The Ultimate Guide to Getting Around Walt Disney World Resort in Florida

Written by Ella Cawthorne Last updated December 5th 202405/12/24

Did you know, Walt Disney World Resort is the same size as Manchester? That’s right! 47 square miles of utter magic and entertainment. With four huge Theme Parks, 2 splashtastic, Water Parks and a nighttime entertainment district to navigate, it can be hard to know the best way to get about.

There are four main ways to travel between the Disney Parks that will make your Walt Disney World Resort experience much more enjoyable. After all, you don’t want to miss precious, magical minutes by trying to work out how to get from Magic Kingdom Park to Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

Monorail

There are a few forms of Disney owned transport that can be accessed by guests, free of charge. One of these is the Monorail. You can access Magic Kingdom Park and EPCOT using the monorail.

The monorail also has stops at certain Disney Resort hotels – Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney’s Contemporary Resort – meaning super easy access if you’re staying here!

If you would like to use the monorail, the service begins half an hour before the earliest Park opens to an hour after the latest park closes.

Monorail at Disney

Disney Skyliner

The newest form of Disney transportation is the Disney Skyliner, which is a state-of-the-art gondola system in the sky! It helps guests travel between Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, and connects to a handful of the Disney Resort hotels.

The Disney Skyliner features whimsically themed gondolas with iconic Disney Characters, figures from Disney attractions and film favorites. It is a fun way to travel and adds to the exciting Disney experience.

Disney Skyliner

Bus Transportation

You can access almost anywhere in the Walt Disney World Resort using the complimentary bus service. Bus service between Disney Resort hotels and Disney Springs is available during Disney Springs operating hours, and ends one hour after closing. Travelling by bus between Disney Resort hotels and Disney Parks begins 45 minutes prior to opening and ends one hour after closing.

By using My Disney Experience, you can select where you are travelling from and to, and you will be shown the best form of transport and which route you’d need to take, which is helpful when it comes to picking which bus to hop on!

Disney Springs

Water Transport

An exciting alternative to bus transport, the final complimentary transport service operated by Disney is the ferryboat and water taxi services. The ferryboat service is available between EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You can use this service between the Parks as often as you like during your visit. The water taxi service can take you from Magic Kingdom Park to certain hotels including Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

Disney’s Boat Service

Rent a Car/Book an Uber

For guests staying in hotels, villas or campsites that are a little further away from the Disney Parks you might want to consider renting a car or using local transport services such as Uber. This is a great way to ensure you can reach everywhere you’d like to visit without having to walk miles and miles!

If you choose to drive to the Disney Parks, you will need to purchase a parking pass for each day you visit. If you don’t want to incur larger additional costs, then Uber is probably your best bet!

If you’re planning on exploring everything else Florida has to offer outside of the Disney Parks then renting a car is a fantastic idea so it allows you a little more freedom.