Visiting Other Resorts

[xlauren13x]

My sister and I have a trip booked next month and we are staying at one of the All-Star resorts. We have made some dinning reservations at other resorts, but we weren’t sure about transportation. Do they allow you to drive your car and park at other resorts? Or do you have to use the Disney transportation?

 

[gmi3804]

You can certainly park for free at any resort with a dining reservation. And probably even without one, though that’s up to the guard at the gate. Riviera, Contmporary, and Yacht/Beach Club are pretty strict for those without dining reservations due to their proximity to the parks. You may or may not be told you have a three hour limit, though enforcement of that limit is extremely rare.

 

[OppR2nist]

With how reliable Disney transport can be, I wouldn't even bother using a car if it can be avoided. I know it's not perfect, but I have never brought a car to Disney when there's plenty of free transport available and Uber exists. Even if you do feel the need to take an Uber/Lyft, the price will still be below what you'd spend in gas/parking.

 

[xlauren13x]

You can certainly park for free at any resort with a dining reservation. And probably even without one, though that’s up to the guard at the gate. Riviera, Contmporary, and Yacht/Beach Club are pretty strict for those without dining reservations due to their proximity to the parks. You may or may not be told you have a three hour limit, though enforcement of that limit is extremely rare.

Okay thank you

 

[xlauren13x]

With how reliable Disney transport can be, I wouldn't even bother using a car if it can be avoided. I know it's not perfect, but I have never brought a car to Disney when there's plenty of free transport available and Uber exists. Even if you do feel the need to take an Uber/Lyft, the price will still be below what you'd spend in gas/parking.

If we were flying we wouldn’t have a car, but we will be driving.

 

[OppR2nist]

If we were flying we wouldn’t have a car, but we will be driving.

Even still, you won't need a car inside the bubble. I've been on family trips where a car was rented, and it sat idle at the resort once we were in it. Save yourself the hassle and the money. Park at your resort, and leave it there.

 

[gmi3804]

Even still, you won't need a car inside the bubble. I've been on family trips where a car was rented, and it sat idle at the resort once we were in it. Save yourself the hassle and the money. Park at your resort, and leave it there.

Everyone’s opinions about Disney transportation vary. For me, nothing would kill the buzz of a nice dinner at a resort faster than dealing with resort-to-resort Disney buses.

 

[pixieprincess925]

I agree with PP. I always rent a car when I go to Disney and I use it to go to every park except Magic Kingdom. Parking at the parks is free for resort guests anyway - but I would definitely use it to go to a dinner reservation.

 

[CarolynFH]

When we have a car, which is most of the time, we would definitely use the car to go to a resort for a dinner reservation. The exception would be a resort that is very close to a park, AND we expect to finish our dinner before the park closes, so that we can conveniently and easily take park transportation back to our resort. Traveling from resort to resort is a major hassle, involving transportation from the dinner resort to DS and transfer there to transportation to the resort you’re staying at. So, IMHO, driving your car is the best option.

 

[Marthasor]

Everyone’s opinions about Disney transportation varies. For me, nothing would the buzz of a nice dinner at a resort faster than dealing with resort-to-resort Disney buses.

I completely agree. Disney transportation is not convenient for resort-to-resort transfers. If OP has a dining reservation at a resort, the best thing to do, IMHO, is to drive one's own car or uber/lyft there. Otherwise, the WDW suggestion of allowing at least 90 minutes to get from resort-to-resort is no joke.

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

I agree with PP. I always rent a car when I go to Disney and I use it to go to every park except Magic Kingdom. Parking at the parks is free for resort guests anyway - but I would definitely use it to go to a dinner reservation.

Same here.

 

[_19disnA]

Driving your own car gives you the most flexibility in traveling around Disney particularly if you want to go directly from point A to point B when Disney transportation may include other stops. We used Disney transportation quite a bit during our last trip and never had any big issues. When going to dinner it isn't like you are in some kind of race to see how fast you can get there, so it mostly would be a matter of personal preference. Disney is more restrictive on parking at hotels closest to the theme parks due to those trying to 'game' the parking fees by parking for free.

While you can park somewhere if you have an ADR, Disney's intent is that you aren't doing that to avoid parking fees at the theme park. The particular resort, time of day and other factors like having a large convention seems to be part of the reason why some indicate more/less parking restrictions then others.

 

[NavyDad]

I have one thing to suggest: when we have had ADR's at other resorts, we have had a lot of luck each time letting our bus driver know we that we had ADR's at the resort and just asking what's the best way to get there. For example:

Staying at Pop, we had dinner reservations for Boma around 5:30. We left Pop at 4 PM to catch a bus to Animal Kingdom. That time, the bus driver actually asked if anyone had dining reservations at AKL and we said yes. There was only about 10 people on the bus. He dropped our family off at AKL and we had a bunch of extra time to explore the resort and the main reservation before our ADR. It was very convenient.

During a trip years later, we were again staying at Pop we had a reservation to the signature restaurant at AKL. We hopped a bus to Animal Kingdom and let the bus driver know that we had ADR at AKL and we were able to get dropped off right there again. It was great.

Staying at AoA before the Skyliner, we had dinner ADR for Cape May Cafe. We hopped a bus to DHS and planned to take the friendship boats to Beach Club. There was a storm that popped up and we were afraid the boats would not be running. We told the bus driver we had ADR at Cape May and he dropped us off right at Beach Club. Worked out very well. We have always found that the Disney Transportation folks go out of their way to help out.

On the flip side, we almost always have our car with us and have had lots of luck driving to resorts, even without an ADR. We have done this probably have a dozen times. I just drive to the gate of the resort we want to visit. We tell the guard where we are staying and that we would like to visit the resort for a couple of hours to grab a bit to eat, do some shopping and scope it out as a possible future place we may stay. We have never been turned away using this approach, although once or twice we have been told that it's a 3 hour max.

Good luck!

 

[georgina]

I agree with PP. I always rent a car when I go to Disney and I use it to go to every park except Magic Kingdom. Parking at the parks is free for resort guests anyway - but I would definitely use it to go to a dinner reservation.

Agree. We even drive to the MK. The ferry is a pleasant ride. I have used Disney buses when I am staying onsite on a solo trip, not a fan.

 

[iwannabdduck]

When we were at WDW in April, we had ADR's at 3 different resorts ... YC, AK, and Riviera. Stayed at Poly, but drove our car to those different resorts for each dinner reservation. In every case, the guard looked up our name on some hand-held thingamajig to confirm that we had a reservation when we stopped at the resort parking lot guard house. Last year we were denied entrance to Riviera when we told the guard we wanted to visit the resort. At AK, we were allowed in on another occassion when we said we wanted to just visit the gift shop. It varies, but you should be okay with a dinner reservation.

 

[jasonsk287]

I just returned from 3 amazing nights at AKL-Jambo. When I arrived on property (I rented a car from MCO), there was a sign at the entrance that a dining or room reservation was required to park on property (it stated due to "limited space", and the lot was seemingly always packed). I'm sure it's up to the guard how strict they want to be with this, but when I arrived they used a small iPad-style device to look up my reservation and allow me into the lot.

 

[focusondisney]

I have one thing to suggest: when we have had ADR's at other resorts, we have had a lot of luck each time letting our bus driver know we that we had ADR's at the resort and just asking what's the best way to get there. For example:

Staying at Pop, we had dinner reservations for Boma around 5:30. We left Pop at 4 PM to catch a bus to Animal Kingdom. That time, the bus driver actually asked if anyone had dining reservations at AKL and we said yes. There was only about 10 people on the bus. He dropped our family off at AKL and we had a bunch of extra time to explore the resort and the main reservation before our ADR. It was very convenient.

During a trip years later, we were again staying at Pop we had a reservation to the signature restaurant at AKL. We hopped a bus to Animal Kingdom and let the bus driver know that we had ADR at AKL and we were able to get dropped off right there again. It was great.

Staying at AoA before the Skyliner, we had dinner ADR for Cape May Cafe. We hopped a bus to DHS and planned to take the friendship boats to Beach Club. There was a storm that popped up and we were afraid the boats would not be running. We told the bus driver we had ADR at Cape May and he dropped us off right at Beach Club. Worked out very well. We have always found that the Disney Transportation folks go out of their way to help out.

On the flip side, we almost always have our car with us and have had lots of luck driving to resorts, even without an ADR. We have done this probably have a dozen times. I just drive to the gate of the resort we want to visit. We tell the guard where we are staying and that we would like to visit the resort for a couple of hours to grab a bit to eat, do some shopping and scope it out as a possible future place we may stay. We have never been turned away using this approach, although once or twice we have been told that it's a 3 hour max.

Good luck!

I think you have been very lucky with getting dropped off at resorts instead of a park. I know it has happened & I don’t doubt it did for you. But I just don’t think anyone should count on that happening. We’ve been going to WDW for almost 30 years, usually 3-5 trips a year. And we make ADRs at resorts a lot. We’ve never had a driver go off his designated route for us or anyone on our bus.

 

[Hitchhiking Ghost]

Keep in mind, Disney Transportation does not go resort to resort, so if time isn't as important for you, use Disney Transport, but otherwise I'd stick with the car if you can. After all, you are paying a resort fee to park the car, might as well drive it around some.

 

[NavyDad]

I think you have been very lucky with getting dropped off at resorts instead of a park. I know it has happened & I don’t doubt it did for you. But I just don’t think anyone should count on that happening. We’ve been going to WDW for almost 30 years, usually 3-5 trips a year. And we make ADRs at resorts a lot. We’ve never had a driver go off his designated route for us or anyone on our bus.

Have you ever asked?

We honestly never would even have thought to ask if the bus driver hadn't offered the first time at AKL.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

We always drive to WDW and we also think that WDW transportation is great to the parks, BUT when we go resort-to-resort we will always drive our own car. To much time is wasted using WDW trying to go from 1 resort to another.

I do have another question On our up coming trip we want to visit POFQ and since they do not do ADRs and that they are a Mod, I am thinking that it should not be an issue. I know it wasn't in the past.