Parking at Disney World (Resorts, Parks, Water Parks, and Disney Springs)

When it comes to parking at Disney World, there are a couple of things you’ll want to be aware of before your stay. Thankfully, guests of Disney Resort Hotels don’t have to worry about parking charges. Parking is complimentary for on-site guests at the hotels and the theme parks. It’s one of the biggest advantages of staying on Disney property.

So below, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about parking at Disney World. We’ll go over parking at hotels, theme parks, water parks, preferred parking, handicap parking, paid parking, complimentary parking, and more! If you’re staying off-site with plans to drive to the theme parks, you’ll want to account for parking costs in your budget and plan your days accordingly.

Parking at the Disney Resorts

Guests of Disney Resort Hotels can enjoy complimentary parking at the following:

• Standard self-parking is complimentary for day Guests while they enjoy select dining, shopping, entertainment, and recreation experiences at Disney Resort hotels.
• Overnight self-parking is complimentary to Guests staying at Disney Resort hotels at Walt Disney World Resort.
• Complimentary standard parking is available to Guests staying at The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. Each campsite provides a parking space for one (1) motorized vehicle.

Other Options

• Valet service is offered at Disney Deluxe* and Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts and at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Upon your arrival, please check with the Security Host for parking options. Check for current valet prices on Disney’s website, which is subject to change.)
• Designated parking areas are available throughout Walt Disney World Resort for Guests with disabilities. A valid disability parking permit is required.
• Disney Vacation Club Members will not be charged for standard overnight self-parking when staying at a Disney Vacation Club Deluxe Villa or a Disney Resort hotel, regardless of whether they use Vacation Points or another form of payment.

List of Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts that offer valet: Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Disney’s Beach Club, Disney’s Yacht Club, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’s Old Key West, Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

The Walt Disney World Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve offer self-parking and valet options at an additional cost. You can view their current pricing structure here on their website.

*Parking is validated for guests who are not staying at these resort hotels but are visiting the following locations: Mandara Spa, Bourbon Steak, Il Mulino, Amare, Kimonos, Rosa Mexicano, and Todd English’s Bluezoo.

Parking at Disney World Theme Parks

Guests visiting from off-site will incur daily parking fees for the theme parks.

• Standard Parking: $35.00 per day (car or motorcycle)
• Preferred Parking: $50.00, $55.00, or $60.00 per day
• Oversized Vehicle Parking: $40.00 per day (Shuttle, Limo, Camper Trailer, RV, Bus, or Tractor Trailer)

When you arrive at the park entrance, on-site resort guests will want to have their MagicBand or Keys to the World card ready to show the attendant. Annual passholders also receive free parking and will need to have their pass or MagicBand ready, along with their identification. All other guests will want to have a form of payment out and ready to expedite the process.

After you pay, you’ll continue through and follow the flow of traffic until you reach a group of cast member parking attendants. They will guide you into the right parking space.

Note that at Magic Kingdom, all guests must park at the Transportation and Ticket Center and take the ferry or monorail to the park’s entrance. As mentioned above, preferred parking guests will park near the Transportation and Ticket Center entrance.

If you pay for parking, your receipt is good for the entire day, meaning you can park at any of the four theme parks. For example, you might start at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and then park hop to Magic Kingdom (valid park-hopper ticket required). When you arrive at Magic Kingdom, you’ll show the parking receipt from earlier in the day to park.

We often drive to the theme parks when we’re staying at a Disney Resort Hotel, with the exception of Magic Kingdom. In most cases, resort guests will want to take a bus, boat, or monorail from their resort to the Magic Kingdom to avoid the transfer process at the TTC. Magic Kingdom buses drop guests off within a few steps of the theme park’s main entrance.

Preferred Parking

Preferred parking lots are an additional cost. They are conveniently located near the theme park’s entrance. At Magic Kingdom, the preferred parking lot is near the Transportation and Ticket Center entrance.

Resort guests and annual passholders can upgrade to preferred parking by paying the difference between the standard parking and preferred fee. (The rate typically runs between $15.00 and $25.00 per day.)

Locating Your Car

After you drive through the park’s gated entry, you’ll be directed to a parking lot. Cast members will then direct you where to park. Here are the parking lots at each park.

• Magic Kingdom Heroes: Rapunzel, Mulan, Simba, Peter Pan, Woody, and Aladdin

• Magic Kingdom Villains: Cruella, Hook, Jafar, Zurg, Ursula, Scar

• Epcot: Gamora, Wall-E, Hei Hei, Crush, Dory, Moana, Rocket

• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Olaf, Buzz, Jessie, Minnie, and Mickey

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Peacock, Giraffe, Unicorn, Yeti, Butterfly, Dinosaur

All of Disney’s theme parks have a car locator available in the My Disney Experience app. When you first park, you can open the app and select the car locator. It will then identify your location (must have location services enabled) and save your details. You can also choose to manually enter your details. We have a screenshot tutorial that discusses how to use the car locator at Disney World.

Tip: We usually take a photo of our row number at the end of our parking lot. If you take the tram, the driver will also announce the name of the row where you parked. It is important to save these details for reference later. After a long day in the parks, it can be challenging to remember where you parked.

Courtesy Trams

All four parks offer parking lot courtesy trams to transport guests to and from the park’s main entrance, except for Magic Kingdom. The parking lot tram at Magic Kingdom’s lot drops guests off at the TTC. From there, you’ll have to walk through a security clearance, and then take the monorail or ferry to Magic Kingdom.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Disney lists the following locations that offer electric vehicle charging stations.

• Magic Kingdom Park has five spaces. One space is at the front of the Medical parking lot, and four spaces are available at the front of the Zurg parking lot.
• EPCOT has four spaces at the front of the Journey parking lot.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom has four spaces in the Medical parking lot.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios has four spaces at the front of the Mickey parking lot.
• Disney Springs has 13 spaces. Three are on the 5th floor of the Orange Garage, three are on the 5th floor of the Lime Garage, and three are on the 3rd floor of the Grapefruit Garage. Four additional spaces are available in the Watermelon parking lot near Cirque du Soleil.
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort has six spaces in the general parking lot near ADA spaces.
• Disney’s Riviera Resort has two spaces near ADA spaces.
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge has two spaces in general parking near ADA spaces.

Parking at Disney Springs and the Water Parks

Lastly, I wanted to mention parking at Disney Springs and the Disney World Water Parks. Thankfully, parking is complimentary at all three of these locations:

• Disney Springs
• Blizzard Beach
• Typhoon Lagoon

Both water parks have large surface parking lots outside the entrance. In addition, Blizzard Beach shares a parking lot with Winter Summerland’s mini-golf course.

At Disney Springs, there are three parking decks and two surface parking lots. The lime parking garage is central to most of the popular locations, but we prefer the orange parking lot on the West Side of the venue. Two pick-up areas are available for guests using a car service like Uber or Lyft.

It is important to note that you cannot park at Disney Springs and access bus or boat transportation unless you’re a registered hotel guest or have a valid dining or recreational reservation at a resort. See our overview of how the bus and boat transportation works at Disney Springs for more details.

Disability Parking at the Theme Parks

Guests with mobility disabilities (e.g., those with personal wheelchairs, electric scooters, or other mobility devices) can park in the disability parking lots, which are a short distance from the main entrance to each of Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks. Learn more about mobility disabilities here on Disney’s site.

Parking with Dining Reservations

Per Disney’s website, “Standard self-parking is complimentary for day guests while they enjoy select dining, shopping, entertainment, and recreation experiences at Disney Resort hotels.”

However, it has often been our experience that you must have a dining reservation to park at most Disney Resort Hotels. This is not always the case. We have been turned away several times when visiting resorts for shopping and touring. If you’re planning on driving to a resort that you’re not staying at, nine times out of ten, you’ll need a valid dining reservation.

Parking Increases

The most recent price increases are reflected below. Most price increases happen annually, so you can expect an increase about the same time the following year.

• October 9, 2025: See details of theme park pricing increases in late 2025.

Final Thoughts

We hope this article helped you figure out the ins and outs of parking at Disney World. If you would like to learn about other travel methods, you might enjoy the following:

• Disney’s Friendship Boats: These boats travel between Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The route services all of the Epcot Resorts.

• Disney Skyliner Hours and Times: We discuss the Skyliner route, hours, and average travel times you can expect when riding the gondolas.

• How to Find Bus Times on the Disney App: This guide offers a detailed walk-through of how to check bus times in the My Disney Experience app.

• Fastest Way to Get Between Epcot and Magic Kingdom: We compare the two fastest ways to get between Epoct and Magic Kingdom.

Make sure to see our transportation guide for more tips on how to get around Disney World. Check back with ResortsGal.com for more updates.

In the Comments

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