Parking

[EsmeraldaX]

Hi. I was hoping someone could tell me about parking at the parks and the hotels and the trans & ticket center.

We will be staying off site at High Pointe Resort (my boyfriends mom has a place there) and driving to & from Disney for 5 days.

Does parking fill up? Do they ever run out of spaces? Is it better to park at the TTC and take busses from there? How much is parking?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Sheri

 

[Mike Jones]

I've never heard of the carparks getting full, but I suppose it could happen! I'm sure the parks would be closed first. Car parking is $6 (or was last trip) at the main parks, and free at the waterparks. (and if you move car from one park to another you won't pay again.. just show your first ticket) I would just go to the carpark serving your chosen park that day and then use disney transport if you want to 'hop' (only exception is if you wanted to stay til parks close and your car is at a different carpark, you will be fighting the crowds... you could park your car at the park you expect to end your day at, and use DT to get to your first choice! The buses etc seem to start an hour+ before the official opening times.

 

[Safari Steve]

If these are your expectations, you will certainly be surprised and impressed.
There are more than enough parking spaces.
A courtesy tram will take you from your parking lane to the main entrance of each park or the TTC.
The lots only close if the parks fill to capacity (which only happens on major holidays like New Year's Eve, Christmas Day, Easter, July 4th).
Parking is $7 and your parking pass is valid for all 4 parks.
The TTC is the parking area for Magic Kingdom, and you will take a monorail or ferry over to the park. The other parks are accessible from TTC (Epcot by Monorail and Studios and DAK by bus), but if you're only doing one park per day, it would be silly to park at TTC for any park besides MK.

At the first park you visit, go to the Guest Relations lobby and ask for a transportation map. It will be very helpful for getting around, and it contains a WDW Transport guide, which shows what transportation to take to and from different locations.

Parking at Downtown Disney is free all day every day. All lots are within short walking distance from the shops and restaurants.

 

[sha_lyn]

You mentioned in the OP hotel parking. If you park at a hotel and are not a guest of that hotel, you are given a 3hr parking pass. this is to keep people from parking at the hotels instead of the park parking lots. Also at DTD there is no direct transportation to any of the parks. This is also to keep people from parking at DTD and to visit the parks.

MGM and Epcot have a ferry that go between the 2 of them (also stops at the epcot area resorts and the boardwalk). If you plan to visit more than one park per day, I would park at the place you plan on being at last. IE park at MGM, ferry over to Epcot, then ferry back to MGM. Park at TTC, bus over to AK, then back over to MK

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Thanks all for the great replies!

I know that one day we wanted to visit Ft Wilderness and go horseback riding and rent speedboats. Would it be best to park at the TTC then, since this will likely take us more than 3 hours?

What about parking for the Hoop Dee Doo show?

 

[Safari Steve]

Fort Wilderness actually has a guest parking area for such visits. Trail rides leave from the Outpost (visitor parking area), and busses to the settlement (petting farm, restaurants, wagon rides, marina) leave from there as well. If you park at the TTC, you will have to take a bus to the Outpost area, so it's best to just park at Ft Wilderness.
The other resorts, however, will give you a time-limit parking pass.

 

[obnurse2003]

The area at WDW is SO well mapped out with large signs for each destination. For the Hoop Dee doo , you just follow the signs for Fort Wilderness. You park there and then jump on a bus that runs to the Hoop Dee Doo. It's so easy. And when in doubt, just ask!!! Buses are also marked as to their destination.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Thank you all!