Best ways to remember where you parked at a theme park

We’ve all done it. You arrive at a theme park, excitedly leap out of the car to start your fun-filled day, and… forget to note your parking space or section. Luckily, Disney and Universal know it’s extra rough to remember where you parked at a theme park after a long day, and they’ve got your back.

New Parking Reminder coming to Disney Park apps

Disney announced this week that a new car locator feature will soon be available through the My Disney Experiences and Disneyland apps, launching this summer at Walt Disney World Resort and later this year at Disneyland Resort.

“Car locator is a complimentary feature that uses location technology to find and save your parking details,” Walt Disney World Resort Communications Manager Josh Higgins wrote in the Disney Parks Blog. “The feature functions best when you enable Location Services, Bluetooth, and Notifications on your mobile device [and] will be available at all four Walt Disney World theme parks, Disney Springs, Disney Water Parks, and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.”

Have you ever forgotten where you parked your car after a magical day at a Disney park? 🚗 A new complimentary feature presented by State Farm called Car Locator will help you find & save your parking details when you visit Walt Disney World & Disneyland! https://t.co/5su7ysJJLp pic.twitter.com/6Vll6SV8Iq

— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) July 11, 2022

Once the feature is available in the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps, all you’ll have to do to remember where you parked is tap the car locator card on your home screen or access it through the Feature menu (☰). After that, just follow the prompts to enter your parking information (if you enable location permissions on your device, the app will fill in the details for you).

Then, at the end of the day, return to car locator for your parking information, and you’ll be on your way home in no time.

Parking Reminder feature in Universal apps

Long an underused – and dare I say secret – feature within the Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort apps, the parking reminder feature not only keeps track of which parking garage or lot you parked in but also the section, level, and aisle/row. Plus, you can even take a picture of the parking sign nearest your car and save it in the app to help you find it even quicker at the end of the day.

To access the parking reminder in both Universal apps, just click the ☰ symbol at the top of your screen and scroll down to the Parking Reminder icon (it’s under Help & Support for Universal Studios Hollywood and under Guest Services for Universal Orlando). Then, click through the sections to add the correct information for your parking spot, and before you know it, you’ll be flying home.

Smartphone maps can help you remember where you parked

Theme park goers who use smartphones may not realize their phones could have helped them remember where they parked at a theme park all along – and they’ll work even when you excitedly leap out of the car and forget to enter the parking info into the Disney and Universal reminders.

Apple Maps (iOS)

Apple maps will automatically find your parking spot as long as you have location activated on your iPhone. To check, just open Settings, click Privacy and make sure Location Services is turned on. Then, like with Google Maps, you can get directions from your current location to your parked car at the end of the day.

Google Maps (iOS and Android)

On an iPhone, tap the blue pin for your current location and select “Set as parking location.” Next, press down on the blue pin until you see a section at the bottom for “dropped pin.” Swipe up on that section to see more details about it.

Android users can just tap the blue pin that represents their current location and parking spot, select the “save your parking” option, then tap the option at the bottom for “More Info.” You can now enter notes with more details about your location. 

When it’s time to find your parked car, tap the blue pin for your parking spot, then tap directions and “Go” to get walking directions to your car.

Snap a Selfie

Many park goers automatically take a photo of the parking sign nearest to their car – and I do it even when I’m using the Universal app parking reminders – but why not turn this boring task into a “first photo of the day” opportunity when everyone is rested and excited, and nobody is hot and tired? Win-win.

For more information about parking at the theme parks, click here for Walt Disney World, click here for Disneyland, click here for Universal Orlando, and click here for Universal Studios Hollywood.