A Handy Guide for the Transport Around Disney World

Whether youre going for the first time or you've not been in a while, the transportation in Walt Disney World is extensive and can be a little bit confusing, but have no fear! This handy guide will help you navigate your way around from park to park, to hotel to Springs!

I remember when we first went to Walt Disney World we looked at so many sites and took down so many notes, but nothings better than learning on location, so if this doesn't make sense, don't worry.. it will when you finally get to the Happiest Place on Earth.

So you've got off the plane, you're finally on solid ground. You have plenty of options for Getting you to your hotel onsite or offsite from the airport:

• Transfers: So this first option isn't exactly a Disney owned transport but it is something to think about when you're sorting out your holiday. If you've booked with a travel company, most the time they will have transfers either included in your package or as an add on, this does make your life so much easier if youre travelling from one of the smaller airports. Transfers are generally pretty good and have a rep on board to answer any questions to do with your stay as they will go to Disney property all the time. We booked with Tui and it was included in our booking and it was brilliant, gave us plenty of time for getting through the airport on the way back. This is also a great option to look into if youre not staying onsite at Disney and youre in one of the surrounding hotels.
  

• Car Hire: Again, another one that isn't Disney company but is a great option to consider in Florida. I must admit I haven't done this, so as a Brit, I can't give you any tips for driving on the other side of the road but I can tell you that I can understand the convenience of it after always having to look at a timetable. I would highly recommend that you consider this if youre staying in a villa or something similar that you can't book with a travel company as you'll never be able to get a free option to them.
  

• The Magical Express(Photo credit: WDW News Today): This is only going to be available for the rest of 2021. Its retiring its service from 2022 - which is so sad. This essentially is a bus service ran by Disney to pick guests up from MCO and take you directly to your hotel. Unlike your transfers, this is a FREE transport for Disney Hotel guests.This is a great way to get from the airport STRAIGHT to Disney as they tend to have a bus per few hotels so you don't have to travel around where everyone on the bus is staying like you do with transfers. They also get you feeling magical straight away as they play Disney films on the bus!!
  

• Minnie Van (Photo credit: Disney Parks Blog): The newest to the Disney fleet and I think the one I would recommend the least, purely due to the price. This is the most expensive option you will get within the Disney owned transport but it is the most personal and magical. You get a private Disney taxi, covered in polka dots like Minnie Mouse, that plays films inside and you have free refreshments while being able to ask any questions you have directly to a Disney Cast Member who is happy to help you in any way! Not only can you hire a Minnie Van to transfer you from the airport but you can use them anywhere around property to take you anywhere on property. These would be great if you had some sort of accessibility need and need a little bit more room because as well as usual car styles, they have accessible vans in the fleet too. Minnie Vans from the airport are to be booked in advance and cost $155 each way but around property they are available to hire via the Lyft app and they price varies on the distance. Each can carry up to 6 people and have up to 3 car seats available.
  

• Lastly Uber/Lyft/Taxi: Again these are obviously available to take you around from park to park if there's long wait times or you don't like crowds but this is one of your only options for getting to your hotel or villa not onsite at Disney. They work just like usual taxi services but instead of calling them you book it from your exact location via an app, you can track your driver and pay all on there too. Its great as you know how much it'll be roughly before you get into the car, but remember if you get stuck in traffic you'll still get paid for the amount of time youre in the vehicle so try not to travel at peak times.
  

TRAVELLING AROUND DISNEY PROPERTY

All the transport on site is free and can be used to travel between the parks by anyone, whether youre staying onsite or not. They're classed as being included in your ticket but even if you have a friend who's coming with you to Disney Springs or something they can travel without a ticket.

Buses: The number 1 way to get from the parks to your hotel or to different parks is the buses. Each hotel has a bus stop that can go to: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach and Disney Springs and then those parks have bus stops for each individual hotel. This always tends to be our first transport of the day as it is the easiest and most convenient. There is no buses from park to park but there is lots of other ways to park hop. Theres also no hotel to hotel buses but we'd recommend getting the bus to the closest park to the hotel you're in then a bus to the hotel you want to be at from that park - or a uber if you want to get there quick!

• Monorails: There are 3 types of monorail and all go through the TTC. The TTC (Ticket and Transportation Centre) is a place for you to park when going to Magic Kingdom and is a hub for the transport. -This is the best way to park hop between Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The Epcot monorail goes from their to the TTC , here you can easily swap to the Express monorail that goes direct to Magic Kingdom. -The other monorail is the resort monorail and is a ring route around all the hotels closest to MK. The stops are: Magic Kingdom park, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort, Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows and the TTC. This is the quickest way to get to a resort from a different resort or Epcot. If you wanted to park hop (to anywhere but Epcot) from Magic Kingdom, this is probably the best way- get the resort monorail to any resort and then get the bus to the park you want from that resorts bus stop. Also the other way too, if you are like us - staying in Caribbean Beach and dining at Ohana, we got the bus to Magic Kingdom and then the resort monorail to the Polynesian.
  

• Skyliner: This is the newest park transportation. It opened in September 2019 after a really long time being built. You can ride between Epcot and Hollywood Studios but you will have to change lines in Caribbean Beach which is the hub for all Skyliner routes. The top route is Epcot and then it travels down via the Riviera Resort then through to the hub. To to left is Hollywood Studios only or South from the Hub is Pop Century Resort and Art of Animation Resort. We haven't yet had chance to ride the skyliner but it seems like a relaxing private way to travel to 2 of the parks.
  

• Water Travel:

Ferry Boat: This is the other option for getting to Magic Kingdom from the TTC. Obviously if you get a bus direct to MK from a resort you will skip the TTC but if you are hoping from Epcot or parking for Magic Kingdom you can choose the ferry boat as a more scenic option. Sometimes this is quieter too as it takes a tiny bit longer than the monorail. It only travels between TTC and MK. Friendship Boat: Another transportation option between HS and Epcot - they're pretty close

to each other, so close in fact that they're connected by a lake. This boat also docks in all the hotels in between on the lake side so it acts as a transport to the parks if you didn't want to walk from: Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club, Swan & Dolphin Hotels and Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and Villas.

Water Taxi: There is multiple boats that go between Magic Kingdom and the resorts around the area as a direct route for those specific park guest. These hotels are: Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Polynesian Villas & Bungalows and Wilderness Lodge. Theres also a boat to Disney Springs and this is between some resorts too. The hotels are: Port Orleans French and Riverside, Saratoga Springs and Old Key West. Water transport, like I mentioned does take slightly longer so I would give yourself a little longer for getting from A to B.

• Lastly of course the easiest form of transport is your own 2 legs. There are a few places that you can walk to from your hotels or each park. The Contemporary Resort is a very close walk to Magic Kingdom and if there's a queue for the bus or monorail - probably first thing in the morning and last thing at night, the walk is probably easier. The Boardwalk Inn and Villas as well as The Beach Club and Yacht Club are a EXTREMELY easy walk into the back of Epcot park - which will be a quieter entrance as only the hotel guests will use it first thing in the morning. The Swan and Dolphin Hotels are also on this walk and are classed as Disney hotels, you get all the perks staying there like extra magic hours so the back entrance and walking distance will be great for rope dropping Frozen! haha!
  

So that is all the transport available in Walt Disney World, I really hope this helps you will any Disney planning youre doing and were super excited for you and all the fun adventures you'll have!