Traveling to Disney World is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anyone! You need to know all about the ins and outs of your Disney tour before you embark on your journey. The most commonly asked question is, can you park at Disney without staying there? The answer may, however, come off as a surprise to you!
To be fair, you can’t park at a Disney resort without a reservation. The parking fee depends on the kind of vehicle you use. You may, however, park as many times as you need each day with a single parking ticket.
In this article, you will learn about the rules and regulations and all about the parking fees at Disney World. Also, at the end of the article, you will learn some clever tricks by which you can enjoy complimentary parking at Disney World! So, to have a brief overview of all these facts, please read the entire article.
Is Parking Free At Disney Resorts?
Parking at Disney is not free at all at the Disney Resorts or anywhere in the Walt Disney World. You need to have either hotel or dining reservations to enjoy free parking.
If you are an outsider or just came to visit for a few hours, you can’t expect to park your vehicle for free here. People who live close to the Walt Disney World Resort, in particular, hope to drive here and then leave in a few hours. But even in that case, you need to pay for a parking ticket to leave your car in the parking lot.
On the other hand, people who come from other states usually have hotel reservations. In their cases, parking is not a problem as they can enjoy free parking passes. Particularly, anyone can have access to standard parking passes when they have hotel stays.
Some even ask if they can leave their cars overnight in the parking lot for free. No, you are not allowed to do that. You have to pay a certain amount for one parking pass. Then, you can use this pass to come in and out of the parking lot as many times as you want.
Furthermore, you can use the same pass to visit other theme parks or even park at other WDW resorts. It comes in very handy if you want to explore the whole place and get a taste of, say, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort and the Wilderness Resort on the same day!
Actually, a lot has changed regarding the parking regulations at Disney World in the past year. There has been a slight increase in the parking fare at Disney. The easiest way to travel there is by bus, which can save you loads of money. Or, you can also use their Minnie Van service. In this way, you can avoid the havoc of paying a hundred dollars for just parking.
How Much Does Disney Parking Cost?
Disney parking fees are not that expensive. Most importantly, it depends on your ride. The size of the vehicle you drive, and the space it occupies determines the parking fee.
Some people live under the impression that they need to pay a great deal of money for parking at the Disney Resorts. Wherever you park, be it at the Caribbean Beach Resort or the Villas, the parking fee for each category is more or less the same.
To understand this better, you need to understand the parking divisions. The parking fee is categorized into three groups: standard parking, preferred parking, and oversized vehicles.
For standard parking, the estimated fee is $25 per day. It applies to motorcycles or ordinary cars. Then, you can get parking close to the front gate with preferred parking. In this regard, it costs about 50 dollars a day for cars or bikes!
Lastly, the fee stands at $30 per day for bigger vehicles. Usually, it includes vehicles like RVs, campers, trucks, etc.
However, if you are staying at one of the resorts, the standard overnight parking charges are usually fixed. For instance, if you stay at the following hotels, the overnight charge will be $15 per night:
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
Again, if you stay at some other hotels, the overnight parking charge is about 20-25 dollars. These are listed below:
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- Copper Creek Villas and Cabins at the Wilderness Lodge
Moreover, for people with disabilities, Disney has a special privilege to offer. If you can show a genuine disability permit, they can allow you to valet park. The cost is, however, about 35 dollars with all taxes added. Also, if you are a member of the Disney Vacation Club, you can enjoy free parking with your vacation points.
Nevertheless, the parking charges can differ depending on the time of the year you choose to go. A mild rise in the charges can be seen when the parks are bustling. It usually happens during the holidays, spring break, and summer.
But from January to February and also during the middle of September, the parks become less busy. So, fees are back to normal then.
Can You Get Free Parking At Disney?
Yes, as surprising as it sounds, even after all the hassle, you can get free parking at Disney World. Actually, there are a few tips that you can try out to get parking without charges at Disney.
So, how do you get this free parking ticket? Let’s find out how you can become eligible for a free parking pass!
- An Annual Parking Pass
If you are a regular customer at Disney World, they often offer an annual pass that can allow you to get free parking.
Besides, they also offer premium passes and Disney Premier passes, with which you can enjoy free parking. An annual pass can help you park at Disney for free for one whole year.
- Stay At Neighbouring Hotels
If you want to save a great deal of money, one clever thing to do is to stay at one of the nearby cheap hotels. You can have a comfortable stay at a lower cost and enjoy your WDW experience at the same time!
In this way, you don’t even have to pay for parking wherever you stay. Besides, inside Walt Disney World, you can use their bus service or shuttles. It will save a lot of bucks!
- Parking At The Disney Spring Or Water Parks
The Disney Spring area has a free parking lot. Just take a bus to your resort, and then use their shuttles to travel for free to the theme parks. You can also try using Uber or Lyft services.
It will only take a brief amount of time to wait for your ride. Buses can make you wait an hour sometimes, which can be bothersome. Other than that, it will help you save lots of money!
- Disney Vacation Club Points
If you are a Disney Vacation Club member, congrats! You have good news! You can use your vacation points to get free parking. You can use your own points or buy points from someone else. People often sell these points at a good deal.
Also, if you book reservations using your club points, you can get a number of privileges, which include free parking. It is a secret that most people are still unaware of. But mainly, you will need to book a deluxe villa to have this privilege.
Conclusion
Disney World is a dream place for most kids and even adults. Some people spend their entire lives dreaming of visiting this beautiful, magical world! If parking fees have been stopping you, now you know several tricks and tips to avoid them! So, if anyone asks you now, can you park at Disney without staying there? You know what to tell them!
I hope this article helped you to learn all about the parking regulations at Disney World. Thank you for reading the entire article with patience. Wishing you a fantastic time in the magical world!
