Parking & Staying on Site?

[Ally&Alec's Mom]

We will be checking into the POP century on Oct. 12th, but will be driving in from mom/dads place about 1 hr away in Ocala, so we planned on going directly to MK in morning and then taking a midday break and go to POP to check in and use pool for a couple of hours. Would it be wiser to go to POP first leave bags, take bus over to MK then take bus back in afternoon to check in, or head straight for MK then drive over to POP in the afternoon. We do not need to go to hotel to purchase tickets or get passes, so this isnt an issue. Also wondering what proof you need to show parking lot attendant to waive parking fee since we will be staying onsite, but have not checked in yet??? thanks in advance for any help.

 

[oogieboogie]

The best way is to just go to POP and check in even if it's early in the morning. If your room isn't ready then you can leave it with luggage services.

At check-in you will be given a parking pass to put on the dashboard of your car. It'll will state your resort and stay dates.

From there, you can either take the bus from POP to MK or drive there. I personally like taking the bus to MK because it deposits you right at MK gates, whereas if you drive, you park at TTC parking lot, take a tram to TTC, then take a monorail/ferry to MK.

If you don't have the parking pass, you will have to pay parking unless you have annual passes. So, you might as well take some time to go to POP first. Just start from your parents' place an hour earlier to give yourself some time to get to POP and check in.

 

[Ally&Alec's Mom]

I think that is the most reasonable solution to drive to POP first, not sure if my husband will want to leave luggage with Luggage Services thou...hes a little "wary" of everything "modern". He just started using a debit card in the stores or for gas,,,lol. He still wont let me convince him that you can save a fee by using it as credit! He thinks everyone is out to get you! But we can always leave luggage in the car, no big deal! I have read on a couple other boards that some people are lucky and are able to go to their room early, I guess it hotel is not at full capacity that might be an option! Maybe we will have luck in October! Thanks for the advice!

 

[oogieboogie]

We always check in at the earliest possible even if it means at 7am in the morning. Out of all the times we've gone (6 trips, many split stays) I've only had 1 time where the room wasn't ready.

If the room isn't ready, they'll give you a card with a phone number that you call later after 3pm to find out your room number.

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

We drive to WDW too and we always pre check in to our resort for a variety of reasons. First, I like to check in as soon as we get there, no matter how early, because sometimes the rooms is ready. If not, I prefer that our luggage be stored inside an air conditioned building instead of in my baking car all day, advertising to anyone who has access to it that it is full of clothes, luggage, video camera, possible money. A pretty easy target.

Also, we always go to MK our first day. It is much easier to go to the MK on the bus and be dropped off at the gate than it is to drive, ride the tram, ride the monorail.

Finally, we usually stay at a moderate resort. There is usually plenty of parking with some shade. That way, our car can be sitting in the shade all day and not in the hot sun in the MK parking lot.

It just works out better all around for us.

 

[kelleigh1]

I was just thinking the same thing. It seems strange that your husband feels comfortable leaving the luggage in the car sitting in the parking lot all day instead of with the resort.