Parking fees

[TDC Nala]

Disney does not survey each guest parking at DTD to find out where they are going, nor do they give out timed parking passes there. If you are going strictly by "do they have a written rule that says you can't park there and go to the theme parks" then no, they don't.

What they have done is make it so inconvenient to park there and use Disney transportation that only guests who want to spend a long time dealing with transportation would be willing to park there to save $14.

A lot of park-goers are interested in getting to the parks early, and you can't get there at the recommended opening time if you park at DTD.

 

[Lynne M]

I suggest you check your information.it is not permitted to park at DTD and then go to the parks or then why would they make it so hard to try and get to the parks by bus from DTD.....A little common sense here Sir!........in fact you don't have to check...better yet.........read your own statement.......not only don't they like it.....but its againist the rules....!

AKK

BeerMe is correct, there is no such rule. Parking at DTD is open to the public, and there is a Disney policy stating that use of the transportation system is available to all guests of the Walt Disney World Resort.

Is it inconvenient to do so? Absolutely. But that in and of itself doesn't mean it's not allowed.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

BeerMe is correct, there is no such rule. Parking at DTD is open to the public, and there is a Disney policy stating that use of the transportation system is available to all guests of the Walt Disney World Resort.

Is it inconvenient to do so? Absolutely. But that in and of itself doesn't mean it's not allowed.

Sorry Lynn I totally disagree......by intentionally parking in DTD to go to the parks...you are avoiding the parking fee and misusing the bus transportation....that cheating and againist the rules.

No I cannot find a written rule saying you cant...but common sense here reveals it's not proper.......I dont play symantics.....


AKK

 

[torinsmom]

Are there signs at DTD stating "Parking is for Downtown Disney guests only"? I don't remember one way or another. You'd think that would make things more black and white. I have enough trouble finding parking at DTD when I NEED to shop there, LOL. I did have friends that did something similar to avoid parking fees some days, but they got to the parks at like 10:30 and never made rope drop. Then then had to coordinate getting back to their car using 2 buses, and they had to worry about getting their car before the lot closed. That is just too much stress for me, and I like to get to the parks early on in the morning. Like I said, too many ways to cut out $14/day to deal with that kind of stress.

 

[NancyIL]

Sorry Lynn I totally disagree......by intentionally parking in DTD to go to the parks...you are avoiding the parking fee and misusing the bus transportation....that cheating and againist the rules.

No I cannot find a written rule saying you cant...but common sense here reveals it's not proper.......I dont play symantics.....


AKK

Common sense should tell people that it isn't worth the extra time and hassle to park at Downtown Disney to go to a theme park. However, it isn't against any Disney rules.

By the way, the word you meant is "semantics."

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Common sense should tell people that it isn't worth the extra time and hassle to park at Downtown Disney to go to a theme park. However, it isn't against any Disney rules.

By the way, the word you meant is "semantics."

and if Disney makes it so hard....*COMMON SENSE* to any reasonably minded person would indicate its againist Disney rules. To say its ok just becuase there may not be a written rule is playing *SEMATICS*

My pardon for my spelling error. I do find it interesting in that when a persons argument is poorly supported,they often decide to attack spelling errors.

AKK

 

[NancyIL]

and if Disney makes it so hard....*COMMON SENSE* to any reasonably minded person would indicate its againist Disney rules. To say its ok just becuase there may not be a written rule is playing *SEMATICS*

My pardon for my spelling error. I do find it interesting in that when a persons argument is poorly supported,they often decide to attack spelling errors.

AKK

Until Disney posts signs prohibiting parking unless one is shopping or dining at Downtown Disney, it isn't against any rules.

 

[larryz]

Hello! My mom and I are considering returning to Orlando in April to celebrate her birthday. After some research, it will be much cheaper to stay outside of Disney and buy park passes from an outside source (like Undercover Tourist). Does Disney offer any discounts on parking for multiple days? We're planning on doing 5 days at Disney so I was wondering if its $15 each time or if they have a multi-day pass?
Thanks!

You could always just get ONE annual pass for some lucky person in your party, and then the theme park parking's included (as long as they're in the car).

 

[MrRomance]

Seems we have a little heated debate going on....

To the best of my recollection when we used to stay off-site ANYONE can park at DTD. It certainly isn't convenient to use the Disney Transport System from DTD, but I don't think it's "against the rules" as such.

That said, Disney are not stupid and they almost certainly have some nifty technology that would weed this out. I know there are a lot of parking lots here in the UK that have camera systems which log Registration Numbers (or License Plates in the US) in and out.

My guess would be this is in place at DTD because no one is going to spend 8-10 hours at DTD as they would in the parks. So my guess (and it is a guess, I'm not Mr. Disney Rulebook or the Parking Nazi) is that they have some sort of system in place which would alert them and if it is indeed a breach of the rules, they'll send someone over to issue a warning or clamp the car.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Until Disney posts signs prohibiting parking unless one is shopping or dining at Downtown Disney, it isn't against any rules.

As I said playing semantics doesnt change the fact it is againist the rules....

Nancy, we will just have to agree to disagree.

AKK

 

[NancyIL]

As I said playing semantics doesnt change the fact it is againist the rules....

Nancy, we will just have to agree to disagree.

AKK

To my knowledge, Disney has issued no rules limiting parking at Downtown Disney to certain guests. If/when they do, there should be signs at Downtown Disney stating so. Until that time, it is allowed - even if many of us don't like it.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

From the www.disneyworld.com:

Transportation

Transportation to and from the Downtown Disney area is available via bus throughout Walt Disney World Resort and is complimentary for Walt Disney World Resort hotel Guests. For Park Guests choosing to drive, complimentary self-parking is also available. Our driving address is 1780 E. Buena Vista Dr., Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830.



Buses only for WDW Resort *HOTEL* guests.........common sense its againist the rules to park and go to the parks by buses via the resorts!


AKK

 

[Lynne M]

and if Disney makes it so hard....*COMMON SENSE* to any reasonably minded person would indicate its againist Disney rules. To say its ok just becuase there may not be a written rule is playing *SEMATICS*

For something to be against Disney's rules, there has to be a policy in place stating that it's not allowed. A rule is a policy, and while you personally might feel that it's not an appropriate thing to do, and you're entirely within your rights to feel that way, there is no Disney rule/policy that prohibits it.

I'm not seeing how Disney has made it hard for guests to go from DTD to the parks by bus. It's just a single bus transfer, the same as going from, say, AKL to WL.

The thing that makes it especially inconvenient for getting to the parks is that the DTD buses don't run early enough to get to park openings. That's because the shops don't open as early as the parks. The shop opening times have been the same since long before Disney discontinued the direct buses from DTD to the parks, so that isn't anything Disney has done to make it inconvenient for guests to use DTD as a free parking lot for the theme parks.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

For something to be against Disney's rules, there has to be a policy in place stating that it's not allowed. A rule is a policy, and while you personally might feel that it's not an appropriate thing to do, and you're entirely within your rights to feel that way, there is no Disney rule/policy that prohibits it.

I'm not seeing how Disney has made it hard for guests to go from DTD to the parks by bus. It's just a single bus transfer, the same as going from, say, AKL to WL.

The thing that makes it especially inconvenient for getting to the parks is that the DTD buses don't run early enough to get to park openings. That's because the shops don't open as early as the parks. The shop opening times have been the same since long before Disney discontinued the direct buses from DTD to the parks, so that isn't anything Disney has done to make it inconvenient for guests to use DTD as a free parking lot for the theme parks.

Please see the above posted rule.....AKK

 

[CatelynnMarie]

Like I mentioned earlier, I was only giving a "tip" someone once gave me. No need to make a big deal out of it. If it bothers people that much, i'll delete the response. I by the way have never done it before due to the fact that I never rent a car/drive down there. I always stay on property, so therefore there is no need to make this action.

 

[larryz]

...For Park Guests choosing to drive, complimentary self-parking is also available...

Did you notice this sentence in your quoted passage?

 

[MrRomance]

The issue of "transportation use" seems to be a bit of a tricky one though...

From what I'm reading, transportation is only supposed to be used by resort guests or anyone purchases the "hopper" option and annual pass holders. So, in a way, you're all correct. Can anyone park at DTD? -- Yep Can anyone use the Disney Transportation System? -- Nope!

Personally, I don't care who parks where or uses what and I don't know that Disney could actually enforce the restrictions on who can use the transport because how would they know whether you have a hopper or not without really inspecting every ticket?

The moral of the story is... you're all right and you're all wrong!

 

[NancyIL]

I'm not seeing how Disney has made it hard for guests to go from DTD to the parks by bus. It's just a single bus transfer, the same as going from, say, AKL to WL.

The thing that makes it especially inconvenient for getting to the parks is that the DTD buses don't run early enough to get to park openings. That's because the shops don't open as early as the parks. The shop opening times have been the same since long before Disney discontinued the direct buses from DTD to the parks, so that isn't anything Disney has done to make it inconvenient for guests to use DTD as a free parking lot for the theme parks.

To go to a park from Downtown Disney, you have to take the bus to the nearest resort and then transfer to a bus/boat/monorail or walk to the park. Buses used to go directly from DD to the theme parks.

 

[larryz]

Can anyone park at DTD? -- Yep Can anyone use the Disney Transportation System? -- Nope!

When's the last time you were asked to show either a ticket or a KTTW when boarding WDW transportation?

For me, it's been about 16 years...

 

[Planogirl]

We once parked at Downtown Disney to shop and then took a bus to dine at a resort. I wasn't aware that we weren't allowed to ride a bus if we planned to use resort services. I can't imagine that Disney wouldn't want us to eat somewhere.

Yes, I know that we could move the car but we planned to spend time at Downtown Disney afterwards too. It seemed silly to move the car under these circumstances.