Greetings, Andrew! It's my pleasure to welcome you to planDisney.
Andrew, one of the reasons my family and I keep coming back to the
Walt Disney World Resort year after year (after year) is that each trip is different! A big part of what makes each visit unique is how we plan our non-park days and I'm excited to chat about yours. And... visiting
Disney Resort Hotels other than the one you've selected for your stay is one of my favorite activities!
Now, Andrew, the quick answer to your question is no, as a guest of any Disney Resort Hotel, you do not need to park at the Transportation and Ticket Center. You are welcome to use the complimentary transportation in order to visit other resorts. However, if you have a car with you and prefer to drive, you may do so. For example, let's say that you're staying at
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, but have a dining reservation at
Chef Mickey's at
Disney's Contemporary Resort. Your choices would be to take the bus from your resort to Magic Kingdom Park and then use the walking path or monorail to visit the Contemporary OR you could drive your car directly to Disney's Contemporary Resort. When you arrive, just let the parking attendant know that you have a dining reservation or pull up your hotel reservation on your My Disney Experience Mobile App to show the Cast Member that you are an onsite guest.
If you are hoping to visit a few different resorts around Magic Kingdom Park, the quickest option
may be for you to park at the Transportation and Ticket Center and then
enjoy the monorail like an attraction while visiting multiple locations! You can even create your own snack crawl between the monorail resorts. For example, the first monorail stop from the Transportation and Ticket Center will take you to
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort. You can then hop back on the monorail to visit
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The next stop will be Magic Kingdom Park before the final stop: Disney's Contemporary Resort. Each resort has great quick-service dining options where you could grab a bite to eat while you're touring the lobby and the grounds.
Andrew, I hope this helps and gives you some ideas for your upcoming non-park day. If you have any additional questions, please come on back to planDisney where, like Genie helping his buddy Aladdin, we are happy to help make your wishes come true.
Lauren
Lauren