Valet parking at Contemporary...and then walking to MK???

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Hello DISers! Thanks so much for all the great info so far. You are making me look like a WDW trip planning GENIUS in my family's eyes.

So...we have an Cali Grill ADR on our MK day in early October (non-MNSSHP night), but not until 5:20pm. Would it be ok to Valet Park at the Contemporary at 7:15am and walk over to MK? AllEars.net seems to indicate that it is A-OK, but wanted to hear from the experts.

TIA!!!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

Yes this is fine. There is a fee to valet park.

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Yes. I think the Valet fee is $20? Worth it to avoid the TTC/ferry/monorail! Thanks for the quick confirmation!

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

We did it three times June and 3 times last June too. Be careful what you say to the gate guard. I encourage some family members to do this last year because they were traveling with 2 scooters and didn't want the hassle of trying to get them on the monorail after the fireworks. They told the gate guard that they were there to valet park and the guard told them that they were not allowed to do that and that Disney has never allowed folks to do that but that is not true. We just say we are checking the resort out and the guards let us right in. You can say you have an ADR without mentioning what time the ADR is. Those that parked our car knew exactly where we were headed and said not a word. I think my family got a bad guard but we don't take any chances. When you are trying to get there quickly, the last thing you want to do is to have to travel back to the TTC and wait for the monorail or ferry!!

 

[mom2rtk]

We did it three times June and 3 times last June too. Be careful what you say to the gate guard. I encourage some family members to do this last year because they were traveling with 2 scooters and didn't want the hassle of trying to get them on the monorail after the fireworks. They told the gate guard that they were there to valet park and the guard told them that they were not allowed to do that and that Disney has never allowed folks to do that but that is not true. We just say we are checking the resort out and the guards let us right in. You can say you have an ADR without mentioning what time the ADR is. Those that parked our car knew exactly where we were headed and said not a word. I think my family got a bad guard but we don't take any chances. When you are trying to get there quickly, the last thing you want to do is to have to travel back to the TTC and wait for the monorail or ferry!!

Be careful trying to mislead the guard. When we arrived for our CM ADR last month, they actually scanned our magicband and brought it right up.

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Thanks Mom2! We will definitely watch what we say! Would be awful to be turned away. We have prepark ADR at BOG that day and want to take advantage of every extra minute.

 

[saskdw]

Be careful trying to mislead the guard. When we arrived for our CM ADR last month, they actually scanned our magicband and brought it right up.

It really seems to depend on the guard. I took a few cab rides last trip and when returning to my own resort in the taxi sometimes they asked to scan my MB and sometimes they just let the taxi in.

 

[AngiTN]

We did it three times June and 3 times last June too. Be careful what you say to the gate guard. I encourage some family members to do this last year because they were traveling with 2 scooters and didn't want the hassle of trying to get them on the monorail after the fireworks. They told the gate guard that they were there to valet park and the guard told them that they were not allowed to do that and that Disney has never allowed folks to do that but that is not true. We just say we are checking the resort out and the guards let us right in. You can say you have an ADR without mentioning what time the ADR is. Those that parked our car knew exactly where we were headed and said not a word. I think my family got a bad guard but we don't take any chances. When you are trying to get there quickly, the last thing you want to do is to have to travel back to the TTC and wait for the monorail or ferry!!

I believe technically this is true. That doesn't mean people don't do it all the time, they do. And it doesn't mean some you ask say it's ok, they do. But I believe going by the letter of the rule, you are only supposed to stay at the resort for 3 hours and only for eating. Checking out the resort to just walk around is a bit of a grey area. Sure, Disney likes folks to check out resorts but I don't believe they intend for you to walk in, look around a bit and then leave your car parked for 10 hours. What about the folks that pay to stay there who can't park because your car is there? Not you literally but figuratively. Even valet parking has it limits on how many cars can fit.

We've been turned away totally from parking at CR, even for an ADR. They had something going on that day and the parking was closed to all but resort and convention guests. We had to park at the TTC and monorail over for our meal.

 

[Memaw2Wm]

Okay, we have an ADR at Chef Mickey's at 7:50PM next week ... can we leave our car in the regular lot at the Contemporary after our dinner and walk to MK (open until midnight), or does my son need to move the car to MK's parking lot?

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Be careful trying to mislead the guard. When we arrived for our CM ADR, they actually scanned our magicband and brought it right up.

True! Good point! We are careful not to say we had an ADR. We would say we were checking out the resort and may grab something to eat from the counter service there which we do often on our non park days. Had breakfast and a monorail ride from the Contemporary the morning we were to drive home this year but we didn't valet park that day. But we did valet park at Wilderness Lodge to take the boat to the campgrounds. We had an afternoon planned of renting a boat, roasting marshmellows and an ADR. We were going to be parked for more than 3 hours so we paid to valet. Too bad we ran into a major downpour on the boat ride to the campground! Boy were we wet by the time we got out of that rain!

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Okay, we have an ADR at Chef Mickey's at 7:50PM next week ... can we leave our car in the regular lot at the Contemporary after our dinner and walk to MK (open until midnight), or does my son need to move the car to MK's parking lot?

I have always read that you can park for 3 hours. If we know we are going to be longer than that, we valet park. That was the reason for the valet parking at Wilderness Lodge a couple of weeks ago for our family. We were spending the afternoon/evening at the campgrounds but the campgrounds don't offer valet parking.

 

[gtpoohbear]

I wouldn't lie to the guard about why you are there, the last few times we went to a resort for an ADR, they looked up our reservation before letting us in. If you are caught in a lie, the definitely won't let you in.

I have always heard that valet parking does give you the privilege of going to the park, but I'm not sure if that's actuallf in writing in Disney's official rules anywhere.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Thanks Mom2! We will definitely watch what we say! Would be awful to be turned away. We have prepark ADR at BOG that day and want to take advantage of every extra minute.

Well since you do have an ADR at the Contemporary, I think there shouldn't be any problem with you valet parking. I just wouldn't offer my ADR time. If they scan your band (which we never had on), then just explain your plans are. You should be fine. I just like to warn folks because if your schedule is tight, a trip back to the TTC could throw them off. I trust the info I read here even more than the info I get from CMs most of the time.

 

[mom2rtk]

When we parked at the Beach Club for breakfast at Cape May, we didn't have our bands, and they did indeed check our ADR (and time) on a master list.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

I didn't suggest anyone should tell an outright lie. The OP does have an ADR but just for later in the day. We usually do walk through the resort on the way back to the car and check out a few things. My DS love the arcades. We have had our ADR's checked and we have not had our ADR's checked. I just wanted to put it out there, that there may be a chance, that if you pull up to the guard and say you are there to valet park and go the park, you may be turned away. It happened to my family last June. We came in 10 minutes after them and had a different guard that didn't give us any problems. When we get out of our cars at the valet stand, we have been told to have a nice time at the parks. They know where we are going. If they had a problem with it, they could just refuse to park our car. We have been to may different resorts and told the guards we wanted to check the resort out and none of them have ever batted an eye. Most tell us to enjoy our visit. Resort tours are often encouraged in many books and webpages. If our family visits a resort, we are out of the parking lot by 3 hours or we find a way to valet our car.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

When we parked at the Beach Club for breakfast at Cape May, we didn't have our bands, and they did indeed check our ADR (and time) on a master list.

And we had 3 Beaches and Cream ADRs in June and our ADR wasn't check once. We have also had ADRs that were checked on a list to make sure was there. I think it depends alot on the guard you get. But we have never said we had an ADR when we didn't and I wouldn't suggest anyone do that.

 

[itchin2go]

I have always read that you can park for 3 hours. If we know we are going to be longer than that, we valet park. That was the reason for the valet parking at Wilderness Lodge a couple of weeks ago for our family. We were spending the afternoon/evening at the campgrounds but the campgrounds don't offer valet parking.

The 3 hour thing is mostly true, but not always. Once when we were dining at the Grand Floridian, they told us we would have to valet park, which was ok with us, but it's just interesting that self-park was not an option there, that night. (We were eating at 1900 Park Fare, not trying to avoid parking at MK.) At the Boardwalk, we had to park in a distant lot, not the regular one. So yeah, at most places, you won't have a problem self-parking for an ADR, but it's not foolproof.

 

[Lehuaann]

Be careful trying to mislead the guard. When we arrived for our CM ADR last month, they actually scanned our magicband and brought it right up.

Yep, same for us.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

Thanks Mom2! We will definitely watch what we say! Would be awful to be turned away. We have prepark ADR at BOG that day and want to take advantage of every extra minute.

You're welcome. I wish someone would have warned my family that it could happen. I wasn't suggesting that you lie to the guard but that if you came right out and said that you wanted to valet park to go to MK, that there is a chance you would be turned away. Don't ever tell a guard that you have a ADR if you don't. More than likely, it will be checked. I would suggest arriving extra early so that if you are turned away, it won't make you late to your BOG ADR. That is what our family did. We arrived before 7 a.m. for our 8:05 a.m. ADR.

 

[AngiTN]

Another idea, if you are staying on site, take a taxi from your resort to CR that morning. You can ask the taxi to let you out in the parking lot that is just to the left of the guard shack, right at the walkway to MK. A taxi will cost about the same as valet parking. After dinner you can walk back to MK and take a bus to your resort. To avoid a 2nd taxi ride.