3 Hour Parking at Resorts

[ParkFreak]

I have read in several trip reports that many of the Deluxe resorts (specifically MK resorts) give you a 3 hour parking pass if you tell the person at the gate that you are coming to the resort specifically to dine.

How do they enforce this? What happens if you stay for more than 3 hours? If you pay $6 for valet parking, does that mean you still have only 3 hours to spend at the resort?

My main reason for clearing this up is that we are staying at the VWL and have heard what a pain transportation is after an e-ride night. My plan was to park at the Poly, have a cocktail with one of my favorite bartenders, go to e-night and then not have to worry about transportation back to the lodge that late at night. I'll even pay the $6 valet charge that I am so upset about!

Thanks!

 

[Lesley]

You could park at the TTC and basically do the same thing. I'm not really sure about the 3 hour parking thing...though the last time we parked at the Contemporary (for dinner) there was no pass given or anything. The guard just waved us through.

 

[janiejo]

ParkFreak, I do not know how they regulate how long you have been there. Last time we went into the Poly was for breakfast and they gave us the 3 hour parking pass but it did not have a time stamped on it. Maybe they just expect the customer to honor the request of a 3 hour limit. I would think that if you pay to valet your car, there is no time limit. Therefore, when going into the gate, I would state my purpose as "coming in for drinks" but valet parking. They may not even give you the 3 hour parking pass for the window. Good Luck!

 

[Baloo76]

I am pretty sure that at night they pretty much just wave anyone through. But if you do decide to park at the Poly, or any Monorail resort, PLEASE use valet since they are in a separate section from the regular parking.
I say this because last year we stayed at the Poly...we never had any problems parking after our day at the parks, EXCEPT on E-nites. On those nights, there were SO MANY CARS in the lot that we had to park at spots almost near the guard tower. So although it may seem convenient for anyone attending the E-nite to park at a resort for the night, it really hurts those who are staying at the resort.

Another suggestion would be to just park at the TTC but ride the resort monorail into the park. That way you avoid all the crowds getting on the express monorail. And you can still stop off at the Polynesian for a cocktail.