Disney World Expands Magic Kingdom Ferry Fleet for First Time in Over 50 Years!

Walt Disney World has announced a major investment in getting guests to Magic Kingdom, ahead of the park opening its largest expansion ever in Cars and Villains Lands. For the first time in over 50 years, the iconic fleet of ferry boats is going to grow. Here’s the latest about the additions & changes, details about the ex-exec being honored, and our commentary about this exciting news!

As basic background, ferry boats are one of two transit systems guests use to travel between the Transportation & Ticket Center and Magic Kingdom, with the other offering being the Monorail. Both can be extremely busy around peak times, such as park opening and (especially) the post-fireworks exodus that happens each evening.

Due to the growing crowds heading towards TTC parking at the end of each night (and beginning of each day), Walt Disney World has been working on streamlining transportation for a while. This is just the latest step, and one that is already needed even before Piston Peak and Villains Land debut in 2029 to 2031.

There have been a few big changes over the last decade plus. Back in 2014, Walt Disney World added a second ferry boat dock at both the Transportation and Ticket Center and Magic Kingdom shorelines. This effectively doubled the theoretical capacity for getting guests across Seven Seas Lagoon, relieving the stress at peak times.

Back in 2021, Disney added second-level ramps for quicker unloading of the ferry boats. This plan had been in motion for a while, and would’ve helped with colossal crowds for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary…had those materialized. Honestly, I’m not sure how much of a difference this has made for faster turnaround times–it’s not something I closely track.

What I have watched closely since 2018 is the post fireworks exodus, and to the immense credit of Cast Members, they have this down to a science. It looks like absolute chaos–and it can be sometimes–but it’s controlled chaos. (See Avoiding Magic Kingdom’s Evening Exodus.)

Cast Members have gotten incredibly adept at pointing guests in the right direction and clearly communicating (and signaling via signage) where everyone needs to go. It’s not perfect, but operations does an admirable job in preventing a bad situation from being worse.

In the end this is obviously a numbers game, and there are a ton of people leaving Magic Kingdom simultaneously after the fireworks. Transportation capacity to absorb and process those guests is what it is, and no amount of clear communications and crowd management changes the equation on that. But the ferry fleet expansion will!

Magic Kingdom Expanding Fleet to Four Ferries

For the first time since 1976, Walt Disney World is expanding its fleet of ferry boats that provide free transportation between the TTC parking and Magic Kingdom.

Starting next year, the brand-new 120-foot-long ferryboat will set sail, increasing the fleet from three to four ferries at Walt Disney World. This new vessel will fit seamlessly alongside Walt Disney World’s existing ferry boats, with a similar capacity, look and feel.

A team of engineers and craft workers have been hard at work designing and building the new ferryboat. It’s actually been under construction at a marina in Florida, and it’ll soon be shipped in pieces to Walt Disney World property over the next couple of weeks!

It’s still going to take some time, expertise and a little bit of Disney magic before it’s ready. Upon arrival, Walt Disney World still has to assemble the pieces, paint, and put on all the final touches. This process will take about a year, but Walt Disney World is already looking forward to launching this new vessel in 2027!

If you’ve visited Disney World before, you know a trip across Seven Seas Lagoon on a ferryboat really is an attraction in and of itself. You just can’t beat the view from the upper deck as you glide across the water toward Magic Kingdom.

As transportation junkies and big believers that Walt Disney World is America’s Best City, we love uplifting infrastructure news here on DTB. This may not be an exciting or ‘sexy’ announcement for 95% of you, but we’re excited. It’s great to see Walt Disney World investing in the type of much-needed but invisible improvements that don’t offer direct ROI.

There was a time when this type of thing was neglected. It’s good to see that’s no longer the case, and the groundwork is being laid to ensure the crowds drawn by Piston Peak and Villains Land will have a good first and last impression. Disneyland should be taking notes.

Suffice to say, this is a really big deal. And it should be an “exciting” year for my fellow boat enthusiasts, as we’re also getting expansion via Disney Lakeshore Lodge, which is confirmed as having its own dock.

There have been persistent rumors of ferry fleet expansion for the last few years, but honestly, I never bought it. They struck me as wishful thinking, and I wouldn’t allow myself to get my hopes up after being let down by the lack of a monorail fleet replacement over the years. (So does this mean there’s a chance of that, too?!)

Magic Kingdom Ferry Boat Queue Expansion Project

Although not announced as part of the new ferry boat news, Walt Disney World also filed a permit with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) for a Magic Kingdom ferry boat queue expansion project at Seven Seas Lagoon.

The project encompasses hardscape improvements, dock expansion along the Seven Seas Lagoon shoreline, and more. That expansion plan seems focused on queue expansion, and designed to further improve guest flow and waiting areas at the boat docks.

It also features a floodplain compensation area along the waterfront past the bus stops. This area is required by the SFWMD when development impacts wetlands or flood-prone areas, which is basically The Florida Story. Similar proposals were notably required for the Rivers of America removal, and even Tropical Americas, despite 99% of that involving the redevelopment of restaurant, retail and ride space.

That Magic Kingdom ferry boat queue expansion project permit was filed with the SFWMD back in early February, and approved in late March. That would explain why, one month later, Walt Disney World would make this announcement.

It also probably explains why they’re announcing the arrival of a ferry boat soon, but it won’t be in use until 2027. It’s likely that the infrastructure improvements are needed to improve the turnaround time or efficiency of the boats before it makes sense to put another in circulation.

Now that the permit has been approved, we should start to see physical signs of the expansion in the coming months. The tricky part will be timing the project so the biggest impact coincides with the lowest crowds, as this area can be packed at certain times (see above).

Honestly, right now is probably the sweet spot for the bulk of the work. If Walt Disney World waits too long, the project will occur during Party Season, which means both the colossal 4 pm crowds to enter the park for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party/Very Merry Christmas Party, and a bigger evening exodus on non-party nights.

New Ferry Boat’s Name

In 1997, to honor three individuals who were instrumental in making the resort a reality, Walt Disney World rechristened the existing ferryboats as the Admiral Joe Fowler, the General Joe Potter and the Richard F. Irvine. Nearly 30 years later, another name is being added to that list.

Walt Disney World is continuing the legacy of honoring individuals who’ve had a significant impact on Disney World by calling the fourth ferryboat the Meg Gilbert Crofton, named after Walt Disney World’s fourth president. Meg started her Disney career in 1977 as a marketing manager and, after several roles in the company, took the helm as president of Walt Disney World from 2006-2013.

Just like the other ferryboats, Meg’s portrait will be found on the first deck of the new vessel. It was developed by Walt Disney Imagineering, and it will be accompanied by a plaque that will share Meg’s story with generations of guests as they glide across Seven Seas Lagoon.

“I was humbled to learn that my name would be on this new ferryboat,” Meg said. “It means so much to be recognized by the cast members I had the privilege of working with for so many years.”

Meg Crofton’s Disney Legacy

During her tenure as president, Meg ushered in Walt Disney World’s first major theme park expansion since the opening of Animal Kingdom: New Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom. That expansion brought to life fan-favorite experiences like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Be Our Guest Restaurant.

She also contributed to Walt Disney World’s Resort hotels, opening Art of Animation in 2012 from the ashes of Pop Century’s Legendary Years. The family-friendly resort surrounds guests with stories like Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, complete with oversized characters and the since-added Skyliner for even more transportation fun.

The announcement adds this in describing Crofton:

“Just as impressive was the legacy she left with the people she led along the way. Guided by the belief that what truly lasts is how you make others feel, Meg always had – and continues to have – a genuine interest in the dreams and aspirations of cast members from across the company.”

When Meg Crofton received her window on Main Street, U.S.A. in 2015, it identified her as the founder of the “Center for Leadership Development,” adding, “We start leaders on their journeys.”

My only real reaction to the naming news was: wow, now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while! If you gave me 100 guesses for the new ferry boat name, I probably would not have gotten it right. (I would’ve had Crofton ahead of Jay Rasulo, for anyone keeping score at home.)

Crofton was the President of Walt Disney World from when we started visiting as adults through the first few years of this blog’s existence, during a time that spanned from the ongoing aftermath of the post-9/11 slowdown to the Great Recession to the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, and then New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World.

If you know who Meg Crofton is in the first place, you almost certainly already have an opinion on her, for better or worse, and nothing I write here is going to change that. And if you don’t know who she is, do you really need to form an opinion about an executive who has been retired for over a decade? It does not seem worth relitigating her legacy at this point in time. You can draw your own conclusions from that.

The only thing I would add is that, generally speaking, evaluating executives who lead Walt Disney World is challenging. It has been treated like the goose that lays the golden egg for a long time, which is worth critiquing.

But how much of the blame for that lies directly with local leadership versus mandates from above? What decisions boil down to guest demographics, and the rite of passage guests drawn by Walt Disney World versus the local-centric crowds everywhere else? There are a lot of unique wrinkles to Walt Disney World, but all of this is probably better reserved for the commentary to a different post–not one about a new ferry boat. As far as the substantive news goes, we’re excited!

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Your Thoughts

Thoughts on Walt Disney World expanding the fleet from three to four ferry boats? Looking forward to a more efficient exit at the end of the night from Magic Kingdom? Pleased to see Disney making “invisible” investments in infrastructure? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? 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!