parking at the contemporary for dinner and going to MK after that

[MomOTwins]

Be very wary of taking at face value anything on the Mom's Panel. Disney does not verify anything they post as fact. Believe it or not, at first you could comment on what the Mom's posted. They were called out on being wrong so much that that function was taken away.

Haha, yeah I remember when I was new to Disney and they said the earliest I could enter MK with a party ticket was 7pm.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Go with 3 hr rule of thumb ( providing you go to ADR restaurant) and you’ll be fine. Only very, very rarely does resort parking get so full that it would prevent a staying guest from parking.

I take it you have never stayed at the Boardwalk Inn/Villas during Food & Wine or Flower & Garden.

 

[Deb & Bill]

While I would never condone blocking someone’s private driveway - that would be very bad - I hope the OP asks someone at Disney and reports back. It would be useful to hear about a first-hand experience instead of somebody’s opinion of what should happen or numerous posts recounting the misadventures of those fabulously unlucky folks “the people in front of us.”

You ask one person and you get the information from one person. Not official Disney policy unless you get it in writing.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Haha, yeah I remember when I was new to Disney and they said the earliest I could enter MK with a party ticket was 7pm.

That is what it was years ago. You couldn't enter the park until the park closed for the party. Unless you already were in the park with a regular ticket. Then you moved to Tomorrowland where you were kept until they got all the other guests out of the park.

 

[PetePanMan]

I take it you have never stayed at the Boardwalk Inn/Villas during Food & Wine or Flower & Garden.

OP talking about Wave and parking at contemporary but I agree that boardwalk parking is one of worst at any time of year. I have parked at BC/YC though during these periods and went to dinner and then Epcot within 3 hrs and no problem. Lots of space.

 

[Deb & Bill]

OP talking about Wave and parking at contemporary but I agree that boardwalk parking is one of worst at any time of year. I have parked at BC/YC though during these periods and went to dinner and then Epcot within 3 hrs and no problem. Lots of space.

I'm talking about the guests who come back from being somewhere else around 7 or 8pm and can't find a parking place because of all the freebie parkers. The guests of BLT complain of the same thing. They can't find any parking places because of all the freeloaders.

 

[PetePanMan]

I'm talking about the guests who come back from being somewhere else around 7 or 8pm and can't find a parking place because of all the freebie parkers. The guests of BLT complain of the same thing. They can't find any parking places because of all the freeloaders.

Nothing wrong with parking there when going to dinner there and staying about 3 hours. Disney fine with it. We have stayed numerous times at BLT - parking never full. On rare occasion it may be problem

 

[marikujawa]

You ask one person and you get the information from one person. Not official Disney policy unless you get it in writing.

That’s fine. I’ve gotten it in writing that Disney gives its CMs discretion to make decisions based on Disney’s business needs. That means you will get varying answers from CMs at different times. I’m interested to know what answer the OP will get if he or she asks the question posed.

 

[Christine]

So I guess what it all comes down to is Disney relying on the integrity and honesty of people dining at their restaurants? That's great, unfortunately, I find integrity and honesty to be dwindling in our wonderful "it's all about me and I deserve it" culture.

Besides being a rule follower, what's to stop me from staying offsite, saving megabucks doing that, booking a breakfast ADR each morning at one of the resorts, parking for free ALL DAY, and again saving more money? The policy that's not really a policy because Disney hasn't written it down? The only thing that stops me now is my conscience and knowing that both resort guests and honest off-siters are paying a hefty daily parking fee. EVEN when they spend so much money at Chef Mickey's or 'Ohana on top of that.

 

[Deb & Bill]

So I guess what it all comes down to is Disney relying on the integrity and honesty of people dining at their restaurants? That's great, unfortunately, I find integrity and honesty to be dwindling in our wonderful "it's all about me and I deserve it" culture.

Besides being a rule follower, what's to stop me from staying offsite, saving megabucks doing that, booking a breakfast ADR each morning at one of the resorts, parking for free ALL DAY, and again saving more money? The policy that's not really a policy because Disney hasn't written it down? The only thing that stops me now is my conscience and knowing that both resort guests and honest off-siters are paying a hefty daily parking fee. EVEN when they spend so much money at Chef Mickey's or 'Ohana on top of that.

But nobody (other than valet parking) pays to park during the day. Resort guests just pay for overnight parking. They need to charge for daytime parking unless you have a dining reservation at an onsite table service facility. Then you return to the guard shack with a validated parking ticket for no more than three hours (unless you are at a Victoria & Albert's dinner). If you stay four hours, you pay for that extra hour.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Sounds like cheating I know but we have gone to dinner at CG and then gone to MK. It’s never been an issue.

The CMs might not care if the policy is broken, but I bet resort guests do. I just returned from a trip to the Poly and was pleasantly surprised by this being the first time ever I returned from the parks and found parking pretty easily. Seems like they definitely wont let you in without a reason to be there. Since the OP does have a reason, they will be let in and its on the conscience whether or not they want to be rude to resort guests.

That being said, while on my 2 week trip, we had many many dining reservations at Epcot. Since we took the monorail, we had to enter from the front of the park and make the trek to World Showcase almost nightly, after a day of walking in the different parks. My DD tracked 147 miles we walked during our trip and 23 hours of swimming! On the last night, we ate at Chefs de France. My legs were jello, my knees in pain and feet swollen like balloons. I cheated and took our rental and parked at the Boardwalk..furthest spot possible, next to guardshack..and took the boat over to Epcot. Sorry Boardwalk guests, but I literally could barely walk. Yes, I did feel super guilty.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Last time we were at WDW, we had reservations at the Grand Floridian for the Ivy Trellis salon at 1:30, then dinner at 1900 Park Fare at 4:05. We told the parking CM that we had 2 different reservations and would be there a long time - over our 3 hour limit. He told us they were not in the business of towing cars. After dinner, we took the monorail over to MK to have the girl pictures done at the portrait studio adjacent to Castle Couture. I'll admit I was a little nervous about it, but we were assured that all would be fine - and it was.

 

[kaytieeldr]

we had reservations at the Grand Floridian for the Ivy Trellis salon at 1:30, then dinner at 1900 Park Fare at 4:05.

Still, the conscientious procedure would have been to park at the TTC, monorail to GF, do the spa, look around, have dinner, then monorail to MK.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Reading this thread just makes me that much happier I don't drive, LOL.

 

[DisBuckMan]

The CMs might not care if the policy is broken, but I bet resort guests do. I just returned from a trip to the Poly and was pleasantly surprised by this being the first time ever I returned from the parks and found parking pretty easily.

Agree. Every time we stay at the Poly, it's a disaster trying to find a parking space while MK is still open. Magically, parking spots are available everywhere after MK closes. These aren't just people with ADR's. It's mostly folks gaming the system, taking parking spots from people who are not only paying high prices to stay at Poly (or other monorail loop resorts), but also paying a per night parking fee. The parking lot next to Moorea is the worst for this...probably because it's closest to the TTC and both the MK and the Epcot monorail station.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

We have been to the Grand Floridian many times for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was under the assumption that there was a designated parking area for diners, since we are always directed to the same parking lot. We have never parked at the Contemporary or Polynesian so I I'm not sure if they have designated spots or not.

 

[marikujawa]

Last time we were at WDW, we had reservations at the Grand Floridian for the Ivy Trellis salon at 1:30, then dinner at 1900 Park Fare at 4:05. We told the parking CM that we had 2 different reservations and would be there a long time - over our 3 hour limit. He told us they were not in the business of towing cars. After dinner, we took the monorail over to MK to have the girl pictures done at the portrait studio adjacent to Castle Couture. I'll admit I was a little nervous about it, but we were assured that all would be fine - and it was.

Thanks for reporting your actual experience, and I'm not surprised you were told all would be fine. Do you remember being told about a 3-hour limit? The reason I ask is that over the years we have had several dinners at Flying Fish during Epcot's food and wine festival - each time we were told by the guard that we could valet or self-park and no one ever mentioned a 3-hour limit. We chose to self-park and always found a spot, although the spots were pretty far back. I'm fine with following rules as long as they're set by Disney and not just made up by other guests.

The OP asked about having dinner at the Contemporary, then leaving the car and walking to MK for a few hours before it closed. He or she planned to ask Disney personnel if it was okay to do so. That seems like a valid question, and I can see Disney being alright with it, provided there was sufficient parking that day. Of course, people have every right to express their personal opinion about whether what the OP asked about was (or even should be) allowed. But what's with all the exaggeration and end-of-the-world scenarios? The OP didn't say anything about staying offsite, making breakfast reservations every day and then using the resort as a theme park lot. OP didn't say anything that would lead to the suggestion that they thought it would be okay to block someone's personal driveway. That seems kind of heavy handed.

 

[Christine]

Thanks for reporting your actual experience, and I'm not surprised you were told all would be fine. Do you remember being told about a 3-hour limit? The reason I ask is that over the years we have had several dinners at Flying Fish during Epcot's food and wine festival - each time we were told by the guard that we could valet or self-park and no one ever mentioned a 3-hour limit. We chose to self-park and always found a spot, although the spots were pretty far back. I'm fine with following rules as long as they're set by Disney and not just made up by other guests.

The OP asked about having dinner at the Contemporary, then leaving the car and walking to MK for a few hours before it closed. He or she planned to ask Disney personnel if it was okay to do so. That seems like a valid question, and I can see Disney being alright with it, provided there was sufficient parking that day. Of course, people have every right to express their personal opinion about whether what the OP asked about was (or even should be) allowed. But what's with all the exaggeration and end-of-the-world scenarios? The OP didn't say anything about staying offsite, making breakfast reservations every day and then using the resort as a theme park lot. OP didn't say anything that would lead to the suggestion that they thought it would be okay to block someone's personal driveway. That seems kind of heavy handed.

What's with the end-of-the-world scenarios? Nothing at all. This is what happens on a message board. Discussions evolve (or devolve as may be the better term). I gave a few of these scenarios and I wasn't directing any of my musings to the OP at all. The OP asked a question, got several good answers, and then several people furthered the discussion about "what if everyone did it."

Personally, I think discussions like this are okay. It is a discussion board afterall and many of us are here for just that, versus black and white answers, of which there doesn't seem to be one on this topic.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

When we drove up, we told the CM that we would be there for quite a while, and he said it wouldn't be a problem. I said, I thought there was a 3 hour parking limit, and he said we would be fine, Disney wasn't in the business of towing cars. We told him our plans to have hair done, eat, and pictures at MK, and he said Have a good time, and we thanked him. He directed us to the parking area.

ETA: This is the only time we have done this. This year, we plan to go to the GF before the Halloween party, but we've decided to park at TTC, monorail to the GF, monorail to MK and pick up our car at TTC after the party. The only plans we changed were from Chef Mickeys to the GF because of the CR location on the monorail line.

 

[Polydweller]

To those who are saying or implying that it’s ok, ask yourself this question. How would you feel to go back to your home resort and find there is no parking? It does happen at the Boardwalk area and MK area resorts. And more often than you would think. I have it happen more times than I can count and it’s horrible because unlike you I don’t have another option.

And as a previous poster pointed out the lots are magically empty when the theme parks close. And, even though the lots may appear empty when you arrive for dinner thats likely because the resort’s guests are out to a theme park or Disney Springs or whatever. It doesn’t mean returning resort guests won’t be needing your parking space. They will.

It’s about courtesy folks, not what you can get away with. If you would expect others to show courtesy to you at your resort then show it to them at their resort and either use the valet service or park only for the duration of your business at the resort which doesn’t mean there and MK. Oh, and if you look closely the lots are posted as not for Theme Park access. So forget the argument about 3hrs, the official policy is not for Theme Park access.