Disney's current position regarding electric chargers

[DavidM]

Here's the email I sent to Disney today:

Disney,
We are Florida residents living in Sarasota. We typically visit Orlando several times each year, usually staying overnight for one or more nights at a convenient hotel. We have placed a deposit on an electric vehicle (Tesla Motors Model S), and will be receiving the car sometime this Fall. I was surprised to hear that Disney has no plans to accommodate guests who arrive with electric vehicles. We request that you consider accommodating at least a small number of electric cars in your theme park lots, and if you find that your charging stations are being used, you could expand accordingly. In the meantime, it could be a great marketing opportunity for you. From what I know about Walt, I believe he would have been an early adopter.

Since we are committed to purchasing our EV, we will still drive it to Orlando. However, we will plan our trips around whichever hotels and entertainment venues provide charging stations. Thank you for your consideration.

David Marsh

 

[Warrenbonz]

Here is an abridged version of the email I sent to Disney

Dear Disney,

I am writing to you today to share with you my disappointment that there are no electric vehicle charging stations at Disney.
As a Tesla Roadster Owner and soon to be Tesla Model S Owner it is important to me to have a convenient place to charge when I travel by car; which is something I do frequently. Recently, my wife and I enjoyed a long weekend at the Don Cesar hotel (which has 2 charging stations capable of charging 4 cars at once) in St Pete celebrating our anniversary. When planning our trip we immediately removed Disney from consideration because of the lack of charging. It is not only a matter of convenience but a matter of rewarding companies that share our priorities. I know there are many others who feel as we do and as time goes by there will more and more of us. As a business owner I believe there is a great opportunity for forward thinking companies to attract good customers by installing electric vehicle charging stations and I hope that Disney will see the wisdom in this and decide to install charging stations in the near future. Please let me know when you do as I would love to visit again in my new electric car.

Respectfully,

 

[vfx]

Frequent any Disney properties? Want to see EV charging there? Disney wants to know- email @: wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com /via Mark Rickey

from https://www.facebook.com/evchels

 

[dflye]

Frequent any Disney properties? Want to see EV charging there? Disney wants to know- email @: wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com /via Mark Rickey

from https://www.facebook.com/evchels

Done!

Hi there,

As a DVC member for over a decade (with points in three different resorts now) living in North Carolina, we frequently stay at the resorts at Walt Disney World, Hilton Head and Vero Beach.

Having recently purchased an all-electric Tesla Model S, I'm discovering that while I can drive down to WDW charging along the way, I won't be able to charge my car anywhere on Disney property!

To me, as a former cast-member, this is astonishing, as I know that Disney sets very high standards in caring for the environment.

Please consider adding publicly accessible EV charging stations at the theme parks and privately accessible EV charging stations at the moderate to high end Disney resorts (such that a room key or similar access card is required to get to the chargers)

Thanks for your consideration!

 

[efusco]

Sent mine earlier this afternoon:

My family and I have visited Disney, despite living nowhere near a Disney property, at least 10 times in the past 10 years. We are DVC owners at Saratoga Springs Resort. My son wants to be a Disney Imagineer when he grows up and had dedicated his school electives and course work at achieving that goal in his lifetime.

As a long time advocate of advanced technology vehicles and a recent Tesla Model S buyer I've had the chance to advocate for and witness the accelerating growth of the modern vehicle and the slow but steady move away from fossil fuel based transportation. I also recognize the power that Walt Disney World has in influencing change both in the younger generation and in adults via their advocacy and support of worthy efforts.

I am writing to encourage Walt Disney to adopt, on a large scale, an EV friendly infrastructure throughout the Walt Disney properties in the US. We see more and more people who can and would choose to drive their Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Plug-in Prius or Tesla Model S to Disney properties for their visits if they knew they would be able to charge on site. I believe this could be accommodated via a small additional fee for preferred EV parking at the parks, but should probably be free for those staying at the Disney Resorts. Having charging stations located elsewhere on Disney properties would be a bonus as well.

I feel that EV charging is a logical and even necessary step for a company who promotes advanced technology at both EPCOT and Tomorrowland and could be a major leader in setting and example for other businesses to emulate.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

 

[Arnold Panz]

Sent mine:

I live in Miami and am the father of three young children 11, 9 and 5 years old). We used to visit Disney World once or twice a year, always staying on property. We have not visited in several years (our last visit was in 2007), though we were able to go to Disneyland in 2010.

We were planning on going this summer. However, I have a Tesla Model S, which as you may know is an all-electric vehicle with seating for 7 and a range of 260 miles. This is plenty of range to get me from my home in North Miami Beach to Kissimmee, but I need charging options in Disney in order to be able to take my family. I would very much like Disney to consider installing electric chargers at its hotels and/or parks so that people like me can take our cars there. EVs are the wave of the future, and it would be to Disney's benefit to be at the forefront of this trend, and it will give you environmental cred to boot!

Disney's lack of accommodation has been a subject of discussion on http://www.teslamotorsclub.comhttp://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/7904-Disney-s-current-position-regarding-electric-chargers)

I think Disney is a great company with progressive policies, which is brave in the face of
a sometimes regressive political climate in Florida. Please reconsider your position on chargers for EVs.

Thank you for your consideration.

 

[spleen]

For what it's worth, Aulani has about 8 Chargepoint chargers in their parking garage so there is precedent!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[dflye]

For what it's worth, Aulani has about 8 Chargepoint chargers in their parking garage so there is precedent!

Ah, I had heard that now that you mention it, but that is definitely something for "locals" only, so while we have DVC points at Aulani, I don't see my Model S ever getting a charge there!

 

[bobinfla]

Have a friend who is a "Disney Club" member so we stayed at Disney for a couple days last month (at the Bay Lake Towers, next to the Contemporary). We had just come back from a week long vacation, so had lost a lot of charge parked at the airport and needed to add some miles before heading back to Tampa. Got in touch with the Wilderness Lodge, and they were very willing to let us grab one of the RV spots for a few hours, no charge.

 

[vfx]

Done!

Cast member?

 

[dflye]

Got in touch with the Wilderness Lodge, and they were very willing to let us grab one of the RV spots for a few hours, no charge.

That is good to know! Have a trip planned to WDW over Memorial Day weekend, and no clue if Tesla will have Superchargers that far south by then.

 

[efusco]

Cast member?

It's what Disney calls all of its employees.

 

[vfx]

Born and raised in the shadow of Disneyland I continue to be a season pass holder. Now living in Ventura we can't drive our favorite electric car to the Grand Californian or the park since there in no place to plug in all day or while we sleep so we can drive back home. Most of the park's rides are electric and the parks and hotel properties have support vehicles in the form of electric golf carts running around. They all plug in. Please let patrons do the same.

 

[dflye]

Cast member?

In the 90s worked on their cruise line booking system out of the Team Disney building in WDW, back when they were still playing around with NeXT's technology. When that ship sank as it were, left Disney and followed the tech to NC.

 

[Lloyd]

Someone should take delivery there. Make a media event out of it. Did Tesla not say they would deliver anywhere that makes you happy? Give Disney ample time to make a plan for charging so they can benefit from it also. If they don't provide a plan for charging then it will be a media negative for them, and possibly be shamed into submission.

I thought of doing this but my delivery came sooner than I anticipated and I was not able to send the letter with the proposal to Disney in time.

 

[xhawk101]

Someone should take delivery there. Make a media event out of it. Did Tesla not say they would deliver anywhere that makes you happy? Give Disney ample time to make a plan for charging so they can benefit from it also. If they don't provide a plan for charging then it will be a media negative for them, and possibly be shamed into submission.

I thought of doing this but my delivery came sooner than I anticipated and I was not able to send the letter with the proposal to Disney in time.

Hmm could be option for my delivery. Plus one of the first new red in fl.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[vfx]

mods
Can take this thread out of Florida?

 

[Larry Chanin]

Frequent any Disney properties? Want to see EV charging there? Disney wants to know- email @: wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com /via Mark Rickey

from https://www.facebook.com/evchels

Eric,

Thanks for breathing life into this thread. Can you please elaborate regarding the facebook references? When I click on those references I don't see any discussion of Disney. Do I have to be friends with Chelsea or Mark to see the Disney references?

As you can see from our earlier postings we have been sending comments to guest communications for a while now to no avail. I have a theory that they have been forwarding our requests to some low level transportation manager who has a budget to protect. What we really need is contact information for an executive in marketing who has a "big picture" perspective.

Thanks.

Larry

 

[vfx]

Eric,

Thanks for breathing life into this thread. Can you please elaborate regarding the facebook references? When I click on those references I don't see any discussion of Disney. Do I have to be friends with Chelsea or Mark to see the Disney references?

As you can see from our earlier postings we have been sending comments to guest communications for a while now to no avail. I have a theory that they have been forwarding our requests to some low level transportation manager who has a budget to protect. What we really need is contact information for an executive in marketing who has a "big picture" perspective.

Thanks.

Larry

It was on Chels FB page. She referenced the OP from Mark. I have no further info.

We have been working the parks (magic Mountain, Knotts, etc.),on this coast too (as I'm sure the Leaf folks have been as well). I just co-opted your Disney thread.

I do like the Model S delivery tie in with a Disney park charge opening. Good publicity for everyone. What place makes you happier than the happiest place on earth?

 

[Rodolfo Paiz]

How about we draft a petition and then collect a few hundred -- or a few thousand -- signatures?

Easier that way for many people to show their support. And we can get a lot more people involved very quickly.