parking at Contemporary

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Fair enough. On the other hand, from your description, (a) at least some spaces adjacent to the North Garden Building are available and (b) with that wing demolished, the Contemporary needs fewer parking spaces for its Guests. I am NOT using this as an argument for allowing non-Contemporary Guests to park there for other than brief, directly-resort-related reasons.

I have always thought and told this to high end Cast Members working at the Contemporary that they need to have a seperate parking lot for guests staying there and for guests just with ADR's, the way it is done at the Boardwalk. However if they did have that the same rules would apply to not leaving their cars parked there after they would have a meal, if they wanted to visit the Magic Kingdom.

 

[goofy4tink]

Let me just say that the parking lot was not even close to full. I ate a 130.00 horrible meal. So if I went over to the park for an extra couple hours I felt no guilt. I do not go to the Contemporary for Magic Kingdom parking. I had a dinner reservation. The guard was extremly rude. We had a resort pass. We had our room key. We were there for the reason we stated. Guards at other hotels were fine. This particular guard did not handle the situation well. Sometimes workers need to be told a better way on how to handle problems. I don't think anyone was going to be fired just maybe talked to. With that said the trip went well and know futher problems with any other guards.

You had a resort pass, you had a room key. But were they for the CR? No. Just because you are a guest at another WDW resort you are not allowed special priviledges at other resorts. The guard was doing his duty..he is there to prevent those with no business from leaving their cars in the parking lot. Your group made the mistake by booking under the wrong name. Do you realize how many people try to gain access to resort parking by saying they have an ADR and don't but they insist to the guard?

May I just ask what is a scoflaws? Also,an ill intent person can park their car in any number of hotel parking lots to be destructive. Average Disney people are just as important. I also don't think I would be parking anywhere near the Contemporary if the President was in the Hotel. Even if I had reservations!!

A scoflaw is someone who knowingly ignores a law/rule and does exactly what they want. There is signage at the resorts stating the rules about parking there. So...if you see a sign that says the parking lot is for guests of that particular resort, but you park there anyway and head to MK, then yes, you are a scoflaw. Even if you ate there first. You are allowed to park for 3 hrs while you shop or dine...that's it, plain and simple. And yes, average Americans are important. They should expect to get what they pay for....if they have paid to stay at the CR, they deserve to find a convenient parking spot.

"We regret we are unable to" is less powerful than "we cannot", "we do not", or any other absolute phraseology. IMO, Disney is trying to compromise between getting the point across without coming right out and saying, "Don't be ridiculous, you can't park here".

Really? Did they demolish the parking lot, too? Or are they using it for dumpsters for the materials from the North Garden Wing, or have they fenced it off? Actually, it seems that there'd be MORE spaces available relative to the number of Guest rooms, i.e. same number of parking spaces, about 1/3 fewer rooms?

Well yeah, there really are fewer spots now....lots of wasted space but that's it in a nutshell.

I have always thought and told this to high end Cast Members working at the Contemporary that they need to have a seperate parking lot for guests staying there and for guests just with ADR's, the way it is done at the Boardwalk. However if they did have that the same rules would apply to not leaving their cars parked there after they would have a meal, if they wanted to visit the Magic Kingdom.

Problem is that most people see what a hike it is and still try to park in the guest parking lot! Even the guest lot is a fair walk to the resort. But, there just isn't enough room at the CR. If they enforced the rules, it would't be an issue. If they give you a parking pass for 3 hrs, with the time on it, and your car is still there 3 hrs. 30 mins later, then it gets removed. Simple. I'll just bet that would cut down on the issue. They could just remove the cars to the further reaches of the lot at the TTC...now that would be an imposition on the guest...return to the CR to find their car is now at the TTC, where it belongs, so they have to go over there to get it...but they have to pay a set amount to get it out of the lot...maybe $50 or so. A money maker for Disney don't you think??

 

[dannyh23]

Oh boy, yet another never ending parking thread...

I still don't see the big deal... unless the lot is totally full and someone paying to stay at the Convention Resort can't park.

CR Fan, in all seriousness, in all the visits with your parents, have your parents ever been DENIED A PARKING SPACE because the lot was too full for you parents to park the car? Why make it a mission on your vacation to report expired temporary parking permits when it doesn't make one bit of difference to you???

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Do you realize how many people try to gain access to resort parking by saying they have an ADR and don't but they insist to the guard?

I am sure that is the reason why the Contemporary and the other Deluxe Resorts are now checking you're name on a list for ADR's, because I would bet anything in the past other guests use to say they were going to Chef Mickey's, when that was only a lie because they were parking at the Contemporary since it was so close to the Magic Kingdom and because they were trying not pay the fee at the TTC.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Oh boy, yet another never ending parking thread...

I still don't see the big deal... unless the lot is totally full and someone paying to stay at the Convention Resort can't park.

CR Fan, in all seriousness, in all the visits with your parents, have your parents ever been DENIED A PARKING SPACE because the lot was too full for you parents to park the car? Why make it a mission on your vacation to report expired temporary parking permits when it doesn't make one bit of difference to you???

It's not the fact that we could not find a parking space, because if we keep going around the lot we will find one. However 9/10 times it will be a spot way in the back and not towards the front.

As for you're other comment it's not our mission to report any cars that have been parked there all day because they decided to break the rules and go off to the Magic Kingdom. Last month by accident we happen to see a car with a Days Inn parking permit and a 3 hour parking pass which was timed 9:30 AM and it was around 9:20 PM when we saw this. So that could have been a parking space we could have got since it was closer to the front, or maybe another Contemporary guest could have got. I do not feel guility for doing what we did by letting the Cast Members know that car was breaking the rules and I will say that car was not involved in some emergency or anything else that may have been serious. They knew what they were doing, so it was about time someone else did something about it.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Problem is that most people see what a hike it is and still try to park in the guest parking lot! Even the guest lot is a fair walk to the resort. But, there just isn't enough room at the CR. If they enforced the rules, it would't be an issue. If they give you a parking pass for 3 hrs, with the time on it, and your car is still there 3 hrs. 30 mins later, then it gets removed. Simple. I'll just bet that would cut down on the issue. They could just remove the cars to the further reaches of the lot at the TTC...now that would be an imposition on the guest...return to the CR to find their car is now at the TTC, where it belongs, so they have to go over there to get it...but they have to pay a set amount to get it out of the lot...maybe $50 or so. A money maker for Disney don't you think??

You're idea sounds intresting, however since the TTC is not really an impound lot I don't think there should a $50.00 charge for getting their car back. Just the fact that it got moved there would be good enough for me.

 

[dannyh23]

...but they have to pay a set amount to get it out of the lot...maybe $50 or so. A money maker for Disney don't you think??

Oh no! Don't give them any more money-making ideas!!

As you said, Disney guards often bend/break the policy, or they just don't care except for high demand times. If Disney really cared, they would tow every car 30 minute after the pass expired...

 

[goofy4tink]

You're idea sounds intresting, however since the TTC is not really an impound lot I don't think there should a $50.00 charge for getting their car back. Just the fact that it got moved there would be good enough for me.

Ah, but it could be!!! It's a huge lot so they could designate one area, way out back, as the impound area. It could be fenced in, with an attendent. So...the Jones have left their car at the CR, and it is now about 5 hrs. after they left it there. The car has been towed to the 'impound' area. The Joneses return to find their car gone..they ask where it went, they are told it is at the TTC. They have to go there, pay the requisite fee, and they will take the tram out to their car, where they will be allowed to get their car when they show the attendent their receipt.
I'm telling you...it would make money for Disney, and it would cut down on unlawful parking at the resorts. Then these discussions could stop, my life would be easier, I wouldn't snap at my family because there was so much argument on the boards about parking, my dh would't divorce me..whoa...getting a bit carried away I guess!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Ah, but it could be!!! It's a huge lot so they could designate one area, way out back, as the impound area. It could be fenced in, with an attendent. So...the Jones have left their car at the CR, and it is now about 5 hrs. after they left it there. The car has been towed to the 'impound' area. The Joneses return to find their car gone..they ask where it went, they are told it is at the TTC. They have to go there, pay the requisite fee, and they will take the tram out to their car, where they will be allowed to get their car when they show the attendent their receipt.
I'm telling you...it would make money for Disney, and it would cut down on unlawful parking at the resorts. Then these discussions could stop, my life would be easier, I wouldn't snap at my family because there was so much argument on the boards about parking, my dh would't divorce me..whoa...getting a bit carried away I guess!!

Well when you put it like that then WDW should charge them to get back their cars, lol.

 

[Traveliz]

Let me just say that the parking lot was not even close to full. I ate a 130.00 horrible meal. So if I went over to the park for an extra couple hours I felt no guilt. I do not go to the Contemporary for Magic Kingdom parking. I had a dinner reservation. The guard was extremly rude. We had a resort pass. We had our room key. We were there for the reason we stated. Guards at other hotels were fine. This particular guard did not handle the situation well. Sometimes workers need to be told a better way on how to handle problems. I don't think anyone was going to be fired just maybe talked to. With that said the trip went well and know futher problems with any other guards.

We were there this week too and there were hundreds (seriously) of available parking spots at the Contemporary. Its laughable to think that they would have towed anyone this past week....like I said there were LOTS of parking spots at the Contemporary. And the Polynesian too.

Liz

 

[LI Annie]

I am the original poster and I have to say that if I thought my question was going to cause such a heated discussion I would have thought twice before posting it. Just to clear up a misunderstanding, we are staying on site, just not at the CR so the PRICE of parking is not the question. Anyway, when we first started going to WDW (approx 1992) parking was not such an issue. We had dinner (or lunch or breakfast) at the CR many times and were never given a 3 hr parking pass or told that we could not park there. I don't believe there were signs prohibiting MK parking at the time either, although there may have been and I just didn't notice. We parked there and walked over to the MK after our meal. We possibly even stayed at the MK from breakfast until closing and I never thought twice about it because there always seemed to be open parking spaces at the CR and nobody ever said anything about it. But that was then. Now that I've discovered what a hot button issue it is and I've thought about getting my car towed away I will simply park at the TTC and use the monorail which is just as convenient as walking from the CR to the MK.

 

[Tiffany]

I guess I was not clear in my previous reply. Since the OP said she is staying offsite she would have to pay $11.00 for parking at the TTC. If she were to valet park at the Contemporary for her meal at Chef Mickey's, it would be $10.00 + a $2.00 or $3.00 tip. So when you add up the prices it costs more to valet park then to park at the TTC.

True it would cost more to valet then to park at the TTC. But I am not looking at it from a cost point of view. I am looking at if from a convience point of view. When we have dinner ADRs at Chef Mickey's we drive over and valet at CR have dinner and then walk over to the MK to catch the fireworks and then walk back over to the CR get the car and drive back to our resort. Maybe an hour and a half or two at the most at the MK. I do not see how this hurts anyone paying to stay at the CR unless there have been reports of paying guests of the CR who want to valet their cars not being able to due to non CR resort guests using valet. I have never heard of any of the Disney resorts valet services being shut down do to being full. Of course we do not go during peak times so this might happen around major holidays and then I would agree that they should subject us to a time limit or direct us over to the TTC of course then they risk us just deciding to eat else where.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I have never heard of any of the Disney resorts valet services being shut down do to being full. Of course we do not go during peak times so this might happen around major holidays and then I would agree that they should subject us to a time limit or direct us over to the TTC of course then they risk us just deciding to eat else where.

This was not during a major holiday season however in August 2006 when my parents and I were staying at the Contemporary during our 2nd week there for a few days, the Resort went into lock down mode. The reason there was 2 or 3 huge conventions going on during that time and when they are in lock down mode, if you're not a guest there staying there or don't have an ADR you are not even allowed into the Resort. So that also means no parking in the self parking lot area or valet parking and it also means no one is also allowed to go and look around the Resort if they came by car. Using the story Tomader told if the security guard could not find their name for their ADR during that time, they would have to leave with no expectations. Even if they claimed they had an ADR it does not matter, if they are not on a list they are not allowed to park. That reason being they wanted to save as many self parking and valet parking spaces for guests staying there.

 

[Timon_n_Pumba]

Ah, but it could be!!! It's a huge lot so they could designate one area, way out back, as the impound area. It could be fenced in, with an attendent. So...the Jones have left their car at the CR, and it is now about 5 hrs. after they left it there. The car has been towed to the 'impound' area. The Joneses return to find their car gone..they ask where it went, they are told it is at the TTC. They have to go there, pay the requisite fee, and they will take the tram out to their car, where they will be allowed to get their car when they show the attendent their receipt.
I'm telling you...it would make money for Disney, and it would cut down on unlawful parking at the resorts. Then these discussions could stop, my life would be easier, I wouldn't snap at my family because there was so much argument on the boards about parking, my dh would't divorce me..whoa...getting a bit carried away I guess!!

Hey, yeah!!! And maybe they could pay a commission, say 10%, in Disney Dollars to any guest that reports another guest for parking beyond the three hour limit. This way, doing so becomes a profitable situation, so the "reporter" is getting compensated for being such a busybody.

I'm gonna write to Disney and suggest it!!!

Scott in MO

 

[Timon_n_Pumba]

We just came back from Disney. We had reservations at Chef Mickey and we parked at the Contemporary. The guard gave us a three hour pass. We still went over to the Magic Kingdom when we finished eating. I never saw cars being towed. One day we did have a problem with the guard. My sister put the reservations under the wrong last name. He could not find us so he would not let us park. He was very rude about it so I called and complained.

You did this in August? At the Contemporary? Wow, guess you got lucky that the Guest Patrol didn't spot ya, considering how busy it is during the summer months.

That would be just as risky, IMHO and just for example, as trying to park beyond the limit of your pass at, say, the Poly in December!

Better just valet, or use the TTC lot!

Best Regards,

Scott in MO

 

[darlak]

Hey, yeah!!! And maybe they could pay a commission, say 10%, in Disney Dollars to any guest that reports another guest for parking beyond the three hour limit. This way, doing so becomes a profitable situation, so the "reporter" is getting compensated for being such a busybody.

I'm gonna write to Disney and suggest it!!!

Scott in MO

Some folks would love that job!

 

[dannyh23]

It's not the fact that we could not find a parking space, because if we keep going around the lot we will find one. However 9/10 times it will be a spot way in the back and not towards the front.

So you've NEVER had a parking problem -- you just wanted a closer spot. Let me you give you some helpful advice for next time -- tell your parents to valet. You'll be closer than all those violators.

Last month by accident we happen to see a car with a Days Inn parking permit and a 3 hour parking pass which was timed 9:30 AM and it was around 9:20 PM when we saw this. So that could have been a parking space we could have got since it was closer to the front, or maybe another Contemporary guest could have got. I do not feel guility for doing what we did by letting the Cast Members know that car was breaking the rules and I will say that car was not involved in some emergency or anything else that may have been serious. They knew what they were doing, so it was about time someone else did something about it.

You can avoid future "accidents" by not peeking into other cars to see the times on their passes. If Disney really, really cared, the car would have been towed already. Take this as helpful advice, especially since it seems to bother you so much -- tell your parents to valet their car. You'll avoid future "accidents".

Disney is a MAGICAL place it's not a place to worry about how other people park their cars and "steal" closer spaces from you.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm telling you...it would make money for Disney, and it would cut down on unlawful parking at the resorts. Then these discussions could stop, my life would be easier, I wouldn't snap at my family because there was so much argument on the boards about parking, my dh would't divorce me..whoa...getting a bit carried away I guess!!

Wait! Wait... wait... wait... wait... wait... No towing. No "impound lot". No fence. No attendant. No tram. No retrieving one's vehicle from where it should have been parked in the first place.
A $50 credit card deposit required of visitors (i.e. the people who would be getting the three hour parking pass).

I am the original poster and I have to say that if I thought my question was going to cause such a heated discussion I would have thought twice before posting it. Just to clear up a misunderstanding, we are staying on site, just not at the CR so the PRICE of parking is not the question.

People not staying at the Contemporary, but parking there for park access (only, or in conjunction with resort shopping/dining/activities) ALWAYS causes heated discussions.

Let me you give you some helpful advice for next time -- tell your parents to valet. You'll be closer than all those violators.

Or suggest the driver drop the rest of you off right at the door, then find a parking space. That way, only one person has to walk any distance.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hey, yeah!!! And maybe they could pay a commission, say 10%, in Disney Dollars to any guest that reports another guest for parking beyond the three hour limit. This way, doing so becomes a profitable situation, so the "reporter" is getting compensated for being such a busybody.

I'm gonna write to Disney and suggest it!!!

Scott in MO

A way to finance my many trips to WDW....I love it!!!
Seriously though....This isn't all that huge an issue. Those that stay at a particular resort (especially the deluxes with park access) tend to get a bit miffed when others report they have parked in 'our' lots while going to a park. Nothing we say, here at least, is ever going to change this practice. When it starts impacting Disney's bottom line, that's when you'll see a change implemented.
But, we will continue to see these discussions because we don't want those non-guests clogging up our parking lots. I guess there could be two lots....one that is room key activiated for guests only, and a second, smaller one, in the back, that services those who are there to eat or shop. That's doable.