Is parking a hastle?

[bizwiz24]

Hello,

I am wondering if parking at the theme parks is as tedious as everyone makes it out to be. If one goes early in the morning, is it as packed?

I am staying at the Hyatt Grand Cypress July 23 - 30, and people have mentioned that driving to the parks is a hassle. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

 

[Kate-n-sam]

Well, we rent a car even when we stay on-site, and drive to the parks ourselves. We find it to be much more convienent than waiting around for a bus. JMHO!
I don't think parking is a hassle, really. The MK is a little bit, because you have to park at the TTC and then catch the monorail or ferry to the MK. AK has a huge lot, and if you get parked at the end of a row it can be quite a walk. All of the parks have a tram to bring you from the lot to the front of the park though, we just prefer to walk. If you visit EPCOT in the evening, we can almost always park up front, because the attendants are gone and you can self park. We almost always visit during slow times though, so I'm not sure if this would hold true in the summer months.
Good Luck!

 

[disneyfan551]

Only if you've got a stroller to lug on...

You're at Disney World, who cares about the little stuff??????

 

[bizwiz24]

I do agree that parking is a minor issue in comparison to WDW's magic and entertainment. However, when I asked people for advice on wheather to book Hyatt Grand Cypress or Caribbean Beach Resort, they all made an argument for CBR basd on parking convenience and having a driving-stress free environment.

I merely wanted to know other's opinions.

Kate-n-sam, thank you for your advice!

 

[kevind65]

The only park that is somewhat of a hassle is the MK....it's nice to just get dropped off and picked up right at the front gate and not have to wait for the monorail or ferry to and from the TTC...especially after a long, hot day at the parks...the rest of the parks are no problem; in fact, we too prefer to drive to some of the parks(especially the water parks) instead of ride the bus.

 

[safetymom]

Staying onsite is an advantage when you want to use Disney transportation. We stay onsite and have a car and wouldn't do it any other way. There are other onsite advantages also.

 

[mitros]

Also, the time of year you go can make a difference in the amount of cars and traffic at the park entrances that you have to put up with.

 

[safetymom]

We have stayed at WDW many times during busy seasons and never had a problem with parking at the parks. I like being able to walk to my own car and not worry about the crowds for busses.

 

[mitros]

We don't go very often during the busier times, but it's amazing to see the "sea of cars" from the monorail when it goes over the Epcot lot. The TTC parking lot looks like the cars go into the next zip code. Going as early as possible will help, which is a good idea anytime you go to WDW

 

[Jackie824]

We always drive to the parks and always stay offsite. I dont find it a hassle at all, guess we are just use to it.
We like to come and go as we please, and not wait around for buses and such. We do still take a stroller with us, and really not a problem at all. We have a big basket under the stroller. So we get out of the car,open the stroller,throw all our"junk" in there, and start walking. If we get to MK early enough, we dont take the tram at all, just walk right up to the ferry loading area. Sometimes it does get a little stressful when it comes to closing up the stroller on the tram, but thats the worst of it. With my daughter who is 4, her behavior is all over the place at times . So we never know when we may need to leave to avoid a complete meltdown . Sometimes just a quick dip in the pool, or some quiettime in the hotel room is just what we all need. Then we pick back up and head back the park. So for us, having our car and driving to the parks is a good thing, as it allows us to come and go and not wait around for buses.

 

[goofyernmost]

Funny thing....I have always had a car with me and I have always used the parking lots and it never occured to me that it was a hastle. Considering the walking that you are going to be doing for the day, the walk to the trams is pretty short. I always think of the tram ride as part of the experience.

The freedom of coming and going exactly when I please is the thing that is the most important to me. It takes forever to get to MK no matter what form of transportation you use anyway. The only downside, if it can be called that, is walking back to your car at the end of the day but I don't suspect that it is any worse than standing waiting for a bus and then having to stand on the bus as well. Once you get used to the traffic patterns it really isn't difficult to get on and off site either.

And when you see the parking lots that appear large enough to have their own time zones, that is pretty impressive. If I am going to park hop, I usually try to combine MK and Epcot, then I can leave my car in one lot and take the monorail to the other.

Sorry if this message is a little choppy but it is the middle of the night and I can't sleep. I think I have a touch of the flu. On the plus side that means I will be over it by the time I go to WDW. It won't be long now.

 

[shortbun]

We were there during Christmas/NY week. We went 1/2 hour
b4 official park opening and always parked very close.
At T&T for MK, yeah you take the monorail to the MK but
for some, it's their only monorail ride so enjoyable!
We've done both, DH says it's a toss up. BTW, I'd choose
Grand Cypress over CBR anytime! I've been to both. There is
no comparison - especially in the summer when you are
comparing pools!
Have a great time.

 

[Schmeck]

The only time we drove to one of the parks was to MK one afternoon. I forgot the the parking lot was on the other side of the lake, LOL! And it was crowded, we had driven all the way from MA, so the kids were a bit sick of being in the van to begin with, and we vowed never to do it again, LOL!

But if you're smart (unlike us) and go early, etc, I think it will be fine. I'd just park at Epcot, and use the monorail between MK, the TTC, and Epcot.

 

[ncbyrne]

We have stayed onsite and off. I have also stayed at CBR. I much prefer to drive my own car to the parks, no matter where we stay. In the mornings, we always arrive at the gate before opening. Some days we were the first car in the line and parked in the front row. One time while we were staying at CBR, we went back to the MK for the evening fireworks and had to park a LOOOONG way away and take the tram ride. When I first saw how far away we had to park, I thought we might have been better off taking the bus. However.....when it came time to leave and we saw the herds of people waiting for busses, we were glad we had our car.