Could there be more to Disney’s decision to start charging hotel guests for parking?
Disney’s recent decision to start charging hotel guests for parking is extremely unpopular. On the surface, this looks like a quick cash grab by Disney, an easy way for the Disney company to earn a few extra bucks (and by a few I mean a few million) . However, is it possible that this policy change is more than just a quick cash grab? Could there be a deeper routed plan in this decision to start charging hotel guests for parking? A plan which will earn Disney even more than just the increase in revenue caused by parking charges. Well, in my opinion yes and I think it all revolves around Disney wanting to discourage guests from bringing a car.
Before I start to explain why I feel Disney want less people to bring cars during their stay at Disney hotels, I should state that these points are mainly aimed at people who fly into Florida and rent a car. These guests are a large portion of the overall clientele at the Disney hotels.
From now on, I will try to explain why I feel Disney don’t want people to bring a car and how this would lead to the company earning more money.
The new Minnie van service
In the last year or so, Disney have started their own version of Uber at Walt Disney World. The Minnie van service is available to all Disney hotel guests. The service will take you anywhere on Disney property for a set fee of $25. Disney keep expanding this service by adding more vehicles on top of the original 25 Minnie vans. Guests staying at deluxe Disney hotels can now use the Minnie van service to get too and from the airport. I would expect that in the near future this option will be available for all hotel guests. If Disney decrease the amount of people who have their own car on property, then the demand for the Minnie van service will increase.
In the next few years Disney want to make the Minnie vans a driverless service. A lot of the current road construction being done on Disney property has been designed with driverless technology in mind. Driverless cars have gained a lot of attention in the media over the last few months and trials of this driverless technology have started to pop up around the US. In fact, there is a driverless car trial currently being completed in Florida in a residential area just outside of Orlando.
Keep guests on Disney property
If guests don’t bring a car on their Disney trip it means they lose a lot of their freedom to leave Walt Disney World during their stay. This, I feel, is a big reason why Disney want to discourage guests from bringing a car. If Disney keep guests on property for their whole stay they will earn far more money compared to if these guests are able leave Disney. Guests without a car must eat, drink and buy everything from Disney. These guests are also a lot less likely to spend a day of their vacation visiting a non- Disney theme park in the Orlando area (Sorry Universal and SeaWorld!).
Reduce congestion
This final point is not directly linked to Disney earning more money but it does influence guests overall experience of the parks, particularly their initial experiences which would influence the amount of time and money people spend within the parks. During busy periods of the year, congestion at Walt Disney World can be a big problem. Large queues of cars can form at entrances to the theme parks and traffic can build up in other areas of the resort. For example, queues to get into the Magic Kingdom at Christmas were well over an hour long during some points of the day. Guests using Disney transport do not have this problem as Disney buses have their own dedicated lanes and entrances into the parks. Discouraging guests to bring a car to Disney should help reduce the levels of congestion around the resort on busy days.
Disney are also expanding the roads on property to try and combat congestion. The new skyway being built should also help reduce congestion by giving some guests an alternative form of transport to use to get from certain hotels to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, giving them even less need for a car. This could be extremely important later next year when Star Wars land opens as this new area is guaranteed to increase attendance at Hollywood Studios with many days expected to reach capacity during the first year of Star Wars land being open. This new skyway will hopefully reduce some of the congestion that will be caused around the entrance to Hollywood Studios.
Thanks for reading.
What do you think about Disney’s decision to start charging hotel guests for parking?