Staying “on-resort” has widely been accepted that it is more convenient than staying “off-resort”. While many guests accept that there is a price to pay for this convenience, Disney has further blurred the lines of presumed value by now charging their “on-resort” guests for daily parking, adding a minimum $182 to your already burgeoning holiday budget if you stay on resort for 14 nights.
The parking charge came into effect on 21st March, shortly after it was officially announced by the company, but long speculated by industry watchers. The cost will vary depending on the resort you are staying in and will be automatically applied to your check out room bill. The charges break down into the following bands:
- Value Resorts: $13 per night
- Moderate Resorts: $19 per night
- Deluxe & Villa Resorts: $24 per night
- Valet Parking: $33 per night
Disney has been charging day visitors a daily parking charge for a number of years and free parking has long been touted as one of the perks to staying in a Disney Resort Hotel. While this particular perk can now be crossed off the list, if you are lucky enough to be able to afford a Disney Vacation Club Membership (DVC), the parking charge will not apply to you. Disney Vacation Club Members still receive complimentary parking at either a DVC Resort or Walt Disney World Resort Hotel as well as at all the theme parks.
Disney’s policy of only charging you once per day will still apply here. If you are staying in a resort hotel and wish to drive to a theme park or water park instead of using the complimentary transport, you will not be charged for parking at the theme park gate. In a somewhat surprising move though, Disney announced that day visitors to a resort (for spa treatments or a restaurant reservation which can be booked separately, whether you are staying on-resort or not) will not pay for parking. The charge only applies to overnight guests.
While this extra charge is unlikely to sway visitors, particularly first time visitors, the unwelcome addition to your room invoice on checkout will no doubt leave a big dent in many people’s budgets. Planning for your holiday just got that little more complicated and blurred thanks to this unwelcome addition.
It will be interesting to see if Universal Resort follows Disney’s lead and introduces an overnight parking charge for their own resort guests. Theme Park entrance ticket price rises are closely followed every year by all the major resorts and Universal will no doubt be looking closely at how this new parking levy will affect Disney World bookings before deciding themselves. Only time will tell.
