This would work, as long as you are planning to return to Epcot before the park closes. Once the park is closed, you will not be able to come back in for any reason, even if you are parked in the main lot. If that will be the case, you will need to walk or take the boat to DHS (provided it is still open at the time) and then take a bus to Epcot, which will drop you off at the main entrance.
if it is an impromtu thing, and you end up in the Epcot resort area and the IG is closed, and you are parked at the main Epcot lot, it is about a $8-10 cab ride to the Epcot transportation area (where the busses and cabs stop), then a short walk to the Epcot main entrance, where you can catch the tram to your car. This is assuming that it is within a short amount of time after park closing that the tram is still running. The cabs cannot take you directly to your car without paying the parking, although if you can find a cab that will take the chance, the parking kiosks are usually not manned late at night. But it they are, and you can't do enough fast talking, you may end up paying an extra $11 (or whatever it is now) to get to your car.
Thanks JiminyandTink, I was wondering about that. Now I ask where is the boat launch at DHS that goes to Epcot? Another thing that I learned from this thread.
The launch is just to the left as you exit DHS - the opposite direction from the parking. Very convenient.
We are thinking of going to beaches and cream and boardwalk on one of our epcot days. Is it best to park at epcot or can someone suggest somewhere better. P.s we are not staying on site so will have to drive in.
I planned one day to visit Epcot, and to end up late at night at the Beach club. I valet parked at the beach club and walked to Epcot IG, then back to the Beach Club for late night snacks and picked up the car there. You don't have to be staying at the Beach Club, or even a WDW resort to do this, and the valet parking is good for the whole day. It costs about the same, or perhaps a bit more than the main parking, and it's perfectly within the rules. If this fits into your plans, then I would recommend valet parking at the Beach Club.
Of course, if you are staying on site, you normally don't pay for parking, so you end up paying more for the valet service. But it's an ideal solution for off-site guests.
But, if you have the Disney Dining Experience (or whatever it's called now - the name has changed) you get valet parking free. When I had the DDE, it was free whether you were dining at the resort or not, so we sometimes used it to park at a resort for other reasons (like in the above example). I don't know what the rules are now, but if you are staying on site, and have the DDE (or whatever) it gives you more options.
