News Disney Springs Bus Service to Resorts Now Requires Reservation Verification

[TrainsOfDisney]

A much less desirable option would be to charge only non-resort guests.

Oh yes, to be clear when I said “charge for parking” I meant with the same rules as the theme park parking. So resort guests, AP’s etc. would get free parking and pay parking would be cross-honored in the same way. (Meaning you only pay once per day even if you move lots)

 

[networkpro]

This is the bigger point I’ll make - Disney world is twice the size of manhattan and many guests visiting do not have a car with them.

Disney has a wonderfully impressive, complex transportation system.

The of Manhattan means little to those outside of that area, (for everyone else that's ~ 14,600 acres) and its not very big. Its not a public conveyance so they can impose whatever restricts they want at any time. Its peak spring break for WDW and it might be just a temporary limitation.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

. Its peak spring break for WDW and it might be just a temporary limitation.

As evidenced by the no blackouts and light crowds since February?

This is performative. Making fools from the northeast cooridor who WAY overpaid for dvc and their tickets now feel like it’s a hot ticket…when of course it’s not.

 

[nickys]

A post from Reddit - a guest parked at Polynesian with a breakfast reservation at O’hana and then took the bus to Disney springs and they couldn’t get back to Polynesian to get to the car. So they had to go to Saratoga, bus to MK and then over to Poly.

Cmon… that’s just silly.

They shouldn’t really have left their car at the Poly all day. Unless they valet parked.

That’s Been the “unofficial/offical” policy for 20 years…since the damn dining plan and the elimination of the best crowd management system they ever had that lead to more revenue…

But it also isn’t universally enforced and leaves one thing out: if I want to go to captain cooks to get Tonga toast…am I restricted from doing so? Absolutely not. No such rule exists. They’d have to post otherwise and they wouldn’t dare.

It was a bit needed…infact…because people abused contemporary, beach club, and boardwalk specifically to get free convenience. Prolly a lot of that on the skyline now too…

So while necessary…these decrees are still ham fisted from people who don’t understand the Park business much at all.

???

As has been said, this is temporary. Not policy. Maybe you’re thinking of parking at resorts.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Clearly with these kinds of crowds they had no options. *eyeroll*

 

[Animaniac93-98]

The limits of Disney's transportation system are entirely of their making. Which routes operate, the frequency with which they do, the number of busses and staff available, are all under their control.

Disney guests have always had to work around those limits, regardless of destination or point of origin

Placing restrictions on the guests doesn't change the underlying issues of trying to navigate WDW without a car

 

[easyrowrdw]

In my close to 50 trips over 20 years, I have stayed off-site twice. As you can see, the vast majority of my trips have been onsite as a Disney resort guest, at all three resort levels.

I still think it is a bad look and transportation should be for everyone.

I generally agree. But, from the article:

Cast Members told us this temporary measure is in place during the busy Easter period. The restriction helps increase parking availability at Disney Springs discouraging people from leaving their car while going elsewhere on property.

This is people who park at the mall and then want a ride to the Disney hotels. Asking them to drive themselves and free up spots for new folks isn't a major deal to me.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

This is people who park at the mall and then want a ride to the Disney hotels. Asking them to drive themselves and free up spots for new folks isn't a major deal to me.

But that’s not the only people it’s affecting. That’s the problem.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They shouldn’t really have left their car at the Poly all day. Unless they valet parked.

Cause…it’s full? Or is it more an illusion of “status” that’s in play?

???

As has been said, this is temporary. Not policy. Maybe you’re thinking of parking at resorts.

No…I just assume that every “temporary” experiment is part of some design to squeeze more juice from the same juice/fruits….been going for a bit

Pursuant to that…

View attachment 914275
Clearly with these kinds of crowds they had no options. *eyeroll*

For some reason…there is a heavy fan resistance to looking at where they actually are at on attendance and crowds

This parking thing is not a necessity…it’s another weather balloon

 

[Ayla]

No…I just assume that every “temporary” experiment is part of some design to squeeze more juice from the same juice/fruits….been going for a bit

Pursuant to that…

For some reason…there is a heavy fan resistance to looking at where they actually are at on attendance and crowds

This parking thing is not a necessity…it’s another weather balloon

Yep. It's putting feelers out there to gauge reactions.

 

[BlindChow]

Do I think people should be parking at Disney Springs and jumping through hoops to avoid paying for parking? No.

Do I begrudge people who have already forked over hundreds of dollars just to get into a Disney park trying to game the system to avoid paying to park? No. After all, they're probably losing $40 worth of value in lost time anyway since, as many people have pointed out, Disney Transportation bus service (in general) is slow.

Do I think Disney should charge for parking at Disney Springs? No.

Do I think I, as a resort guest, should've been called out for taking the bus to Contemporary instead of Caribbean Beach just to get to Magic Kingdom? No.

Do I think Disney should care about people attempting to avoid paying for parking? No, but, as a conglomerate who feels the need to nickel and dime its guests to protect its precious quarterly bottom line, this is what they're left with. Universal doesn't face this problem mostly because, as far as I know, you cannot park for free at CityWalk except under limited circumstances.

Do I think Disney should be limiting who can get on a "publicly" available bus? No. I realize this is where all the apologists are going to come at me to say Disney Transportation isn't truly "publicly available" and I admit Disney can place whatever restrictions they want on their system.

Do you like interviewing yourself instead of just using declarative sentences? Yes.

 

[nickys]

Yep. It's putting feelers out there to gauge reactions.

But they’ve had these kind of restrictions before without making it permanent.

 

[networkpro]

As evidenced by the no blackouts and light crowds since February?

This is performative. Making fools from the northeast cooridor who WAY overpaid for dvc and their tickets now feel like it’s a hot ticket…when of course it’s not.

Well as David Hannum said, "there's a sucker born every minute" and PT Barnum who borrowed that same phrase "The common man... enjoys having the wool pulled over his eyes" (but he was a politician so that goes with the territory)

 

[phillip9698]

Yep. It's putting feelers out there to gauge reactions.

This is not new. It's been happening for well over a decade.

 

[easyrowrdw]

But that’s not the only people it’s affecting. That’s the problem.

For sure. You're going to run into unintended issues with any policy. I do wonder what percentage of non-resort people arrived at Disney Springs in the manner you described vs the numbers that are driving and parking. I think that would make a difference.

If the intention is to free up spaces from people who are no longer spending time/money at the Springs, then this seems like an acceptable solution to me. An alternative might be time limits on the free parking but that seems to come with downsides as well. And if this is only for a few weeks here or there, then the current plan seems easier to turn on and off.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I don’t necessarily disagree with your post, but this would be an irrational and emotionally disproportionate response. I’ve been asked for my name and reservation (hotel or dining) at the security gate at multiple resorts (MK and EPCOT and otherwise) and I don’t start frothing at the mouth with the “Don’t you know who I *am*?” act.

It doesn’t have the slightest thing to do with, “Do you know who I am?” It’s a practice that inconveniences guests further then other cost cutting measures have already inconvenienced them, all so the company can save 40 bucks. It’s a resort founded on the idea that every guest is a VIP explicitly assuming its guests are thieves and demanding they justify their presence. And I feel very similarly about the new gate check procedures put in place at the resort over the last decade.

 

[Casper Gutman]

This all gets back to a recurring argument on these boards. To put it as simply as possible;

Disney works for the guest, not the other way around.

Or, to quote an old idiom that should be more true at a Disney resort then anywhere else;

The customer is always right.

 

[homerdance]

It’s always weird to me the amount of time people will spend to save $40 on “vacation”. Going to DS, parking, going through security, waiting for a bus, riding bus to resort, walking from resort to park/riding another bus to park, going through security again seems like a lot of effort to save that money.

I would think they could figure out a better way to free up parking though. Since parking scarcity is a real thing at DS.

 

[phillip9698]

This all gets back to a recurring argument on these boards. To put it as simply as possible;

Disney works for the guest, not the other way around.

Or, to quote an old idiom that should be more true at a Disney resort then anywhere else;

The customer is always right.

Who is considered a guest? Should people who do not have a room be able to fill the parking lot at the Polynesian then take the monorail to the MK so the people staying at the Polynesian then have nowhere to park?

Why should the paying guests of a hotel be inconvenienced, why should their experience not be prioritized over people who want free parking?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

This is not new. It's been happening for well over a decade.

Exactly…which works out so well for the customers 101% of the time