bus to parks for resort guests... how strict is this? Also, parking fee question.

[hedgewick]

We're going to be staying off site (Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort) and renting a car. In order to save on parking we were thinking of driving over to Downtown Disney and taking the shuttle bus to the parks or somewhere we can catch a bus to the parks each day. Is this possible? I read that disney transportation is only avail to resort guests. We have park hopper passes. If we decide to break down and drive to the park in the morning, go back to the room and rest mid day and go to another park (or the same one) at night will we have to pay the parking fee twice? Does it matter if you switch lots mid-day or does your parking fee cover you for the whole day regardless of where you are?

Thanks!

 

[Silverscreen]

I stayed there last November (08), and they offered their own shuttle to all the parks as well as DTD. Epcot and MK shared and so did AK and DHS. Rarely did we ever have to stand on one. They have a weekly schedule they put out. Peak times the shuttles were every 20-30min I believe. It was very smoothly run, and worked very well for us. Hopefully they haven't discontinued it. Good Luck, and happy vacationing!!

 

[hedgewick]

I stayed there last November (08), and they offered their own shuttle to all the parks as well as DTD. Epcot and MK shared and so did AK and DHS. Rarely did we ever have to stand on one. They have a weekly schedule they put out. Peak times the shuttles were every 20-30min I believe. It was very smoothly run, and worked very well for us. Hopefully they haven't discontinued it. Good Luck, and happy vacationing!!

Thanks! I'm glad to hear that it worked out well. I've heard mixed things about their shuttle service so I didn't want to count on it. We still may bring the car but that is another good option.

 

[chartle]

We're going to be staying off site (Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort) and renting a car. In order to save on parking we were thinking of driving over to Downtown Disney and taking the shuttle bus to the parks or somewhere we can catch a bus to the parks each day. Is this possible? I read that disney transportation is only avail to resort guests. We have park hopper passes. If we decide to break down and drive to the park in the morning, go back to the room and rest mid day and go to another park (or the same one) at night will we have to pay the parking fee twice? Does it matter if you switch lots mid-day or does your parking fee cover you for the whole day regardless of where you are?

Thanks!

First if you pay for parking at one park you can show your receipt and not have to pay to park again.

As for your first question, this is frowned upon here, parking at DTD is for DTD. So besides that it going to waste a lot of time.

The busses don't run from DTD to the parks and they don't run much in the morning.

 

[helenk]

It really would be a pain parking in DTD to get to the parks because the buses from DTD do not go to the parks they only go to the resorts. So you would take the bus to a resort, get off the bus then wait for a bus to the park that you want to visit that day.
I would supect that this is done this way to discourage people from parking for free to get to the parks.
When you park in the lots at the parks you get a ticket that you put on your windshield and it is good all day and it is good at all the parks. You do not have to pay a fee to re-enter the lots.

 

[Onceler]

There are no busses between Downtown Disney and any of the theme parks. Disney stopped running buses because too many people were parking at Downtown Disney for free and then taking the busses to the parks. So when people showed up who actually wanted to go to Downtown Disney, they could not find any parking.

It is possible to get from Downtown Disney to the parks via a resort. But it often is not worth the trouble just to save some money.

When you pay for parking at one of the parks, the parking pass is good for the entire day. You can also go from park to park and use the same pass.

 

[Brian Noble]

Personally I'd just drive. $12 a day is a small price to pay to save a good chunk of time and hassle. If you really need to save, take Bonnet Creek's complimentary shuttle, but be mindful of the times.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I have noticed the Downtown Disney Pleasure Island lots having a lot of cars in the morning and there is not a lot going on there then. When we go to Disney Quest at night, it is very hard to find a spot to park. Often times I drive around waiting for someone to leave so I can park.
I wish Disney had a way of validating the parking there so people visiting DD could find a place to park. Please be considerate of those patronizing DD and do not take a spot if you are not going there.

 

[agnes!]

We're going to be staying off site (Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort) and renting a car. In order to save on parking we were thinking of driving over to Downtown Disney and taking the shuttle bus to the parks or somewhere we can catch a bus to the parks each day. Is this possible? I read that disney transportation is only avail to resort guests. We have park hopper passes. If we decide to break down and drive to the park in the morning, go back to the room and rest mid day and go to another park (or the same one) at night will we have to pay the parking fee twice? Does it matter if you switch lots mid-day or does your parking fee cover you for the whole day regardless of where you are?

Thanks!

If you choose to do this, you will end up wasting a colossal amount of time, precious vacation time that you have paid $$$ for.

The trek will entail the following...
You and your happy family (think how happy they'll be at the end of the day ) will have to get
from the Wyndham to the DTD parking lot
from the DTD parking lot to a resort
and finally
from a resort to a park.
Each leg will take over 20 minutes (wait-time + travel-time),
so every time you go to WDW it will take probably over 1.5 HOURs to get from your resort to the park.
So every day you will spend in the neighborhood of 3 HOURS getting from the Wyndham to WDW and then back again.

I'd rather pay the (outrageous, I know) parking fee.
agnes!

 

[justplaingoofy]

As others have said there are no busses from downtown disney to a theme park. Plus, parking can be tough to get a downtown disney for those folks that are there to shop and tying up a parking space all day while you are not there is probably not a good idea

Try the shuttle service and if you don't like it than I would pay to park and keep the receipt incase you go back later in the day so you don't have to pay to park again.

 

[goofy4tink]

Disney stopped the buses from DTD to the various parks simply because people were doing exactly what you want to do!!! They would park there, free, and avoid the fees at the parks. So, they closed that loophole.
If you do park there, you will spend a ton of time waiting for the buses to come (the resort buses to and from DTD are notoriously slow!!!). Then you have to get to a resort and then transfer to the appropriate park bus.
Much better to just spend the $12 and park at the park.

 

[Brian Noble]

I wish Disney had a way of validating the parking there so people visiting DD could find a place to park. Please be considerate of those patronizing DD and do not take a spot if you are not going there.

DTD Anaheim does exactly this---you get three hours free, and can validate several more with a purchase/meal in DTD. It seems to me that this is a no-brainer for DTD Orlando, but Disney doesn't seem to think so.

 

[Silverscreen]

Thanks! I'm glad to hear that it worked out well. I've heard mixed things about their shuttle service so I didn't want to count on it. We still may bring the car but that is another good option.

Yes, we had also heard many mixed things about the shuttle service from BC, and we also had a car to use if we wanted. We never used the car once. The BC stops at the parks are a ways out, (not where the Disney resort buses go) but they are still closer than where cars park. We found it to be very nice, and we glad we didn't have to drive.

Whatever you decide, good luck, and have fun-you're on VACATION

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I wish Disney had a way of validating the parking there so people visiting DD could find a place to park. Please be considerate of those patronizing DD and do not take a spot if you are not going there.

Instead of doing that I always thought that they should charge offsite guests to park there like they do at the 4 theme parks and make it free to park for those staying onsite, annual pass holders and etc so it would be the same rules.

 

[vellamint]

I have noticed the Downtown Disney Pleasure Island lots having a lot of cars in the morning and there is not a lot going on there then. When we go to Disney Quest at night, it is very hard to find a spot to park. Often times I drive around waiting for someone to leave so I can park.
I wish Disney had a way of validating the parking there so people visiting DD could find a place to park. Please be considerate of those patronizing DD and do not take a spot if you are not going there.

Driving around and around.......no spots. I hear you...