Luggage storage without a hotel stay?

[fractalpotato]

My girlfriend and I find ourselves heading to Orlando for a short weekend trip in a month or so and we will be spending both nights at a friend's home. However, we wanted to fly in early because it's cheaper and take a Lyft from MCO to Magic for the day and then go to the friends home in the evening. Our question is, where can we store our carry on bags while we are in the park? We have to bring enough stuff for the weekend that we can't just use backpacks unfortunately.

Thanks!
Matt

 

[Wubar]

Depending on how big your carry ons are, there are locker rentals near the entrance of each of the parks. I don't know the price of the bigger ones, but we shoved 2 backpacks into a small sized locker, $7 with unlimited in/out privileges.

 

[Animal]

You could store at Bell Services at a monorail hotel as well, I suppose. Be sure to tip a buck or two for each bag.

 

[sharonabe]

You could store at Bell Services at a monorail hotel as well, I suppose. Be sure to tip a buck or two for each bag.

I'm not sure you can do that if you're not a guest of the hotel. They ask for your room number.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

The only park with outside lockers big enough for carry-on luggage is Epcot. Tagging @AngiTN as she has frequently posted about storing her luggage there on check-out day, so she may be able to provide some insight.

The lockers at the other three parks are not big enough for typical carry-on bags.

Bell Services bag storage at the resorts is supposed to be for resort guests only.

So OP, aside from Epcot, I think you may be in a bit of a pickle.

 

[ChristineOH]

You could rent a car so you can drive yourself and leave your bags in the car.

Or, go to Epcot and leave your bags there and take the monorail to MK.

 

[AngiTN]

Yes, the lockers at Epcot are big enough to store any bag allowed to carry on a plane. They are the only ones we've found that can do this. They do operate on 4 quarters only, no other method to pay. They do not have any CM to assist either. So have change. The lockers are near the bus stops, so outside any security areas, which is nice that you don't have to take them through any bag checks, which would be a PITA with a suitcase full of clothes and whatnot.

You could take Uber to Epcot, drop your bags at Epcot, hop on the monorail to MK, then go back to Epcot to get your bags. But you do have to enter Epcot security to get on the monorail.
You could go to Epcot, store your bags in the lockers and then walk over to the bus GF and from there take the monorail to MK. That might be just as easy as a monorail change at TTC actually, especially since the bus stop is right there and the monorail station is a bit of a walk back to the entrance.

Depending on how big your carry ons are, there are locker rentals near the entrance of each of the parks. I don't know the price of the bigger ones, but we shoved 2 backpacks into a small sized locker, $7 with unlimited in/out privileges.

Just for the record, the lockers inside the park are all the same size, and they hold a backpack but not a carry on

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

@AngiTN There’s a pretty solid chance I’m crazy but I thought you only had to go through bag check/security at EPCOT to have monorail access, not actually enter the park. I could totally be misremembering the process.

 

[AngiTN]

@AngiTN There’s a pretty solid chance I’m crazy but I thought you only had to go through bag check/security at EPCOT to have monorail access, not actually enter the park. I could totally be misremembering the process.

Nope, now that you mention that you are totally right. I was wrong. I fixed my post to take out the part about going in the ticket turnstiles and left just going in security.

 

[Maleficent53]

If using locker at Epcot I would recommend using a bus to one of the MK hotels the transferring to monorail to MK. It would save the time of going thru bag check at epcot where lines can be very long.

 

[ChristineOH]

Yep, the bus to GF and then monorail to MK is a good alternate option. I personally enjoy the monorail ride from Epcot to MK, but if the bag check line is long or the monorail is down, it's good to have options in mind.

I guess you could also take a bus to the Contemporary and walk.

 

[AngiTN]

Yep, the bus to GF and then monorail to MK is a good alternate option. I personally enjoy the monorail ride from Epcot to MK, but if the bag check line is long or the monorail is down, it's good to have options in mind.

I guess you could also take a bus to the Contemporary and walk.

If using locker at Epcot I would recommend using a bus to one of the MK hotels the transferring to monorail to MK. It would save the time of going thru bag check at epcot where lines can be very long.

Yea, I picked GF because MK is the next stop. And I don't think CR has an Epcot bus stop, but I'm not 100% on that one. Plus, the bus stops are closer to the lockers than the monorail station

 

[Wubar]

Locker info, per the Disney site (yes, it might not be up to date, so FWIW. I know there was no key deposit or keys when we rented lockers at MK or EP, but I could have sworn there was the option to choose small or large on the touchscreen menus)...

Lockers at Theme Parks
For your convenience, each theme park offers lockers that are available for a fee.

All-Day-Access Lockers

Rent a key-operated locker that you can access all day for a one-time fee. A $5 refundable deposit is also required for each locker key. You must return your key no later than one hour after park closing to receive your deposit.

Small lockers are available at Magic Kingdom park. Small and large lockers are available at Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom park. Explore locker details and pricing:

Small
11" x 9" x 16"
$7/day + $5 key deposit
Large
17.5" x 12" x 16"
$9/day + $5 key deposit

Single-Use Lockers
Single-use, coin-operated lockers are located near the bus information booths at Epcot and at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Only quarters are accepted, and payment is required for each use.

At the Epcot location, single-use lockers are 23” x 16” x 29” and the cost is $1 per use.

At the Disney’s Hollywood Studios location, single-use lockers are 4” x 5.5” x 6” and the cost is $.50 per use.

All lockers are subject to availability on a first-come, first-served basis.




Lockers at Water Parks


Each Disney water park features keyless lockers that can be used throughout the day for a one-time charge.

 

[AngiTN]

Someone recently reported that every available coin operated locker at HS was broken. We have used the Epcot lockers and found they are still in good repair.

I know the parks just got new lockers installed in October (I won't go in to what DH did for us to learn ALL about these new lockers) so that may be when they switched to 2 sizes.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

If using locker at Epcot I would recommend using a bus to one of the MK hotels the transferring to monorail to MK. It would save the time of going thru bag check at epcot where lines can be very long.

Yep, the bus to GF and then monorail to MK is a good alternate option. I personally enjoy the monorail ride from Epcot to MK, but if the bag check line is long or the monorail is down, it's good to have options in mind.

I guess you could also take a bus to the Contemporary and walk.

Yea, I picked GF because MK is the next stop. And I don't think CR has an Epcot bus stop, but I'm not 100% on that one. Plus, the bus stops are closer to the lockers than the monorail station

FYI, there are no buses from Epcot to any of the monorail resorts (GF, Poly, CR). The only monorail resort transportation to/from Epcot is the monorail. The only exception is if the monorail is not running.

That is arguably one of the bigger negatives for GF and CR - they are totally dependent on the monorail and transferring lines to get to Epcot.

 

[ChristineOH]

Yea, I picked GF because MK is the next stop. And I don't think CR has an Epcot bus stop, but I'm not 100% on that one. Plus, the bus stops are closer to the lockers than the monorail station

Yeah, I think you're right about there being no bus to CR. Didn't think of that. The only offer a bus if the monorail is down.

 

[AngiTN]

FYI, there are no buses from Epcot to any of the monorail resorts (GF, Poly, CR). The only monorail resort transportation to/from Epcot is the monorail. The only exception is if the monorail is not running.

Ok. I wasn't sure. So they expect all the resorts to take the monorail to TTC and change. No wonder I hate the monorail resorts so much. Whew, changing monorails at TTC is PITA
What about WL? I would take the WL bus and boat or bus to MK then.

 

[ChristineOH]

At the Disney’s Hollywood Studios location, single-use lockers are 4” x 5.5” x 6” and the cost is $.50 per use.

Wow, that's small.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Ok. I wasn't sure. So they expect all the resorts to take the monorail to TTC and change. No wonder I hate the monorail resorts so much. Whew, changing monorails at TTC is PITA
What about WL? I would take the WL bus and boat or bus to MK then.

Yeah, it's one of the knocks I give on places like GF. I feel "isolated" from Epcot there given the reliance on switching. We usually find ourselves using uber/lyft/taxi for at least one leg going/coming just to minimize the travel time.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

I'm not sure you can do that if you're not a guest of the hotel. They ask for your room number.

Probably depends on who happens to be working there, but They didn’t ask our room number. We told them that we had checked out in the morning but our bus wasn’t until later, so they held our bags for us (which was true).