mice & other boating attractions, etc. that attract people who aren't hotel guests, then they should provide adequate parking for those people.

jlima, obviously you didn't break any rules as of the time you were there, but

There is enough parking available for those who want to visit the GF for all of those other attractions. Generally with restaurant visits, etc., the 3-hour pass suffices. What throws off the plan is those who use the monorail resort parking to visit the theme parks.

As a rule, MK parkers will be clogging up spots for a much longer time, and they will arrive and leave in large groups when the park opens and when it closes, which will clog up the traffic patterns. The TTC lot is designed to handle these cars, the resort lots aren't (and shouldn't have to be).

 

[DancingBear]

Originally posted by Andrew015
I feel my opinion is right, and I'm going to stick to it. You feel yours is right, so you can do what you want. I don't like people that tell me how I should think/act. If everyone minded their own business, and did their own thing.....

Andrew, it's unfortunate that you are digging in your heels and just refusing to listen to the folks here, who I think have really tried to engage you in a meaningful discussion to try to get you to understand their positions.

Everyone is certainly welcome to their own opinions; however, I've just reviewed your posts, and it appears to me that you are basing your opinion on several factual errors:

The 3-hour rule was created to stop pool-hoppers. NO, the rule was created to stop folks from parking at the monorail resorts and going to the Magic Kingdom. As you say, pool-hopping can be controlled by Cast Members checking resort IDs at the pool--in fact, the CMs do this, particularly at the pools which attract outsiders, such as at WL and Stormalong Bay at YC/BC. Remember that CR's pool is nothing special, and until recent renovations neither were the GF and Poly pools. The spa at the GF is open to anyone.

Again, the rule was NOT created to stop you, the legitimate visitor to the monorail resort. Unfortunately, the rule will, unintentionally, interfere with your idea of eating at the Poly then visiting GF and CR by monorail; however, you can park at the TTC and do all of this. Or, since you say you usually stay at the WL, you can take the boat to a monorail resort to start your tour. If you have a better rule proposal which will keep out the theme parkers but allow you more time to do your thing, let us and Disney know.

It's Disney's fault for not building adequate parking. There is no way that parking could ever be adequate at the resorts to accomodate the theme parkers. It's not just a matter of parking spaces, but also traffic patterns. All of the folks in the resort lots have to come and go on the resort roads, which just aren't made for that volume of traffic or for large numbers of vehicles coming and going at the same times. The TTC lot, on the other hand, is designed just for this purpose, and works very well.

It's Disney's fault for not having adequate transportation. Actually, the transportation to Magic Kingdom from any resort on property is very good. Disney made a great decision when they moved the bus dropoff from the TTC to right outside the MK gates. They also now have a special character breakfast bus which will get resort guests to those early PSs, which has addressed another issue. This has worked very well. There are other shortcomings in the system, but not the transportation to MK.

The old system worked then, why change it now? First of all, the number of theme parkers at the monorail resorts increased significantly, in large part due to the incredible dissemination of information over the web. Second, there are many, many more resort rooms on WDW property than there were even 10 years ago (CSR, AKL, All-Stars, Boardwalk, Pop Century to come, etc.), so allowing all WDW resort guests just doesn't work any more.

I hope you will consider this information and give some further thought to your position.

 

[SueM in MN]

Posted by Tiffany:

As of July 6th or 7th of 2001 there is now a $6 per day plus tip fee for valet parking at the duluxe resorts unless you have a handicapped sticker or are a DVC member at a DVC resort( I could be incorrect on the DVC point).

You are correct on the DVC point. DVC members pay dues and part of the dues go for the valet parking. So, they don't pay for valet parking at DVC resorts.

You are also correct that there is no fee for Handicapped parking with a handicapped parking permit. This is because the resorts have very little handicapped parking and what they have is quite far from the resort. For example at AKL and WL, you can't even see the main building from the handicapped parking spots.

 

[JudithM]

Sue, have you visited the AKL & parked in the handicapped parking lot? It is just to the left of the lobby entrance, & you can see the resort. Our standard view room at AKL overlooked the handicapped parking lot (& my car ).

 

[Tiggerlover91]

Ummm, I hope I don't get yelled at but here I go, when I worked at Disney and wanted to avoid the traffic leaving TTC I would park at the GF. Not the valet, but the parking located across the street from the GF. Has anyone else ever done this? Parking lot was always fairly empty and it didn't seem to interfere with the guests. I only did it three times in the 45 days I worked at Disney, but I loved to visit the GF also. I also remember all the controversy with Contemp and Poly parking and that's why I never parked there. Hope this doesn't make things worse.

For DH and I when we visit, we only park at the resorts if we are eating. If we happen to be at a monorail resort, we might jump on the monorail and visit another one, but that scenario is a tad different.

 

[Andrew015]

Good Morning to all. Hope that your weekends were pleasant and enjoyable. I do appreciate all of the comments and ideas. One thing I did learn from this discussion is that parking a car isn't such a simple task. I kind of feel like the enemy, seeing everyone is up in arms about the "law breaker" (me). Well that's fine I guess, seeing that I am in the wrong. This discussion has gone on long enough, and I feel that it's going nowhere. Normally, when some type of policy is implemented which I do not care for, I tend to ignore it, or at least stay away from it. But I love Disney, and I can't stay away from it.(I hate policy.) I guess I'm too attached to my 1st amendment rights, and when you take one away, you can take them all away. But this is far from the first amendment. But it's the same principle. A few years back, the system allowed for parking wherever you pleased. Now they took that right away from me, and it's upsetting. Now for most of you, instead of taking a privilege away from you, they helped your cause by implementing policy that benefits you, which I understand and can't argue with. For me, it's just Red Tape. It's like the bureaucracy: just slowing things down. Normally, when I see my hotel parking lot filled, instead of cursing the visitors for eating up my spot, I would say something to the effect "Geeze, everyone must have good taste like us! This sure is a great resort." I don't think you can argue my position either. I don't park all day, nor do I eat up the hotel benefits. I'm just a diehard hotel goer and I love to surf the various resorts. I think someone else summed it up before: jlima (one of my few comrades) : "never felt like I was taking a space away from hotel guest. If the hotel is going to have amenities such as the pirate cruise and cooking programs for kids, a wedding chapel, water mice & other boating attractions, etc. that attract people who aren't hotel guests, then they should provide adequate parking for those people." Another example of someone who's not trying to break the rules, just enjoying what is out there for them to enjoy: a beautiful disney resort. Maybe I'm no different from anyone else. I'm just a craved Disney Nut. I hope this better exemplifies my position, and kind of moves my position from the Disney Bandit, to maybe Mr. Smee: a bad guy that you can't help but like Trying to make this my last post on this discussion. Hope there are no hard feelings. I never made that my intent.