Since we are local, we drive to Disney World and Disney Springs. I’ve developed quite a love/hate relationship with the parking lots. Here is my opinion on each one:
Magic Kingdom
I absolutely hate driving to this park. If we get there early enough to where we don’t have to take the tram, it isn’t as bad. But either way, I still have to add an additional 30 minutes to get from my car to security. We prefer to take the ferry over the Monorail. It is the easiest one to push a stroller on. Usually the Monorail is down in the morning so we have to choose between the Ferry or the bus. When that is the case, we take the bus. It is definitely faster than the ferry because not many people are even looking for the bus.
Hollywood Studios
I love driving to this park. They have also recently updated the entrance for cars.
Animal Kingdom
This park is the easiest one for me to get in and out of. We almost always walk instead of taking the tram because it is faster for us. In the afternoon when they park you at the end of the row nearest the woods, there is a sidewalk there that leads you to the entrance.
Epcot
This is my favorite parking lot. No matter where we park, we are close to the entrance. There is a sidewalk from both the bottom and the top of the parking lots to security on both sides. The rows also don’t seem as long as Hollywood Studios.
Disney Springs
Disney has fixed driving to this park. We have no issues getting there and back. Our favorite garage is the Lime Garage since it is located in the Town Center and is in the middle of everything.
5 things to remember when driving to Disney World:
- Don’t follow the signs on I4. We almost always take Exit 62 unless we are going to Disney Springs (we come Eastbound. If you are Westbound you should follow the GPS.). It is the fastest route for us to the parks. Follow your GPS and not the signs on I4.
- Honk as you go under the Welcome Sign. The kids will love it!
- Don’t spend time fixing your bags if you are taking the tram. Just throw it all on top of the stroller and go. You are going to have to unload everything once you get to the tram and again at security. Fix the bags after you go through security.
- Take a picture of where you park. You will forget. Don’t trust your tired brain to remember. Take a picture when you arrive.
- Keep all of your Disney stuff together. I have a basket in the back of my van where I throw everything we use in the parks. When you get back to the car, take the time to put it all together instead of letting it get spread out.
If you drive to mk how can you choose to stay to park close because then you wont be able to get to your car… The monoral closes early does the boat go until close? This is why we always choose to stay on property so we dont have to worry about it
We try our best not to drive to the parks only because we don’t like paying and we can usually get dropped off if we’re off property. I just wanted to comment my fun tip for remembering where you parked. This summer, I used the area name and row number as our “code name” for the day and made that the title of my photo album on social media. Epcot was “Imagine 62” and MK was “Simba 117”! Just made it a little more fun! Wish I could get down there more often!
I used to love arriving at Magic Kingdom when I was a kid because getting to the park was part of the experience but since we’re pass holders now it’s gotten a bit tedious. We usually ride the tram though since we don’t have kids in strollers it’s easy to get on & off. It does seem to be faster to get into Epcot & Hollywood Studios if you walk. Especially because once you get off the tram you can get stuck behind hundreds of people all trying to get through bag check at the same time.
I agree with every word of this. I, too, HATE the MK parking lot. Arriving is never a problem. It’s leaving. We always have to wait 3 to 4 trams to get to our car because we never arrive early.