Disney Springs has long been one of the few areas at Walt Disney World where guests are able to enjoy parking, free of charge. However, some are wondering if that could be changing in the near future thanks to an overnight change at Disney Springs that seemingly happened without warning just a few days ago. Here's what's happening:

Valet parking has been discontinued at Disney Springs

After over a decade in operation, it looks like the premium valet parking option at Disney Springs will no longer be available for guests visiting this part of Walt Disney World. Previously, guests could pay $20 per day to park in a lot right next to the entrance of the shopping district, near the World of Disney store, providing easier access to the marketplace area than that provided by the nearby Orange, Lime and Grapefruit garages. Another valet lot was also available by the Cirque du Soleil performance space. 

Disney did not say why the valet service was discontinued. However, that hasn't stopped some people from theorizing about what could be in the works now that the change has been made. 

In-house premium parking, coming soon to Disney Springs?

The valet service that was enjoyed by guests who visited Disney Springs was actually provided by a third party entity, Bags inc,.which continues to provide valet service at deluxe resorts around the property. Now that Disney Springs' valet has been discontinued, Disney has a completely unused lot with direct access to the shopping and entertainment district, which, it could be theorized, would be perfect for a "preferred" parking lot, where guests could pay to park closer to the entrance of Disney Springs and wouldn't have to worry about traversing the stairs, walkways, and elevators necessary to get back to their car when parked in a garage. 

If implemented, the inclusion of a preferred parking option would be a first for Disney Springs, which has always offered free self-parking for its guests. And while this certainly could be in the works, there's also another, simpler explanation as to why valet parking at Disney Springs was discontinued. 

Could it have just been unpopular?

Another, perhaps simpler reason that this service was discontinued is that not enough people were using the service to justify the cost. Valet is a popular option at deluxe Disney hotels, but when you're paying for parking anyways, it is an easier "upsell" then paying for something that you can actually get for free (as in the case of Disney Springs parking). There's no way to know how much this service was actually used, but its removal could simply be because it just wasn't a very popular option for guests. 

Disney hasn't made any official announcement yet about what the future of this area may be. Currently, the former valet area is being cleaned up, and it is unknown what will eventually happen in this area. However, no matter whether Disney decides to run its own valet service, create a preferred parking lot, or redevelop it entirely, we can't imagine this prime area of Disney Springs will stay vacant for long.