Parking at Magic Kingdom tips

Are you taking a car to Disney World and looking for the best parking at Magic Kingdom tips? Then fear not in this guide we will tell you everything you need to know about Magic Kingdom parking from where you park, if you can prepay, whether preferred parking at Magic Kingdom is worth it and more. 

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Where do you park for Magic Kingdom?

If you are looking for where to park for the magic kingdom the answer is that you need to head to the Ticket and Transportation Center. You can’t actually park directly at the park.

The Ticket and Transportation Center is located c. 0.5 miles and 1 mile from Magic Kingdom (depending on how you measure the distance) and you will therefore need to transfer onto Disney World transport once you have parked your car.

The parking lots at the Ticket and Transportation Center for Magic Kingdom are divided into 2 sections which are called the Heroes Lot which is to the West and the Villains Lot to the East.  

These were previously the Classic characters and Seven Dwarf lots but have been renamed. 

In the Heroes Lot you can park in the below sections

• Aladdin
• Mulan
• Peter Pan
• Rapunzel
• Simba

And in the Villains lot you can park in

• Cruella
• Hook
• Jafar
• Scar
• Ursula and 
• Zurg

Each of these sections will then have a number

There is a tram for both of these sections to get you from your car to board either the ferry or the monorail from the car park. 

As we are usually parking before rope drop at Magic Kingdom we find that we are always parked close enough to walk from our car rather than take the parking lot tram. However if you come later in the day you may have a long walk back to your car so may prefer to get a tram across the parking lot. 

And once you have walked or taken the tram from the car park your journey to the Magic Kingdom has not yet ended. Because

Can you park directly at Magic Kingdom?

You can not park directly at Magic Kingdom. Actually the car parks for Magic Kingdom are located 0.5miles to 1 mile away from the entrance to Magic Kingdom depending on the method of transfer you take and how you measure the distance. 

Once you have parked for Magic Kingdom you will need to transfer to the Magic Kingdom either via the ferry or via the monorail. 

Depending on the time of day you are traveling and who you are traveling with will depend which is quicker but we will usually transfer via the ferry boat. 

Is Magic Kingdom Parking Free?

The bad news is if you are heading to the Magic Kingdom and looking for parking there is no free parking option at the park unless you are one of the below things:

• an annual pass holder
• staying on site at a Disney resort Property and have paid for parking there. 

How much is the parking for Magic Kingdom?

So now we know the parking is not free, how much does parking at Magic Kingdom cost.

The cost of parking at Magic Kingdom will depending on the type of parking you choose, where you are staying and whether you are a pass holder but the fees can be summarised as:

• Walt Disney World Resort Guests who have already paid for parking – FREE
• Off site guests with a car – 25USD
• Off site guests with an RV or large vehicle – 30USD
• Preferred Parking – 50USD*
• Annual Pass holders – free providing you have the annual pass and photo identification with you 

*if you are staying on site or have an annual pass but want to use preferred parking you will be required to pay the difference. 

However if you are park hopping you only have to pay once and so long as you keep your receipt your parking is valid for the entire day. 

Can I prepay for parking at Disney World?

Unfortunately you can not currently prepay for parking at Disney World. 

Is preferred parking at Magic Kingdom worth it?

In my opinion preferred parking at Magic Kingdom is not worth it for us. We are a young and fit family so for us we do not mind walking across the parking lot to get to the transfers and having lived in the Middle East we are quite used to being out in the heat as a family. 

Also we are usually rope dropping at Magic Kingdom we are usually able to get parking very close to preferred parking anyway and we prefer to save the money.

We also don’t tend to use the tram to the transfer as we usually travel to Magic Kingdom with a toddler and have a stroller with us and it is a bit of a pain to have to fold it up and down to use the parking lot tram. For a full guide on what to pack for Disney World with toddlers  check out this post. 

However for some people preferred parking may be worth it. If you struggle waiting and walking in the heat then you may want to get closer to the transfers and if you arrive later in the day when your parking space will be along way from the ferry and monorail transfer point. 

Is there Electric car charging at Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom does indeed have electric car charging however the spaces are limited and they are operated on a first come first basis. 

It is surprising that the Magic Kingdom parking lot currently only have 5 electric parking spaces in the whole lot. Most of these are located in the Zurg area. 

To use the electric charging stations at the Magic Kingdom you need a Chargepoint card. The cost of charging is 0.35USD per kilowatt hour with a minimum charge of 1.50USD.

Parking at Magic Kingdom tips

So now you have an overview of parking at Magic Kingdom we will turn our attention to our top parking at magic kingdom tips.

Have your card ready for payment

Currently the parking attendants for Magic Kingdom are only accepting card payments instead of cash. To stop the queues from backing up we recommend having your card ready at the pay station. 

Use the right lane if traveling solo at Disney World 

The parking stations when we were at Magic Kingdom were operating from both sides of the cashier booth. If you are traveling solo to Disney World make sure you are in the right line to make payment easiest i.e. have the cashier booth on your left hand side. 

Use the Parking Locator on the My Disney app

Once you have parked be sure to use the parking locator function on the My Disney App. The parking lots are huge and you don’t want to loose your car, and let’s be honest this can be easy to do in a rental. 

To use this app feature you will need to switch on Location Services, Bluetooth and the notifications on your phone and give the app these permissions.

The feature is found in the Transportation section of the app. 

What to do if you forget your parking space?

However if you forget your packing space while parked at Magic Kingdom we recommend asking some of the parking attendants. 

Attendants have been known to be able to locate lost cars based on the directions you remember and your entry time. 

Have your stuff ready and move to side of your vehicle

I recommend having your stuff ready for as soon as you park as you will be asked to move from the back of your car as people will be parking straight behind you.

Allow an extra 30 minutes for parking

If you are driving to the Magic Kingdom, on top of your normal driving time we recommend allowing an extra 30 minutes – 1 hour to allow for the parking queues, walk through the parking lot and transfer via monorail or ferry. 

Do you have any tips for parking at Magic Kingdom? Let us know your tips in the comments