Disney World offers free transportation between the hotels, parks, water parks, and Disney Springs. It’s a great perk of staying at a Disney World hotel!

While it’s nice to have free transportation to practically anywhere you need to go within Disney World, it’s certainly not without it’s faults. There are certainly a few problems with Disney World transportation, and we’re going through five of them that make us VERY mad. But don’t worry, we’ll give you a few tips to avoid these issues, too.

Boats

Recently, one of our team members here at DFB had a pretty awful experience with the Friendship boats between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. These boats can pick you up and drop you off at both parks while stopping at each hotel in between. They are a smooth, relaxing transportation option if you’re not necessarily in a big hurry.

When our team member was traveling from one park to another, a bout of bad weather struck causing the boats to have to dock at the Swan and Dolphin hotel and ask all passengers to leave the boat. The boat operators said buses would meet them there to pick them up and continue taking them to the destination park. Normally, Disney buses do not stop at the Swan and Dolphin, so this was a special circumstance due to the weather.

However, the buses never showed up! The guests ended up walking the rest of the way to the park. Luckily, there is a walking path between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios for just that. It generally takes roughly 30 minutes or more to walk between the two, but it is an option you have if you want.

Weather can impact your boat ride at any time in Disney World. The best thing to do is be prepared if it looks like bad weather is coming and not get upset with the Cast Members when something like this happens. Other transportation options are likely available or will be made available.

Monorail

When Magic Kingdom Closes

The Monorail is one of the transportation options for getting to and from Magic Kingdom, and it’s a VERY popular option since anyone who parks at the Magic Kingdom parking lot has to use it from the Ticket and Transportation Center and many guests at the Monorail resorts use it.

Since it’s so popular, the problem with it is that at the end of the night when Magic Kingdom closes, the line to board the Monorail can be ridiculously long. Like really, really long. It can take upwards of an hour or more to just get onto the Monorail from Magic Kingdom.

If you don’t want to stand in that long line, but you need to get back to the TTC, another option is to take the ferry boats back. These may have lines, but they are likely not as long as the Monorail line, and it doesn’t take much longer to get back to the TTC this way (we’ve timed it).

Alternatively, you could leave a little early or stay in the park a little longer to avoid the long line at the Monorail. These options might not be as viable as taking the ferry boat, though.

Magic Kingdom to EPCOT (or Vice Versa)

As mentioned above, unless you’re staying at one of the Monorail hotels (Contemporary Resort, Grand Floridian Resort, Polynesian Resort), you’ll get on the Monorail to either Magic Kingdom or EPCOT at the TTC.

There are two separate Monorails for the two parks. Unfortunately, there is not one Monorail that connects both parks. That would be a wonderful option, but it does not exist. So if you’re planning to park hop from Magic Kingdom to EPCOT, or vice versa, using the Monorail, you will HAVE to get off at the TTC and go over to the other rail for the other park.

If you don’t want to hop Monorails at the TTC, you could also walk to the Contemporary Resort and get on a bus to EPCOT from there. You could also hop on a bus from Magic Kingdom to Disney’s Boardwalk Resort or Yacht Club and Beach Club Resorts and walk to EPCOT from these hotels using the International Gateway entrance. Going to Magic Kingdom to EPCOT would simply be the opposites of these, if you don’t want to use the Monorail.

Buses

Disney buses are a great resource to have, however, they don’t run on a set schedule. They begin running from the hotels to each theme park 45 minutes before each opens. After that, it’s just when they get there, they get there. There may be a general timeline (i.e., “Next bus in 30 minutes”), but you can’t count on it being ready to go at a designated time (i.e., 11, 11:30, 12, 12:30, etc.).

Some other buses around Disney World do offer more set schedules, but many of these are not open to other passengers outside of their hotel guests (i.e., Shades of Green). It would be great if the Disney buses could be on more of a schedule, but since they are not, it’s always a good idea to be early to the bus stop at your hotel if possible. Also, the TV and “Hey, Disney” devices in each hotel room offer an insight into the buses arrivals.

Skyliner

Just like the boats, the Disney Skyliner will close during inclement weather. If there is lightning within a set distance, expect the Skyliner to be closed.

The biggest problem with this is when you’re in EPCOT. If you are hoping to jump on the Skyliner, located at International Gateway, to your hotel or to Hollywood Studios and it’s closed, you’ll end up having to walk all the way to the front of the park to get on a bus. That’s A LOT of extra walking.

If the weather is looking iffy, you might want to check the My Disney Experience app to see if the Skyliner is still open before walking to either entrance. This isn’t a for sure way to avoid this problem, but it can help a little.

Every transportation option in Disney World has its downside, but in general, its some of the best transportation at a theme park resort. We’re grateful to have this free perk while visiting the parks!

For more Disney tips and tricks, keep following DFB!

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What’s a transportation issue you’ve run into at Disney World? Tell us about it in the comments!