Tips & Tricks to Know about the Walt Disney World Bus Transportation

The Disney Transportation System is something that is used by practically every Guest visiting the Walt Disney World Resort. With every Disney Resort hotel having its own bus stop, it’s the mode of Disney transport that will allow you to access every other part of Lake Buena Vista. 

Following on from our recent guide to Walt Disney World transportation, we wanted to share a little more information about the Disney Transportation System buses that should help to make your Disney vacation a little easier. 

Need to Know Information

The Disney Transportation System buses generally run approximately every 20 minutes, from each Disney Resort hotel to the Disney theme parks, water parks and Disney Springs. Using the Disney buses offers Guests the chance to arrive close to the main entrance of each Disney theme park and Disney Springs. This is particularly beneficial when visiting Magic Kingdom; Guests using their own car must use the Disney Monorail or Ferry Boat across Seven Seas Lagoon from the Transportation & Ticket Center to get to the main entrance of Magic Kingdom Park.

Each bus stop at the Walt Disney World Resort hotels has a screen displaying the expected arrival time of the next Disney bus for each destination in Lake Buena Vista. Generally, this information is up-to-date and really useful, although on occasion you may find that buses arrive ahead or or behind schedule.

Traveling to Other Resorts

The Disney buses are a way to access other Disney Resort hotels. Whilst direct buses aren’t available between Disney Resorts, Guests can travel to a Disney Park first before switching to the Resort bus of their choice. Of course, other modes of Disney transportation can be used if they are accessible from the Disney theme park.

In most cases, the reason for Guests to travel from one Disney Resort hotel to another is to enjoy the dining locations available around the Walt Disney World Resort. Speaking from experience, give yourself at least one hour to travel to the Disney restaurant where you have an advanced dining reservation. There can be a fair amount of waiting required when using the Disney Transportation System buses and we’d hate for you to miss your dining reservation due to being late. If you arrive early to your destination, use the time to explore the Disney Resort shop, lobby and grounds.

Shared Buses

It’s worth noting that some Disney Resorts share buses. Whilst this is not always the case, it can be useful when planning to travel during busy times in the day, and to factor in when required to be somewhere at a specific time. Resorts that share buses include:

• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Contemporary Resort share buses from Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground from EPCOT, Disney Springs and Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa from Disney Springs, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Disney’s All-Stars Resorts when travelling between the Resorts and Disney Parks throughout the day
• Disney’s Port Orleans Resorts, with one stop for French Quarter and 4 stops for Riverside
• Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, Yacht Club and Beach Club to and from Disney Springs, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom

Internal Bus Loops

Some Disney Resorts are so big that they have their own internal Disney Transportation bus loop. These loops make it easier for Guests to access different parts of the Resort without having to walk. You’ll be thankful for them during the height of summer, and when a Florida storm is in the area!

The following Walt Disney World Resort hotels have their own bus loops:

• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
• Disney’s All-Stars Resorts
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – offering transportation between Kidani Village and Jambo House
• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – offering transportation between French Quarter and Riverside
• Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

Something to consider though about the internal bus loops; a lot of the time it is quicker to walk to your destination within a Disney hotel rather than wait for the bus. Catching the bus works great if you time it right and arrive at the bus stop just as the Resort bus is arriving, but this may not always be the case. 

It’s worthwhile taking note of the routes each Disney Park bus takes when stopping at the different stops at your Resort hotel. You will likely find that the bus stop to the main lobby isn’t always the first stop that a bus visits. This can work out really well, as it means that you can catch any bus to access the shopping and dining locations at your Disney Resort instead of just relying on the internal bus loop.

Traveling to the Disney Water Parks

During peak seasons and the summer months, you can expect to travel to Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach directly from your Disney Resort hotel, using the Disney buses. Direct transportation from the Disney water parks back to your Disney hotel are also available.

During low seasons and the winter months, you may find that Guests wishing to visit the Disney water parks will need to catch the bus to Disney Springs first. From there, Guests will switch to the water park bus, at the bus station drop-off at Disney Springs. To travel back to your Resort hotel, you will then catch the bus back to Disney Springs once you’ve finished at the water park, and then use the Resort buses back to your hotel.

Remember, that Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon is the only water park open on Disney property, as Blizzard Beach remains closed.

Top Tips

Here are our top tips for a successful use of the Disney buses during your future Disney vacations, to take away any stress you may feel when using them during your Disney experience:

• If you’re wanting to rope drop at any Disney Park, then you will want to make sure that you catch the first bus of the day from your Disney Resort. The first bus is usually 45 minutes ahead of park opening, including Early Theme Park Entry time.
• The theme park bus stations are extremely busy at park close. With this in mind, you may want to leave the Disney Parks a little before park close, or take your time leaving, to shorten your wait time at the bus station. The last bus to each Disney Resort is usually an hour after park close so you have enough time to leave the Disney Parks a little later to avoid the crowds. 
• When traveling between EPCOT and Magic Kingdom, there may not always be a bus transporting Guests between the Disney Parks. Instead, you will be advised to use the Disney Monorail at this time. 
• To travel between EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Guests will need to use the Disney Skyliner, the FriendShip Boats or walk. Guests traveling from EPCOT will need to leave the Disney Park via International Gateway in World Showcase. This is where you will enter EPCOT if you are traveling from Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
• When traveling to Disney’s Fort Wildness Resort & Campground, we recommend  catching the bus to Magic Kingdom, then using a water taxi to travel to Disney’s Fort Wilderness. This provides easy access to most of the popular destinations in Fort Wilderness, and reduces the need to use the internal bus loop which can be confusing and long!
• Later on in the day, Guests can catch a bus from each of the Disney Parks, directly to Disney Springs, previously known as Downtown Disney.

Enjoy using the Walt Disney World bus transportation! It’s fun to look out for the different bus designs as you travel around Lake Buena Vista, and you may even strike lucky and travel on a bus decorated with your favorite Disney character!