Turned away from Disney resort!

[ScottOKW2K]

Originally posted by florida res
Please tell me if I am being unreasonable before I fire off a complaint letter.

You Are.

My DH and I stayed at AKL for 3 nites over the 4th of July weekend. We decided on the 4th to go to all the resorts, by our personal car, with our parking permit plainly displayed in the windshield, to buy magnets from each of the resorts that we had stayed at. (Never realized how many we stayed at till we did this and it took a couple of hours between driving and walking between the resorts at BW/YC/BC and Swan/Dolphin!)
All we were doing was running into the gift stores to buy the magnets and then leaving.
We tried to get into the Wilderness lodge and instead of being "waved" thru by the security guard like at every other resort, we were stopped. This was 2:30pm. When we explained we just wanted something from the giftstore, the guard said they were only letting in registered guests of the resort that day by car and if we wanted in that we would have to park at MK and take the bus!!! I was furious. I pay huge amounts of money to stay at the Disney resorts

Disney is not cheap. Whether one is staying at value, moderate, or GF RPC they are probably paying what is the best that they can afford. A family of limited means could be staying at Pop Century on a code rate and it could still be a huge amount of money - for them ! Everyone thinks that he/she is paying a huge amount of money.

(this was our 8th trip in about 3 mo's time)

So you can probably pick up the magnet on your next trip, real soon , right ??

and if I have a parking pass then I should be able to go anywhere I want!

Ok ..........

I could see if it was "time for the fireworks" on the 4th but it was 2:30! We had to turn around at the gate (after convincing my DH NOT to charge thru to the front door, drop me off and let me run like heck to get my purchase...he figured by the time security came I'd have my magnet!!_

They must have some really nice magnets at the WL. I gotta take a "run-through" there next time I at WDW (ie , next week).

Has anyone else ever gotten turned away on a "holiday"?

The 4th of July is not a "holiday" as far as attendance at the MK. It is a HOLIDAY. You know, the whole lot'sa people coming to the number one resort destination in the world kinda thing ..

 

[madcoco]

Sorry that it happened but the Guard was just doing his job. They have strict orders on the 4th.

 

[poohandwendy]

oops, posted on wrong thread...sorry...

 

[llrain]

Originally posted by tinkerbell1967
I think the security guard was just doing his job. He can't bend the rules for one person and then not the others. The resorts are packed at the holidays so I think what he did makes sense.

It looks like the OP seems to visit WDW quite often, can't you pick up your magnet the next visit???? Not trying to be smart here but just curious???

As i said before without comparing the holiday crowds at a PARK, which we arent even talking about a park that everyone seems to think i am talking about park crowds. llike i said.....
If a guard is going to let me park my car at a resort NO MATTER WHAT TIME OF YEAR for a breakfast at a resort that I am not staying at then why do they have the right to turn the car behind me away cause all they want to do is goto a gift shop..Its not right, its not fair that I should be allowed into there to park for breakfast where the next car is turned away.....That is not doing his job....I should either be turned away or the car behind me should be let in.....Its all about persistance....If they are gonna do it one way it should be that same way for everyone....


Oh and BTW what does parking in a visitor spot at a resort even have to do with a park that is full on a holiday...
Just cause its a holiday means all the VISITOR spots are gonna be taken at a resort BECAUSE a park is so full?
And for the record I was in Disney for a 4th of july in 1995
it was not a trip i wanted to remember so i leave it out of sig.

Visitor spots are just that, for visitors, and i think that thats where you park when you are forst checking in isnt it?
So if all these so called visitor spots are filled then there is
either a HECK of alot of people checking in ALL AT ONCE
(better chances of winning a lottery) or these cars are illgealy
parked. So maybe security should have been paying more attention to the lot and towing cars.

 

[StitchGirl]

Everyone who has stayed there says how small the WL parking lot is, and how it is often difficult to find a spot...

...There were thousands of people staying at Disney World that day...

....What if there were 50 people (not unreasonable when we are talking tens of thousands) who wanted to park to visit the gift shop in one afternoon?

Should that be allowed? What if there are only 15 guest spots?? Where will those people park? Should they double park and lock guests in? Becuase that's what they will surely do!

Further-- if the answer is "no, but one won't hurt," which one gets to park? The one that spent the most money? The one that got there first?? Then what? The others have to wait until someone else leaves before they can go?

This is the situation they were up against on the 4th, because, since the MK lot was full, people would come up with any story to get in there, including going to the gift shop. There is no way for the guard to distinguish truth froma lie.

And, the "10 minute" or "1 hour" pass won't work, becauset these same people are not going to follow that!

 

[lindamg]

Visitor spots are just that, for visitors, and i think that thats where you park when you are forst checking in isnt it?

Only the moderates and values have this parking set up. You park at the central building to check in and then move your car to the lot closest to your building. At the Wilderness Lodge and the other Deluxe resorts there is basically only one parking area (unless you're parking way across the street at Boardwalk, but that's another post! ) There are no spaces reserved for "visitors", so if you park in a space you are parking in a space for a guest of that resort.

Also, I get the impression from the above post that the poster doesn't think there is a connection between the attendance level at the parks and the attendance level at the resorts. I have no statistics to prove this, but at the major holidays, not Halloween by the way, the resorts DO tend to fill up. Hence, the no empty spaces to be found problem.

And since I'm here, here's my take: this is another example of a problem we see fairly frequently on this board. Disney has a set of rules or procedures in place. They don't always follow those procedures consistently. Usually that is for our benefit. It's that whole "but they said I could use my mug again, pool hop, park here," etc. set of arguments. When we are allowed to break with procedure one time we assume we should be allowed to do it at all times. Then you hit a peak crowd time and Disney is forced to enforce those same procedures that they have been lax on before, to maintain crowd control and everyone's sanity. Instead of looking on the time the procedures weren't enforced as a one-time, wasn't it lovely, perk, they look on it as a right and get bent out of shape and blame Disney when Disney reverts to the standard rules.

I prefer to say "thank you" when I get a nice break, and say "absolutely, no problem" when they are following procedures.

 

[auntpolly]

Originally posted by llrain

If a guard is going to let me park my car at a resort NO MATTER WHAT TIME OF YEAR for a breakfast at a resort that I am not staying at then why do they have the right to turn the car behind me away cause all they want to do is goto a gift shop..Its not right, its not fair that I should be allowed into there to park for breakfast where the next car is turned away.....That is not doing his job....I should either be turned away or the car behind me should be let in.....Its all about persistance....If they are gonna do it one way it should be that same way for everyone....

This isn't completely logical. If you have a PS for breakfast, of course they have to let you park. It's not like they aren't letting other people shop; they have provided alternative ways to get to WL. It's like they are saying "Parking for resort and restaurant guests only" -- which they have every right to do. But they don't all of the time because it isn't necessary all the time. They do it when it is necessary.

Like the owners of a shopping center parking lot, they have the right to say who can park and for what reasons. ("bank customers only" -- or" Tony's Pizza customers only").

 

[peter11435]

First of all, having a parking pass does not allow you to park anywhere you want. The pass clearly states that it entitles the holder to park one vehicle at disney resort not resorts. In this case AKL was the only place she had a definate parking space. On almost all other days thay would have been nice and let them in, however on this particular day even someone wantind to go for breakfast would have been turned away without PS. The money she payed at AKL was for just that not WL nor any other resort, She was not turned away from WL, only told she couldn't park the car there.

Also the park crowds regardless of what you may want to believe do affect hotel parking. You wouldn't beleive the amount of people that park at MK resorts so they can watch fireworks or get into MK after the parking lot is full, This is not fair to the paying guests of WL. Everyone who thinks she should have been allowed in or that they should have done more for her is being completly unreasonable. And I would highly recommend not going past security, remember WL is surrounded by miles of disney, and someone speedin g past security is just who they are looking for, you would have defiantly not made it away, and could have gotten in serious trouble. This is another example of the poor state the world is in, again thinking that the rules do not apply to them and I will just do it anyway. Very sad.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by lindamg
Only the moderates and values have this parking set up. You park at the central building to check in and then move your car to the lot closest to your building. At the Wilderness Lodge and the other Deluxe resorts there is basically only one parking area (unless you're parking way across the street at Boardwalk, but that's another post! ) There are no spaces reserved for "visitors", so if you park in a space you are parking in a space for a guest of that resort.

Also, I get the impression from the above post that the poster doesn't think there is a connection between the attendance level at the parks and the attendance level at the resorts. I have no statistics to prove this, but at the major holidays, not Halloween by the way, the resorts DO tend to fill up. Hence, the no empty spaces to be found problem.

And since I'm here, here's my take: this is another example of a problem we see fairly frequently on this board. Disney has a set of rules or procedures in place. They don't always follow those procedures consistently. Usually that is for our benefit. It's that whole "but they said I could use my mug again, pool hop, park here," etc. set of arguments. When we are allowed to break with procedure one time we assume we should be allowed to do it at all times. Then you hit a peak crowd time and Disney is forced to enforce those same procedures that they have been lax on before, to maintain crowd control and everyone's sanity. Instead of looking on the time the procedures weren't enforced as a one-time, wasn't it lovely, perk, they look on it as a right and get bent out of shape and blame Disney when Disney reverts to the standard rules.

I prefer to say "thank you" when I get a nice break, and say "absolutely, no problem" when they are following procedures.

ITA!!! Very well said!

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by llrain


Visitor spots are just that, for visitors, and i think that thats where you park when you are forst checking in isnt it?

I see you have only stayed on moderate resorts. (unless you have more trips you "want to forget" that you left out of your signature) There is no visitor parking at the deluxe resorts.

You don't think people lie and say they're just going shopping for a minute and then park for the day?

 

[stacy6552]

Unfortunately I don't think you have reason to complain. It was inconvenient, yes. Perhaps someone should have offered an explination. But the lot could have been full. Or he resort could have been completely booked and they had too many cars for the lot, and been dealing with complaints all week. You just don't know.

 

[DisneyChick02]

On holidays- or at any time for that matter- WDW resorts have the option of going on a "hard close." That means that the resort and its parking lots are open to only those REGISTERED at the resort or who have a priority seating at a restaurant within the resort. The time at which a resort goes to hard close can vary- for MK resorts it will usually be the entire day of a holiday, but resorts like BC and BW may only start at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Other variations include giving out time limit passes, etc. to non-resort guests.

WL is a Magic Kingdom resort. You attempted to get into WL on July 4th. I am sorry if the security host was rude to you (you can turn someone away without being rude), but he/she was doing his job and there is no justification for the complaint. Your hotel rate includes complimentary parking at theme parks and complimentary transportation via the WDW bus system, not free parking at the different resorts. In theory, parking lots at the resorts are ONLY open to those *registered at that particular resort* or who have a reason (priority seating, cast meeting, etc.) to be there, and not for any WDW resort guest. Granted this is not enforced very much, but on anticipated heavy days of park attendance or major holidays, these rules go into full effect.

If you'd like to write about the CM being rude to you, go ahead because that shouldn't have happened at all. However, if you were just taken aback by him/her turning you away I'd just chalk it up to a lesson learned.

 

[gjerseygirl]

Originally posted by Bojangles
So EVERYONE should leave their car in their one spot for their entire vacation? Some people drive out to the grocery store, Walmart, dinner offsite, Seaworld, Universal, etc... They deserve to have a parking space when they return.

You are entitled to park at the resort where you are staying or have a PS. Nothing more.

The point is...that if you only move your car to go offsite or for a PS, then theoretically, you would always have a space when you come back to your resort. If everyone was using the transportation systems to get back and forth to the resorts or parks, we wouldn't have a parking situation and the guards wouldn't have to be nasty or nice. It would be a non-issue.

 

[gjerseygirl]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie
There are plenty of people staying on site that would rather use their car than deal with Disney transportation. Some people don't want to deal with folding strollers on the bus. Some don't want to run the risk of standing with young kids on a crowded bus. There may be those that are confined to a wheelchair that would rather drive than deal with the bus.

Still others hate to wait. They want to be able to come and go when they want and not have to work within the schedules of Disney transportation. No matter what the reason for moving ones car, if someone is a paying guest at a resort, they should be able to find parking at all times.

That's fine but don't get mad if you get turned away with your car from another resort because they don't have enough spaces. Just remember that each spot you take up at someone else's resort for whatever reason is a spot you took away from someone who is paying to stay at that resort.

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by gjerseygirl
The point is...that if you only move your car to go offsite or for a PS, then theoretically, you would always have a space when you come back to your resort.

That makes no sense at all. What about all of the offsite people that come to the WDW resorts for their PS? You're only accounting for onsite people parking at resorts and that's not always the case.

why should anyone be forced to use WDW transportation system? It's hit and miss at some resorts.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Originally posted by gjerseygirl
If everyone was using the transportation systems to get back and forth to the resorts or parks, we wouldn't have a parking situation and the guards wouldn't have to be nasty or nice. It would be a non-issue.

Do you have how any idea how many rooms some of disney resorts have? I can't imagine every guest staying at PC or the All Stars, during a major holiday (or any time for that matter) taking the buses to the parks.

 

[jarestel]

Originally posted by Bojangles
why should anyone be forced to use WDW transportation system? It's hit and miss at some resorts.

I don't think anyone is "forced" to do anything. You can decide for yourself. But if you make the wrong transportation choice, why should a resort at capacity make allowances for you to park? If you choose to say I'm driving and that's it, most of the time this choice will work out fine. Just be prepared to be turned away during busy periods and understand why it's necessary for the resorts to do this to accomodate registered guests at the resort.

 

[Muushka]

Originally posted by gjerseygirl
Snip.... If everyone was using the transportation systems to get back and forth to the resorts or parks, we wouldn't have a parking situation and the guards wouldn't have to be nasty or nice. It would be a non-issue.

Not sure if it would help the parking situation, but it sure would have a (negative) impact on the transportation system. We only use transportation to MK and we drive everywhere else BECAUSE the transportation is bad (in our opinion). I cannot imagine how bad it would be if no on-site guests used their cars to go to the parks.

PS and we park in the parking lots of the parks, not the other hotels.

 

[jarestel]

Originally posted by Muushka
Not sure if it would help the parking situation, but it sure would have a (negative) impact on the transportation system. We only use transportation to MK and we drive everywhere else BECAUSE the transportation is bad (in our opinion). I cannot imagine how bad it would be if no on-site guests used their cars to go to the parks.

PS and we park in the parking lots of the parks, not the other hotels.

Absolutely. But the point of this thread is not parking at the parks, but non-registered guests parking at resorts that are at or near capacity.

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by jarestel
I don't think anyone is "forced" to do anything. You can decide for yourself. But if you make the wrong transportation choice, why should a resort at capacity make allowances for you to park?

Where did I say that resorts I am not staying at should allow me to park? If I drove to the parks, that is where I would park. My post was a reply to the one that said that everyone should rely on WDW transportation.