If you’re planning to visit a Disney World Resort, you’ll want to know your transportation options in advance!
Riviera Resort
There’s the extensive free bus system that travels to nearly every location on property, or the Disney Skyliner that visits a few hotels in addition to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. You might even be able to use the Friendship boats or the Monorail, depending on where you’re visiting. But every Disney World Resort has its own parking lot…you just might not be able to use it!
One fun — and completely free — activity to do on your free day during your Disney World vacation is resort hopping! There are quite literally dozens of hotels on Disney World property, each with its own distinct theme, dining options, and offerings to explore.
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
With so much to see, it’s easy to fill up your off day from the parks with a resort grand tour. And if you’re stopping by during the winter and holiday season, there are bonus reasons to visit the hotels! Each resort decorates for Christmas in spectacular fashion, and some even have special displays.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Christmas Tree
Several of the Deluxe Resorts are home to creative gingerbread displays that fans love to check out. From live-size cottages to working carousels to gingerbread giraffes, they’re pretty big tourist attractions. But if you’re hoping to stop by and check them out, there’s a transportation rule you can’t ignore.
Gingerbread BoardWalk Deli
If you’re heading to one of Disney World’s Deluxe Resorts, you won’t be allowed to park your car there unless you have a confirmed hotel reservation or a confirmed dining reservation. So for those just stopping by to explore, you’ll need to find another way to get to that hotel. If you try to park without a valid reason, they’ll turn you away at the gate.
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
So what are your options instead? The best methods are to park either at Disney Springs for free, or park at one of the theme parks, then take transportation from there. If you’re coming from Disney Springs, there are buses to all the resorts, as well as boat transportation to Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, and both Port Orleans Resorts.
Saratoga Springs Water Taxi
If you park at one of the theme parks, you’ll have to pay to park (unless you’re an Annual Passholder or you’re staying on Disney property already), but the options for transportation are broader. Magic Kingdom’s parking lot has easy access to the Monorail, which connects to the Contemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian Village Resorts.
Monorail at the Contemporary Resort
Parking at Hollywood Studios may give you the most bang for your buck, though, because not only does this park have a bus station with access to many resorts and other parks, but it’s also home to a Skyliner station and a Friendship Boat dock. The Skyliner will take you to the Riviera, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, and Art of Animation Resorts, as well as the back entrance of EPCOT.
Skyliner Station at Hollywood Studios
If you hop on the Friendship Boat at Hollywood Studios, you can take a ride along Crescent Lake through the EPCOT Resort area. The boat will stop at the Swan and Dolphin Resort, the BoardWalk, and the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts before docking at the back International Gateway entrance of EPCOT (if you wanted to, you could get on the Skyliner there and go back to Hollywood Studios, or you can simply take the boat back again).
International Gateway Friendship Boat
Parking at Animal Kingdom won’t give you much advantage when it comes to getting to a hotel, because it’s the furthest park from most of the hotels (except for Coronado Springs Resort, the All-Star Resorts, and Animal Kingdom Lodge), and it only offers bus transportation. However, the main warning I’m going to give you is to beware of parking at EPCOT with the hope of visiting hotels.
Inside a Disney Bus
Many people park at EPCOT, thinking that they can easily get to the EPCOT Resort area or to the Skyliner or Friendship Boats. However, the important thing to know is that the parking lot is at the FRONT of the park, while the Skyliner, Friendship Boats, and hotels are located by the back entrance of the park — at International Gateway. EPCOT is the only theme park that has a back entrance, so this can be very confusing for guests who are resort hopping.
EPCOT parking
You can also park at the Transportation and Ticket Center and take the monorail to the front of EPCOT, too. We love this if we’re going to be park hopping to Magic Kingdom at some point.
EPCOT bus depot
So that’s the rundown on how to get to the Disney World Resorts this winter! We’ll make sure to keep you updated on all the holiday decor and offerings as they arrive in a few months.
Stay tuned to DFB for more tips on how to tackle Disney World!
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You mention only the busses are available at front of Epcot, isn’t the monorail at the front of Epcot also?