First Time Visitor - driving there and Parking

[tndinnc]

My two kids and I are heading there this weekend. It's the first trip for ALL of us. We are driving down from NC and staying at Disney's All-Star Music Resort. I can't seem to find on the reservations site or anywhere how driving there and parking works. Can someone point me in the right direction what I need to do? Do I just google the address for the resort and show up there. Do we pay for parking each day or do how do I find that out? Thanks for helping a new visiting family out

 

[jonabyte]

Parking at the resort will be included in your stay. Since you are a parks guest, you can park for free at epcot, magic kingdom, etc.
BTW, the address for the resort is:

1801 W Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL

Just enter in your gps and use google maps before hand to get a feel of the drive.

Enjoy, we drive down every year and love it.

 

[RoyWalley]

Ask at the hotel desk. You can take the Disney buses to the park you would like to go to from your hotel if you prefer not to have to drive to the park. The bus ride from your hotel to any of the parks is free.

 

[wdwmagic]

My two kids and I are heading there this weekend. It's the first trip for ALL of us. We are driving down from NC and staying at Disney's All-Star Music Resort. I can't seem to find on the reservations site or anywhere how driving there and parking works. Can someone point me in the right direction what I need to do? Do I just google the address for the resort and show up there. Do we pay for parking each day or do how do I find that out? Thanks for helping a new visiting family out

Once you arrive at the resort you will be given a parking pass for both the resort and the parks. If you are new to WDW I would recommend using Disney transportation to get from the resort to the parks, which is free. Busses leave from your resort every 10mins or so.

 

[tndinnc]

Thanks everyone for all the info! I'm planning on us takin the bus to/from the parks. We're driving down from NC and stopping about halfway for the night. With a 8 and 5 year old and their first trip I thought trying to push through drive it all in one day might be a bit much for them and me

 

[EOD K9]

As others have stated, you can park for free at the theme parks. As you approach the toll plaza, slow down and show them your parking pass and they will wave you through. There are plenty of directional signs on the property. Theme parks and resorts are grouped into areas. Epcot and Epcot Resort Area, Magic Kingdom and MK Resort Area, etc. If you miss your turn, at some point you will see signs to get you back on the right track. I wouldn't worry about getting lost too much. Enjoy your time and have a Magical Day!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Driving around WDW is pretty easy, but as a first timer I too would recommend using Disney transport. It can be more relaxing to rely on Disney transport. Enjoy your first visit and remember not to pack too much stuff in, the parks are beautifully designed and if you are always running around you might miss the fun details!

 

[jlsHouston]

How exciting!!! I remember driving into WDW for the first time! It was so exciting! Still is every visit is still as exciting when I see the Where Dreams Come True!!!
I would punch the resort address into the gps and that is how I find my resort. In fact I have done so much driving around WDW the past couple of years since I mostly have a car when we visit that I have now saved almost all the resort and park addresses into my address book on the gps.
When you enter the resort the security guy will tell you where to park. When you check in and get your welcome package then you can move your car to a closer parking lot of where onsite you are staying.
You get free parking while you are at the World.
The busses are probably the best way to visit the parks. When dining at other resorts I always use my car though.
Enjoy!!!

 

[radforas]

Thanks everyone for all the info! I'm planning on us takin the bus to/from the parks. We're driving down from NC and stopping about halfway for the night. With a 8 and 5 year old and their first trip I thought trying to push through drive it all in one day might be a bit much for them and me

Its really not too bad of a drive. We live in central NC and drive down every year; its usually 9 to 10 hours.
The last few years we have driven down the day before checking into our Disney resort and stayed at a hotel near Downtown Disney. This has been the way to go for us as we don't waste a day of our vacation driving.
You can check in to your Disney resort early the next morning, leave your luggage with bell services and get your tickets/magic bands. You can then head to the parks and they will call or text you when your room is ready. I hope you have a great stay!

 

[Weather_Lady]

North Carolina? Piece of cake! It's about a 9-hour drive. You can leave early in the morning on a weekend (coming from even further north, my parents would bundle us into the car at 5am), stop for lunch and a couple of "leg-stretching" breaks, and arrive at WDW before dinnertime. Spend the night at a cheaper "offsite" hotel like @radforas recommends, or check into your WDW hotel, and spent a leisurely evening at Downtown Disney (a/k/a Disney Springs). Get to bed early so you'll be refreshed and ready to start touring a park the next day!

This site might be helpful to you in calculating costs and deciding where to stop for gas: http://beta.costtodrive.com/popular-destinations/walt-disney-world/

 

[matt9112]

North Carolina? Piece of cake! It's about a 9-hour drive. You can leave early in the morning on a weekend (coming from even further north, my parents would bundle us into the car at 5am), stop for lunch and a couple of "leg-stretching" breaks, and arrive at WDW before dinnertime. Spend the night at a cheaper "offsite" hotel like @radforas recommends, or check into your WDW hotel, and spent a leisurely evening at Downtown Disney (a/k/a Disney Springs). Get to bed early so you'll be refreshed and ready to start touring a park the next day!

This site might be helpful to you in calculating costs and deciding where to stop for gas: http://beta.costtodrive.com/popular-destinations/walt-disney-world/

i wish all i had to drive from NC....consider yourself lucky. anything under 12 hours or so is manageable i find in most cases.

the 24 hour drive from MA sucked.

 

[Weather_Lady]

i wish all i had to drive from NC....consider yourself lucky. anything under 12 hours or so is manageable i find in most cases.

the 24 hour drive from MA sucked.

I feel ya! When I said I was "from farther north," I meant upstate NY! The drive with my parents was 21 hours...

 

[JerseyDad]

....I wish my drive was from NC!! That's only like ...9 hrs ....as opposed to my 16 hrs!!

....heck ...I could leave at 1am ...and get breakfast in WDW!!

 

[tndinnc]

We're leaving tomorrow at lunch time from the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns in NC. I have to work in the morning BOO. I've been nervous about the kids dealing with the long drive and thought we'd go as far as Savannah and spend the night. But with everyone saying it's not a bad drive, I could probably do Jacksonville ?!? hmmmmm that would let us get up and be there by lunch with out another 4 hour drive :/

 

[psukardi]

If you can push it to Jacksonville do it. There are a lot of good hotel options near the Airport and surrounding area.

 

[tndinnc]

If the kids aren't freaking out I may just do that

 

[ginadee]

Im in Charlotte NC and have driven it many times in 8 hrs. Thats with one stop for gas and food. Savanah is the exact half way point. Now I had to follow my parents one time and it was 10 hrs. Stopping at every single rest stop we passed. We still talk about that drive.

 

[SuprDav]

For sure use the buses once you arrive at your resort. Part of the fun of WDW is not having to drive yourself anywhere for a few days. Have a blast!

 

[SuprDav]

We're leaving tomorrow at lunch time from the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns in NC. I have to work in the morning BOO. I've been nervous about the kids dealing with the long drive and thought we'd go as far as Savannah and spend the night. But with everyone saying it's not a bad drive, I could probably do Jacksonville ?!? hmmmmm that would let us get up and be there by lunch with out another 4 hour drive :/

The closer you get to WDW the first driving day, the more time you'll have your first park day. Push it as far as you can and rest up for the night when you hit your offsite hotel. Be safe!