Not welcome?

I went to the Wilderness Lodge this past Sunday to eat breakfast at the roaring fork. When we pulled up to the gate we were told we could not visit the lodge without a reservation. I explained that I wanted to eat at roaring fork no reservation needed. We were told that Disney is no longer allowing guests to visit without reservations. We told the guard we were AP holders and he again told us he was sorry but that didn't matter any longer. 😠 One of the reasons I got an AP is to visit different resorts, try food exclusive to the resorts, and rent bikes and boats. Now we can't?!😢 I drove off base and went to a local restaurant and ate with my DH. I just don't understand why Disney is literally turning people away who want to spend money.

I think I would contact Guest Services and report this. There may be a 3 hour limit, but you should not have been turned away. Heck, anyone can catch a bus or boat to the resort, why would they stop a car?

Yacht & Beach Club is the same way. If you do not have a dinning reservation they will turn you away. It has to do with people parking at the resorts all day thus taking up parking spots that the guests of that hotel use. Many people are trying to park at the hotels saying they have a reservation to avoid paying to park at the parks.

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Originally Posted by waymickey

I just don't understand why Disney is literally turning people away who want to spend money.

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Originally Posted by Zippy 1

Many people are trying to park at the hotels saying they have a reservation to avoid paying to park at the parks.

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Yes, unfortunately the shift in policy seems tied to prevent Guests from parking at a Magic Kingdom or Epcot resort and spending the day at the park. Although they had a "3 hour limit" it appears they could not enforce or decided this new policy was easier.

It appears the only way to really "resort hop" now with out a same day dining reservation is to use Walt Disney World transportation.

Geesh! We've had issues getting past the guard at the Boardwalk, and we DID have an ADR booked. I guess I can see it though, parking is limited at the resorts near the parks, and they don't want it all taken up.

On our last trip the only place we "hopped" was over to POR from OKW, so we could eat at the food court, since OKW's offerings are a little lacking!

You can't blame them. Like Zippy 1 said, too many people trying to scam the system for free parking.

Maybe they should issue tickets with entry time and charge $25 per hour (or portion thereof) for anything over 3 hours.....Might be a PITA for the gatekeeper, but also might cut down on the 'parking for parks' trick.

Until fairly recently, I think they were following the 3-hr window rule, but it was hard to enforce.

Currently, for visiting the MK resorts without an ADR, I simply park at the MK parking lot and either use the monorail or walk to the Poly. For the Epcot resorts, I just pay to park at the Dolphin or Swan or combine it with an Epcot visit.

I'm not sure how I'd approach the Wilderness Lodge; perhaps I'd plan a non-ADR lunch there around an MK visit so I could take the boat.

It's too bad that people trying to scam the system by avoiding parking fees had to ruin it for the rest of us.

maybe they should charge for parking if you aren't staying at the resort, but have a way to validate the ticket to have the fees waived if you eat at a restaurant there.

It is frustrating to park at the Magic kingdom take at the ferry or monorail over to the park jump on a bus to WL just to eat the load mickey waffles. Since I am an AP holder I don't pay for parking at the parks so What would the scam I am trying to accomplish be???

Fort Wilderness has become the same way. I used to go over for HDDR, but pay for it there (since I pay in cash). Now with them cracking down, I have to pay for it at MK instead

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Originally Posted by waymickey

It is frustrating to park at the Magic kingdom take at the ferry or monorail over to the park jump on a bus to WL just to eat the load mickey waffles. Since I am an AP holder I don't pay for parking at the parks so What would the scam I am trying to accomplish be???

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Not sure! People are creative with their "scams" :) I've heard that some people try to park at certain resorts out of convenience (like the Boardwalk to be able to enter via the International Gateaway and avoid the main entrance crowds).

One of the new issues I encountered as an AP holder on my last trip is that they are now asking for your ID at the park parking lot entrances. People had started using others' MagicBands in order to get free parking.

I know that people will be creative with scams. The more Disney charges the more creative the scams will get. Why not give people a ticket when they come in and and charge by the hour after a 2 hour time span. As you leave you give the ticket to the gate. Lost ticket? So sorry full day price.
Disney encourages people to visit resorts to try the food and entertainment, but make it difficult to do so. IMHO it is Disney trying to herd people onto buses and monorails, so they can control the traffic flow and make it harder to go off base. However it can backfire and cause people to leave or never come on base in the first place. When I left the other day to eat, I did not go back after eating.

It's not that you were trying to scam. It's not a matter of the money. They are mainly trying to preserve the limited parking spaces for resort guests.

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Originally Posted by DisneyFan1979

Not sure! People are creative with their "scams" :) I've heard that some people try to park at certain resorts out of convenience (like the Boardwalk to be able to enter via the International Gateaway and avoid the main entrance crowds).

One of the new issues I encountered as an AP holder on my last trip is that they are now asking for your ID at the park parking lot entrances. People had started using others' MagicBands in order to get free parking.

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Well, build a smarter trap, you get smarter rats...

As far as showing your id, kinda defeats the purpose of having bands, etc. Eventually they'll probably force you to use disney only transportation, else pay for parking..

Though, that would likely drive me to definitely staying offsite.

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Originally Posted by texas211

Though, that would likely drive me to definitely staying offsite.

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I honestly really enjoyed staying off site last October. It wouldn't take much for me to do it again.

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Originally Posted by waymickey

I went to the Wilderness Lodge this past Sunday to eat breakfast at the roaring fork. When we pulled up to the gate we were told we could not visit the lodge without a reservation. I explained that I wanted to eat at roaring fork no reservation needed. We were told that Disney is no longer allowing guests to visit without reservations. We told the guard we were AP holders and he again told us he was sorry but that didn't matter any longer. �� One of the reasons I got an AP is to visit different resorts, try food exclusive to the resorts, and rent bikes and boats. Now we can't?!�� I drove off base and went to a local restaurant and ate with my DH. I just don't understand why Disney is literally turning people away who want to spend money.

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That's a shame! When we stay at OKW, we frequently have gone to CS at other resorts (mostly POR and POFQ). And since we drive, it's just a quick trip. It would be a huge pain if we now had to use Disney buses.

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Originally Posted by DisneyFan1979

Until fairly recently, I think they were following the 3-hr window rule, but it was hard to enforce.

Currently, for visiting the MK resorts without an ADR, I simply park at the MK parking lot and either use the monorail or walk to the Poly. For the Epcot resorts, I just pay to park at the Dolphin or Swan or combine it with an Epcot visit.

I'm not sure how I'd approach the Wilderness Lodge; perhaps I'd plan a non-ADR lunch there around an MK visit so I could take the boat.

It's too bad that people trying to scam the system by avoiding parking fees had to ruin it for the rest of us.

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What is the daily parking rate at the Dolphin/Swan?

This is interesting to know in advance and I will have a discussion with the Disney Travel Cast member I've gotten to know and see what her take is on this especially for AP holders... As stated in previous comments that is one of the "perks" to be able to drive up to ANY resort, park and NOT have to pay and go in and eat. We just purchased ours and the 2019 literature clearly states that... This is not something I am going to do on a regular basis but if that is a selling point then Disney needs to stand by it!

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Originally Posted by Davy Crockett

This is interesting to know in advance and I will have a discussion with the Disney Travel Cast member I've gotten to know and see what her take is on this especially for AP holders... As stated in previous comments that is one of the "perks" to be able to drive up to ANY resort, park and NOT have to pay and go in and eat. We just purchased ours and the 2019 literature clearly states that... This is not something I am going to do on a regular basis but if that is a selling point then Disney needs to stand by it!

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Would love an update on that!


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