Disney Transportation

One of the biggest perks, for me, about staying on-site at a Disney hotel is being able to take advantage of the Walt Disney World transportation system. There are buses, boats and monorails to get you everywhere that you have to go.

All of the hotels offer bus service. These buses will take you to and from the parks or to the Transportation and Ticket Area. The buses are usually pretty prompt and arrive around every 20 minutes. The hardest time to get that kind of service is at the end of the day when the parks are closing and there is the mass exodus from the parks. At those times, your wait can be considerably longer because only so many people can fit on a bus. The buses will NOT take you from one resort to another, however. For example, say you are staying at the All-Star Movies resort but you are having dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. You would have to take a bus from All-Star Movies to the Animal Kingdom PARK and from there take a bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It can take a while so at times like that you MAY want to drive your own car, but for the most part, what's the hurry?

Some hotels offer boat service to and from each other or to some of the parks. Hotels like the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian have a boat that goes between the two and then takes you to the Magic Kingdom. The Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness also has a boat that takes you to the Magic Kingdom. The Boardwalk Inn along with the Swan, Dolphin and I believe the Yacht and Beach Clubs all have boat service between them that will also take you to Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios.

My favorite form of Disney transportation is the Monorail. Only three hotels are on the Monorail loop and they are all deluxe resorts. I had the opportunity to stay at one of them and the experience was well worth it for the convenience of the monorail alone. The Grand Floridian, the Contemporary and the Polynesian each have a monorail station. For the Contemporary resort, the monorail actually goes THROUGH the middle of the hotel and the station is inside! It's pretty cool.

The final form of Disney transportation that is there to truly help you is the one that gets you to and from Orlando International Airport and that is Disney's Magical Express. If you fly in to Orlando on certain airlines, you are eligible for the Magical Express. When you book your trip and tell your travel agent that you are flying in and give them your flight info, 2-3 weeks before your trip you will receive a packet that includes special luggage tags and vouchers. The bright yellow tags go on your bags and when you arrive in Orlando, you skip the baggage claim because Disney is going to get your bags for you! How cool is that? Then you will board a deluxe motor coach that will take you directly to your resort. While on the bus you will watch a video of what is going on in the parks and give you a basic overview of the entire resort complex. Your luggage will be delivered directly TO YOUR ROOM at no extra charge! On your final day of your trip, the Magical Express will take you back to the airport. And again, there is no charge for this service.

So whether you need to get to and from the airport or to and from the parks, Disney has all of your transportation needs covered. No need to take your keys or fill up the tank, while you are a guest of the Walt Disney World Resort, there is no need for you to get behind the wheel!