When staying at a Walt Disney World Resort you have free transportation around property! But what does that mean, and how do you navigate it?
If you’re a newer guest to Walt Disney World there are many pieces and parts to your upcoming trip that you may be unsure of and unfamiliar with. One of those things might just be the free transportation options.
If you’ve never been to Walt Disney World you may not know that Disney provides transportation free of charge around property. This can look like a bus, a monorail, a skyliner, or a boat. That’s a lot of options. How are you supposed to know which ones to use, how to use them, where to go, and where it will take you?! A great starting point is finding out what kind of transportation the resort you have chosen to stay at offers.
Of course your travel agent is an amazing resource and can help talk you through all of your transportation needs. You can also utilize your myDisneyExperience account online or through the app. Visit your resorts page and see the guest services tab and your transportation options will be listed there. From there you have the option to locate on the map and even get directions.
How do I get there?
What is one of the most important parts when figuring out how to get somewhere? It’s figuring out where somewhere is. Where do you want to go? If we’re starting at our resort a safe bet would be a theme park and for that we must find a bus stop. All Walt Disney World resorts have bus stops, some have only one and others have more but you can check their location on a resort map or in your Disney app. When you arrive at the platforms you will notice designated loading locations for different places you may want to go.The options usually include the 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, Disney Springs, and maybe the ESPN center. There are sometimes screens to look at that will tell you roughly when the next bus will arrive. If you just missed a bus, don’t worry, the next one should be there soon. Buses are on a continuous rotation and you will wait around 10 minutes give or take. The buses generally start running 45 minutes before park open (yes this includes early entry for resort guests) and will stay open for about an hour after park close. The only exceptions would be added transportation for special ticketed events. If you’re ever unsure while on property, just ask a cast member, they’re there and happy to help!
Are buses the only option?
Some Disney resorts have alternate transportation and won’t have buses to each theme park unless the alternate option is being refurbished. A great example of this would be a resort that offers the Skyliner. The Skyliner resorts will have buses to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom; as well as, the two Disney water parks and Disney Springs. They will have a Skyliner option to take them to Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. Walt Disney World does yearly maintenance on the Skyliner so just be aware of when you are traveling and what refurbishments you may encounter, and buses will be offered during that time. There are two other forms of alternate transportation that would include the monorail system and some boat options.
The most direct route options you can choose would be resort to theme park regardless of what type of transportation you are choosing to use. Next would be resort to Disney Springs. Some resorts have direct transportation to the Disney water parks but others may have you take a transfer. If we’ve mastered the idea of resort to a park, how do we get from park to park? If you like the idea of park hopper tickets but have no idea of how to execute that, fear not. Park hopping in Florida is a little more complicated than it is over on the West coast where you can just walk but it’s not impossible.
Are park hopper tickets worth it, how do you navigate getting from one park to another?
Again, we begin with the question: where are you trying to go? If you want to travel from Magic Kingdom to EPCOT or from EPCOT to Magic Kingdom you can simply use the monorail system. If you are wanting to travel between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios the easiest way would be to use the Skyliner. If you are wanting to hop from any of the theme parks to the Animal Kingdom this will not be as direct. Your options are to go back to your home resort and catch another bus, or you could take a bus from the park you were in, take it to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and then to the Animal Kingdom park. That advice would work for transportation between Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios as well. Unless of course you wanted to take the skyliner from Hollywood Studios, arrive in EPCOT, hop the monorail from EPCOT to Magic Kingdom. That’s adding quite a few steps though and lets not forget, even if you’ve mastered the ins and outs of Walt Disney World Transportation, these things do take time and the time should be accounted for. Usually the simpler more direct routes are the less time consuming options.
Are you looking to eat at a resort other than your own?
I think the last big combination that may be confusing would be how to get from your resort to another resort. Why would one do this? Well, there are excellent dining options, sometimes arguably better than options inside the theme parks on different resort properties. You may want to experience that particular dining location at the resort over there. But how do I get there? We have been talking about free transportation so we will start there. Your free transportation option would be to take a bus to a theme park or to Disney Springs and then take a bus to that desired resort. Unless there is a more direct route. Depending on what you are wanting to experience, some resorts are close enough you could choose to walk, some you may be able to take the Skyliner to, or lets not forget those Disney boats. Truthfully the trickiest part or resort to resort travel is about time. Breakfast reservations are a huge deal and there’s a possibility that your early morning breakfast is before buses are running to a place you can hop another option. The transportation times very much depend on the theme park hours. If you for whatever reason are not able to access free transportation and you do not have a vehicle on property, you can always use a Minnie Van, or uber and lyft services. No, it’s not free but it gets the job done efficiently in a pinch.
Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?
Do you need to learn all the different types of Walt Disney World transportation? No. Do you need to know how to utilize each type of transportation? No. Do you need to know every combination of option available? Also, no. It’s great to be aware of all the options offered by Walt Disney World to resort guests but at the end of the day, why would you stress yourself out learning about where a boat might take you if you aren’t going to use a boat while you’re there? Having a transportation plan can be so helpful for so many reasons. My best advice is to keep it simple, work out any questions or hesitations with your travel agent, get semi familiar with how to use a map of the places that apply to your trip, utilize cast members when needed, and don’t stress too much.
What does a transportation plan look like?
Do you remember MapQuest? Your transportation plan should simply be how you are getting from point A to point B. If you have planned which theme parks you are going to which days, look at your transportation options ahead of time and pick the most direct route. If you aren’t going to a theme park on a certain day, are you going to Disney Springs, what is the most direct route? If you take a day to explore and don’t have any time constraints just have fun with it and be willing to try options you haven’t before and learn as you go!
If you find yourself unsure at any time, don’t panic, use one of those many resources and enjoy the rest of your day!
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