diff --git a/builder/vmware/builder.go b/builder/vmware/builder.go
index f6388827e..e48103c73 100644
--- a/builder/vmware/builder.go
+++ b/builder/vmware/builder.go
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ type config struct {
 	HTTPPortMax       uint              `mapstructure:"http_port_max"`
 	BootCommand       []string          `mapstructure:"boot_command"`
 	BootWait          time.Duration     ``
+	SkipCompaction    bool              `mapstructure:"skip_compaction"`
 	ShutdownCommand   string            `mapstructure:"shutdown_command"`
 	ShutdownTimeout   time.Duration     ``
 	SSHUser           string            `mapstructure:"ssh_username"`
diff --git a/builder/vmware/step_compact_disk.go b/builder/vmware/step_compact_disk.go
index d399322a7..05bbc62da 100644
--- a/builder/vmware/step_compact_disk.go
+++ b/builder/vmware/step_compact_disk.go
@@ -4,11 +4,14 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/multistep"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/packer/packer"
+	"log"
 )
 
-// This step compacts the virtual disk for the VM.
+// This step compacts the virtual disk for the VM unless the "skip_compaction"
+// boolean is true.
 //
 // Uses:
+//   config *config
 //   driver Driver
 //   full_disk_path string
 //   ui     packer.Ui
@@ -18,10 +21,16 @@ import (
 type stepCompactDisk struct{}
 
 func (stepCompactDisk) Run(state map[string]interface{}) multistep.StepAction {
+	config := state["config"].(*config)
 	driver := state["driver"].(Driver)
 	ui := state["ui"].(packer.Ui)
 	full_disk_path := state["full_disk_path"].(string)
 
+	if config.SkipCompaction == true {
+		log.Println("Skipping disk compaction step...")
+		return multistep.ActionContinue
+	}
+
 	ui.Say("Compacting the disk image")
 	if err := driver.CompactDisk(full_disk_path); err != nil {
 		state["error"] = fmt.Errorf("Error compacting disk: %s", err)
diff --git a/website/source/docs/builders/vmware.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/builders/vmware.html.markdown
index 144338918..461f8f06b 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/builders/vmware.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/builders/vmware.html.markdown
@@ -106,6 +106,11 @@ Optional:
   By default this is "output-BUILDNAME" where "BUILDNAME" is the name
   of the build.
 
+* `skip_compaction` (bool) - As of Packer 0.1.4, VMware-created disks are defragmented
+  and compacted at the end of the build process. If you are doing your own zeroing out
+  of the disks you may find that the compaction step results in slightly larger boxes.
+  Compaction will run unless you set this value to true.
+
 * `shutdown_command` (string) - The command to use to gracefully shut down
   the machine once all the provisioning is done. By default this is an empty
   string, which tells Packer to just forcefully shut down the machine.