Tell me about PARKING at the parks??!!!

[nurseypoo5]

I'm seriously thinking of renting a compact car and letting DE take my bags (i'm assuming they will do this since we have ressies right, or my hubby can rent and i'll go with the kids on the bus) because of horror stories of bussing issues, esp at POR.

How is parking at MK, Epcot, and MGM? I'm not as concerned with AK as i heard those busses arent as crowded.

Do the parks have additional cost preferred parking? We like to leave and come back during the day...is it best to leave the car there and bus it back during non prime times?

I can rent a compact car for about 100- 125 for the week. I had already planned on taking a cab to two restaurants for a price of about 50.00 total for ride and tip.

Can you give me insight? thanks!

 

[resol37]

When you arrive at a park, an attendent will direct you to a stop. They usually direct you to a specific one and fill them up each at a time so that there aren't any gaps and they can fit in more people. Once you park, you'll get everything you need out of the car and walk over to the tram. If you're close enough to the park entrance, you don't have to take the tram you can walk (you'll be able to tell if you're close enough to comfortably walk). Keep in mind that if you have a stroller with you, you'll have to collapse it to get on the tram. It's the same when you're leaving the park, only backwards.

As far as it being crowded, the parking lots usually reflect the time period. It'll be busier during the summer, Christmas, etc. But as long as they've got open spaces, you can always catch a tram from your spot to the park entrance (make sure you write down which lot an row you're parked in).

There's no preferred parking if you pay more (reg parking price is $8 per car per day - if you hop you can take your receipt to the second park), unless you go through AAA. AAA has a seperated Diamond parking area, but I'm not sure how that works, you'd have to contact AAA.

If you come to a park in the afternoon/evening, ask if there are any spots up front. A lot of times, people will arrive as soon as the park opens and then leave after a few hours for a nap break or to hop to another park and leave behind their spots at the very front and an attendant can direct you to one of those spots.

If you arrive at a park later than 6 pm there usually isn't anybody in the kiosks where you would pay your $8 and you can drive right in. I don't know if this is policy, just something that I noticed when I was an intern - my friends and I would often pop over to a park for a late show or dinner. There usually isn't anybody to direct you to a spot either and you can just pick the closest one you see.

Remember, when you're going to MK, they don't have a parking lot at the park. Resort buses can drop you off at the park entrance. If you're driving, you will have to drive to the Ticket and Transportation Center, walk or take tram to the monorail/ferry, and take ferry or monorail to the park entrance.

Whenever I've stayed on site, my family usually takes the bus, but it is the Shades of Green bus, which is independent of Disney. We've never had any problems, but I have no experience with Disney buses. When I was an intern, we drove everywhere. It's easy to get lost on Disney property (some of those signs are confusing!), but no problems parking as long as you remember where you parked when you're ready to go!

 

[safetymom]

Parking is free at the parks for resorts guests. Parking is now $9 a day for offsite guests.

We drove our own car most of the time. It isn't bad since you walk to the end of your row and there is a tram to take you to the front of the park, at the MK it takes you to the TTC where you take a monorail or boat to the front of the park. The MK would be the only place I might take a bus since it gets you closer to the front of the park.

It's great when you see people lined up waiting for a bus and you can go right to your car.

 

[blondeheroine]

Something I learned from experience:

Don't ever let anyone see you put anything valuable in the car. We did this, stupidly, in the late 80s and had our car broken into. If you think you want to leave your camcorder or something in the car (this is assuming the weather is moderate) make sure you put everything away before you arrive on the lot.

I know this is probably common sense to most people, but back then we never thought about it (I was a kid) and so I always take the chance to tell people to do that.

 

[tkd lisa]

Since we live in Tampa, we drive most of the time so I've got lots of experience with parking.

At the MK you don't park directly at the entrance to the park. You go to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC). From there, you take either the monorail or the ferry to the park entrance. Leaving the park at closing you will still have MASSIVE lines to get back to your car. So MK is the one park I'd recommend using the bus even if you do have a car.

EPCOT is my favorite place to park. I don't think I've ever taken the tram, because I've always parked close enough to walk (but keep in mind that my family walks between EPCOT and MGM instead of taking transportation, so we don't mind long walks). They have parking on both sides of the road going into EPCOT, so it seems like you park closer than the other parks.

We've always driven to AK fairly close to opening, and have always been able to park close enough to walk.

If you are a resort guest, you can park for free at all locations. If you aren't, it's $9 a day to park. You can use your receipt if you move from parking lot to parking lot so you don't pay twice.

One thing I have noticed is that once an area of the lot is filled, they don't let you go back in there to fill in empty spots. So if you hop over to another park in the afternoon, you'll probably be way back in the back even if there are openings up front. At peak times, they may scout out the areas and move people back into open spaces, but normal park times, they just open the parking section by section.

 

[lovethattink]

I'm seriously thinking of renting a compact car and letting DE take my bags (i'm assuming they will do this since we have ressies right, or my hubby can rent and i'll go with the kids on the bus) because of horror stories of bussing issues, esp at POR.

How is parking at MK, Epcot, and MGM? I'm not as concerned with AK as i heard those busses arent as crowded.

Do the parks have additional cost preferred parking? We like to leave and come back during the day...is it best to leave the car there and bus it back during non prime times?

I can rent a compact car for about 100- 125 for the week. I had already planned on taking a cab to two restaurants for a price of about 50.00 total for ride and tip.

Can you give me insight? thanks!

Parking at all the parks is fine except MK. It's much more convenient to take a resort bus. When you park at MK, you then need to board a tram to the TTC, from there you stand in line to board either a ferry or monorail. With a resort bus, the bus drops you off at mk and you are there!

As posted above, we walk from our spot at Epcot as well.

The only problem we ever experienced in a parking lot was an EMH morning at AK. The man at the ticket booth didn't let the cars into the parking lot until 8am, and the emh started then. So we missed some emh time.

Since you were planning on taking a taxi twice, the rental car is probably a good idea.

 

[lexmelinda]

Last trip we stayed at Hotel Royal Palaza in DTD and the bus service was terrible! We then decided to drive our car to the parks every day and it was very convenient. We got there early and parked close so didn't have to take the trams and in the evening, we would swoop right in and get the spaces that were close. I remember parking in the closest space to the entrance at MGM. We are staying at POR and plan to drive every day this trip except MK day.

 

[Quinn222]

The one and only time I parked at a park it was Epcot. Tha parking procedure went just fine however there was not a single tram running to the parking lots either in the morning or in the afternoon and it was a heck of a hike out there. I leave my car at the hotel and take the buses now. FWIW I never had any trouble with buses when staying at POR.

 

[betterlatethannever]

I'm seriously thinking of renting a compact car and letting DE take my bags (i'm assuming they will do this since we have ressies right, or my hubby can rent and i'll go with the kids on the bus) ...

If you rent, you will have to go on the ME bus with the kids. ME will not transfer the luggage unless the person shows up at the ME counter at the airport and gets on the bus.

So, when you get your luggage tags from ME, they will be personalized with the names of each traveler. Do not use the tags of the person not going on ME (i.e. renting the car) since that luggage may never leave the airport.

Ed

 

[Cool-Beans]

Parking is free for resort guests. The lots are huge, but they have trams that shuttle you to the entrance, so the only walking you do is to the end of the row, which can be a short hike if you're parked at the end of a row.

We visit WDW 3-4 times a year and have never, EVER seen trams not running. There are always plenty of them. You might have to wait a couple (and I mean a couple, not 10) minutes, but there are always trams.

Preferred parking is for handicapped and AAA (Diamond lot.) I got the AAA pass once and - except for Epcot - it was more trouble than it is worth. You have to walk from the Diamond lot and taking the tram is just easier.

I haven't done Magical Express, but asked if they'd take just the bags and they said, "No." Just as well, as I have heard those folks have to wait for their bags to show up.

With the exception of the Magic Kingdom, driving is almost always faster than taking the bus. If you prefer driving at home (as opposed to taking the bus), rent the car - you'll be glad you did.

Oh, and remember where you parked!!! The lots are SO big! DH is a golfer, so I bring those little golf pencils with me to write down our parking location (Goofy 60, or whatever) and then throw the pencil out. Disney can get you to your section if you remember the time you arrived and did what the parking guys told you to do, but it is better to know where the car is.

 

[ntsammy5]

Parking is free for resort guests. The lots are huge, but they have trams that shuttle you to the entrance, so the only walking you do is to the end of the row, which can be a short hike if you're parked at the end of a row.

Preferred parking is for handicapped and AAA (Diamond lot.) I got the AAA pass once and - except for Epcot - it was more trouble than it is worth. You have to walk from the Diamond lot and taking the tram is just easier.

I haven't done Magical Express, but asked if they'd take just the bags and they said, "No." Just as well, as I have heard those folks have to wait for their bags to show up.

With the exception of the Magic Kingdom, driving is almost always faster than taking the bus. If you prefer driving at home (as opposed to taking the bus), rent the car - you'll be glad you did.

Oh, and remember where you parked!!! The lots are SO big! DH is a golfer, so I bring those little golf pencils with me to write down our parking location (Goofy 60, or whatever) and then throw the pencil out. Disney can get you to your section if you remember the time you arrived and did what the parking guys told you to do, but it is better to know where the car is.

All true. ME will NOT just take bags. We rent a car, but usually bus to MK. Other parks are fine with the bus. Use the trams except in Epcot. If going from Epcot to MK (or vice versa) remember the monorail takes quite a lot of time -- up to an hour, but a cool ride. Best use of car is park hopping. But again factor in MK. Driving there is a nuisance. Also remember you can use other resort buses. Like going from MK to Epcot, take BC or BW bus and walk over to International Gateway at Epcot. saves a lot of time. There are lots of strategies, and everyone has their favorite. Good luck.

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