Telsa Full Self Driving feature's impact on Disneyland Parking Logistics/Operations

[Disney Irish]

I honestly don't know how the tech works. You probably couldn't even teach me. I'm just too old. Also uninterested past about the 5 minute mark in any explanation that may happen.

But then I also don't know how the Internet actually works, and how you are able to talk to me right now via typing on screens. Nor could I explain how a giant Boeing 777 can take me from LAX to Tokyo in 11 hours with a champagne toast after takeoff and then a lovely dinner service. I'm just not smart enough to explain the engineering and physics behind any of that.

But I do know it works, and I do know things like the Internet and jet travel changed the whole world.

Well then maybe actually believe some of us when we say that this isn't something that is just happening in the coming months, that is likely years and maybe even decades away. The technology is impressive, but that doesn't mean its ready for prime time today.

You got a peek at what can happen in the future and your eyes lit up, but you don't realize how complex of an issue it is to do what it is you're asking.

That's where I disagree. Disneyland's Parking operation is fairly unique, in that it charges for parking BEFORE you enter the facility. It's not based on how many hours you stayed, like at an airport or office building. The customer has already paid for the service for the entire day at 9am. Then at 10pm after the fireworks, the customer will want their car to come pick them up at Panera Bread instead of dealing with the awful parking lot trams and crowds and soul-killing environment.

The only other analogy to Disneyland that I can think of is a pro sport stadium. You pay for parking on the way in there, too. And afterwards it's a scramble to get out of the lot. But at Disneyland, they've purposely placed 25,000+ parking spaces a fair distance away from the customer's end point at the Esplanade. It requires trams and crowds and bellowing CM's and cranky children in strollers.

Then you clearly have never been to a modern sport complex, because in most cases you aren't parked next to the stadium you are parked quite a bit away. And there is no location in the front of the stadium, for many reasons, to summon your car. So just like Disneyland (or any Disney Park) parking.

Get your robot car to come get you on Harbor Blvd! If you had that option, who wouldn't want to do it that way instead?

Yes its a fantastical idea until you start thinking about the realities and realize it won't happen for many many reasons in the near future.

Perhaps that could be an answer. A statewide California law that says you can't use your robot car Summon tech in major venues. Seems customer unfriendly though. And the type of thing the Tech giants in Silicon Valley would quickly get out of via their lobbyists in Sacramento.

Not likely as again Tesla can't even get authorized for Level 3 (let alone Level 4/5) testing in California. So I don't see them lobbying for anything in the near future.

But, if we know anything about the Southern Californian Disneyland Annual Pass (Magic Key) personality, it's that they will find a way around anything that causes them inconvenience.

Just look what SoCal AP'ers did to the Disability Access Service in the 2010's! I think Disney is still in court over that one, aren't they?!?

Not if the feature is disabled for such use, ie the car will know you are trying to get it to leave a parking structure to drive on public roads and will not respond. So they can try to "get around it", but then they'll be liable for any damage that results from that, ie Millions in damages not to mention Disney could then cancel any AP and ban the person for that. That'll prevent anyone from trying.

 

[TP2000]

Well then maybe actually believe some of us when we say that this isn't something that is just happening in the coming months, that is likely years and maybe even decades away. The technology is impressive, but that doesn't mean its ready for prime time today.

So, this was already happening in Costco and Target parking lots in 2025...



But it's too far of a stretch to say that in a year or two the same car will be able to go from Mickey & Friends to Panera Bread after the fireworks?

I'm not sure which part of the Bay Area tech industry you are in, as you've mentioned AI and such, but I can just imagine what the staff meetings must be like at your company:

"We can't do that, it's too hard! We'd have to work on it and make adjustments! I bet it's a decade away at least! And what if someone passes a law? Also, Elon Musk is already doing it, so it's evil and bad! Let's just keep doing the same thing we've been doing instead. Great, where are we going for lunch?"

It's a curious and rather restrictive way to look at problems for someone in the Bay Area tech industry in the year 2026.

 

[TP2000]

They claimed this would be available years ago and it still is not.

I haven't been following Tesla press releases, so I wouldn't know that. I only know what the technology is now in 2026 as displayed by an old guy in Utah at a party. I was stunned at what a $45,000 Tesla can do in 2026!

And Disneyland's unique parking operation is going to have to deal with this, sooner or later.

You are again describing a Level 4+ system. They need to get to Level 3 first and there is no indication that is happening in the next few months.

That's fine, whatever it's called by those in the know is fine. Call it a Flux Capacitor Version Zeta 3, it's just fine with me.

I just know that 5 years ago no one had ever heard of a self driving car available at any price, and certainly not thousands of them cruising the American suburbs for 45 grand, plus extra for the snazzy red paint job. Now it's here. For real. For everyone.

I wonder if Tesla throws in floor mats at that price, or is it just the Self Driving feature?

 

[Disney Irish]

So, this was already happening in Costco and Target parking lots in 2025...



But it's too far of a stretch to say that in a year or two the same car will be able to go from Mickey & Friends to Panera Bread after the fireworks?

I'm not sure which part of the Bay Area tech industry you are in, as you've mentioned AI and such, but I can just imagine what the staff meetings must be like at your company:

"We can't do that, it's too hard! We'd have to work on it and make adjustments! I bet it's a decade away at least! And what if someone passes a law? Also, Elon Musk is already doing it, so it's evil and bad! Let's just keep doing the same thing we've been doing instead. Great, where are we going for lunch?"

It's a curious and rather restrictive way to look at problems for someone in the Bay Area tech industry in the year 2026.

Its not impossible to overcome but it takes time, Tesla clearly doesn't believe it'll be solved in 6 months with just a sofrware update or even a year or two from now because they've renamed the feature as well as put notices in all their owner documents that says THE FEATURE IS DISABLED ON PUBLIC STREETS, DON'T USE IT FOR SUCH PURPOSES. That doesn't sound like a company confident they will overcome those issues in the short term.

So if you were a betting man would you bet your life on Tesla getting this resolved in 1-2 years, because I sure wouldn't.

 

[Disney Irish]

I haven't been following Tesla press releases, so I wouldn't know that. I only know what the technology is now in 2026 as displayed by an old guy in Utah at a party. I was stunned at what a $45,000 Tesla can do in 2026!

Except you don't because you already admitted you don't know how it works.

And Disneyland's unique parking operation is going to have to deal with this, sooner or later.

Or it won't like I mentioned and there will be laws and rules the prevent its usage in such a situation.

That's fine, whatever it's called by those in the know is fine. Call it a Flux Capacitor Version Zeta 3, it's just fine with me.

It makes a difference, because if you actually knew what you were talking about you'd realize that Tesla is no where near where it needs to be to do what it is you're asking.

I just know that 5 years ago no one had ever heard of a self driving car available at any price, and certainly not thousands of them cruising the American suburbs for 45 grand, plus extra for the snazzy red paint job. Now it's here. For real. For everyone.

I wonder if Tesla throws in floor mats at that price, or is it just the Self Driving feature?

Then you've clearly been living under a rock because many cars have had semi-self driving features for over a decade now. Tesla isn't even the inventor of this, self driving features have been in development for many decades by many companies. And as was said Tesla is now even behind in development as other companies have advanced the technology way beyond were Tesla even is today in 2026 when they introduced Summon in their models last year.

So they can throw in free cup holders still not going to change that 2 years from now they still won't be able to have Summon being called from a multi-level garage to you a mile away. Because that takes time, legal, and regulation to allow that.

 

[Disney Irish]

That's fine, whatever it's called by those in the know is fine. Call it a Flux Capacitor Version Zeta 3, it's just fine with me.

Just for your reference, Tesla is at Level 2, they need to get to Level 4/5 to do what it is you want to Summon from a Disneyland Parking garage -

So that isn't happening anytime soon, as they aren't even at Level 3 yet.

 

[TP2000]

Then you've clearly been living under a rock because many cars have had semi-self driving features for over a decade now.

I know, I've had that since late '22 when I picked up my newest car. It can sort-of self drive itself down I-15 to San Diego on the freeway. They call it "Distronic", and in '22 it really impressed me. I still enjoy it on long drives.

But this Tesla Full Self Driving thing is something else entirely. It's not just keeping me in the lane and 4 car lengths away from the car ahead, it was totally driving itself around our neighborhood! Stopping at stop signs, making U turns, backing itself into the Wentworth's driveway, etc. without any hand or foot usage by the driver. Incredible!

Tesla isn't even the inventor of this, self driving features have been in development for many decades by many companies.

I'm sure they have. I've been to a few World's Fairs before, remember the GM exhibit at EPCOT Center, etc.

But that was then. This is now.

And it's not a World's Fair exhibit any longer, it's in your neighbor's driveway! The future is now. And it starts at $34,995.

Walt Disney himself even had a version of this Tesla technology in his Magic Skyways film from 1958!...

 

[Disney Irish]

But this Tesla Full Self Driving thing is something else entirely. It's not just keeping my in the lane and 4 car lengths away from the car ahead, it was totally driving itself around our neighborhood! Stopping at stop signs, making U turns, backing itself into the Wentworth's driveway, etc. without any hand or foot usage by the driver. Incredible!

Actually its not, this is where you got duped by the marketing, and why Tesla has had to change the name of the features in order to prevent getting banned in California -

https://www.techbuzz.ai/articles/tesla-drops-autopilot-name-in-california-to-dodge-ban

Tesla "Autopilot" Is No More, After California Pressures Tesla to Change the Name

After the California DMV threatened to strip Tesla of its dealer license, the automaker changed the way it markets its driver assistance features.

www.caranddriver.com

Because the "driver" has to still be under full control at all times (via an app when outside) it is not "self driving". The driver MUST be able to interact with the car at all times and be able to take over in the event of an emergency.

Tesla hasn't applied to even TEST let alone be ALLOWED to have full self driving in California (and only allowed to TEST in Nevada, Arizona, and Texas).

As said Tesla is even behind in Level 3, its been beat to the market -

How Mercedes beat Tesla to become 1st to offer level 3 autonomous personal car

Did you know Mercedes is the first automaker in the U.S. to both certify and commercialize a Level 3 autonomous driving system for everyday consumers? Here's why Tesla is not quite there yet.

abc7news.com

 

[TP2000]

Actually its not, this is where you got duped by the marketing, and why Tesla has had to change the name of the features in order to prevent getting banned in California -

To be fair to Tesla, and hell let's even be fair to Telsa, I was not duped by their "marketing".

I was simply impressed by their actual product being used by an actual customer; a friend who gave us a 5 minute ride around our neighborhood in his new self driving car last weekend at a dinner party.

I can't even remember seeing any Tesla commercials lately. Do they have a TV marketing campaign? I'm not aware of it.

 

[TP2000]

As said Tesla is even behind in Level 3, its been beat to the market

How Mercedes beat Tesla to become 1st to offer level 3 autonomous personal car

Did you know Mercedes is the first automaker in the U.S. to both certify and commercialize a Level 3 autonomous driving system for everyday consumers? Here's why Tesla is not quite there yet.

abc7news.com

Neat! I have a Benz myself with a recent (and genuinely impressive) version of Distronic, so I'd probably be more swayed to stay in the family.

For the sake of fun Disneyland conversation, would it help any for you, @lazyboy97o @PiratesMansion and anyone else who hates Elon Musk with the hot, hot hatred of a million suns if we replace 1,000 Teslas leaving Mickey & Friends after the fireworks autonomously in search of their owners on Harbor Blvd. in 2031 with 1,000 Mercedes, Fords, Cadillacs and Audis?

Would that maybe sway anyone to think this robot car thing might be a problem sooner than later for Disneyland's notoriously mismanaged and semi-hostile evening operation of their resortwide parking and transportation logistics?

With this single right turn lane out of a 17,000 space parking structure as the only option to get to Harbor Blvd. based on a 1995 Resort District transportation plan that never considered self driving cars?

 

[Disney Irish]

To be fair to Tesla, and hell let's even be fair to Telsa, I was not duped by their "marketing".

I was simply impressed by their actual product being used by an actual customer; a friend who gave us a 5 minute ride around our neighborhood in his new self driving car last weekend at a dinner party.

I can't even remember seeing any Tesla commercials lately. Do they have a TV marketing campaign? I'm not aware of it.

Then your friend got duped, and tried to "sell" you on it, and you got duped by proxy, so much so that you came here to write it all up. This is the exact reason why Tesla got sued and why they had to change all their marketing to say its NOT Self Driving, its Driver Assist.

Bottom line, Tesla isn't anywhere close to being able to do what you are asking here. And so Disney, Anaheim, or even any State in this nation is not going to have to worry about these issue you bring up anytime in the near future. We're at least a decade out, if not more, before any type of worry is needed.

But I'm pretty sure that OCTA is already planning on a future with Autonomous Vehicles, as Waymo just got approved back in November to operate in Orange County.

 

[networkpro]

Then your friend got duped, and tried to "sell" you on it, and you got duped by proxy, so much so that you came here to write it all up. This is the exact reason why Tesla got sued and why they had to change all their marketing to say its NOT Self Driving, its Driver Assist.

Bottom line, Tesla isn't anywhere close to being able to do what you are asking here. And so Disney, Anaheim, or even any State in this nation is going to have to worry about these issue you bring up anytime in the near future. We're at least a decade out, if not more, before any type of worry is needed.

But I'm pretty sure that OCTA is already planning on a future with Autonomous Vehicles, as Waymo just got approved back in November to operate in Orange County.

Waymo is in service in Atlanta and its quite shocking to see them in downtown traffic in the highway in busy merging lanes (think I75/85 merging with I-20)

 

[Disney Irish]

Neat! I have a Benz myself with a recent (and genuinely impressive) version of Distronic, so I'd probably be more swayed to stay in the family.

For the sake of fun Disneyland conversation, would it help any for you, @lazyboy97o @PiratesMansion and anyone else who hates Elon Musk with the hot, hot hatred of a million suns if we replace 1,000 Teslas leaving Mickey & Friends after the fireworks autonomously in search of their owners on Harbor Blvd. in 2031 with 1,000 Mercedes, Fords, Cadillacs and Audis?

Would that maybe sway anyone to think this robot car thing might be a problem sooner than later for Disneyland's notoriously mismanaged and semi-hostile evening operation of their resortwide parking and transportation logistics?

With this single right turn lane out of a 17,000 space parking structure as the only option to get to Harbor Blvd. based on a 1995 Resort District transportation plan that never considered self driving cars?

View attachment 909251

You still missed the point.

The issue isn't Tesla, even though they are still a bazillion years behind in the tech. The issue is that there is ZERO consumer Level 4 and 5 cars on the market today. So this issue that you keep bringing up is a non-issue, and likely still won't be by 2031. We're not going to get thousands of these cars on the streets in the next 5 years.

And so even if there was as @DrStarlander brought up a simple solution would be to dedicate one of the lanes to be right turn only for the Autonomous Vehicles, done, issue resolved.

 

[TP2000]

Then your friend got duped, and tried to "sell" you on it, and you got duped by proxy, so much so that you came here to write it all up. This is the exact reason why Tesla got sued and why they had to change all their marketing to say its NOT Self Driving, its Driver Assist.

At the next dinner party (it's a neighborhood group that does "Gourmet Nights" as a round-robin thing, so we'll all be back together again in March), I'm going to loudly explain what we all experienced last month was not actually a robot car that drove itself around our neighborhood to our astonishment, and has now been spotted outside the neighborhood gates driving itself around town.

What we all experienced last month was a robot car that used Driver AssistTM to drive itself around our neighborhood.

I'll try not to gloat, or embarrass last month's host. But I'll clear it up for you.

But I'm pretty sure that OCTA is already planning on a future with Autonomous Vehicles, as Waymo just got approved back in November to operate in Orange County.

OCTA helped plan, and directly funded, the 10,000+ parking structure that eventually became the current 17,000 space structure that is there today. I'd have to go Google to see if OCTA is involved in funding the new Eastern Gateway, but after the political controversy it caused them in the late 1990's when it got out local governments were funding Disney's own profit-making facilities, I'd be surprised if OCTA is involved in funding and direct planning of the Eastern Gateway.

Regardless of OCTA's current position or opinion, the first 17,000 space structure is already there.

It's the Six Lanes of One-Way Freeway Priority roadway setup the facility is saddled with that's going to create problems if a bunch of cars go looking for their owners around the Resort District nearly all at once.

 

[Disney Irish]

At the next dinner party (it's a neighborhood group that does "Gourmet Nights" as a round-robin thing, so we'll all be back together again in March), I'm going to loudly explain what we all experienced last month was not actually a robot car that drove itself around our neighborhood to our astonishment, and has now been spotted outside the neighborhood gates driving itself around town.

What we all experienced last month was a robot car that used Driver AssistTM to drive itself around our neighborhood.

I'll try not to gloat, or embarrass last month's host. But I'll clear it up for you.



OCTA helped plan, and directly funded, the 10,000+ parking structure that eventually became the current 17,000 space structure that is there today. I'd have to go Google to see if OCTA is involved in funding the new Eastern Gateway, but after the political controversy it caused them in the late 1990's when it got out local governments were funding Disney's own profit-making facilities, I'd be surprised if OCTA is involved in funding and direct planning of the Eastern Gateway.

Regardless of OCTA's current position or opinion, the first 17,000 space structure is already there.

It's the Six Lanes of One-Way Freeway Priority roadway setup the facility is saddled with that's going to create problems if a bunch of cars go looking for their owners around the Resort District nearly all at once.

View attachment 909254

Oy vey. SMH

 

[TP2000]

The issue is that there is ZERO consumer Level 4 and 5 cars on the market today. So this issue that you keep bringing up is a non-issue, and likely still won't be by 2031. We're not going to get thousands of these cars on the streets in the next 5 years.

The cat's already out of the bag on this robot car thing. I've seen what American Free Enterprise can do with new technology before, and it's going to change faster than anyone thought it would.

The thing that impresses me about the evil cars from the evil man, is that their self driving Driver AssistTM software updates automatically over the air. So you get to see your car get better and faster and smarter at driving and summoning itself.

When Level 4 cars are approved for use on California roads, every Tesla 3 and Y and Cybertruck built since at least 2025 gets the software update and BINGO! it's now basically a Model Year 2031 car running the latest self driving Driver AssistTM software. (The older S and SUV models Tesla sold since the 2010's are being cancelled this year, because they can't be updated to the self driving software)

THIS IS CRAZY, YOU GUYS! .... I just Googled real quick how many Tesla 3's and Y's have been sold so far, thinking it would be helpful for this conversation for us (and me!) to know how many are already on the roads awaiting a Level 4 software update in the future. It turns out the Tesla Model Y was the best selling car in California last year! You can't make that up. It's not the F-150, not the Honda Accord, it's the Tesla Model Y. The Model 3 is #4 in California.

About 165,000 Teslas capable of Level 4 software updates were sold last year in California.

I see a gazillion Teslas around San Diego constantly, which is what made me start thinking about Disneyland's parking situation. I knew they were extremely popular on California roads, but had no idea they're currently the Number 1 Selling Car in California.

 

[Disney Irish]

The cat's already out of the bag on this robot car thing. I've seen what American Free Enterprise can do with new technology before, and it's going to change faster than anyone thought it would.

The thing that impresses me about the evil cars from the evil man, is that their self driving Driver AssistTM software updates automatically over the air. So you get to see your car get better and faster and smarter at driving and summoning itself.

When Level 4 cars are approved for use on California roads, every Tesla 3 and Y and Cybertruck built since at least 2025 gets the software update and BINGO! it's now basically a Model Year 2031 car running the latest self driving Driver AssistTM software. (The older S and SUV models Tesla sold since the 2010's are being cancelled this year, because they can't be updated to the self driving software)

THIS IS CRAZY, YOU GUYS! .... I just Googled real quick how many Tesla 3's and Y's have been sold so far, thinking it would be helpful for this conversation for us (and me!) to know how many are already on the roads awaiting a Level 4 software update in the future. It turns out the Tesla Model Y was the best selling car in California last year! You can't make that up. It's not the F-150, not the Honda Accord, it's the Tesla Model Y. The Model 3 is #4 in California.

View attachment 909262

About 165,000 Teslas capable of Level 4 software updates were sold last year in California.

I see a gazillion Teslas around San Diego constantly, which is what made me start thinking about Disneyland's parking situation. I knew they were extremely popular on California roads, but had no idea they're currently the Number 1 Selling Car in California.

You don't know what you are talking about and it shows, you're embarrassing yourself now.

Tesla isn't working on Level 4 Self Driving, they aren't authorized to test Level 4 Self Driving anywhere on the planet, there is ZERO software update coming for Tesla to make Level 4 Self Driving possible, as it requires a hardware update which any vehicle sold today won't get.

Stop while you're behind.

 

[dmc493]

Shocked we've gotten to five pages. Fun fact, Tesla's Robotaxi service in Austin has a 4x higher accident rate than accidents caused by human drivers

Also gotta love autonomous vehicles that use vision based systems which fail remarkably in poor weather conditions (which sure are few and far between in sunny SoCal but not perfect everywhere) compared to LIDAR based systems like Waymo and others use

 

[TP2000]

You don't know what you are talking about and it shows, you're embarrassing yourself now.

Tesla isn't working on Level 4 Self Driving, they aren't authorized to test Level 4 Self Driving anywhere on the planet, there is ZERO software update coming for Tesla to make Level 4 Self Driving possible.

The company that brought self driving robot cars to every Costco parking lot in America is NOT working on improving its products and eventually getting to Level 4?

Stop while you're behind.

I Googled that for us too.

 

[Disney Irish]

The company that brought self driving robot cars to every Costco parking lot in America is NOT working on improving its products and eventually getting to Level 4?



I Googled that for us too.

View attachment 909267

Summary they ARE NOT working on updates to their consumer models to be Level 4. They working on Level 4 for their RoboTaxis.

Not to mention that THEY ARE STILL NOT authorized to run Level 4 in any State. So no update will make that happen, that is a regulatory issue not a software issue.