Galveston parking?

[BecuzImaLady]

Welp, I goofed. I didn’t book parking for our Magic Very Merry Time Cruise yet. We are on the Dec 18-23 sailing. I wanted the express lot that was just opened not too long ago because it is a hop, skip, and jump from terminal 2. It is full and the only thing available is a lot that is not covered and half a mile away with shuttle service or the SMP lot that is about 3 blocks away with NO shuttle service that is covered but we are not guaranteed a covered space at all, no refunds if we end up parking uncovered. Can anyone shed any light on which lot may be a better option for a group of 5 with one 70 year old and a 2 year old. What if the weather is rainy or cold and windy? We just have to walk 3 blocks? Sorry for sounding so over dramatic, we have never done this before.

 

[apathetic]

The express lot is not covered anyway. It is also very small and you have to reserve early. It's very convenient otherwise. There are a few options. There is a covered facility called Port Parking (not to be confused with Port of Galveston Parking). It is a good facility with a shuttle about half mile down the main road. There are other options, but for covered I'd recommend Port Parking. You can always drop off your luggage and extra passengers at the terminal and then go park. It can be cold over there at the terminal, but it does have an overhang to protect against the rain. They usually enforce the port arrival times but when we went a few weeks ago they let everyone indoors when the terminal opened because it was cold. No guarantees on that though.

 

[BlueBayou]

The times I’ve parked in the lot with the shuttle it’s been fine. The last Disney cruise we parked in the garage. The elevator wasn’t working and we ended up parking on the top so it was not covered. Of course I prefer the express lot but all three options are fine. In your case, I’d go with the shuttle (or drop folks off with the luggage). When you park there is always a shuttle right there. I’m on the cruise before yours and we do have the express lot reserved but I’ve had it reserved for months.

Including a map of the parking.

 

[BlueBayou]

this photo is taken at the intersection of 25th St. and Harborside. So right in front of the parking garage. Definitely within walking distance but if your people are not very mobile, a shuttle lot would be better.

 

[Keyser]

As someone else said, there are also private lots nearby, some with covered parking. I used one of them on a previous cruise (I think it was Lighthouse, but it looks like they don't handle Disney anymore).

Not sure if you are OK with this option, but what we did last year was that I dropped my family and our luggage off right at the terminal, then I went and parked. For me, it was in lot B and I took the shuttle, but the same might work for others if you are worried about distance or rain or something. My family did have to wait a little bit for me, but it felt easier than putting our luggage on a shuttle or walking with it several blocks. By the way, I found lot B with the shuttle to be plenty convenient (on return, we just all took the shuttle), but I was also OK with uncovered parking.

 

[limespy]

As someone else said, there are also private lots nearby, some with covered parking. I used one of them on a previous cruise (I think it was Lighthouse, but it looks like they don't handle Disney anymore).

Not sure if you are OK with this option, but what we did last year was that I dropped my family and our luggage off right at the terminal, then I went and parked. For me, it was in lot B and I took the shuttle, but the same might work for others if you are worried about distance or rain or something. My family did have to wait a little bit for me, but it felt easier than putting our luggage on a shuttle or walking with it several blocks. By the way, I found lot B with the shuttle to be plenty convenient (on return, we just all took the shuttle), but I was also OK with uncovered parking.

This is similar to what we did and it was way easier than worrying about getting all the luggage and people on and off a shuttle. We parked in lot B... When leaving, we dropped our luggage at the terminal, then all of us parked, hopped on the shuttle, and cruised. Upon our return, my husband got on the shuttle to pick up our vehicle then came back to the terminal to pick us up. Pretty easy process either way, and we'd do the same again.