No more Resort Parking Fees for resort guests , effective now 👍

[Narcoossee11]

I agree that Disney will just add that fee somewhere.
I am shocked that they 'removed' fee.
The saga continues.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

No to be a cynic but I do have to wonder what’s in it for Disney here.

The administrative hassle and complications finally too much? Reports of errors in charging were somewhat frequent. Factor in the variables of cash guests that do pay, DVC guests that don’t, maybe you don’t have a vehicle the whole time, etc, etc that I’m sure caused administrative challenges for CMs. The whole system was never particularly well run, IMHO.

 

[ScubaCat]

So you want Disney to bake the price in and give EVERYONE Genie+? You'd never be able to book anything if that were the case.

At the rate they're going, they'll start giving out 3 return times booked up to 30 or 60 days in advance for free. Can you imagine?

That would never happen in real life, though.

 

[Disneylover99]

The hotel parking fee was always so strange to me. Free Theme Park parking but paid resort parking? Free visitor parking, but overnight guests pay a fee? It was so backwards.
Glad to see it go.

Maybe they’ll start charging for visitor parking.

 

[Titanium]

The hotel parking fee was always so strange to me. Free Theme Park parking but paid resort parking? Free visitor parking, but overnight guests pay a fee? It was so backwards.
Glad to see it go.

I agree completely. Plus the fact that Disney didn't always charge resort guests for parking. It seemed just another way of sticking it to the park guests we saw during the penultimate management regime.

Disney has the same number of parking lots and parking lot attendants regardless of whether parking is free or not so it never seemed like they were charging to recover a marginal expense. The only time I have seen a parking lot near full was the day before Ian when WDW required all the campers at the Fort to move out of the woods into a hotel for the hurricane.

 

[Maxie86]

No to be a cynic but I do have to wonder what’s in it for Disney here.

The administrative hassle and complications finally too much? Reports of errors in charging were somewhat frequent. Factor in the variables of cash guests that do pay, DVC guests that don’t, maybe you don’t have a vehicle the whole time, etc, etc. The whole system was never particularly well run, IMHO.

I have no inside knowledge, but I think there are a lot of people staying off site now that there really are no perks of staying onsite other than being able to walk to some parks. The parks are crowded but there is a lot of resort availability, when was the last time the Poly had a 30% AP discount? A lot of off site hotels wave the resort and parking fee. Even if they don't wave them the rate adding in the resort fee and parking fee is a fraction of on site. Just my opinion I may be wrong, but I doubt they took away the parking fee to be nice or because they were charging when they shouldn't be and have to refund the money. I'm sure a lot of people got charged and didn't even know it.

 

[Barbanellie]

I have no inside knowledge, but I think there are a lot of people staying off site now that there really are no perks of staying onsite other than being able to walk to some parks.

I also have no inside knowledge, but this is my thinking as well. I think they are starting to see the effects of removing a lot of the perks for starting on site. A lot of people don't see any value in what you get for Disney hotel prices (although I'm a sucker paying rack rate next month at POFQ, but what can you do...). So bigger hotel discounts for the summer, that dining card promo, now free parking. I don't think we'll see all the old perks come back, but it does look like they're trying to bring back hotel crowds.

 

[sponica]

No to be a cynic but I do have to wonder what’s in it for Disney here.

The administrative hassle and complications finally too much? Reports of errors in charging were somewhat frequent. Factor in the variables of cash guests that do pay, DVC guests that don’t, maybe you don’t have a vehicle the whole time, etc, etc that I’m sure caused administrative challenges for CMs. The whole system was never particularly well run, IMHO.

It's a step that makes me think that maybe some trip in the future won't feel like Mickey is hanging me over the railing shaking out my loose change.

It's also an easy perk to get people back on site. If you're not staying deluxe, the only perk you have is early entry and booking ILLs at 7 AM?

 

[kwdw]

I really LOVE the free parking again. It was a stupid added fee they didn't need to do. I don't care if its buried in the resort rate - it makes for easier shopping/price comparison, feels like a perk, and takes away the stress of fixing it when they charge you and you don't have a car.

 

[Titanium]

It's a step that makes me think that maybe some trip in the future won't feel like Mickey is hanging me over the railing shaking out my loose change.

It's also an easy perk to get people back on site. If you're not staying deluxe, the only perk you have is early entry and booking ILLs at 7 AM?

The Disney "experience" has started to resemble airline travel. If you want a seat its X, if you want to check a bag, board early or use wifi it is going to be extra. The fare always turns out to be much higher than the advertised price.

On the other hand both Disney and Delta seem to be listening to customers that are tired of the nickle and dining. Delta is rolling out free Wi-Fi and Disney is making these changes so we are on to something here I think.

 

[supersnoop]

So you want Disney to bake the price in and give EVERYONE Genie+? You'd never be able to book anything if that were the case.

That would never work. They'd have to call it something else. Maybe "quick pass." That doesn't sound quite right.

 

[kylenne]

No to be a cynic but I do have to wonder what’s in it for Disney here.

The administrative hassle and complications finally too much? Reports of errors in charging were somewhat frequent. Factor in the variables of cash guests that do pay, DVC guests that don’t, maybe you don’t have a vehicle the whole time, etc, etc that I’m sure caused administrative challenges for CMs. The whole system was never particularly well run, IMHO.

This on the heels of the discounts being announced makes me guess summer bookings are way down. Unless some ghosts visited them on Christmas Eve, Disney is not doing this out of the kindness of their hearts. We know from that WSJ article the other week that they really are looking at fan feedback way more than many of us assumed, self included. And folk who would have never stayed off site are increasingly vocal about doing so now, while revenge travel appears to have finally started slowing down so they can't rely on people wanting to go so bad that they don't care about cost especially with recession fears. If occupancy continues to struggle the way TAs and ITKs are saying it is, I would expect more perks to return. I would have never thought they'd roll back parking fees so I feel like almost anything is on the table now, even some kind of DME return.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

free parking is back woohoooo now bring back APs for non florida residents Bob lol

 

[Mle8308]

So you want Disney to bake the price in and give EVERYONE Genie+? You'd never be able to book anything if that were the case.

No, FastPass, like they offered before the pandemic. Worked pretty well then! No one paid for it (as a separate charge) and everyone was happy.

 

[Mle8308]

I really LOVE the free parking again. It was a stupid added fee they didn't need to do. I don't care if its buried in the resort rate - it makes for easier shopping/price comparison, feels like a perk, and takes away the stress of fixing it when they charge you and you don't have a car.

Exactly my point about Genie+, bury it in a ticket increase across the board and go back to the old FastPass system. Worked just fine before!

 

[MelanieC]

Yay on the parking! That change never made sense to me.
I don't mind paying for Genie Plus, but anything over $20 a day seems excessive. I don't like the fluctuating prices. I also liked it when you can add on to your ticket when purchasing. Last October's trip was so much easier than what it's going to be this year having to buy it daily.

 

[RoseGold]

No to be a cynic but I do have to wonder what’s in it for Disney here.

They're trying to make the math work for the DVC calculations, but putting it in the rack rate instead, LOL.

 

[PamNC]

this is a happy day. Now - get rid of Park Reservations for everyone, not just AP holders. Kill Genie + and go back to fast pass.

 

[Stratman50th]

Never understood the charge to park. I do hear people all the time say that other hotels charge for parking. That's a yes and no. You see that mostly in high density urban areas where parking is at a premium. Disney has had acres and acres of paved real estate designed for guest parking at their resorts since the beginning. To add a fee to park was insulting and not necessary. It also wasn't as if someone suddenly looked at the lots and said. "Oooo! We need to do some maintenance and haven't budgeted for it. Better start charging so we can afford to repave the south 40".
We always drove. That would have been the end for our family trips if they had started charging while my mother was still alive.
Good for small favors.

 

[Lehuaann]

They're trying to make the math work for the DVC calculations, but putting it in the rack rate instead, LOL.

Not sure what you mean. DVC members are not exempt. They pay parking fees for cash stays and annual fees for point stays.