estacionar v. aparcar

Question

¿Qué es la diferencia entre estacionar y aparcar?

Will someone please help me understand the difference between these two words. My dictionary told me they mean the same thing. I learned

El carro está estacionado enfrente de una casa

and

La bicicleta está aparcada.

I'm sure the first means "The car is parked in front of the house," and the second means, "The bicycle is parked."

Are there specific uses for these two words, or are they interchangeable?

Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

I think they're pretty interchangeable but quite regional estacionar vs aparcar

Answer 2

My understanding had been that aparcar is Spanglish, and that its use started with Mexican spanish.

HOWEVER, I see in our dictionary that aparcar is used in Spain, so there goes that theory.

The verb I was thinking of as Spanglish is parquear, which is Spanish.

It's odd because aparcar already sounds so close to "park".

Just a random thought!