Hi Tara!
Welcome BACK to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! We're so excited to be able to help you plan yet another super wonderful Walt Disney World Resort Vacation. Thank you for being one of our longtime friends!
I love that you asked this question because I have an awesome update. I visited Walt Disney World Resort in March where I also stayed at Disney's Contemporary Resort. (One of my favorite things about that stay was the hotels signature scent as you entered the lobby.) We made the drive down to Orlando just like we have previously done in the last six years, and everything about the check-in and registration was the same as always.
Plot twist time - I also visited three weeks ago where I stayed at Disney's Port Orleans Resort: Riverside. This time I was vacationing with a group of best mom friends and our kids. Everyone was cranky and ready to be out of the car that it took me a hot minute (more like a few hours) to realize that we didn't have a
parking pass for our window. I called the front desk and guess what - there are no more paper parking passes! Everything is now linked to your
MagicBand. Whenever you drive to your Resort Hotel, you'll scan your band at the 'Returning Guests' gate. Should you drive yourself to a dining reservation at another Disney Resort Hotel, the Security Guard will scan your band to confirm your reservation. And if like us you have WAY too much stuff to make it on the bus so you drive to the parks, the parking lot Cast Members will also simply scan your band to validate that you're a
Disney Resort Hotel guest.
I hope this helped, Tara, and We'll See You Real Soon!
~Kristen