Time-Saving Disney World Transportation Tips
These tips will help you save time using Walt Disney World’s transportation systems with shortcuts, fastest routes, and info about the buses, boats, monorails, and gondolas. WDW’s transit network is complicated, but this guide makes it easy. We’ll also offer the latest as of Fall 2023 as a long-missing watercraft will finally return! (Updated September 29, 2023.)
Walt Disney World claims that transportation departs every 20 minutes from the resort hotels to take guests to the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot making getting around simple. In theory, that’s true. While this is often the case, it’s often not. You should always plan on transit taking more time than expected. Additionally, the monorail is not as reliable as it once was, with breakdowns and unscheduled maintenance occurring more frequently.
In terms of updates to this Walt Disney World transportation guide, let’s start with the good news. All of the infrastructure work to transform the roads, theme park arrival experience, and more is now finished and makes navigating Walt Disney World easier than ever. This has been ongoing for the last few years, and is great news for anyone who rents a car or drives themselves.
September 29, 2023 Update: As fans of the Bay Lake resorts might know, boat service connecting Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campgrounds with Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Contemporary Resort is currently unavailable. This transportation option–known as the blue route (named that for the flags each boat displays) was “temporarily” suspended back when the parks reopened, and hasn’t been seen since.
The good news is that the blue route for the Wilderness (Fort and Lodge) and Contemporary will finally return on October 1, 2023. Unfortunately, it’s not fully back to normal, as it’ll begin at 3 pm each day, so still doesn’t help guests staying in the Wildernesses who want to do breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. But it’ll be great for those wanting to spend an evening at Fort Wilderness for Hoop-Dee-Doo, dinner at California Grill or Chef Mickey’s, etc.
Although 3 pm is the official start time for now, I wouldn’t be surprised if the blue route service starts earlier by Christmas or early 2024. Earlier this month, I was staying late in Magic Kingdom for photos and ‘accidentally’ ended up being the last one out. To my surprise, boat service to Wilderness Lodge was still running (normally they’d put me on a bus at that hour) and they were using one of the larger boat…for literally just me.
As it turned out, there were about a half-dozen or more new watercraft Cast Members training. So I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re finally addressing whatever staffing shortages exist here. (Which somewhat surprise me in the first place–I always thought people retired to become boat pilots, not retired from the position!)
In other news, both EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios now have parking lot tram service restored. With this update, parking lot trams are now once again available at all four Walt Disney World theme parks.
This was another thing that had been missing since the parks closed–it had been almost 1,200 days between the parks reopening and these parking lot trams returned. While I don’t love that the blue route had been gone so long, I can give a pass to that being slow to return as there are alternative means of getting between the Contemporary and Wilderness.
However, the only other option in place of the trams is walking. For a lot of guests with mobility issues or who are older (or younger!), that’s not a great way to start the day. At the end of the day, it’s a lot to ask. Parking lot trams are a guest amenity that should be expected at a world class theme park with huge surface parking lots–especially one that has increased prices significantly over the last few years, including on parking! Glad to see the trams are back, though.
Beyond that news, transportation is largely running smoothly once you get to Walt Disney World. There are still lengthy lines for the Skyliner around park opening and closing, but they move quickly since the system is so efficient and high capacity (aside from during storm-induced shutdowns).
It’s a similar story with the buses. The downside is that you might once again be packed like sardines for rope drop or at the end of the night, but the upside is undeniable. No more standing in line waiting for two or three buses and taking 45 minutes just to get picked up. Midday things are more or less the same as before—lower usage, a seat for everyone, and no lines.
Additionally, Walt Disney World no longer has as pronounced of a driver shortage. Buses are now abundant, and dispatched with regularity. Staggered park opening and closing times help with this, and the bus service at Walt Disney World is also more or less back to normal. Still not perfect, but it never was.
As other Cast Member shortages are being resolved, Walt Disney World is scaling up operations and resuming normalcy elsewhere. Minnie Vans have been back for about a year for point-to-point direct transportation within Walt Disney World; the airport option for Minnie Vans returned last Christmas. We aren’t regular users of Minnie Vans, but from what we understand, it’s been smooth sailing in the last few months with that upcharge option.
The situation with rental cars has also improved. When travel essentially stopped, the rental car industry sold off more than a half a million cars to generate cash they needed to survive the crisis. When pent-up demand arrived in full force, rental car companies were slow to rebuild their inventory because of supply chain issues facing the auto industry.
Orlando International Airport ended up selling out of cars for many travel dates during peak season dates as a result, with astronomical rates for other dates. This has not been an issue in a while. You’ll still pay a premium for peak travel dates, but it’s no different than before.
Similarly, the Uber or Lyft shortages are largely resolved, with more drivers starting to return to the apps. Wait times are down as a result, and there are far fewer instances of no drivers being available at all. (We’ve had no issues whatsoever when using ride-sharing around Walt Disney World recently.)
With that said, prices are still elevated. We’ve seen prices as high as $75 to $100 for peak travel times. The lower end of that range wasn’t even during a busy time of year–just a busy time of day. It’s likely that this is going to be the “new normal” with Uber and Lyft, as costs had gradually increased over the course of several years pre-closure, and analysts have suggested that Uber and Lyft only have long-term viability with higher rates.
Speaking of airport transportation options, Disney’s Magical Express officially ended, so you’ll need to find a different way to get from Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World. When DME ended, two competing services launched to replace it–Mears Connect and the Sunshine Flyer.
Last month, those two “joined forces” to form Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine. This merger has pros and cons for consumers. Competition is always good for keeping prices and service competitive. In this case, there arguably wasn’t a market for two competing shuttle services between MCO and WDW. The two were stretched thin, and had issues with both supply and demand at times.
For the full range of choices, see our Airport Transportation to Walt Disney World Guide. While some guests will be perfectly suited by a limo or car service, more will be better off with a shuttle, Uber, rental car, or something else.
As always, it’s good to crunch the numbers and do a bit of legwork yourself–rather than just booking what’s presented to you on DisneyWorld.com and assuming the money-hungry company is looking out for your best interests.
Our final updates are more about parking than transportation, but you can’t have the former without the latter. First, the good news is that overnight parking is once again free for hotel guests. We were tempted to put free in air quotes as the charge is arguably built into the nightly rate or resorts, but the reality is that discounts have increased since the free parking was restored–so you’re truly paying less than at the same time last year.
The bad news is that parking for day guests of resorts has become even stricter. Now, if you do not have confirmed Advance Dining Reservations, you will not be allowed past the security checkpoint for the vast majority of resort hotels. This means no Walk-Up Waitlist or Mobile Order, and it also often means no Uber or Lyft drop-offs, either.
This is a trend that first started several years ago with busier resorts in close proximity to the parks (e.g. Contemporary, Grand Floridian, Beach Club) and other resorts during peak season (e.g. Christmas, Spring Break). It has now spread to almost all on-property hotels, except a handful of options that you probably don’t want to visit, anyway (e.g. All Star Sports, Port Orleans Riverside). You can still arrive via Disney transportation or by walking–just not by car without an ADR!
With those updates out of the way, let’s start with an overview of transportation at Walt Disney World, followed by tips and hacks for efficiently navigating the 43 square miles of the sprawling vacation complex…
WDW Transportation Overview
Given the abundance of transportation, it’s easy to have a Walt Disney World vacation without renting or even using a car. Simply using an airport shuttle, stay in a Walt Disney World resort hotel, and utilize Disney transportation during your stay.
Of course, you may want to rent a car. We have an entire post titled Tips for Renting a Car at Walt Disney World that covers the ins and outs of renting a car. Suffice to say, if you don’t like waiting at all, like to be in control, and don’t mind driving while on vacation, renting a car is probably for you. This is doubly true if you ever want to leave Walt Disney World property–then a rental car becomes almost essential.
When we rent a car at Walt Disney World, we typically use Hotwire for car rentals and book one of their “blind” Hot Rates. Renting a car can reduce waits and commute times, but we’ve found that not renting works better for us. Consider your circumstances and decide whether you might want a rental car. Your mileage may vary.
We’ve found Uber and Lyft to be great alternatives to renting a car at Walt Disney World. You can read some of our tips for using Uber and other ride-sharing services in the post Uber & Lyft at Walt Disney World Tips.
In addition to Uber, Lyft, and rental cars, Walt Disney World offers a private point to point transportation service called the Minnie Van. You can read our full Minnie Vans Tips & Review post here, but suffice to say, it’s an efficient and themed option for those who don’t care about cost. If you’re on a tighter budget, it’s not for you.
Let’s assume you don’t want to rent a car, nor do you want to use Uber or a Minnie Van. Once you arrive at your resort hotel, you can rely upon Disney transportation.
The most common form of transportation is Disney buses, which are fairly self-explanatory. These run from every single hotel to at least some of the theme parks, except where alternate transportation such as boats or the monorail are available. Buses are the least glamorous and most frustrating form of transportation, and we try to avoid them to the extent possible, but they get the job done.
Several resorts, especially those near Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, also offer boat service to the parks they’re near. This is reasonably efficient, as most of the boats make multiple stops. It’s also very leisurely and a pleasant experience. Who doesn’t love a boat ride?!
Almost every resort that offers boat service is also within walking distance of those same parks. Walking can be more efficient than taking a boat, but it’s obviously also more tiring and work.
Some hotels around the Magic Kingdom–Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian–also offer monorail service to Walt Disney World’s iconic castle park. The monorail also connects to Magic Kingdom via the Ticket & Transportation Center, which is essentially Magic Kingdom’s parking lot.
From the Ticket & Transportation Center, guests can board the monorail to EPCOT. This means that the aforementioned monorail resort guests can access EPCOT via monorail with a transfer. Fortunately, the EPCOT monorail line is back up and running!
Our favorite transportation option is the Disney Skyliner gondolas. These connect Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Disney’s Riviera Resort to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios!
Our personal experiences with the Disney Skyliner have been positive. We cover initial impressions in our Skyliner Gondola Review: Walt Disney World’s Most Magical Flight on Earth article, and have subsequently used the Skyliner gondolas countless times in the past few years since they opened.
Transportation to the theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs begins approximately 2 hours prior to that park’s opening time and all transportation runs until approximately 1 hour after the parks close.
If you’re still in the park one hour and 5 minutes after the park close, worry not, as Disney won’t leave you stranded at a park. Sometimes it’s closer to 2 hours after the parks close when transportation ends. All forms of Disney transportation have unload and load zones very close to the park entrance, making them more accessible than the parking lots for each of the parks.
If you’re planning to rely on Walt Disney World Resort transportation rather than renting your own car or utilizing a taxi, be sure to give yourself at least 1 full hour of transport time to get where ever you wish to go. Typically, it won’t take this long, but on occasion it can (it has taken us over an hour and nearly two hours on multiple occasions).
Best Hotel for Transportation?
If you won’t have a car at Walt Disney World, the first time you should think about transportation is before you book a hotel. There is no one “best” hotel for transportation to all of the Walt Disney World parks, but here are a few factors that you should consider in your booking decision:
- Whether the hotel has non-bus transportation to a park
- Distance from the hotel to each park (with weight given to the parks you’ll be visiting most)
- Whether the hotel has an internal bus system
- Whether the hotel shares buses with another hotel
Non-Bus Transportation – Hotels with non-bus transportation to the parks earn bonus points because buses are, generally, less efficient (and cooler) than non-bus transportation. Monorails provide transportation to Magic Kingdom and EPCOT; boats provide transportation to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios; Disney’s Animal Kingdom is accessible only via bus.
Hotels on the monorail loop are Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian Village Resorts. Each of those hotels also has boat service to the Magic Kingdom, as do Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Campground.
Additionally, all monorail loop hotels are also within walking distance of Magic Kingdom.
This used to just be true for Disney’s Contemporary Resort, but a new bridge is now open that connects the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Village Resort to Magic Kingdom. This path can be tricky to find, so be on the lookout for signage (or ask a Cast Member if you don’t see it).
Boat service to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios is available to and from BoardWalk Inn, Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, and the Swan & Dolphin (non-Disney) Hotels. These resorts are also within walking distance of both parks.
Skyliner gondola service is available from Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Rivera Resorts to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Distance – Hotels that offer non-bus transportation do so because they’re closest to the parks to which they offer the transportation, so that gives you an idea of where those hotels are located.
For other hotels, refer to this Google Maps view of Walt Disney World to determine actual distances from hotels to the parks. The Value Resorts and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Resort are located the farthest from every park except Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Walt Disney World is a large place, and this difference in distance is not negligible.
Internal Bus Systems – Internal transportation is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s nice to be able to take a bus from near your room to the lobby or food court, especially at the spread-out resort-hotels. On the other hand, if you’re going to a park, that means either waiting for two buses or making multiple stops on your way to the park.
In general we find transportation to take longer when there’s an internal system. Hotels with internal systems are Caribbean Beach Resort, Coronado Springs Resort, Port Orleans Resort Riverside, Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, and Old Key West Resort.
Shared Buses – Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer here. Whether buses are shared depends upon how busy Walt Disney World is. The less busy, the more likely shared transportation will be used. As a general rule, none of the hotels above that have internal bus systems (except Fort Wilderness) have shared buses, but other hotels can at times.
Due to personal preferences, there’s no one-size-fits-all “best” resort-hotel at Walt Disney World for transportation. It all depends upon which parks you’ll visit most, whether you’ll have a rental car, and your tolerance to walking. For example, from a transportation perspective, Animal Kingdom Lodge is a pain for us, because it’s really far from everything (except Animal Kingdom) and it has two stops. To someone who visits Animal Kingdom a lot, it might be the best hotel! So know which parks you want to visit most on your trip, figure out which hotel will work best for your circumstances, and book accordingly.
Hotel-to-Hotel Transportation
While Disney attempts to make its internal transportation from resort hotels to the theme parks reasonably convenient, the same is not true with regard to using Disney transportation to get from resort hotel to resort hotel. Instead, you will need to go from your resort hotel to a park and then catch transportation to the resort hotel you’re intending to visit. This can make dinner reservations at resort hotels that are not your own especially difficult.
For this reason, many people only dine at the resort hotels on the monorail loop (as visiting them for dinner can be a nice change of pace from a busy day in the Magic Kingdom) or Crescent Lake (a short walk from the International Gateway entrance to EPCOT and a moderate walk or boat ride from Hollywood Studios).
If you are planning on dining at any other resort hotel and are leaving from your resort hotel or returning to your resort hotel afterward, you may want to consider utilizing a taxi for transportation. Taxis are readily available (and if not, the resort can call one for you) at Disney resort hotels, and usually cost around $15-25 one way within the Walt Disney World Resort (obviously, the price varies based upon distance).
When relying on Disney transportation to go from one hotel to another hotel via at least one bus, you will want to give yourself at least 1.5 hours for transportation times. Usually, it’ll take around an hour. Unfortunately, quite often it takes the full hour and a half. So don’t ignore the recommended transportation times Disney provides to you when you make those Advance Dining Reservations!
Quick Tips
- There is no parking at the Magic Kingdom. Instead, you park at the Ticket & Transportation Center lot, catching a tram to the Ticket & Transportation Center, and then take a monorail or ferry to the Magic Kingdom (this was done, among other reasons, so the Magic Kingdom has a “magical” introduction to guests).
- Because of this, even guests who rent their own cars may be better off taking a bus to the Magic Kingdom, as the Disney buses drop-off guests directly at the front entrance to the Magic Kingdom, bypassing all of the intermediate steps.
- If you’re leaving one of the parks right around closing, or after fireworks or a evening parade, consider waiting. Buses are especially bad at this time of night, and the park’s gift shops are open for a short time after the parks official closing time. Do your shopping then, instead of during the day, and leave a little later. Chances are, you’ll still get back to your resort around the same time, and you won’t wait in line so long for a bus, monorail, or ferry in the process!
- Skyliner lines can appear long at the end of the night right after park closing, but the Skyliner is incredibly efficient and the line moves quickly.
- You can walk from Disney’s Contemporary Resort to the Magic Kingdom via a sidewalk. This walk takes about 5 minutes, and is much faster than taking the monorail.
- You can walk from Disney’s Polynesian Resort to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort or Shades of Green Resort via a sidewalk (and vice-a-versa).
- You can walk from Disney’s Polynesian Resort to the Ticket & Transportation Center via a sidewalk. It’s about a 5 minute walk, and will save you time over taking the monorail.
- You can also walk from the Grand Floridian to Magic Kingdom, meaning you could also walk from the TTC, Poly, and Shades of Green to Magic Kingdom–it’s just a potentially long walk.
- Guests of Caribbean Beach Resort can also use the Skyliner station at Disney’s Riviera Resort, which is more convenient in some cases.
- Generation Gap Bridge connects Pop Century to Art of Animation Resort; on the middle of this bridge is where the Skyliner gondola station is located.
- This bridge provides quick access to the highly regarded Landscape of Flavors food court at Art of Animation. This easy access also means you can take whichever of the two buses arrives first when leaving the parks, if you don’t mind a little walking.
- You can walk from Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa to Disney Springs via a pedestrian bridge. It’s about a 10 minute walk from Saratoga Springs, depending upon your location.
- The internal boats around Disney Springs have also made traversing this area, and the resorts around it, much easier than in the past.
- You can walk between any of the All-Star Resorts, but it’s not always a ‘simple’ path. Still, might be useful if buses are slow (and not shared) and one quickly arrives at a park for an All-Star Resort besides the one where you’re staying.
- You can walk from All Star Sports to Coronado Springs Resort via a walking path. Along this path, you can access Blizzard Beach and McDonald’s. All Star Sports to Coronado is about 30 minutes; it takes around 5 minutes to get to McDonald’s from All Star Sports, and about 15-20 to get to Blizzard Beach.
- You can walk from Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, Yacht & Beach Club, and Swan & Dolphin resorts to International Gateway (World Showcase) entrance, but you cannot walk from the front entrance of EPCOT to any of these resorts, without going through the park.
- The FriendShips (boats) travel from the Crescent Lake resorts to EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The boat stops in this order – Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Swan & Dolphin, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Swan/Dolphin, Yacht Club, Boardwalk, and EPCOT. If you’re staying at or visiting Boardwalk, it’s much quicker to exit the ferry at the Swan & Dolphin and make the 5 minute walk to the Boardwalk if returning from Disney’s Hollywood Studios (and vice-a-versa when the boat stops at BoardWalk first and you’re staying at the Swan or Dolphin).
- For park hopping between EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, your most efficient option is the Skyliner (transferring lines at Caribbean Beach), followed by your feet, followed by the FriendShips.
- Ferry transportation is available from Old Key West Resort, Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, Port Orleans Riverside, and Port Orleans French Quarter to Disney Springs.
- Buses don’t travel between Disney Springs and the theme parks. Instead, you’ll have to take a bus to a hotel, then a bus to a park if your ultimate destination is a park. By looking at other tips here (such as walking from the Contemporary to Magic Kingdom or walking from Disney Springs to Saratoga Springs), you can easily circumvent this and save time.
- Buses make multiple stops at Disney Springs. If the parks are closed and you want to visit another resort from your resort, your only option via Disney transportation is Your resort>Disney Springs>other resort. This will take you at least one hour, and more likely closer to two. Take a taxi instead!
- You can save money by parking your car at Disney Springs (free) and taking a bus to a resort that is close to the park you’re intending to visit, and then walk or take another bus from there, but this is a colossal waste of time and, to some, morally reprehensible (I don’t care about the moral perspective–I just think it’s an idiotic idea). If your time has any value to you, suck it up and pay for parking at the park you’re visiting.
- The fastest way to get from Disney’s Animal Kingdom to the World Showcase via bus is taking a bus to BoardWalk or the Yacht & Beach Club and walking, due to the bus route being more efficient that way than from Animal Kingdom to the front of EPCOT.
- Bus service isn’t offered from resorts to parks when the resort offers alternative means of transportation (via the monorail or ferry).
- When the All-Star Resorts share a bus, it stops at All Star Sports first, and often will fill completely there. It is thus the best All Star Resort during these times of year.
- In addition to the My Disney Experience app having bus wait times from your resort, there are now real-time wait time boards for buses posted at the bus stops for every Walt Disney World hotel). We have tested these on several of our past trips, and have found them to be accurate within a few minutes.
- There are a lot of other “secret” time-saving tips and tricks to Disney transportation, many of which I’m probably forgetting here. Please share your tips in the comments.
Transportation Review & Summary
Ultimately, I like Disney bus transportation. I like it because it allows me to kick back and relax, without worrying about renting a car, navigating on foreign roadways, or breaking the “Disney bubble” and transporting me back to reality. This Disney bubble is an important thing for us. Really important. Because of it, we are unlikely to regularly rent a car at Walt Disney World.
On the negative side, the buses can be inefficient, especially for getting from resort to resort, and they aren’t exactly the paramount of futuristic or cutting edge transportation methods, and have poor and too few routes. On the plus side, the buses don’t cost anything extra, and are becoming increasingly efficient. Moreover, when used in tandem with an occasional Uber or Lyft, it’s very easy to travel to Walt Disney World without renting a car.
The bus system at Walt Disney World is not perfect. There have been occasions where we’ve waited 45 minutes for a bus to show up at our resort heading to a particular park, and in the meantime, 4 showed up for a different park. There have been other times where lines have been so long in the morning that it has taken three separate buses to consume the line in front of us. Other times still, we take multiple buses to get from hotel to hotel for a meal.
As the wait time boards pictured above have become more and more widespread, we’ve noticed this has become less and less of an issue. Presumably, these boards are tied into new technology Walt Disney World is using on the backend to more efficiently allocate its buses. Whatever the case, in the past few years, we’ve notice considerable improvements in Walt Disney World’s bus transportation. Whereas we would’ve given it a B- score 4 years ago, we are now inclined to give it a B+. Still, some room for improvement, but pretty good as a whole.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? If you’re interested in learning more about hotels, our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page is a good place to start. For where to eat, try out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews page. If you want to save money on tickets or determine which type you should get, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at unconventional things you should take on your trip. Once you arrive at the parks, our Walt Disney World “Ride Guides” are great for determining what to do and when to do it. For overviews of all of these topics and so much more, the best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
Your Thoughts…
What are your Walt Disney World transportation tips? Have a “hack” that can save considerable time off the norm? What’s your favorite WDW resort from a transportation perspective? Any questions about the various forms of transportation at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Hello,
I just stayed at Saratoga second week of December and was on the last stop near hospitality house. Had no problem at all. Now i was there at the stop over an hour before the parks opened. One tip is to make sure you are at the first pickup as the bus comes in. Did this at OKW and worked perfect. I cannot respond how the bus stops are later in the day. God help us all when Star Wars opens. LOL…
We stayed at Seritoga Springs 1017 and the bus system was a nightmare. They don’t tell you that if the bus fills up on the 3562465 stops before you (maybe not that many… lol) then the bus will literally pass you by and the bus time screens will just recalculate to the next bus. We waited over an hour before we walked away.
same problem at carribbean beach and why i’ll never stay there again
Yikes! Next time you visit SSR, stay at Grandstand (1st bus stop) or at the building in Paddock closest to the Carousel bus stop has rooms 4501-4836 (2nd bus stop – kind of loud diesel noise on the porch if that bothers you but you can stroll right on to every bus amazing for traveling within the resort or to the parks). We have stayed in both of these areas during Memorial Day week when it was very busy. We never had a problem catching a bus; however, some of these same buses that we rode did fill up before making it to the other bus stops. If you have a person in your party who is in a scooter AND if you are visiting during a busy time of year, I would definitely stay at Grandstand. Most Disney buses can only accomodate 2 scooters (a few can accommodate 3 scooters but they service only a very few resorts and maybe MK 1st thing in the morning). We met a family who had been waiting a very long time for a bus to accommodate their fairly large party including a person in a scooter.
You can totally pool hop at Disney Resorts. So if you wanted to take a break from a park, you could hop on the quicket bus for whatever resort and explore it for the afternoon and then uber it back to your hotel. Might save waiting time. Might save your day
You might want to read this article… but meanwhile, I can assure you from [ersonal experience that not all resorts allow pool hopping. People were turned away from our pool last summer because they were not resort guests. I’m personally glad for this since it overcrowds the more popular pools and makes it more difficult for parents to watch over their children. We paid a lot more money to stay at a deluxe resort because of the amenities… not really fair if just anyone can come in and take advantage without paying.
https://www.dadsguidetowdw.com/can-we-pool-hop-at-disney-world.html
I still use the ourlaughingplace link to get around the disney grounds. It is very helpful
Guess I am one of the lucky ones when it comes to the bus transportation. I use magical express and it is wonderful. Never really had a long wait for a resort bus to the parks. However I am at the bus stop at my resort 1 hr and 30 minutes before the rope drop.
That early there are only a hand full of people waiting for the bus so no problem finding space. I leave the parks way before closing and sometimes I am the only one waiting in line to go back to the resort. So rule of thumb: Use the buses the opposite times the masses do.
In your post you mention there is complimentary parking at the Contemporary for dining reservations and it’s a 5 minute walk to Magic Kingdom- do they ask for proof of reservation or can I just say that to get the free parking to take the walk to Magic Kingdom? Just looking for ways to make getting around with 3 kids easier! Thanks for all you post on your website because it’s insanely helpful !
Do you have any suggestions for the most economical way to rent a scooter for use at Walt Disney World?
I love taking my kids to Disney World but for some reason, the transportation process is always a pain. Thank you for these amazing tips.
Your article states “Transportation to the theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs begins approximately 2 hours prior to that park’s opening time and all transportation runs until approximately 1 hour after the parks close.” , but according to Disney’s website, this is in the REVERSE. Disney states “Bus service from Disney Resort hotels begins 45 minutes prior to park opening and ends 1 hour prior to park closing. Return service to Disney Resort hotels ends 2 hours after park closing.”
I can’t wait to take my kids to Disney someday.
I love Disney World, is one of my favorite places to go.
I love Disney and even more when I find tips that make the day even more of a smooth ride.
Hi Tom,
I LOVE all the tips you provide on Disney!! I am becoming quite knowledgeable! 🙂
My question is…. as a family staying at Pop Century for a week, with hopper passes for each day, does it make sense to leave the parks to go to Disney Springs for a meal?? There are a few restaurants I’d like to try, but wonder how I should work it in. And if so, how should we get there? There are 7 of us.
Thanks in advance!!
Planning on staying at Disney resort hotel for our trip. Seems like the bus to Magic kingdom will drop people in front of the entrance so guests don’t have to take ferries. But if we’d like to take ferries (for our little girl to feel the magic!) can the bus drop us at where guests boarding ferries (regular entrance for all guest)? thank you! Your blog is truly a great help for us to make the plan!
Beyond helpful! We are staying at Beach Resort so we can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. But Lyft all the way to Animal Kingdom! And most likely Magic Kingdom unless we feel Iike an early morning walk to Epcot and monorail to Magic Kingdom.
Keep in mind if you are going to walk to Epcot and take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom you will need to have a Park Hopper ticket. The walk to Epcot will take you in the back of the park, into World Showcase and the monorail is at the front of the park so you will have to walk through the park. We stayed at the Beach Club once and it was pretty neat walking over to Epcot and having little to no line to get in.
The worst part of using the buses is standing and waiting at the end of the night, then having to stand on the jam packed bus all the way to your resort. It’s very unmagical. I’m glad to hear Uber and Lyft are working out well. These will pay off even more when folks that normally rent a car can avoid paying resort parking fees. I imagine at the end of the night the Ubers are lined up in large numbers.
can you take scooters on buses?
Yes-there is a special handicapped lift on Disney buses.
We are flying in on Saturday April 7, arriving at the airport about 8:30. We have brunch reservations at Chef Mickeys at 1:25. Should we go to our hotel, Art of Annimation, or just get off at the Contemporary?
We’re driving to Disney and paying the daily parking fee at our resort. Will we be able to drive ourselves to the parks each day without paying for parking at each park?
The fee you’ll pay for parking at the resort also allows you to park at the theme parks for no additional charge. FYI: If you actually made your resort reservation before March 21st, 2018, you will not be charged the resort parking fee. Here’s a link:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/parking/
Kathleen is correct. Your hotel parking pass will get you free parking at any of the parks. Just my opinion, but by far the most efficient way to travel between resorts/parks and around the Disney property is to have your own car. It’s amazing how much time you waste waiting on buses and Disney travel options.
Eric, we went in June and tried the driving and parking route as well as the bus route. Riding the buses was by far the easiest, fastest and most comfortable way to go. Here are my reasons:
1) No burning hot seats to sit on after car has baked in the Florida sun all day long. The buses are air conditioned constantly and always a comfy temperature.
2) The time spent waiting in the shade for a bus to arrive ends up being less than the time fetching your car from the distant self park areas at the resort as well as walking from the trams to your vehicle at the end of a long hot day in the parks.
3) Speaking of trams… you wait for trams from the parking lots to \get a ride to NEAR the parks… and then you walk some more. Meanwhile, the buses let you off super close to the park entrances.
4) We were able to check the times for the buses arrival to our hotel as well as the parks, and gauge our arrival accordingly. The same can not be said of the trams that haul you from the parking lots toward the parks. There were times we waited exceedingly long times (upwards of 15 minutes) and several times there was not room for us on the first tram to arrive, so we waited for the next. Sometimes, the rides on the trams from the parking lots to the parks was a long ride… in rain, in heat and all squished together like sardines.
5) There is a lot to be said for not having to navigate your way from the resorts to the parks. We were all able to see the sights as we rode along, without a car in the world while someone else did the hard work of navigating in heavy traffic and paying attention to what the bad drivers were doing on the roads.
6) The bus ride gives you a few minutes to relax before the long day of walking in the parks… or to gear up your kids for the special magic awaiting them once you get into the parks… or maybe some last minute plan changes, particularly if you are using touringplans.com to make your schedule for the day. I will forever be appreciative for the bus ride on the day I was able to score a fastpass for Flight of Passage. If I had been driving that day, I would never have seen it pop up in my app to grab it in time. I’d have been losing my religion in the Florida traffic that is nightmarish at best 😉
Elisa, I guess your a newbie to Disney. Your vehicle, if you drive to WDW, will always be quicker then the Disney buses. This May will be my 67th time at WDW and the buses have never outperformed my vehicle in a timely matter. Some of your arguments had some fact to them, but as a long time visitor of Disney most of your point-of-views are through a pair of rose-colored glasses.
1) I have auto-start so my car is always comfy. I can control the climate to my satisfaction. Ever get on a Disney bus after swimming at the water parks? Not fun!!
2) I can still walk to my car, from any distance at a park, and still beat the bus back to the resort. I have proved this many a time with my family.
3) Now this is wear you have a point. After a long day at a park, if we stay all day, me and my family just want to get on a bus and head back to the resort.
4) Bus times are still not accurate. We waited at downtown Disney last year for 50 min after the scheduled posted time. the resorts were a little better. The 8 days we were there they were only correct 3 times. They were a bit better at 5 minutes or less. ( My daughter had them at a 12% close to being on time ratio). The problem with the transportation schedule is when handicapped people have to get on/off a bus. Then there are shift changes, mechanical brake-downs/ flat tires, larger crowds getting on the buses, and so-on and so-on. And I noticed you mentioned squished like sardines on trams. This is where I figured out your a newbie. Any park you come home from at closing time, you are packed in there worse then a can of sardines. And hopefully, your not the one that has to stand!
5) This is your most valid point! The first time I ever went down there with a car, I got extremely lost. It has been said that the roads around Disney are designed to get inexperienced drivers lost. I don’t know if its true or not, but the reason is so that Disney has you stay at their resorts so you don’t have transportation to the other competitive theme parks. Of course I am now an expert navigator and will rent a car to drive to Universal. Don’t tell Disney.
6) This is another valid point and probably your best one. As much as the slow buses used to piss me off, especially when I had a dining reservation while not having my car, I was inside my Disney “bubble” when riding in a bus. It comes with the whole magical experience!!
On a personal note I still take Disney’s mode of transportation’s, bus, boat, and/or monorail, 85% of the time. It is free, it is magical; but there are times where I have to have my car. I book a lot of resort ADR’s and need to make sure I get there, without the stress of Disney’s slow modes of transportation.
Mike,
It is possible to share your own opinions without shooting down someone else’s opinions as rose colored or newbie. Instead of trying to make yourself look the god of all things Disney by completely invalidating every other opinion other than your own, why not try just sharing your own experiences in a kind and humble manner? I realize this is difficult for those with god complexes, but it’s worth a try.
>>>>> I’m a Florida native and had FL Resident passes for a few decades before settling down in Virginia. I had a business in Orlando and I know my way around all of Orlando, not just the Disney area. While your 67!!! visits to Disney are oh-so-impressive, I’ve done that a few times over.
>>>>> Since moving to Virginia, I’ve brought my son and other family members to Disney several times (usually once a year), all of them with a vehicle because I had always assumed it would be faster and easier for us to drive ourselves. Last summer we decided to utilize the buses and boats because I had ankle surgery 4 months prior and was not sure the long treks through the parking lot were going to be so easy after long days being on my feet in the parks. We were all amazed at how much we loved the experience and are now wondering why we didn’t try it sooner.
>>> So I stand by my original post <<<
As we're heading back to Disney again in June for another 8 days of magic, I can guarantee you we're looking forward to using the Disney buses the entire trip instead of driving ourselves and without paying the parking/valet fees ($500+) we had last year… for the same reasons stated in my original post. Maybe posted times were better because we stayed at a deluxe resort, or maybe my fairy godmother waved her magic wand. Don't know why, don't care, I just know that this is how it was last summer for us.
So, IN MY OPINION: the buses are faster and easier than driving… only thing faster and easier would be hired personal transportation (Uber, taxi, etc).
PS: EVERY point I made is valid. I do not need YOU to tell me which of MY points is valid or otherwise. You really should remove your head from your ass before shooting down someone else's VALID opinion simply because it is not your own.
PSS: Dear Lord deliver us all from Narcissists and Know-It-Alls!
PSSS: Resort ADR’s are a completely different animal and my family doesn’t do those, we just book a different resort each stay and enjoy our home resort during each trip instead of traveling around to other resorts. For those who book ADR’s at other resorts, of course having your own vehicle for such a time would be faster and easier.
I do apologize for missing that part of your post due to the huge levels of dripping condescension in everything else you had to say before that paragraph.
Elisa
You didn’t state opinions , you stated facts. Learn the difference!
Funny how you are calling me a Narcissists and Know-It-All. Just take a look in the mirror!!
Elisa
Your points are NOT valid, just an opinion of yours. Considering the vast people on here disagree with you, including Tom, I stand by my original post, your a newbie!
POFQ…never would have thought that. A good friend of mine works there as a supervisor of mousekeeping.
Narcissist much, Mike? Don’t forget the paddle for that douche canoe. You just proved her right.
BTW Elisa, tell Mark I said hi. Oh, and don’t forget your other paddle for that douche canoe of yours. That made as much sense as you calling yourself Mark and thinking I agreed with you; on the same day you came back under a different pseudonym to this blog 3 months later.
“Because of this, even guests who rent their own cars may be better off taking a bus to the Magic Kingdom, as the Disney buses drop-off guests directly at the front entrance to the Magic Kingdom, bypassing all of the intermediate steps.” – Is this still true?? Or do busses drop off at the Ticket and Transportation Center now for MK?? I wouldn’t think this is true anymore because security is now at the T&C Center…right?
It’s still true. Those entering Magic Kingdom via bus go through security at MK. Those entering MK via the TTC go through security there and don’t when they arrive at MK.