4 Hotel Transportation PROBLEMS You’ll Run Into at Disney World
Watch out! You might run into some major issues when it comes to getting around Disney World.
Disney bus
Disney World is BIG — much bigger than most people expect when they visit for the first time. There are four theme parks, two water parks, and over 20 hotels on the property. If you’re staying at a Disney-owned hotel, you can take advantage of the free transportation around the resort, including buses, boats, the Monorail, and the Skyliner. But that transportation doesn’t always run smoothly — we’re here to warn you about four hotel transportation PROBLEMS you might encounter on your next trip.
Temporary Skyliner CLOSURES
There’s no such thing as a PERFECT mode of Disney World transportation, though some of Disney’s newer solutions come pretty close! For example, ever since the Skyliner opened, it’s been a very popular alternative to taking the bus to EPCOT or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (And it’s generally way faster, too!)
Walt Disney World Skyliner
Admittedly, we’re BIG fans of the Skyliner. When everything is in proper working order, it can be a fast, efficient mode of transportation that saves time compared to driving. Unfortunately, things don’t always go according to plan.
EPCOT Disney Skyliner Station
The Skyliner’s worst enemy in Disney World is bad weather. When there’s lightning nearby or severe weather in the area, the Skyliner will close out of an abundance of caution. After all, no one wants to get stuck way up in the air in the middle of a storm.
Look out for stormy weather!
When the Skyliner is closed due to bad weather, Disney instructs guests to use the bus instead. Note that — depending on the time and your location — this transportation change may add a significant amount of time to your journey. If you happen to be in line to use the Skyliner when it closes, Cast Members typically arrange for a bus to come and pick you up, though this can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the bus schedule.
Skyliner station
On the other hand, if you find yourself in EPCOT when the Skyliner is down, you may find a sign suggesting you use the bus stop outside the main entrance of EPCOT, which means you have to walk all the way back to the front of the park (since the Skyliner stop in EPCOT is located at International Gateway).
You could also choose to walk to one of the hotels near International Gateway instead and take a bus from there if you’re trying to get to a different park or Disney Springs.
The Skyliner closes in bad weather
In the summer, storms happen pretty much every day, meaning there’s a pretty good chance the Skyliner will go down at least once each day.
Check out some other potential problems with the Disney Skyliner.
Boats Not Running to Disney Springs
This particular problem is a little less predictable than the Skyliner-closing-due-to-bad-weather situation. There are usually bus services running between Disney Springs and several different Disney-owned hotels, but we’ve seen these boats shut down a few times recently.
On a Boat
The boats between Disney Springs and Disney-owned hotels had a brief closure in early June due to low water levels, and it happened again in August due to construction on a retaining wall near a bridge.
Boat Transportation not running | Photo from early September 2023
Under normal circumstances, boats connect Disney Springs to the following hotels:
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
- Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter
It’s usually a great advantage if you’re staying at one of these hotels, because having a boat service to the Springs means easier access to all the shopping and dining located there (including some of our all-time favorite restaurants).
NOT your average shopping mall
However, when those boats are unavailable, you lose a really cool perk. A Cast Member told us in June that it was pretty rare for the boats to shut down, but since it happened again in August, it appears that the problem can be slightly unpredictable.
Boats are running again
Since the problem in June was due to low rain levels, it seems like the closure is more likely when Orlando goes through a dry period.
Water level very low in June 2023
When the boats are unavailable, buses will run between those hotels and Disney Springs, so you can still get there, it just isn’t as fun or easy. Note that you can also walk from Saratoga Springs to Disney Springs, or you could choose to use a rideshare like Uber or Lyft.
Here’s how you can fix three things you’ll HATE about Disney World.
Super Crowded Monorail and Buses
You’ll find that the Disney buses and Monorail are more crowded at certain times of the day, such as in the morning, right around when the theme parks open. However, the WORST time to be trying to get on the Monorail or a bus is definitely after you watch the fireworks in Magic Kingdom.
SO many people
After the finale of that iconic fireworks show has played and Tinker Bell has flown over the crowd, the first thing everyone does is dry their tears of joy. The second thing they do is make a BEELINE for the exit. It. Is. Terrifying.
Crowds after fireworks
Seriously, this mass rush for the exit is one of our LEAST favorite things about Disney World. Everyone’s hurrying to get to the buses and Monorail to try to beat the rest of the people so they don’t have to wait in line forever, and it’s just stressful and not fun. Luckily, we have a couple of tips to avoid this problem.
First, don’t forget that Magic Kingdom doesn’t usually close immediately after the fireworks show! Usually you have some time in the park between the end of the show and the park’s closing, so we recommend heading to a ride or into the shops for a bit to let that first wave of crowds out of the park.
Magic Kingdom at night
Don’t leave until you absolutely have to, and by then, the lines for the Monorail and buses will likely have died down (and ride wait times will likely be lower than average since everyone else has left, which is another bonus!).
Enchanted Tiki Room at night
However, we know that lots of people travel with young kids or even adults who are just absolutely exhausted by the end of the day and want to get to bed ASAP. In that case, we recommend watching the fireworks from the top of Main Street, U.S.A., (near the train station) so that you’re positioned right by the exit and can get ahead of the rest of the crowds.
From this spot, you won’t be able to see the projections on Cinderella Castle very well, but you’ll still be able to see all the fireworks.
View from the train station
Whether you’re strategically right by the exit or sticking around to wait out the mad rush, we highly recommend doing anything you can to NOT be in the middle of the hoards of people surging towards the transportation. It’s a seriously stressful way to end your Magic Kingdom day.
Check out some other potential problems with the Monorail here!
Limited Options at Certain Hotels
Most of the problems we’ve discussed so far are limited to certain times of day or are completely unpredictable. However, there’s one problem that you can avoid altogether! Some Disney-owned hotels simply don’t have great transportation options at all.
Coronado Springs
The BEST hotels for transportation have to be the ones on the Monorail loop (Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort) and the ones on the Skyliner route (Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’ Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, and Disney’s Pop Century Resort). That’s because those offer you multiple options for getting to the parks, and the Monorail and Skyliner are often quicker than the buses. Other hotels offer boat services to certain parks or Disney Springs.
Skyliner at Riviera
So that means that the WORST hotels for transportation are the ones without extra options — they have buses, and that’s it. Some of those hotels include Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (which is over by Animal Kingdom and thus pretty far away from the rest of the parks, which means longer bus rides), Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, and Disney’s All Star Resorts.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
From all of those hotels, you can ONLY take buses (or drive your own car or use a rideshare, of course) — no Monorail, no Skyliner, no boats. There are major perks for all of them — you can’t beat the prices at All Star, and some would say the Savanna-view rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge are worth the sacrifice in location — but you’re losing out when it comes to transportation.
Click here for a definitive ranking of every Disney World hotel.
If you’ll be visiting Disney World soon, make sure you keep those four potential problems in mind. You may not run into any of them, but it’s better to be informed and prepared! Looking for more information about Disney World transportation? Check out these posts and pages:
- FULL OVERVIEW of Disney World transportation — click here!
- Wait. Is It OK That We’re Doing This on the Disney Skyliner?
- Be Prepared for These Big Disney World Monorail Surprises
- Disney Springs Bus Schedule, Tips, and Advice
- It’s Official — This Is the Fanciest Disney Transportation Ever.
We’ll keep watching for updates from Disney World, so stay tuned to DFB for the latest news that might impact your upcoming trip.
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What transportation tips do you have for people visiting Disney World for the first time? Let us know in the comments!
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