In park transportation is one of the highlights of staying on Disney property during your vacation, especially if you took a plane and don’t have a car available to you. There are three main ways to get around Disney World during your stay: monorail, bus, and boat.
Monorail
The monorail is my personal favorite mode of transportation for getting around Disney World. The monorail can only take you to two parks, Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The Magic Kingdom resort monorail also stops at The Contemporary, The Polynesian, The Grand Floridian, and The Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC). The Epcot monorail only makes stops at Epcot and the TTC.
A pro tip is that there are two Magic Kingdom lines, the resort line which stops at all the formerly mentioned stops, and a second line which only stops at Magic Kingdom and the TTC. The TTC monorail stop is where you can transfer monorails to go to a different park, and if you’re heading to the Polynesian Resort you can get off there and take a scenic walking path back to your hotel. So, say you wanted to park hop from MK to Epcot or vice versa, you would transfer monorails at the TTC.
Buses
The buses is the form of transportation most people take since only a small number of resorts have direct access to the monorail. While bus transportation goes from every resort to every park, the timing of the buses can be slightly unreliable. If you’re heading to Disney during peak season and you’re staying at a big resort with multiple bus stops within it (like Saratoga Springs or Old Key West) prepare for crowded coaches.
A top tip if you have a dining reservation at a different hotel is to take the bus to the park nearest the hotel you're dining at and then either take the monorail to that resort (if it’s available) or another bus from the park to the hotel your reservation is at. I would allow extra travel time if you are doing this.
Last spring my friend and I stayed at Saratoga Springs over spring break and had a reservation at Kona Cafe in the Polynesian for breakfast. We allotted an hour of travel time since we were going to take the bus from the resort to the Magic Kingdom, then from there we would take the monorail to the Polynesian. As we were standing at the resort bus stop three full Magic Kingdom buses passed us without stopping and the bus attendant had to call everyone still waiting a separate bus. By the time we got to the Magic Kingdom, got through security (since they changed the security location even if you’re just going to the monorail you have to go through it), got on the monorail and got to the Polynesian we were an hour late to our reservation. So, moral of that story: always set aside more time than you think you need if you’re traveling by bus. Honestly, you should keep that motto near and dear to your heart no matter what mode of transportation you take at Disney World.
Boats
Boats are a less used mode of transportation and only pertain to a few resorts that are close to parks with water access. Epcot can be reached by boat from The Boardwalk, The Beach and Yacht Club, and The Swan and Dolphin hotels. The same is true for Hollywood Studios. If you’re looking to go to Magic Kingdom you can take the boat from the Grand Floridian, The Polynesian, The Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness, and the ferry from the parking lot at TTC. Disney Springs is reachable via boats from Saratoga Springs (you could also walk from this resort), Port Orleans, and Old Key West.
Keep in mind that Disney is currently doing construction to give boat access to more resorts, so this list may change in the next year or so!
Ride Share
Disney World just released a new form of transportation called Minnie Vans–cars that can’t be missed with their cute red and white polka-dot exteriors! This new form of transport is in collaboration with Lyft. You can arrange your own private ride directly to the parks through the app. These cars can fit up to six people and can come with two car seats if need be!
Now you know the ins and outs of in-park transportation! All of these options are great for getting around. If you aren't feeling any of these though, or if you need to get to somewhere off Disney property like Universal, you can always call a Lyft or Uber to your resort!
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