DISNEY 101 is an ongoing series in which we teach you the basics of some aspect of a Walt Disney World vacation. In this installation, you’ll learn more about the various transportation options at Walt Disney World.
In this first part, I’ll discuss buses and monorails. Then in part two, we’ll talk about boats, the Skyliner, and traveling by car.
I created a WDW Transportation map to help you figure out how to navigate WDW’s public transportation system. It is available to our Patreon supporters for only $2/month. If this interests you, you can go here to find out more!
The City of Disney
People who have never visited Walt Disney World don’t realize the vastness of Disney’s property in Central Florida. All told, WDW covers over 40 square miles. For comparison, Manhattan Island in New York City is approximately 23 square miles. That means that WDW is almost double Manhattan’s size!
That 40 square miles contains the following:
- Four theme parks
- Two water parks
- Four golf courses
- Over 20 resorts
- A shopping district
- Multiple outdoor recreational areas
- And more!
Unlike, say, Universal Orlando, it just isn’t possible to navigate the city known as Walt Disney World on foot. Fortunately, Disney provides a transportation network to help you get from point A to point B while you are on Disney property.
All of Disney’s on property transportation is completely FREE for all guests. This is true whether or not you are staying at a Disney resort.
Bus Transportation
This is probably the most common form of transportation on property. These are your standard buses that you can find in any major metro area, except they are decked out in Disney theming (of course). All resorts, all theme parks, all water parks, and Disney Springs will have a bus stop. The location is usually well signed, but if you have trouble finding it, any cast member will be able to help you.
Disney makes it easy to know that you are getting on the correct bus. Just look at the electronic sign board in the front window!
Buses can take you to and from the following destinations
- To/from any resort to any theme park (unless there is some alternative form of transportation to that theme park, like a monorail or Skyliner). Resort to park buses usually start running about an hour before park opening. Park to resort buses usually stop running about an hour after park closing.
- To/from any resort to Disney Springs. Buses to and from Disney Springs will usually start around the time it opens and end about an hour after it closes.
- Between each theme park starting around 1:30pm when park hopping starts.
Some resorts have special shuttle buses that run internally within the resort, due to the resort size: Old Key West, Saratoga Springs Resort, Coronado Springs Resort, Port Orleans, and Caribbean Beach.
Accessibility
All Disney buses are wheelchair and scooter accessible. They have a lift which allows those with mobility aides to load onto the bus without any problem. Just be aware that the loading process does take additional time. Also note that most buses have room for up to two wheelchairs/scooters, so if the bus is at capacity, you might have to wait for the next one.
Tips
Generally, I would allow up to an hour to get to your destination via bus. While it only takes at most 20 minutes or so to get to any location on property by bus, the real variable is how long you will wait at the bus stop for your ride. During peak travel times (ex: in the mornings from the resorts to the parks), Disney will offer more frequent buses. However, there might be a line of people, so you might be waiting for a second bus to arrive. That’s why I suggest budgeting up to an hour. In most cases, it will take less time, but I’d rather be early than late!
One place where using bus transportation could really save you time is traveling to the Magic Kingdom. If you drive or take non-Disney transportation to the Magic Kingdom, you’ll usually get dropped off at the Transportation and Ticket Center. From here, you need to take either a monorail or boat to the actual front gate of MK. However, the Disney bus stop for MK is right next to the front gate. Therefore, no additional transfers are required. This can easily save you 20-30 minutes of additional travel time.
Note that there is no bus transportation from Disney Springs to the WDW parks. This is intentional. Disney does not want theme park goers to park at Disney Springs to avoid paying the parking fee!
Finally, when traveling by bus (or really using any form of public transportation), pack your patience! You may be waiting. You may be standing. It may take time. No amount of grumpiness is going to change that!
Monorail Transportation
The monorail is probably the most iconic form of public transportation at Walt Disney World. It is Disney’s “Highway in the Sky”. Trains on elevated platforms shuttle you between stops in comfort while a recorded narrator calls attention to various points of interest.
There are three monorail lines at WDW.
- TTC to Magic Kingdom Express Line: This line has two stops: one at the Transportation and Ticket Center (i.e. the Magic Kingdom parking lot) and another at the Magic Kingdom. If you are traveling to the Magic Kingdom by car, you will park in the MK lot, walk to the monorail, and take it to the Magic Kingdom. Then at the end of your park day, you do the reverse.
- Magic Kingdom Resort Line. This also travels between the TTC and the Magic Kingdom. However, it also has stops at the various monorail resorts that are located near the Magic Kingdom. Starting from the TTC, it will stop at the Polynesian Resort, the Grand Floridian Resort, the Magic Kingdom, and the Contemporary Resort (in that order). Then it makes it way back to the TTC to complete the loop.
- Epcot Line. This line travels back and forth between the TTC and Epcot. While the trip can take 15-20 minutes, it is (in my opinion) the most picturesque of the monorail lines. As it loops through Epcot, you get amazing views of that park!
In general, monorails arrive every 5-10 minutes, so you never have that much of a wait. Even if you see a big line at the station, it usually moves quite quickly, as each monorail can hold a lot of people.
Accessibility
Most monorail trains will have two dedicated cars for wheelchairs and scooters. Cast members will direct you to the waiting areas for these cars. When the monorail arrives, a Cast Member will deploy a ramp that will allow you to easily roll onto the awaiting monorail. When you reach your destination, another Cast Member will do the same so that you can disembark easily.
Tips
The monorail is one of my favorite forms of Disney transportation. Sometimes we will ride it just for fun! However, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t practical as well. Obviously, if you are staying on at one of the monorail resorts (Poly, Grand Floridian, Contemporary), getting to the Magic Kingdom is a breeze. Before you board at your resort, you’ll have to go through security. However, the line is a lot less crowded that the normal security line that most guests will have to experience.
You can also take the monorail from a resort to the TTC and transfer to the Epcot line. This gives you easy access to that theme park as well.
One other resort trick. If you are staying at the Polynesian and you want to go to Epcot, it could actually be faster to walk from the Poly to the TTC and access the Epcot line directly. That eliminates having to ride the resort monorail all the way around the loop to get to the TTC.
For guests trying to use the monorail to get from the Magic Kingdom parking lot / TTC to the Magic Kingdom, it might be faster to use the resort monorail than the express monorail. It depends on how big the line is. However, note that the line moves fast, so you might end up miscalculating. That said, even if it ends up taking longer to take the resort monorail, it’s not a big deal. It’s about the journey – not the destination!
Wrap Up!
That’s it for Part One of this DISNEY 101 article on Disney Transportation. Stay tuned for our next installation where we will complete our overview of park transportation.
If you have any tips of your own for using buses or the monorail, please leave them in the comments!
AD: We hope you enjoyed this post. If you are coming to Central Florida and need a place to stay, please consider the Encore Magic Villa. It sleeps up to 12 and features a game room, theater room, themed bedrooms, and private pool… located within a short drive of the Magic!
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