Parking in Resorts Strategy/Question

[HopperFan]

So i had a similar situation recently. Was staying at Beach Club and had tickets for Mickeys Not So Scary. We had a 5 o’clock reservation at Grand Floridan cafe the night of the party. We wanted to drive there and leave the car there so we didn’t have to deal with all the crowds when leaving the party. The day before, based on recommendations from here, we went to the Grand and asked about leaving our car there thru the party after dinner for several hours. We were told by the parking attendant if you pay for valet you can leave your car there as long as you want. They said “someone is here 24/7 so as long as you pay you can leave your car”. We arrived at the Grand an hour and a half prior to dinner so we could enjoy the Enchanted Rose.
No judgment for people here please we did what was suggested and told by cast members what was allowed

You had an ADR and you paid for Valet. That is permitted.

The issue is when folks want to park for free with no reason to be at the hotel (Hotel Guest or impending ADR with 3 hour window).

I think the only issue is if Valet is back at the particular hotel.



Valet Parking
Valet service continues to be available for Guests with disabilities who may require parking assistance. A valid disability parking permit is required. Valet service will be reintroduced to hotels over the coming months. Upon your arrival, please check with the Security Host for parking options. Valet service is $33 per night (sales tax included).

 

[shoegal9]

There are cameras aimed at your plate as you drive in. You may not see them write it down, but eventually they do or they have it recorded. However they also charge guests for parking who don't have a car, so the system is definitely flawed. No real consistency.

I have no doubt there are cameras at the entrances. However, I do not think that they keep track of every vehicle that enters and exits, and why it enters (dinner or guest) and how long they stay, and then go around the parking lot to verify if someone has left and issues tickets. I wouldn't care if they actually did that because I don't try to break parking rules., but they do not manage guests entering or exiting the vast majority of the time.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I don't think you'll have an issue with a short term drop off of groceries. Just explain your situation and I believe you will be fine.
Edit to note no advance phone calls necessary IMO!

This would be the simple no cost solution unless she is staying on a Disney Package which includes tickets vs a room only reservation.

If she is on a Disney Package then you would need to just have her name as listed on her reservation and you are able to visit her at the GF.

You would just need to show a photo ID at the GF gate and the CM can verify her reservation and direct you where to park. You can also pull up to the Portico. and drop off your Grocery bags.

Dave

Does your niece have a room-only reservation? If so, she could add just one of you to the reservation now. If she adds both of you, she will have to pay a nightly, extra adult charge. If she has a package reservation, she can ask the front desk CM to add your name when she checks in.

Thanks everyone! She does have a room-only reservation - staying on a conference rate.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

So i had a similar situation recently. Was staying at Beach Club and had tickets for Mickeys Not So Scary. We had a 5 o’clock reservation at Grand Floridan cafe the night of the party. We wanted to drive there and leave the car there so we didn’t have to deal with all the crowds when leaving the party. The day before, based on recommendations from here, we went to the Grand and asked about leaving our car there thru the party after dinner for several hours. We were told by the parking attendant if you pay for valet you can leave your car there as long as you want. They said “someone is here 24/7 so as long as you pay you can leave your car”. We arrived at the Grand an hour and a half prior to dinner so we could enjoy the Enchanted Rose.
No judgment for people here please we did what was suggested and told by cast members what was allowed

You did exactly what is within the rules. No problem.

 

[Salf777]

You did exactly what is within the rules. No problem.

I always try to do what’s within the rules not only because it’s the proper thing to do I just never want to put cast members in an awkward situation. They work so hard and I see so many people being rude to them it’s so uncalled for

 

[DebLovesPooh]

I have a similar question that probably doesn't warrant its own thread so I'll toss it here:

I'm staying at Polynesian in December and my dad is staying at Boardwalk. He's going to come over to Polynesian for breakfast at Kona and then we're going to head to Magic Kingdom. He has a rental car and I do not.

Can I just give him a Magic Band assigned to my resort reservation to use to get into the parking lot? We're both DVC members staying on our own points so there's not issue around paying for the parking.

This should work.

 

[georgina]

As an alternative strategy, Are there any issues with walking over to the contemporary from the Magic Kingdom and calling an Uber to pick us up from the contemporary to go home? How about vice versa, can we have an Uber drop us off at the contemporary so we can walk over to the Magic Kingdom? We are just trying to avoid the hassle (at least in our point of view) of the TTC. It is more efficient for us to just walk and catch a ride.

I have walked to the Contemporary after late night parties and called an Uber from there. I was not the only one. No problem.

Before the Halloween party in August I had an ADR at the GFC for lunch, the parking attendant asked the Uber driver for his ID, but did not ask to scan my band for the ADR. Sounds like they are supposed to, maybe it is not as big a problem there as at the Contemporary? After lunch I took the GF resort launch to the MK for the party. Probably a YMMV situation. When we parked at GF in May to dine at Narcoossee's they did scan my band.

 

[Pseudonym]

How does this work on non-park days when you are just Resort hopping? We have breakfast reservations at AKL, then dinner reservations at YC. In between we were planning to hop around the Deluxe Resorts to see the Christmas decor. Probably doing QS for lunch / snacks / tea at the GF or WL or Poly. We have no parks planned for this day. Are QS guests allowed to park whilst they eat or look around the resort, say an hour or so? Thank you for your advice.

 

[Marthasor]

How does this work on non-park days when you are just Resort hopping? We have breakfast reservations at AKL, then dinner reservations at YC. In between we were planning to hop around the Deluxe Resorts to see the Christmas decor. Probably doing QS for lunch / snacks / tea at the GF or WL or Poly. We have no parks planned for this day. Are QS guests allowed to park whilst they eat or look around the resort, say an hour or so? Thank you for your advice.

QS guests cannot park at resorts - you must have an ADR, resort reservation, activity reservation or pay for valet parking (where available) in order to park your car. They are particularly strict around the holidays and particularly strict at resorts that have easy access to the parks. You could park at Disney Springs after your AKL breakfast and take a resort bus (or uber/lyft/Minnie Van) from there or park at TTC (free for WDW resort guests) and take the monorail from there to access the MK resorts (or boat from MK to go to WL). TTC would probably be easier as you wouldn't need to bus back to DS to get your car and could simply drive to YC when it's time to go to dinner.

 

[focusondisney]

How does this work on non-park days when you are just Resort hopping? We have breakfast reservations at AKL, then dinner reservations at YC. In between we were planning to hop around the Deluxe Resorts to see the Christmas decor. Probably doing QS for lunch / snacks / tea at the GF or WL or Poly. We have no parks planned for this day. Are QS guests allowed to park whilst they eat or look around the resort, say an hour or so? Thank you for your advice.

Are you staying on property? The easiest way is probably just using Disney transportation. Take the bus to MK, monorail around the resorts, bus from MK to WL. Then bus to Studios, boat it skyliner to Epcot stop. Walk around the resorts there. After you can reverse that back to Studios, or bus to MK or Springs to get back to your resort.