20 J1772 plugs at Disneyland California!

[mbutter]

The best solution is to charge by the hour for ANY spot (not just Disney) with an EVSE, then let ANYONE willing to pay occupy the space at an hourly rate, even a (gasp) ICE car.

Perhaps a tiered rate system can be used, where the rates could start low, then rise after a couple of hours (or charging is complete), to motivate the driver to vacate the spot.

At least that might increase the chances that the spot will be available for those who might really *need* a charge, vs. a 'convenience' charge for a good parking spot vs. those where a charge might be 'nice' to have (Prius pluggable, Volt, etc.).

I continue to be puzzled why so many EV drivers expect free charging stations everywhere. EVSEs cost money, electricity costs money, dedicated parking spots cost money, and dedicated EVSE spots can actually create resentment of EVs, if these spots sit empty in an otherwise full parking lot.

Nobody is giving away other fuels for free, unless your car runs on french fry grease.

 

[Mx5racer]

The best solution is to charge by the hour for ANY spot (not just Disney) with an EVSE, then let ANYONE willing to pay occupy the space at an hourly rate, even a (gasp) ICE car.

That is a good idea, it would help to keep the space clear, I say that you would have to be plugged in so that they could easily track and bill for the time

My goal is to make sure that charging is available if I have to use it and at that point the amount charged is not the issue

 

[dhanson865]

Some will recognize the aerial shot as the south east corner of the roof top parking structure of Anaheim Disney (Facing from the North, looking to the South). Just to the left of the red arrows are stairs that run from the rooftop, down. I know that prior to L1 plugs being installed for Disney employees over at their admin parking structure, there was a certain Mini Cooper EV that discovered the 120v plugs located at those red arrows, just to the west of the stairs ... not just on the roof - but also on the 5th floor, the 4th floor, 3rd floor, etc. He got permission to utilize the guest parking 120v receptacles. People, I'm just sayin'. Put on a big happy smile, ask permission ... get there early, and see what you can accomplish.
So . . . . "No EV charging At Disney California" ?? Some may find out differently.

So in a parking structure for hundreds of cars there are 20 or so plugs that your Nissan supplied portable EVSE can plug into. Seems adequate for now.

Down the road they just need enough plugs that a 25ft extension cord could reach from any space to the nearest plug (something like one outlet for every 4 or 5 parking spaces assuming no head to head or head to tail parking spaces, half that in areas with such parking spaces).

Assuming you have turtle mode you could surely turtle over a few spaces as people leave the park and L1 enough to drive to a charger off campus (say the nearest Nissan dealer). It's not like you have to be able to drive all the way home from Disney.

L1 at Disney
L1, L2, or L3 off campus (as a waypoint on the trip home)
L1 or L2 at home

rinse and repeat.

My only question having never been to that location is how quick do the garage spots fill up vs open parking lots (I'd assume the shaded parking garage is considered a plus in hot weather) and what percentage of parking is garage vs what percent is flat lot?

 

[mbutter]

The best solution is to charge by the hour for ANY spot (not just Disney) with an EVSE, then let ANYONE willing to pay occupy the space at an hourly rate, even a (gasp) ICE car.

That is a good idea, it would help to keep the space clear, I say that you would have to be plugged in so that they could easily track and bill for the time

My goal is to make sure that charging is available if I have to use it and at that point the amount charged is not the issue

Obviously the details would need to be worked out in the unlikely event that this strategy is ever implemented. There are conventional business models that allow self-park cars to pay in a drop slot, or risk being towed, whether by the hour or by the day.

The intent of allowing any car, not just electric only, or electric/ICE hybrid, is to remove the perception of entitlement. If you are willing to pay, you can use the spot as you choose, but I expect a 'non-charging' user would instead choose a spot that did not have the EVSE billing rates.

 

[hill]

..................... snip
My only question having never been to that location is how quick do the garage spots fill up vs open parking lots (I'd assume the shaded parking garage is considered a plus in hot weather) and what percentage of parking is garage vs what percent is flat lot?

Re-read my 1st post. That's not a precisely answerable question. Turns on season ... holiday ... even time of day. But an EV driver arriving early (remember? we're in a minority with limited infrastructure .. so we have to plan) in the morning can get permission (remember? call ahead ... talk to the powers that be) to park "one level higher up" before the 3rd - 4th - 5th - levels begin to fill. That way a proactive EV'er could secure one of the limited spots next to the existing 120v receptacles.

As for the other part of the question, 10,000+ parking spots are contained in the multi-acre, 6 story parking structure (largest in the world, when it was built, a decade ago) ... and there are about 5,000 additional spots outside the structure, in varying locations.

Alternatively, and being people that think out of the box (that IS what we EV'ers do, right?), the City of Anaheim has multiple L2 stations, only 2 miles north of Disney, off Harbor blvd, and W. Broadway (see the plugshare.com map). You could stop by and eat at one of several near-by food joints while picking up a free chunk of charge.
.

 

[seanpercival]

We are annual pass owners so we go fairly often. Living in LA we would probably need charge station there to ensure we can get back (depending on traffic).

Of course with Chevron still a major sponsor of the Autopia ride they seem to be happy with some parts of the park being not so eco friendly. Actually if you go on that ride now it's a little sad because all you smell is the gas and everything feels grimy and dirty. Very much like those "What if everything ran on gas? commercials from Nissan.

Ironically that ride sits in the corner of Tomorrowland. Nissan should probably step in and take over that sponsorship be more "period correct".

 

[hill]

We are annual pass owners so we go fairly often. Living in LA we would probably need charge station there to ensure we can get back (depending on traffic).

Of course with Chevron still a major sponsor of the Autopia ride they seem to be happy with some parts of the park being not so eco friendly. Actually if you go on that ride now it's a little sad because all you smell is the gas and everything feels grimy and dirty. Very much like those "What if everything ran on gas? commercials from Nissan.

Ironically that ride sits in the corner of Tomorrowland. Nissan should probably step in and take over that sponsorship be more "period correct".

Baby steps. Disney is slowly doing better. The subs used to run little "White" 4 cylinder, diesel engines, driving electric generators. Now there 100% electric. The trams used to be diesel, now their CNG ... as are the jungle cruise boats, the sailing ship Columbia, as well as the main street vehicles. Even the steam trains now run on bio-diesel.

 

[TomT]

Likewise. We would likely go more often (and spend more) if we could charge our Leaf there. It's about 130 miles round trip so too far to go on one charge, and I don't want to have to play musical charging stations after a full day at Disney...

We are annual pass owners so we go fairly often. Living in LA we would probably need charge station there to ensure we can get back (depending on traffic).

 

[astralfish]

I continue to be puzzled why so many EV drivers expect free charging stations everywhere. EVSEs cost money, electricity costs money, dedicated parking spots cost money, and dedicated EVSE spots can actually create resentment of EVs, if these spots sit empty in an otherwise full parking lot.

Nobody is giving away other fuels for free, unless your car runs on french fry grease.

I hear this way of thinking a lot on this forum and I will always adamantly disagree.

Half of my paycheck goes to my car payment. I'm paying a premium to save the world from petroleum. We all are. The cost of electric cars should go down, but until then, someone has to step up and pay more. We've already done our share. Now it's the businesses turn.

 

[seanpercival]

We are annual pass owners so we go fairly often. Living in LA we would probably need charge station there to ensure we can get back (depending on traffic).

Of course with Chevron still a major sponsor of the Autopia ride they seem to be happy with some parts of the park being not so eco friendly. Actually if you go on that ride now it's a little sad because all you smell is the gas and everything feels grimy and dirty. Very much like those "What if everything ran on gas? commercials from Nissan.

Ironically that ride sits in the corner of Tomorrowland. Nissan should probably step in and take over that sponsorship be more "period correct".

Baby steps. Disney is slowly doing better. The subs used to run little "White" 4 cylinder, diesel engines, driving electric generators. Now there 100% electric. The trams used to be diesel, now their CNG ... as are the jungle cruise boats, the sailing ship Columbia, as well as the main street vehicles. Even the steam trains now run on bio-diesel.

Good point. These things take time and Dland has certainly improved in a few areas. Those diesel trams were the worst!

 

[EricH]

Half of my paycheck goes to my car payment. I'm paying a premium to save the world from petroleum. We all are. The cost of electric cars should go down, but until then, someone has to step up and pay more. We've already done our share. Now it's the businesses turn.

I'm OK with the premium I've paid (or am paying month-by-month). I'm grateful to businesses (yes, Walgreen, Ikea, South Coast Plaza, I'm talking to you) that have stepped up and installed EVSE's, and I patronize them whenever I can. But I don't think CVS or Disneyland "owes" me a charge (and I bet L1 would be perfectly fine for an 8-10 hour day at Disneyland, so it wouldn't necessarily cost them a nickel in 'infrastructure').
I'm much more concerned about regional sponsorship of Quick Charge infrastructure, because it is presently hampered by both the chicken-and-egg problem (i.e. there won't be enough Leafs to make a San Clemente QC station profitable until the QC station convinces more people to buy Leafs), as well as the California on-peak demand charge tariff problem (here in CA, at least). Absent governmental or utility 'subsidy' here, I fear my QC port will die a 'virgin'... :lol:

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Half of my paycheck goes to my car payment. I'm paying a premium to save the world from petroleum.

I hope you're joking.

 

[dhanson865]

..................... snip
My only question having never been to that location is how quick do the garage spots fill up vs open parking lots (I'd assume the shaded parking garage is considered a plus in hot weather) and what percentage of parking is garage vs what percent is flat lot?

Re-read my 1st post. That's not a precisely answerable question. Turns on season ... holiday ... even time of day. But an EV driver arriving early (remember? we're in a minority with limited infrastructure .. so we have to plan) in the morning can get permission (remember? call ahead ... talk to the powers that be) to park "one level higher up" before the 3rd - 4th - 5th - levels begin to fill. That way a proactive EV'er could secure one of the limited spots next to the existing 120v receptacles.

As for the other part of the question, 10,000+ parking spots are contained in the multi-acre, 6 story parking structure (largest in the world, when it was built, a decade ago) ... and there are about 5,000 additional spots outside the structure, in varying locations.

Alternatively, and being people that think out of the box (that IS what we EV'ers do, right?), the City of Anaheim has multiple L2 stations, only 2 miles north of Disney, off Harbor blvd, and W. Broadway (see the plugshare.com map). You could stop by and eat at one of several near-by food joints while picking up a free chunk of charge.
.

holy cow, I totally misunderstood the scale there. I was thinking maybe 1,000 to 2,000 spaces at first and was of by a factor of 10. I know it's a big place I just assumed this was a small subset of the overall parking picture.

As to the calling ahead seems like you could just ask a lot attendant to let you park next to a regular 110 plug and if I were driving a leaf I'd be sure to bring an extension cord for my EVSE if I were going to charge away from home.

thanks for clarifying the scale and the availability of local charge opportunities.

 

[lonndoggie]

From Wikipedia, re: the parking structure at the Disneyland Resort:

...the six-level, 10,250-space Mickey and Friends parking structure was constructed in the northwest corner of the property. At the time of its completion in 2000, it was the largest parking structure in the United States.

So yeah, it's a big ol' parking structure. And there's more lots (lots more lots) besides that one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Herm]

It would be a lot easier, and probably cheaper, for Disney to place an L3 charger OUTSIDE one of the parking lots, perhaps by a guard booth.. if needed you stop, pay, and stay with the car until its done (if you leave the car it gets towed away). This solves a lot of issues in one go and is relatively painless, read a book or surf the internet on your phone while you wait your 10 minutes.

It allows Disney to easily track demand and adjust the number of L3 stations as needed, it expands the network of local L3 stations also. Since Disney wants green creds shade the whole thing with solar panels and paint them green... but first install the charger and then embellish if the budget allows

No L3 port on your car?.. tough luck.

 

[smkettner]

How many 20a 120v outlets can be installed for the price of an L3?

L3 can serve 3 cars per hour or about 50 per day if somehow 100% utilized.

Trouble is when a customer is waiting 20 to 30+ minutes for L3 means that is time away from shopping or dining etc.

It would be great for L3 to be there as needed but I don't think it should displace having a bunch of L1 or lower amp L2 in the big structure and some regular L2 for Downtown Disney shopping area.

 

[smkettner]

I think Disney should put lots of L2 in the surface lot next to the big Mickey & Friends structure. I think it is the Pinoccio lot and is usually filled first before the structure. Although much of this lot is already reserved for handicap and oversize vehicles. All Disney would have to do is redirect EVs as they already do for handicap and the oversize vehicles.

 

[DaveEV]

How many 20a 120v outlets can be installed for the price of an L3?

L3 can serve 3 cars per hour or about 50 per day if somehow 100% utilized.

Trouble is when a customer is waiting 20 to 30+ minutes for L3 means that is time away from shopping or dining etc.

It would be great for L3 to be there as needed but I don't think it should displace having a bunch of L1 or lower amp L2 in the big structure and some regular L2 for Downtown Disney shopping area.

Just turn it into a Valet service. Charge $25 (regular parking already costs $15) to drop your car off and you'll get it back fully charged at the end of the day. Valet guys will shuffle cars around as necessary to get them all plugged in using a combination of L2 and DC quick charge stations based on need and estimated parking time.

Of course, probably easier to just set up a special EV parking area with a couple dozen L2 stations first...

 

[Herm]

We all love 120V sockets, but you know they will have a lot of trouble with them in a commercial setting.. you will be able to spot the Volts by the smoke coming out of the sockets

Valet parking vs one L3 station by the guard booth.. which one is simpler and easier to implement*?.. an even better question, which one would you prefer if it was outside the pklot and accessible to everyone?

* Assuming you can buy a commercial L3 charger.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

We all love 120V sockets, but you know they will have a lot of trouble with them in a commercial setting.. you will be able to spot the Volts by the smoke coming out of the sockets

I was getting by with the L1 charger, but the plug was getting a little warm. Pulling 12 amps continuously out of a duplex receptacle isn't a good long term plan.