Tell me about parking...

[atilley01]

We're staying offsite so we'll have a car for the whole stay. What is parking like at the different parks? Would it be a big hassle to leave and come back if we wanted to take a break?

Thanks!

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

As long as you keep your receipt you will have no problem returning after a break. If you parkhop, that receipt will allow you to park at any of the 4 parks on that date as well.

 

[tjevans]

Whether leaving and coming back will be a hassle is going to depend on several factors:

Which park? Leaving MK and coming back to the same park is going to be a hassle because you have to park and then take a monorail or ferry. I'd say add at least fifteen minutes travel time from when you leave your car before you can be at the gates for the MK--probably more. At all the other parks, the parking lot is right outside the gate.

Where did you park? To say the parking lots are huge is an understatement. You can definitely walk from the park gates to the closest spots, but I wouldn't want to do that (especially if I was tired) to the farthest spots. That's why they have trams. While they run constantly, that's going to be some wait time.

What time of year? The more crowded the park, the more crowded the parking lot, leading to a longer average time to get to your car. Also, depending on how close you're staying, if you're going in summer, the car's air conditioning may not even begin to cool your car after it's sat in the Florida sun for a few hours. (Also, if you leave during the middle of the day, and that park closes to capacity while you're gone, are you guaranteed re-admission to that park?)

Where are you going? Obviously, the further away you go during your break, the longer it will take you to get there and to return.

How long are you staying? Let's say that the time for your break, including round trip travel, takes three hours. If you're only staying four days, you may not want to take that time. If you're staying ten days, that may not seem so significant to you.

 

[matheke]

Whether leaving and coming back will be a hassle is going to depend on several factors:

Which park? Leaving MK and coming back to the same park is going to be a hassle because you have to park and then take a monorail or ferry. I'd say add at least fifteen minutes travel time from when you leave your car before you can be at the gates for the MK--probably more. At all the other parks, the parking lot is right outside the gate.

Where did you park? To say the parking lots are huge is an understatement. You can definitely walk from the park gates to the closest spots, but I wouldn't want to do that (especially if I was tired) to the farthest spots. That's why they have trams. While they run constantly, that's going to be some wait time.

What time of year? The more crowded the park, the more crowded the parking lot, leading to a longer average time to get to your car. Also, depending on how close you're staying, if you're going in summer, the car's air conditioning may not even begin to cool your car after it's sat in the Florida sun for a few hours. (Also, if you leave during the middle of the day, and that park closes to capacity while you're gone, are you guaranteed re-admission to that park?)

Where are you going? Obviously, the further away you go during your break, the longer it will take you to get there and to return.

How long are you staying? Let's say that the time for your break, including round trip travel, takes three hours. If you're only staying four days, you may not want to take that time. If you're staying ten days, that may not seem so significant to you.

Just two more thing to add to the decision, park hours and Park Hoppers. The hours depend on the season, if the MK has midnight or later closing time then yes. If all the parks are closed by 9PM (7PM at MK for parties) then maybe leaving for 3 hours is not such a good thing.

If you have Hoppers you can always return to the park that is open the latest (Usually the MK)

 

[atilley01]

Just two more thing to add to the decision, park hours and Park Hoppers. The hours depend on the season, if the MK has midnight or later closing time then yes. If all the parks are closed by 9PM (7PM at MK for parties) then maybe leaving for 3 hours is not such a good thing.

If you have Hoppers you can always return to the park that is open the latest (Usually the MK)

We're planning for the end of April 2016. We want to do rope drop for most days but we're avoiding any parks with Magic Hours since we're staying off site. We're also not doing Park Hoppers. We'll be there a total of 8 days.

 

[Eolyn]

We always drive whether we are on or off-site and don't park hop. To be honest, I think leaving, getting to the car only to try to come back later is a hassle because of the random additional travel time. Looks like you'll be there for a while so it may not be as big of a deal if you lose time in the parks. Just expect that you'll need some time just to actually get to your car. You'll know once you get into the parks the first time whether it's worth it to leave for a break and for how long.

 

[Planogirl]

Usually getting to the car at Animal Kingdom is no big deal. If you are early, you probably won't have much trouble getting to your car at any of the parks. (Except for the Magic Kingdom but we see the ferry and monorail as attractions themselves.) It might be more of a pest when you come back because they might just park you on the back 40 as the saying goes. Just enjoy your tram ride.

We have always taken breaks and sometimes these consist of heading to a nearby Disney resort to eat lunch. It's nice to get offsite away from the crowds. We like to stop and get cold drinks sometimes and just chill in the hotel room.