Paid Parking at Resort

[cisco911]

Hello,
We will be staying at POP in January and will be driving. I know Disney charges $15 a day for parking but last time we were there, that was already in place but we never got charged for parking. I saw somewhere that if you never leave after checking in and never tap to get back into the parking area that you will not get charged because they don't know you have a car. Is this why I didn't get charged last time?

 

[Beer Me]

I don’t know why you didn’t get charged but I wouldn’t count on it happening again. In fact there are frequent accounts of people being charged for parking when they don’t have a car.

 

[Mle8308]

I was charged for 12 nights parking a few weeks ago at the WL and did not have a car. I caught it before check out and it was fixed. From what I was told, you are supposed to be asked at check in if you have a car, and depending on the answer, you will or will not be charged. The default, if you do not actually go to the FD, is to now charge for parking. Before, when the Magical Express was operating, if you had an arrival time on your reservation, they would assume no car and you would not be charged. I still think it's hit or miss, but because of no more DME, they are defaulting to charging. Do the right thing.

 

[Kingdome8]

The second year I went when charging started I didn’t get charged either. Was great.

 

[reddog21]

No one has ever asked if I had a car when I checked in thru the app, my assumption is that when the security guard checks you in initially they are checking whether you have a
car or not.
We just came back from a trip where my mother in law was staying at Pop and we were staying at AOA, the first night my mother in law went with us to AOA and walked to POP to get her room.
She got a key card at the front desk to make it easier for me to pick her up(I could bypass the security guard) and I just went thru the key card lane to go pick her up. She never got charged even
though I used a key card thru security to pick her up however I was charged parking. I would only assume the security guard at the front gate is indicating how you arrived at the resort.

 

[cisco911]

I don't know if things have changed but in the past when getting to the parking lot, I would just say we are checking in. They never asked for any info about the reservation so I doubt that would drive the charge. Its only $15 a day so its not a big issue. I was just curious as to what drives the charge because I think we would only be driving out once to get to wilderness lodge for dinner.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Hello,
We will be staying at POP in January and will be driving. I know Disney charges $15 a day for parking but last time we were there, that was already in place but we never got charged for parking. I saw somewhere that if you never leave after checking in and never tap to get back into the parking area that you will not get charged because they don't know you have a car. Is this why I didn't get charged last time?

I'd doubt that's the rationale behind if you're charged for parking or noy. We always drive to Disney and it's never been consistent and we drive our car every few days sometimes. Sometimes we're charged and sometimes we aren't, I don't think leaving the lot and coming back has anything to do with it. It's just a poor procedural process that Disney's been inconsistent with implementation. Plus, I know a number of people who don't drive and have been charged for parking.

 

[reddog21]

I don't know if things have changed but in the past when getting to the parking lot, I would just say we are checking in. They never asked for any info about the reservation so I doubt that would drive the charge. Its only $15 a day so its not a big issue. I was just curious as to what drives the charge because I think we would only be driving out once to get to wilderness lodge for dinner.

The security guard has always confirmed my reservation, I could never just say I'm checking in and have them let me in at least not for the last several years. Even now they confirm dining reservations before letting you in the parking lot.

 

[StageTek]

Hello,
We will be staying at POP in January and will be driving. I know Disney charges $15 a day for parking but last time we were there, that was already in place but we never got charged for parking. I saw somewhere that if you never leave after checking in and never tap to get back into the parking area that you will not get charged because they don't know you have a car. Is this why I didn't get charged last time?

I have read that little "hack", too. Perhaps that's why you didn't get charged last time.

I didn't get charged for parking on my 10 day Sept 2020 trip (at POP) and I was in and out all the time. However, I came in a Lyft for my Sept 2021 stay at POP and got charged for 10 days of parking. Maybe they tried to correct their mistake from the previous year?

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Hello,
We will be staying at POP in January and will be driving. I know Disney charges $15 a day for parking but last time we were there, that was already in place but we never got charged for parking. I saw somewhere that if you never leave after checking in and never tap to get back into the parking area that you will not get charged because they don't know you have a car. Is this why I didn't get charged last time?

No, that’s not why
We’ve been charged even when we don’t have a car
We’ve not been charged when we did have a car
You didn’t get charged because it’s an inefficient system in place but it’s got nothing to do with how you go in and out or how often you move your car
The guard checks you in and somehow indicates car/no car. They never ask, they “guess” and sometimes they guess wrong. I’ve never understood why they leave it up to that method.
They timed this paid parking stuff about the same time they stopped giving parking slips to those who drive and stopped encouraging guests to come to the check in desk. So that leaves it up to the guards and they just don’t do well with it at all. It’s impossible to assume if those that arrive via vehicle are driving/Uber/family drop off, or what.
So they guess. And sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong