Parking "Hacks"

I don't disagree that the lot is small, but at least half of it (maybe even 3/4) was empty the entire time...

Well you didn't stay there the whole day.... As people check out at 11 and check in at 3 things change.

As much as the Poly cost I shouldn't have to try to fight off people that park there to avoid driving or avoiding the fee.
 
There are many times, during the year, that there is actually signage up that says 'parking is not provided for park access'. If you see that signage, are you still going to try and get in and park for the day??

If you read my post, you'd note that I said I've never been during a peak season. I've never seen the signage. It certainly wasn't there two weeks ago. Also not sure where all the vehemence is coming from. We have an AP so parking is free, so I really don't care where I park. If Disney does not want people to go to a resort on the Monorail line for a meal and then hop over to MK on the Monorail while leaving their car in the lot, they need to say so. Insinuating that I'm breaking some kind of special parking rule that is unpublished is not cool.

But sit and watch what happens when the parks close for the day. All those resort guests return with their cars trying to find a place to park.

The lots would still be half empty? Again, it's off-season. Sorry, I really don't think the resorts are full to bursting.

Seriously?? You don't think so?? I have been sitting on my BLT balcony, having my morning coffee, around 8:45-9ish. I have watched the security guy drive around the parking lot, just below me. He looks in windshields, and if he doesn't see a resort parking pass, he notes it. I have seen the security people come back, at various time periods during the day, making notations as well. Now, I can't say for sure what is going on, but I do know they track the cars in these lots...especially the small ones.

So, again, I say...drive over to Pop, park there since the lots are huge, and take a bus to a park from there. But, that's probably not what you 'fee avoiders' want to do. You want free parking, with easy park access. And there is nothing anyone here, on this board, is going to say that is going to change your minds.

I know this was directed at a different poster, but I want to be clear about your use of 'fee avoiders' since you also quoted me earlier in your post. I have an AP. I'm not paying parking anyhow. I'm not avoiding fees.
 
Actually, I would love to just park at Pop Century. That's the resort I'm used to staying at, and I don't think the bus ride is all that long. But even that I would wonder about from a moral standpoint. If I was getting a consensus here from the other DISers that this is widely accepted as unoffensive, I'd totally do it--but I don't think that's the message I'm receiving, and I understand that. I am the OP (it might be easy to lose track of this now, on the 8th page), but I am not the evil "do anything to save a penny" monster that the rhetoric here has been suggesting. I'll note again the fact that I came here with a question. My original post wasn't, "Hey, guess what, I'm going to stay off-site and come park in your resort lots to skip the parking fees, and there's nothing you can do about it." I came asking for opinions, which I received, unfortunately in many cases coupled with some harsh and judgmental language and accusations.

Is it wrong to go out of your way and break the rules to avoid paying? Yes.

Disney has the "free"(aka build in) free parking for paying hotel guest only. Maybe you can look in to the cost of your current hotel, factor in discount codes and parking and see if staying off site makes sense.
 
If you read my post, you'd note that I said I've never been during a peak season. I've never seen the signage. It certainly wasn't there two weeks ago. Also not sure where all the vehemence is coming from. We have an AP so parking is free, so I really don't care where I park. If Disney does not want people to go to a resort on the Monorail line for a meal and then hop over to MK on the Monorail while leaving their car in the lot, they need to say so. Insinuating that I'm breaking some kind of special parking rule that is unpublished is not cool.



The lots would still be half empty? Again, it's off-season. Sorry, I really don't think the resorts are full to bursting.



I know this was directed at a different poster, but I want to be clear about your use of 'fee avoiders' since you also quoted me earlier in your post. I have an AP. I'm not paying parking anyhow. I'm not avoiding fees.

No you were not avoiding fees but you were taking a parking spot from a paying hotel guest.....
 

I know this was directed at a different poster, but I want to be clear about your use of 'fee avoiders' since you also quoted me earlier in your post. I have an AP. I'm not paying parking anyhow. I'm not avoiding fees.

An AP entitles you to free parking at a theme park lot, not a resort lot.
 
People seriously believe Disney security has NO Information on which cars enter Disney property? :rotfl2:

It is in their best interest to ignore the people desperate enough to plot and scheme for $14 savings. They've already gotten their hundreds from you. Best to allow you to "scam" them and show up to the parks 2hrs late.
 
An AP entitles you to free parking at a theme park lot, not a resort lot.

Thank you! When I say that people get upset but its true. Some hotels lots are not huge and its not right I am paying to stay at that hotel and I have to drive around for 15/20 minutes to find a spot.
 
I know this was directed at a different poster, but I want to be clear about your use of 'fee avoiders' since you also quoted me earlier in your post. I have an AP. I'm not paying parking anyhow. I'm not avoiding fees.

yeah i agree, i have annual pass as well so i dont need to avoid any fees and i have no clue who that person was calling a fee avoider.
 
An AP entitles you to free parking at a theme park lot, not a resort lot.

I don't disagree. But a $100 character breakfast certainly entitles me to park at the resort where the restaurant is. And, for the umpteenth time, if Disney intends there to be a 3 hour parking limit at a resort they would make that abundantly clear when you entered, either via the security guard at the gate or signs or slips that go on your dash. Since folks are not clearly reading all posts, I'll repeat: NONE OF THIS EXISTS DURING NON-PEAK SEASONS.
 
I don't disagree. But a $100 character breakfast certainly entitles me to park at the resort where the restaurant is. And, for the umpteenth time, if Disney intends there to be a 3 hour parking limit at a resort they would make that abundantly clear when you entered, either via the security guard at the gate or signs or slips that go on your dash. Since folks are not clearly reading all posts, I'll repeat: NONE OF THIS EXISTS DURING NON-PEAK SEASONS.

That $100 character meal does entitle you to something. It entitles you to 3 hous of parking at the resort. If you don't feel like moving your car after the meal, then park at the TTC and monorail in. You won't have to worry about moving your car later.

Of course the lot is going to have empty spots mid-day when many guests are out visiting other parks. But when they come back in the evening and have to circle endlessly to find a spot, they are no longer getting value for what they spent to stay there.
 
I don't disagree. But a $100 character breakfast certainly entitles me to park at the resort where the restaurant is. And, for the umpteenth time, if Disney intends there to be a 3 hour parking limit at a resort they would make that abundantly clear when you entered, either via the security guard at the gate or signs or slips that go on your dash. Since folks are not clearly reading all posts, I'll repeat: NONE OF THIS EXISTS DURING NON-PEAK SEASONS.

agreed... if you are there for a reason i dont see the problem nor do i see a reason for you to move your car if you don't have to. i mean maybe around Christmas or something there might be a problem with parking but in general there isn't.
 
That $100 character meal does entitle you to something. It entitles you to 3 hous of parking at the resort. If you don't feel like moving your car after the meal, then park at the TTC and monorail in. You won't have to worry about moving your car later.

Of course the lot is going to have empty spots mid-day when many guests are out visiting other parks. But when they come back in the evening and have to circle endlessly to find a spot, they are no longer getting value for what they spent to stay there.

so if a person is there for a meal and the gate guard doesnt say they only have three hours and says you can leave your car there the day. you still think that this person should walk back to their car drive to TTC, park probably very far away add an extra hour of travel time to their day just because its going to take you 5 minutes to find a spot
 
so if a person is there for a meal and the gate guard doesnt say they only have three hours and says you can leave your car there the day. you still think that this person should walk back to their car drive to TTC, park probably very far away add an extra hour of travel time to their day just because its going to take you 5 minutes to find a spot

No. I think they should park at the TTC to begin with. And it's not going to add anything to my time to find a spot. I don't stay at a monorail resort because I don't want to pay for that perk. But I wouldn't park there either.

We were coming through FL a few years ago and stopped at Disney for 1 night, doing dinner at 1900 PF then heading to the MK for a hard ticket party only. I really wanted to park at the GF and have the car that much closer at the end of a late night. But I wasn't sure of the policy. So I called and asked. I was told to park at the TTC and monorail over. And it didn't add anything close to an hour to might night. In fact, it really wasn't a big deal.
 
Is it wrong to go out of your way and break the rules to avoid paying? Yes.

Disney has the "free"(aka build in) free parking for paying hotel guest only. Maybe you can look in to the cost of your current hotel, factor in discount codes and parking and see if staying off site makes sense.

First, we've covered that. I'm not sure if you are just trying to be antagonistic, but I think that question is settled at this point.

As I have said at least once now (seems like maybe more than that), I am only staying off site because we are going down to stay with my mother-in-law at her timeshare. That means she owns the room for the week, and the only cost is an annual maintenance fee of a couple of hundred dollars, which we will only be paying part of. So, yes, staying off site still makes sense. And having to pay for the parking is not a prohibitive expense, I only brought it up here to get some feedback on alternative options, not to be flamed into oblivion. I was actually hoping with my original post to hear some other options too, which I have heard in the form of suggestions to use the city bus system, but those answers have largely been drowned out by people repeating the same message of disdain for the idea of parking at resorts.
 
I think a clear and direct question would be...

Taking a look at and comparing the relative size and design of the various lots, does anyone think that Disney intended for day guests to park at the nearby resort lots for the purpose of visiting the theme parks for the day?


ParkLot_Compare-050312.jpg
 
OP, while I'm not in any way advocating or excusing rudeness, I think there's a pretty simple explanation for why it happens, if you look at it from the perspective of the regulars on this board....

We average at least 4 threads a week asking for ways to avoid paying for parking at the theme parks. It gets discussed here, at great length, pretty much every single day. Every single thing that could possibly be said on the topic has been said, several times over. The inevitable result when it comes up yet again, is snark, and lots of it. Not saying that that's what we want to have happen, and as moderators we do want people to realize that the question may not be new to them, but it is to the poster, and to be respectful. But, when you're dealing with 'topic fatigue', it happens.

The other thing that's going on here is that most frequent visitors to WDW have had those fun times when they were late for their long-awaited DTD dinner reservation because they had to drive around the DTD lot for an hour, looking for a space.

Or, when they paid the hefty premium to stay at a Disney resort so they'd be close to the theme parks, and then had to drag their exhausted, cranky kids and their exhausted, cranky selves across the entire parking lot at their resort, because the lot was packed full of cars and the only space left was about a mile from their room.

Then they come here, read a post asking if it's OK to stay offsite and park at DTD to avoid paying $14, or if it's OK to stay offsite and park in some resort lot to avoid paying $14, and their blood pressure goes through the roof, remembering all the times they couldn't find parking.

Again, there's no excuse for posters to be rude. But the bottom line is, all of the ways to get out of paying for theme park parking are going to inconvenience someone else, and probably someone who arguably has more right to the parking space than you do. And that's going to get peoples' hackles up.

I get that the issue apparently comes up frequently here, but I do want to make clear that before posting, I ran a search here on the DIS with the keyword "parking," and not a single result on the first page was relevant. I even just tried it again, and not even THIS thread showed up in the results. I don't think I can be faulted for not knowing (and I know that you are not faulting me for this--but it seems like others have). I don't know what can be done to fix it, but I think that is an indication that the search function here is severely flawed, if not broken.
 
No. I think they should park at the TTC to begin with. And it's not going to add anything to my time to find a spot. I don't stay at a monorail resort because I don't want to pay for that perk. But I wouldn't park there either.

We were coming through FL a few years ago and stopped at Disney for 1 night, doing dinner at 1900 PF then heading to the MK for a hard ticket party only. I really wanted to park at the GF and have the car that much closer at the end of a late night. But I wasn't sure of the policy. So I called and asked. I was told to park at the TTC and monorail over. And it didn't add anything close to an hour to might night. In fact, it really wasn't a big deal.

i said going out moving the car to the TTC and if you don't stay there how do you even know that people cant find parking at the monorail resorts at night?? in the off season they don't care where you park if they care they let you know. they are there for a legitimate reason they arent trying to avoid any fees and the gate guard said it was fine nothing wrong was done in that situation..
 
I don't disagree. But a $100 character breakfast certainly entitles me to park at the resort where the restaurant is. And, for the umpteenth time, if Disney intends there to be a 3 hour parking limit at a resort they would make that abundantly clear when you entered, either via the security guard at the gate or signs or slips that go on your dash. Since folks are not clearly reading all posts, I'll repeat: NONE OF THIS EXISTS DURING NON-PEAK SEASONS.
And there it is. The I paid a lot of money so I should get to do what I want argument.
 
I don't disagree. But a $100 character breakfast certainly entitles me to park at the resort where the restaurant is. And, for the umpteenth time, if Disney intends there to be a 3 hour parking limit at a resort they would make that abundantly clear when you entered, either via the security guard at the gate or signs or slips that go on your dash. Since folks are not clearly reading all posts, I'll repeat: NONE OF THIS EXISTS DURING NON-PEAK SEASONS.

When we arrived at POP last September (off-peak), we were questioned by the security guard at the gate why we were there. When we explained we were there to check in, he chuckled and put away his pen and said, "Well, you don't need the 3-hour parking pass then because you'll be given a print-out for your dashboard upon check-in. Have a magical stay!" And this was at a VALUE resort during NON-PEAK season, so in my experience this doesn't hold water.

Don't think it only happens at Deluxe resorts or during peak times ... even with POP's huge parking lot, the guard was still asking why we were there and had the parking pass at the ready. Maybe it is hit-or-miss. :confused3
 


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