One of my favorite things about vacationing with the mouse is the large variety of options for transportation at Walt Disney World. The best thing about staying at one of Walt Disney World’s many resorts is that once you arrive on property, you can get wherever you need to go with complimentary transportation options! You never have to leave the magic of the Disney bubble.
Disney Skyliner
The Skyliner is a gondola system that can take you to both Epcot & Hollywood Studios. It is the newest form of transportation at Walt Disney World and opened in September 2019. It is currently connected to 4 different hotels on property and you are able to get to both Epcot & Hollywood Studios from all of these resorts:
- Art of Animation (Value Resort)
- Pop Century (Value Resort)
- Caribbean Beach Resort (Moderate Resort)
- Riviera Resort (Deluxe)
The Skyliner resorts are absolutely my favorite on Disney property. It is super easy to pop back to your resort mid-day to take a break or grab some lunch. You also can avoid the long bus lines that stack up after the nightly shows at Hollywood Studios & Epcot. It is a huge time saver! For more WDW travel tips, click here!
Water Transportation
Disney’s boats connect multiple resorts to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Disney Springs. Most routes take about 15-30 minutes. Here is a quick guide to where you can sail to and from on property!
From Magic Kingdom park:
- Fort Wilderness Campground & Cabins (Moderate)
- Grand Floridian Resort (Deluxe)
- Polynesia Villas & Bungalows (Deluxe)
- Wilderness Lodge (Deluxe)
From Epcot & Hollywood Studios:
- BoardWalk Villas (Deluxe)
- Beach Club Villas (Deluxe)
- Yacht Club Resort (Deluxe)
- WDW Swan & Dolphin Hotel (Deluxe)
Disney Springs shopping area via the Sassagoula River Cruises:
- Old Key West Resort (Deluxe)
- Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa (Deluxe)
- Port Orleans Riverside (Moderate)
- Port Orleans French Quarter (Moderate)
There are a variety of water ways on property that connect parks and resorts, so if you are interested in utilizing this mode of transportation, you can take a look at routes here.
Monorail
The monorail is a Disney icon and has been running in the Disneyland park since 1959! In Disneyworld it is also a great way to get around the extensive property. The monorail can take you to both Epcot and Magic Kingdom, but the only resorts on the monorail route are deluxe resorts, so you’re going to pay for the accessibility!
Currently the monorail runs on the following routes on the WDW property:
From Magic Kingdom:
- Contemporary Resort (Deluxe)
- Grand Floridian Resort (Deluxe)
- Polynesia Village Resort (Deluxe)
- Ticket & Transportation which connects the monorail to Epcot Center
Buses
The buses are the most straightforward way to get anywhere on Disney property. They connect all resorts to every park and Disney Springs. It is important to note that the buses do make multiple stops, so it may take you a bit longer to get to the parks via the buses.
The buses are also the only way to get around when there are storms as the boats and skyliner shut down when it is raining. All Disney transportation starts running about 45 minutes before the theme park’s opening and stop one hour after park close. The exception are the buses which run between resorts and Disney Springs until 12:30am!
Although this is not advertised, sometimes you can get the buses to take you between resorts. On my last trip we had a late reservation at Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge and were having trouble getting back to Caribbean Beach Resort. A wonderful cast member offered to drop us off at our hotel on the way to a park pick up. These kind of magic moments are what makes Disney so special!
