Money saving idea, confirmation please

[alldiz]

I don't think the buses even go to DTD early.
Good luck
Kerri

 

[pxidst119]

I think the rental car and the parking fee are very worth it. I wouldn't rent a car just to play the bus game. It would be a time consuming hassle. If you are already renting the car, take advantage of the easy transportation that you have and park in the lots.

 

[Lewisc]

I don't recall seeing a sign at DTD limiting the number of hours you can park nor do I recall seeing a sign suggesting guests might find their cars towed if they park for too long. Disney could certainly institute such a policy if too many guests adopt the strategy suggested by the publications mentioned in this thread.

The suggestion for guests staying offsite is always to rent a car and not rely on the free shuttles supplied by your hotel. Parking a car at DTD to avoid the parking fee is crazy. Far too much wasted time. I suspect the suggestion is made by people who never tried it.

 

[dudspizza]

I don't recall seeing a sign at DTD limiting the number of hours you can park nor do I recall seeing a sign suggesting guests might find their cars towed if they park for too long. Disney could certainly institute such a policy if too many guests adopt the strategy suggested by the publications mentioned in this thread.

The suggestion for guests staying offsite is always to rent a car and not rely on the free shuttles supplied by your hotel. Parking a car at DTD to avoid the parking fee is crazy. Far too much wasted time. I suspect the suggestion is made by people who never tried it.

I will be there in 38 days and my curiosity is up! I will look for signs and post any pictures if I find any.....

 

[goofy4tink]

I will be there in 38 days and my curiosity is up! I will look for signs and post any pictures if I find any.....

What you need to do is to take the buses to the parks...making those needed transfers. Then, post your times. You know....going to MK, so take the bus to the CR and then walk. Or to Epcot..bus to BC or BW and walk. Same with DHS. AK??? Bus to AKL and transfer to AK bus. Oh, and you have to do it before park opening.

That is your mission, should you choose to accept it. Yeah, that's gonna happen....

 

[Lewisc]

Dudspizza--Diane didn't give your complete mission. Two members of your group should drive to DTD. As soon as they arrive at DTD they should use their cell phone to call the third person.

Third person should take Disney transportation from your resort to a theme park.

One person should follow Diane's instructions.

The third should walk over to SSR and take a Disney bus directly to a theme park.

A serious suggestion. Annual passholders get free parking in theme parks. Guests who plan to take two trips in a year, or one longer trip, might consider purchasing an AP for at least one member of their group.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I want to see this on youtube.

What you need to do is to take the buses to the parks...making those needed transfers. Then, post your times. You know....going to MK, so take the bus to the CR and then walk. Or to Epcot..bus to BC or BW and walk. Same with DHS. AK??? Bus to AKL and transfer to AK bus. Oh, and you have to do it before park opening.

That is your mission, should you choose to accept it. Yeah, that's gonna happen....

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

We have Annual passes to DL. My 16 yr old ALWAYS gets asked to join neighbors who are visiting DL for the day because our passes include free parking. It's a $15 incentive to the driver to invite my kid along!

A serious suggestion. Annual passholders get free parking in theme parks. Guests who plan to take two trips in a year, or one longer trip, might consider purchasing an AP for at least one member of their group.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

What you need to do is to take the buses to the parks...making those needed transfers. Then, post your times. You know....going to MK, so take the bus to the CR and then walk. Or to Epcot..bus to BC or BW and walk. Same with DHS. AK??? Bus to AKL and transfer to AK bus. Oh, and you have to do it before park opening.

That is your mission, should you choose to accept it. Yeah, that's gonna happen....

This sounds like a TOP GEAR episode!

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I like the mission idea! I wouldn't want to take away from my time there to do it, but it would be funny for someone to try and post it on youtube!! Maybe a local will volunteer to try it for us.

Parking at DTD is for people shopping there. There is a reason that Disney doesn't even offer bus transport from DTD to resorts until later in the mornings... they know there are a few people TOO CHEAP to pay for parking... anyone who is spending that much money to go to Disney can also budget money for parking........ I have stayed offsite many times, I am doing so in 40 days, and I will be paying for parking because 2 hours each way is not worth it when I am paying top dollar for park time.

I agree that parking at DTD is for people who are shopping there, and it's very frustrating already to go sometimes because the lots are full and it can take a while to find a parking spot.

I think the rental car and the parking fee are very worth it. I wouldn't rent a car just to play the bus game. It would be a time consuming hassle. If you are already renting the car, take advantage of the easy transportation that you have and park in the lots.

I wouldn't do that either. It does not make sense to rent a car, to drive to DTD only to take another 1 1/2 hour to get to the park. If you are going to do this, skip the car rental and ride the bus provided by your hotel. You will be wasting money on a car rental AND wasting time on a bus!

We even stayed off site at a hotel right there at DTD once. We could have walked five minutes to DTD and got on a bus to the parks, but it's a HUGE hassle! We paid to park and it was a breeze.

To me, my time is money when we are at Disney World. It's very well worth 15.00 to pay to park if you are staying off site. Not to mention,at the end of an exhausting day, the last thing I would want to do is a bunch of bus hopping to get back to DTD, and then back to an off site resort. That makes me tired just thinking about it.

Another thing too is, we drive to the parks in the afternoon ourselves, and we stay on site. It's so much faster to get back to the resort at park closing than the Disney bus system is. We love doing this.

This would be a no brainer for me. Rent a car, and pay to park.

 

[mzozzietj]

i'm guessing the OPs issue w/the off-site hotel to park shuttles is that they run once or twice a day... and probably make their last pick up in the evening long before the park closes... what i might suggest is taking the hotel shuttle in the morning, and then looking at a map to determine which resort is closest to your off-site, take a disney bus to that resort and then take a cab from that resort to your off-site... depending on where you are staying, it may be less expensive than renting a car and paying to park...

This is what I was thinking as well. Last year we stayed offsite our first 2 nights as no rooms were available at our resort. The scheduled shuttles made two runs in the morning and two in the evening. The evening runs were way before the parks closed.

I think your suggestion of taking the morning shuttle and taking WDW transportation to the closest location to her hotel is a wonderful idea. The taxi from there to the hotel would most likely be much cheaper than the cost of a rental car and parking and it would also allow the OP to enjoy the longer park hours.

For example, we stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Marriott Village and that was super close to DTD or SSR so a cab would have been cheap from there at the end of the night. Some of those DTD area resorts are even walking distance.

 

[goofy4tink]

Dudspizza--Diane didn't give your complete mission. Two members of your group should drive to DTD. As soon as they arrive at DTD they should use their cell phone to call the third person.

Third person should take Disney transportation from your resort to a theme park.

One person should follow Diane's instructions.

The third should walk over to SSR and take a Disney bus directly to a theme park.

A serious suggestion. Annual passholders get free parking in theme parks. Guests who plan to take two trips in a year, or one longer trip, might consider purchasing an AP for at least one member of their group.

Okay...I'lll accept those changes. So, where is Mr Duds???? Oh, I know...he's off explaining to the family why he isn't going to the parks with them...but hey, he'll meet up with them within a few hours!!!

 

[toocherie]

Or you can just walk over to SSR (about 15+ mins) and take their park buses.

As an owner at SSR, I really hate it when people make this suggestion--our busses are full enough without having to deal with the DTD parkers who are trying to get out of paying a park fee. Each of the DVC resorts pays towards the bus transportation for its resort so when you do it you are stealing from ME.

Not to start controversy, but I am giving Disney quite a bit of money, so I wouldn't consider it unethical... I am not parking at Disney and hopping the fence to get in.

2. Don't even think about paying for parking
When you're shelling out $82 a day for admission, tacking on another $14 for parking can feel like adding insult to injury.

it's exactly the same thing! a mall's intended purpose is for shopping not exercise (shouldn't they pay to use a Gym or YMCA?) just like DTD is meant for shopping not parking for the parks.

Actually, courts in the US have decreed that a mall is a "public" location and as such the mall could probably not exclude the seniors from walking. WDW is not public; it is a private business so it IS completely different. For example, someone can protest or seek petition signatures at a mall for any cause they want (subject to reasonable time, place and manner restrictions). Do you think if you went to one of the parks or resorts and held up a sign asking someone to "free the rainbow colored dolphins!" that you wouldn't be asked to leave--and that Disney wouldn't have the right to make you leave?

People like those posting in favor of illegally parking (that's what it boils down to) are why I insist on staying in the Grandstand section of SSR. I'm not standing on a bus or even worse not be able to get on a bus just because someone has chosen to park illegally.

It's a big problem at times over at SSR and articles like this only make it worse.

I really wish the resort busses would enforce a "resort guest only" policy.

Well, clearly they don't. If they did, they'd implement a parking model similar to DTD-Anaheim. There, you get a few hours free, and can validate for several hours more if you shop or eat in the District. Otherwise, it's cheaper to just park in the Mickey & Friends structure.

Just to clarify--in Anaheim you get three hours free, and only if you eat at a sit-down restaurant in DTD do you get an extra two hours validation. You do not get extra validation for shopping at one of the stores. Otherwise the current rate after your free hours expires is $6 an hour.

This is not only stealing from Disney, it is stealing from the honest guests who are paying to stay on site and keep the busses running. We pay for the gas and maintenance of these busses as part of our package... and they would be able to run less busses if there weren't thieves taking advantage of the system.

Agreed--same goes for DVC resort guests/owners.

I think your suggestion of taking the morning shuttle and taking WDW transportation to the closest location to her hotel is a wonderful idea. The taxi from there to the hotel would most likely be much cheaper than the cost of a rental car and parking and it would also allow the OP to enjoy the longer park hours.

For example, we stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Marriott Village and that was super close to DTD or SSR so a cab would have been cheap from there at the end of the night. Some of those DTD area resorts are even walking distance.

Again, I do not think these types of suggestions should be made. It is unfair to the SSR owners for you to clog up our busses so you can save money on a cab. If the people doing this are displacing SSR guests/owners then you are abusing the system and inconveniencing the SSR guests. How would you like it if we came over the Fairfield Inn and took up all the spaces on your shuttle so you couldn't get on and couldn't get to the parks?

 

[dudspizza]

Okay...I'lll accept those changes. So, where is Mr Duds???? Oh, I know...he's off explaining to the family why he isn't going to the parks with them...but hey, he'll meet up with them within a few hours!!!

AHA! Mr. Duds is back...... us school teachers actually have kids to teach once in a while!

I leave for 3-4 hours and when I return I have a huge master plan all laid out for me! We do have an off day in there somewhere. DW and DD's are going to go to the UCA Cheer Championships at WWOS one of the days. Maybe I will drop them off there and take up a few of the routings just to see how long they take! DW will kill me, but we'll see! If not, I will still look for the signs at DTD... boring I know, but I get to Florida once every other year... what can I say....

Actually, after half a dozen trips with my daughters, we are finally going to get to Universal for the girls very first time! I have only been there once, in 1995! Going to be fun!

4 day park hoppers for Disney, 4 day park to park for Universal, 1 open day to tour WDW via the bus system as a highly planned science experiment, and that's it!

Now, I need to drive home in the snow that is continually falling her in MN right now... then off to bowling league, so I will not be back until later tonight..... miss my my friends!

 

[debster812]

C'mon Duds--you know you love it when we all plan your vacation activities for you.........

Drive home safely! And, if you could keep that storm out your way, we on the East Coast would appreciate it!

 

[livndisney]

AHA! Mr. Duds is back...... us school teachers actually have kids to teach once in a while!

I leave for 3-4 hours and when I return I have a huge master plan all laid out for me! We do have an off day in there somewhere. DW and DD's are going to go to the UCA Cheer Championships at WWOS one of the days. Maybe I will drop them off there and take up a few of the routings just to see how long they take! DW will kill me, but we'll see! If not, I will still look for the signs at DTD... boring I know, but I get to Florida once every other year... what can I say....

Actually, after half a dozen trips with my daughters, we are finally going to get to Universal for the girls very first time! I have only been there once, in 1995! Going to be fun!

4 day park hoppers for Disney, 4 day park to park for Universal, 1 open day to tour WDW via the bus system as a highly planned science experiment, and that's it!

Now, I need to drive home in the snow that is continually falling her in MN right now... then off to bowling league, so I will not be back until later tonight..... miss my my friends!

Trust me you would MUCH rather conduct a crazy bus experiment than go anywhere near the Cheer Championships.

 

[Pig Pen]

.Unfortunately, I don't have the money that it seems many people have. We can't stay on the resort

You should subscribe to mousesavers.com to keep track of the deals. I am staying at Pop Century next week for $59 per night including tax.

 

[vicki_c]

You should subscribe to mousesavers.com to keep track of the deals. I am staying at Pop Century next week for $59 per night including tax.

Gee, I can't imagine you could get anything decent off-site (in any way - at least not a place that runs shuttles) for less than $59 a night, can you? $59 is an amazing price (I had no clue how cheap you can get a value resort sometimes - I thought it was closer to $80).

 

[Lewisc]

As an owner at SSR, I really hate it when people make this suggestion--our busses are full enough without having to deal with the DTD parkers who are trying to get out of paying a park fee. Each of the DVC resorts pays towards the bus transportation for its resort so when you do it you are stealing from ME.

DVC pays for bus service. Are you charged per bus, per guest or per room? I was under the impression the charge is based on the number of guests but bus frequency is based on utilization. Some people think the DTD passengers actually increases bus service without increasing DVC cost.

Not sure if this is a fact or an internet fact.

Unfortunately, I don't have the money that it seems many people have. We can't stay on the resort and eat every meal at a sit down restaurant, but being lower middle class shouldn't inhibit us from enjoying disney. At least, this is my opinion. We are actually spending quite a bit more than planned because we were planning on using shuttles. The purpose of this thread was to actually see if this less expensive form of transportation would be a waste of time. Appartently it is, so we will plan on spending the money on parking. Of course, this is not giving Disney any more money... this will just be cut from our souvenir and snack budget. Not a big deal, just trying to decide where Disney will suck us dry!

Stay at a Disney hotel and you won't need to rent a car. The rental car savings, and parking savings, may offset much of the increased cost of a Disney resort.

 

[goofy4tink]

As an owner at SSR, I really hate it when people make this suggestion--our busses are full enough without having to deal with the DTD parkers who are trying to get out of paying a park fee. Each of the DVC resorts pays towards the bus transportation for its resort so when you do it you are stealing from ME.



Again, I do not think these types of suggestions should be made. It is unfair to the SSR owners for you to clog up our busses so you can save money on a cab. If the people doing this are displacing SSR guests/owners then you are abusing the system and inconveniencing the SSR guests. How would you like it if we came over the Fairfield Inn and took up all the spaces on your shuttle so you couldn't get on and couldn't get to the parks?

Ummm, it happens at BW as well..not just at SSR. It is a viable option. Each person feels their particular resort is adversely impacted by non-resort guests using their buses. Here's the thing...Disney is never going to prohibit non-resorts guests from using the resort buses. Why??? Money. They want guests to head to resorts and spend money. They want those who are staying offsite to head to a WDW resort and see what they are missing by paying for an offsite resort. Yes, sometimes Disney asks for resort ID before boarding a bus to a park..but that happens only on days that the park is going to be limited to resort guests due to high attendence.

AHA! Mr. Duds is back...... us school teachers actually have kids to teach once in a while!

I leave for 3-4 hours and when I return I have a huge master plan all laid out for me! We do have an off day in there somewhere. DW and DD's are going to go to the UCA Cheer Championships at WWOS one of the days. Maybe I will drop them off there and take up a few of the routings just to see how long they take! DW will kill me, but we'll see! If not, I will still look for the signs at DTD... boring I know, but I get to Florida once every other year... what can I say....

Actually, after half a dozen trips with my daughters, we are finally going to get to Universal for the girls very first time! I have only been there once, in 1995! Going to be fun!

4 day park hoppers for Disney, 4 day park to park for Universal, 1 open day to tour WDW via the bus system as a highly planned science experiment, and that's it!

Now, I need to drive home in the snow that is continually falling her in MN right now... then off to bowling league, so I will not be back until later tonight..... miss my my friends!

Yeah, and thanks for that gift you have sent us in NE!!!!!