From Disney’s site, under Parking at Resort Hotels:
I have not found anything official from Disney yet as far as a 2-3 hour parking limit goes. Only found that discussed at non-disney sites
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From allears.net:
“Self-parking at the Disney Resorts for day visitors (guests not staying at the Resort) is free to all guests; however some resorts have seasonal parking restrictions. Increasingly, day guests are not being allowed entry to Resorts without a reservation for dining or recreation at the Resort. You must show a photo ID when entering any Disney Resort. Some Disney Resorts may also ask for an Advance Dining Reservation number (or scan your MagicBand) for guests who are dining at the Resort before allowing access to the Resort parking lot.”
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The only place I have ever seen a 3 hour rule for parking mentioned is on chats like this. Disney doesn’t say anything. It’s just an internet rumor as far as I am concerned. Make your ADR and enjoy the parking.
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Yes Ma’am! Now one more question. I like to rope drop. If Ep opens at 11:00, reservation at Ale for maybe 8:45-9:00?
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Yes that should be fine. We did Trattoria last month at 7:30 for a 10 am HS (really 9 something when they opened) and it was perfect. Epcot has been opening around 10:15 for an 11 open, so an 8:45-9 should be just fine. Enjoy!
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If you read between the lines of what Disney allows, however, you’ll notice it does NOT allow you to park at the resorts for the purposes of going to the park.
So, they let you in if you have an ADR because ADRs are an allowed reason to park. They will possibly let you in if they aren’t busy if you say you want to shop or something (although, in the era of COVID, perhaps not).
But if they determine you are parked for an excessive amount of time (and that’s probably where the 3 hours number comes from), you are likely (in their eyes) trying to milk the system to avoid paying to park at the parks. And…well…I think in all honesty, that’s fair. Disney doesn’t want a bunch of people to fill up the resort lots by those trying to not park at the parks. Having an ADR isn’t meant to be a way to skirt this system. It is a way to ensure people with ADRs can, in fact, park at the resort!
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Yes and I understand that. After scanning my band and knowing that we are not resort guests, if I’m told that there is a time limit, I can ask to stay parked here in the overflow and offer to pay the $25? I would just rather not drive all around to the main entrance if I don’t need to.
@lizzieanne771, OMG I’m glad I’m not the only one!
I share my cautionary tale of tow trucks @ Contemporary over Christmas whenever someone asks, as I’d hate to see a liner suffer that.
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Isn’t the “whilst experiencing select … experiences at Disney Resorts” the clue?
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I have never tried but think if you use valet parking it can be used all day. Eliminates the free parking part but may be different. Not sure just remembered reading here or chat. Of course Covid could be the monkey wrench.
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I did O’Hana once. When at guard booth I asked if I could park at the Poly all day or move to the TTC lot? I was told I could stay all day
Unless yoh are directed to a special area you should be fine. I honestly cannot see Disney searching the lots fot cars that came in for an adr.
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Valet parking is fine in normal times. At the moment though there isn’t any valet parking.
The 3-hour limit used to be a rule…I think talk of this comes from folks who have been going to Disney for a long time. I worked front desk at AKL in 2003, and I remember this was a rule then. You’d get a little paper pass to put on your dashboard, and they’d give you a 3 hour limit for parking if you were there for a meal. But this rule quietly went away around the time MagicBands were introduced - no big “hey, you can park here for free all day now!” kind of announcement, but they stopped mentioning the 3-hour thing. I think if it’s mentioned by Security now, it’s either a misinformed security guard enforcing outdated rules, or it’s a temporary policy for a very limited time when the parks are CL 10 and parking spots are super limited and need to be for hotel guests only (like Contemporary around Christmas).
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Piggybacking off the original post but now considering Hollywood Studios. If I wanted to beat the crowds, would it be better to take the boat from the Boardwalk area Restaurants to HS? How early do the boats start running? Reminder, I’m staying offsite with a rental vehicle.
I did take the boat before (2018). Parked early AM at HS, boat to Epcot, back to HS for the evening (park hopped). It was a nice ride, didn’t seem to take too long.
Remember that the boats will be socially distanced too, so if you do that you might not get on the first boat. I would definitely try to embark at the Boardwalk or even the IG boat dock so as to be first on. Although canny guests may take the boat from the YC to the IG and stay on ot to go back.
I doubt the boats will be running much more than an hour before park opening, in which case you might well be better just driving to DHS, unless you’re happy to walk of you don’t get on board.
Good point. Thank you. So Google is telling me it’s only a 16 minute walk (.8 mile) from Trattoria at the BW to HS. Maybe this is best, just like Epcot.
I found a great article with lots of helpful information:
https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/rope-dropping-disneys-hollywood-studios-after-trattoria-al-forno-breakfast/
I compiled some helpful information here, (thanks for everyones help!) Especially useful for those staying off-site and driving.
If you walk to Hollywood Studios and Epcot, you can most likely be ahead of the crowd and the other forms of transportation for "Rope Drop”.
The two Restaurants that serve breakfast in the Crescent Lake area are reasonably priced and may not be difficult to snag ADR’s.
This map shows Trattoria al Forno (A) to the Hollywood Studios entrance (B). Approximate ADR time is 7:15-7:30am for a 10:00 official open. (Start walking from Trattoria to HS around 90 minutes prior to opening). About a 16 minute walk, .8 mile. You’ll want to park at the Boardwalk parking near the tennis courts so it’s the closest lot when Exiting HS in the evening. The Boardwalk Inn main Resort is currently not open, so parking for the day should not be an issue. See the blue P.
This map shows Ale & Compass (A) to the Epcot Gateway (B). Approximate ADR time is 9:00am for an 11:00 official open. (Start walking from Ale to EP around 60 minutes prior to opening). About a 7 minute walk. You’ll want to park at the main Beach Club parking so it’s the closest lot when Exiting Epcot in the evening. The Beach Club main Resort is currently not open, so parking for the day should not be an issue. See the blue P.
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You’re the best!! Thanks for sharing this. Just snagged A&C for my 11/29 DHS day!! Now we can just park at YC and walk over.
Sure thing! I know you had started a thread and said you needed your car the first day so I wasn’t sure if you needed to have it handier in the HS parking lot. Excited for you guys! You’ll have a little bit longer walk from A & C than Trattoria, but what’s an extra .2 mil in a total of 10+ per day!
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