Extra occupancy price increase and Minnie Van = resort parking no longer a perk?

[Wonder05]

So, let's take the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress - they have LOADS of space, miles of hiking, an "old time" village, etc. tons of space for parking, they still charge for it, because that land is valueable. I will admit to having not stayed at a lot of those places, but I also don't care for road trips. I do spend hundreds of nights a year in a hotel.

I would think that space close to WDW would be very spendy, ergo, you'd pay for parking. Or like in Vegas, there's a resort fee of say $35 most places I've stayed and I know parking is outrageous on the strip. I'm sure if you go outside of that, its not as pricey, but it seems, *to me*, incredibly normal.

I pay for parking at the mall...Not at Target. I don't eat at chain restaurants, but I eat out all the time and valet is more expensive to most places than Uber is, so paying for parking is certainly a thing on a normal evening.

In short, *I* don't get the outrage. I hate that they're charging more, but being upset about itemizing the increase seems like splitting hairs. If you want to say the Swolphin was X for me total and the BC was Y for me total seems fair, but being upset about the way in which they charge (resort fee vs. base cost) is just *shrug*...again, TO ME. I don't have the same experience on these boards that everyone else does, and ya'll don't have mine. These boards sure would be boring if we did! Also, I couldn't get reservations at Bluezoo, Swan, and Spice Road Table nearly as easy...

Wait? It's fair because you can get reservations easy? What does that have to do with parking price? Or any of the view increases? Or extra person per night increase? I'm lost. Lol

 

[Wonder05]

I get it, but I was just saying, we're not exactly NYC by a long shot (worse pizza, WAY better chicken), and we pay for parking. Its just like...life. I would think that this would be viewed as a normal increase in pricing which we all understand, its just a different way of slicing the p&l.

Lord knows Orlando is more touristy than we are - ergo parking would be way more, right? Personally, my neighborhood is, admittedly FAR hipper than I am though.

The problem is they HAve been Advertising a reason to stay be FREE PArking. They are already raising the price of the rooms.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/parking/

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resort-hotels-benefits/#/drawer=drawerComplimentaryTransportation

 

[amberpi]

Wait? It's fair because you can get reservations easy? What does that have to do with parking price? Or any of the view increases? Or extra person per night increase? I'm lost. Lol

Oh lord, I was trying to respond to that poster by his points. Doesn't make much sense otherwise. Then I tried to wrap it up with the last paragraph.

I'll state my position - you've got to look at the total cost FOR YOU. Do you get resort fees waived, do you drive, do you use MDE, etc. Just looking at the "paying for parking" issue is myopic for us all, because each situation is different and we have to evaluate on that basic. I don't understand the sweeping outrage about paying for parking because most hotels do.

 

[amberpi]

The problem is the HAve been Advertising a reason to stay be FREE PArking. They are already raising the price of the rooms.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/parking/

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resort-hotels-benefits/

Ok, that I can buy, the increases PLUS the parking fees are too much to swallow in one gulp.

 

[adisneyaunt]

Don't mods and values charge $15 for third guest in room? I never knew deluxe charged me more... clearly I need to pay more attention

As far as parking... I think paying a parking fee is Unreasonable while a guest at any resort. Yes, I've paid them at other resorts, but once again...
Feel nickeled and dimed at disney and simply don't like it..

 

[Wonder05]

Don't mods and values charge $15 for third guest in room? I never knew deluxe charged me more... clearly I need to pay more attention

As far as parking... I think paying a parking fee is Unreasonable while a guest at any resort. Yes, I've paid them at other resorts, but once again...
Feel nickeled and dimed at disney and simply don't like it..

Really? That's interesting. They are apparently raising it $10 next year. So it'll be $35

 

[STLstone]

I've been thinking a lot about this and I've figured out what to do. If they ever charge to park at the hotel you're staying at, I'm just going to stay 1 less night than I normally would have. Paying for one less night will more than make up for what the parking increase is.

I'm sure Disney won't even notice I'm not there. It's a win for both of us, I guess.

 

[kandb]

Why can't Disney let Uber, Mears, taxi's make some money? I am against the Minnie taxis. It's just Disney hogging all the $$$$ they can get.

 

[wilkeliza]

Why can't Disney let Uber, Mears, taxi's make some money? I am against the Minnie taxis. It's just Disney hogging all the $$$$ they can get.

They aren't stopping anyone from using those services but with all of those if you little one needs a car seat you either have to wait a very long time and even potentially deal with out of date or even has been in a crash before car seats. Also drivers install them so you have 0 clue if they are properly installed. With Minnie Van you get a CM who knows property and has gone through extensive training on how to properly install the car seat.

 

[Nancyg56]

I guess it is a different experience thing. I do actually have to pay to park at Target, Best Buy, Applebees etc in both cities I frequent. Neither has true public parking so you pay for anywhere you want to go. Some places chose to have lots for their clients only and others you pretty much have to pay city parking.

Several years ago my husband and I went to trade show in Hartford. It was just on the outskirts of town and had a parking lot that was part of the space. We got charged to park, which got my DH knickers in a twist. We went in but my DH was so irritated that we were charges to go spend out money that he did not purchase a thing, and we never attended again. Now I am not saying that this is an apples to apples example, but it does describe that there are lines in the sand folks dont want to cross. For my DH, paying to park in a lot that was part of the space, and not a pay for parking lot normally was his line. It turns out charging a fee for something that is normally included is his line in the sand, but I imagine we all have that line. For some it is parking fees, for others resort fees, and still others, it will be some other upcharge.

 

[Doberge]

Wait tho, what about that "magical express" from airport that guest who drive won't be using? Then with that logic they should not be charged for that then right?

Some things depend on how they are marketed and presented to guests. If you tell a someone they are saving money by not using a service, giving them an option to "opt out" and save $X, then it's palatable because they sound like they are trying to help you save money on something you may not need.

A great example are places that offer a discounted rate for turning down housekeeping. These costs are built into the room rate and then a resort or hotel offers money back to those declining. That comes across better than telling guests their rate is a lower $y + a cleaning fee. There are even rumors of Disney offering gift cards last month to some guests who turned down housekeeping.

DME is a service that could be done the same way. Keep it in the room rate and offer a credit to those not using it. Disney may even be praised for "doing something small to help guests save money" when all they're really doing is not passing on the charge.

It's not something that should be taken to extreme (no line items for pools, transportation, etc), but there are some easily quantifiable things like parking, dme, housekeeping, etc that people don't need that are paid for, that under different policies people would save money choosing to not use.

 

[nkosiek]

I think another thing that gets peoples' goat here is that none of these lots are new or anything like that. They already exist, have existed for years, and have no real major work/improvements done to them to warrant charging the customer to use them.

I can understand some type of 3 hour validation for restaurant users/people who spend $x (not staying at that resort whether on site or off) coming to park at the lots and then some hefty parking fee for everything over that...and I mean hefty (say $25-50 an hour) to really deter those people who park in those lots like the Poly, BW, and Contemp.

I live in either the 5th or 6th largest city in the country with the largest mall east of the Mississippi just outside the city limits. Other than valet at that mall (and one other), there is no pay to park at a mall or other stores. Where there is a major parking shortage downtown, there is pay for parking. I don't think there is a shortage at the resorts so much as a group of people who don't follow the rules that have given Disney a reason to try to get free money. Let's be honest, this is as pure a money grab as any that @lockedoutlogic could come up with.

 

[Minniesgal]

And that's cool to vote with your dollars I just can't think of a hotel that I've stayed in - other than WDW - that doesn't charge for parking, and I travel for work, a LOT, a hundred rooms a year is low for me. The places I've stayed offsite in Orlando certainly charge for parking. I don't even know if they offered non-valet at some places. More to the point, I don't think of us know what the "average" WDW guests expects.

This is what is going trough my mind. The Disney hotels are pretty much the only hotels I have ever stayed at where you don't pay for parking. Many hotels you also pay for wifi. So to me if Disney start charging for parking they would only be catching up with the Hilton, Marriott, sheratons etc. I kinda see charging for parking as inevitable

 

[adisneyaunt]

Really? That's interesting. They are apparently raising it $10 next year. So it'll be $35

Can anyone confirm what the cost actually is currently for the third person in a room?
Value/mod/deluxe
Was I wrong to think I've always paid 15..but never even noticed at deluxes and villas?? Tia

 

[Keels]

Can anyone confirm what the cost actually is currently for the third person in a room?
Value/mod/deluxe
Was I wrong to think I've always paid 15..but never even noticed at deluxes and villas?? Tia

I paid $25 for an extra person in my standard room at BC in January, though it was only one night so I can't say if it was nightly or a one-time thing. I moved to a studio at BCV the next night for a week and there wasn't any special assessment for that.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I really don't care one way about a parking fee. I'm used to paying it, I expect to pay one and if I don't ... well that's just a bonus.

That said, during my November stay I'm going to try valet parking my car at the resort every day and see if I can get my parking paid for since I'm a TIW card holder. I usually have a drink or a meal every day at the resort I stay at, so if that covers my valet parking while I stay at the resort for a few days the TIW card pays for itself and then some.

 

[closetmickey]

As far as validation, that just seems like it would be a huge pain in the butt.

Validation is commonplace in cities and towns across the country. It's as big of a pain as inserting a ticket into an exit arm or handing it to an attendant. Now if you are trying to cheat the system, then yeah, it's a pain.

 

[amberpi]

They aren't stopping anyone from using those services but with all of those if you little one needs a car seat you either have to wait a very long time and even potentially deal with out of date or even has been in a crash before car seats. Also drivers install them so you have 0 clue if they are properly installed. With Minnie Van you get a CM who knows property and has gone through extensive training on how to properly install the car seat.

I think this is a great service for those traveling with children and I'd use it in a heartbeat. I don't have kids though. If Uber can send me a catapult, I'm good.

 

[STLstone]

Free parking is currently a perk of staying on site and it's marketed by Disney as that.

I'm kind of surprised that so many people seem to be content to ditch that perk and start paying for it.

The "hey, we usually pay for parking everywhere else" explanation doesn't really work for me because this isn't "everywhere else." It's Disney World and resort guests have not had to pay for parking at Disney World. That's the precedent.

You know what else you have to pay for everywhere else? Buses. If the previously complementary buses suddenly cost money, would so many still have the same "oh well, just like everywhere else" response?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I think another thing that gets peoples' goat here is that none of these lots are new or anything like that. They already exist, have existed for years, and have no real major work/improvements done to them to warrant charging the customer to use them.

I can understand some type of 3 hour validation for restaurant users/people who spend $x (not staying at that resort whether on site or off) coming to park at the lots and then some hefty parking fee for everything over that...and I mean hefty (say $25-50 an hour) to really deter those people who park in those lots like the Poly, BW, and Contemp.

I live in either the 5th or 6th largest city in the country with the largest mall east of the Mississippi just outside the city limits. Other than valet at that mall (and one other), there is no pay to park at a mall or other stores. Where there is a major parking shortage downtown, there is pay for parking. I don't think there is a shortage at the resorts so much as a group of people who don't follow the rules that have given Disney a reason to try to get free money. Let's be honest, this is as pure a money grab as any that @lockedoutlogic could come up with.

Whoop whoop whoop...philly alert...you've been identified!!! Return to king of Prussia where you belong!!!

 

[Ciao Mickey]

How much do you even travel, bro. (Teasing) Every Westin, marriott, and Hilton charges for parking, and then charges extra for valet.

What are these hotels that aren't charging for parking? Seriously?

We have a Westin, Marriott and Hilton in the area (Morristown, NJ area) and none charge for parking.

But of course Morristown is not a city, more like a large town. There are lots of large companies in the area.

The last time we stayed at the JW Marriott in Washington DC we paid almost $60 per day for parking.