Need advice about driving/parking at Disney!

[ntengwall]

We are staying at a house about 2 miles from MK the first week in Feb. After reading a lot, I am very nervous about driving to and from the parks every day and parking! What time will we need to leave the house in the moring in order to get to the park 1/2 hour before opening (8:30). Would leaving at 8 be early enough? And even though it's only a 2 mile drive, how much traffic can I expect and how long will the drive probably take?

Any hints/tips you off-siters have would be GREATLY appreciated! We are new to the Disney thing and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the planning

 

[cigar95]

In early February, you won't have any problem with traffic *inside* WDW.

Depending on where you're staying, if you can avoid 192 and I-4, you should be generally OK, even in the mornings.

Also, at that time of year, it's less critical to arrive 30 minutes before opening, so if you get bogged down a bit and don't arrive until 8:45, no need to fret!

 

[dvc guy]

It does not matter how far you are traveling you will need 1/2 hour to get from the parking lot to the front gate at MK. We stay on site and even with a car we opt for the bus to MK , it drops you at the front gate

 

[WillCAD]

Don't be nervous about staying off-site and driving in! I do it all the time. After the first day or so you will get comfortable getting from your rental house to Disney property, and once on Disney property all you haev to do is follow the signs.

Anywhere on Disney property is never more than 20 minutes from anywhere else by car, although the red lights along Buena Vista Dr. as you pass DOwntown DIsney do tend to slow you down a lot these days.

If you can tell us what neighborhood your rental house is in, I bet we can give you some tips on routes to take to avoid the worst traffic.

 

[ntengwall]

Willcad,
The house is in Kissimmee and is 11 miles from Disney. It has us getting on US 192 E for about a mile and then onto World Drive. Any tips?

 

[WillCAD]

You're probably goiong to be on US 192 a lot more than 1 mile before you get to World Drive; there are not many residential neighborhoods along 192 within 2 or 3 miles of World Drive. Of course, I could be mistaken; I don't know everything about the entire area!

US 192 is very wide and very busy, especially during the normal morning and evening rush hours. World Drive tends to get pretty busy at park closing.

My best advice it to get a map of the WDW/Orlando area and familiarize yourself with the overall layout of the area before you go. If you have a general idea of where you're going and how to get there, your natural sense of direction will help you t make turns and select exits.

 

[DonnaL]

ntengwall,

Do you know the name of the development the house is in? That would be very helpful. I suspect it's one of the developments near Orange Lake Country Club. If so, you can get onto property by using Sherberth (?)
Road (not sure if it's correct spelling). That road will bring you directly
onto Osceola Parkway (which is on property) very near Animal Kingdom
Park. In order to get to other areas of WDW you'll need to make a right
onto Osceola and just follow the signs to wherever you're going. If you're
on that end of 192 you'll hit far less traffic than traveling on 192 to World Drive. There is a good property map at www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/
When you get to that page click on the property map and it gives a general overview of the whole property in relation to Route 192. Sherberth Road doesn't show on that map, but, it is there. World Drive is the large interchange shown near the Wide World of Sports complex. It travels directly into the center of WDW, past Epcot and MGM and straight to MK. Hope this info helps you.