Walt Disney World Is America’s Best City.
Walt Disney World has broadened my horizons. It would not be the least bit hyperbolic to say that theme parks inspired most of my interests as a child, from dinosaurs to movies and more. “Theme parks” as opposed to just Disney, as Universal Studios Florida and the Disney-MGM Studios played an equal role in the movies side, and my interest in Alfred Hitchcock films is directly attributable to USF.
While I loved Magic Kingdom and the studios parks, nothing was more influential for me than old school EPCOT Center. Future World sparked my imagination, piqued my curiosity about conservation (adopting manatees!), and made me interested in technology. World Showcase made want to see the world, from Impressions de France-inspired trips to falling in love with Japan’s ancient capital. That just scratches the surface–see Why We Can’t Let EPCOT Center Go for more.
Walt Disney World also taught me a lot of things about myself. One of these is that I really love world cities. The cuisine, culture, and–relevant for the purpose of this post–public transportation. At least, when it’s clean, efficient, and well-maintained. I always knew that I appreciated Walt Disney World’s transportation network, but what I didn’t realize until World Showcase inspired me to venture beyond the United States, is that what I really love is world cities.
This isn’t meant to be a dig on the United States. I would hazard a guess that many fans of Walt Disney World actually dislike American cities due to the many contrasts between the two; the former offers comfort and relaxation whereas the latter are often not those things. But I love our country’s great cities–including but not limited to New York, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, Saint Louis, Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. (No knock on Texas, I’ve just spent embarrassingly little time there.)
I also think all of those cities are imperfect. Each has its individual faults, but the biggest commonality among them is the weak public transportation. Some have good mass transit “by U.S. standards,” which means grading on a rather steep curve. None are good when you broaden the comparison to Europe and Asia. By international transportation standards, there’s only one great ‘city’ in the United States: Walt Disney World.
Everyone reading this is probably already aware of Walt Disney’s original dream for E.P.C.O.T., the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. That his primary purpose for building in the Florida swamps was not to have 4 theme parks, but instead a living blueprint for the city of the future that would push the envelope in terms of urban planning, building design, governance, technological development, and mass transit.
We also know that that dream died with Walt Disney. That the EPCOT Center we got, ambitious as it was, was also a massive departure from a community of tomorrow and more a permanent World’s Fair in the spirit of Walt Disney’s E.P.C.O.T. But even before that second gate came to fruition, I would argue that Walt’s fingerprints and vision for E.P.C.O.T. were visible throughout Walt Disney World. That even if the exact vision died, its ideas were realized throughout Walt Disney World. That even to this day, Walt Disney World remains the idealized and aspirational American city of tomorrow.
This actually isn’t a new or novel idea. If you go back and watch television specials or read reviews from the 1970s and 1980s, commentators are more impressed by the apparatus of Walt Disney World than the individual theme park(s). The whole operation was viewed as a triumph of civil engineering, master planning, public transportation, etc. For good reason–it is!
People came for Magic Kingdom and EPCOT Center, sure, but what left a lasting impression was the greater Vacation Kingdom of the World. That was especially true prior to 1982, as the key distinguishing factor for that first decade-plus was everything beyond Magic Kingdom. As a kid, one of the things that blew me away the most about Walt Disney World was the Highway in the Sky gliding through the Contemporary. I didn’t really know why at the time, but I know now that I was far from the only one.
The bigger picture of Walt Disney World isn’t talked about nearly enough anymore. All of this still leaves a lasting impression on guests to this day, even if it’s not celebrated as much. Maybe it’s due to a shift in media consumption, away from things like behind-the-scenes Travel Channel specials to TikTok secret hacks about the golfball in Disney World 2 having a ride inside it.
Either way, it is worth celebrating the complex and incredible transportation at Walt Disney World…so this post takes a moment to do exactly that. Let’s start by taking a look at a recently-released infographic, and then share some ridership stats, how they compare to real world city data, as well as other fun facts along with our commentary…
Guests who visit Walt Disney World have access to an entire city-sized network of free transportation, from buses and monorails to boats and aerial gondolas. There’s a lot of ground to cover and no shortage of ways Disney helps guests travel across its property — whether to one of Walt Disney World’s four theme parks, two water parks, more than 25 hotels, Disney Springs, more than 525 restaurants and more.
Walt Disney World has a team of more than 3,500 transportation Cast Members. That doesn’t even include the hundreds of engineers and maintenance Cast Members working behind the scenes to ensure every vehicle in the fleet is ready to move the tens of thousands of guests who use Walt Disney World transportation every day.
“We’re one of the most-visited vacation destinations in the world, and we spend a lot of time thinking about how to get everyone where they need to go,” said Ketan Sardeshmukh, Director of Transportation Operations at Walt Disney World. “We’re always looking at ways to move people safely and efficiently, while also creating the easiest, fastest and friendliest experience possible.”
Disney Monorails
The Walt Disney World Monorail System has transported hundreds of millions of guests since it first opened in October 1971, with an annual ridership of about 22 million.
A fan favorite for more than 50 years, Disney cast continue to find new ways to keep the experience fresh for guests. To celebrate the resort’s 50th anniversary a few years ago, engineers designed a feature that illuminates the beam underneath each train at night. Last week, they added another new feature, which allows the logo on each train to glow in the dark.
You might recall that from around 2017 to 2019, there were persistent rumors that Walt Disney World was in negotiations with Bombardier to purchase a new monorail fleet. Despite Disney and Bombardier both (repeatedly) denying this rumor, it persisted. Regardless, nothing ever came of that rumor and it fizzled out even pre-COVID. Whatever chances existed of Walt Disney World getting a new monorail fleet were likely fully killed by the closure and phased reopening.
Instead, Disney has undertaken a staggered refurbishment or refresh of the monorail fleet over the last 5 years. I don’t know the specifics of what this work has entailed, but I really wish Walt Disney World would release details about the engineering side of this. It seems to have breathed new life into the monorail fleet, and the once-weekly stories about extended breakdowns or falling pieces that we heard back before 2019 have died down.
There’s still downtime and delays, sure, but the problems are nothing like they were back at their peak. There was a time when we wouldn’t take the monorail for any time-sensitive reservation, but now we have no reservations about taking it anytime. Our experiences aboard the Highway in the Sky have been fantastic over the last ~3 years (knock on wood). I’d love to know more about how Disney extended the useful life of the monorail fleet, but I’m guessing that’s not the type of behind-the-scenes content Disney wants to share.
Disney Boats
Like the monorail, boats have been around since day one at Walt Disney World. 36 different vessels carry guests around Seven Seas Lagoon to the Magic Kingdom, across Crescent Lake to Hollywood Studios or EPCOT, and through Village Lake to Disney Springs daily.
Each Walt Disney World ferryboat can transport up to 600 passengers to and from Magic Kingdom per trip. They share the waterways with two other kinds of boats: motor cruisers and motor launches. The motor launches — often referred to as water taxis — have been in service since Walt Disney World first opened in 1971.
Across Walt Disney World property, there are two other areas of watercraft transportation: FriendShip Boats and the Sassagoula River Cruise.
- FriendShip Boats sail between EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and several surrounding resorts. These boats were an opening-day attraction at EPCOT, starting their service on October 1, 1982.
- The Sassagoula River Cruise offers transportation between select resorts – like Port Orleans French Quarter – and Disney Springs. With 15 boats, the Sassagoula River Cruise has 13 more vessels than the New Orleans RTA, which transports passengers to and from the real French Quarter, according to the French Quarter Journal.
I don’t have a ton to add about boats at Walt Disney World, other than the fact that they are underappreciated by guests. Everyone loves the monorail loop resorts, us included, by resorts with access to a theme park or other destination by boat are comparatively undervalued. This is a shame, as the boats are something special from a ‘journey is the destination’ perspective.
There are few things I enjoy more at Walt Disney World than closing down Magic Kingdom, then taking a late night boat ride (with Cast Members outnumbering guests) back to Wilderness Lodge. Ditto those sunrise cruises when the water is calm–bonus points when there’s a layer of sea fog, which adds atmosphere.
Speaking of which, Walt Disney World will soon be getting its first new boat launch in…I’m not sure how many years…probably a few decades! As covered in our latest Disney Lakeshore Lodge construction update, that massive Magic Kingdom area resort will have its own dock. Given its size relative to Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness, I’m guessing that boat service to Magic Kingdom won’t be shared with the existing resorts.
Disney Buses
Last year alone, Disney buses transported 73 million guests. According to the Federal Transit Administration NTD report, Walt Disney World ranks third in the United States for bus riders per square mile of service, only behind New York City and San Francisco. In fact, Disney’s bus network outpaces many metropolitan areas around the country with more than 420 buses in the fleet.
As you might recall, Walt Disney World began modernizing its fleet of back in Summer 2019 with the debut of “Sensational Six” buses, with the addition of approximately 75 new buses. Those were also Gillig buses, and replaced the oldest Nova buses (just under 50), bringing the total fleet size to over 400.
Last year, Walt Disney World announced that it would be adding 90 new buses to the fleet, which was both an expansion and retirement of more dated models. In that announcement, the company also noted that it was part of a larger investment that Walt Disney World was making in its complimentary transportation offerings–with no explanation as to where else that spending was occurring (perhaps the aforementioned monorail refresh?).
Buses remain my least favorite form of transportation at Walt Disney World, but that’s largely due to their lack of novelty. In terms of the overall guest experience, it’s largely been positive during stays over the last few years–including at the All Stars, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, and other resorts known for spotty service. Early morning and end of night have been incredibly efficient, even when lines have been long.
My general perspective on Walt Disney World buses is that the service is far better than it was a decade ago, and a lot of longtime fans have now-outdated perceptions based on horror stories from back in the day. This isn’t to say bus service is perfect now and no one ever waits over 20 minutes–that does happen–but it’s kind of the nature of the beast.
It used to be commonplace to see a few Animal Kingdom buses arrive (and depart) empty while waiting ~45 minutes for one to Magic Kingdom. I haven’t had that type of issue (knock on wood again!) in a while, suggesting improvements to dispatch and resource allocation. Buses will never be as efficient and predictable as the Skyliner, walking, boats, or the monorail (assuming no breakdowns–not always a safe assumption).
Disney Skyliner
Disney Skyliner is the newest mode of complimentary transportation at Walt Disney World. This 300-cabin aerial gondola system has made a big impact in the five years since it opened, during which time it has traveled over 1,000,000 miles (not sure how that’s measured). The system connects EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and four resorts that accommodate nearly every family size and budget.
It’s no secret that we love the Skyliner. I’ve called it a “game-changer” in countless posts about the resorts it services, and love it for Early Entry at EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as well as easy midday breaks. In fairness, it’s not perfect–especially during peak season at Pop Century or Art of Animation, or midday storms during a few-month stretch of the year.
Nevertheless, the Skyliner is at or near the top of my additions at Walt Disney World in the last decade. It still kind of boggles my mind that it got approved in the first place, especially with Bob Chapek as the head of Parks & Resorts (although in his defense, I guess, he greenlit a lot of “big swings”). And although I doubt it’ll ever happen, I’d love to see Skyliner expansion. It seems like the kind of thing we’d never get today…but I would’ve said the same back then, so who knows. Maybe there’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow for Walt Disney World transportation, and the improvements we’ve seen over the last decade will only accelerate into the 2030s!
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
What do you think of Walt Disney World transportation? Is it one of the defining features–and unique selling points–of the Vacation Kingdom? Is Walt Disney World truly America’s best city? Any experiences of your own to share with regard to Walt Disney World transportation? 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!
somehow I missed this article when you first published it. It’s a fascinating read! I never thought about WDW as a city in that way, but you make some great points about the transit systems they have in place.
One small thing though – when you refer to NYC ferry, that doesn’t include the Staten Island ferries. The NYC ferries are smaller foot ferries that go to different points in the 5 boroughs. The Staten Island ferry has a much larger capacity but only goes between St. George on Staten Island and Whitehall in Manhattan. You might’ve known that, since you cite the NYC ferry website, but as a resident of the “forgotten borough” I want to get it some credit 😀
Just a quick note to say that I really enjoyed this look into the more “technical” side of Disney World – would personally love to keep seeing posts like this! A favorite (nerdy) game for me and my husband when waiting in line in the parks is thinking about operations and the “business” side of things. I.e., How many attractions is a cast member trained to be staffed on? What is the peak capacity of a Mickey’s PhilharMagic including the preshow space and queue? How many busses are there? (Thanks for answering this one!) etc.
While it was great taking our little ones to Disney World and essentially experiencing the parks for the first time again with them, the real marvel for us as adults is that the place exists! Even though there are occasional headaches (reinforced by the whole “time is money” situation at WDW), the infrastructure, the investment and number of employees required, how smoothly everything runs, the fact that it was swampland!…it’s kind of mind-blowing. My husband is an engineer with a lifelong, natural curiosity about how things work, and I think his true favorite part of being there was probably just the fun intellectual exercise of “how do they do this?”
As residents of a mid-size metro area in the US, its self-contained nature and transportation are huge selling points for Disney World. (I think that’s what motivated me to check it out in the first place!) Our public transportation options and then lack of things as simple as protected bike lanes and proper sidewalks in the suburbs are incredibly frustrating, so it’s a real treat getting around without a car…especially when almost any other domestic vacation would require us to lug car seats and rent a vehicle at some point. Also one of my children still frequently mentions the Skyliner as a favorite thing two months later! We didn’t even take it to get to anything in particular…it was just for the experience of riding it.
I like my eyes my eyes hurt keep people away I won’t can’t see keep them working away from me with my I can’t see the alligator did you do did the guilt herDisney
A big improvement for the “bus only” resorts (besides adding a skyliner to them OBVIOUSLY) would be some dedicated at peak times to only certain sections of sprawling resorts. Like only Kidani for AKL or only the Paddock at SSR-though AKL’s is the least of the bad! It’s just tiring stopping at umpteen stations before getting to your own!
I was so happy to see you list Louisville as one of the city’s that you Love. While I am originally from Chicago, and still consider it a special place, Louisville has been my adopted home for decades. I am always trying to promote it, so seeing in your article, knowing lots of other folks did as well, put a big smile on my face.
MK has three forms of transportation: bus, boat, monorail.
Epcot has four forms of transportation: bus, boat, monorail, skyliner.
DHS has three forms of transportation: bus, boat, skyliner.
AK has one form of transportation: bus.
One of these things is not like the others. I agree that I don’t see Disney prioritizing a skyliner expansion anytime soon, but if it ever happens it will almost certainly include Coronado Springs, AK, and AK Lodge. I’m nerdy enough to have pored over the maps and this would be a relatively straightforward extension of the existing system. I’ve always thought that the L shaped turn between Riviera Resort and Epcot is a stub for future system expansion to the aforementioned resorts and park. A guy can dream, right?
I have done the same “City Planning” that you have Joe. Great Fun! I couldn’t tell you how many Google Earth KMZs I have made mapping out a skyliner route to AK and beyond. I think if/when it ever happens, it would be a game changer for AK’s utilization.
Don’t forget the little boats that go between the resorts across seven seas lagoon! I have no idea what these are called but I probably love them best of all the Disney boats!
Hi Tom.
I see you listed many great cities around the US. What is your opinion of other cities in Florida specifically Miami. I always find it a world class destination
I really like what I’ve seen of both Tampa and Miami (especially the mix of Art Deco and modern architecture in Miami), but admittedly haven’t spent enough time in either to have informed opinions of those cities.
Someone else mentioned Philadelphia further up in the comments, and it’s a similar story there. While I have vague memories of it as a kid, I actually haven’t been back as an adult. It’s high on my list of places to go, but at this point, we’ll wait until our daughter is a bit older and can appreciate the history.
If a city isn’t listed, I swear it’s not a snub. I’ve enjoyed my time in every American city that I’ve visited, and although there are a couple I think are a bit overrated (e.g. Las Vegas), it’s entirely possible that’s a “me problem” and I just only saw the touristy side.
I agree with everything you said, but as a native New Yorker I do have to admit I was miffed you included New York with the rest of the US cities you listed as having weak public transportation. I think New York has public transportation that’s beyond being good “for the US.” I’ve also lived in London and Paris and traveled extensively around the world and New York’s public transportation easily competes on a global scale.
New York is the greatest city in America and, by extension, could be considered the greatest in the world.
You’re right. New York’s public transportation is highly functional and definitely a rung above the rest of the US. I don’t know that I’d put it on par with Paris, but perhaps that’s bias or overvaluing the stations themselves.
Thanks for highlighting something Disney really does well. We enjoy the transportation so much we work it into days when we’re in town and not going to a park:
1. Dinner at Disney Springs at sunset and then take the boat to Port Orleans for Beignets. The lights at night are lovely on the water.
2. Monorail hopping to see seasonal decorations or visit the bars.
In May we had a last minute trip where we had purchased the 3 parks/ 3 days tickets (good deal). We were staying offsite for 6 nights and planned to go every other day with 1 day break between each. So for one of the break days we wanted to try all the transportation. You don’t need to be staying on-site (nor a park ticket) to do that.
Started with a Lyft to Poly for breakfast. Boarded Monorail for trip around 7 Seas to the TTC, then transferred to the Monorail to Epcot (round trip). Back at TTC, took the ferry across to MK entrance (but not going into the park). Then bus to the Beach Club. Walked toward the International Gateway and got on the Skyliner to the Caribbean Beach junction station, and on to the AOA/Pop Century station. Looped back to the Caribbean Beach junction then took the loop out to HS and back. Finally back all the way to the Epcot station. Grabbed snacks along the way. Finally Lyft from Beach Club back to our hotel.
It was a fun way to experience all the transportation without using up park time. It easily can take most of the day, and without as many steps as doing a park day. Our park days averages 20K steps. This off day was about 7K steps.
I absolutely agree with this article – I didn’t even realize how much I believed this to be true until I read your words. I’ve lived in multiple big cities across the world, and it makes sense that this is one of the reasons why I love WDW so much. I am constantly in awe of how smoothly WDW runs in terms of the bigger scheme of things (there are always going to be little things here and there that can be improved).
In terms of bus transportation, I think the keys to an enjoyable bus ride are: (1) not having to wait very long for a bus, and knowing when the bus will come; and (2) getting a seat. Disney is making some progress with #1 at the resorts, but in my experience it hasn’t really been consistently good. As for #2, I’m pretty sure no one likes standing up in a bus, and no one likes being on a crowded bus. If the buses came more often (see #1) and everyone was always able to get a seat, I truly think the buses would be on par with the other transportation options at WDW (and potentially even better than some other forms, because of the AC in the warm weather!) As an additional thought, if the buses came regularly enough that folks could wait in AC until the bus stop pulled up, or if the bus stops themselves were enclosed with some cooling, I truly think many folks would wind up preferring the buses over other routes.
I share many of your sentiments, but most especially your appreciation for the core values of EPCOT Center and public transportation. Coming from New England, I feel like I have to give a plug for the T in Boston! I’m a teacher at a rural high school in Maine, and while I know that Boston really isn’t that big of a city, it’s always a wonderous experience for my little country mice students, and the T makes it so easy and manageable for us to explore the city together.
The Transportation episode on the Disney+ series, “Behind the Atttractions,” was one of my favorites, and it was so striking to me to think about how different our cities and country could/would be if we as a society had shared Walt’s vision for what public transport can be. Disney World transportation vehicles have always been attractions in and of themselves for my kids!