Originally Posted By wahooskipper I saw that and was a bit surprised. But then I believe you can't pay any less than $20 to park at Landshark Stadium (home of the Miami Dolphins) and for that price you get to walk about a mile through a dusty parking lot, dodge traffic and bums and wind up at the ticket booths. At least at WDW you get a tram ride.
Originally Posted By dshyates "But then I believe you can't pay any less than $20 to park at Landshark Stadium" I rarely go to Landshark stadium 5-10 days in a row. But you have to remember that the Dolphins only have 16 games a year. And only about 8 of those are at home.So aside from Summer Concerts, they don't have all that meny chances to charge that. I know that many folks compare Disney prices to sporting events, but prices at sporting events wouldn't have climed so high is it weren't for corperations and companies buying up sky boxes and season tickets and expense accounting the rest.
Originally Posted By hopemax It's not all sports stadiums that charge a hefty premium. The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ has free parking. They consider it included with the purchase of your ticket for all events. And across the street parking, from where the D-backs play, which is in Downtown Phoenix, it's like $8. I was shocked when I saw the prices. It was the same when we saw a game where the Sun Devils play, and the concerts we went to. But in Phoenix, space is NOT a premium. I don't really begrudge places like NYC, Chicago and even DL from charging a lot for the parking. The land is valuable. You either pay that much or someone decides it's a better investment to put a building on the spot instead. But WDW is more like Phoenix. And to make it worse at Disney, I have noticed on my recent trips that parking lot attendants have been MIA, trams have been MIA. When I was at AK in June, they were running one tram.
Originally Posted By sjhym33 One could also argue that sports stadiums are usually in the center of business or residential districts and impact the surrounding areas. Not to mention you can usually find parking away from the stadiums at cheaper prices. We just paid $5.00 for a Tampa Rays game but had to walk 5 blocks. Stadium parking was around $15.00 Disney parks, on the other hand, are on Disney property and you cant park in Kissimmee and walk to EPCOT. I don't mind that any of the theme parks charge for parking but the cost has skyrocketed out of control in my opinion.
Originally Posted By SuperDry One more reason to stay on-site: keep in mind that neither Disney resort guests nor AP holders pay for parking at either the resorts or the parks.
Originally Posted By FenwayGirl we paid $40 at Gillette stadium for the Elton John concert and $35 the other night at the Red Sox game...but it is another reason to stay on site...
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost Unless you are really into kidding yourselves it is cheaper to pay the parking then to stay on-site. I can park there six times a day and still not pay as much as I would for a night at a Disney Resort. Not just in room charges, but food as well. Sorry, I won't even blink at $14.00 when I can get a comparable hotel room for #38.00 per night. Add $14.00 and you still are at $52.00 per day. Beat that Disney Resorts. Add in cold, expensive and nearly inedible food from the Food Courts and the cost seems minuscule. No, it's not cheap but it is worth it in many ways when compared to real costs overall. The higher the rated accommodations the larger the gap.
Originally Posted By brotherdave We can thank Six Flags for the outrageous parking fees at theme parks. Before Dan Snyder (yes, THAT Dan Snyder who owns the Washington Redskins) took control of Six Flags Inc in a corporate coup about 3 years ago, parking was averaging between $7-10 at most corporate theme parks, including Disney. When he took over, he started to treat a day at Six Flags like a sporting event. When he first took over the parks, parking fees skyrocketed to $15 from about $7 overnight! Today, $15 gets you parking, but the furthest parking from the gate. If you want to park close, you have to shell out $25!!! Also, they eliminated tram service at most of their parks, too. So, that means you gotta walk no matter where you park. They also toyed with a "NO READMISSION" policy for a short period, too. In other words, once you left the park, they didn't offer a handstamp to go back in. This was to thwart people who might (How dare they!) pack a picnic lunch and eat at their car! Well, enough people complained and they stopped that policy, but not completely. They reinstituted this during many of the parks Fright Fest events after 5:00pm (Cedar Fair started doing this at some of their parks, too, last year). Sponsorships have gone crazy at Six Flags, too. Much like what you see at NFL games. You have to pay for their version of Fastpass (Flashpass or Q-Bot), you can't have any personal items with you on the ride platforms, thus instituting high-priced, one-time lockers at the entrance of most rides. And to top it off, Six Flags adopted cheerleader-like Scream Leaders" at their parks. So, we can all thank Six Flags for such crazy charges that we see at other theme parks. Nothing like gouging your guests even before they enter the park!
Originally Posted By sjhym33 ^^^^Disney following Six Flags lead. That's scary for a whole bunch of reasons.
Originally Posted By -em ^ agreed... I guess everyones "free parking" just got a bit more valuable... Sad part is I know the other parks will follow and I do have to pay parking there- guess its a good thing I don't visit them often...
Originally Posted By dshyates -em. You can catch the Lynx 40 up at the corner of Texas/Americana and it takes you straight to the Universal drop off (closer than the parking garages) and it only costs $4 round trip. You can then get hammered at CityWalk and have the bus drop you off less than a block from your apartment.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I wonder what a first-time visitor must feel -- driving up to the Walt Disney World Resort toll plaza, rolling down the window, and the Cast Member saying "$14, please' in certain cases, Joe Tourist must just want to crap a brick!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I don't get the Defending Da Man deal that has been so in vogue in this country post 9/11. I don't get why folks are so quick to defend any/every move by Bigs Business. Don't they get that mindless support for Big Business has gotten us into the worst economic state since the Great Depression? Sorry to get serious ... but c'mon. Yes, you can pay a whole lot more to park at sporting events than at WDW. Hell, I once paid $42 to park at a Boston high-rise when I had to run in for maybe 35 minutes to drop off some documents at a law firm. And what is a $2 increase? Right? The fundamental point many folks miss is that Disney is (and has been for years) in constant nickel and dime -- or gouge -- the guest mode. It's only $2 (I won't tell people that five years ago it only cost $8 to park ... or that for almost the entire 1970s it was 50 cents with no increases at all). But where does it end? Parking gets upped. Ticket media goes up. Food gets raised (while portions and quality decrease). ... Add it all up and the number is a whole lot more significant than $2. So the whole 'I paid XX dollars to park at (fill in the blank) sports event' is just not a fair comparison yet it always gets tossed out there. And this doesn't affect me one iota. I have NEVER paid for parking at WDW. Not once. Ever. Being an APer since I was a kid made sure of that. So, the shareholder in me could say 'raise it to an even $20' ... but at what point does it go beyond the bounds of any sort of fairness or decency? Our economy is in the toilet. Now is the time to lower prices or hold firm not raise them. But Disney's business model is to create a constant state of discounting, not smart for a premium 'brand'. People are going to expect it constantly even when the economy rebounds. But Jay Rasulo has said he's more interested in volume (in other words, fill 80% of the resort rooms by giving away 43% discounts rather than say filling 55% at rack or close). So ... you raise the price on anything/everything ... and you cut back in as many areas as you can ... and then you discount like hell. That's what the brains in marketing are pushing as WDW's business model. So ... this is about a whole lot more than a $2 increase in parking. $14 is ridiculous one might say, but so was $12 too.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Now is the time to lower prices or hold firm not raise them. -- while I agree-- tell me one company who is ? I just got my property taxes with an 11% increase YTY on a depreciating ( like everyone else's property ) -- the sticker shock just driving thru a McDonald's these days is something - Until there is a concerted effort by everyone ( or we go thru a period of deflation- which could just happen) - I understand the increase. Also it is another incentive to stay on the grounds, The stockholder in me wants that - yet I do understand what you are saying. When I pay $24 to park my car at a museum here- then $34/head for entry and certain exhibits inside are an additional fee - I totally get what's going on at WDW too. Yes, the time is likely close when people will not be able to afford to go anywhere. I just bought tickets to a Blackhawks/Red Wings hockey game - 1 game. Now these are NOT rinkside seats by any means, good seats though - yes ( $80 seat leaves you 40 rows back) $480 + $48 in ticket fees for 4 seats. Parking will be $25 and beers are $8. It will be a $750 night for 3 hours of entertainment. It will likely be the only game I go to this year -
Originally Posted By brotherdave I never have defended the high parking rates. I just pointed out that we can thank Six Flags for setting the bar on outrageous parking fees that other theme parks seem to be following suit with. My guess is that they feel that most people just 'grin and bear' the new increases and won't turn the car around once they reach the toll plaza. Still, it leaves a horrible taste in my mouth at no matter what park you have to pay outrageous parking fees at, whether it be Disney, Six Flags, or Sea World. Even if enough people complain, or even stop going, because of ridiculous parking fees, they'll just up it more to make up the shortfalls in attendance. It's sad that we as a nation are willing to pay so much for parking, but still want discounts on everything else. It just does not make sense to me... Sadly, my theme park travels have been cut back drastically as I just try to survive in this economy. If my job survives the recession, I won't be able to afford anything other than basic necessities when the economy rebounds at this rate. Sadly, it may be a LONG while before I can return to a Disney park.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <Sadly, my theme park travels have been cut back drastically as I just try to survive in this economy. If my job survives the recession, I won't be able to afford anything other than basic necessities when the economy rebounds at this rate. Sadly, it may be a LONG while before I can return to a Disney park.> 'Me too, brotherdave! We have absolutely taken it in the shorts this past 18 months. Not many extras for sure. And $14 to park my car? Forget it.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Is this just another part of their scheme to get people to stay on property? If you stay there, then you get all the free bus rides you can handle, and I believe that you can park for free too, if you show your room key at the toll booths. I don't think most people would ever make that connection (especially if they've never stayed on property to experience it first hand), but there's always a chance that they could be pushing that from yet another angle.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 I would love to know the % who actually do pay - my guess is it is much lower Spirit than ever before. Do you have nay way of finding out ? When I drive to the parks ( which I usually do) - the vast majority of cars are waved thru-- in fact it's like a guessing game which line you get in because if you get one with a 'payer' you get delayed. With so many DVC people and add that to other hotels on site and AP - this affects a much smaller number of people
