Entering Epcot through International Gateway

[adkgal]

I should begin by saying that I live 45 minutes from DW and therefore wouldn't be staying at a DW resort. I LOVE World Showcase at Epcot and could easily spend all day there. But I have moderate to severe arthritis in my right ankle, so walking all the way back there through Future World and then all the way through again is really hard on my ankle. I don't want to use a wheelchair as I can walk OK for the first part of the day, but by the afternoon of a typical day at any of the parks, I am really very lame and hurting - even with a cane (I often go to the park alone, so a wheelchair wouldn't be of much help anyway). I've read in the Transportation Forum that you're not supposed to park at Boardwalk. Do you suppose, though, that if I paid for valet parking, which I understand has no time limit, I could then walk over to World Showcase from there? Or is there a better option for me to get to World Showcase? I'm not looking to park for free, I don't mind paying, I just want a better way to enjoy Epcot and be able to go to Disney without quite so much pain. Thanks for any information or advice you can offer.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I would think that you should be able to us the valet service. I don't really see why Disney would care because they will be making money off of you, but I don't make the rules and I could be very wrong. If no one here knows for sure, could you just pull up to the valet and ask them? Be sure to get the name of the person if they tell you yes that way if there is problem you can tell them who told you it was ok. I do hope that you are able to do this and not have to go all the way through the park just to get to the section that you enjoy.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Have you given any thought to purchasing a small ECV. If your weight is under 250 pounds you can look at some of the easily transportable ECVs such as the Pride Go-Go series. These can be purchased new for under $1,000 and are often available as used at even lower prices. And some local companies, such as Florida Mobility, sometimes advertise them as a loss-leader to get you into the store.

 

[hematite153]

Have you actually mapped the walking distances? I would think that parking in the disabled parking section of the EPCOT resort and walking to the boat to WS would be significantly LESS walking than the trek from the BW parking lot via the international gateway.