Getting dropped off at park

[penguin29]

1. Hello!
   
   My husband and children and I are staying on site, my parents are staying off site and taking care of our children for two of the nights we will be there. They are planning on dropping them off in the morning, but instead of getting dropped off at our resort and then taking the hour long bus ride, we figured the could get dropped off at the park at rope drop and meet up with us. Is this possible and how close to the gate can the drop off happen? Thank you for your help!

 

[penguin29]

On another note, my mom plans to join us at the park for one day, could she drive to our resort, park there and then join us for the bus ride, or is that a big no-no? I mean, I can imagine that is not allowed, but worth asking about.

 

[wilkeliza]

At most parks drop off is close to the front (near taxis) with the exception of the Magic Kingdom. At MK pick up and drop off is across the lake at TTC.

 

[KrazeeK120]

OP...I'm confused. You mention an hour long bus ride. Where are you going? I ask because none of the Disney resorts are further than about 20 minutes by bus from any of the parks.

You'll definitely want your kids there earlier than rope drop. You should be in line ready to enter the park at rope drop, not meeting up with your kids at that time. You'll be behind hundreds of people if you do that.

Non-resort guests are not supposed to park at the resorts in order to go to the parks. However, if you're at a value or moderate resort with ample parking, I doubt anyone is going to even notice. Could they? I suppose, but I think it's unlikely. If you're at a deluxe, though, they're much more strict about parking.

I'm not sure where the drop-off locations are at the parks.

 

[joelkfla]

OP...I'm confused. You mention an hour long bus ride. Where are you going? I ask because none of the Disney resorts are further than about 20 minutes by bus from any of the parks.

Yes, the ride is normally 25 minutes at most, but the recommendation is to be at the bus stop one hour before the desired arrival time to allow for wait time and potential delays.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Yes, the ride is normally 25 minutes at most, but the recommendation is to be at the bus stop one hour before the desired arrival time to allow for wait time and potential delays.

Agree. But the OP said "hour long bus ride," which made me think that this person has the impression the ride will be an hour long.

 

[dburg30]

I had to re-read also, I thought maybe they were going to ride from off site... And even a total of an hour early in the AM would be VERY rare since they have lots of buses early. The bus ride back to the airport is only 30 minutes or so

 

[penguin29]

Hello! OP here! I did in fact assume that getting from point A to point B (resort to park gate) would take an hour (I shouldn't have said "hour long bus ride), but it sounds like that would be more like 45 minutes and maybe not a full hour?

As far as the off site guest (my mother) parking and taking the bus with us, we are staying at Saratoga Springs, so she could possibly park at Disney Springs to avoid parking at a resort? Once we successfully find her a place to park, will she be able to get on the bus without a magic band?

Thank you everyone for all of your help!

 

[joelkfla]

Hello! OP here! I did in fact assume that getting from point A to point B (resort to park gate) would take an hour (I shouldn't have said "hour long bus ride), but it sounds like that would be more like 45 minutes and maybe not a full hour?

As far as the off site guest (my mother) parking and taking the bus with us, we are staying at Saratoga Springs, so she could possibly park at Disney Springs to avoid parking at a resort? Once we successfully find her a place to park, will she be able to get on the bus without a magic band?

Thank you everyone for all of your help!

I'm pretty sure she'll be allowed to park at the resort; especially at SSR, which is more like condos, with parking spread throughout the resort. She'll just need to show photo ID to the guard, and tell them whom she's visiting & the room number.

Disney Springs is not an option. There are no buses from DS in the early a.m., and no buses from DS to the parks at any time.

All Disney-operated transportation is available to everyone. No resort id, MB, or anything else is needed to ride.

 

[dburg30]

Hello! OP here! I did in fact assume that getting from point A to point B (resort to park gate) would take an hour (I shouldn't have said "hour long bus ride), but it sounds like that would be more like 45 minutes and maybe not a full hour?

As far as the off site guest (my mother) parking and taking the bus with us, we are staying at Saratoga Springs, so she could possibly park at Disney Springs to avoid parking at a resort? Once we successfully find her a place to park, will she be able to get on the bus without a magic band?

Thank you everyone for all of your help!

It depends on how your timing is. If you walk up and a bus is there, or one shows up, you could be from resort to park in less than 20 minutes.. If a bus has just left, and you have to wait to full 20 minutes, or rarely up to 30 minutes (VERY rare) it could take 45 min to an hour.. And ask my wife, always better to be early, than hope the bus is one time.

 

[penguin29]

I cannot find where I can click to start a new post! Ugh, so I am asking an off topic question here hoping someone will save the day

Can my 4th FP be for a different park than my first 3 FP? For example, if I wanted to use my 3 FP at AK and then park hop to MK and get a 4th for there? I think the answer is no because I know you cannot mix and match parks for your first 3 FP, but I am curious about the 4th? Thank you!

 

[AngiTN]

I cannot find where I can click to start a new post! Ugh, so I am asking an off topic question here hoping someone will save the day

Can my 4th FP be for a different park than my first 3 FP? For example, if I wanted to use my 3 FP at AK and then park hop to MK and get a 4th for there? I think the answer is no because I know you cannot mix and match parks for your first 3 FP, but I am curious about the 4th? Thank you!

Yes it can be