Weird Parking Question

[laevson4712]

We are doing a pre and post stay at WDW in conjunction with our 5 night cruise. Pre cruise we are staying at Jambo House, not sure yet for post cruise but will most likely be a different resort. My parents are driving down to WDW and since our party for the cruise will be too large to fit in their car we are getting a car service to Port Canaveral. So basically is it possible to leave the car at the resort during the cruise? Should we move it to the new resort first? Thank you for your advice!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Generally, you are not allowed to leave the car at either resort. If allowed you will pay nightly parking fees.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Just park the car at Port Canaveral.

 

[Dano1182]

I do not think you can store you car at a Disney resort.while on a cruise.
But I have never asked.

 

[Donna M]

I did ask through the chat feature last year and was told no. Our plans changed and we drove to the port and parked there. If we had to leave it at Disney, I was going to call the hotel directly and ask them, hoping for the answer I wanted. The resort will have the answer you need.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I did ask through the chat feature last year and was told no. Our plans changed and we drove to the port and parked there. If we had to leave it at Disney, I was going to call the hotel directly and ask them, hoping for the answer I wanted. The resort will have the answer you need.

Calls "directly" to the resort go to a call center. I would never rely on their answer for a plan like this one.

 

[Donna M]

Calls "directly" to the resort go to a call center. I would never rely on their answer for a plan like this one.

There should be a way to talk to the manager at the front desk?

I would like to see some accommodations for situations like this. We always stay before and after our short cruises. Our friends moved down to Florida, so now there are two cars, one which won't be used when we cruise together. Resorts with large parking lots should be able to help out especially since it's a Disney Cruise.

 

[Ms.Minnie]

I don't know the answer to the question but I think if you're doing a Disney cruise and staying at a WDW resort before and after they should be able to accommodate you some way. If it were me I would call Member Services to try and get an answer, if they can't supply an answer I would see if they could supply contact information for the resort itself. If after that you don't have an answer I would call my contact for the cruise to see what they can do.

FYI - if doing a Disney cruise they have bus transportation from the resort to the cruise so you wouldn't have to use a car service.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There should be a way to talk to the manager at the front desk?

Not by phone, which becomes an issue pre-planning. Disney take special care that you cannot reach a front desk with special requests, because it would become madness.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

FYI - if doing a Disney cruise they have bus transportation from the resort to the cruise so you wouldn't have to use a car service.

Depending on number of people, car service will typically be cheaper than the DCL bus, which is $35pp or so. So for 4, that's an easy $150. Can get an awfully nice car service for that!

 

[Ms.Minnie]

Depending on number of people, car service will typically be cheaper than the DCL bus, which is $35pp or so. So for 4, that's an easy $150. Can get an awfully nice car service for that!

Thanks for posting this information, I wasn't aware that there was a charge for this service. I just assumed it was like Magical Express, I guess this is what they mean by "assume".

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Thanks for posting this information, I wasn't aware that there was a charge for this service. I just assumed it was like Magical Express, I guess this is what they mean by "assume".

Yeah. DCL bus is a fee service, and so at a certain point you can get a swanky car service for what it would cost, and you're on your own time to set a pickup. So it can be preferable.

PC port parking is cheap as well, so if there are cars it may very well be cheaper to park them there and drive rather than try to convince Disney to let you pay for parking (parking is included with a DVC points stay, but if not checked in those points won't be covering), and then a car service. Depends on the goals of course - least cost is not always someone's goal.

 

[DaveNan]

I have done 2 one way rentals from MCO to Cocoa Beach National Car rental. We were able to sneak in Disney Springs and convenience store stops before the cruise and an outlet mall stop afterwards. Cost was way less than the bus or driver services. The National rental in Cocoa Beach has a free shuttle to and from the port. Obviously,this wouldn't work for OP since they have a car, but it might work for some folks.

 

[crisi]

Yeah. DCL bus is a fee service, and so at a certain point you can get a swanky car service for what it would cost, and you're on your own time to set a pickup. So it can be preferable.

PC port parking is cheap as well, so if there are cars it may very well be cheaper to park them there and drive rather than try to convince Disney to let you pay for parking (parking is included with a DVC points stay, but if not checked in those points won't be covering), and then a car service. Depends on the goals of course - least cost is not always someone's goal.

We took a limo when our kids were maybe 7 and 8 or so. They thought it was GREAT. It was a little more than the DCL busses for the four of us.

Disney does not have adequate parking to store cars and take care of overnight guests at many resorts. At some resorts, they intended for the majority of guests to use Magical Express or take a taxi in before Magical Express was a thing - as a result, very limited parking was put in place. At other resorts, they want parking available for conference facilities. BWV has both those problems - needed parking for conventions, the assumption that most guests would fly in and not have a car on site. They've spent 20 years - since the implementation of Magical Express - trying to reduce parking usage at resorts.

IF they were ever to offer this service, my guess would be that either they built a lot specifically for DCL pickup - or parking lot usage dropped to the point where they could have XX extra cars in the lot if they had a ton of DCL guests doing a pre-night at that resort. They know the numbers, that's easy data mining. And they'd charge. Because Disney charges for parking now.