Free parking with AP question

[bladiator]

How does this work? Do you get a pass that you show as you drive up to the parking kiosk? Or do you get something that you can put in your front window like when you stay onsite?

I plan to go with some family in separate cars eventually, and my wife and I will both have APs, and was wondering if we'd have to ride separately all the time to the parks to get the free parking for both vehicles.

 

[memo10]

They usually just scan our magic bands (or notice that my husband's band has an AP slider on it). We've entered the parks at least 50 times in the last 18 months and I don't think they've looked at our card ever. We used to have a separate card for our discounts but they stopped doing that sometime between 2015 and 2016.

There needs to be an AP in the car to get the free parking and there's always the chance they will ask for your ID.

 

[HopperFan]

Be ready for different things.

We have always needed to show AP and ID. Some take and turn over to back, some look with it in our hand.

And yes, you will need one in each car as they are to ask for your ID.

 

[lpizzuro123]

We have had our AP since last May and they have never scanned our bands for parking. When we got our AP we got an AP card that is for parking and discounts. We were just down a few weeks ago and they would not use our bands for the AP discount. My DH tried that once, I forgot where, and they said they needed to see the card.

 

[yulilin3]

I have my yellow AP card and just show thatt and they wave me in, the only place where they almost always have checked ID is at Epcot.
If you don't have the card they scan your band

 

[Narawen]

Every time we've gone we just flash the yellow card and they wave us through. Though they could examine it more closely and check your ID.

 

[disneyfan888]

This is not fully enforced and really depends on the CM so it might be wise to just be prepared. We have had CM's that just by looking at our yellow card, they let us right though. Some check ID's, and some have gone as far as scanning the card/band to make sure it's current. We get something different every time. Since the norm used to be to just show the card, that is what we used to do until a CM made us take out ID's as if we were crazy no to and was a bit rude about it. I told him I had no issues showing an ID, but that all CM's should ask for it because their is no consistency to the rule. We just keep the ID's out and ready now just in case.

You would have to ride in two separate cars in order for the other vehicle not to pay the fee.

 

[china mom]

last trip, he saw my MB which had AP sliders on it and just asked me "AP Holder?" and waved me through when I said yes.

Trip prior, scanned my bad

Prior to that, waved me through without question or comment when I presented my band (no sliders)

It is random. Most likely, you can just give one of your bands to the other car in your group but what if you were the one time they asked for the yellow card and photo ID?

 

[Satchmo128]

I know when we have been with a CM friend and we are in a different car (we don't have APs), we follow directly behind her in our car and then she just lets them know that we are with them and we get waved through. That might work, too.

 

[disneyfan888]

I know when we have been with a CM friend and we are in a different car (we don't have APs), we follow directly behind her in our car and then she just lets them know that we are with them and we get waved through. That might work, too.

We have done this before, but it depends on the CM. On another occasion we were told they had to pay because it was another vehicle. When we told them we were all AP holders, they let us in because anyone of us could have been in the other car and show our credentials. It might be easier to just have one of the AP holders ride in the other car just in case.

 

[MattsPrincess]

I think it's been pretty well covered. No parking pass is given. Expect any number of different ways for it to be handled.

We've had our bands scanned a lot. We've been asked for ID after that a few times, but not often. I've never shown the yellow card. Most recently our experience has been that as I start to stick my arm out to be scanned they wave us through. It's all over the place.

 

[bladiator]

Thank you everybody for the responses! (And sorry I just got back here). That's what I needed to know.