A guide to Disney Transportation
One of the biggest perks when it comes to a Disney World vacation is the FREE transportation! You can get to any of the parks, resorts, or even Disney Springs by using any of the transportation offerings available to you.
That being said, Disney World is a massive place and it can sometimes be a little confusing to know how to get where you need to go. (even if you aren’t the one driving)
This guide is going to help you know all the in’s and out’s of the buses, monorail, Skyliner, and boats of Walt Disney World!
Buses
The most common transportation you will see are the Disney buses. Every resort has designated bus stations as well as each theme park, water park, and Disney Springs.
Resorts
The resorts will have between 2-6 stops depending on which resort you are at. These will have stops for each of the theme parks, Disney Springs, and both water parks. You will notice that you will not find stops for other resorts at these locations. Currently Disney does not offer buses from resort to resort.
Don’t worry! That doesn’t mean that you can’t get to another resort if you have a dining reservation or were hoping to do some park hopping. If no other transportation option is available, you can take one of the buses to a park or Disney Springs and then hop on another bus to your resort destination.
Just be warned that the buses do stop running an hour or two after park closing, so if you have a super late night dinner, you may have to take an Uber or Lyft back to your home resort.
Overall, the buses start running around an hour or so before park opening and an hour or two after park closing. You will find TV’s at near each bus station with estimated arrival times. These aren’t always the most accurate, but they do give you a bit of an idea on if you have 2 minutes or 20 minutes until the next bus arrives.
Disney Springs
These stations are a little different. You won’t actually find buses to the theme parks here! Weird, right? Since there is no charge for parking at Disney Springs, they don’t want to flood their parking lots with people trying to avoid paying for theme park parking.
If you are spending a morning at Disney Springs, and you are hoping to catch some fireworks or a few afternoon/evening rides at one of the theme parks, consider taking a bus to the closest resort. Then from there, you can take transportation to theme park.
For example, if you wanted to get to Magic Kingdom, take a bus to the Contemporary resort or Grand Floridian. You can then use the pathways to walk over to the Magic Kingdom. You can even take a bus to the Polynesian and then the monorail to the park.
See Disney Transportation in Action in my full video:
Theme Parks and Water Parks
These have the most bus stations as they have stations for every resort and theme park as well as Disney Springs. These are your gateways if you are wanting to get pretty much anywhere on Disney property. You will want to check the guide board to know which station to go to.
Be prepared that these bus stations get PACKED at the end of the night, so plan to either leave a little before park closing or hang out in the shops or taking pictures down main street for awhile. The lines will shorten a little and you can enjoy a little more park time instead of waiting in an hour long line at the end of an exhausting day.
Monorail
These are some of the most quintessential modes of transportation at Disney. These are similar to trains that run on a high skyway track. They run through two parks: Magic Kingdom, and Epcot, as well as the resorts along the way.
The ‘monorail loop’ resorts are the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary resorts. It’s one of the easiest groups to park hop and it’s great that there are multiple options to get to the parks.
If you are wanting to get to Epcot and are staying at one of these resorts or hopping from the Magic Kingdom, you will need to take the monorail to the TTC or Ticket and Transportation Center. Then you will get on the Epcot monorail and ride it the rest of the way there. You will do it in reverse if you are going from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom. You will hop on a monorail to the TTC and then another monorail to Magic Kingdom.
The TTC is also where you will park if you are driving your own car to the Magic Kingdom. This is actually done on purpose! They wanted the park to be a grand reveal, so they wanted to have people park far away and then use Disney Transportation to create some extra magic.
The monorail can get PACKED at park open and close, especially since you have several resorts, plus local guests using this transportation. The biggest thing to know is that it can take more time than you think, so allow for extra time when getting to and from the parks.
Something to Note:
If you are staying at a resort where the monorail is an option, DON’T try to take the bus. You will have to take the bus to the TTC and then to the parks. We made that mistake in the past and it took us an hour to get from the Grand Floridian to the Magic Kingdom…..
Currently, the Polynesian does not have access to the monorail line, so if you plan on staying at this resort in the near future, you will need to plan on it taking a little more time than normal to get to the Magic Kingdom. Consider taking a boat instead!
Boats
There are several boat systems around Disney World, but many people don’t even realize they can use them! They are definitely one of the more relaxing Transportation systems and we love getting to look out along the water and take a few minutes to relax and enjoy being at Disney.
7 Seas Lagoon & Bay Lake
There are boats and ferries on the Bay Lake, which is the same lake the monorail goes around. So if you are staying at one of the monorail resorts we mentioned earlier, or at Wilderness Lodge, you can use the boats to get to and from the Magic Kingdom. There is also a large Ferry that goes to and from the TTC, so if the monorail line is a little crazy, you can always try your luck with the Ferry.
Lake Buena Vista & Sassagoula River
The other main boat system is at Disney Springs. They have boat that can go from one side of the Springs to the Other as well as several resorts including Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside, Saratoga Springs, and Old Key West. These boats do take quite a while to get where you are going, but it’s something a little different if you aren’t up for taking a bus.
Crescent Lake
Finally, you have the boats on Crescent Lake that connect Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The resorts that are connected to these routes are the Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club, the Swan, and the Dolphin resorts.
Be aware that there are not boats that go individually to each resort, they go one at a time to each one in a line. So depending on which resort you are trying to get to, it may take a little while to get there. You may have a better time getting off at the first stop and then walking the rest of the way around the lake.
Skyliner
The final type of Disney Free Transportation is the Disney Skyliner. This is Disney’s newest transportation system and connects Epcot to Hollywood Studios as well and several resorts. The resorts on this line are Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, Riviera, and it ends at International Gateway, so you can also easily walk to the Boardwalk and Yacht & Beach Club.
This is another great option if you are looking for some easy resort hopping. You can check out my Guide to Resort Hopping on the Skyliner for more tips.
The Skyliner is a gondola type system, similar to a ski lift and is a continuously moving system, so the lines for this actually move fairly quickly. The Skyliner will not run if there is heavy rain or lightning, so make sure you know what your backup options of transportation are if you end up needing them.
The main hub for the Skyliner is at Caribbean Beach Resort, so if you are going through this station, you will have to deboard and then reboard onto whatever line you are headed to. That also means that this station gets a little bogged down at park opening, but don’t worry! Like I said earlier, the lines go pretty fast, so you hopefully shouldn’t be waiting too long.
Minnie Vans
This is a bit of a bonus! This transportation isn’t free, but it’s just as fun to use! This is similar to Uber and Lyft and is actually hosted through Lyft. The difference is that these are big red and white polka dot SUV’s that are driven by Disney cast members. These are a little more expensive than a traditional Uber or Lyft, but they do keep you encased in the Disney Bubble.
Currently this service has been suspended due to Covid and low staffing, but we anticipate that this service will return in the future!
We LOVE Disney Transportation and it’s honestly one of our favorite things about a Disney Trip. The more you know and understand how it all works together, the bigger world of possibility you will open for what you can do on your next Disney Vacation.
