Now that we’ve covered boats, the Skyliner, and the Monorail, let’s go over the bus transportation system at Walt Disney World!
Bus Basics
All buses are fully wheelchair accessible. At each station, there is a special waiting area denoted by a box on the ground designated for guests in wheelchairs. Guests in wheelchairs do get priority boarding, as it takes time & physical space to safely maneuver wheelchairs into the right spot. The bus driver also helps secure the wheelchair down before loading other guests. The buses can only hold a maximum of two wheelchairs at a time, so if there are more than 2 guests in wheelchairs waiting to board at a given station, just wait for the next bus to show up!
All strollers must be folded prior to boarding. Even if the kiddos are asleep, they must be out of the stroller and the stroller must be folded. The only exception is if a stroller is marked as a mobility device, in which case guests using strollers as mobility devices can load from the wheelchair area.
Buses arrive approximately every 20 minutes – so don’t fret if you miss the bus!
Where to Board & Disembark the Bus
At each destination, the bus terminal will have a board out front, telling guests which station number their bus will pick them up from.
When arriving at your destination, there may be one or multiple drop-off locations. The parks and Disney Springs each have one drop-off location. The value resorts and many other resorts also have one drop-off location.
Some resorts are very large and have multiple drop-off/pick-up spots – Caribbean Beach Resort, and Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa come to mind. When you board the bus, just double check the name of the station before leaving, so you know where to get off the bus at the end of the day.
If you’re concerned about accidentally getting on the wrong bus, just ask the friendly Cast Member! They will let you know where the destination is, and there are lighted signs on the exterior reminding you where the bus is heading to.
Bus Destinations
Buses are available at all Disney resorts, theme parks, water parks, and Disney Springs. During RunDisney events or other special events, bus transportation to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is also provided.
Per Disney’s website, bus service to the theme parks begins 45 minutes prior to park opening, and ends one hour after park closing. However – buses usually begin running earlier than published times. I recommend your hotel room about an hour and a half before scheduled park opening so you can catch one of the first buses.
Bus service to Disney Springs from the resorts is available during Disney Springs’ operating hours and ends one hour after it closes.
Sometimes, transferring is required – this is most common when traveling to Blizzard Beach.
Some resorts do share buses. For example, you’ll often see the Contemporary & Wilderness Lodge resorts sharing a bus route. This is why it is important to budget at least an hour to get from one destination to another. If you end up on a bus with a shared route, it adds time to your commute. Add in guests with wheelchairs or full buses, and it adds even more time to your commute. At Disney it’s always better to be early than to risk being late, especially when it comes to dining or other reservations!
One tip to note is that Disney Springs does not offer bus service to the theme parks. Starting at 4pm, bus service from theme parks to Disney Springs is available.
Resort to resort transportation is where things get tricky. There are no buses from one resort to another (unless you happen to time it right with shared bus routes during non-peak travel times, but that’s few and far between, and impossible to count on!). If you are trying to get from your resort to another for dinner, for example, the fastest way would be to take Uber/Lyft, for the most part. Of course, that’s not a free option, so if you want to use resort transportation, you’ll need to get from your resort to a park or Disney Springs, then get on a bus from that park or Disney Springs to your destination. This can be accomplished by taking the resort buses, but it is time-consuming – make sure to account for at least an hour’s travel time from one destination to another!
