Round round, get around, I get around - Disney Transportation
The minefield of transport explained! Firstly we love Disney transport and the service it provides, it’s always clean and it always gets you there.
Is it a perfect system - no but what is? It does come close though.
There are multiple types of transport from the parks and Disney Springs depending on where you are staying, heading to or from. It’s free and anyone can use it.
First task is figuring out what your transport options are from where you are staying:
On-site guests - all hotel guests will be provided with transport to your chosen park for the day. This includes the water parks and the theme parks.
Off-site guests park in car parks or get dropped off in Ubers etc slightly further away from the stations the Disney Transport system takes you to.
WDW has been designed to transport you from the mundane nature of everyday life and to begin an adventure. Expect car parks to be a distance from the park - for example from Magic Kingdom car parks you must go to the Ticket and Transportation Centre then catch the monorail or ferry boat to the park entrance area. This will add time on to your day and at peak times, you could be waiting a while.
Value resorts transport options:
The All-Star resorts use buses as their only form of transport.
Pop Century and Art of Animation use the Skyliner to access EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. However, travelling to both Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom from these resorts and you’ll need to take the bus services.
Disney Bus - wrapped in the Number 1 Duck.
Moderate resort transport options:
Coronado Springs only uses bus transportation. However, it has multiple pick-up stops around the resort, as do the other moderate hotels. There there will generally be a pick up order so by the time it gets to your stop, it maybe full but they are quite frequent so another will be along soon. If you missed your planned bus time and had a restoration to make, to get around this you could walk to another stop to ensure you get on.
Port Orleans (Riverside and French Quarter) use bus transportation for all the parks but have access to the boat service to Disney Springs.
Caribbean Beach has the Skyliner (the main hub for pick up for both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios), everyone gets off from their previous resorts and then gets back on to head to the parks from this resort so it can get busy at peak times. For the other parks its bus transportation only.
Deluxe resorts:
Old Key West, Saratoga Springs and Animal Kingdom Lodge are the cheapest of the deluxe resort options and are served only by bus transportation to the parks. Old Key West and Saratoga Springs both have access to the boat service to take you to Disney Springs. The boat service was a lovely way to travel on a night when going to Disney Springs.
Beach and Yacht Club and Boardwalk resorts are both a walkable distance to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios (a boat is also provided for the latter). For the remaining parks it’s bus transportation. The same transport options also apply to the Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve properties in the Boardwalk area.
Wilderness Lodge - this beautiful resort uses the boat to access Magic Kingdom and buses for the other parks.
Contemporary resort - you can walk to Magic Kingdom from this resort and use the bus for most other parks excluding EPCOT where you can hop on the monorail.
Polynesian - There is due to be a walkway introduced at the Polynesian to Magic Kingdom however currently it’s not available.
From the Polynesian, the monorail will take you to EPCOT. You have two options from the Poly to Magic Kingdom - take the monorail or use the boat service and head across the Seven Seas Lagoon.
From the Poly, the bus service is the main form of transport for both Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
Riviera Resort - The newest of the deluxe resorts at Disney is a very beautiful resort with the famous Topolinos dining experience on the top floor which is great for views from the outside terrace.
The Riviera resort is serviced by the skyliner for both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Our only issue with this resort is that the skyliner takes you to Caribbean Beach as the main resort hub, meaning no direct route to the parks. At busy times this means extra queues at the Skyliner hub and as you’re paying deluxe prices, is it an inconvenience worth waiting for?
From Riviera, use bus service for Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.
Monorail Green - Contemporary Resort - Walt Disney World Florida.
Grand Floridian - There is now a walkway between Magic Kingdom and the Grand Floridian which is a nice walk when the weather is fine - not so good in the Florida storms or when it hits 38 degrees. Alternatively, the monorail will take you to EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. Or because it’s Disney and the flagship hotel, as a bonus you can hop on the boat across to Magic Kingdom. The bus service is the main form of transport for both Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
Getting to Disney Springs:
All resorts offer transport to and from Disney Springs area with the majority offering this through the bus service. However, Saratoga, Old Key West and the Riverside resorts also offer a boat service. You should note though, if the weather turns stormy and there is thunder/ lightening in the area, all boat transport in the Disney area is suspended and buses are used as an alternative.
From Saratoga Springs Resort you can walk across to Disney Springs from the Congress Park area in about ten minutes.
Resort hopping:
This is well worth doing it’s an opportunity to get out of the parks and just chill, shop, eat and relax. Oh, and get some much needed air con.
All the various forms of transport can be used to hop between areas. Transport to Disney Springs doesn’t start until just before Springs opens, so take a note of the times.
In addition, generally, you cannot use transport to get directly from one resort to another (monorail resorts are the exclusion).
So, for example, if you’re in Magic Kingdom for the day and fancy a great quick service option at Gasparilla Grill, then want to visit the famous Trader Sam’s at the Polynesian, you can hop on the boat or monorail between the two resorts.
Disney Skyliner Walt Disney World Florida
Key points to note:
WDW is enormous don’t underestimate the steps you will be racking up, so take advantage of the odd sit down.
The transport is open to everyone on WDW property whether you stay on site or off site.
The transport from the hotels will take you to the parks and Springs - just get on the right transport.
There is no transport between parks most of the time unless on the monorail eg between MK and EPCOT. So either walk to your nearest resort and park hop to your second park of the day or head to a hotel using free transport and then pick up the bus to your next resort from there.
Have a think about where you need/want to end up and plan from there.
Go and explore the resorts the shopping and food options are great - scope out your next destination to stay in.
Disney’s boat transportation system - Walt Disney World Florida.
It gets busy at peak times and that’s when we overheard the most rumblings about the service - it’s bound to be busy at peak times so just plan around it. If you need to avoid the masses, avoid first thing or mass exodus at the end of the fireworks. The next bus or boat etc is never too far away. If you cannot avoid it - accept it will be very busy but you’re in the happiest place on earth so who cares if the next bus is 10 mins away anyway.
Thanks for reading our guide to Disney Transport. We hope you found it useful and if so, please consider following along on our socials. We have plenty to come including another trip to Florida which we plan to vlog so why not follow Team Five Travels on YouTube for Cruise, Disney and All Inclusive resort content?