Parking at the Poly for the Day?

[lebeau]

Asking for a friend who is planning a trip. Thanks in advance for feedback.

A friend of mine is going to be staying at Coronado Springs in late May. They have breakfast scheduled at O'Hana one morning and after that they plan to spend the day at the Magic Kingdom. He's going to have his car with him, so he wants to know if he can drive to the Poly and park there for the day using his Coronado Springs parking pass. I know this is a sensitive subject and some people abuse the Poly parking lot to get out of paying for parking at MK. But I wasn't sure about guests staying at other resorts. I usually fly and don't have a car on hand, so that's not something I have dealt with. Is that kosher?

Thanks!

 

[Tuvalu]

The official policy is that 2-3 hours is allowed for parking for any guest with a restaurant ADR (onsite guests from other resorts fall under this same policy.)

Your friend should move the car to the TTC lot when finished with breakfast. The rest of his family is free to use the monorail or Poly boat over to the MK.

 

[lebeau]

The official policy is that 2-3 hours is allowed for parking for any guest with a restaurant ADR (onsite guests from other resorts fall under this same policy.)

Your friend should move the car to the TTC lot when finished with breakfast. The rest of his family is free to use the monorail or Poly boat over to the MK.

Thanks. I was leaning that way.

Would it be easier/faster for him to take the shuttle to MK and then just take the monorail to and from the Poly?

 

[Master Yoda]

Thanks. I was leaning that way.

Would it be easier/faster for him to take the shuttle to MK and then just take the monorail to and from the Poly?

Yes. If they are going to MK, have them park at the TTC and walk over to the Poly. They can then take the monorail to the park after breakfast.

 

[lebeau]

Yes. If they are going to MK, have them park at the TTC and walk over to the Poly. They can then take the monorail to the park after breakfast.

Sounds good. I will pass that along!

 

[lebeau]

Does the math change if he goes to Epcot instead of the Magic Kingdom? It seems to me that driving would be even more advantageous if that were the plan. Thoughts?

 

[Master Yoda]

Does the math change if he goes to Epcot instead of the Magic Kingdom? It seems to me that driving would be even more advantageous if that were the plan. Thoughts?

I would just park at the Poly and then drive over to Epcot. That will avoid having to take the monorail back to the TTC at the end of the day.

 

[Tuvalu]

^^^^^Agree with @Master Yoda

 

[Dave Z]

You can park @ the TTC it is a short walk from the TTC to the Polynesian.

 

[lebeau]

I would just park at the Poly and then drive over to Epcot. That will avoid having to take the monorail back to the TTC at the end of the day.

Makes sense. I'll pass that along.

 

[s8film40]

The official policy is that 2-3 hours is allowed for parking for any guest with a restaurant ADR (onsite guests from other resorts fall under this same policy.)

Your friend should move the car to the TTC lot when finished with breakfast. The rest of his family is free to use the monorail or Poly boat over to the MK.

I don't believe that's an "official" policy, but definitely good common courtesy.

Also as another option if someone's looking for a guilt free way to do this, valet parking specifically entitles you to parking all day.

 

[slappy magoo]

Thanks. I was leaning that way.

Would it be easier/faster for him to take the shuttle to MK and then just take the monorail to and from the Poly?

This probably makes the most sense no matter what. It'd be one thing to drive if your friend were trying to get to a hotel without such easy access, but between parking at the TTC (if his breakfast is early enough, he probably won't have problem getting a spot close to the Poly anyway), and monorail/boat access to Poly from the front of the MK, there's no reason to risk an issue by driving to the Poly and parking there.

FWIW, since he's staying on site, there would probably be less of an issue for him to remain parked at the Poly than if he were staying offsite and parking at the Poly as a means to avoid paying a parking fee. But why take that chance?

 

[Polydweller]

I don't believe that's an "official" policy, but definitely good common courtesy.

Also as another option if someone's looking for a guilt free way to do this, valet parking specifically entitles you to parking all day.

Actually, there is an official policy and it can be seen in the fact there are signs indicating that the lot is not for theme park parking. And the Poly is getting stricter about this as are the other monorail hotels.

But the best point is about courtesy to those staying there. The lots aren't big and the resorts guests have no other place to park. And it does happen that guests can't find parking spots when they return. Believe me it's horrible and I've experienced it. Please show the Poly guests the same courtesy you'd expect at your home resort and use valet or park in the TTC lot.

 

[s8film40]

Actually, there is an official policy and it can be seen in the fact there are signs indicating that the lot is not for theme park parking. And the Poly is getting stricter about this as are the other monorail hotels.

Yeah my point is that policy doesn't specify a time limit for parking while dining. It really does come down to courtesy though. Personally if I'm going to for example Kona for breakfast or lunch and planing to spend one or two hours in the MK afterwards I will park at the Polynesian, if I were planning something longer or all day I would just park in the MK parking. Typically if I'm planning to spend a longer amount of time at WDW where I'm planning to end up at the end has the most influence on choosing where to park.

 

[Polydweller]

Yeah my point is that policy doesn't specify a time limit for parking while dining. It really does come down to courtesy though. Personally if I'm going to for example Kona for breakfast or lunch and planing to spend one or two hours in the MK afterwards I will park at the Polynesian, if I were planning something longer or all day I would just park in the MK parking. Typically if I'm planning to spend a longer amount of time at WDW where I'm planning to end up at the end has the most influence on choosing where to park.

That's still showing courtesy to those staying there. I think officially that's still against the policy but the important thing happening is thinking of impact on those staying at the resort and as such I have far less concern about this.

Talking to management at the Poly, yeah there is a policy on time but if it was officially published they'd have to be too rigid. But, they will and are becoming more rigid because of the frequency of people violating the length of stay. The testing of payment at the Contemporary is part of that and it's pretty much a granted that requiring an ADR if not staying at a monorail resort will become more rigidly enforced. Unfortunately, those who try to take advantage of the free parking are going to make things less pleasant for everyone.