Can I park at Disney Resort and take Disney transportation

[mbh106]

We are staying off site and renting a car. If we wanted to visit some of the Disney resorts, would we be able to leave our car there for the day and take the Disney buses to the parks or do they not allow that?

 

[seashoreCM]

Depends on whether the guard has instituted some level of lot closure depending on expected crowding. One might say that Stage 1 closure restricts guests not staying at that resort to 3 hours of free parking. The resorts around Magic Kingdom go to Stage 1 sooner than other resorts. Under Stage 2 closure only guests staying at that resort and guests with restaurant reservations there are allowed to park for free. The guard may let you in to use valet parking for which there is an approx. $12. fee plus tip regardless if you are staying at another Disney's resort or have an annual pass. (The guard does not say the words "stage one" but he may take down your license plate number and/or give you a 3 hour parking pass.)

 

[mousefan1972]

We are staying off site and renting a car. If we wanted to visit some of the Disney resorts, would we be able to leave our car there for the day and take the Disney buses to the parks or do they not allow that?

They do not allow that. That is why each theme park has its own parking lot. Offsite guests are expected to drive to the parks and pay to park in the lot, not drive to a Disney resort, leave their car there all day and use Disney's bus service to get to the parks.

Resort lots are for guests staying at those resorts, not for those trying to avoid the $14 parking fee at the theme parks.

 

[wdwfan1]

The previous poster is right. On site guests get a parking pass to place in their car window.

 

[kristenrice]

They do not allow that. That is why each theme park has its own parking lot. Offsite guests are expected to drive to the parks and pay to park in the lot, not drive to a Disney resort, leave their car there all day and use Disney's bus service to get to the parks.

Resort lots are for guests staying at those resorts, not for those trying to avoid the $14 parking fee at the theme parks.

Agreed. Off-site guests are not allowed to use the amenities at the resorts (with the exception of the restaurants, gift shops, or anywhere else that requires you to spend money) so there shouldn't be a need to park their car there all day. If an off-site guest wants to visit a resort to " just check it out" (meaning not eating there or having a spa treatment, etc), they need to park at a theme park and take the Disney transportation to the resort, not vice-versa.

 

[mbh106]

They do not allow that. That is why each theme park has its own parking lot. Offsite guests are expected to drive to the parks and pay to park in the lot, not drive to a Disney resort, leave their car there all day and use Disney's bus service to get to the parks.

Resort lots are for guests staying at those resorts, not for those trying to avoid the $14 parking fee at the theme parks.

I'm not trying to avoid the $14 parking fee. We have annual passes so parking at the parks is free for us anyway. I was asking about visiting a resort for breakfast and taking the buses from there. Since the Disney buses are not exclusive to guests staying at Disney Resorts, I thought that might be an option. If it's not, then that's perfectly fine...I was just asking.

 

[francie57]

As others have said, you are only supposed to park at a resort for a 3 hour timeframe - not all day. People pay good money to stay at the Disney resorts and the last thing we want to do is have to fight for a parking space that comes with our room cost. That being said, you can valet park at the hotel and leave your car. That is the only way that I think you are able to do it. The cost of valet is $12 so you aren't really gaining anything. If you want to visit a resort for breakfast, just park at the theme park you want to go to that day, if you are going to a park, and then take the bus/monorail to the resort you want to visit. If you aren't going to a park, just park at the Studios and take a walk to the Epcot resorts (or boat) or take the bus from the Studios to the resort you want to visit.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I'm not trying to avoid the $14 parking fee. We have annual passes so parking at the parks is free for us anyway. I was asking about visiting a resort for breakfast and taking the buses from there. Since the Disney buses are not exclusive to guests staying at Disney Resorts, I thought that might be an option. If it's not, then that's perfectly fine...I was just asking.

You are fine to park where you're having breakfast for a few hours but do plan to move your car to the park you're visiting. If you want to use disney transporation I'd recommend parking at the theme park & then using transporation over to the resort. At the end of your day, I'm guessing you will be more happy to have your car at the park when you see how full some of those buses back to resorts can be - but being an AP holder you probably already know that

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm not trying to avoid the $14 parking fee. We have annual passes so parking at the parks is free for us anyway. I was asking about visiting a resort for breakfast and taking the buses from there. Since the Disney buses are not exclusive to guests staying at Disney Resorts, I thought that might be an option. If it's not, then that's perfectly fine...I was just asking.

Buses, boats, monorails are for everyone's use while in WDW. Self-parking at resorts is not. Self-parking is there primarily for the use of those paying to stay at that resort. You are also allowed to park at a resort if you are shopping there, or eating there. Unless you are spending the entire day shopping and eating, then no, you can not park there all day.
So....here's what to do. You have an AP. Park, free of charge, at the TTC and eat along the monorail, then head to MK.
Park at DHS and then walk over to the Epcot resorts to eat. Then, head to either Epcot or DHS for the day.
Want to eat at AKL? That one is tougher. Park at AKL and then move the car to whichever park you want to go to.

But do not park all day at a resort that you are not staying at. Those that are staying at these resorts are paying a premium for the ability to walk/boat to a nearby park. It is not fair of someone to stay elsewhere and then take up a parking spot at a resort in order to access a park.

Of course, I would imagine that it's okay to park at Pop for the day and then take their buses to the parks, but that's not what anyone wants to do, is it??

 

[aubriee]

Every time this question gets asked on here, you read the posts that parking at resorts has a three hour limit and if you go over that you may get towed. Then people come in and post that no way would WDW ever tow someone's car. Well, we were at WDW Feb 4th-11th and for the first time we did see a car getting towed at the Contemporary parking lot. Now maybe it was being towed for some other reason, but all we saw around the area was the tow truck driver and a couple of uniformed CMs, We had our three y/o GS with us and stood there for quite awhile letting him watch the tow truck driver work. (He was fascinated with the way they pull the car up.lol)

 

[Beemitchcowski]

Of course, I would imagine that it's okay to park at Pop for the day and then take their buses to the parks, but that's not what anyone wants to do, is it??

You know what....I actually wouldn't mind trying this...only because if we were to stay on property...then POP would be in our budget...instead we opted for Bonnet Creek for more room and less "magic"...I know my son would LOVE to look around POP and the All Stars Movies (Toy Story area)...so it would be a way of us seeing how the transportation works and whether my son could handle the buses.

 

[mbh106]

When we have gone in the past we have never had a car and we have only stayed at POP Century. The parking lot there always seemed very large with lots of empty spots. I didn't realize that parking there would be taking spots away from resort guests. My intention isn't to cheat Disney or take away from what anyone else is rightly entitled to. I was just asking if it was allowed. Now I know that it's not and I understand why. My kids are very disappointed that we aren't staying at Pop and want to spend some time there at the food court, store and arcade. Since the idea of driving around Disney seems very intimidating to me, I just was wondering if leaving our car was allowed. I hadn't thought about it, but I do agree though that at the end of the day I would rather have my car with me at the park than wait in those long lines to get back to Pop century to get our car.

 

[disney fan4]

Sorry if I am asking a dumb question but this is our first trip. We are driving to WDW and will be staying at the all star movies resort. We plan on getting there before check-in so that we can go ahead and enter the parks. Can we park at the resort even though we can't check in yet? Or do we have to pay to park in a disney park lot? And also any help you can give on the fastest ways to get from our resort to each park would be appreciated. Of course the kids have to ride the monorail!

 

[sam_gordon]

Sorry if I am asking a dumb question but this is our first trip. We are driving to WDW and will be staying at the all star movies resort. We plan on getting there before check-in so that we can go ahead and enter the parks. Can we park at the resort even though we can't check in yet? Or do we have to pay to park in a disney park lot? And also any help you can give on the fastest ways to get from our resort to each park would be appreciated. Of course the kids have to ride the monorail!

If you are staying at the resort, no problem parking on the day you check in even if your room is not ready.

The FASTEST way to get from a resort to park is by car. The only exception would be MK and that's if a bus is pulling up to the resort when you're ready to leave.

If the kids want to ride the monorail, check in at All Star and they'll give you a sign for the car (so you don't have to pay for parking). Drive to TTC, then monorail to MK.

 

[goofy4tink]

When we have gone in the past we have never had a car and we have only stayed at POP Century. The parking lot there always seemed very large with lots of empty spots. I didn't realize that parking there would be taking spots away from resort guests. My intention isn't to cheat Disney or take away from what anyone else is rightly entitled to. I was just asking if it was allowed. Now I know that it's not and I understand why. My kids are very disappointed that we aren't staying at Pop and want to spend some time there at the food court, store and arcade. Since the idea of driving around Disney seems very intimidating to me, I just was wondering if leaving our car was allowed. I hadn't thought about it, but I do agree though that at the end of the day I would rather have my car with me at the park than wait in those long lines to get back to Pop century to get our car.

THanks for asking, and thanks for understanding!!!!

Sorry if I am asking a dumb question but this is our first trip. We are driving to WDW and will be staying at the all star movies resort. We plan on getting there before check-in so that we can go ahead and enter the parks. Can we park at the resort even though we can't check in yet? Or do we have to pay to park in a disney park lot? And also any help you can give on the fastest ways to get from our resort to each park would be appreciated. Of course the kids have to ride the monorail!

You can park at the resort you are staying in, from the moment you arrive. In many cases, the security person will give you a parking permit for your dashboard as soon as you drive in. You do have to stop at the security shack first, you can't just drive in.
You can checkin at any time...even at 7am!!!! Your room may not be ready yet, but you can still check in. Then head off to the parks. If you decide to drive to the parks, they will see that parking permit on your dashboard, and just wave you though..no fee for parking for resort guests.

The fastest way to get to parks??? Well....for MK it's going to be the resort bus. If you drive, you have to find a parking spot, then get from the parking spot to the tram, ride the tram to the main TTC main area. Then, it's going to be either the ferry or monorail over to MK. IF you take the bus from your resort, it will drop you off much closer to the entrance to MK...just a 3 min walk to bag check.
For the other parks, it's usually faster to drive your own car.

 

[disney fan4]

sam gordon and goofy4tink, thanks for the help. Transportation seems so complicated and I don't want to spend half our vacation in transit from our resort to the parks. Thanks

 

[goofy4tink]

sam gordon and goofy4tink, thanks for the help. Transportation seems so complicated and I don't want to spend half our vacation in transit from our resort to the parks. Thanks

No problem...always glad to help.
I think you'll be surprised when you get there. The transportation system seems confusing until you are actually there and see it in person. Everything is very well marked. If you can't figure something out, just ask a bus driver....they can always give you the best advice about transportation.
Be sure to come back and let us know how it worked out for you. It's always good to get opinions!!!!