Disney World Confirms Closing of Free Parking Loophole via New Bus & Boat Rules
Walt Disney World has confirmed permanent and expanded rules restricting the use of free transportation between Disney Springs and the resort hotels after a successful test earlier this spring. Here’s the start date for the new policy, full details, why this is happening, along with our potentially unpopular opinion that WDW should implement harsher rules of this nature.
As you might recall, Walt Disney World limited who could utilize the Disney Springs bus service bound for the resort hotels back during Spring Break and New Year’s. We visited Disney Springs on Easter and covered the then-temporary restriction at the time. It was lifted shortly after our reporting, exactly as expected.
Fast-forward a few months later, and Walt Disney World has confirmed with us that these rules are returning on a permanent basis and will soon be implemented. Not only that, but they’re going to be expanded beyond just the buses to also encompass the Sassagoula River Cruise.
There’s been a lot of pearl-clutching about this policy on social media, so we’d strongly encourage you to read the new rules before reacting. This includes who it impacts and doesn’t, why it exists in the first place, and what is not changing.
Again, our view of this restriction is positive. Perhaps you’ll disagree; that’s fine. But at least have an informed opinion as opposed to reflexively reacting to a headline. (Also, most questions you might have are answered below.)
Here’s what we know about the permanent Disney Springs transportation restrictions…
New WDW Transportation Rule Starts June 28th
Starting June 28, 2026, Walt Disney World will be restricting transportation from Disney Springs with an expanded guest ‘verification’ system.
With this new rule, Walt Disney World is limiting use of transportation from Disney Springs to the resort hotels to guests who have business to be there. Meaning they have an active reservation at a resort hotel of some sort–a hotel stay, Advance Dining Reservation, or some other booking.
The big difference now versus the previous test is that Walt Disney World has confirmed that it’s not just bus transportation that will have the restriction. Disney will also implement the same guest verification to board the Sassagoula River Cruise, which transport guests by boat to Old Key West, Saratoga Springs Resort, along with Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter.
During the previous test, Guest Relations Cast Members worked as gatekeepers to the bus loops, scanning MagicBands, Key to the World Cards, or reviewing My Disney Experience bookings to ensure eligibility. Guests who do not have a valid reason to use the transportation were politely informed that buses to resort hotels are currently only available for resort guests, and are turned away.
It’s worth noting that the reservation checkpoints are before the various sets of bus loops, and not at the specific stops. Once you’ve proven you’re an on-site guest or have an eligible reservation of some sort, you’re free to access whichever bus stop you’d like. In other words, any on-site Disney resort guest can go to any other on-site Disney resort.
That’s good news for impatient people like me, who would board the first bus bound for any Crescent Lake resort when staying at Yacht & Beach Club or BoardWalk, Art of Animation and Pop Century, etc. You’ll still be able to pick whichever bus you want.
Resort Hopping NOT Banned
Contrary to some click-baity headlines and social media claims, this rule does not end resort hopping for on-site Walt Disney World guests.
This means the restriction also does not prevent off-site Annual Passholders from resort hopping. We’ve heard from a lot of locals who are worried about this restriction, but you will still be able to park at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and take the Skyliner to Riviera Resort or walk to Crescent Lake, park at the TTC and take the monorail to Grand Floridian, etc.
The ban is aimed at those staying off-site who were attempting to exploit the free parking loophole. When it comes to visiting the resorts, Walt Disney World encourages off-site guests to park at the theme parks and then use the transportation network. Even off-site guests are still encouraged to resort hop–they just need to pay for parking first!
UPDATE: Additional Transportation Policies
Officially, Annual Passholders without the aforementioned reservations will not be eligible to board buses or boats at Disney Springs. Rather, they will be directed to park at one of the theme parks and resort hop from there.
As a reminder, all Walt Disney World APs (including the Pixie Dust, Pirate, Sorcerer, and Incredi-Pass tiers) include complimentary standard theme park parking. Annual Passholders are also eligible for free park to resort transportation.
Guests who are accessing resort transportation via an Advance Dining Reservation or other reservation (that’s not a hotel stay) will be able to access the buses and boats up to 2 hours in advance of their eligible reservation.
We are still waiting for official confirmation about any policy quirks as they relate to the Swan & Dolphin, Shades of Green, or the Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels. In light of the AP answer provided by WDW, our assumption is that there are no exceptions for any of these guests, either.
Aimed at Preserving Capacity for Paying Guests
Although not stated officially, Walt Disney World is implementing this crackdown to ensure that there’s ample transportation capacity available to guests who are staying at the resort hotels or guests who have a legitimate purpose for being there. The idea is reducing lines and wait times for the buses.
Awareness of this rule also helps increase parking availability at Disney Springs, which is actually the scarcer resource right now, although that’s part of the longer game. Even with multiple massive parking structures, Disney Springs can have limited spaces during peak periods.
The more immediate impact is shorter lines for the buses. During our visit on Easter, Disney Springs was an absolute madhouse, including the roads to get in and the parking structures. Meanwhile, the lines for the buses were virtually nonexistent. While I was waiting for my Pop Century-bound bus to arrive, I saw several parties turned away.
Closes Free Parking Hack
The reason this rule is being made permanent is to close a loophole. It’s another one of many restrictions aimed at preventing guests from taking advantage of free parking and free resort transportation.
Similarly, you can’t simply drive up to the Contemporary and park without any business for being there. Or, more recently, why even Caribbean Beach has become a “locked down” resort, when it was never that way pre-Skyliner.
There’s also the fact that bus service doesn’t go from Disney Springs to the theme parks. This is nothing new, and has the exact same underlying motivations. That reason, of course, is because parking is free at Disney Springs but costs $35 at the theme parks.
For the two decades that I’ve been active in the Walt Disney World fan community, it’s been a controversial hack to park at Downtown/Disney Springs in order to circumvent parking fees. I vividly recall the flame wars on the frontlines of the forums as people debated the ethics of this–it was right up there with reusing reusable mugs! (IYKYK.)
Prior to this crackdown, you could save money by parking your car at Disney Springs and taking a bus or boat to a resort that is close to the park you’re intending to visit, and then walking or taking another bus from there.
This was a well-known exploit ages ago, and I can only imagine how much worse it’s gotten in the social media era where every little guest courtesy is exploited and abused to the point that it becomes a problem for Disney.
Our Commentary
Our reaction to Walt Disney World making this a permanent restriction and verification system is largely the same as it was back when this was a test. The one thing we’d note is that, since this is a labor-intensive process (and thus costly for the company), that test clearly yielded positive results. If it didn’t, they wouldn’t be implementing it year-round.
While some fans have long considered this parking hack morally reprehensible, and others have recoiled at “defending” the multi-billion corporation for charging for parking in the first place or closing loopholes. I honestly couldn’t care less about the ethics of this. We’ve never recommended this not because it’s morally good or bad, but because it’s a colossal waste of time.
If you have the financial resources to visit Walt Disney World in the first place, your limited vacation time has enough value not to jump through pointless, time-consuming parking hoops. Just pay the $35 and be done with it. Alternatively, stay on-site at a Value Resort; the perks alone are worth it.
Nevertheless, when I’ve seen the social backlash to this rule, this tidbit about the free parking hack is omitted. Which is odd, because it’s entirely the point of banning off-site guests from Disney Springs transportation. That’s who is most impacted by this crackdown. Not on-site guests, not Annual Passholders, and not those with a legitimate purpose for being at one of the resort hotels.
There’s a lot of bluster about Walt Disney World being “cheap” by doing this, but that’s not my perspective. That sounds like people telling on themselves; why else would someone have a strong opinion on this unless they are trying to circumvent parking fees?
There’s no doubt other niche valid use cases, but they’re going to be rare and pretty much any valid purpose involves a reservation. Other than that, it seems like a large amount of the backlash is being driven by confusion, with Annual Passholders and other on-site guests erroneously assuming this ends resort hopping.
I’m very much a “don’t hate the player, hate the game” kind of person. As much as I dislike eBay pirates, my perspective has consistently been that Disney could shut that down in an instant if they so desired. Or that people could just stop buying overpriced junk at a colossal markup. The pirates are certainly bad, but they’re going to prosper until Disney acts or the market speaks.
It’s a similar story with circumventing parking fees. It’s stupid and a waste of time, but to each their own on that. At the same time, that “don’t hate the player, hate the game” mantra works in reverse. The player cannot hate the game when the game gets them, and closes a loophole that they’d exploited. And that’s what this is.
If you think $35 is an unreasonable price for parking and Disney is greedy or whatever, again, you have the option to stay on-site and get free parking. Or you can vote with your wallet and visit a different theme park. Universal charges $35 at the gate (or $32 in advance) for parking. SeaWorld charges $37.
I will present the flipside to this frustrating rule restricting access to buses and the Sassagoula River Cruise, which is that I’ve been in a long line for buses at Disney Springs. I’ve “missed” a bus to my resort because the line got cut in front of me. That happened while attempting to get back to the Contemporary at a time when most other bus stops had minimal lines.
As someone whose DVC dues were quite literally paying for that transportation, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little perturbed by the situation. Although it’s not as direct for other on-site guests, the same principle applies with parking and transportation being baked into room rates.
Based on reader comments to our post about Walt Disney World testing transportation restrictions earlier in 2026, I’m far from the only person who has had this frustrating experience. This happens at peak travel times, and disproportionately with resorts in close proximity to the parks. Guests staying at All Star Sports or Coronado Springs are largely not encountering this issue. It’s monorail loop, Crescent Lake, and Skyliner resorts.
In addition to transportation woes, we also had frustrating experiences with a lack of parking at Disney Springs when we were locals. This has only gotten worse, so I can’t fault Walt Disney World for wanting to limit parking to guests who actually plan on patronizing Disney Springs. I’d hazard a guess that the third party tenants are not upset about this rule.
The response from some fans is that Disney Springs should charge for parking like CityWalk at Universal Orlando or Downtown Disney at Disneyland. The distinction here is that Disney Springs is not within walking distance of parks (like CityWalk or DtD), and implementing parking fees (even with validation) would introduce needless friction that would discourage many locals from visiting Disney Springs. I’d hazard a guess that the third party tenants would not like that.
My potentially unpopular opinion is that Walt Disney World restricting access is a good thing that should happen more often.
Honestly, I don’t really think this is even a particularly unpopular opinion. It’s not well-received among a vocal minority of guests, but it’s probably not really on the radar of most tourists except to the extent that they encounter crowds and other friction.
The problem is that capacity is finite. This is pretty well understood when it comes to Walt Disney World as a whole, as opening the floodgates means higher attendance, and in turn, higher crowd levels. Nobody likes heavy crowds and long wait times, even if they may not appreciate the means to accomplishing lighter attendance.
An illustrative example of this is with the Island Tower at the Polynesian, which is home to terrace gardens with fantastic fireworks views. Because of these, elevator access requires a room key.
Those terrace gardens are incredibly low capacity, and if they were open to the public, people would loiter around in them, and paying guests with limited/valuable vacation time wouldn’t have a chance at using them.
Even though our stays at the Island Tower will be few and far between, I can recognize that as a practical reality, prime fireworks viewing in these spaces is a scarce resource that should be treated like it is–as an amenity for registered guests who are staying in the Island Tower. This is a recurrent problem not just in those terraces, but also at the beach of the Polynesian, and one that badly needs addressing.
Expensive hotels ration and reserve amenities for registered guests pretty much everywhere. I’m not sure why this concept is controversial among Walt Disney World fans. People paying Poly prices/points should have priority over visitors.
It’s a similar story with security being stringent and not allowing guests without stays or dining reservations to park at certain hotels. While there needs to be a better solution to this for locals wanting to spend money at the resorts (parking validation with minimum purchase), my general belief is that common areas of several Walt Disney World resorts are already overcrowded and those hotels need to be more restrictive, not less.
I’m not exactly sure how Walt Disney World resorts accomplish that from a practical perspective given how porous arrival points are, but it’s not unprecedented. Tokyo Disney Resort does exactly this with Toy Story Hotel and Fantasy Springs Hotel. Disneyland Paris does the same with Disneyland Hotel. It sort of happens at the Grand Californian, but only via the curb front walkway.
Locals and off-site guests have expressed annoyance at all of this, asserting that they do spend money at hotels, buying drinks at the bars, etc. I can appreciate this to an extent, and understand the frustration.
It’s an outgrowth of the infamous ‘unfavorable attendance mix’ comments the former CFO once made on an earnings call. No one who is already spending a lot of money wants to be told by Disney that, actually, they aren’t spending enough money to justify their presence in these pricey spaces.
At the same time, I’ve been around the block and have a lot of experience with Disney hotels; there’s a small minority of people who monopolize these spaces to the detriment of paying guests. The locals stopping in on occasion for a drink and to wander the grounds aren’t the issue. It’s a small handful of power users.
I’m not sure what the answer is to all of this, but space is scarce at some resort amenities and the paying guests should be prioritized and the atmosphere of those spaces preserved. I also know this is a distinctly Disney problem; it’s not something I’ve encountered at other high-end hotels in the real world.
I can understand why this is more controversial, and I’m certainly not suggesting that every Walt Disney World hotel should be on total lock-down to the point that you can’t set foot in the lobby without spending thousands per night. That’s too extreme.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are certain lobbies and lounges that are teetering on having a Starbucks vibe. As someone who has been a local on both coasts, my hope is that Disney finds a way to thread the needle and balance access.
The ‘vacation bubble’ of Walt Disney World is something special, and as Central Florida’s population continues to grow, this could turn into a bigger problem over time. That’s separate from the permanent rules on resort bound transportation from Disney Springs, though.
As for Walt Disney World restricting bus and boat access to guests with reservations at a resort, that is a net positive from my perspective. It’s good for on-site guests. It has minimal impact on Annual Passholders or even off-site guests with a valid purpose at a resort.
The majority of people it’s adversely impacting are those trying to exploit a free parking loophole. If you’ve read to this point in the post, hopefully the ‘why’ of this controversial change makes sense, or at least understand why this crackdown is happening.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on this Disney Springs boat and bus rule? What are your deep thoughts on Walt Disney World restricting access to the resorts, or otherwise allocating amenities to paying guests? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
One big oversight with this rule are those with water park+sports annual passes. I use the Lynx bus to get to Disney springs and then go to typhoon lagoon. I’m assuming the entire bus loop will be shut out including the typhoon lagoon stop. Since all transportation to typhoon lagoon runs through Disney springs, I’d no longer be able to use a part of the pass that I am paying for. They need to rework this rule.
For now. Just wait. I see this expanding to the parks too.
I’m an AP that’s a local. I enjoy the resorts far more than the parks, especially with them removing so many walk on favorites like Dinosaur and Carousel of Progress.
I utilize Disney Transportation to get around, but park at a park. I never go to Disney Springs. But it seems this is becoming more discouraged. For me a visit to the World is not just the parks but the whole resort. So I’ll be at Epcot for an afternoon, go to Beach Club for lunch, walk to Hollywood Studios. Take a bus to Wilderness Lodge for a snack. Boat to Magic Kingdom for fireworks. Monorail back to Epcot. But I’m not sure where I fit in as a AP with no resort reservation. Yes I do table service reservations at resorts from time to time, even overnight stays, but certainly not every day. But I’m not using the resort pools or chairs or setting up shop.
And I remember when I laughed that one day we’d have to pay for Fastpasses….
Well said and yes, I laughed too!
I have mixed feelings about this new policy. I totally get that Disney needs to limit access for all the reasons stated. BUT…we go to Disney several times a year and NEVER have a car so the whole ‘park free’ hack at Springs never worked for me, but now the new policy keeps me from staying at the Drury(which we do when we run out of our DVC points), walking to the Springs and then proceeding elsewhere within the Bubble to spend my money at various lounges and gift shops and etc,
So it feels like I’m being punished for something I never did…
You could still take the transport your hotel is providing, then transfer from a theme park or TTC.
I totally agree with Dan! Anyone shopping at Disney Springs is a Disney Guest! We should not be punished because of others. Resort Hopping is business for Disney. I always take the boat to Port Orleans French Quarter for Beignets. I like to go to the hotels to see their shops, have a new snack, see decorations and pin trade. Now because of this policy I am not able to do it. I have always done it in the past and neither the boats nor buses were extremely crowded. Shame on Disney Management for this policy. I fully understand for the busy times like Easter, 4th of July, etc. but to implement this year round is not necessary. All I can hope is someone on the Management Team recognizes this and re-evaluates the policy. In the end, Disney will lose money as people will not be spending at the resorts they hop to. Plus they lose because resort hopping is free advertising for them. I tell people to always go to French Quarter for Beignets or Captain Cooks for Tonga Toast. People want to see the resorts even if they cannot stay there. Please Disney – Re-evaluate this policy!
While it means no more Mickey beignets at FQ for us locals, I can understand why Disney is doing this. I wonder, though, if more vehicles in the theme park parking lots will drive up the cost of parking fees. (Cause and effect!)
Original A-E ticket books at Walt Disney World included separate transportation and entrance tickets, and the transportation ticket granted access to monorail, boats, and trams. Handstamps were available at exit turnstiles for return access.
There wasn’t a Lake Buena Vista Village until a few years later.
So I share the perspective of someone who has seen this same problem handled in my own tourist town of Pensacola Beach. All of the major resorts on the island require proof of stay before even entering their parking lots during peak season- even the ones with restaurants. No one bats an eye at that. I am curious if Disney will ever consider using a system like resort pass for locals or off site guests who want to use amenities for the day. The idea is you pay a nominal fee (cheaper than a night’s stay) to have access to the resort pool, parking, and amenities for the day. You simply make your reservation on the app, go to the front desk and they give you a temporary key card that gives you access to the locked guest areas. It’s quite successful here and the locals love it. Sure, you can’t go in during peak season but who wants to deal with that crowd anyway?
The TWA Hotel at JFK has done something similar with their rooftop pool and bar. Except worse, they even charge hotel guests to use the pool! That’s absurd if I just want to go up there and grab a beer or two, not even using the pool. I’ve been successful going up to the roof and telling the person there that I just want to walk over and see it and grab a few pics of the jets on the tarmac, then casually ordering a beer at the bar. By then they have forgotten about me/us or don’t care once they see we’re just using the bar and not the pool. There is usually one or two at the bar, but it’s pretty empty there.
Another one that is really bizarre is down at South Padre Island where we go for Starship Super Heavy launches. We haven’t stayed there but we often meet folks over at Landshark bar at Margaritaville. It’s a beach resort with direct beach access, but the weirdos actually lock the gates to the beach at night after a certain time. One time before they started doing that my brother and I were leaving towards the beach as the walk back over to our resort is literally about an eighth as long via the beach vs out front along the road. A security guy tried to stop us as we left, yelling that he wasn’t going to let us back in to the outdoor courtyard as we ignored him. And the last couple times they locked the gates and added cable locks! We moved a bench over to the wall and used it to climb over… I would be furious if I paid to stay at a beach resort and they blocked off access to the beach at night. It’s absolutely idiotic. And here in Texas, the beach is public property and considered a state highway. You can drive on most beaches here though that area of SPI has no vehicular access.
What about non Disney on-site hotels? When we visit we stay at the Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista Hotel, we always take a morning walk to the Saratoga Springs Bus stop and travel to the parks from there. I’ve not seen if on-property non-disney hotels are also banned from using the buses?
Officially the buses are intended for Disney hotel guests, if they wanted to start checking at the Saratoga bus stop as well then you’d be turned away.
You are using a amenity of a hotel that you are not staying at and have not paid for – so why should you be allowed to do this?
Right now it is only buses and boats from Disney Springs to resorts that are restricted. No change for transportation from resorts to parks or from parks to resorts.
Tom, great article. Maybe Disney could now focus too on the resort pools because as a dvc member we also see people not staying at the resort using the pools. I don,t know where they came from but it happens on a regularly basis and yes we spotted it in Grand Floridian!
AKL didn’t have locked gates to the pool when I was there last month. I found that very odd considering WL, POFQ and CBR all have gates with key card only access.
Great idea. We stayed at French quarter handy for the boats to Disney springs. But this year the queues were big, so this should help that.
Agree! We stay at Riverside and don’t even attempt DS because of the crowded boats. I’ve heard people say it’s an hour to get a boat. That amenity should be for Port Orleans guests. If others want a beignet- then take a bus ♀️
The main thing that concerns me about this is the second order effect of further restrictions. Without wanting to shout too loudly about it, it’s currently the case that anyone can visit any resort by car that isn’t directly connected to a theme park.
This obviously presents a loophole for those frozen out of Disney Springs, and I would expect Disney to respond by denying car access to all resorts. And at many resorts eg value/moderate, there are no reservations you can make to have “business” there. It’s this that will have a huge quality of life impact on those of us who enjoy touring the resorts.
We always drive our car when staying at Disney. Whenever we go to a different resort for dinner we are asked for ID and about our dinner reservation. People can’t just drive their cars to different resorts without said reservation. We’ve tried to visit resorts without one and were told we couldn’t.
Say what, you don’t want a dinner ressie for the swanky food court at A.S.S.?
But yeah it’s like Congress. If we allow them to pass a small restriction on say a right, they won’t stop there. They always keep coming back for more and more. I know several folks have mentioned the ‘value’ resorts as still being a value for the other perks, but now that they’re always over $200 a night I’m not seeing it. Pop Century is the best of them but at the price point you can stay at the LBV hotels/motels near DS quite a bit cheaper. For those with kids the on-site benefits are much more valuable versus some of us. The room is just a place to crash out for a few hours. I’m not sitting in a room, nor am I worrying about getting a chair at the pool. Time at WDW is far too valuable to squander like that! But everyone has their own goals for vacation time.
Park or take bus to theme park. Take bus, boat, or monorail to whatever resort.
Seems like a mid move that’s just going to get people staying offsite to spend less money at WDW tbh. Would jump off from offsite hotels with lyft to DS, hang for a bit, get a bus to poly to grab a bite, hit the gift shop and watch the fireworks and grab some drinks on the Tiki terrace when we aren’t planning to hit the parks.
It looks like you can still park at the TTC and walk to the Polynesian, where you can enjoy fireworks and a beach that non-Polynesian guests are not allowed to use/see.
You’d be able to take the Lyft directly to the TTC still.
Lyft sucks and I do not use them any more after they screwed me by raising the rate after leaving the house to three times what I agreed to, then lied about it. BUT yes you can get a rideshare driver to drop you near your destination and walk. Some drivers don’t want to do this, citing some rule or another.
Old lady here. I swear this is how it always was, “back in the day,” ie the 1970s. We camped at Fort Wilderness most summers and you used to have a paper Disney ID you got at check in. You had to show it to any bus driver like a city busy pass, and without it you couldn’t ride. Monorails and boats too. The idea was that Disney transportation was for Disney guests only.
This makes sense because in the 70s there were no security guards at the hotels. Off-site guests were allowed to park at the hotels and Fort Wilderness. Parking wasn’t free, although a lot cheaper, because you had to drive through the tollbooths to get to everything in the MK area.
The solution should also include selling a transportation pass to utilize an one way trip or one day pass to visit the resorts or theme parks. The monorail at Tokyo Disneyland and Seas is not free, but they’re cheap. Perhaps if Disney can monetize the transportation, they’ll decide to upgrade the monorails and extend it.
The issue is the free parking at Disney Springs and they can’t charge for the parking as the garages don’t belong to Disney. They want people to pay the $35 parking fee to go to the theme parks instead of getting free parking at DS.
Thank you Tom for once again a great post. i had no idea this was going on.
Shame on those people taking advantage “FREE PARKING”
I have never been to WDW, but plan my first visit for later this year. From my perspective, everything you have printed in this article makes sense. There are always people trying to take advantage of “free services” who really are not entitled. People staying at expensive resort hotels should not be inconvenienced by those who are not, including facilities over-crowded by non-guests. I don’t know to what extent these conditions prevail at WDW, but I am in favor of measures taken to address abuses.
We live very close to WDW and are AP’s. My husband does not drive but likes to take the 56 bus to the TTC, walk over to the Polynesian and take a bus to DS. The problem is getting back to the TTC from DS to catch the 56 bus home. He goes to DS to shop, walk around and have lunch. Looks like he won’t be going to DS to spend $
The 300 goes between the TTC and Disney Springs.
Maggie,
Afford a trip to Florida? You dont know our circumstances!! Maybe we are staying with relatives? Maybe it’s for a funeral? Maybe it was on the way home from a business trip.? You dont know. And the pin was $24.99. Are you kidding me right now? I don’t need a reservation to eat a quick serve. And restaurants that need reservations are gonna be sold out and super expensive! Use some common sense.
Don’t act like you know it all and have all the answers when you clearly have never been in the same situation and know nothing!!!!!!!!!
Apologies – I was not intending to call your life situation into question. However, I believe the perspective you’re viewing this circumstance from is self-biased.
For example, what you might get out of the day is shaded and secure parking, bus transportation, monorail rides, themed resorts to relax in, a cheap but delicious meal, and a small trinket.
But all Disney gets out of you is a relatively small amount of food and merchandise profit. Essentially, the cost of staffing and maintaining all of the amenities you have used is not equivalent to what you have paid.
If Disney is implementing these procedures, it’s because they’ve noticed a monetary hit great enough to warrant the extra staffing this will require. Yes, it’s unfortunate that this now means something that was free will now cost money – but if this experience is important to you then the 35 dollars to park at one of the theme parks is not an unreasonable amount. Maybe it means you can’t get the pin, now…that is something that you’ll have to prioritize for yourself. But it is not unreasonable for Disney to implement restrictions like this, nor is it unreasonable for all the people who will benefit from this process to support the change.
I understand wanting to force people to pay for parking. I also understand if the transportation and hotels are too crowded that they are trying to limit people who may be abusing the current system. However, I am surprised that they now won’t let people ride the boat from DS to French Quarter. I thought you could ride any Disney transportation when you stay in one of their hotels. Apparently from what you said, you can still ride any bus from DS, but that won’t work with the boat. I did that a couple of years ago during spring break to get gluten fee beignets at Scat Cats. The boat ride was fun, I got to see a new resort and the beignets were delicious. Gluten free pastries are not something one can get anywhere else….I am returning to WDW and staying at Pop and the Poly in August. We had already planned to go to French Quarter for beignets…would that still be possible? Would I have to take a bus instead?
Would I have to take a bus instead of the boat from DS?
“However, I am surprised that they now won’t let people ride the boat from DS to French Quarter. I thought you could ride any Disney transportation when you stay in one of their hotels. ”
The post already answered this question.
I agree with Tom on this issue. Resort guests are paying a premium for the amenities, including transportation, and I’d rather not subsidize others’ access to it, nor do I want to wait longer because the buses are overloaded with non-resort guests. People can still pay to park if they aren’t guests of the resort but have a dining reservation, which is not unusual at many resort style hotels.
This is the same thing that happens all the time. Remember the overuse and abuse of the Disability Access Service? People were on social media telling everyone how to get over on Disney with this. Disney then made it more difficult to use DAS and people had a fit. Good for Disney!
As a long time WDW guest, we always stay onsite, and rent a car, we love resort hopping, pin trading, and collecting pressed pennies at each resort, the current ban on us being able to park for a short time at each resort is more than frustrating, as we can reach almost every resort in 1 day, if we have to park at DS or a park and use busses we would waste most of the holiday to do the same amount of resorts