Disney's current position regarding electric chargers

[Larry Chanin]

The two bonnet creek resorts have ev chargers that are free for guests. We've started staying there over the official disney hotels. Similar price as the budget hotels but way higher quality, free charging.

It's a shame disney hasn't gone full boar into this, and it's even more non-sensical that they're charging .36/kwh on their charge points after charging you $17 for the day.

I'm sure it was a pricing decision made by the same person who decided to add rfid chips to the disposable soda cups to cut down on the free refills.

Hi Alex,

Yes, I spoke with the people over at Bonnet Creek and it seems that they definitely get it. When I spoke to them some time ago they said if you were a guest at their restaurants you could also charge for free.

I am sorry to say that if Disney doesn't act swiftly to get in front of this trend of people with EVs switching to more EV friendly resorts, they are going to see an ever increasing loss of patronage as EV adoption continues to grown exponentially. Once you loose a patron its difficult to get them back.

Larry

 

[5yJeff]

Gotta get Disney onboard with Tesla's Destination Charging program!

Tesla Rolls Out 'Destination Charging' At Resorts And Restaurants

 

[alexucf]

Someone on the spacecoast ev facebook page noted that the epcot chargers appear to be pretty busy. Hopefully that will help prove demand and encourage more installs

 

[jrreno]

Today we visited Epcot. We are passholders so this is not a rare event but this is the first time since the installation of the Chargepoints. As we approached the parking lot there were signs indicating that there was electric vehicle charging. Unfortunately that road was blocked by cones. We went in the open lot and a cast member indicated I needed to drive back around and enter the lot that was blocked by cones. This time as we approached a cast member was there to move the cones away.
The cables on the chargers are quite long but the restraining cable that retracts to store the cable is too short and does not allow the full use of the length of the cable. I had to back into the spot.
We were the only EV there. We charged for the entire time we were in the park, about 4 hours and 45 minutes. Used a total of about 28kwh. Total cost was $10.02. Charged at 200v, 30a , 18 mph.
This suits my needs very well, I hope they install some at the other parks.

 

[jrreno]

We have been visiting Epcot almost weekly to work our way through the food booths at the Food & Wine festival. ( yea it's rough but some one has to do it ) Today for the first time there were four cars charging on the level 2s. Two volts, a Leaf and. a Tesla ( from Massachusetts!)
I take this as a good sign. If these chargers are heavily used maybe Disney and Chargepoint will install more on Disney property in Orlando.

 

[NigelM]

I don't think I'll ever get over the irony of having to prod and poke Disney to install EVSEs at Epcot!!!

 

[aviators99]

Here's Epcot on 10/11.
I did not have my car there. I flew in from a business trip to meet the family.

 

[Larry Chanin]

We just returned from a trip to Disney World. We were meeting a large group of our family from up north. They made reservations at the Disney Caribbean Beach Resort, so we stayed there as well. The resort was very nice, but it's not likely we will be staying at any Disney resort again until they provide chargers.

This particular resort provides bus transportation to the theme parks, but you waste too much valuable vacation time waiting for buses and traveling to the parks and back to the resort.

Located a couple of miles away is the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort. It has two J1772 chargers. We drove my Model S there for a very nice dinner at the La Luce Italian restaurant. We were greeted by the valet service who immediately informed us that they were familiar with Teslas. The valet supervisor would park the car and have the car charged while we dined. I provided them the adapter and fob. After a great dinner we had the server validate our parking ticket and we texted the number provided on the ticket to have out car retrieved. Normally valet parking costs $26, but with dinner it's free and so is the charging.

This was one of the most enjoyable and convenient dining and charging experiences we've had. So much so that we decided to go there for breakfast. The valet team in the morning were also familiar with Teslas, but they were less sure about charging. I offered the valet team a short course on charging and joined my party for breakfast. Normally the breakfast and lunch valet service costs $7, but they waived the fee in exchange for my little charging course.

Although we haven't stayed at the Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort, it looked very nice and it had one of those "lazy river" type pools where you can float around in an inner tube. If you are planning a trip to Orlando I would recommend that you consider it over a Disney resort until Disney provides charging at their resorts.

Note: The Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes has two high capacity J1772 chargers and also has a similiar valet policy when dining there.

Larry

 

[Lawsteve]

Larry, for those folks visiting the Universal parks, I stayed at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort, which was very close to Universal and had Chargepoint chargers in one of their parking areas. Valet can get you there.

 

[Anzir]

Larry, I have been to the Hilton Bonnet Creek a few times (twice for weddings) and it is a great resort. In fact, some locals use it for "staycations" because it is so family friendly. Glad to see it is EV friendly as well.

 

[jrreno]

A portion of the Downtown Disney parking garage is now open ( 1700 out of 6000 spaces ). I called to see if the chargers promised were part of the new section. They are not. No word on when they might be.

 

[Madartist]

A portion of the Downtown Disney parking garage is now open ( 1700 out of 6000 spaces ). I called to see if the chargers promised were part of the new section. They are not. No word on when they might be.

We already know that charging stations are not high on the priority list for Disney. Let's hope that they will be installed on he full garage is completed. Thanks for the update.

 

[Racerx22b]

I just sent to guest relations in support of this initiative.

To whom it may concern:


In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, my family has purchased and electric vehicle with plans to make this our primary form of transportation. Since we are season pass holders, we were delighted to find out that you have placed charging points in the parking area of Epcot but highly disappointed that you are charging for their use and routinely block off this parking area requiring a guest to hunt down a cast member for access. This inconveniences both the guest and cast member unnecessarily. It also seems excessive to charge guests for parking then charge them again for access to the chargers. As a company that pushes the envelope with innovation I would think you would do everything possible to encourage guests to follow your lead. However, charging for access to these charge points does exactly the opposite.


Furthermore, I was also very disappointed to find out that none of your resort properties offer any charging stations. As large and profitable as your company is I would think you would be at the "front of the line" with these offerings. However, you are years behind as nearby private hotels already have these in place (hotels on Bonnet Creek). And they offer the service for free as long as your a guest or customer at one of their restaurants. Doesn't it seem odd that Hilton Hotels provides services that a giant company like Disney can't offer? I have already elected to stay at the Hilton properties on 3 separate occasions over one of your Disney properties because of this. Our daughter is disappointed each time as she loves the convenience and atmosphere of your resorts but understands why we can no longer stay there.


As a responsible organization that is a leader in the "green movement" in so many areas I would encourage you to move quickly to support the use of electric cars by installing charge points at all of your resorts and at all of your theme park parking lots. I would also encourage you to offer incentives for these guests such as free parking and/or free charging. You could easily gain ROI by advertising your forward thinking investments and support of the "green" community.


I look forward to your response and, most importantly, your investment in this infrastructure.

 

[Larry Chanin]

Thanks for your support.

Larry

 

[jrreno]

I had a conversation with some Disney cast members near the new Downtown Disney garage. They indicated the chargers will be on the fifth (top) floor. This is the floor currently being used by the construction crew to stage equipment and parts for the rest of the construction. Sounds like the chargers will not be available until the garage is done.

 

[jrreno]

My Chargepoint App is now showing 3 Level two charge stations in the Orange garage next to Downtown Disney. It says they are on Level 5 , NE corner of the garage with a fee structure identical to those at Epcot. Anyone been there and seen these?

 

[jrreno]

Fifth Floor opening article:

Top floor opens at Disney Springs Orange parking garage along with electric vehicle charging

 

[EVSteve]

3 whole chargers in a six thousand parking spot downtown area. Better than nothing but wow this company is detached.

 

[jrreno]

I just heard that there are now 4 Chargepoint Chargers at Animal Kingdom. Evidently they were installed about 3 months ago.

 

[modelx007]

I just heard that there are now 4 Chargepoint Chargers at Animal Kingdom. Evidently they were installed about 3 months ago.

Where? It really is perplexing why charging is still a problem at any of the parks or resorts.