Parking at Boardwalk for Epcot?

[barnaby]

On one of the nights of our upcoming trip, we plan on visiting Epcot, watching Illuminations, then visiting the Boardwalk after. Is it possible to park at the Boardwalk then walk over to Epcot? I know there is a path, but just wasn’t sure if it was OK to park at the Boardwalk lot for 4-5 hours. We are staying on site so I am not doing it to avoid any parking costs. Just doing it because it would be easier then parking at Epcot, exiting after Illuminations then driving over to Boardwalk to park. Thanks in advance for any advice!

[VWL Mom]

Parking at BW is for guests of the resort, people dining there and/or using the Boardwalk activites. It is not for those going to Epcot.

None of the resort parking lots should be used to visit a park.

[faline]

What Lynn said - and also think about how you'd feel to arrive at your home resort at the end of a long, busy day and find that there are no parking spaces because folks who were going elsewhere were parked at your resort.

[Strmchsr]

What Lynn said - and also think about how you'd feel to arrive at your home resort at the end of a long, busy day and find that there are no parking spaces because folks who were going elsewhere were parked at your resort.

And I've experienced that at BW and Poly, especially. Very frustrating. But, Disney seems to be doing better at cracking down on the practice by checking reservation numbers, etc more at the gate.

[barnaby]

Parking at BW is for guests of the resort, people dining there and/or using the Boardwalk activites. It is not for those going to Epcot.

None of the resort parking lots should be used to visit a park.


What Lynn said - and also think about how you'd feel to arrive at your home resort at the end of a long, busy day and find that there are no parking spaces because folks who were going elsewhere were parked at your resort.


And I've experienced that at BW and Poly, especially. Very frustrating. But, Disney seems to be doing better at cracking down on the practice by checking reservation numbers, etc more at the gate.

I understand what you're saying, and don't necessarily disagree.
But I am going there for dining and using the Boardwalk activities, as well as Epcot. So I would be filling someones parking space either way.
Only reason I asked was because I read this on Disney's Boardwalk page:

Disney’s BoardWalk is a short stroll to Epcot
Almost sounds like they are encouraging walking over. Honestly, otherwise I wouldn't have even thought of it. And when I read it, I thought it would be easier that way.

But points taken and I appreciate the response.
I still may do it, but at least now I will park in the back of the lot and feel guilty about what I am doing. (Just kidding ;))

[mdricks]

FWIW the swan and dolphin charge 15$ for non registered guests.

[Strmchsr]

But I am going there for dining and using the Boardwalk activities, as well as Epcot. So I would be filling someones parking space either way.

As one other bit of info then - they have a 3 hour max parking time on non-registered guests. That includes if you're dining there.

[brianlw71]

oh dear god

[MargaretMessler]

As one other bit of info then - they have a 3 hour max parking time on non-registered guests. That includes if you're dining there.

On that train of thought, and not to hijack this original posting, but is that timeframe standard for all resorts? We have Ohana ressies, and were thinking of staying after dinner to watch Wishes and the water pageant. Which three hours would probably cover all that, but just curious

[greengeen]

At peak times they won't even let you park there unless you have a resort ressie. Those who say otherwise haven't been there lately. You may be directed to the "overflow" lot (by the Hess station) or you may just be turned away. Depends on events and crowds.

[greengeen]

oh dear god

Exactly

[sportsguy2315]

Depending on where you are on the Boardwalk, you can get decent views of Illuminations right on the Boardwalk (or on the pathways on either side of Crescent Lake to the International Gateway). It's definitely not as crowded as seeing the show from the lagoon, but the views are not as good and you lose the musical aspect as well.

[Strmchsr]

On that train of thought, and not to hijack this original posting, but is that timeframe standard for all resorts?

Yeah, the 3 hours is standard at all the resorts.

[GoBlueLacheta]

Even when staying at Wilderness Lodge a few years back and had our Resort pass in the window, they still only gave us a 3 hour pass for the Contemporary lot at the gate.

[azcavalier]

Flame away, but I've done this.

Last fall, we had dinner ADRs for Chefs de France. We were staying with friends (who had never been to WDW before) at POR, and had headed back to the resort for some downtime for the kids. We couldn't get everyone moving fast enough, and we were going to be late for the ADR. We could either park at the main Epcot gate and walk all the way to Chefs and be very late, or...we could park at Beach Club, tell them we were parking for dinner, and take the short stroll over through the International Gateway entrance to France. So that is what we did, showing off the Beach Club along the way.

They didn't give us three-hour passes, or look up our ressies or anything. They just waved us through.

Did I feel guilty? Yeah. However, it was in a down season and the parking lot at Beach Club wasn't even close to full, so I don't feel like we were stealing a spot from anyone else. And, when we were done with dinner, we walked back and got our cars and left.

[VWL Mom]

***MODERATOR ALERT***

The OP question was wether or not it was allowed per Disney policy. Let's not turn this thread into getting around the policy or it will need to be closed.

[Scar]

You may be directed to the "overflow" lot (by the Hess station) ...Does anyone know if this lot is open to all?

[buzznwoodysmom]

OP, I think you could do this "legally" by valet parking your car. If this info is wrong, anyone feel free to correct it.

By the way, I have been the guest staying at both the Poly and BWV who ended up having to valet the car because there was NOT A SINGLE EMPTY parking space. It's very frustrating to be a paying guest of a resort and not have any where to park other than paying for valet.

Same thing has happened before when dining at the Poly. We ended up having to valet after driving around the parking lot looking for an available spot. DH dropped the kids and I off so that we wouldn't be late checking in for our ADR, but still couldn't find a spot and ended up using valet parking.

[VWL Mom]

OP, I think you could do this "legally" by valet parking your car. If this info is wrong, anyone feel free to correct it.


I wondered about this too. When they raised the valet fee to $15 in October the selling point was that you could park at a resort all day. There was no wording that said you had to stay at the resort.

[barnaby]

oh dear god


Exactly

Care to elaborate?

[Strmchsr]

I wondered about this too. When they raised the valet fee to $15 in October the selling point was that you could park at a resort all day. There was no wording that said you had to stay at the resort.

I had forgotten about that. Yes, that is correct. If you use the Valet parking there is no time limit.

[spoiledraf]

There is a parking lot across the street that has no security. It may be an employee lot or overflow or overflow lot mentioned or just a Boardwalk lot intended for visitors like the original poster. What ever it is, we park there on arrival just to get on Disney property and maybe get a little something to eat or shop a few hours. (We usually stay off site before our first full day.) It has never been even a third full even at peak season times. You do have to cross four lanes of traffic but its not much further than the resort lot. If there is no security I would say its fair game for anybody. And if you plan to shop or hit Beaches and Cream or ESPN after Epcot I say your legally good.