If you have a car with you on your Disney World vacation you need to make sure you know about parking. Parking can be a bit challenging and even expensive, but we have some Disney parking secrets and tips to help you!
If you are staying off site, you will likely have a car with you. Some hotels offer shuttle service to Disney World. Many times it simply makes sense to drive your own car. Parking does cost money at Disney World, but you may find the price worth it!
We will break down all the parking fees so you can decide if having a a car at Disney World is worth it. We will also provide parking tips and secrets to help you save money and time!
1. Parking Is Free At Disney Resorts
If you are staying at a Disney hotel you will not have to pay for parking at your resort! Disney resorts offer free transportation to the theme parks and other hotels, meaning you never have to pay for parking and you get dropped off close to the entrances of each park.
Free standard parking at the theme parks is included for registered guests of Disney Resort hotels and select Annual Passholders. Simply have the cast member scan your MagicBand or hotel key to prove that you are staying at a Disney Resort Hotel.
Valet parking is offered at Disney Deluxe and Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts, and Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. When you arrive check with the Security Host for parking options. Valet service is $33 per night
Please note that parking rates at Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, Walt Disney World Swan Hotel and Walt Disney World Swan Reserve are $34 per night
2. Keep Your Receipt – Parking at Disney Parks
If you are not staying at a Disney resort there is a charge to park at EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Current pricing is:
- Standard Parking: $30 per day (Car or Motorcycle)
- Preferred Parking: $45, $50 or $55 per day (Car or Motorcycle and Pricing is seasonal)
- Oversized Vehicles: $35 per day (Camper, Camper Trailer, Shuttle, Bus, Limo, RV, Tractor Trailer)
There is designated parking for guests with disabilities. You can learn more here.
This is a per vehicle price, not a per person price. If your entire family can fit in one car, you only need to pay for the one vehicle! Preferred parking lots are located close to the park entrance.
When you park at a Walt Disney World Theme park you only have to pay once per day. If you leave mid-day to head back to your VRBO or hotel and then come back, you will not have to pay again. If you park hop from one park to another park you will not need to pay to park again. Simply show the cast member at the parking entrance your receipt.
3. Eat Breakfast At A Disney Resort
If you are staying off site and make breakfast reservations at a Disney Resort you will have free parking at that resort. You can then zip on over to the parks! For example, if you make a breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Contemporary you can park at the Contemporary for free and then walk or ride the monorail to Disney’s Magic Kingdom.
Of course, this is only saving you money if you were planning on a character dining experience during your vacation. One character dining meal will cost you much more than standard parking!
4. Arrive early
We highly recommend being parked at least 30 minutes prior to park opening for EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. When going to Magic Kingdom, arrive 60 minutes early.
Getting parked early will provide you a close parking space and will set you up for rope drop!
If you don’t arrive early and you don’t want to pay for preferred parking, keep in mind that Disney provides trams in the parking lots to bring you to the front of the parking lot. While this is extremely helpful, you should be aware that this also is an indication of how huge the parking lots are.
One note about the trams – if you can walk, you will likely find it faster to walk to the entrance than wait for a tram and get on that. If time is of the essence for you and you are running late, you may just want to pay extra for the preferred parking rather than rely on a tram.
Car Locater
Car locater is a complimentary feature on the My Disney Experience App. You can mark your car location in the app. We recommend doing this as soon as you park as well as texting the car location to your family.
5. Complimentary Parking at Disney Springs and the Disney Water Parks
If you so desire, you can park at Disney Springs or the Disney Water Parks and take Disney transportation into the theme parks. Some people think this is a great way to save some money….and while that may be true you shouldn’t do it. Yes, Disney Springs has parking garages and amazing restaurants but it will take you a very long time to make it to the park.
There is no direct Disney transportation from the Disney theme parks to Disney Springs. You will need to take several forms of transportation with stops at a resort. To us, time is money at Disney World and it is not worth saving $40.
Parking At The Walt Disney World Theme Parks
Electric Vehicle parking is available throughout the Disney property. To use this service, you will need a credit card or a pre-ordered ChargePoint card—available at chargepoint.com. The cost to charge at these stations is $0.35 per kilowatt hour, with a minimum service amount of $1.50.
Magic Kingdom Parking
The parking lot for the Magic Kingdom is remote. You will park and them make your way to the Ticket and Transportation Center. At that point, you will then need to get on a ferry, monorail or bus to cross the Seven Seas Lagoon to enter the Magic Kingdom.
There are 5 spaces for electric vehicles.
Themed Parking Areas:
- The Heroes lots include themed parking areas: Woody, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Simba, Mulan, and Repunzel.
- The Villains lots include Zurg, Jafa, Scar, Hook, Cruella, and Ursula.
EPCOT Parking
Epcot parking is very simple! Trams are constantly running to bring you to the entrance of the park.
There are four Electric Vehicle spaces in the Journey lot.
The seven themed lots are:
- Amaze
- Journey
- Imagine
- Discover
- Create
- Explore
- Wonder
Hollywood Studios Parking
This is another simple parking situation. Trams are also available at this park.
There are four EV spots in the Mickey parking lot.
The Five Theme Lots are:
- Mickey
- Minnie
- Buzz
- Jessie
- Olaf
Animal Kingdom Parking
One more straightforward parking lot! Hop on a tram if you don’t want to walk to the front of the park.
There are four electric vehicle parking spaces in the medical parking lot.
There are six themed lots:
- Butterfly
- Yeti
- Giraffe
- Dinosaur
- Unicorn
- Peacock
If you are driving your car around the Disney property make sure you know exactly where you are going! You can find the addresses for the Disney Parks here.
Author
-
by
-
