Controversial Policy Implementation at Walt Disney World Leads to Hotel Guests Being Denied Entry

It seems as though the Walt Disney World Resorts (WDW) are cracking down on a new policy, so be aware before you go!

If you’re a WDW local, you know that one of the best non-park things to do is check out the various Disney hotels. Each resort offers specialty-themed dining, shopping, and entertainment offerings for guests, although you don’t have to be a specific resort guest to enjoy some of them. Dining at one of the hotels can be a great way to wind down after a long day at the parks while walking around and enjoying the different immersive theming and elements of each resort can be relaxing on its own.

Typically, guests that aren’t staying overnight at the hotels don’t need to pay for parking, just need to provide an explanation to the security guard at the entrance of each resort. If you have a dining reservation or just plan to walk around and enjoy the sights, you could previously just inform the security guard and would often be allowed to park with no further problems. However, there have been several instances now where guests are reporting being turned away by security due to a recent policy change.

Theme park journalist Derek Burgan recently shared his experience trying to walk around Disney’s Art of Animation Resort with his kids. “Kiddos right now are completely OBSESSED with the movie Cars…we drove over to Art of animation for dinner, walk around the Cars area, and probably buy a whole bunch of merchandise,” he explained on an X (formerly Twitter) thread. “As many reading this can imagine, we were not allowed past the guard gate because we did not have a hotel reservation. Explained situation to guard, and we were right outside an area where you can see well over 100 open car parking spaces.”

He goes on to explain that the resort guard was “completely unwavering” but could only point to a nearby sign stating that parking was only available for the resort guests as to why they weren’t allowed to park. “I am baffled that disney doesn’t have some sort of $50 shopping/dining fee you can pay to eat or shop at a resort. Universal hotels have one thats cheaper and will validate the parking once you shop/dine on property…Disney lost out on at least $100 for dinner and probably $250 or more overall because they wouldnt allow a car into a parking lot with tons of open spaces for an hour or so because a sandwich board says no.”

While it could be argued that parking should be kept for resort guests in order to cut down on guests trying to skip on paying the parking fee at the parks, Burgan explains they were trying to visit at 7pm with dozens of spaces clearly open in the parking lot. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one to recently have a disheartening resort experience either. @katelynnnh_ shared her experience, stating, “wait until all the people in this comment section find out about how I wasn’t allowed to park at the grand floridian as a *checks notes* day guest on a room reservation. then the parking guard had the audacity to question the authority of the front desk manager.”

However, as @clarabellecows points out, Disney’s own policy listed on their website states that resort parking is available and free for day guests. “Standard self-parking is complimentary for day Guests while they enjoy select dining, shopping, entertainment, and recreation experiences at Disney Resort hotels.” It’s entirely possible that Disney has experienced too many guests using and abusing this policy and therefore is starting to slowly crackdown, but it’s certainly upsetting for guests who are genuinely wanting to explore the resort to be turned away without an explanation.

While it’s unclear exactly if this an official update to the policy or a resort-by-resort basis, it doesn’t hurt to be aware before you go that if you’re planning to resort hop or just walk around one of the Walt Disney World hotels, you may be forced to take a bus from Disney Springs or one of the parks or risk being turned away.

Have you been turned away while trying to visit one of the Walt Disney World hotels? Share your experience with us in the comments below.

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