DVC Charging Members for Valet Parking as of 10/11/09

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Folks need to remember that we bought a time-share.
2) We did not buy free valet, discounted tickets, etc.
3) Add-ons and extras are nice, but it was the room that was purchased.
4) And, since the valet is now outsourced, it is right for them to make a profit.
5) I think the time to complain was when the valet parking was outsourced.

[mjaclyn]

Valet parking is free with TIW? The CM at Poly told me you only get a 20% discount with it...

[Hammer]

Valet parking is free with TIW? The CM at Poly told me you only get a 20% discount with it...

Yes, Valet parking is free with TIW if you are dining at the resort. You will just need to show your Dining receipt (or sometimes just the card) to receive complimentary valet parking.

Fortunately, I have TIW, so the only time I will need to pay for valet is if I choose to valet at the DVC resort (which is really only an issue at Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge). It is just the precedent it is setting. Some people are bringing up this is due to the outsourcing of the valets. If that were truly the case, they would have started charging 2 years ago when the service was originally outsourced.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Maybe I'm wrong here...
But I thought the valet service was originally intended for the resorts that didn't have "convenient parking." In other words, if you were staying at OKW or SSR, parking close to your room isn't an issue - you park just outside of where you're staying.
But if you're at the BWV, or the VWL, you could be quite a haul from your room - thus the "free" valet.

It's perplexing to me why they'd take this away...

Guess it's the usual answer - $$$

[DVC Mike]

It's perplexing to me why they'd take this away...

Guess it's the usual answer - $$$

I've some people theorize it may have something to do with the outsourcing of valet parking a couple of years ago.

Maybe the valet parking company is raising the fees they were charging DVC for their members to get free valet.

But if that were true, why didn't DVC just change it from free valet parking to at least a discounted rate for valet parking for DVC members?

[Ian]

But if that were true, why didn't DVC just change it from free valet parking to at least a discounted rate for valet parking for DVC members?

Right ... and really ... am I wrong or was valet parking only $10 before?

Did they raise valet parking fees across property to match this? Surely they aren't charging DVC members $2 extra when before they were able to park for free, right??

[Seasonscraps]

My guess is the price of valet parking increased across the board - park parking went up this week also. I can't imagine they are charging DVC people an extra two bucks - who would willingly admit to being dvc if that were the case?

[mjaclyn]

When we valet parked at the Poly yesterday it was $10.00 so I was very surprised when the CM from DVC Member Services told me that as of today the price would be $12 for DVC Members. She didn't say anything about a price increase for on-DVC though...

[DVC Mike]

Right ... and really ... am I wrong or was valet parking only $10 before?

Did they raise valet parking fees across property to match this? Surely they aren't charging DVC members $2 extra when before they were able to park for free, right??

No, they aren't charging members more. They are raising the cost for valet parking.

[epceddie]

Is is really true about the free valet parking going away?
I was just on the DVC members site and there was no mention of it. Was Disney planning on telling anyone, because this is the first that I've heard of it.
This is a typical move by a money-greedy company that just keeps nickle and diming people who have coughed up tens of thousands of dollars to be DVC members and it stinks.
I'm really starting to regret my decision to become a member, but my wife and I make up for it by trying to spend as LITTLE money as possible at Disney by not buying souvenirs and eating breakfast and dinner in our room or going offsite to places like Romano's Macaroni Grill.
Every trip we make, it seems like we're spending more and more time at Universal, where you can get a 2-park, 7-day ticket for $99.
What going to take away next? The member discounts for the water parks and Disney Quest?
All they do is take stuff away and continue to raise prices on everything. Hopefully, someday ppeople will stand up and say enough is enough.

[MidnTPK]

1) Folks need to remember that we bought a time-share.
2) We did not buy free valet, discounted tickets, etc.
3) Add-ons and extras are nice, but it was the room that was purchased.
4) And, since the valet is now outsourced, it is right for them to make a profit.
5) I think the time to complain was when the valet parking was outsourced.

Very well said Rusty.

It seems as though there are two truths that many DVC-ers seem to ignore. The first is your point...that the DVC is just a fancy timeshare system.

The second truth is there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-free-lunch. Those parking valets weren't there as unpaid volunteers. Someone has to pay the parking valets for their time waiting for cars. And as timeshare owners, you were paying them whether you used the service or not. This was an easy decision by Disney: eliminate a perk/expense that only a few people use. It helps Disney both keep dues down and make the DVC business more profitable.

[Seasonscraps]

Very well said Rusty.

It seems as though there are two truths that many DVC-ers seem to ignore. The first is your point...that the DVC is just a fancy timeshare system.

The second truth is there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-free-lunch. Those parking valets weren't there as unpaid volunteers. Someone has to pay the parking valets for their time waiting for cars. And as timeshare owners, you were paying them whether you used the service or not. This was an easy decision by Disney: eliminate a perk/expense that only a few people use. It helps Disney both keep dues down and make the DVC business more profitable.

I never thought of it exactly as free...more that it was included in the maintenance fees. Just like ME is not free, free dining is not free, internet for DVCers using points for DVC resorst is not free...we always end up paying somewhere. Now we are getting less for the same amount we were paying and I am willing to bet, the maintenance fees will go up come January.

[MidnTPK]

I am willing to bet, the maintenance fees will go up come January.

Of course...but the cutting the costs associated withthis perk will allow DVC to allow the dues increase to be smaller...or let DVC raise its management fee without people noticing as big a change in total dues. Yes, a subtle, marginal expense, but certainly one of the motivations.

[Hammer]

It seems as though there are two truths that many DVC-ers seem to ignore. The first is your point...that the DVC is just a fancy timeshare system.

Some of those "perks" are some of the reasons why I chose to buy DVC over other timeshares when I was researching my purchase. They keep removing things and I would probably been better off at the Hyatt Grand Cypress.

The second truth is there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-free-lunch. Those parking valets weren't there as unpaid volunteers. Someone has to pay the parking valets for their time waiting for cars. And as timeshare owners, you were paying them whether you used the service or not. This was an easy decision by Disney: eliminate a perk/expense that only a few people use. It helps Disney both keep dues down and make the DVC business more profitable.

The fact that they raised the price $2 for valet parking across the board I can almost bet covers any increase incurred from charges by the outsourcing company. They just thought they would remove a perk to boost up their bottom line.

As I said, I will find a way around this by staying at the DVCs which do not offer valet or stay at those DVC resorts when I know I can add that cost into my vacation budget. What bothers me, as I said, is the precedent. As Ian said, the DVC AP discount is probably next and that will bother many more people.

[LoriSan]

will[/I] bother many more people.

I'm calling right now to renew my AP!

[MidnTPK]

Some of those "perks" are some of the reasons why I chose to buy DVC over other timeshares when I was researching my purchase.

This doesn't help now, but before I bought my timeshare, I was deciding between DVC and the one I eventually bought (Harborside at Atlantis in The Bahamas). In the end, the decision came down to what was promised in the timeshare agreement. At DVC, nothing but the use of your unit is promised in the contract. Everything else is marketing to make the DVC more attractive. At Harborside, I am granted deed access to Atlantis for the term of my vacation club for a specified dollar amount annually.

Which is the long way of saying that you should expect EVERYTHING that is not promised in your contract to eventually be eliminated....or continue but only for an up-charge. If you see the analysis I did in an earlier thread, you'll see I still think the DVC offers a good value.....but not a value as good as the hype and excitement.

[Hammer]

Which is the long way of saying that you should expect EVERYTHING that is not promised in your contract to eventually be eliminated....or continue but only for an up-charge. If you see the analysis I did in an earlier thread, you'll see I still think the DVC offers a good value.....but not a value as good as the hype and excitement.

Look, I understand what you are saying, but but if you add a change like this with the fact that they upped the number of points needed for weekday stays, it just seems very much like a money grab.

[dlpmikki]

Taking a long term view on this the 'perks' have changed quite a bit over the years, sometimes for the better and sometimes worse. I guess my concern is that most recent changes seem to be for the worse and that is a precedent that worries me. I don't remember when free valet parking was bought in but it obviously wasn't there at the beginning when OKW was the only resort.

[pox24]

This really stinks. We never questioned their price and gladly paid based on the sales pitch, perks and all that Disney magic. Guess what? Here' some magic...POOOF... no more perks. Thats next. Little by little its all going away.

[Aurora]

Forgive me, but this is one of those "perks" that I think is so non-essential to enjoying your DVC stay that I'm having a hard time understanding why there's so much wringing of hands. I'm not even sure it belongs in the category of "well if they're going to take THIS away from us, what's next?" If paying for valet service bothers you, don't pay it. It's not required. Just walk.

I mean, on a vacation in which you probably walk more miles in a day than you walk in a month at home, how can it be such a big deal to walk from your car to the resort?