I believe if you go to the theme park first you need to pay for the parking, but once you check into your hotel I think they give you the money back. At least this is what I have heard. I know when you check into your resort they give you a paper that says you are a Disney guest and that you have the free parking...without that paper the parking attendants won't know whether or not you are a guest I am assuming. Unless since I have been there that they updated the parking attendants with magic band scanners so they can see where you are staying...but I haven't heard anything about that.