Resort hopping without reservations

[moesy4]

We will be on a non Disney vacation next year that will involve being in the area for a few days. Our next Disney trip is a couple of years off and will be at Disneyland, so we were hoping to visit some of our favorite resorts from the past on our downtime this trip...specifically Fort Wilderness and AKL as well as possibly the Boardwalk.
We have never visited while not staying on property and someone mentioned on a Fort FB group that we won't get past the front gate of the resorts without a meal reservation. We plan to eat at each of our stops, but just quick service and have no intentions of making a reservation while visiting.
Will we have any issues if we just let them know at the gate we are coming in for lunch/dinner or we get held up without a specific reservation? This will be a quick pass through and as much as I love the resorts, I would hate a big hassle for something so little. We haven't been since they implemented the parking fee and I wasn't sure if that may play into it?

 

[Kri1970]

I go to resorts and dine at counter service (or Kona without reservation), never have a problem. I just tell the gate guard that we are wanting to dine at the counter service and check out the hotel. They've always let me in. Just this week, I drove up to Contemporary, asked the gate if I could drop off my daughter to take the walking path to Mickeys Not So Scary. He waved me right through, and when waiting for them to come out at the end of the night, I watched literally dozens of people walk to a parked car and drive out (as in the whole family just parked at CR and walked to MK for the full party). I can see if you were there Christmas week, they might be swamped and not have space available, but otherwise, I don't see you having an issue.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You probably won't be able to park at Ft Wilderness, so you have to take a different way to get there. Park at the MK parking lot and then take the Disney transportation to the MK and the boat to Fort Wilderness. AKL, probably not an issue. BW, maybe a problem depending on what they have going on at the BW area during that time.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If Boardwalk has a convention all bets are off.

 

[tbssenterprises]

How can they allow people to park at the CR? Don't they realize that some of them might be trying to escape paying for parking at the MK lot?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Re: Fort Wilderness - I know you need a resort (not dining) reservation to be able to drive in, but I thought everyone else - HDDR and Trail's End diners, horseback riders, campfire visitors, etc., can/must park outside the entrance and use the internal buses? No? When did this change?

How can they allow people to park at the CR? Don't they realize that some of them might be trying to escape paying for parking at the MK lot?

Let? No. That people do this, whether following an actual dining reservation or claiming to be, say, going shopping is entirely different. It often makes it difficult for people staying there to find parking. At least until after MK closes.

 

[Hopefully]

Re: Fort Wilderness - I know you need a resort (not dining) reservation to be able to drive in, but I thought everyone else - HDDR and Trail's End diners, horseback riders, campfire visitors, etc., can/must park outside the entrance and use the internal buses? No? When did this change?


Let? No. That people do this, whether following an actual dining reservation or claiming to be, say, going shopping is entirely different. It often makes it difficult for people staying there to find parking. At least until after MK closes.

it changed a few months ago because of the Reflections Resort construction. They want folks to use Disney transportation

 

[AngiTN]

If Boardwalk has a convention all bets are off.

You can always go to HS and walk

 

[Wild4Walt]

We've only had a problem parking at a resort once - that was at Boardwalk while a large convention was there. We couldn't park in the main lot and had to park at a small back up lot across the street.

Valet parking is also an option - with or without a reservation at any of the deluxe resorts.

 

[moesy4]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I feel a lot better about it. It was in the 20s tonight trick or treating...can't wait to be warm in Florida!

 

[Disneypro1]

We have parked at many many resorts to explore and sometimes eat. We have always found a spot to park and have never been told we had to leave by a certain time. We do resort exploring every trip.

 

[Disneypro1]

How can they allow people to park at the CR? Don't they realize that some of them might be trying to escape paying for parking at the MK lot?

We have parked a couple times at CR. No issues. However. Most of the time. We just use the monorail to explore CR.

 

[dreynolds1982]

How can they allow people to park at the CR? Don't they realize that some of them might be trying to escape paying for parking at the MK lot?

My experience with the Monorail Loop resorts is that it's VERY hit or miss and depends largely on the security guard at the gate. Some are very relaxed about it, especially later in the day/evening (if you were trying to park there in the morning for a full day at MK, I wouldn't plan on that) while others can be hardcore. I do think the time of day plays a big part though.

For other resorts, (except occasionally the Boardwalk) I've never had any issues at all. I love going to AKL, for example, just to walk around. Just tell them you want to explore the resort and usually it's not a problem.

 

[Spencer Wright]

Depending on where your staying and your itinerary, taking Lyft might be a good option. It is an additional cost of course, but takes away concerns about how long you can park, when, ect.

I have not heard of any issues either, but using rideshare entirely circumvents the issue.

 

[WawaCoffee]

Wow.. you all are lucky.. we took an Uber from MCO to Riverside for our last trip, and even after showing the guard at the gate our reservation, she continued to interrogate us regarding how long we were staying, etc.

 

[GoofyRonda]

During our trip this past September we went to the Beach Club and the guard really grilled us about having a restaurant reservation. We told him we did and he looked it up, but couldn’t find it. We told him we just made it and he finally let us in.

 

[philharmagic fan]

We sometimes park at Disney Springs and use resort buses to go for a QS lunch at a hotel. Just keep in mind that there's limited service in the mornings (none at all to monorail resorts before 11 or so) to discourage people from avoiding the parking fee at the parks.