We’re sharing three Disney hacks that don’t work. Everyone loves a good Disney hack – save money, save time, find the ‘local’ way of doing things. But, not all hacks are created equal. These are three hacks for Walt Disney World that we don’t recommend you use!

1. Get free parking at Disney Springs

The Hack: Want to save your $25/day on parking at Walt Disney World? Disney Springs offers free parking in the garages. Instead of parking at the parks, head to Disney Springs. From there, catch a bus to the parks and you bypass the parking fee!

Why we don’t recommend this: It is true, Disney Springs does offer free parking in the garages. However, they do not offer direct buses to the parks. In order to get to a park from Walt Disney World, you have to take a bus to one of the resorts, then take another bus/form of transportation to get to the park. This could take almost an hour, between driving, parking, taking two buses, and finally getting to the parks. To save money on parking, use Disney transportation instead and don’t drive to the parks.

*Onsite guests get free parking at the four parks, but have an overnight fee at the resort*.

2. Save money with an annual pass

The Hack: Going on a Disney trip with your family? Have one member of your party get an annual pass. They’ll get free parking at the parks, discounts on dining and merchandise, and the memory maker included. This will end up saving you money.

Why we don’t recommend this: This MAY work for your family, if you are going on a long trip (think 8-10 days), or multiple trips in a year. But for the average family going to Walt Disney World, this is not a good tip. An annual pass for out-of-state passholders is currently $1400. Tickets would be about half of that for a long trip. If you price it out, you would need to spend quite a lot on food, merchandise, and parking to make that up.

*Also, the memory maker is no longer included for passholders, an update since this hack was widely shared*

3. Park at the Contemporary

The Hack: It takes a long time to park at the Transportation and Ticket Center, walk/take the tram, and then take the monorail or ferry to Magic Kingdom. Rather than spend your time there and wait in the long lines exiting the park, just park at the nearby Contemporary Resort. It’s within walking distance of Magic Kingdom, and you’ll beat out all the traffic.

Why we don’t recommend this: In the past, this may have worked. But, parking at the resorts is reserved for resort guests and guests with dining reservations only. Dining reservations have limited parking of up to 3 hours, then the car has to be moved. Disney could tow your car if you broke this rule, and you can no longer drive to a resort and come in to check it out, you need a dining reservation. While many people may use this tip, we would never recommend it to someone going on a Disney trip, because it is against the rules and could cause issues.

Do you have any other Disney hacks that don’t work? Let us know in the comments!