There are many modes of transportation at Walt Disney World. You don’t have to completely rely on just walking, although walking is a nice way to go when you have the time to take a stroll from one resort to another on connecting pathways or over to Disney Springs if you are in a resort that is close enough like Saratoga Springs. Hollywood Studios connects to Epcot by way of the Boardwalk if you enjoy walking. Epcot is just a “stone’s throw away” from the Boardwalk Resort, the Beach & Yacht Club Resorts and Swan & Dolphin Resorts.
Disney’s transportation options are like a well-oiled machine. Every of transportation is timely and rarely has hiccups. They are constantly moving thousands of tourists from one point to another every day.
If you are not in the mood to walk there are many modes of transportation which include taking the Disney buses, the boats, the Monorail, the new “Skyliner” or a Minnie van.
There are so many options that you must try them all.
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MAGIC EXPRESS
The Magical Express are the buses that pick you up at the airport and transport you and your family to the resort you will be staying at during your vacation. If you schedule the magical express ahead of time you will receive a confirmation along with bag tags for your luggage. If you use the bag tags that are supplied to you by Disney when you check in at the airport, you won’t see your bags again until after you have checked into your room.
It is a stress-free part of the vacation. You have enough things to worry about when you are packing and planning for your vacation.
Let Disney do the heavy lifting.
DISNEY BUSES
Disney buses are everywhere. One of the many benefits of staying at a Disney resort is that of riding a bus. There are bus stops within a few steps from your room. You decide what theme park or water park you’d like to visit, and the bus will get you there. If you drove to Disney, you can park your car for the week and let Disney buses get you to your destination. If you use the Disney Experience app you can pull up the times for each park. Simply go to your app and choose ‘resort hotel’ and find the ‘see bus times’
option. It will show you what time the next bus is expected. You should always plan to get to the bus stop a few minutes earlier because sometimes they do run a little earlier than posted but they are close.
Disney has over 400 buses running every day. I spoke to one bus drivers while on our trip to Disney last fall and asked how many buses are running each day. He said at one time there were 419 buses running but they are constantly adding new buses and taking older buses out of commission. It is safe to say there are many and they are running back and forth from the parks to the resorts, to Disney Springs, to Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach and other resorts.
BOATS
There are boats all over Disney property. You can access a boat from Disney Springs to several resorts such as Saratoga Springs Resort, Old Key West Resort and Port Orleans Resorts. You can take a boat from Contemporary Resort or Wilderness Lodge to Magic Kingdom. You can take a boat from Epcot to Boardwalk Resort, Beach & Yacht Club Resort and Swan & Dolphin Resorts and on to Hollywood Studios.
There is a huge paddle boat which transfers Disney guests from the ticket center to Magic Kingdom. There are boats at Epcot that transport Disney guests from one side of the World Showcase to the other.
MONORAIL
The monorail is simply an electronic vehicle which uses a railway to get to its destination. It travels from Magic Kingdom around to several resorts such as Grand Floridian Resort, Polynesian Resort, Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Towers and to the Ticket Center where you can transfer to another monorail car to head over to Epcot.
The monorail has been around for a long time and some people say that it is outdated and needs to be replaced but for all the years we’ve been to Disney we’ve never had any problems. It is easy to access and is quick to get to your destination. The monorail can handle large crowds where other modes of transportation can take a while.
SKYLINER
The “Skyliner” is the very newest form of transportation. The “Skyliner” is slow moving sky lift and is constantly moving. A Disney staff member will direct you onto a skyliner car and you will take a smooth ride to your next destination. We rode one at night and that was special to see all the lights from overhead. The skyliner moves constantly and quickly.
The lines at one of the Skyliner locations may look long when you first get to the entrance, but it moves quicker than you think. You can take a skyliner from Epcot and Hollywood Studios to many of the resorts and more are being added. There are some points when you may need to get off one skyliner to transfer to another one to get where you want to go but Disney has made it very easy to do.
MINNIE VAN
The “Minnie” van is another new form of transportation at Disney. You use it with the “Lyft” app. This form of transportation meets your schedule. If you have somewhere to be and want to get there on time, schedule a “Minnie” van. The driver will pull up to your room, or as close as they can, and will load you and your family into the vehicle and take you where you need to be.
If you have spent all day at a park and you and your family are tired, schedule a “Minnie” van and they will pick you up and deliver you right to your door. I had the occasion to use a Minnie van on my last trip to Disney. I had my two grandsons with me. The driver pulled up and put her car seats in the van, seat-belted them down and helped me get everything into the van. She drove us right to our door at the Treehouse Villas and then helped me get everything to my room. It was great.
I can’t say enough about this specialty option of transportation. When you find you need special attention, they are there for you.
There are many modes of transportation at Walt Disney World. It is fun to try them and become familiar with them all so that when you need to use them you know where to go and how you are going to get them.
Remember to always allow yourself plenty of time when you have reservations to get somewhere. It does take time to wait in line for a boat, the skyliner or a bus. Leave earlier than you need to, to make it a stress-free and enjoyable ride to where you are going.
Have fun!
