Originally Posted By oc_dean Going back several pages here ........ I'm very curious who would head a project for some kind of elevated rail system connecting all these various areas .. from hotels, Garden Walk, the eventual "third gate," etc. When I go to DtD ... and wonder east to the DL/DCA entrances ... I stop there .. and stay away from the Harbor Blvd. craziness. You look at Las Vegas .. and their solution to avoiding dangerous city streets are overhead walking ramps with escalators on each end. Now .. of course, we are not going to see such an eyesore like that in and around DLR property ... but someday .... there needs to be some sort of system that can get people over Harbor Blvd. (in either direction) because crossing that busy street is dangerous. And I always avoid it. It's not just the convenience aspect that makes a rail system connecting Garden Walk a good idea. It's a safety issue too. But back on what I was saying .... I'm curious who would head it up. City of Anaheim? Disney? Garden Walk? Where would the money come from? All these things. But I really hope there's an honest effort on many fronts to do something to bring this region of Anaheim into the 21st Century. It's seems moving people around with greater (and safer) ease ... is beneficial to ALL businesses.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<This is a concern for me: that WDW is currently running on an unsustainable business model. They can sell only so many timeshares and rent out so many hotel rooms. Eventually the parks will have to carry their own weight, and if they can't, what will happen?>> The parks (and resorts) could and did carry their own weight ... but WDW in its bloated overdeveloped state now who knows? At some point they're going to run out of land at this point (the current business model says land is only valuable if you either build on it or sell it to someone who will, even if it waters down your product ... soon a real WalMart at WDW. Just magical!) and filling those 30,000 rooms and timeshares is a whole lot tougher than when it ws half that. At some point, the business model either changes or WDW gets into financial trouble despite people pouring in. Some of us (like me) were saying they had overbuilt hotels a decade ago ... and they have kept going full-steam since. Oh, and I got to ride by GardenWalk Monday afternoon and it looked deserted ... well, Gump's and Cheescake Factory did. They need to let folks know they exist or else they won't have crowds until the spring.
Originally Posted By Westsider Security is already cracking down big time on the parking at Katella CM Lot. You now have to show your ID and hang tag to get in that lot, where for years you could just drive right past the snoozing Disneyland Security officer who would let anyone in without any ID. At worst the Security Officer would actually be awake, but would be doing a crossword or texting on his phone and might happen to glance at you as you drove by. Now, it's pretty solidly enforced with the hang tags and ID cards, although there are still some snoozers in the gaurd shack the last few days. The employees that work at GardenWalk have to pay for their own parking, and there is no other free parking anywhere in the Resort District. So a waitress going to her Cheesecake Factory shift has to pay to park in the GardenWalk parking garage if she wants to work there. And next spring when GardenWalk does finally open and is busier than it is now, there will be plenty of customers looking for free parking too. Rumor is that Disney is looking to do even more stuff to the Katella entrance to keep out the GardenWalk employees and customers from parking there for free. But for now it's just sort of a show of force for the CM's, and to try and scare the restaurant employees away from even attempting to try and park in the CM lot. This past weekend the GardenWalk restaurants were open and had a few people eating there. But it was nowhere near what you would call "busy", especially on a weekend. It's weird seeing a Cheesecake Factory not be totally slammed with people; lots of empty tables this past Saturday night.
Originally Posted By xrayvision ^WOW, things really have changed. I'm an old school CM where checking into Harbor House to park and punch-in was very controlled and monitored. If you didn't have your CM parking decal, you had to pull to the side while security wrote your name down and called your attraction lead or HR to verify your employment status and working schedule for that day.
Originally Posted By Westsider I remember Harbor House too, in its waning years. And I remember how strict they were about pulling in to the CM sections of Mickey and Minnie. It's still that strict, even more so, when you get to the security turnstiles at Harbor Pointe. But the actual parking lot on Katella has been very lax, to the point of not even glancing up at the incoming cars who could be anyone really. But that just changed, now that Disney security is faced with the prospect of upwards of hundreds of GardenWalk employees and customers parking for free in K-Lot and walking over to their jobs at the mall, or walking over for dinner and a movie with parking compliments of Disney. I think it's a good change really. And it is forcing the Security Officers who staff the booth in K-Lot to wake up from their naps, put down their crossword puzzles and cell phones, and start actually doing the job they are being paid 12 to 17 bucks an hour to do. Attractions CM's have a lower pay scale than Security, and we don't get to take naps after we finish the crossword or the sports section while we are on the clock. Wake up boys and start checking those ID's and hang tags for a change!
Originally Posted By Westsider BTW, I had an old friend who used to work Attractions who just got a job at Cheesecake as a waitress. She told me all about how they charge her 5 bucks per shift to park in GardenWalks garage, and she was shocked that she had to pay to park when she was working there. She parked at K-Lot for several days during her training, but now she can't get in to K-Lot anymore since Security cracked down because she has no hang tag or ID. And there's a guy in the Cheesecake kitchen who is claiming to all the new employees that he's going to fabricate Disney parking hang tags and fake ID's and sell them to GardenWalk employees for 25 bucks a pop. If they are good quality, I can see how that would work since you don't actually scan your ID at K-Lot, you just flash it from your car. But then it would look fishy if you are walking out of K-Lot in Cheesecake uniforms instead of riding the shuttle to Harbor Pointe. Still, it would at least get you into the lot easy enough.
Originally Posted By jonvn Welcome to the real world. Lots of places don't pay for your parking. So many of the complaints I've heard from Disney employees sound like the people who have made the complaints have never worked anywhere in their life.
Originally Posted By Westsider I worked for a newspaper once where they made you pay for parking. It stunk. I'm not at all surprised that GardenWalk is charging employees for parking. But this former CM had been working at the Cheesecake at Brea Mall before this, and there's acres of free parking there at the mall. So paying for parking at her job was a new one for her. It's fairly unusual for suburban Orange County I would imagine, although downtown urban workers probably don't think twice about it.
Originally Posted By Westsider For the record jonvn, this "complaint" was NOT from a Disney employee. This complaint was from an employee of The Cheesecake Factory. Although her point of reference is tainted by several years of working at Disneyland or Brea Mall where parking is plentiful and complimentary. I have yet to hear of any Disneyland Resort employee complain that the GardenWalk employees are being charged for parking. But if and when that happens, I'll be happy to report it here so we can comment about how CM's have little grasp on reality. Since The Cheesecake Factory doesn't have fan run websites with message boards that disect their every move, this complaint from a Cheesecake Factory employee has been aired here, by me, as a fun little side story about the recent changes to Katella Cast Member Parking Lot procedures.
Originally Posted By oc_dean I have to use a subway to get to work. (Downtown LA) Or pay 12 bucks to park in the underground parking at work. SUCKS!
Originally Posted By ArchtMig I work out of my home office. I charge myself to keep my car parked in my garage. It sucks, but at least I get to park in the "Employee of the Month" parking space every day.
Originally Posted By jonvn "For the record jonvn, this "complaint" was NOT from a Disney employee. " Yes, I know. But they were a former disney employee, and they got a skewed view of what life is actually like. Disney employees, while not paid very highly, get other perks. A lot of the complaints I see coming from employees are so out of line with real life, it's amusing. Having to show up before your time so you can actually be there as scheduled is one. I am not surprised this person is taken aback at her having to pay for parking. I'm sure she would never think of joining a union or anything as crazy as that to demand some rights for workers. She should simply be happy she is employed at all, and can afford the latest in Chinese made clothing at Walmart.
Originally Posted By jonvn " I charge myself to keep my car parked in my garage. " I hear the rates are exhorbitant. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Originally Posted By ni_teach I'm a part time teacher at Santa Monica College and they make us buy our parking sticker as well. What can one say but employers are taking little bits out of everyone's pay check.
Originally Posted By ChurroMonster I used to work at Universal Citywalk, similar to GardenWalk in many respects, and we did not have to pay for our own parking.
Originally Posted By Westsider You should be ashamed of yourself ChurroMonster! As for unions at Disneyland, that's an entirely different thread. But suffice it to say that the unions at Disneyland are some of the most inept, worthless, amateurish, and petty union organizations I've ever been a member of. They really are worthless, and the shop stewards are an embarassment to the standards of Disneyland. As for paying for parking, I'm okay with it since I have a personal point of reference for it. The other Cheesecake Factory employees are ticked off though, but once the business picks up and their tips increase they'll probably get over it. GardenWalk is probably the first mall in OC that charges for parking. I can't think of another place in OC that charges for parking except office towers in Irvine, sports/concert venues, the airport, and parking meters.
Originally Posted By jonvn "I used to work at Universal Citywalk, similar to GardenWalk in many respects, and we did not have to pay for our own parking." What did you do there?
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt You know, a lot of this could be solved if the region had a better public transportation network. Isn't it kind of ridiculous that there are millions of people dispersed across the LA and Orange County area and there is basically no comprehensive high-speed and efficient rail connection? I suppose that's an entirely different discussion.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros The MetroLink line runs from Union Station in LA to Ocean Side, and has a stop at Angels Stadium. Yes, it would probably take a bus to get from there to GW, but it wouldn't be that much of a hassle. The system is designed to drive there in the morning, park your car, then ride the train to work, and pick your car up when your done. It doesn't run that often, but there are increased trains during busy times. I've never had trouble getting a seat, and it's a pretty nice ride. There is stuff there, but a lot of people just won't use it.
