Free Parking at the Parks?

[bdm 47]

I thought i read some place that if you stay at a Disney Resort you can park for free at any of the theme parks using your magic band, is this true?

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

absolutely true. Some resorts may still give the paper pass for your windshield. Others will sjust have you use your magic band. 

[bdm 47]

This makes it sooo much easier to go to AK or HS from the campground... 

[LONE-STAR 370]

Yes it does we quit the bus years ago.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

9 minutes ago, bdm said:

This makes it sooo much easier to go to AK or HS from the campground... 

Those are the two parks I prefer to drive to as well.  MK I enjoy taking the boat.  And Epcot I usually will take the bus because I enjoy having an adult beverage or two.  Yeah, that's it.  I always stop at two.  

[LONE-STAR 370]

5 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

I enjoy having an adult beverage or two.  Yeah, that's it.  I always stop at two.  

I think your nose is growing.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

1 hour ago, bdm said:

This makes it sooo much easier to go to AK or HS from the campground... 

Why HS?

does it take a long time to get to HS?  

[kadancer 82]

We don't drive very often, but I really don't like the parking lot at HS.  The walk to the gate is not pleasant.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Until a few years ago we traveled to MK via boat and to the other parks by bus.  And then I had to use an ECV at the parks.  Now We still take the boat to MK but drive to the other parks.  Two trips ago we waited for 1.5 hours for a bus to EPCOT that had an available spot for an ECV.  Now I'm a convert to driving to the other parks.  We can leave our site and within 15 minutes arrive at the other parks.  It's just so much easier.

[LONE-STAR 370]

40 minutes ago, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

Until a few years ago we traveled to MK via boat and to the other parks by bus.  And then I had to use an ECV at the parks.  Now We still take the boat to MK but drive to the other parks.  Two trips ago we waited for 1.5 hours for a bus to EPCOT that had an available spot for an ECV.  Now I'm a convert to driving to the other parks.  We can leave our site and within 15 minutes arrive at the other parks.  It's just so much easier.

I agree

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

13 hours ago, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

Until a few years ago we traveled to MK via boat and to the other parks by bus.  And then I had to use an ECV at the parks.  Now We still take the boat to MK but drive to the other parks.  Two trips ago we waited for 1.5 hours for a bus to EPCOT that had an available spot for an ECV.  Now I'm a convert to driving to the other parks.  We can leave our site and within 15 minutes arrive at the other parks.  It's just so much easier.

We're the opposite, we prefer the buses BECAUSE of the ECV. That thing is just so darn heavy that disassembling and loading in and out of the truck is a major pain. We much prefer to drive the ECV through the Fort and board the bus or boat. It may take more time, but lots less work.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

 We don't drive that often to the parks but when we have it seems like it takes a while to get through the pay booth.    And then park, walk to the boat or shuttle, and then get to the gate. It never seemed to save that much time compared to taking a bus.   Or maybe I just never paid attention to how long it takes all of bus. 

 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

32 minutes ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

We're the opposite, we prefer the buses BECAUSE of the ECV. That thing is just so darn heavy that disassembling and loading in and out of the truck is a major pain. We much prefer to drive the ECV through the Fort and board the bus or boat. It may take more time, but lots less work.

With the big ECV that Rick has, I totally understand.  Mine is much lighter and is easy to break down/reassemble.  The battery is the only heavy part.

[Retired and Happy (Ken) 101]

We never drive to any of the parks.  We always take the boat or bus.  If we drive we have to load the three wheelchairs in the van, then unload at the park then reload to return to the Fort.  On the boat, one stays up front and the other two go to the newer handicapped seating on the front row of seats.  On the bus during our last visit, the CM let us strap two chair is the two positions and one of us would hold Blake and the other hold his chair in the aisle.  I don't know if we will always get away with that, but we have had to take two busses at times.  Often the CM would call and get some priority seating for whoevwer in taking the second bus.  At any rate, we would be on vacation and a few extra minutes does not bother us.

[JMSisko 0]

My father used an ecv on a recent trip with us and we never had to wait more than 20 minutes for a bus. However if you have more than one person in your party that uses an ecv it may take longer. Our grandparents both used ecv's on a trip while staying at the Contemporary and did have to wait at least once to ride together to either ak or hs. They also had to some difficulty joining us for a dinner at trails end

[bdm 47]

On 4/16/2017 at 4:49 PM, h2odivers...Ray said:

Why HS?

does it take a long time to get to HS?  

It mostly has to do with traveling with a toddler.  When we leave the parks hes spent.  Having to carry him onto a bus and get him to rest is a pain.  Leaving the park and putting him in his car seat he will fall asleep before we get out of the parking lot.  THen once back at our site we can park with windows open and he can continue to rest as I enjoy a adult beverage in the shade.

[Roberta 42]

Once I park at Disney, I don't get in the driver's seat again until we go home. I'd rather wait almost any amount of time than drive, although we have never waited more than 15 or 20 minutes. Most waits are much shorter. 

[slices 16]

I agree I like nothing better on a vacation than to park the car once I get there and not move it again until I go home. Used to manage this quite a bit on vacations in England. Given that things are generally a lot more car centric here, it's really nice  not to have to drive at Disney.  Plus Epcot is actually one of the few places where both of us  tend to have an adult beverage. Prior to last year I was the only one in the house driving so being able to have an adult beverage at a place I'm not sleeping is a bit of a novelty. 

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

5 hours ago, Roberta said:

Once I park at Disney, I don't get in the driver's seat again until we go home. I'd rather wait almost any amount of time than drive, although we have never waited more than 15 or 20 minutes. Most waits are much shorter. 

I agree 100%  

Thats one of the biggest perks about staying on property.  And your right 99% of the time the wait for a bus, boat, or monorail is less than 15 or 20 minutes.   Even now we uber from our condo to the parks and Disney springs. I rather pay a couple of bucks than have to worry about driving and parking. 

[oft013 23]

Years ago we drove to all the parks, except the boat to MK.  I swore I would never be tied down to Disney transportation...But now all we use is Disney transportation.  We park hop almost every day there by using the buses we aren't leaving the car anywhere and have to go back for it.  Sometimes we even play games trying to figure out different ways to get to a park, just for the fun of it.  We have taken the boat to the Contemporary, then the monorail to the TT, Monorail to Epcot and walk through EPCOT to take the boat to HS.  I know it is a waste of time but sometimes it's fun just to do something goofy and oddball.

[Travisma 1,317]

2 hours ago, oft013 said:

Years ago we drove to all the parks, except the boat to MK.  I swore I would never be tied down to Disney transportation...But now all we use is Disney transportation.  We park hop almost every day there by using the buses we aren't leaving the car anywhere and have to go back for it.  Sometimes we even play games trying to figure out different ways to get to a park, just for the fun of it.  We have taken the boat to the Contemporary, then the monorail to the TT, Monorail to Epcot and walk through EPCOT to take the boat to HS.  I know it is a waste of time but sometimes it's fun just to do something goofy and oddball.

We do that sometimes.  

Most fun we've had recently was to drive over to Port Orleans, then take the boat to Disney Springs.  We had a great skipper, cracking jokes and telling stories.

It's a shame there isn't available parking over in the Boardwalk area to make it easier to get to the International Gate at EPCOT. I like that entrance better than the main one.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

We play transportation roulette on off days all the time, go to the fort bus stop, whichever bus comes first, hop on. Lots of times, the bus will be going to a different resort after stopping at a park. We stay on the bus and go to that resort, have lunch (cause we never leave the camper before lunch), then wander, have a drink, then hop on the next bus (or boat), or take a pathway from that resort somewhere else, etc., etc. We then usually end up at Earl of Sandwich for dinner (or now that more casual dining is open at Disney Springs, we'll be trying other things), then perhaps some shopping, then back to the Fort.

[oft013 23]

14 hours ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

We play transportation roulette on off days all the time, go to the fort bus stop, whichever bus comes first, hop on. Lots of times, the bus will be going to a different resort after stopping at a park. We stay on the bus and go to that resort, have lunch (cause we never leave the camper before lunch), then wander, have a drink, then hop on the next bus (or boat), or take a pathway from that resort somewhere else, etc., etc. We then usually end up at Earl of Sandwich for dinner (or now that more casual dining is open at Disney Springs, we'll be trying other things), then perhaps some shopping, then back to the Fort.

We need to try that.  It sounds like fun.