Vail Sucks 2021/20??
On to the new season of Vail greatness.
https://www.mountsnow.com/explore-the-resort/about-the-resort/getting-here.aspx
Mount Snow will implement paid parking next winter, daily, to "improve the skier experience". "almost half" will still be free on weekends. All of Carinthia will be paid on weekends it appears.
Not what I want to hear when I'm making my pass decision 👎
https://www.mountsnow.com/explore-the-resort/about-the-resort/getting-here.aspx
Mount Snow will implement paid parking next winter, daily, to "improve the skier experience". "almost half" will still be free on weekends. All of Carinthia will be paid on weekends it appears.
Not what I want to hear when I'm making my pass decision 👎
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Now just when we decided to "eat" our losses and buy in for next year this dsfsg comes out! Frankly everyone needs to talk with their wallet and send a message to Vail but as usual that's not going to happen.
The worst part of this is 2 yrs. ago we bought our place 10 minutes from Mount Snow and now our options are limited. Go to Stratton and stand in lines with all the disgruntled Mount Snow skiers who left. Head further north and spend more time & money going to Bromley or Magic, or head 35-40 mins south and ski Berkshire East.
Not really sure what our plans are outside of using the snowmobile we just bought.
https://unofficialnetworks.com/2021/05/25/stevens-pass-bike-park/
Generally a 1/4 to half mile from the main base area, closer if they're running the magic carpet for the tubing hill and access to those lots, and all of the free lots at Carinthia are within a 1/4 mile of the lodge/quad.
Plus, they run free shuttles from the outer and lower free lots around the Main Base Lodge.
Not happy with this. My hunch is that most weekend days, late morning you'll have the paid lots maybe 1/2 to 2/3rds full and the free lots overflowing with folks parking out on the various access roads.
Also not happy that they won't be selling the season parking pass. We had 1 for the 1st time this past season and would gladly have bought one again this year for the convenience and freedom to arrive a bit later if we wanted and still park right behind the Mount Snow Ski Club where our locker with our gear is.
In the big scheme of things, since my condo complex has a shuttle that runs every weekend and Holiday Week from Thanksgiving until the end of March, this won't effect my family very much. Still don't like it, especially when this change involves roughly 50% of their total parking spaces...
It's irrelevant how far the free lots are from the mountain as it's another sign of corporate greed! We pay the same as others for the "right" to ski but now they want us to paid more just for the "right" to park? So now if you don't paid more for that right to ski you're made to feel like a second class citizen. This charge has nothing to do with enhancing my experience but only to make more profit for the damn shareholders! Personally I'd rather pay the extra 20% for my season pass and park for free.
There was a lawsuit filed a couple of years ago by 2 skiers in Calf. who bought a season pass and after that Vail started to charge to park. BTW, they won their lawsuit!
The problem with Vail is they think that New England is Colorado and everyone has bottomless wallets in which they can pick. Where else in New England do they charge paying customers to park after they've paid good money to ski?
Another example of greed is the loss of lift tickets the owners at the Grand Summit use to receive each year. You can't convince me that Vail is going to be good for the mountain or the valley. Frankly, I wish someone else would buy Mount Snow from Vail and return it to the days of Peaks!
Lastly, how do they justify charging $65.00 a person for their summer brewfest & their
Octoberfest when in the past it was $20.00 early pricing to $30.00 day of event. Even if they included all the beer you want it's still not worth it.
Vail planning room:
A: How do we make 20% more revenue per visitor than last year?
B: Let's charge money for parking in the main parking lot!
A: How do we overcome the fact that this will provide a worse guest experience?
B: No problem at all, just have the marketing department advertise that it will improve the guest experience and everyone will understand!
The Big Lie, skiing version.
The Experience sucks! Long live The Experience!
I hope Alterra does not go down this road, otherwise my long walk will get longer...
I wonder if some of it is an attempt to try and spread some of their crowds around to their other properties that the Epic pass covers.
For some Epic passholders, they won't blink and eye at having to pay for parking. For others, who may have bought it because of the ratio of number of mountains it offers at the price point it's sold for, then that may have them seeking out other options, where the parking situation is different.
The crew that this likely effects more, is the crew of second home owners and/or seasonal renters, especially those with kids in the season long weekend programs, who if they want to park close to the lodge may be looking at 25 to 30 days of parking fees, and not having a parking season pass option, or at least one listed as an option as of yet, is really snub to Mount Snow core customer base, especially those who may not reside in a location that has Moover service to/from the mountain.
This line is just insulting our intelligence...
"These changes will help ensure faster, more efficient parking for all our valued guests, especially at our busiest times."
Yes, I always find it easier to park when I have to go on an app first. I have a house there, so I guess I'll deal with it. However, I won't spend a penny on anything I don't have to. Will also advise people to avoid their resorts whenever possible. In almost 50 years of skiing there, this is probably the most disappointed thing yet.
Some of you may recall the thread where I floated the absurd idea that Vail make all of the parking paid and shuttle skiers in from free lots in Brattleboro. Well apparently they have a mole here at Snowjournal so we need to be careful.
Pay toilets could be next, as part of their Carbon Neutral Initiative
Certainly makes Ikon and Indy look better......
Edit: Yes rickbloger, paid toilets!
Connect Mom and Dad's Amex Black card to little Johnny or Sallie's Epic pass and ready for the Epic gender neutral of course, porta-potties!
Crotched lots, from the reports we got, were overflowing.
And Rick???? SHUT UP!!!!!!
And ski_it?????? SHUT UP!!!!!!
Oh I think they'll spread the crowds to other properties but they won't be Vail properties!
Personally, if someone wants to spend extra money to park behind the base lodge then fine. The rest of us have no problem walking a few feet more and park for free. Two season ago Vail instituted a "valet parking" in lot C for $35.00 a day. If this is an example of what the cost will be then it will cost more to park than our 2 season passes!
Unfortunately, our house is not on the Moover bus line so we can't just hop on and ride in. Maybe Vail will smarten up and use the big field they own just before you turn onto Coldbrook Rd. in Wilmington. That would be a good option for us as it's about a mile from our place.
Totally agree jaytrem! That message is the biggest pile of asgqgagag I've ever seen!
My wife & I thought we made a great decision when we bought our home in the valley 2 yrs. ago. We wanted to be close to the mountain and the lakes but now we're starting to second guess our move. Since we bought we have scaled down our spending in the base lodge as it is usually too crowded & expensive. We'd rather drive 10 minutes home after skiing for a bite to eat & beers or stop at Snow Republic.
We're damn glad we bought a snowmobile this spring as the VAST trail is 1000 ft. from our place and it look's like we'll be spending time sledding more than skiing.
I guess it may be too early to jump to that type of conclusion yet. Things might play out differently in a year or two and then you regret your decision to sell.
The greatly improved guest experience actually does exist... I bought a bunch of their stock when it bottomed a year+ ago... Now I can afford to park.
There's no way we are going to sell our place. There's plenty up there for us to do year round with the lakes & hiking in the warmer weather and now snowmobiling just outside our door. We'll ski at Berkshire East instead or use our place as a base and ski elsewhere.
Besides, I'm not going to let these idiots win! With the way they're going Mount Snow will get sold to someone soon who knows how to operate a resort!
This just in from Magic. Awesome. Make you want to love them even more.
It's a funny situation. They want to first and foremost appear to want to have an expensive, exclusive vibe for the wealthy, almost like Disney World, with the deal on the season pass being the work-around way into the kingdom. Of course those who follow the industry know that in reality, the first priority for Vail is selling their Epic Passes to the masses (at least the middle to upper-middle class masses). However, after this year and perhaps due to discounting the pass even more, they realize they are cheapening the experience and that some people are waking up and realizing that they aren't getting such a high quality "experience of a lifetime" after all. So how do they make people think they're more ritzy and not the McDonalds of skiing? You charge for parking. Not just that one premium parking area we've come to expect at many ski areas, but half of your parking lots at all three base lodges.
Oh, and it brings in a lot of dollars as well.