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One of the erroneous assumptions I always made growing up was thinking that Disney World worked just like the small local amusement parks I’d been to. Pay one fee, get access to everything on the site, and get around the park easily. We know for sure the former isn’t true, and neither is the latter.
Disney World is huge. It’s basically a city unto itself. So any family doing a Disney World vacation that wants to see more than one park has to figure out transportation from one park to another, plus how to get on and off the site if they’re not staying there.
Luckily, Disney site Mice Chat has a guide to transportation at Disney World. Obviously if your family has driven to Orlando or rented a car once you got there, driving around the park is your best option (especially if you rented a car; you’re already paying a daily fee for it).
Chris Wood, author of the transportation article, says it’s impossible to get lost while driving at Disney World. All of the roads are covered in mouse-eared pink and purple signs with clear indicators of where you are and how to get to the nearest attractions, parks, and major roads.
Drivers have a few other tips to remember. First, there’s not a bus that goes directly from Downtown Disney (where parking is free, as Disney encourages the public to go there and eat at its restaurants and party at its clubs). Because you can park for free at Downtown Disney execs don’t want to make it easy for you to get to the parks from there. Instead, you’ll have to take a bus to the nearest resort and then a park bus from there. Or pay for parking at the park.
If you’re not driving around Disney the park’s got you covered, as it has several transportation systems: multiple types of buses, boats, and monorails. Monorails are only a good way to get into the Magic Kingdom in particular if you’re staying at a resort that has a stop for them (and not all do). Most of the time your best bet is to figure out the bus system.
Downtown Disney and the Ticket and Transportation Center are the transportation hubs of Disney World. View them like Grand Central and Penn Stations: if you’re traveling between various parks as part of your trip, you’ll pass through these spots as you switch from park buses to resort buses, or resort buses to the monorail.
If you’re planning on using Disney’s transportation system while staying at the parks, it’s best to take some time beforehand to figure out where you want to go each day and how you’re going to get from place to place. It’ll save you a lot of time that you’ll need, because Disney World recommends allowing 90 minutes to travel between destinations. Remember: Disney World is like a city.
A couple more tips to remember: if you’re using strollers try to utilize the boats and monorails as much as possible, so you don’t have to fold up the stroller. Also the parking lot trams are tiny: you won’t be able to get anything but the smallest of strollers on them, let alone a double stroller.
If you’re flying into Disney World and staying at the park, consider Mickey’s Magical Express. It’s a free bus that’ll take you at any time of day from the airport to your resort and back again. You just have to provide Disney your arrival and departure times.
Figuring out transportation is just one more thing to remember when planning a Disney vacation.
Related Articles:
Mini Mickey: The Ultimate Disney World Travel Guide
Mousejunkies: One Man’s Life at Disney World
How Disney Chooses Park Attractions
What Is the Disney Mom’s Panel?
Fantasyland Expansion Opening Dates
*(This image by dbking is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
