Preferred Parking at parks

[FigmentSpark]

Does anyone have a map of the preferred parking lots vs the regular parking for the parks?

Also, if you've used the preferred parking, is it worth it?

 

[Patrick N]

I don't know anything about the preferred parking, but I still have an opinion!

If you just spent X amount of hours in the Disney Park or Parks, does a 15 minute delay to get to your car really matter? If you have a disabled person with you, it could certainly matter, but otherwise my advice is just use whatever extra time it takes getting to your car to talk about what a great day you just had. There's a good chance that this will be your only opportunity to do this because you will all probably be asleep 20 minutes after you get back to your room!!

 

[epcotty]

We haven't done preferred parking but would still say it's NOT worth it at all

 

[bigbabyblues]

We didn't use it but as we walked by, we didn't think it would be worth it at all. We arrive early enough in the morning that we were parked in the first few rows anyway, but even when we returned in the evenings and had to park further back...no. We don't use the trams either.

 

[Klayfish]

We never rope drop, but even still I can't imagine why anyone would use preferred parking. In MK, it's still a pretty long walk to the TTC, so you may still want the tram just like you would with regular parking. In the other parks, it saves you almost no time.

 

[yulilin3]

I would say you end up walking more if you use preferred parking than if you take the tram, especially at MK and AK. DHS and Epcot are the closest ones to the actual entrance. Unless you have the bad luck of being parked all the way at the end of your row, but still the difference in walking is minimal
I think the enticing thing about preferred parking is at the end of the night. You don't have to wait for a tram (or a couple of trams depending how busy the tram area is) but again it's the end of the night and you might just be too tired to walk to your car anyways. I would save that money and use it on food/souvenirs/drink

 

[DreamTravel Jen]

My family used it at two parks when we had my In-laws with us with mobility issues. We were there early enough that we got in the second row of the Prefered Parking, so that helped. Also, my Father In-law was not going to stay for the whole day. When my husband drove him back our hotel (off-site) he was able to go right back to the prefeed parking and since it was late afternoon he got a spot even closer to the entrance. For our family in that situation, it was worth it. The other park days when my inlaws didn't come with us, we parked in the general parking and we were fine with the longer trip to get back to the car.

 

[hammie59]

We were given preferred parking for free once (for some unknown reason). It was nice, but I’d NEVER pay for it.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Thanks. We used the AAA parking when they had it a few years ago. It was free with our tickets, so why not? But we were still walking past the handicapped parking, so that was a ways to go.

Does anyone know if the preferred parking is that same old AAA lot? Or, at least, does anyone know which section is preferred and where in the parking lot regular parking starts?

 

[cm8]

We were actually given preferred Parking for “free” a couple of times. I won’t bother you with the why. I found it interesting that regular guests who (also pay for parking )were not worthy of those 12 oz bottles of Dasani water handed out to PP people

I don’t think being provided with 1 small bottle of water per person in your vehicle as well as a “closer” walk is worth as much as they charge.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

I don’t know where a map of them is.

We used it once on our last day. We were running behind and cutting it close on the end of our fastpass window. Plus once we were done at the park we were going straight to the airport. This was at Animal Kingdom. The parking was closer, especially at the time they were parking pretty far out. I wouldn’t pay for it in a regular basis because of how expensive it is, but it was a slight timesaver for us on a day when we needed it.

 

[SummerRaine]

We have paid for it. We are planning on going to Busch gardens this year and will pay for it. It’s not the walking to the park, but it’s after we are done we like being closer. Before with having a younger child who just walked the parks all day and wants to go, having the spot a little closer was nice.

 

[scrappingbuckeye]

Does anyone know if the preferred parking is that same old AAA lot? Or, at least, does anyone know which section is preferred and where in the parking lot regular parking starts?

Yes, it's basically the same - snuggled up next to the handicap parking. It's a 5 min walk to the security gates from there. I always upgrade at MK, generally not the other parks. I have an AP so you only have to pay the difference. For us it's worth it. We NEVER RD, my kids are teenagers so there's no way we will ever end up at the park before lunch lol. It's nice at the end of the night to skip the long lines for the trams and walk to the car and know that it's not that far. It's not about the tram ride on the front end but rather at the end of the day.

 

[katallo]

It's the same as AAA but I would not pay $50 for preferred parking especially at the MK. Two years ago we had a handicapped tag. We accessed the lot and had to park at the end of a row. It was a difficult walk. The next day we declined and parked on the regular lot and took the tram. Much easier.