? about self driving from DW resorts to the DW parks...

[seetheworld]

We have always used the Disney buses to get from our resorts to the parks. We are thinking of renting a car this time. Are the parking lots really far from the park entrances? Is it a pain to get to the gate? Also, what does parking cost each day? If you change parks, do you get charged again? Thanks for any info.

 

[Yzerbear19]

If you are staying at a Disney resort you won't have to pay for parking. We didn't have any problems with parking at any of the parks, though I'm sure there are some that will disagree. At MK you are a ways from the park because you park at the transportation center then have to take the monorail or ferry to MK. Its actually fun to ride the monorail though. They have trams that will take you from the parking lot up to the park so even if you have to park a ways away, its not like you have to walk all that way unless you really feel like it.

 

[WillCAD]

I always have a car at WDW and drive myself to the parks every day.

MKs lot is on the other side of the Seven Seas Lagoon from the park gate, so after you park you will have to take a monorail or ferryboat from the TTC to the gate. But this is fun - I always consider this my first attraction of the day.

At the other parks, the parking lot is right against the gates. Of course, at any of the parks, if you wind up far away from the gate (or at MK, far away from the TTC), you might have to take a parking lot tram instead of walking.

Parking is, of course, free at the theme parks to all on-site Guests. You will get a parking pass for your windshield when you check in; just put it in the car and you'll be waved through the toll plazas at the parks.

 

[Accentuate+]

This is definitely a matter of personal opinion but I MUCH prefer driving myself.

We took the busses the first two days of our last trip (first time onsite) and then never got on them again.

It depends on where the bus is for your particular resort but it was a closer walk for us to the parking trams than to the bus. The line for the trams wasn't as long and moved more quickly than the one for the bus. Once I got to my car I was able to 'board' immediately, I was guaranteed a seat and no one was standing over me or squished up against me and I didn't feel like a heel for not giving up my seat to someone else. No one was bumping me with bags, backpacks or strollers, no babies were crying and I could listen to the music I wanted to. If I wanted to hit the convenience store or mcdonalds drive thru on the way back, I could. Back at the resort, the parking lot was much closer to my room than the bus stop. Driving ourselves was definitely a win, win, win for us and we usually got 'home' faster when we drove than we did when we used the bus.

Disney property has excellent signage and maps are available. We never had any trouble finding our way around. Parking is free if you are a resort guest.

We drive to WDW so we have the car anyway. Even if I had to rent one I'd still want a car, though. I'm not a good bus person. Others love it, though. I can see the value of the buses for MK since you can't park there but the trip from TTC to MK is our time to ride the monorail, which we enjoy.

One other bonus of having a car...if you plan on visiting any other resorts for a meal, shopping or sightseeing, you have to take a bus from your resort to central location (TTC, DowntownDisney) and then catch a bus to your destination resort. Time consuming and tricky to plan if you have to be somewhere for an ADR.

 

[seetheworld]

Thank you everyone for your post on this. You convinced me and my DH! Thank you for all of your input!