Is Preferred Parking worth it?

[queequeg83]

If I'm planning to get there at 9:30 mid-week, do I need to pay extra for preferred parking?

When would preferred parking be worth it?

[queequeg83]

Is there a map, official or unoffical, of where the "preferred" parking is?

[LongliveKingsCobra]

I wouldn't get the parking, I'd just pay for normal, it's already expensive enough! Midweek, you shouldn't have too much trouble.

[medford]

Unless you plan to go from the park to your car often and/or have trouble moving around/walking, then no.

at 9:30 (and really just about any time) you should be able to nab a spot that is no more than a 5-10 min walk to the front gate. Considering the amount of walking done in the park, its a drop in the bucket and not worth the upcharge to me.

The only thing that would change my mind (aside from any physical limitations) is if I was planning to go from the park back to the car for lunch and dinner and eat out of a cooler in the trunk. Even then, if I was getting there at 9:30, mid-week, you're not going to be parking that much futher away.

[Jr for Birdy]

At 9:30 midweek,you would be basically paying extra to walk roughly the distance of a football field,so i wouldnt pay for it.

[westcoaster]

Mid week no way, i would on the Weekends especially Saturday and only if planning on eating in the car or near.

[queequeg83]

We will be getting food out of the car at noon, but I'll have a group of teens, so I'll just send them out to bring the food to the eating spot.

Thanks, with the $8 I save, I might be able to make a cold drink or a keychain!

[bkroz]

I think preferred parking in almost entirely psychological. You will walk literally miles during the course of the day, so what's an extra thirty yards in the parking lot, especially if you're only gonna make a trip or two out to the car.

[medford]

I think preferred parking in almost entirely psychological. You will walk literally miles during the course of the day, so what's an extra thirty yards in the parking lot, especially if you're only gonna make a trip or two out to the car.

got me thinking, last friday I took my neice to the park early so she would have someone to ride all of the big rides with, then my wife, mother in law 3 year old and infant meet us later that evening after my son's nap around 5:00 or so in the evening. At the end of the evening, after we were done with our nighttime beast ride, I casually (and kiddingly) mentioned that she had worn me out that day, wondered how many miles we had logged that day. So, anyone venture a guess based on this:

parking to The Beast, to the stunt track, to The Racer, back to fight deck, to fest house for a lunch. From lunch over to Flight of Fear, only to figure out the line was pretty long, so back to The Beast. From The Beast over to Diamondback, then back to Flight of Fear to wait out the line. From Flight of Fear, over to Action Zone to grab her a blue ice cream cone, then over to Fest House to eat inside and await the wife. From the Fest House to the front entrance while we were trying to get a hold of my wife trying to figure out when they'd get there, only to find out they were running later than their estimated 4:30ish arrival time, so from the front entrace back to The Beast. Then back to the Fest house to meet the wife and rest of the crew (it was raining slightly back by The Beast, but pretty good in the parking lot, so they wanted to meet where it was dry). From the fest house to Boo Blasters, to the Train, to Shake, Rattle & Roll, Scrambler & Monster, back to the Fest house for dinner and feeding of the infant, from the fest house back to The Beast for her 1st ever night ride on The Beast, back to the parking lot as fireworks were exploding.

That's essentially 8 trips to/from the front entrance/fest house and The Beast, plus some other walking, perhaps totallying about 10 trips b/w those points. About half a mile b/w the front and the gate to The Beast? Probably a little less than that, so about 4-5 miles total of walking? Wish I would have had a pedometer on, or even my nike+ and Ipod out of interest.

Anways, just an example of why walking another 50 yards to non preferred parking isn't going to amount to much at the end of the day.

[bkroz]

It's advised that doing one park per day at Disneyland Resort amounts to 7 - 9 miles of walking. If one park hops, it can be as high as 15. Keep in mind, those parks are around 60 acres each.

[westcoaster]

After a fun filled day its nice to sprint right to the car, yes its all pyschological!

True if you are paying for parking it adds up!

[bkroz]

There are parks like Busch Gardens Williamsburg where preferred parking saves you a lengthy tram ride from auxiliary lots all over the property. Depending on your park of choice at Disney World, all that preferred parking would do is get you closer to a bus, monorail, and ship you'd need to take, anyway.

[jcgoble3]

I think preferred parking in almost entirely psychological. You will walk literally miles during the course of the day, so what's an extra thirty yards in the parking lot, especially if you're only gonna make a trip or two out to the car.

got me thinking, last friday I took my neice to the park early so she would have someone to ride all of the big rides with, then my wife, mother in law 3 year old and infant meet us later that evening after my son's nap around 5:00 or so in the evening. At the end of the evening, after we were done with our nighttime beast ride, I casually (and kiddingly) mentioned that she had worn me out that day, wondered how many miles we had logged that day. So, anyone venture a guess based on this:

parking to The Beast, to the stunt track, to The Racer, back to fight deck, to fest house for a lunch. From lunch over to Flight of Fear, only to figure out the line was pretty long, so back to The Beast. From The Beast over to Diamondback, then back to Flight of Fear to wait out the line. From Flight of Fear, over to Action Zone to grab her a blue ice cream cone, then over to Fest House to eat inside and await the wife. From the Fest House to the front entrance while we were trying to get a hold of my wife trying to figure out when they'd get there, only to find out they were running later than their estimated 4:30ish arrival time, so from the front entrace back to The Beast. Then back to the Fest house to meet the wife and rest of the crew (it was raining slightly back by The Beast, but pretty good in the parking lot, so they wanted to meet where it was dry). From the fest house to Boo Blasters, to the Train, to Shake, Rattle & Roll, Scrambler & Monster, back to the Fest house for dinner and feeding of the infant, from the fest house back to The Beast for her 1st ever night ride on The Beast, back to the parking lot as fireworks were exploding.

That's essentially 8 trips to/from the front entrance/fest house and The Beast, plus some other walking, perhaps totallying about 10 trips b/w those points. About half a mile b/w the front and the gate to The Beast? Probably a little less than that, so about 4-5 miles total of walking? Wish I would have had a pedometer on, or even my nike+ and Ipod out of interest.

Anways, just an example of why walking another 50 yards to non preferred parking isn't going to amount to much at the end of the day.

I just measured your route with Google Earth. Assuming that 1) you were the first car to arrive in the morning and thus got the closest non-preferred and non-handicap parking spot, 2) you took the shortest route between each location you listed with no detours, and 3) you were able to take the shortest possible path through queues without switchbacks, you walked approximately 6.75 miles. Any deviation from those assumptions would increase the distance.

[KingsIsland1972]

I think preferred parking in almost entirely psychological. You will walk literally miles during the course of the day, so what's an extra thirty yards in the parking lot, especially if you're only gonna make a trip or two out to the car.

Probably a little less than that, so about 4-5 miles total of walking? Wish I would have had a pedometer on, or even my nike+ and Ipod out of interest.

Anways, just an example of why walking another 50 yards to non preferred parking isn't going to amount to much at the end of the day.

In 2005, I was a Theme Park Officer. I did do a few experiments about how many miles I walked during a day during partrol. Here's what I remember: We had about 7 rotations a shift. That included rope talk at 9-10am, and then every 45minutes we shifted around the park in a counter clockwise manor lets saying you would start in Coney Mall and rotate to Action Zone and so on, and a break for lunch until the 4pm shift came on. On average I walked continually from one side of my area to the other. I remember calculating that if I was to walk the track at a steady pace that I would walk a mile in about twenty minutes. So, double that in 45 minutes I would walk about 2 miles. While patroling, it's a lot slower about half the pace...so I assumed I walked about a mile a rotation x's 7 rotations, I would walk about 7miles a day. (I still have my original holely shoes to prove it) Now, if they needed a volunteer for a double...I would do about 14-15 miles a day in a 14-15hr day. And that's me being Mr Science for the Day.

[medford]

I think preferred parking in almost entirely psychological. You will walk literally miles during the course of the day, so what's an extra thirty yards in the parking lot, especially if you're only gonna make a trip or two out to the car.

got me thinking, last friday I took my neice to the park early so she would have someone to ride all of the big rides with, then my wife, mother in law 3 year old and infant meet us later that evening after my son's nap around 5:00 or so in the evening. At the end of the evening, after we were done with our nighttime beast ride, I casually (and kiddingly) mentioned that she had worn me out that day, wondered how many miles we had logged that day. So, anyone venture a guess based on this:

parking to The Beast, to the stunt track, to The Racer, back to fight deck, to fest house for a lunch. From lunch over to Flight of Fear, only to figure out the line was pretty long, so back to The Beast. From The Beast over to Diamondback, then back to Flight of Fear to wait out the line. From Flight of Fear, over to Action Zone to grab her a blue ice cream cone, then over to Fest House to eat inside and await the wife. From the Fest House to the front entrance while we were trying to get a hold of my wife trying to figure out when they'd get there, only to find out they were running later than their estimated 4:30ish arrival time, so from the front entrace back to The Beast. Then back to the Fest house to meet the wife and rest of the crew (it was raining slightly back by The Beast, but pretty good in the parking lot, so they wanted to meet where it was dry). From the fest house to Boo Blasters, to the Train, to Shake, Rattle & Roll, Scrambler & Monster, back to the Fest house for dinner and feeding of the infant, from the fest house back to The Beast for her 1st ever night ride on The Beast, back to the parking lot as fireworks were exploding.

That's essentially 8 trips to/from the front entrance/fest house and The Beast, plus some other walking, perhaps totallying about 10 trips b/w those points. About half a mile b/w the front and the gate to The Beast? Probably a little less than that, so about 4-5 miles total of walking? Wish I would have had a pedometer on, or even my nike+ and Ipod out of interest.

Anways, just an example of why walking another 50 yards to non preferred parking isn't going to amount to much at the end of the day.

I just measured your route with Google Earth. Assuming that 1) you were the first car to arrive in the morning and thus got the closest non-preferred and non-handicap parking spot, 2) you took the shortest route between each location you listed with no detours, and 3) you were able to take the shortest possible path through queues without switchbacks, you walked approximately 6.75 miles. Any deviation from those assumptions would increase the distance.

Thanks, I figured there was a way to do that w/ Google Earth. Lord knows I didn't skip all the turnstiles, nor take the shortest path each time (nor park in the closest parking spot), so we'll call it an even 8 miles on the day. Life would be more enjoyable if I'd just skip the 5-10 mile runs on the weekend and hit the park each day.