Disney World Transportation Report: Bus Waits, Skyliner Storms & Airport Rides
Transportation is often a big problem point at Walt Disney World, with frustrated guests sharing stories of long or inconsistent wait times for buses, Skyliner delays, and more. This update will offer a report on our experiences traveling between resorts and parks–plus Orlando International Airport and the WDW area.
While transportation has long been an issue, the situation in the last couple of years has been different. The usual suspects have been factors, with capacity cuts last year giving way to staffing shortages once operational normalcy was restored. Previously, the Skyliner only allowed one party per gondola, making it difficult to arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Epcot by park opening unless you lined up early.
Buses were better, but still only 6-8 parties allowed per vehicle and standing not allowed. Similar story for boats and monorails. All of this resulted in long lines and wait times for transportation at park opening, closing, and other peak travel times. Thankfully, none of those limitations have been in place for about a year, which alone dramatically improved efficiency and reduced issues.
Speaking of issues, there was the end of Disney’s Magical Express to start the year. The free shuttle took guests between Walt Disney World resorts and Orlando International Airport, and its elimination has had a ripple effect on other transportation, from Uber and Lyft to rental cars and other airport buses.
After that bad news to start out the year, our mid-2022 update is the bearer of good news on the Walt Disney World transportation front! (It’s also the bearer of new Cars photos from Art of Animation, since I don’t have photos to illustrate all of my transportation thoughts–and because I love that area of the resort.)
Before we delve into the improvements to Walt Disney World transportation, we want to preface this by conceding that it’s always possible to have a negative experience with Walt Disney World transportation. You could visit during the slowest week of the year in September and have a terrible time. You could go the week between Christmas and New Year’s and have a great one.
Two parties staying at the same resort for the same dates could have dramatically different perceptions simply by virtue of luck. That has always been the case and probably always will be. When it comes to Walt Disney World transportation, inconsistency is the only thing that’s consistent. With that said, we have extensively utilized WDW transportation in the last several months and have observed clearly noticeable improvements–although anecdotal, that’s what we’re going to report on here.
This update encompasses several stays at a range of different resorts over the course of multiple months at Walt Disney World. Obviously, it’s still anecdotal, but the ground covered here details our fairly consistent experiences at numerous Value, Moderate, and Deluxe Resorts. Aside from a few exceptions (which we’ll detail), the story has been more or less the same across the board.
Nevertheless, it’s always possible to have a negative experience that dramatically differs from what’s covered here. Or, you could have even better success getting around Central Florida. Horror stories and extremes are par for the course with Walt Disney World’s transportation network, and no longer even phase us. However, the trajectory is pretty clear.
Let’s start on a positive note: buses. Yep, buses. Walt Disney World is still contracting with Academy to provide relief to its bus driver shortage. If you’ve visited in the last 18 months, you’ve undoubtedly seen these buses around Walt Disney World.
This has helped address transportation woes, and in a big way. While staffing shortages have upended the consistency and quality of pretty much everything else at Walt Disney World, their impact on bus service has been minimal. (I’d go a step further and say it’s possibly positive. We’ve had better luck with buses this year than in a long time.)
Every resort at which we’ve stayed or visited in the last several months has been utilizing the bus wait time boards. Guests of those resorts can also find the wait times in My Disney Experience (here’s an explainer about where to find them).
These were such an improvement back when they debuted, but their reliability had deteriorated even pre-closure. These can be a huge asset when they’re working consistently and accurate, which is not currently the case. However, that’s for a good reason for once.
The third-party buses are not connected to the wait time boards or My Disney Experience feature.
Consequently, the board or app might display a time ~20 minutes into the future as the next arrival–or not display a time at all if several third-party buses are on that route. Despite that, an unmarked white charter bus will pull up within minutes, sporting a paper sign indicating where it’s heading. (After over a year of doing this, Disney might want to find a way to make this more “official.” We’ve seen several guests hesitant about getting on the random buses, apprehensive that they’re about to be scammed or something.)
Obviously, this is a good thing. The times displayed are now typically the maximum wait, with the exception of delays due to traffic when no third-party buses are on the route. Under-promising and over-delivering used to be the norm for Walt Disney World, and I never thought I’d use that to describe the bus network.
It does render the My Disney Experience app feature a bit useless. Back in the heyday of that, we’d actually use it to determine when to leave our room. The only time I use it now is to get screenshots for planned posts that I don’t end up writing (until now!). For personal use, I don’t even bother with the app times.
In general and almost across the board, our experiences with buses have been very, very positive. For all of the things Walt Disney World is currently doing wrong, bus transportation is absolutely not one of them.
We’ve used buses at the crack of dawn for Early Entry, during the middle of the day, for evening arrivals to the parks, and late at the end of the night. With only a few exceptions, we’ve had resounding success with the buses at Walt Disney World in the last few months. (Really, we praise predates that.)
Now, the caveats. First, one problem point is definitely Coronado Springs Resort. Over the course of a couple different stays there, there have been minor issues with long lines and packed buses early and late in the day.
This isn’t a new thing–it started pretty much with the opening of Gran Destino. It definitely seems like Disney planned on that tower primarily being utilized by conventioneers who are less likely to visit the parks. When there are no events and it’s booked by normal guests, the strain all of those rooms puts on the buses is significant.
One solution that has worked for us is heading to the parks very early in the morning, waiting until midday, and leaving the parks super late. If the bus returning to the hotel is packed, another is getting off at the first stop and walking to our building–that’s almost always faster (or at least more pleasant) than riding the full route.
Second, we do not typically travel around park opening or closing. You won’t find us leaving the resort within an hour of official opening time, nor do we leave the parks shortly before or shortly after closing.
These are the peak transportation times, and missing them is arguably an “oversight” for a post like this. But I’m not going to wait around or leave early for the sake of “research” to confirm what I already know. Lines are longer, buses are packed, and it’s just generally less pleasant. If this comes as a surprise, you might also be interested to learn that Times Square is a bit busy on New Year’s Eve.
No issues to report whatsoever with watercraft. We’ve seen some with cool new color schemes, but that probably doesn’t make them faster or more efficient (haven’t yet tested to confirm), so not really relevant here.
Admittedly, we don’t travel via watercraft very often. Don’t get me wrong–I absolutely love a good boat ride. However, with the way we eat at Walt Disney World, we feel compelled to walk whenever possible, which eliminates using the FriendShips around Crescent Lake. We only really use boats for getting to the Wilderness (Fort and Lodge).
I’m always scared to say anything positive about the monorails because I fear being “rewarded” for my optimism with lengthy downtime on my next ride.
With that said, we’ve used the Highway in the Sky several times for park hopping between EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. It has been uneventful.
Turning to the Skyliner, which we’ll breeze over since we just covered mornings in Skyliner Strategy for Early Entry at EPCOT & Hollywood Studios.
In addition to this, we’ve used the Skyliner a lot for mid-morning and midday breaks at the resorts. It has been great for that, and deserves attention for leaving the parks 1-2 hours after opening. This can actually be a challenge with buses, which are prioritizing getting people from the resorts to the parks at that hour. Not so with the Skyliner.
The big issue with the Skyliner is during storms. We’ve gotten pretty adept at checking radars in weather apps and planning accordingly with regard to transportation. As a result, we’ve only had one headache in the last few months with the Skyliner closing and re-routing guests to buses. That doesn’t mean the problem has gone away…we’re just avoiding it.
This is actually our biggest transportation-related disappointment: that Walt Disney World still has not figured out a streamlined way of notifying resort guests when the Skyliner is down and deploying alternative transportation after ~ 3 years. This can be frustratingly inefficient, and it feels like one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing.
In addition to planning ahead with weather apps, our advice is to just cut your losses and use Uber or Lyft if Skyliner downtime strands you and resort-to-resort transportation is needed. (Resort-to-park isn’t as bad, but isn’t “good” either.)
Since we’ve largely avoided this, I’d be curious to hear comments from readers who have stayed at Skyliner resorts recently and encountered gondola downtime. Maybe we’re skewing overly negative on this due to limited encounters (I don’t think so, but I’d love to be wrong!)
Finally, there’s the matter of transportation between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World resorts. Since publishing our Mears Connect Review earlier this year, we’ve used that service a couple more times. That assessment remains accurate–it’s a lot like Disney’s Magical Express. Minus the “Disney” part…and the “Magical” part…okay, and the “Express” part, too. (In fairness, DME was never actually “Express,” either.)
We’ve also seen a ton of Sunshine Flyer buses out and about. This is probably just dumb luck, but our perception is that upstart service has a sizable fleet, which we honestly did not expect. Still, it’s difficult for us to use Sunshine Flyer because that requires planning airport transportation too far in advance.
We’ve also used Uber and Lyft a lot for getting to and from MCO. This has been easy and efficient, and we’ve never had any issues whatsoever with availability or wait times at the airport or on-property at Walt Disney World. That hasn’t always been the story at Flamingo Crossings–where wait times are usually longer–but it’s also out in the middle of nowhere. (It’s an odd dynamic–middle of nowhere, and yet, tons of people live in that booming area.)
Pricing with Uber and Lyft is absolutely all over the place. We’re primarily traveling between the Orange Counties (Florida and Southern California), which tends to put our MCO arrivals late at night (#timezonetroubles). I’d prefer early mornings, but not everyone in our traveling party agrees with me that red-eyes are the way to go. For whatever reason, MCO is often slammed late at night, which leads to surge pricing. We’ve paid as much as $70 for a ride to Walt Disney World via rideshare. I’m sure that’s not even close to a record–I’ve heard worse from others.
We usually depart Florida early in the morning or in the middle of weekdays, and rideshare prices are almost always significantly lower. Our range has been about $28 to $35 before tip for these trips. On that note, a couple of suggestions.
First, pull up both Uber and Lyft and compare prices. The vast majority of the time, we’ve found cheaper (sometimes significantly so) rides via Lyft–but not always. Second, opt for the “Wait & Save” option if you’re not tight on time. We did this once, got an immediate pick-up time, and have done it ever since. If you’re traveling at an off-peak time, this is usually easy savings and minimal inconvenience.
Almost forgot, but Minnie Vans have been out and about.
We haven’t used them, but they are in the wild once again. I have zero desire to pay triple the cost for a car with polka dots on it, but I have no doubt that the service is good. We’ll withhold our “testing” so you all have better success in booking the limited number of Minnie Vans. You’re welcome. 😉
Ultimately, it’s good to see the transportation situation going so smoothly at Walt Disney World. We’ve used the Skyliner, buses, and airport transportation extensively in the last several months, and have been pleasantly surprised across the board. With how much is going wrong in other aspects of the guest experience, this is very much a needed and refreshing “win.” (Watch, there will be dozens of comments contradicting our report and sharing how awful things have been!)
This is also quite the contrast to historical precedent. Back in the halcyon days of the Disney Dining Plan, free FastPass, Extra Magic Hours, etc., transportation was one of our biggest complaints. It was a frequent source of frustration, and incredibly commonplace to see 6 Animal Kingdom buses while waiting for an EPCOT bus. Our old trip reports probably have more rants about the buses than just about anything else.
Thankfully, this hasn’t been the case for years–and even predates the closure. Things started getting better with the bus wait time boards and My Disney Experience feature (I’m guessing backend upgrades were made around then to better allocate buses) and continued with the debut of the Skyliner. The reopening and physical distancing threw a monkey wrench in that, but it appears Walt Disney World transportation is back on track. With everything else that’s been going wrong, it’s great to see this going right!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, 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 clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you used transportation at Walt Disney World recently? What has been the good, bad, or ugly for you? Traveled through MCO recently? What about with Uber, Lyft, rental cars, Sunshine Flyer or Mears Connect? Any recent encounters with the Skyliner during storm season? What about Walt Disney World buses between the parks and resorts the last several months? Have experiences of your own to share with regard to Walt Disney World transportation? (If so, please share your dates, resort, and typical travel times.) Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? 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!
I’m wondering about early entry and the boats from Fort Wilderness. In past stays we have gotten down to the dock area really early to catch a ferry and in our experience they don’t start running them until about 1/2 an hour before opening which means you are way behind the eight ball when trying to get an early start at Magic Kingdom. Often we resort to catching a ferry over to the Contemporary, which because of Chef Mickey Breakfasts always starts running earlier, and then walk from there. Does anyone know if the ferry service has improved and leaves early enough to catch early entry at MK.
Last time we stayed at Wilderness Lodge (earlier this year), I caught the first boat and was at Magic Kingdom about an hour before park opening. Plenty of time in advance.
Can’t speak to Fort Wilderness or whether it’s consistently that early–hopefully others can share their experiences.
We loved the skyliner! That said it was disappointing that of the 3 days we could use it, one early morning it was down (some communication error that they were waiting for ATT to fix) and one rainstorm. We lucked out another time that the skyliner had just come up when we were leaving Epcot after a thunderstorm earlier that evening. We were staying at CBR and very near both the Aruba bus stop and the skyliner station at Rivera, so it wasn’t a huge deal to walk over to catch the bus when it was down to get to the parks from our resort. We were on a bus within 5 mins both times we had to take the bus instead. What I completely agree with is that there is no information about if the skyliner is down or not. Hopefully they can fix this in the future.
Buses were pretty regular except the resort loop which was a little irritating in the summer heat. The only other issue that we had with buses was going to Typhoon Lagoon. Transferring buses isn’t that big of a deal…the deal is that you are dropped off and have to walk around into and around a barrier in Disney Springs to walk to your transfer bus. Going to Typhoon lagoon is fine. The real irritation is when you have to transfer to go back to your resort from Typhoon Lagoon.
I’ve thought this would be an additional fun experience. Is it possible to use the skyliner from EPCOT then back to EPCOT the day we visit EPCOT?
Yes, definitely, we’ve done that. It’s a nice little break from walking around the park.
I forgot to add our Minnie Van experience. We used it once when we needed to quickly get from Boulder Ridge to the Poly for a breakfast reservation. It was great for that, but so expensive. I could see possibly using it to go to MK, since they can pull up to the front entrance. I personally would not, but that’s really the only other benefit I can think of. I wish there was a shuttle system to get from resort to resort, at least the ones that are not connected in some other way.
Thanks for this update. Since we no longer need a car seat, we always use Lyft/Uber from MCO. We also have used them to get to the parks in the morning (except MK) or to a dining reservation. We are huge fans of the Skyliner! Sometimes if we are at Epcot, usually that 2-3 pm slump, we will grab something caffeinated and hop on the Skyliner for a scenic coffee break ride while we recharge. Since it’s never busy at that time, I don’t feel like we are getting in the way.
Mary, I like this idea. Where do you ride it to? Do you just go off and catch the next one back to Epcot?
Thanks
We returned from WDW about 3 weeks ago. This trip I had to rent a scooter due to a recent foot injury and rather than cancel our long awaited trip (hadn’t been since 2019)we opted to try the mobility scooter. Our experience was wonderful- the bus drivers were amazing getting me on the scooter, the cast members were extremely helpful and accommodating getting us on the rides and we rode the boats, Skyliner and monorail with no issues whatsoever. My only complaint was having to deal with the people in the parks who cut right in front on me in the parks as I was driving. While I didn’t hit anyone I came close. Very inconsiderate and unwise on their part. But the transportation services were extraordinary in their service and assistance this trip.
Thank you Lisa! This is very helpful 🙂
Lisa I agree completely, my 84 year old mom gets a scooter every visit, the entire transportation staff was always very helpful , she hit 2 people one night at MK, one went flying right over the scooter and I was even spotting for her, nobody cares or even looks up from their phones to see scooters…. I’m glad she hit em, maybe they’ll be more aware next time. Lol.
Jeff B
Ditto that Lisa
We were there in second half of May 2022, party of 4, with 2 scooters. The only thing I have to add is that buses and boats, but not monorail and ferry, can only take 2 scooters. First come, first serve. Most time we could ride together, but occasionally needed to split up, which could cause 2 of us to follow the other 2 by half hour. On Skyliner, which we rode on two different days just for fun, it was one scooter per gondola, with 2 of us following the other two. We were always treated with courtesy and respect by all Disney employees and by 99% of Disney guests.
What happens if I dont cancel my WDW park reservation (and do not attend)?
If you try to check into another park after 2pm they may tell you you need to scan into the original park first. They did this to us. Went to guest relations instead and got the all clear to enter. Our reservation was for MK and we went to Epcot after 2.
We’re a party of eight (six adults, a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old) traveling next March. We’ll be staying at Sheraton Vistana Villages. I’m trying to decide between renting two cars vs Uber/Lift/taxi but I’m leaning toward the second option. Cost of each option is a factor but not the only factor. Which option would get us quickest to WDW — and Universal for that matter. This may be outside your purview but I thought since I”m considering Disney parking you might provide some insight.
If you rent a car keep in mind that all parking cost $25 a day with preferred parking between $35-$50 each day.
This excludes guest that are staying at Disney resorts too
This includes guest staying at WD
I always try to warn people that while the monorail is a scenic ride, it’s not necessarily the fastest option. For example, I had an afternoon tea at Grand Floridian after a morning at EPCOT. Taking the monorail was 45-60 minutes. I actually wish the monorail (and heck, even the buses) had an actual schedule instead of showing up whenever.
We finally just started renting a couple 7 passenger vans, it’s expensive but it sure is nice having them parked at the Poly whenever needed. The Poly monorail doesn’t start till 7:30 am so you can’t get to an early breakfast at the Contemp.
We gave up on the busses long ago.
What we really miss is the luggage checkin at the Poly. That was such a time saver. And we miss the Magical express to not worry about luggage from the airport to the Poly.
Hi Tom,
Thank you for all the information and humor :). We have not been to WDW yet and ‘have to’ go at the holidays so we have been following you quite closely. How would you address transportation for a member of the family with am EVC with the 10/10 crowds? Also, Do the boats/ferries run from Crescent Lake to MK at Christmas? Should we stick to Uber/Lyft? Are these different posts?
Happy to hear the buses are better. We’ve experienced issues in the past like you have. I’ve also had issues with the monorail being down as we are waiting as the first to leave at poly. Anyhow taking sunshine flyer for first time and keeping fingers crossed. Any reviews or experiences with that are appreciated.
I’ve booked 3 trips on the Flyer now and have been very impressed with their service. We had an early morning MCO>All-Star and an evening Swan>MCO. Both trips were very easy and comfortable. The 3rd booking was a late night MCO>All-Star. When our flight was delayed to after the Flyer operating hours, I received a text from them about alternative options and instructions to call the next day for a refund. Flyer service was great, never flying Frontier again!
And to Tom’s comment about needing service last minute…we were able to book service after the online reservation window was closed by calling their 1-800- number. I think it was the day before our early morning flight and it didn’t cause any issues.
We’ve been at Pop this week and we have loved the Skyliner. So convenient and enjoyable to us. My daughter even rode over to Riviera to take pictures. Now, there has been a fair amount of lightning this week so they have had downtime for sure some afternoons and evenings. We lucked out and never needed it while it was down. We rode the bus to MK this afternoon while it was down and saw both Epcot and Studios buses arrive here. That would be a bummer but I would not hesitate to stay at a Skyliner resort again.
We stayed on the skyliner the first time back in June. We were short on Dvc points and wanted to try it out. It seemed every time we wanted to use it that it was down due to weather. We were thankful that we drove down that trip and ended up driving to the parks instead. We decided skyliner was one and done for us. We deliberately choose monorail resorts so we don’t have to wake up sleeping toddlers and fold strollers. The skyliner constantly being down took away that advantage. We just got back from a week at kidani, and I will say the bus transportation was fantastic. These two trips confirmed I made the correct decision to add on more AKL points instead of riviera!
Thanks for the update on Transportation. Has anyone heard anything about either Mears Connect or Sunshine picking up luggage and taking them to the hotel without you waiting. THAT is what I still miss from DME. I would pay for that service to have them get my bag and drop it off at the hotel.
I really haven’t heard much about Mears/Sunshine Flyer airport service since they launched. What little I *have* heard makes me uneasy. I’d rather pay more for Uber/Lyft and be more certain about arrival/departure times.
(Well, I’d actually rather Disney didn’t cancel Magical Express to begin with, but alas.)
There is an option my wife and I use each trip to WDW. Tiffany Town Car is a limo service that will pick you up at MCO and drop you off at your resort. This service includes a 20 minute stop at a grocery store En route. Very convenient and the grocery stop saves enough money to pay for your ride to your hotel. Beers in WDW = $10 per. 12 pack at super market = $22. $98 dollars saved. Wine, snacks etc it adds up. Think about it. A little up front = big savings.
I took Sunshine Flyer in May from MCO to All Star Sports. Arrived at MCO around 3 in the afternoon. When I checked in, waited about 15 minutes for a bus. Was the 3rd stop on the trip. They try to assign busses to resorts close together. (e.g. I was on a bus that stopped at PoP/AoA, Animal Kingdom, etc.) They have very old-timey cartoons on for entertainment. I’m guessing it is because they are in the public domain and they don’t have to pay royalties. Bus looked fairly new; was clean and comfy. For my return trip, I had a 7 am flight, which means they picked me up at 4 am. (3 hours early, just like MDE) Bus was actually a few minutes early. Overall a positive experience.
Thanks for the info about the 3rd party buses. I can totally see myself stressing about whether to get on an unmarked bus with a paper sign in the window
Well I’m glad to hear this bit of good news anyway. We are going the first week of Oct Not looking forward to the genie thing at all. After all I’ve read about it I almost canceled our entire vacation and booked with Universal instead but I didn’t. At least this article gives me hope about using the WDW bus from Port Orleans FQ to all the parks. Looking forward to the boat ride from it to DS.
We traveled with a disabled person who has an electric scooter. We can dissemble it. We found using ANY transportation – taxis, Uber, Disney buses – was completely unreliable. Waits sometimes for three hours no matter what time of day. (Monorail and boat, where you can just drive the scooter on, were fine.) It was so bad that I don’t think we’ll ever do it without a car again. But without a scooter, transportation options appeared abundant.
I have traveled with a scooter for over 8 years (2-3 times a year) to not only WDW but Disneyland and universal. I drive right on interior transportation all over WDW (including buses) and universal no problem. Use Lyft & Uber both again no problems. Nears even has wheelchair taxis that you can reserve ahead again just drive right on, no problem.
Hey Tom! Longtime reader of this awesome blog with a quick question: is it possible to get to the International Gateway for Early Entry when you aren’t stay at a Crescent Lake resort? (ie Uber to Beach Club and walk?) We are staying at all star Music.
Thanks for your awesome work, absolutely love reading your stuff!
Take an Uber to beach club and walk over. I have done this multiple times.
I had just read that security is not allowing it anymore? But if you have done it recently then they must be wrong!
Thanks for your help!
I have never had a problem. However, I should also clarify that I had breakfast reservations at the beach club. If they are being difficult, youcan always go to the Swan.
If you don’t mind it taking extra time, for free you could take the bus from your resort to Hollywood Studios. From there you could—
Walk
Boat
Skyliner (to hub at Carribbean beach and transfer to Epcot)
Hey Josh, security at Beach Club (or Yacht Club or Boardwalk) may very well turn your Lyft away if you don’t have a dining reservation. Given that, the safest bet is to get dropped off at the Swan or Dolphin and walk or boat from there.
Beach Club security may turn you away if you don’t have a dining reservation because they don’t want you parking there. I see no reason why they’d not let you into the property if you were just being dropped off.
We stayed at the Grand Floridian in May and encountered questions twice; once
when using Lyft to go to the Beach Club. We did not have any dining reservations. However, I did check with the GF and they said to tell the security at the gate that we were staying at the Grand Floridian and we were let in no problem. Not sure if this would work if staying at a Moderate or Value resort. It’s frustrating
as people just want to be dropped off!
Unfortunately it depends on who is at the gate. The first time we tried this since we had no resort room or checking in they would not allow us in. Second time we had a reservation at Ale and Compass, of course they let us in. My hunch is Boardwalk might work because one has to use the Boardwalk Inn typically or Villas to get there. Just letting you know our experience with that situation. Last visit we exited from Yacht Club to get Uber back off site no problems. Way better doing this than uber from Epcot.