Tiered parking

[Nancyg56]

I agree it's a choice. Yes its a business and they are looking for money making opps and have every right to.
But, this is another example of taking something away. Ambitious park goers used to be able to get there early and get the best parking spots and fast passes etc. Now there is a fee or a catch for these things. It's extra irritating because it is right on the heels of the story about resort fees, tiered prices, dining plan hikes. The pr people think Disney is invincible . But I think this rush of prices increases or changes in 2 weeks time was a little short sighted on their part. Spread the greed out a little, geez.

Just getting annoying.

I for one would never pay...our last trip.we racked up about 15 miles at the park...whats a few more steps in the parking lot? Never even been on a tram. With strollers it's more work than its worth to use a tram (Fully understand if there are mobility issues)

I think we need a thread dedicated to what we think they will try next.

I think it is free refills at certain location...gonna have to start scanning the band for that type of luxury. (Sadly, not joking)

I would not pay for this either. And I am not disputing that this is another way to increase revenue. I am just saying that at least this one is a choice I can make.

 

[joelkfla]

But Disney has always been the holdout. While everyone else was charging big bucks for Express Pass or whatever and Preferred Parking, Disney continued to offer FP to all Guests, and everyone had the same shot at getting a good parking space.

It's part of the "Four Keys" that all cms have been taught forever: Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency -- in that order! Every Guest was a VIP, and treated equally. Anything else would have been discourteous and bad show.

Now, while the mantra remains the same, Efficiency (or cost-cutting and taking in more bucks) has clearly moved ahead of Courtesy and Show (and sometimes even Safety) in practice. It's a major change in the corporate culture.

 

[DisneyOma]

Universal has been doing this for years. Where's the fuss over that?

 

[Minniesgal]

I wonder what happens if standard parking is full and preferred has loads of spaces. Do they make it compulsory?

 

[Minniesgal]

Universal has been doing this for years. Where's the fuss over that?

for me it's the price. We paid for it for years at Universal as it was only $5 over the regular price but $15 is steep.

 

[poppinspenguins]

Universal has been doing this for years. Where's the fuss over that?

Just because they charge it doesn't make it less greedy for disney to do it....maybe universal fans got upset too? I'm not upset really...I will never use it...just another string in extra greedy things it seems

For the record I think it is just as greedy there and I also detest the express pass there.

Disney is bigger and had a reputation of having amazing service and providing magic. I think stooping to the level of others (i.e resort fees, extra parking fees etc) actually degrades the company. People appreciate integrity in a business. I was going to stay at universal once til found out parking was not included and there was a refrigerator fee (maybe different now). It was the principle of it more than the price.

I guess in the past I had higher Disney standards...not matching others...but exceeding them.

 

[goofy Jr. 88]

LOL we have parked in the far out portion of the Epcot lot - we joked to the CM that we could see Russia from our parking place - he didn't get it...

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Universal has been doing this for years. Where's the fuss over that?

When we go to US, we stay at a US resort and walk into the parks from our room. We pay the equivalent of WDW moderate pricing for this and get an unlimited fast pass. Really not much to compare between US and WDW.

 

[snayak]

When we go to US, we stay at a US resort and walk into the parks from our room. We pay the equivalent of WDW moderate pricing for this and get an unlimited fast pass. Really not much to compare between US and WDW.

We also stayed on-site to take advantage of the Unlimited Express Pass vs the kings ransom for a 1 day park to park w/ unlimited express pass - for peak time that's currently $289 for 1 adult for 1 day - Disney's peak park hopper is $100 less at $125. We took the boat from the hotel (Royal Pacific) to the gates, but still had to pay for parking our car overnight ($20) at the hotel.

We paid $309 for in 2014 for 1 weeknight in October, which is more than a Disney moderate, but less than a deluxe - this was cheaper than buying 4x unlimited Express Passes because we got Universals Extra Magic Hour for staying onsite (Harry Potter Gringott's had just opened so there were tons of people).

The difference is that Universal started out by price segmenting tickets, express pass, and parking, and Disney is just coming around to it now...wouldn't surprise me if Disney started offering something like Express Pass and I would happily pay for it - I value my vacation time at about $1/minute, so I'd pay and extra $60 to save an hour of waiting over the course of a day, maybe up to $100/day/person if it means it can be used at most/all attractions across all parks in a given day (think of the time saved at TSMM or really being able to stroll in and enjoy the parks)

 

[whiporee]

But, this is another example of taking something away. Ambitious park goers used to be able to get there early and get the best parking spots and fast passes etc. Now there is a fee or a catch for these things

I think that is the point of all of it. With the internet telling every secret there is to tell about maximizing your park time, Disney doesn't want ambitious park goers. They don't want people who know how to use the systems to their best advantage -- they want people to get what they paid for and pretty much only what they paid for. That's what FP+ really is, and that's what this really is, an even-ing of the playing field. Disney doesn't really want you showing up two hours before rope drop to get the very best parking; they don't want you arriving at rope drop and collecting FPs. It seems to me that all of this is to take away the idea that arriving as early as you can is the best way to see the park.

I'm not saying it's good or it's bad. But I think it's obvious that Disney has been trying to reduce the number of loopholes they have in their guest system. And I also guess that they are seeing the RD lines getting much longer than they want them to be, so they are looking for ways to mitigate it, at the same time as allowing people who want to pay more for an extra advantage to be able to do that.

As I'm reading this and the other threads, I'm wondering what the specific complaint is: are you upset that Disney is setting aside one section of its parking lot for people who are willing to pay more for the convenience? That doesn't seem out of line with .. with anything in America. My local theme park does it, my local aquarium does it. The sports teams do it, Cirque de Soleil does it when they come to town. The mall does it. If you want to park closer, you pay more. It's not a new idea at all.

If you're asking that Disney behave differently than those places, ask yourself why should they? People don't behave differently at Disney than they do other places. They still fight for spaces; they still shop for discounts and often ask for more. They still look for every loophole and price reduction they can find. We've got threads running now about people demanding their right to get into a line until the last minute before closing. We've got threads about throwaway rooms and campsites. We've got threads about people using RS to get extra rides. We've got threads about how early you're allowed in the park with a breakfast reservation and wondering whether you can slip onto a coveted ride a few times before eating. This entire section of the forum is dedicated to people coming up with strategies to take advantage of what Disney offers, and many of them offer strategies for taking advantage and maybe just a wee bit more. So if people come into Disney with the expectation of that, how can you blame Disney for doing the same?

If people are upset that they had figured things out and then Disney took away their loopholes -- or, if you prefer, changed the rules -- then I can understand that. But in truth, Disney is mostly trying to maximize the experience for as many as they can, and then offering a little bit more for people who are willing to pay for it. Disney doesn't have any desire to cater to those people who have mastered the park -- they'd much rather have a collection of people who are casually doing their best to have the best time they can when they are surrounded by 80,000 strangers.

How much would people pay to just use Fast Pass lines ALL day .. no restrictions on time?

They do offer that. The price is $365 to $600 an hour with a seven hour minimum. Up to 10 people can come on the tour. I've heard its awesome, but I've never done it.

But the problem with making it cheaper is that a LOT of people would do it, and then the logistics of the FP lines and the rides get wonky. Rides have a capacity, and creating more and unregulated FPs would make those line issues even worse.

 

[amcc]

I think that is the point of all of it. With the internet telling every secret there is to tell about maximizing your park time, Disney doesn't want ambitious park goers. They don't want people who know how to use the systems to their best advantage -- they want people to get what they paid for and pretty much only what they paid for. That's what FP+ really is, and that's what this really is, an even-ing of the playing field. Disney doesn't really want you showing up two hours before rope drop to get the very best parking; they don't want you arriving at rope drop and collecting FPs. It seems to me that all of this is to take away the idea that arriving as early as you can is the best way to see the park.

I'm not saying it's good or it's bad. But I think it's obvious that Disney has been trying to reduce the number of loopholes they have in their guest system. And I also guess that they are seeing the RD lines getting much longer than they want them to be, so they are looking for ways to mitigate it, at the same time as allowing people who want to pay more for an extra advantage to be able to do that.

As I'm reading this and the other threads, I'm wondering what the specific complaint is: are you upset that Disney is setting aside one section of its parking lot for people who are willing to pay more for the convenience? That doesn't seem out of line with .. with anything in America. My local theme park does it, my local aquarium does it. The sports teams do it, Cirque de Soleil does it when they come to town. The mall does it. If you want to park closer, you pay more. It's not a new idea at all.

If you're asking that Disney behave differently than those places, ask yourself why should they? People don't behave differently at Disney than they do other places. They still fight for spaces; they still shop for discounts and often ask for more. They still look for every loophole and price reduction they can find. We've got threads running now about people demanding their right to get into a line until the last minute before closing. We've got threads about throwaway rooms and campsites. We've got threads about people using RS to get extra rides. We've got threads about how early you're allowed in the park with a breakfast reservation and wondering whether you can slip onto a coveted ride a few times before eating. This entire section of the forum is dedicated to people coming up with strategies to take advantage of what Disney offers, and many of them offer strategies for taking advantage and maybe just a wee bit more. So if people come into Disney with the expectation of that, how can you blame Disney for doing the same?

If people are upset that they had figured things out and then Disney took away their loopholes -- or, if you prefer, changed the rules -- then I can understand that. But in truth, Disney is mostly trying to maximize the experience for as many as they can, and then offering a little bit more for people who are willing to pay for it. Disney doesn't have any desire to cater to those people who have mastered the park -- they'd much rather have a collection of people who are casually doing their best to have the best time they can when they are surrounded by 80,000 strangers.
.

I think you are ascribing too much emotion to Disney. I think they couldn't care less if your experience was better than mine or if I rode three times and you once. They only care about separating both of us from our money and that means monetizing every possible opportunity. Some may feel the changes more than others but I don't think that's the goal or the intent.

 

[5kidsmommy]

Meh, this doesn't bug me one bit. I got to other amusement parks and they offer premium parking. It's not something forced on me, it's optional just like all those dessert parties I won't pay for. But some people are more than willing to fork over a little money and who am I to complain? It doesn't effect me one way or another.

 

[4077]

The problem is you pay for this up front without really knowing how close you really will be. Someone will end up being at the "back" of the premium lot and not having that great a spot compared to someone else.

Perhaps they can have tiers within the tiered parking lot. Divide it by rows closer in or further out, and then by columns closer to or further from center. You could end up with like 6 tiers in your tiered lot...AWESOME!

 

[lugnut33]

The nickel and dimeing is one reason why I do t go to other parks.

 

[DisneyOma]

When we go to US, we stay at a US resort and walk into the parks from our room. We pay the equivalent of WDW moderate pricing for this and get an unlimited fast pass. Really not much to compare between US and WDW.

After you pay for parking your car on their property, or don't they charge for parking at the resorts anymore? And do you have to pay extra for a fridge too?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

After you pay for parking your car on their property, or don't they charge for parking at the resorts anymore? And do you have to pay extra for a fridge too?

They charge, but we don't rent a car when we go to US because you can walk into the parks.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

General parking at Universal is $20. Preferred is $30, valet is $35 or $50 depending on how long you leave your car there - longer than 2 hours and the price jumps up another $15. For an extra $10 you can have Red Carpet Valet Service which means it is parked closer so it doesn't take the valet as long to get your car back (guaranteeing your vehicle in less than 5 minutes and allowing you to "skip the line" if there are other guests waiting for valets)

at the highest "tier" (red carpet valet for more than 2 hours) parking at Universal could run $60 for the day and that is without a tip for the valet. I'm sure very few guests take that route but it is still available should one wish to.

 

[ellie05]

Another ridiculous move by Disney. I hope people are upset about it and Disney gets discouraged this "trial" period.

My response is I will not pay $35 to park instead I will go valet park and one of the hotels. I just hope that they are providing more busses to the hotels. I see this as an insentive for all the people that stay onsite and drive to now switch to take the resort transportation.

I know other parks do it, but it still bothers me. Also know that there are hotels that charge a resort fee, but there are also hotels that don't.

 

[jbharr1]

Agreeing with Poppinspenguins re: strollers

I'd hate to pay $15 extra bucks for Jafar and then watch people pull into the lot right next to it which looks to be as close or closer for most of those cars.

If you are parking at park open and choose to pay for preferred, you lose the right to get pissed that people paying for standard parking are just as close. Preferred parking should only be a thought if you arrive what 2 to 4 hours after park open?

 

[blondietink]

We have not gone to WDW since early December 2014 and have no plans at this time to go back until all of the updates/changes at the parks are completed (Avatarland, Star Wars, etc.). We are DVC and are using our points elsewhere. The whole nickel and diming is getting ridiculous. We won't pay for any dessert party, premier parking, any extra cost for FP+, etc. But, as long as people are willing to pay it, people like us are doomed to the back of the line/parking lot. Gone are the days of equal opportunity and middle class affordability.