The Guide to Disney World Transportation

Walt Disney World Resort is a sprawling resort complex consisting of theme parks, a shopping district, hotels and more. There are a host of methods to get around the entire resort, including bus, boat and monorail.

Disney has made it simple for those who are staying at its properties to make their way through the resort. Several options are also available for those who aren’t staying within Walt Disney World, and can be great methods to move between theme parks.

Let’s take a look at all the ways to navigate Walt Disney World, whether you’re looking to rent a car or rely on those good old feet to get around.

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How to get around Disney World

Boat

You’ll find a few different boats within Walt Disney World. The biggest (and most well-known) is the ferryboat that takes guests from the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) to Magic Kingdom. The TTC is where those who are driving into the park will leave their vehicles.

Many different resort hotels also have water taxi access. If you’re looking to take a water taxi to Magic Kingdom, you can do so from any of these resorts:

• Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.

• Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

• Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.

You can also use a water taxi to get to either Epcot or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This is available to guests staying at these resorts:

• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas.

• Disney's Beach Club Villas.

• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel.

• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel.

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Bus

Disney operates a vast system of buses throughout its Orlando resort. This means it’s possible to take a bus from any Walt Disney World Resort to any of the theme parks, water parks or Disney Springs.

Even if you’re not staying at a Disney property, you may want to take advantage of the bus system to get yourself from one park to another. This is especially true if you don’t have a car.

Disney’s buses are free to use and run 45 minutes prior to park opening until 1 hour after park closing.

Car

It’s possible to park at any of Walt Disney World’s theme parks, though you’ll need to pay $25 per day to do so.

If renting a car doesn’t catch your fancy, you may want to consider ride-sharing. Because so many hotels are close to Walt Disney World, it may actually cost less to use a ride-sharing service to drop you off at the entrance rather than paying the fee to park.

Disney has also partnered with Lyft to offer the Minnie Van service. You’ll need to have the Lyft app and pay for the service. This allows you to request a polka-dot van that’ll seat up to seven guests, and each van comes with one complimentary car seat. It can also be faster than waiting for complimentary transportation, which can be pivotal during those late-night returns.

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On foot

This is a little tongue-in-cheek, but it’s as valid as any of these other options. There are a handful of Walt Disney World resorts that are within walking distance from the theme parks.

If you’re wanting to visit Epcot, you can walk from any of the following hotels:

• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas.

• Disney's Beach Club Villas.

• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

• Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel.

• Walt Disney World Swan Hotel.

If you’re looking to visit Magic Kingdom instead, you can also opt to walk from these hotels:

• Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.

• Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

• Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

» Learn more: How to stay at Disney hotels for cheap (or free)

Monorail

If you’re not staying at a Walt Disney World hotel, you’ll likely find yourself on the monorail at least once. This is because anyone wishing to visit Magic Kingdom by driving in will need to either take the monorail or the ferryboat to get to the entrance of the park.

However, the monorail also connects Magic Kingdom and Epcot, which makes it simple to figure out Disney World transportation between parks.

Finally, those who are staying at any of these properties will use use the monorail to travel directly from their hotel to Magic Kingdom:

• Disney's Contemporary Resort.

• Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

• Disney's Polynesian Village Resort.

• Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

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Skyliner

Disney’s Skyliner opened in September 2019 and creates a new link between many of its properties and theme parks. The Skyliner is a massive gondola system that operates much like one you’d see on a ski slope.

The Skyliner has two main stops, one located at Epcot and one at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. If you’re staying at any of these Walt Disney World Resorts, you’ll be able to take advantage of the Skyliner system, though you may need to make a connection to do so:

• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort.

• Disney’s Pop Century Resort.

• Disney’s Riviera Resort.

• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

• Disney’s Beach Club Resort.

• Disney’s BoardWalk Inn.

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Disney World transportation recapped

Disney does transportation well. This is a good thing since Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom averages roughly 57,000 guests per day, and nearly everyone needs to take advantage of its transportation services.

If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World resort, you have plenty of options for getting around without needing to rent a car. And even if you’re staying off-property, you can take advantage of Disney’s complimentary transportation services to make your way through the resort.

(Top photo courtesy of Walt Disney World)