We were looking up parking fees, and surprised to see that they have been removed for overnight guests. Perhaps we discussed this change already, but I have no memory that Disney removed the parking fees.
Anyhow, on the same page, it talks about free parking at the hotels for day guests. Is this actually true? The advice I see people giving still says you need an ADR, but this contradicts this.
Reason I am wondering is because we are planning a family trip potentially in January 2025, and it would be nice if those of us driving could easily go to where the others are staying (possibly some at Boardwalk and others at All Stars).
You can go to the front desk and add day guests. You just give them one name. When they get to the guard station, they have to show ID. If you are a resort guest of WDW I believe your parking pass is good all over the resort.
I BELIEVE it is free parking for overnight guest now. But I’m not 100% sure. I can let you know in a bit if someone else doesn’t answer first.
Yes it’s free parking for all guests, but they are strict at some resorts which is why you sometimes need an ADR. If you say you are they to visit family, you should be able to get in. Definitely at the All Stars. Deluxes are the more difficult ones to park at because so many people want to do it for the easy park access.
Generally the closer the resort is to a park the stricter the guards will be. Deluxe, including all DVC resorts also tend to be stricter. Ultimately it’s up to the guard on duty.
I think Ryan will be a guest of Boardwalk. So he can have day guests. That gets the All Stars group past the gate.
If you are an over night guest you can park anyehere on WDW property without paying again.
So if parking is not included for resort guests, Ryans guest at the Boardwalk will not have to pay there because the are staying at All Stars as resort guest.
ETA: But as @ryan posted the rules above, it looks like parking at the resorts are free- so the paid parking part of my scenario above is mute. If you are an overnight guest you get free parking at all of the parks. Looks like Disney no longer charges parking at the resorts.
Good question. But being allowed in the gate and being charged for parking is 2 seperate things. If you make it through the gate you get free parking. But what do you have to do to get through tge gate? see my explanation above
I understand your point. I guess I read the implication of that is day guests are allowed to visit to eat, shop, be entertained, etc. Unless there is a resort that doesn’t at least have shopping, it seems like it would grant access to anyone.
I DO understand why they have limited it in the past, particularly at places like The Contemporary.
The Boardwalk is particularly a conundrum for Disney, because it is actually DESIGNED to be a entertainment hub in and of itself…but it is also within walking distance of two theme parks.
Anyhow, we are working through accommodations. My oldest DS and DDIL are inclined to want to stay at Boardwalk (renting points…they would fly). My second DS and DDIL are looking for a bit more flexibility while staying within a budget, so looking at All Stars Music (they would drive). (We WOULD suggest Pop for the Skyliner, because then the Skyliner could essentially be used to ferry between Boardwalk and Pop…but MOST LIKELY the dates we are looking at, the Skyliner will be down at least some of the time anyhow).
There are times we just all would like to hang out together (not at the parks), so meeting up easily becomes a thing. And we have to decide where we are staying. We could rent points at a 1 bedroom on Boardwalk for ourselves. But we would want our DS and DDIL to be able to drive over to Boardwalk if need be. (Other options is for them to take a bus to HS and then walk or boat to Boardwalk…but they have a car!)
We are also thinking, to save money, we could get a Family Suite at All Star Music ourselves. (For myself, DW, and DS15.)
Things are up in the air though. We might end up renting a house instead…but how the day guests thing works now can have an influence on what we decide.
You can go to the front counter when you check in and tell them you will have day guests and give them the names. You do not have to do this every day. They add it to your account. I did this (even though they were actually 1 night guest ) No problem at the gate.
We did this in December for DD and DDs BF. She just had to let them know she was a day guest and show her license at the guard shack. Waved her right through.
If the parking lot is full. Or the resort is very close to a park and someone drives up at 9am with no ADR.
I interpret that text as meaning IF it is possible for you to park at the resort it is free. But obviously if the parking lot is full they can’t let you in.
In our 3 visits to WDW, on two occasions we were unable to park in the Contemporary / Bay Lake parking lot, despite the fact we were staying at BLT.
The first time we got free valet parking. The second time we had to park in the MK CM parking lot. The next morning we had to wait for a CM to go along to the parking lot so we could get out - the barriers wouldn’t open even from the inside.
But a full parking lot isn’t really being up to the guard. It is simply not possible in that case, no matter what the guard thinks.
I get the problems at The Contemporary. That’s actually Disney’s own fault. They knew they didn’t have enough parking spaces, but built BLT anyhow. It looks like the same issue is going to happen at Poly with the addition of the new DVC tower there. There isn’t really enough parking, but they built it anyhow.
Anyhow, my point was really that if Disney says it is allowed, and then guards arbitrarily decide if it is, it is a problem. Instead, Disney needs to make the rules much clearer.
During COVID times, they started to restrict it for supposed health reasons. But if they want to keep the rules in place indefinitely, that’s fine…but they should say so explicitly on their website.
Regardless…If all it takes is giving a name at the front desk, that’s easy enough to address our needs in the very least!
@drvillarejos , just to clarify that there are no parking fees at any WDW resorts anymore.
Afaik a front desk CM can decide whether or not to allow day guests. I imagine there’s a daily limit of day guests that they consider reasonable.
If you are visiting someone staying at a resort you can usually park there if you have their name and reservation #. But again, it’s at the discretion of the guard at the gate.
I doubt they’re going to say no for the sake of it, but the resorts only have a certain number of “extra” parking spaces over the number of rooms.,So the guards have the final say.
But of course if you have a magic band of someone staying there and there’s an automatic barrier then you can get in.
Yes, but if the parking lot is 80% full and it’s early evening, when resort guests are starting to return, then the guards aren’t going to let non-resort guests in. To avoid the problem we had.
I think The Contemporary is definitely a problem. Disney should probably build a parking garage or something…or have a separate lot allocated just for day guests that they can monitor, and then an overnight guest lot. Disney needs to solve that one because they created the problem themselves.
) No problem at the gate.