3. Save your money and skip preferred parking

Image: Jett Farrell-Vega

Preferred parking is a “VIP” option Disney added in the last two years to give guests access to closer parking areas. While this may sound intriguing, the catch is that preferred parking comes with a $45-$50 price tag.

Most of the time, preferred parking at Disney parks just isn’t worth it. Disney’s trams run very regularly, and at both Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, parking far away is fairly rare. Preferred parking becomes slightly more attractive at Disney’s Animal Kingdom which has one of the resort’s most sprawling parking lots, but the trams are still very regular to help reduce walking time.

The one exception some guests might appreciate is preferred parking at Magic Kingdom if you will be staying for the night’s final fireworks during a busy season. While preferred parking doesn’t help you avoid the Transportation and Ticket Center, having preferred parking can make that experience go a lot smoother at the end of the night when tram lines get long in peak season. While this is an attractive option, for most guests, you will probably want to save your $50 for other parts of your trip.

4. Some parks are easier to walk to than others

Jumping off the previous point, if you’re the type of person who prefers to walk, you may wonder whether you want to bother with the trams at all. Are they really faster?

In most cases, the trams run so regularly that they will be faster than walking, even if you have to wait. However, if you’re comfortable with walking, you will almost never need to use the tram at Epcot or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Even on a busy day, the walk just isn’t that far. Even at Magic Kingdom, unless you visit on a busy day, you may not need to take the tram to reach the Transportation and Ticket Center, though you will usually run into longer walks and bigger crowds there.

The one exception is Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Unless you arrive very early in the morning, you can expect some extra walking to get from your car to the park’s front gate, especially if it is busy. The parking lot is just uniquely sprawling compared to Disney’s other parks. At this park, we usually recommend taking the tram just because the walk will be longer unless you’re in the first section of parking.

5. Use your phone to remember where you parked

Image: Jett Farrell-Vega

Forgetting where you parked is one of the most common goof ups made at Walt Disney World. It happens a lot. Stand in a Disney parking lot long enough, and you’ll hear the chorus of car alarms trill away as guests flounder through row after row with key fobs in the air searching for lost vehicles.

Arriving at a Disney park is one of the most exciting parts of your day, and in the excitement, it’s easy to forget to even pay attention to where you parked. Instead of relying on memory or a quickly penned note, most smartphones offer two easy tools to help you remember your parking spot. First off, both Siri and Google Assistant can remember where you parked based on GPS location: just literally ask your digital assistant to remember where you parked. When you come back at the end of the day, ask Siri or Google where you parked, and you can navigate to that exact location.

Phone GPS systems aren’t necessarily laser accurate, so this option is best as a means to tell where in Disney’s long rows your car is located. To really expedite the process, take a picture of the row number and section you parked in when you’re first walking to the tram or walkway. This only takes like a second, and you’ll avoid a huge headache at the end of the day.