Disney parking fees for RCI exchanges. What is the verdict?

[rickandcindy23]

As Jan said...^^^^THIS^^^^. I always saw the Magical Disney Express as a free ride to/from Orlando International until someone much wiser than me pointed out that if they give you a 'free' ride, people will be much less inclined to rent a car. When the decision was rent a car OR pay for a Mears shuttle service from the airport, it was heads or tails, but by offering a 'free' ride (which is still operated by Mears, incidentally), it is a no-brainer for most people...and if you don't rent a car, you essentially become 'Disney-locked' (which is like land-locked, only happier...).

There is a reason for everything Disney does...and so there is a reason for the parking fee (besides making $$, which is part of the Disney DNA).

Cheers!

Like my son always says, "I don't want to be a Disney hostage."

 

[Lisa P]

Is this correct at this time? Everyone going to WDW by car pays one of these fees but just one? Disney charges everyone either the cash stay resort nightly self-parking fee or the RCI exchanger "resort fee" or a theme park daily parking fee?

The only exceptions that I see are:
DVC members
Annual passholders who stay off-property
1st motorized vehicle on a campsite although I can't find the campground parking fee for the 2nd car, or for a "toad" (car or golf cart towed behind an RV)

Looks like the worst fees would be for people who drive to meet up and stay at a deluxe property... $24/night/car would add $336 for 2 cars to sit in a hotel parking lot for the week. Most of our extended family live or snowbird in the southeast (NC, SC, GA, and FL). We've all driven our own cars to "gather"/meet up at WDW many times. If Disney increases their mandatory fees for exchangers, in order to park one's own car at their resort, then Disney would charge $358 in total mandatory Disney fees for exchange guests with just one car. If we meet up with a family member (driving his or her car), Disney's added mandatory fees would be $526 for the week... wow.

So if they add the parking fee to exchangers, it makes quite a difference for us:
Pay $358-$526/week in mandatory Disney fees to stay at a DVC property and simply park our car(s)... or...
Pay $22/day ($132/week) to stay at another nice resort nearby, paying to park at the theme parks and/or use Uber/Lyft.

Watching and waiting...

 

[paxsarah]

Is this correct at this time? Everyone going to WDW by car pays one of these fees but just one? Disney charges everyone either the cash stay resort nightly self-parking fee or the RCI exchanger "resort fee" or a theme park daily parking fee?

I don't think that Disney's fee for incoming exchangers precludes the charging of the overnight resort parking fee. I mean, prior to the parking fee's introduction, there was literally no benefit conveyed by that $190 fee - so I don't see why there's any expectation on the part of anyone that it will now cover the additional parking fee. I would expect to pay both.

 

[mdurette]

I stayed one night at the Dophin last Thursday - got hit with the $28 overnight parking. Even though not technically owned by Disney - they jumped on it.

 

[chalee94]

I stayed one night at the Dophin last Thursday - got hit with the $28 overnight parking. Even though not technically owned by Disney - they jumped on it.

Nah, the Swan and Dolphin have been charging extra parking fees (and resort fees) for years before Disney decided to join them in March...

 

[paxsarah]

I stayed one night at the Dophin last Thursday - got hit with the $28 overnight parking. Even though not technically owned by Disney - they jumped on it.

They jumped on it in 2005...

 

[chalee94]

But seriously, the same could be said of Disney Springs as well, which would be particularly pertinent to exchangers staying at SSR. But it would be easy enough for WDW to institute a policy that cars parked in theme park or DS lots between the hours of 3-4 a.m. may be subject to towing or some such. I certainly wouldn't risk it. I'm annoyed at the charge but it's not worth that kind of hassle.

I do think Disney should start charging at DS if someone leaves their car there for more than 4-5 hours or so to prevent people from using the SSR buses. So if you park at DS to go to the parks for the day, you would still be charged a park rate of $22, but if you wanted to eat and ride the balloon, you can still park for free.

I wish Disney would tow more at the near park resorts like the Polynesian and Boardwalk if non-guests are there for more than 4 hours or so.

While I'm DVC (and AP) and not affected by the new overnight parking rates, I do think Disney would be unlikely to tow a car from the park parking lot...if only because they are selling more alcohol at the parks now and don't want to risk being seen as encouraging drunk driving...

I do think the overnight parking charge was a bad decision.

 

[chriskre]

I stayed one night at the Dophin last Thursday - got hit with the $28 overnight parking. Even though not technically owned by Disney - they jumped on it.

I am staying at Poly this week and finishing a one night in the Marriott Village on 535
and they are charging me $10 to park at a Springhill Suites off property!

 

[VegasBella]

Charging for parking is becoming a trend everywhere. We are seeing it in Vegas too. While some of it is certain about trying to nickel and dime patrons, there are good environmental reasons to charge for parking. When parking is free, it is inefficient. That means there is land reserved for parking that often doesn't get used, people carpool less and take mass transport less, and they don't plan their routes efficiently to reduce driving and parking. It's also another way to control large crowds and keep them manageable. Keep in mind, too, that parking costs money and the cheapest parking is just big open lots - so that's what they tend to build when the parking is free. But when the parking is its own income stream then they have the funds to build nicer parking structures that offer more protection for you and your car.

 

[Jan M.]

Can anyone please provide an update? By now certainly someone has stayed at a Disney owned property with an RCI exchange since the new parking fees at the resorts went into effect. Did the $190 fee you pay at check in include the $24 a night parking charge or was the resort parking an additional charge?

 

[tomandrobin]

From Disney.....

Disney Vacation Club Members
Members will not be charged for standard overnight self-parking when staying at a DVC Deluxe Villa, regardless of whether they use vacation points or another form of payment. Members also will not be charged to park when using vacation points to stay at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel.

My guess is that RCI exchange guests are to pay for parking.

However, since most guests at the DVC resorts are DVC members the CMs at check-in don't bother or don't think about adding the parking fee.

 

[ilenekm]

From Disney.....

Disney Vacation Club Members
Members will not be charged for standard overnight self-parking when staying at a DVC Deluxe Villa, regardless of whether they use vacation points or another form of payment. Members also will not be charged to park when using vacation points to stay at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel.

My guess is that RCI exchange guests are to pay for parking.

However, since most guests at the DVC resorts are DVC members the CMs at check-in don't bother or don't think about adding the parking fee.

The way I read it, I wouldn't have to pay if I used an RCI exchange since I am also a DVC member

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[bendadin]

The way I read it, I wouldn't have to pay if I used an RCI exchange since I am also a DVC member

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That is what I am thinking as well. I have an exchange reservation in September. We will be renting a car. I would have thought that somebody here would have encountered this by now.

 

[bogey21]

Charging for parking is becoming a trend everywhere.

Kind of like baggage fees on the airlines. Once someone does it successfully, everyone jumps aboard!

George

 

[chriskre]

The way I read it, I wouldn't have to pay if I used an RCI exchange since I am also a DVC member

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I hope that's the case.
Don't you still have to pay the $190 fee though?

 

[frank808]

Yes you will have to pay the $190 fee even as a dvc member.

I hope that's the case.
Don't you still have to pay the $190 fee though?

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[chriskre]

Yes you will have to pay the $190 fee even as a dvc member.

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Thanks.
I thought so.
I've never done a DVC/RCI exchange except to Vero but I thought so.

I guess I'll do the math and decide if it's worth it to pay the $190 plus the
$239 exchange fee to get a 1 bedroom at SSR. Using some of my cheaper
weeks don't make sense anymore with having to pay to combine and extend.
Maybe doing a Wyn or HGVC portal exchange makes more sense.
I hate that RCI has ruined the TPU's for us, but it is what it is.

I rarely stay at SSR even though it's one of my home resorts but it's usually
like most of us DVC members and only because nothing else is possible at a
late date.

 

[Dean]

Thanks.
I thought so.
I've never done a DVC/RCI exchange except to Vero but I thought so.

I guess I'll do the math and decide if it's worth it to pay the $190 plus the
$239 exchange fee to get a 1 bedroom at SSR. Using some of my cheaper
weeks don't make sense anymore with having to pay to combine and extend.
Maybe doing a Wyn or HGVC portal exchange makes more sense.
I hate that RCI has ruined the TPU's for us, but it is what it is.

I rarely stay at SSR even though it's one of my home resorts but it's usually
like most of us DVC members and only because nothing else is possible at a
late date.

For 1 BR and above it's a no brainer compared to using DVC points for a full week. Historically we've done exchanges for long weekends and the higher exchange costs, $190 fee plus locked in timeshare fees do make it difficult to justify.

 

[chriskre]

Like my son always says, "I don't want to be a Disney hostage."

I Do!

This is so funny cause I always drive to Disney but
when I stay inside Disney gates, I don't want to drive anywhere
and always want to take the Disney transport.
I want the mouse to lock me in the kingdom. LOL

 

[Cyberc]

So disney is charging non members for parking. HOW are they going to find out if a non member is having a car parked?

They can ofc ask, but do the CM's really care about it? If they ask at checkin and you dont have a car THAT day you can say no. But what about the day after or the next?

Even if a non-member is having a car it does not mean they will for the duration of their stay. I think its gonna be a smaller nightmare to uphold.

If they just charge the account, then Disney will get a lot of complaints. I'm the type of person if I see a charge to my CC that I dont recognize then i'll do a chargeback for the whole thing even if parts of it is correct. Then its upto the merchant to piece together the puzzle.

 

[bendadin]

So disney is charging non members for parking. HOW are they going to find out if a non member is having a car parked?

They can ofc ask, but do the CM's really care about it? If they ask at checkin and you dont have a car THAT day you can say no. But what about the day after or the next?

Even if a non-member is having a car it does not mean they will for the duration of their stay. I think its gonna be a smaller nightmare to uphold.

If they just charge the account, then Disney will get a lot of complaints. I'm the type of person if I see a charge to my CC that I dont recognize then i'll do a chargeback for the whole thing even if parts of it is correct. Then its upto the merchant to piece together the puzzle.

Well they can do it through the MB since you swipe that to raise the gate. And they can eventually figure out who is using Magical Express and who is not. But really they are just going after the cash portion of Deluxe, and only then do they have to look deeper. The reservations made with DVC points are exempt. So, one might assume that RCI exchanges truly stem from DVC points, thus making them exempt as well.

We just need to find the guinea pig who knows the answer.

 

[Dean]

So disney is charging non members for parking. HOW are they going to find out if a non member is having a car parked?

They can ofc ask, but do the CM's really care about it? If they ask at checkin and you dont have a car THAT day you can say no. But what about the day after or the next?

Even if a non-member is having a car it does not mean they will for the duration of their stay. I think its gonna be a smaller nightmare to uphold.

If they just charge the account, then Disney will get a lot of complaints. I'm the type of person if I see a charge to my CC that I dont recognize then i'll do a chargeback for the whole thing even if parts of it is correct. Then its upto the merchant to piece together the puzzle.

I'm not sure how they'd doing it but it would be easy to do. Just make the DVC number part of the check in process if available otherwise charge everyone else. Add it to the room charge just like everything else including valet when they started charging. I'm sure they've figured out how they will do so and field any complaints. Their also accustomed to dealing with the CC companies and it'd be easy to document this as a legitimate charge were applicable.

 

[bogey21]

Is this correct at this time? Everyone going to WDW by car pays one of these fees but just one? Disney charges everyone either the cash stay resort nightly self-parking fee or the RCI exchanger "resort fee" or a theme park daily parking fee?

The only exceptions that I see are:
DVC members
Annual passholders who stay off-property
1st motorized vehicle on a campsite although I can't find the campground parking fee for the 2nd car, or for a "toad" (car or golf cart towed behind an RV)

This is what my Son tells me. He and his Wife have annual passes, go to Disney 3 times a year and stay off property. He has told me repeatedly that they pay no parking when they go to Disney.

George

 

[Dean]

My understanding is park parking will still be included with on property stays and certain passes. What is changed is the fee to park at the resorts overnight.

 

[wed100105]

Bumping in hopes that someone can answer this question.