There are plenty of people who don't drive in Orlando and they seem to manage fine. Certainly for Universal and Sea World it is fairly easy to get off the I Ride trolley at stops that are closeish (Universal is still a hike) and walk the remaining distance. For Disney, there is the Lynx bus service which combined with the I Ride trolley will get you there but to me it has always sounded like too hard work.

I do agree that the parking charges are high, but I would just include them as a part of your budgeting. It is nice at the end of a long day in the parks to get in your car and head back to the hotel rather than waiting around for buses etc.

Remember you only pay once a day for parking in Disney so if you change parks keep your ticket .

Dont know if you have bought your tickets yet, but some people buy one annual pass and then three or four normal passes. Apparently you get free parking with the annual pass.

Never looked into this so dont know if its cost effective, but it might be worth an investigate, you would need to do the figures, factoring in how many days you intend to do disney parks.

When you say "high charges" for parking, exactly how much are we talking here as this is the first i've heard of this and we're off to Florida in October?

Cheers

Came back from Florida last month and the parking charges at all the parks, including Seaworld and Universal, was $12 for the day. It does mount up. We occasionally used the bus service which was provided by our hotel, but the departure and collection times weren't always convenient so you have to bear that in mind. Nikki

If you stay on Disney property then you will be able to park at all the Disney theme parks and water parks for free all day everyday. The Disney hotels also have their own transport (Buses for the Value Resorts and the Moderate and Deluxe Resorts have buses and also monorail/boats) so if you wanted to head to Downtown Disney for a few drinks one night then you can leave the car behind
We have stayed at the Value Disney Resorts in the past and found them great value for money, once you take into account all the parking costs etc. Then all you would need to pay for is the Universal/Sea World parking costs.

GG x

The OP asked whether the I Ride trolley could be used to save money on parking at the theme parks so I am guessing that they are staying on I Drive somewhere and not Disney property. Good point though.

My feeling is that $12 is quite high but if you take into account the amount you have paid for your holiday then it is just a small fraction and can be built into spending costs. I have utilised hotel transportation in the past to the parks and have been less than impressed with the bunfights needed to get on the early bus out and the last bus back to the hotel.

Having a car parked up just a short walk away is well worth the $12 if you ask me and you can come and go when you please without having to adhere to strict timetables. It is a holiday after all......

I dont feel that the amount is too bad. Not when you compare it to the cost of parking in some shopping centres in the south of england.

Do you think you could park in downtown disney and use the saratoga springs hotel transport? Would this be loads of hassle and time consuming as well as morally questionable? We have 3 little kids and a 21 day pass- we want half days at disney and not to have to lose 250 dollars from our budget!

As far as i know, you cant get into the Saratoga Springs hotel from Downtown Disney.

I know Disney had a huge crackdown on people doing things like this a while back. For example, im sure they used to run a bus from Downtown Disney directly to the parks - you can imagine the nightmare that caused - people parked at Downtown for free and used the bus! They dont do that anymore now though.

I could be wrong about Saratoga Springs though.

My post about staying on Disney property was the only way i could see avoiding the charging for parks
I have also previously stayed on I-drive and used the hotel's bus service and i just remember my neice being in tears because the bus back to the hotel was at 6pm and that meant we would miss Shamu's night-time performance at Sea World. That was a long time ago though i must say and hotels may run better services nowadays.

Im not sure about posting links on here, so feel free to remove this post if im not allowed! Just found this page on the trusty Allear's website:

http://allears.net/pl/parking.htm

Regards parking for Disney parks. I just read it and it turns out the waterparks are free parking even when you dont stay on property - i didnt know that
GG x

GlitterGirl wrote:

Im not sure about posting links on here, so feel free to remove this post if im not allowed!

So long as you're not advertising your business or property or breaking copyright law that's fine

I can see why you have an issue now. 21 day pass, and half days at the Disney parks is seriously going to dent your budget. Normally, if you think along the lines of 4 main Disney parks (stay all day) @ $12 a day which equals $48 that isn't a great deal to worry about. With your plan, the costs are going to mount up but I can totally understand why you have chosen to plan this way with 3 little kids in tow.

I'm not sure there is an answer to this one bar utilising hotel or public transportation. Certainly the option to park up at Downtown Disney and get to the parks that way is long gone.

If you hadn't booked your tickets already I would have recommended seeing how much you could do in a day at the parks before the kiddies energy runs out. In my opinion both Animal Kingdom and MGM (I always call it that) are fairly comfortable day parks, even with kids in tow.

Sorry I can't be of more help.....

thanks for your he;p and understanding- we really want it to be the ho;iday of a lifetime....
we have saved for almost 2 years.. dreams do come true!!!
Jules

I think we will probably just use the car- before I give it up....what about parking on idrive and getting the iride,- can we park for free- a mall or somewhere- does the iride go near the park entrances? i wish there was a pre payed discount disney pass..
Does anyone ever sell their inclusive parking for staying in resort and does disney mind?
Thanks so much
jules

the iride doesnt go anywhere near the disney parks, you can get it to seaworld then change onto the lynx bus which takes you too the disney ticket and transportation centre, if you want to get to universal you need to get off at wet n wild and walk from there it isnt that far ,we walked it last year but that was start of october ,so wasnt as warm and humid.

I honestly believe you will be grateful for having the car with you at the parks despite the parking costs. It is so nice after a busy day walking around a Disney park just to get back into the car and within minutes you are back at the hotel. The hotel shuttles and public transportation do what they say on the tin, but in can be more of a hassle having to stick to timetable schedules.

Are you planning to visit Universal & Sea World? As Audbod said below, you will be able to utilise the I Ride trolley for both, although Universal is still a trek from Wet n Wild.

Thank you- we are going to sea world and aquatica, but not universal!