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

When you’re planning a Walt Disney World vacation, it is essential for those traveling with a vehicle to be aware of parking details. Thankfully, guests of Walt Disney World 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 perks of staying in the Disney bubble.

Below, we’ll discuss parking at Disney World. We’ll review parking at the Disney World Resorts, Disney 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.

Disney World Resorts Parking Charges

Overnight self-parking is complimentary for guests of Disney Resort Hotels at Walt Disney World. As of last year, guests of Walt Disney World Resort Hotels no longer incur parking charges at Walt Disney World for hotel parking or theme park parking. This benefit is extended to standard parking at the Walt Disney World theme parks.

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.
• Overnight self-parking is complimentary to guests staying at Disney Resort hotels at Walt Disney World Resort.
• Complimentary standard parking is available to guests at The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. Each campsite provides parking space for one (1) motorized vehicle.
• 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. Valet service is $39 per night (sales tax included).
• 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:

• Self-Parking: $34 per night, plus tax (maximum 5-night charge for Walt Disney Travel Company Guests)
• Valet Parking: $44 per night, plus tax
• Parking is validated for guests who are not staying at these resort hotels but are visiting the following locations: Mandara Spa, Shula’s Steakhouse, Il Mulino, Amare, Kimonos, Rosa Mexicano, Todd English’s Bluezoo.

Disney World Theme Parks Parking

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

• Standard Parking: $30.00 per day (car or motorcycle)
• Preferred Parking: $45.00, $50.00, or $55.00 per day
• Oversized Vehicle Parking: $35.00 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. Resort guests and annual passholders can upgrade to preferred parking by paying the difference between standard parking and preferred. (Typically runs between $15.00 and $25.00 per day.)

Guests visiting from off-site will need to have a credit card ready and an idea of whether or not they want to park in one of the regular parking spots or upgrade to be closer to the theme park’s entrance. 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. Preferred parking guests will park near the Transportation and Ticket 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 your receipt from earlier for parking.

In most cases, guests of the Disney Resorts will want to take a bus, boat, or monorail from their resort to the Magic Kingdom. Those buses drop off on the other side of the lake within a few steps of the theme park.

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 locater. It will then identify your location (must have location services enabled) and save your details. You can also choose to manually enter your details. Read more about the Car Locator.

Tip: We always take a photo of our row number at the end of the row where we parked. 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 courtesy trams from the parking lot to the park’s main entrance.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Disney lists the following locations which 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 the general parking near ADA spaces.

Disney Springs Parking (and Disney’s 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. We have an entire guide devoted to transportation at Disney Springs if you want to learn more.

Theme Park Disability Parking Lots

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. But we have been turned away several times when visiting resorts for shopping and touring.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this article provided you with a good overview of the parking costs at Disney World. For more about Disney Transportation, you might enjoy a few of our guides:

• How to Use the Disney Skyliner (When and Where)
• A List of Disney Resort Hotel Transportation Options
• Taking Advantage of the Disney Friendship Boats

Do you have any questions about parking at Walt Disney World? Did you realize that Disney no longer charges for parking at their resort hotels? What are your favorite parking tips? Please leave us a comment and share your thoughts!