Parking at Disney Hotels When Not Staying There

[cpl100]

If you drive to any of the Disney hotels for dinner or sightseeing, what is the parking situation and is there a parking fee? Thanks.

 

[Pat_Elliott]

Originally posted by cpl100
If you drive to any of the Disney hotels for dinner or sightseeing, what is the parking situation and is there a parking fee? Thanks.

There is no parking fee. Parking is allowed for a PS, or even for just touring, as Disney wants you to see their resorts (in hopes you'll stay there next time).

However....

Due to post-911 concerns, mostly due to abuse, they now limit your time. You'll get a three to five hour pass. This is especially true in the monorail resorts, where folks were parking for free all day and using the monorail. This leaves less space for the resort guests, who are paying a fortune to be there. They will, however, give you ample time to stay for your PS.

Pat

 

[cpl100]

Thank you Pat. I know it was this way for many of the times I visited Disney. Then the last time I was there I had to pay to park at one of the hotels (Wilderness Lodge I think) which amazed me. I was curious to see if they'd all followed suit or if it was a short-lived experience.

 

[GoldenOldie]

If you visit a Magic Kingdom resort (WL, CR, Poly, GF, FW) you may be asked to pay the parking fee at the entrance to the MK. Some CM's will allow you to pass for free when you say you have a meal PS while others will still charge you. That may be what happened to you the last time.

Should that ever happen again, bring your receipt to the restaurant with you and tell the server. They will take your receipt and deduct the amount of the parking fee from your bill.

 

[DMRick]

MK. Some CM's will allow you to pass for free when you say you have a meal PS while others will still charge you

I visit the other resorts all the time..even when I am staying off site or before I have checked in. I have never heard of any such parking fee. The only place they are set up to collect parking fees, are at the parks, and if you are going to the hotels at Magic Kingdom, you just go to the right and tell them and there is no charge. If you don't tell them, they assume you are going to the park.

Once you are at the guard shacks of each hotel, if you have a PS, you are on the guards list. If you don't have a PS, they usually ask for your driver's license and some of the hotels will give you a 3 hr parking permit.

If you pull up in front of one of the deluxe's, since the valet started charging, they may have thought you wanted valet parking. That comes with a charge..but it's always been free to park in the hotel lots..with or without a PS.

 

[cpl100]

Originally posted by GoldenOldie
If you visit a Magic Kingdom resort (WL, CR, Poly, GF, FW) you may be asked to pay the parking fee at the entrance to the MK. Some CM's will allow you to pass for free when you say you have a meal PS while others will still charge you. That may be what happened to you the last time.

Should that ever happen again, bring your receipt to the restaurant with you and tell the server. They will take your receipt and deduct the amount of the parking fee from your bill.

Yes, that is similar to my situation. But in my case I stated I was going to dinner there and they said it didn't matter. I didn't think to consult again inside the hotel.

 

[Michelemouse]

Were you valet parking? If so there is a $6 per day charge, both for visitors and resort guests. There is no charge for self-parking.

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by DMRick
...The only place they are set up to collect parking fees, are at the parks, and if you are going to the hotels at Magic Kingdom, you just go to the right and tell them and there is no charge. If you don't tell them, they assume you are going to the park...

You may not have encountered it personally but it most certainly happens. Two CM's give you a different answer when you ask the same question. Ever heard of that happening at WDW before? Same thing with charging the parking fee for a resort visit.

They are not supposed to charge you for going to a resort but some CM's will charge you anyway. That's why Disney has the reimbursement system in place in case it happens to you. The only drawback is you have to be aware of the reimbursement system to take advantage of it and most people are not.

 

[frannn]

I love eating at the Pepper Market because I love Chinese food, and DH doesn't...but we will not be staying there. There is no PS for this. Will we have parking trouble? I also want to take advantage of the Buy 1, Get 1 at AS Sports and the DTD hotels. Will we have any trouble parking at any of these places? Thanks!

 

[cpl100]

Originally posted by frannn
I love eating at the Pepper Market because I love Chinese food, and DH doesn't...but we will not be staying there. There is no PS for this. Will we have parking trouble? I also want to take advantage of the Buy 1, Get 1 at AS Sports and the DTD hotels. Will we have any trouble parking at any of these places? Thanks!

What is the buy one get one?

 

[frannn]

If you purchase the Entertainment Book for Orlando (which is $15 including shipping for the 2003 book-see mousesavers.com), there are several Buy 1, Get 1 coupons for restaraunts in Orlando. Some of them are not too far from Disney, and a few are located in the hotels in the DTD area, like Baskerville's. The 2003 book is good through 11/1/03, I think, or 11/30/03.

 

[cpl100]

Oh, thank you so much for pointing that out to me. I have already purchased the book but didn't realize that some of the coupons were for Downtown Disney. Do you know where Baskervilles is located?

 

[wdisneyaholic]

Is therr a time limit on valet parking? Like if you park at the Boardwalk hotel or Beach Club and eat at one of the hotels and then go to the Boardwalk for the evening? Could you just valet and spend the late afternoon and evening there? or do the give you a time limit for that?

 

[Gillian]

With valet they don't have a time limit that I'm aware of.

I'm pretty sure there isn't a time limit pass at the boardwalk, even if you self-park there. The boardwalk is an entertainment area where you can spend money & Disney doesn't want to stifle your spending.

 

[dgaston]

Granted, this was some time ago, but I surprised the family with an Illuminations Cruise on our first night in WDW (Dec 2001). We drove to the Boardwalk, and I told DH (who didn't know) to tell the guard we were spending the evening on the Boardwalk. No problem! And the cruise was spectacular!