Paid parking is coming to WDW resorts March 2018

Will the new resort parking fees impact your travel (planned or future)?

  • Not at all

    Votes: 234 28.6%
  • I might consider staying off site

    Votes: 245 30.0%
  • I will keep my currently booked trip, but will not stay on site after that

    Votes: 161 19.7%
  • I will cancel my booked trip and stay off site instead

    Votes: 37 4.5%
  • I will not be returning to Disney parks in the foreseeable future

    Votes: 79 9.7%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 61 7.5%

  • Total voters
    817
Not sure what the number is - I have a lot of friends that do both (say, 4-5 nights at Disney and then 2-3 at Universal, usually at one of their "deluxe" resorts to get the express pass). I can see whatever the percentage is only going up going forward

Not to mention the new "value" resorts that Universal is building on the old Wet N Wild site that is projected to start at under $100/night and 2/3rds of the rooms will be suites that can handle larger families. Definitely attractive to me vs having to pay like $250 or whatever for Port Orleans Riverside or $350 for a suite at Art of Animation that can fit my family of 5
Didn't know that about new Universal hotels -- seems like those will be a great option for those doing just Universal or both. I'm glad to hear that!

Wrt to room size, DVC has really made the difference for us. I would not pay those nightly rates -- but with DVC over time, it is well worth it. Still not a cheap buy-in by any means, though.
 
So I've been wondering, can you take magical express, even if you don't have a flight? I've seen several people say that they have stayed at a airport hotel after a late flight and then taken ME the next morning. Is that acceptable? If so, it would be a lot cheaper to park at longterm parking for $10/day.

And for what it's worth, we're DVC, so this only minimally impacts us- but I think we're as worked up about it as anyone who is looking at paying an extra $240 for a 10 day trip. We usually book 1 or 2 nights at a moderate or value to save points on the first weekend, but we've been just as happy at the holiday inn express up the road that we can book on points. After this little shenanigan by Disney, that's what we'll continue doing for the foreseeable future.
 
Didn't know that about new Universal hotels -- seems like those will be a great option for those doing just Universal or both. I'm glad to hear that!

Wrt to room size, DVC has really made the difference for us. I would not pay those nightly rates -- but with DVC over time, it is well worth it. Still not a cheap buy-in by any means, though.

yeah, if we had it to do all over again we would have bought into DVC years ago - but we bout into a different time share as at the time we didn't realize how into Disney we would get (was also before we had kids) and just can't afford both right now

Oh well, first world problems ...
 
yeah, if we had it to do all over again we would have bought into DVC years ago - but we bout into a different time share as at the time we didn't realize how into Disney we would get (was also before we had kids) and just can't afford both right now

Oh well, first world problems ...

On that note we just stayed at BWV and the studio sleeps 5 now, with that TV stand Murphy bed.

But yea $75 a night in points there is insanity now. Really can't hardly believe it actually.
 


yeah, if we had it to do all over again we would have bought into DVC years ago - but we bout into a different time share as at the time we didn't realize how into Disney we would get (was also before we had kids) and just can't afford both right now

Oh well, first world problems ...
I hear ya'! I worked for a timeshare company in my early 20's and knew it was a good deal under the right circumstances. Went on our first family WDW trip when my son was 15 mos. old -- bought DVC 3 mos. later and the rest is history. He just turned 13 and we continue to get a ton of use out of it. At some point the kids will tire of it I'm sure, though they currently claim that they never will... ;)
 
One of the big benefits of staying onsite was not having to pay $20 to drive over and park from your off-site hotel. I immediately added that into my calculations when looking around. That's nearly gone at Value level and completely gone at the other two.

EMH doesn't have much appeal based on our experience of it. You get more out of rope drops. What else is there? Being in the bubble? The buses last year were worse than 2016.

Do they not realize that by stepping into the industry standard, they stepped backwards? What a terrible PR line.
 
Not to mention the new "value" resorts that Universal is building on the old Wet N Wild site that is projected to start at under $100/night and 2/3rds of the rooms will be suites that can handle larger families.

Wow! If that's true, we may be checking out universal on our next trip (2021). I had planned on waiting because DH doesn't do rides and my oldest is 9 now, so I was waiting until the littles got a little bigger, but that would be fantastic!
 


Wow! If that's true, we may be checking out universal on our next trip (2021). I had planned on waiting because DH doesn't do rides and my oldest is 9 now, so I was waiting until the littles got a little bigger, but that would be fantastic!

Here is an article that outlines them pretty well:
http://attractionsmagazine.com/two-new-universal-hotels-coming-to-former-wet-n-wild-site/

- Should be open summer of 2019
- Total of 2,800 guest rooms, including 1,450 two-bedroom suites
- nights starting at less than $100 per night
- Will include early access to the parks but not express pass (so similar to Cabana Bay)
 
Wrt to room size, DVC has really made the difference for us. I would not pay those nightly rates -- but with DVC over time, it is well worth it. Still not a cheap buy-in by any means, though.
Yes to all. Bought DVC a dozen years ago, and while not cheap, in the long run it's been worth it, as it will going forward even with no longer hauling kids. We have, on occasion, done a one-night stay prior to checking into our DVC accommodations, and the rates are, simply put, crazy. While not personally affected by the parking fees, to see those adopted on top of those crazy room rates is eye-opening.
 
We used to stay at BW a fair amount and each time we stayed our biggest frustration as hotel guests was that parking was overfull. It was pretty much guaranteed that we had to drive around the lot for 10 minutes or (usually) more to find a parking spot. We stay more at BC now to avoid that --- but even so at busy times the BC parking lot can be full. We found the same during our one stay at CR also (and I'm assuming that the case for the other monorail resorts). We sort of accepted that when there was no additional charge --- but if we're paying $24 per night I expect a far better experience.

If day guests can park free at BW or BC just by showing an ADR or saying they want to shop --- and then head off to Epcot or DHS for the rest of the day --- then there needs to be reserved sections of these lots for those paying $24 per day to ensure that paying hotel guests can get the spot they are paying for.

The fix for the day guest dropping by any on site resort and parking there for the day would be to charge that guest for any entry to the parking lot, dining or otherwise. Increase the day guest parking fees by length of time the space is occupied.
 
The fix for the day guest dropping by any on site resort and parking there for the day would be to charge that guest for any entry to the parking lot, dining or otherwise. Increase the day guest parking fees by length of time the space is occupied.
Even if you have already paid the fee at the resort you are staying at?
 
I just remembered that we had to pay for parking prior to our DCL cruise in Cocoa Beach. It was a the Hilton Homewood Suites. And, I believe some of the other hotels charged for parking. Which I thought was crazy, because there are loads of parking spots available.
Were you leaving your car there at the hotel while you were on the cruise? That’s a different scenario than paying for a hotel room each night of your stay.
 
Yes to all. Bought DVC a dozen years ago, and while not cheap, in the long run it's been worth it, as it will going forward even with no longer hauling kids. We have, on occasion, done a one-night stay prior to checking into our DVC accommodations, and the rates are, simply put, crazy. While not personally affected by the parking fees, to see those adopted on top of those crazy room rates is eye-opening.

And check the value if you sold DVC today. It's crazy, esp some resorts.

Most likely what you paid for it, and most of the dues you paid as well.

That's why I look at the points I get each year as a reward, at this point.
 
One of the big benefits of staying onsite was not having to pay $20 to drive over and park from your off-site hotel. I immediately added that into my calculations when looking around. That's nearly gone at Value level and completely gone at the other two.

EMH doesn't have much appeal based on our experience of it. You get more out of rope drops. What else is there? Being in the bubble? The buses last year were worse than 2016.

Do they not realize that by stepping into the industry standard, they stepped backwards? What a terrible PR line.

We try to avoid EMH like the plague as wait times increase significantly (even during the EMH). And the buses have been so poor the last couple of years we have started using Lyft a lot on property. I would venture to guess travel from some of the "off-site" hotels is almost as easy, but at significantly lower price for accommodations, included meals, rewards, etc.

When they tell you to budget 1-1.5 hrs for transport 5-8 miles on property, the idea of "on-site" loses a lot of appeal.
 
Not the same thing...you pay a lot of money for DVC points, rewards points are given as a “reward” for patronage, they’re a bonus, they’re not bought like DVC points. And you have to pay the monthly maintenance fees on top of the DVC buyin price.

Hence the "kinda". And even then, mostly for those of us that bought low. The resales are more than double in many cases. Have sold 2 actually.

The newer resorts are out of control (hence the resale rise) though I will admit. Maybe resale would still work.

Therefore staying on the cost of dues, is pretty accurate.

Can't imagine the total I would have spent all these years at $300 plus a night, with nothing but memories to show for it.

I look at DVC as a reward to stay at Deluxe Resorts at a huge discount, and also get to stay at other Deluxe Resorts not even on the radar in the past-GF/POLY/CR.

And again-would like to see a "Cash Paying" room points program as well.
 

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