It’s the most wonderful CROWDED time of the year!

The holiday season in Disney World (which lasts from early November through early January) is one of the BUSIEST times of year to visit. Fans flock from all over the world to watch it snoap on Main Street, U.S.A., and to ogle at life-size gingerbread creations and 50-foot Christmas trees. It’s tradition! But there’s another tradition this time of year that people don’t tend to love…the parking crackdown!

The Crackdown on Parking

What is this infamous parking issue? Well, during the holiday season, the Disney World hotels get all gussied up in garlands and bows, and for some, stunning gingerbread displays worthy of 1000 pictures. Naturally, Disney fans want to see these magical decorations and take in the vibes of a Disney hotel during the holidays. But not all of those are guests who are actually staying at that hotel.

Sometimes, people who are staying off Disney World property, at a different Disney World hotel, or who live locally, plan entire days just to go resort hopping and check out the Christmas trees and gingerbread displays. When people drive from off property, they hope to be able to park at the hotels, knowing they’ve been able to get away with it in the past. But during the holiday season? NO DICE. Disney is incredibly strict about parking at the resorts during the holidays if you’re not staying there or doing a dining reservation.

Even if you’re coming for a dining reservation, we’ve seen Disney security impose time limits for how long you’re allowed to park in the lot to eat. You may arrive at the guard shack and be given a piece of cardstock with a time limit to place in your windshield. We’ve seen that happen in the past, though it’s not guaranteed.

This time of year, most resorts will have signs up stating these “no outside parking” rules when you pull up to the entrance. The parking lots are likely already more full than usual with higher guest counts in the holiday season.

What You Should Do Instead

So what if you’re among the hordes who want to do some resort hopping during their Disney World visit? Well, we’ve got you! There are plenty of other ways to see the hotels without parking there. For starters, you could park at the closest theme park lot.

This is often the easiest course of action because you’ll likely be near multiple transportation options. Now, if you’re not an Annual Passholder, you will have to pay for parking in order to take this route. But parking at Magic Kingdom (the Transportation & Ticket Center is the parking lot there) would give you access to the Monorail, several buses, or some boat launches if you ride the Monorail or ferry to the park entrance first. Parking at Hollywood Studios would be the second-best option, considering you could easily access buses, the Disney Skyliner, and the Friendship Boats that travel to the EPCOT Resort area.

However, EPCOT or Animal Kingdom are probably not your best bets for places to park when hotel hopping — both parks mostly rely on bus transportation. EPCOT’s parking lot does have access to the Monorail, but parking at this lot will be further from the Monorail Resorts than parking at Magic Kingdom. And one little tip that’s extra important? Parking at EPCOT does NOT get you close to the EPCOT Resorts — those are located out the back entrance of the park, which does not have its own parking lot.

The other option you may want to consider for parking is a FREE one! As long as it’s not at capacity, you can park at Disney Springs and then ride a bus to any of the Disney Resorts. It’s important to note that Disney Springs generally opens around 10AM, and the buses start running about an hour before it opens — so this is not an option if you’re going early in the morning. (BTW, did you know you can track Disney World buses with Google Maps? Here’s how.)

It is important to note that you cannot park at Disney Springs and expect to see transportation to the theme parks. These buses will only take you to the Disney World hotels. This is to prevent people from trying to park for free at Disney Springs on their theme park days.

So yes, parking might be more of a gamble this time of year. But it isn’t impossible. There are still plenty of ways for you to be able to see all of the Disney World hotels in their Christmas glory!

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So if you’re planning to do some holiday resort hopping, you’ll want to be prepared this year and develop a game plan ahead of time. Transportation in Disney World can be a tricky business! These are little things that can really catch you off guard and put a wrench in your Disney World trip. We don’t want that to happen, and that’s why we are here to HELP. We are in Disney World every. single. day. So we know the ins and outs!! Subscribe to our newsletter so you can be in the know too!!

Stay tuned to DFB for more updates from Disney World!

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Are you going to Disney World this holiday season? Let us know in the comments!