The Dumbest Walt Disney World “Which is Best” Article Ever: Rating Parking Lots

I have written and read articles rating attractions, types of attractions, parades, nighttime shows, restaurants, hotels, and anything else you can think of.  But NOBODY, probably for a good reason, has EVER rated the theme park parking lots.  I know, you are asking why nobody has done this before. It seems so obvious, right. But I am feeling like a maverick and I will break new ground.  I will go where no fan has gone before. I will be that brave soul who rates the Walt Disney World, theme park, parking lots!

• In order to rate the parking lots, we need some criteria.  I will rate the following from zero to 5 stars.
• General length of the rows, ie how far you have to walk to the tram.   Walkability, in general, to the park.  
• Ease of entrance and exit.

Magic Kingdom

The parking lot at the Magic Kingdom is 125 acres.  It is actually bigger than the park itself.  The parking lot has two tram roads.  Generally, unless it is very busy, only the western tram road is used.  

The rows of cars vary, but you will generally find yourself in a row about 58 cars long.  That is a pretty long walk to the tram.  This parking lot also has two rows of swampy drainage areas that prevent a straight line walk to the TTC.  However, there are plenty of toll booths with 13 lanes if all the booths are open, and a 4 lane highway heading to and from the park.

My “walk to the park” score is low because of the need to use the ferry or monorail.  I actually like that adventure in the morning but I have had two bad experiences over the years with it.  One time there was too much fog in the morning so the ferry boats  were not running.  That put everyone in line for the monorail or trying to find and line up for busses.  

On another occasion, everyone left the park after the fireworks only to discover that the monorail was closed.  We ended up walking to an area to get a bus, and the queue to the bus was not organized in lanes.  About an hour later, we were getting quite frustrated trying to just get to our cars.  The secondary bus service to the Magic Kingdom needs some basic logistics work, and that is something where Disney has all kinds of expertise.  

Walk to the tram - 3 stars

Walk to the park - 1 stars

Ease of entrance and exit - 5 stars

Epcot

The parking lot at Epcot is 160 acres.  This parking lot also has two tram roads, and generally only the western one is used.

The rows of cars vary, but again, you will likely find yourself in a row about 58 cars long.  That is again a long walk to the tram.  However there is only one row of swampy drainage areas and the walking path is a straight shot to the park.  There are 9 lanes at the toll plaza if all lanes are open.

Walk to the tram - 3 stars

Walk to the park - 3 stars

Ease of entrance and exit - 4 stars

Hollywood Studios

The Hollywood Studios parking lot is 154 acres. This parking lot only has one tram road.  

Once again the row lengths vary, but they are generally around 90 cars long.  That is a long way to the trams.  There are no  swampy areas in the way, but there are active traffic lanes and you generally need to walk along the tramway.  Walking to the park is kind of tough if you are not early.  The entrance and exit to the parking lot was greatly improved in the last few years.  There used to be stoplights just outside the lot that would backup traffic trying to exit.  There are 10 lanes in the toll booth.

Walk to the tram - 1 stars

Walk to the park - 2 stars

Ease of entrance and exit - 3 stars

Animal Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom parking lot is pretty big.  I cannot settle on an actual size from the internet.  The parking lot has one tram road.

Like always, the row lengths vary, but you can count on a line of about 64 cars long.  While not the longest rows, that is still pretty long.  There is a lake in the way that limits walkability.  It is a pretty long walk to the entrance that looks a bit deceptively close.  There are 8 toll plaza lanes when they are all open.

Walk to the tram - 2 stars Walk to the park - 2 stars

Ease of entrance and exit - 4 stars

The Final Judgement

The final results of the most unnecessary comparison article are in.  For all you Disney parking lot fans, Epcot is your dream destination.

I hope to see you at Walt Disney World sometime.  Well, not all of you at once… All the best to you and your families.