Parking Strategies

[DisIsForMe]

We are offsite with a 5-day pass. is there a discount multi day parking trick? I've read to maybe get 1 night at a resort, how many parking days will that give us?

 

[Micca]

I'm not thinking of one, someone else may have an idea. You could park at Disney Springs and take a bus, but that's going to take quite a bit of time. Might be best to just pay to park.

 

[IrishNYC]

One night at a resort will give you 2 days of parking, but will cost you more than the cost of parking. You're going to Disney. Just budget another $100 for parking.

 

[IrishNYC]

I'm not thinking of one, someone else may have an idea. You could park at Disney Springs and take a bus, but that's going to take quite a bit of time. Might be best to just pay to park.

You can't do that without going to a hotel in between, precisely so that people don't do it.

 

[Missyrose]

You could park at Disney Springs and take a bus, but that's going to take quite a bit of time.

There isn't any direct transportation from Disney Springs to the parks for this very reason.

OP just like you would budget for food and souvenirs, budget for five days of parking at the parks. The good news is you only have to pay for parking once each day. If you hop to a different park, simply show your receipt from the first park.

 

[Micca]

You can't do that without going to a hotel in between, precisely so that people don't do it.

OK, I remembered that they started bus service from the parks to DS, wasn't sure about the other way. I'll stand by my suggestion to pay to park. Or just maybe an Uber ride from the off-site hotel would be cheaper than parking?

 

[CAS239]

-You could uber but remember you'd need to pay to get there then pay an uber to get back. It's $20 a day to park and you only pay once. If you park hop you bring your receipt and don't pay at the 2nd park that day.

-You could see if your resort has a shuttle service and take that

-If you plan on going back in the near future you could upgrade to AP. AP's get free parking.

-If you REALLY wanted to avoid it you could park at DS, take a bus to a resort, then transfer buses to a park.

I would just pay the $20 and park at the park

 

[Klayfish]

We always stay off site. Parking is no big deal. No special strategy. Park where they tell you, hop a tram (unless you're close enough to walk) and relax. It's easy.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

You can always get there early enough that the auto plaza folks aren't working yet. If I have a 7am shift, there's usually nobody taking parking money yet when I come in at 6:30ish. You just drive in. Depends how much your time (and sleep) are worth to you.

If it were me I'd just suck it up and pay to park... and I HATE HATE HATE paying for parking anywhere for any reason.

 

[Spork24]

You can always get there early enough that the auto plaza folks aren't working yet. If I have a 7am shift, there's usually nobody taking parking money yet when I come in at 6:30ish. You just drive in. Depends how much your time (and sleep) are worth to you.

If it were me I'd just suck it up and pay to park... and I HATE HATE HATE paying for parking anywhere for any reason.

Seriously, they don't have the lanes coned off or anything before attendants arrive?

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Seriously, they don't have the lanes coned off or anything before attendants arrive?

Nope. At every park but DAK, at least SOME CMs come in the main auto plaza and we get in early. (And maybe even at DAK and I just don't know about it.)

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Nope. At every park but DAK, at least SOME CMs come in the main auto plaza and we get in early. (And maybe even at DAK and I just don't know about it.)

We got to AK so early once that there was no one to pay for parking. We didn't need to because we have AP, but we thought it was funny!!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

We are offsite with a 5-day pass. is there a discount multi day parking trick? I've read to maybe get 1 night at a resort, how many parking days will that give us?

You don't have to pay to park with an annual pass... maybe get one of those

 

[Spork24]

Nope. At every park but DAK, at least SOME CMs come in the main auto plaza and we get in early. (And maybe even at DAK and I just don't know about it.)

So upon further review, (my wife remembered) I experienced this for the early morning magic at HS in Novemeber. I had completely forgotten, because we wouldn't have had to pay anyway.

 

[mrzrich]

one of you can get an annual pass. The price difference is not that much. Parking is free and you qualify for 10-20 % discounts on food and 20% discounts on merchandise

 

[richmo]

one of you can get an annual pass. The price difference is not that much. Parking is free and you qualify for 10-20 % discounts on food and 20% discounts on merchandise

That depends...unless you're really purchasing a tremendous amount of merchandise, the AP isn't worth it unless you're planning on at least a dozen or so gate days in the year. I think the AP is about $800, while the 5 day hopper comes in around $450...

 

[IrishNYC]

one of you can get an annual pass. The price difference is not that much. Parking is free and you qualify for 10-20 % discounts on food and 20% discounts on merchandise

I can't see someone that doesn't want to pay $100 for parking wanting to pay the uncharge for an AP.

 

[tlmadden73]

We are offsite with a 5-day pass. is there a discount multi day parking trick? I've read to maybe get 1 night at a resort, how many parking days will that give us?

Doing a throwaway room could work for you.

Depending on the price of the Fort Wilderness campsites and the number of cars in your party on taking to WDW .. getting one night "saves" on parking for two of your days.
At the prices I was looking at in March, having two families (10 people) at a campsite was about break even since it would cost $80 total for those two families to park for two days.

Plus, if you value the perks of an onsite stay, you get all the perks of a resort stay (Magic Bands, EMH, 60 days Fast Passes). So even if the "room" costs more than parking, it may be worth it.

It was a no brainer for my large group that is going. We got two rooms(campsites) between 5 families .. some are only going to Disney 1 day, some(me) 2 days, some are going 4 days. But we are all staying offsite in the same house, so it just made sense to get one night to actually save money on two days of parking.

 

[glassslippergirl]

We always stay off site. There is no multi-day parking pass. Your best bet is just paying to park each day. I'm guessing that you're saving a lot more than $100 by staying off site for that long, so it's overall a win.

If you stay on site one night, go to the parks the morning of the day you plan to check in. When you check in, bring your parking receipt to the hotel. In my experience, they've refunded me the cost of parking that day. They've just given me $20 out of the drawer. Then, the next day, when you go to the parks, your parking is also covered. So, one night's lodging included two days of parking. I can't say that the same will be true for you, but that's what happened for me the last time we stayed on property. Honestly, I'm not sure that the hassle of moving rooms and paying on site prices is worth it to save $40 on two days of parking.

 

[goofyernmost]

We always stay off site. Parking is no big deal. No special strategy. Park where they tell you, hop a tram (unless you're close enough to walk) and relax. It's easy.

Exactly! It is amazing how complicated people make their lives to save a couple of dollars. The money you saved staying offsite is so much more then the cost of parking anyway. You are right there, no long distance travel to get from and to your vehicle, trams that take you right to the entrance and back. Easy directed parking especially in the mornings. Well worth the $20.00. It is, flat out, the least expensive thing at WDW, if you factored in how much park time, that you also paid for, you miss by jumping around in the effort to bypass the parking fees, the amount of value you threw away to do that is way, way more.