Clocking in at a whopping 47 square miles, the Walt Disney World Resort is approximately the same size as the city of San Francisco! As a result, Disney has provided numerous forms of transportation to help you navigate the property during your stay at the resort.
When I travel to Walt Disney World, I absolutely love to take full advantage of Disney provided transportation. Fully entering “the bubble” of the resort and not going anywhere near my car is a major perk of the experience for me. I don’t enjoy directions, navigation, wrong turns, etc- so hopping onto a transportation method that requires no thought from me outside of the destination is right up my alley.
As a child, I can also remember viewing some of these transportation options as my first “ride” of the day, and it greatly contributed to the magic of the vacation for me. The friendly cast members and “special” feeling of doing something different always kicked off and closed my day in the perfect “Disney” way.
At present, there are 4 modes of transportation to get you from point A to point B during your stay: buses, boats, monorails, and the skyliner.
Buses
Our first and most prevalent mode of transportation will be the bus system. The bus fleet is massive and efficiently gets guests from their Walt Disney World resorts to the parks beginning at least an hour before park opening until at least an hour after park closing.
Disney advertises that buses come “every 20 minutes” but in actuality I find them to come far more frequently in this especially during peak operation like park opening and closing. I have seen 3 or 4 buses pull up one after another in order to knock down a long line of guests as quickly as possible. So if you see a long line- don’t get discouraged! You typically won’t see buses come just every 20 minutes in these conditions. This is not Disney’s first rodeo- they know when to bring the full power of the fleet!
Disney buses take guests from each resort to each park and from park to park. At the time of publishing, bus service to Disney Springs is offered only from resorts. Meaning, if you are trying to head to Springs from a park, you will need to get to a resort and then transfer to a Springs bus.
You would also need to do a transfer if trying to get to a water park. Guests can hop on a Disney Springs bus and transfer onto a waterpark bus from that location.
Boats
Some resorts offer boat transportation to parks or to Disney Springs. To me, a nice boat ride always seems more like an attraction in and of itself rather than just a method of transportation.
“Water taxis” ferry guests from the Fort Wilderness Campground, Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian Resort, and the Grand Floridian Resort.
“Friendship boats” ferry guests of the Swan and Dolphin Hotel, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk Inn and Villas to EPCOT.
Boats also take guests of Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter over to Disney Springs.
Additionally, boat transportation is an option when coming into the Magic Kingdom via the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC.) Even if you’ve decided to drive yourself to Magic Kingdom, you will still need to park at the TTC and hop onto a ferry or monorail to get to the park entrance. Walt Disney did this very intentionally so that he could begin immersing guests in the experience before they even set foot in the parks. He did not want a parking lot that fits thousands and thousands of cars in the sightline of the park itself.
Monorails
Lucky guests of the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary have the luxury of hopping onto a monorail to get to the Magic Kingdom. This mode of transportation is a big hit with parents since it does not require folding of strollers in the same way that a bus does.
Additionally, those travelling into the Magic Kingdom via the TTC can choose a monorail in lieu of a boat.
The TTC also acts as a transfer station between the Magic Kingdom Loop and the EPCOT loop. A quick transfer from one line to the other gives anyone coming through the TTC access to the EPCOT park via monorail.
The EPCOT loop actually pops through the park momentarily, giving a great view. If I ever have an arrival or a departure day where I don’t have a park ticket, I often hop onto the monorail and just enjoy a cruise around property. This little dip into EPCOT always makes me feel like I’m “in” even without a park ticket- just for a second!
Skyliner
The newest free Disney transportation option is the Skyliner- which is a fancy way of saying a gondola that travels via cable in the sky. These pods are constantly moving, making them a very efficient way to move guests around property.
I have hopes that they will expand the route in the future, but for now the Skyliner connects Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, Art of Animation, and Riviera to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.
At these resorts, buses will only be provided if the Skyliner is down for maintenance or weather.
Similar to the monorail, the Skyliner has two separate loops that may require a transfer depending on where you’re starting and where you want to go. Caribbean Beach is the “hub” that acts as a transfer station between the two lines. Guests of this resort are lucky in that they can hop on the right line from the start rather than having to do a transfer like the guests of the other resorts.
The Skyliner is another hit transportation for families with young children since you don’t have to fold up your stroller for this option, similarly to the Monorail. An advantage the Skyliner has over the Monorail resorts is that they have two values, a moderate, and a deluxe resort on the line whereas the Monorail only services deluxe resorts. If you need more information on resort categories- check out this article.
In addition to the above free transportation options, you can also pay for Uber, Lyft, or the Disney Equivalent which is called “Minnie Van.” Guests of Disney resorts can also use their own vehicle and park for free at the parks if they so choose.
If you’re curious about what transportation options are available at each resort, our agents utilize this cheat sheet to organize that information. Download it for free or reach out to an agent to discuss specifics.
Each family is unique and there are often may other factors that come into play outside of just transportation options when choosing your Disney hotel. At Wish, we specialize in being experts in the Disney product. Working with us is 100% covered by Disney aka FREE to you! Reach out to us to get tailored recommendations for your traveling party!