Disney World Transportation Summer Update

One big problem point at Walt Disney World in the last few months has been transportation. In this update, we’ll take offer a report on our experiences traveling between resorts and the parks with buses, boats, and Park Hopping via the Skyliner gondolas thus far in Summer 2021.

For the last several months, the transportation situation was…a situation. Capacity was cut dramatically across the board. 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.

Accordingly, our advice beginning around last July was to rent a car or take an Uber/Lyft upon from Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World, and all around the resort. Unfortunately, that recommendation became less viable back in March, as rental car and Uber shortages coupled with a dramatic uptake travel volume made pricing prohibitive for many Walt Disney World visitors. After several months of bad news on the Walt Disney World transportation front, our Summer 2021 update is the bearer of good news!

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 experience. 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 experiences 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 are seeing objective, measurable improvements–and that’s what we’re going to report on here.

The next caveat is that these improvements to Walt Disney World transportation are still in progress. We started doing the “research” for this article Memorial Day weekend and the following week, and had to revisit the topic before publishing because even more had changed.

On more than one occasion, we’ve literally observed policy changes occur overnight. Seating and standing areas have expanded, “unavailable” stickers have been removed, and more. The points here are twofold: what’s published here could be partially inaccurate by tomorrow or whenever your trip rolls around. However, the trajectory is pretty clear.

In terms of official policy, the biggest change that was just published is Walt Disney World ending most indoor face mask rules for the fully vaccinated. Transportation is a notable exception: Face coverings will still be required of all guests on Disney transportation, including Disney buses, monorails, and Disney Skyliner.

In addition to this, Walt Disney World has also reduced physical distancing, with those changes “visible in places like queues, shops, restaurants, attraction boarding, transportation and our theaters.”

All of the changes we’ve observed are a result of physical distancing being relaxed, which has been a work in progress since Memorial Day, but kicked into high gear the last couple of weeks.

We’ll start with buses, which have gradually been increasing the number of guests per vehicle. Perhaps the most notable change is that standing is also now allowed. Buses are still not being loaded to 100% capacity, but efficiency and guest loads have more than doubled–tripled might be more accurate–as compared to spring break.

I don’t think anyone relishes the idea of standing elbow to arm pit with other guests, especially at the end of a long day when everyone has slow-cooked in the Florida sun. It can be an, ahem, olfactory overload.

However, the buses are not to that point yet, and 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.

In addition to physical distancing being relaxed, Walt Disney World has been contracting with Academy to provide relief to its bus driver shortage. If you’ve visited recently, you’ve undoubtedly seen these buses around Walt Disney World. That has also helped address transportation woes.

We wouldn’t go as far as to say the buses are operating as normal at Walt Disney World, as we don’t have sufficient experience to make such a proclamation. It’s been pretty close in our anecdotal experiences, though. (It wouldn’t surprise me if Coronado Springs in particular and maybe the other sprawling resorts are still having issues from time to time.)

Another thing we’ve noticed is that the bus wait time boards are displaying times. Sometimes.

These were such an improvement (along with the feature in My Disney Experience) 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–it would be great for Walt Disney World to work on restoring and improving this system.

One recommendation we’d offer–and this applies to normal times as well as right now–is not to leave any park right at closing. This is when bus lines back to the resort are at their worst (see above) and you’ll frequently have multiple busloads of other guests in front of you.

You’re going to be waiting 30+ minutes one way or the other, so spend that time on Main Street, soaking up the atmosphere of World Showcase, etc., rather than standing in an uncomfortable and frustrating bus line. Walt Disney World will not strand you at the park. We’ve left (literally) 2 hours after park closing before and there was a private bus waiting for us. Buses are waiting until the parks are cleared of all guests. There’s absolutely no upside to rushing to leave in order to stand around and wait.

No issues to report whatsoever with watercraft.

These were previously blocking off more than half of the seats on some boats, and having long lines at some points in the day as a result. They’re now gone from the boats we’ve seen, with the exception of a remaining marker to provide a buffer between the captain and guests.

Turning to the Skyliner, where multiple parties are now being loaded into the same gondola.

We’ve flown the Skyliner several times since this policy change was made, and only once has another party been loaded with us. However, we’ve used it exclusively for Park Hopping during the middle of the day. Even pre-closure, it was informal policy to not mix parties if there was not much of a line. Based upon our observations and usage, that’s once again the case.

Whatever improvements have been made with the Skyliner’s efficiency are going to be most noticeable around park opening and, to a lesser extent, around park closing. We had hoped to book a stay at Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, or Riviera Resorts to test that out.

Unfortunately, the rates we could get at the aforementioned hotels were more than we wanted to pay and we haven’t found DVC availability at Riviera Resort in the last couple weeks. Apologies there. We’ll try to get a firsthand update later this summer.

Based on feedback we’ve received from readers, lines at the Caribbean Beach hub station right when the Skyliner starts operating are minimal, as is also the case at Pop Century/Art of Animation and Riviera Resort. The closer to park opening, the longer the line gets at each of these stations. However, it’s significantly shorter than before and moves quickly.

This certainly makes sense, and is consistent with morning transportation trends at Walt Disney World in general. For now, you are much better off arriving at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as early as possible. (Epcot, less so…but what else do you have to do at ~10 am?) It’s possible to do Slinky Dog Dash or the other headliners multiple times before off-site guests are even allowed to park. Remember: When it comes to rope dropping Walt Disney World, early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable.

Ultimately, it’s good to see the transportation situation improving at Walt Disney World. It had been pretty rough at times between March and May (and even before then, albeit to a lesser degree), so it’s great to see significant, positive developments on that front. And since we’ve reported on the bad here, we thought it was only fairly to call the good to your attention.

Oh, and a couple of final parting notes. First, Orlando International Airport is predictably bonkers. This based on a mix of firsthand observations picking up family, reader reports, and photos on social media. We also departed from MCO at 6 am yesterday, and it was literally the busiest we had ever seen the airport at that hour. There have also been countless reports of long lines for Disney’s Magical Express and rental car pickup midday (consider an early morning arrival if you have the flexibility).

Second, it’s too early to say whether this is part of a larger trend, but we’re starting to see early signs that rental car and Uber prices and availability are likewise improving. We’ve heard reports of people rebooking cars for significantly cheaper prices, and also having better luck booking. (This was identical to our experience in Anaheim–prices fell closer to our travel dates.) This comes in spite of higher demand, but is hopefully a result of supply chain issues, plus vehicle and labor shortages starting to work themselves out. We should know for sure whether this is part of a larger trend in the coming months. We’ll continue to keep you posted on transportation developments and all other changes at Walt Disney World!

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 traveled through MCO recently? Encounter any lines for Disney’s Magical Express, rental cars, or anything else? Crowds at the airport? Any recent experience with the Skyliner around park opening or closing? Have you used Walt Disney World buses between the parks and resorts in June 2021? What about earlier during the phased reopening of Walt Disney World? Have any 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!