Valet parking at DVC Resorts

[BrotherBear]

Just got back from a wonderful week at OKW. My first time using points at my home. (We bought DVC last year.)

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has posted over the last year. All your information has been so useful to my trip planning.

Now on to my issue. I had a car during my stay and did alot of resort hopping for swimming and dining. I valet parked for free at WL and BW with out any problems. Just showed my DVC member card and gave a tip. However at the BC, the really rude lady at the valet desk told me that I could not park for free at the BC because I was not staying there. I told her I was a DVC member, staying on points, and I was entitled to valet for free at any DVC resort. She said she had just been trained to not accept free valet parking unless the guests were staying at BC.

I asked to speak to her boss. She said she could not get him right now. She informed me that I should pay my $6.00 valet fee and take any issues up with my resort (OKW) for reimbursement.

I told her that was not acceptable. She then said I could try to find a DVC manager in BC if I wanted to. I went back inside and spoke with the front desk manager. He was very nice and said he was sorry for the mistake. We are actually allowed to valet park for free at all the DVC resorts. He walked out to the valet desk with me and told the gal at the desk to not charge me.

When I returned to OKW, I spoke with the Front Desk manager and explained the situation that had just happened at BC .

He told me that their had been some new training in the past month for Valet attendents. Namely, they should only give free parking to DVC members staying at that resort. I showed him their May/June '03 newsletter which we got upon check-in. It clearly states that a "Perk" is free valet parking at ANY DVC resort.

My issue is not with the $6.00 charge. Six bucks is nothing compaired with the thousands we spent on this trip. My issue is with the inconsistant policy. That is what I told the OKW and BC managers.

If your gonna have a policy or perk then make sure everyone follows the same rules. The gal at the BC valet desk made me feel like I was a criminal for trying to insist on what Disnety said was a perk for me to begin with.

I wonder if Disney is trying to change this "perk"? Has anyone else had simular experiences?

P.S. Ohter than this minor isue I had a wonderful vacation with extended family. Disney really is the BEST!

 

[TIdoublegaER]

Well, you would like to think if they are changing this to be free valet only at the resort you are staying at then they wouldn't publish that we could park free at any DVC resort!! As a matter of fact, you don't even have to be staying on points or Disney property for that matter to use this "perk". We'll see what the member perks state in July while I'm there.

While this CM might have been told this in training, there was no excuse for her to be rude or refuse to get a manager to claify.

 

[JudithM]

BrotherBear, I am glad for the most part that you had a wonderful WDW vacation.

I just finished reading the DVC member's site & read (again) about complimentary valet parking at WDW DVC resorts for DVC members regardless of where one is staying. I am sorry you had this problem, but I am glad you pursued it at the time. That way the BC supervisor could speak to the CM involved & make the policy perfectly clear.

I can only imagine how many different rules & regulations CMs need to be aware of especially at properties where there is a regular hotel & DVC.

As a side note - valet parking is complimentary for guests with handicapped.

 

[BrotherBear]

Yes, we did have a wonderful time ... actually magical!!

I realize the CM's have lots to remember and new info is probably given to them every day. It was really her attitude that angered me. She was not up to Disney standards.

On a positive Valet parking note ... We paid to park at GF while we went swimming. They gave me a green tag to hang from my mirror. For the rest of that day I could go to any resort (like Poly) and not pay for valet because I had already paid once. Nice touch!

 

[DVC4US]

It seems to be the whole property is getting a little sticky with valet parking. Always in the past we have valet parked at hotels like GF, Poly, & Contempary and we were never charged for valet parking. When we were there in March we went to the GF and we had to pay the $6 for valet parking. It just seemed strange because it was the first time we had ever been asked to pay for valet parking. They also charged our room at VWL, but I had that taken off at check-out. We will see what happens when we go in June.
LeiLani

 

[TIdoublegaER]

Here is the policy as posted on Official Disney DVC member's only site:

Valet Parking at the Walt Disney World® Resort
Disney Vacation Club Members are not charged for valet parking at Disney's Beach Club Resort, Disney's BoardWalk Resort or Disney's Wilderness Lodge, regardless of where you're staying. You must present your Disney Vacation Club Member card or Walt Disney World Resort ID with your "DVC Member" designation on it when leaving your vehicle to be parked.
Members will be charged the daily fee of $6.00 for this service at any other valet parking operation at the Walt Disney World Resort. Once you've paid for the valet service, you'll receive unlimited valet parking for the remainder of the day. Whether or not you are charged to valet park, gratuities are still appropriate. There will be no charge for guests with disabilities who have the proper permits.

 

[NCRedding]

I wonder if she is the same gal at the valet desk from our trip in December to BCV--it sounds like it. The older guy who does valet in the evenings was wonderful! But the morning bunch left alot to be desired. She seemed to find it unbelievable that I wanted my car more quickly than 45 minutes from when we called for it. We had to go "under her" and ask the valet attendant, who was standing there, not doing anything, if he would mind getting our car.

 

[Disney Doll]

Our experience has been that if we are a hotel that has a DVC property, we have not been charged for valet parking. Of course, we still tip!

At hotels that do not have a DVC property, we are charged for valet aprking once and then given some kind of a tag(I think they change the color daily), so that if we go to a different hotel that day, we are not charged the valet fee again.

 

[PamOKW]

I'm glad it was finally resolved. My real problem with this one is Rule #1 "The Customer is Right" . Rule #2, If by some chance the Customer is wrong, See Rule #1. Once you told her what you had recently been told was the policy and then asked to see a superior, she should have parked the car. You don't need to resolve the discrepancy, she does....especially for a $6 charge.

It is frustrating to find oneself "begging" for what we are told is a perk. I don't like to think I need to walk around with documentation for every perk! From the first day they put in a charge for WDW guests to valet park, we were told DVC members were exempt at DVC resorts. There is no reason for confusion on their part since nothing has changed.

Glad to hear your trip was great and even this "problem" was eventually resolved for you.

 

[goofy4dvc]

When we were at WDW last December, we stayed at VWL. We went to BC to eat at Yachtsman Steakhouse. They argued for a while about the free valet parking. They agreed that DVCers get free valet parking at all DVC resorts. But, they said that while BCV IS a DVC resort, BC is NOT. They were fairly nice about it and said they would "waive" the valet fee this time, but asked us to be sure to check the policy again. Of course, we tipped them for the service.

We had intended to park in the parking lot and walk to the entrance, but there were NO parking spaces in BC parking. Didn't check the BCV parking lot. Plus it had begun raining rather hard and we didn't want to get wet before going into the restaurant.

So, my questions is this. Is there a separate valet service for BCV that is not at the same place as BC?

We had no problem with valet at WL while we were at VWL. There was only one valet area that serviced both the WL and VWL.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

When we were staying at BWV in Dec 2002..we drove over to the CR to have dinner etc....when we valet parked we were charged the $6.00 fee.....I forgot that we were not at a DVC resort but a hotel ........and rem. that upon check -in the CM said you must pay for valet parking if you are not visiting another DVC resort... it can be confusing..

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by goofy4dvc
When we were at WDW last December, we stayed at VWL. We went to BC to eat at Yachtsman Steakhouse. They argued for a while about the free valet parking. They agreed that DVCers get free valet parking at all DVC resorts. But, they said that while BCV IS a DVC resort, BC is NOT.

The Yachtsman Steakhouse is at the Yacht Club (YC) Resort, not at the Beach Club (BC) Resort.

Were you trying to valet park for free at the YC or the BC? BCV and BC share the same valet parking, but YC has its own valet parking, and it does not provide free valet parking for DVC members.

 

[goofy4dvc]

The Yachtsman Steakhouse is at the Yacht Club (YC), not at the Beach Club (BC) Resort.

Horace,

Well, that must have been my problem!! Thanks for pointing that out. Now that makes more sense.

 

[CarolMN]

Brother Bear - Just want to thank you for pursuing this. As you already know, you were correct. I'm hoping that because of your actions, the rest of us will not encounter the same problem. Obviously, the training package needs to be corrected to comply with the actual policy! Thanks again! Carol

P.S. Perhaps you will consider sending Jackie Leuders (sp??), DVC Member Satisfaction Manager, an email describing your problem (if you don't think anything is being done to correct the training issue). Surely, she has enough clout to get the BCV valet training straigtened out.

 

[BrotherBear]

I would be happy to send an e-mail to Jackie. Do you have her e-mail or snail-mail address? Thanks!
BrotherBear

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

BrotherBear,

Just another thank you for sharing this experience and for the way you handled it. Your telling DVC management will no doubt aid in correcting this situation.

We often drive and really value the free DVC Valet parking as one of the very nice perks. And one would think the valets themselves would value it as well.... Not paying the $6, DH or I might be inclined to be even more generous tipping for outstanding service!

 

[Lisa F]

Originally posted by LNaylor863
It seems to be the whole property is getting a little sticky with valet parking. Always in the past we have valet parked at hotels like GF, Poly, & Contempary and we were never charged for valet parking. When we were there in March we went to the GF and we had to pay the $6 for valet parking. It just seemed strange because it was the first time we had ever been asked to pay for valet parking. They also charged our room at VWL, but I had that taken off at check-out. We will see what happens when we go in June.
LeiLani

The resorts have been charging all guests regardless of where you are staying $6/day for valet parking for a while now (maybe a year?) This is not new, nor are they suddenly "sticky" about it. I'm not sure why you thought that the charge was incorrect, but now that you know that this is indeed the policy, I hope you don't mean that you are intending to use the service and then have it taken off your bill at checkout on your next trip. Having the charge taken off your bill for a service that you used but do not wish to pay for is dishonest. Unless, of course, you are saying that you paid cash for the valet parking and then they charged your room as well (it wasn't clear from your post). Then of course, no problems... but you weren't being "cheated" by paying for valet in the first place. The only exception to this is for DVC members at DVC resorts (which GF/Poly/CR are not).

Btw, if you pay for valet parking at a resort (which we have done occasionally when visiting the MK monorail resorts) you can use your valet parking tag for valet at PI (at least you could last time we were there). It's a nice way to feel like you got your money's worth out of that $6 tag.

Lisa

 

[PamOKW]

you can use your valet parking tag for valet at PI

That's a good thing to know. I knew that the valet charge was tranferable to other hotels but I didn't know it included PI. I realize this may have changed, but it's worth a try.

 

[DVC4US]

The resorts have been charging all guests regardless of where you are staying $6/day for valet parking for a while now (maybe a year?) This is not new, nor are they suddenly "sticky" about it. I'm not sure why you thought that the charge was incorrect, but now that you know that this is indeed the policy, I hope you don't mean that you are intending to use the service and then have it taken off your bill at checkout on your next trip. Having the charge taken off your bill for a service that you used but do not wish to pay for is dishonest. Unless, of course, you are saying that you paid cash for the valet parking and then they charged your room as well (it wasn't clear from your post). Then of course, no problems... but you weren't being "cheated" by paying for valet in the first place. The only exception to this is for DVC members at DVC resorts (which GF/Poly/CR are not).

Lisa F,

I did not post my opinion on this board to be slammed by someone and called dishonest. In my original post what I was trying to say was that I was also charged for valet parking at VWL (which is a DVC resort and I am a DVC member) and I asked them to take it off at check-out. In regards to the other hotels, I never said I was being "cheated". All I said was that in the past years we have valet parked at many different hotels and were not charged. The whole point of my post was to state that valet parking rules at WDW have changed. It is reasons like this that I do not post as often as I would like on these boards. All I did was post my experience and never once was it made to sound derogatory toward Disney and I get called "dishonest and and a cheater".
LeiLani

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by BrotherBear
I would be happy to send an e-mail to Jackie. Do you have her e-mail or snail-mail address? Thanks!
BrotherBear

I'll have to do a search - but right now that's disabled. I know it's been posted a few times and now I wish I'd written it down. Will post as soon as I find it, if someone else doesn't beat me to it.