They do listen when you email...:)

[tjcj]

I think use of the entire transportation system is currently free to all ticket holders and folks staying onsite, and I think it should stay that way. The core problem here is the ability to park for free at DTD and use the bus system at SSR to get to/from the parks. Fix that issue by charging for parking for non onsite guests (with 3 hours free vaildation) and I think the volume would go down.
Of course they could just fix all this by adding new monorail lines to all of the resorts

 

[Esmerelda]

Perhaps charging in DTD would be a solution or doing like they do at the monorail hotels. I think they give you a window sticker for 2 or 3 hours then after that there is a charge. I would make this charge higher than the normal park charge so as to deter folks from doing this.

I am normally a very generous gal but when I actually heard groups talking about how they parked down there and hopped the SSR bus to get to the parks...it just really torked me. My hubby and I paid big bucks to be DVC members (just as you all did too) and to have someone take a seat away from any DVCer just to park for free is just crap....I'm sorry. This is why when at SSR some of the buses were so crowded we later figured out. Early in the mornings the buses were not nearly as full as evening hours (after DTD got hopping) Once again, late at night, it seemed to even off again and there were always seats available. I began to observe to see where folks were going and that's originally how we caught on.

Hopefully, Disney is looking into a solution. The lady on the phone stated I was not the first email they had received regarding this topic so we were not the only ones to notice it.


Esmerelda <new graduate of 1,000 posts afer all these years...

 

[CarolMN]

......(snip)......As for Chuck S suggestion, that's what they do at DTD in California. You get a time stamped ticket. You then get 3 hours of free parking, plus 2 additional hours if you have it validated at a restaurant or movie. If you exceed the time allowed, the minimum charge is more than the daily parking fee for the parks.

While this would almost certainly stop the people leaving cars at DTD to avoiding the parking fee, it would also cost Disney money.

You'd need the infrastructure built (pay booths, ticket printers, entrance/exit arms, etc.), employees to staff the booths, and a way to deal with traffic "back ups" at the exits and entrances during busy times.

On the plus side, a parking fee may help with security issues. (I think a fee would make DTD a less inviting place to hang out for those who are "up to no good").

Anyway, until and unless the DTD merchants believe this problem has a significant negative impact on their sales, nothing will change. I don't think they care much about how crowded the SSR buses are - it's less expensive to add a few buses than to implement a parking fee.

It's hard to believe that so many people will trade an hour of park time just to "save" $11 (or whatever it is now). To each their own, I guess.

 

[Chuck S]

But it affects more than the SSR busses, and that is why (IMO) Disney needs to address the issue. If people that want to shop, but can't find a parking place, they can't shop. I know we've driven through the DtD lot without being able to find a covenient parking spot, and simply drove elsewhere to eat (offsite). This was at lunch time, too. I've seen the lots full, but the stores and restaurants weren't busy at all, so it is a problem for the merchants.

 

[DisneyFreaks]

I am normally a very generous gal but when I actually heard groups talking about how they parked down there and hopped the SSR bus to get to the parks...it just really torked me. My hubby and I paid big bucks to be DVC members (just as you all did too) and to have someone take a seat away from any DVCer just to park for free is just crap....I'm sorry. This is why when at SSR some of the buses were so crowded we later figured out. Early in the mornings the buses were not nearly as full as evening hours (after DTD got hopping) Once again, late at night, it seemed to even off again and there were always seats available. I began to observe to see where folks were going and that's originally how we caught on.

I so agree with you. We saw so much of this during our stay last december at SSR. Our rooms were in Congress Park and I thought it odd that ninety per cent of the bus got off at that stop and headed for the path to DTD. We got so tired of never getting a seat that we finally started driving our own cars to the parks. I think Chuck's solution is a very good one and I hope Disney hears about it and takes it into consideration. IMHO it may help at least some of the problem. We used our cars exclusively during this trip at OKW and drove around for quite awhile looking for a parking spot at DTD when we made a quick stop there. We took the boat on all of the other times we went over and was mighty thankful to have that extra way of getting there.

 

[robinb]

It's hard to believe that so many people will trade an hour of park time just to "save" $11 (or whatever it is now). To each their own, I guess.

I have a hard time believing just that. Why spend so much time on a bus when you can just pay to park and be there?

 

[dvc_john]

It's hard to believe that so many people will trade an hour of park time just to "save" $11 (or whatever it is now).

I don't think many people making a once in a lifetime trip, or even a once a year trip, and paying $70/day for a ticket, would waste that much time just to save the parking fee. I'm not sure these guests would even know about the SSR bus option.

But, I do think that locals with a Florida resident seasonal pass that does not include parking would. They go frequently, sometimes for only a few hours, and frequently go to DTD after the park anyway, so why not park there to begin with.

 

[rogerram]

The way to fix this is to charge anyone who parks at DTD over 3 hours a fee that is equal to the parking fees at the parks. Having an automated ticket gate to enter and pay a cm on the way out. The cost would be minimal. The other issue is people using SSR as a hub to get to DTD. You just need to just restore DTD buses coming out of the theme parks. They would most likely not be used to go to DTD for parked cars there as the cost would be expensive for the DTD parking. It would be used by guests wanting to use DTD and take the problem away from SSR transportation.