Transportation within Disney

Tannya

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 25, 2001
Messages
3
I've only used this forum a couple of times and don't really understand the abbreviations so forgive me if this question has been answered a million times. We are driving to Disney and staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We plan to visit Epcot, Magic Kingdom and MGM in addition to Animal Kingdom. We have dinner resv. in the Contemporary and also Grand Floridian Resort. My question is this: is there a bus or boat that will take us from our lodge to each park plus to the 2 hotels for dinner and then get us back to our lodge after dinner which might be late. Also might want to visit Pleasure Island late, after dinner some night. I don't want to deal with my car once I check in to the lodge. Thanks for the help!
Tannya
 
We to drive to Disney from Ohio and don't like to move our car. I have never stayed at the Animal Kingdom lodge but I know from the All Star resorts they have buses to all the parks and to Pleasure Island, Downtown Disney. I think to get to the Contemporary and the Grand Floridian you may have to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then a monarail to the two resorts. I'm sure your resort would have the same type of system. You can also walk from the MK to the Contp. resort. We did it this summer and it took about 5 minutes.

Have a great trip!!
 
First of all,it sounds like to me,that you have never stayed on Disney property before.Whether you have or have not,I mean no harm at all from my statement.Each resort on Disney property,has buses that run frequently all day and late in the evening.I allow myself to not be fully informed about this,but I will tell you what I know.
You can catch a bus at your resort at the designated area,and go to each park from your resort.You can also catch a bus that will take you to the Disney Marketplace,which is next to Pleasure Island,which is next to Downtown Disney.This is sort of the hub for going to different resorts.At the Marketplace,there is a designated area where you catch the buses to go to the many resorts.So to go to the Contemporary or Grand Floridian,I suggest to go to Marketplace from your resort and catch the proper bus for each resort and board that bus for the resort of your choosing.So if you went to Contemporary for dinner,you could catch the bus after eating,back to the Marketplace,and walk right over to Pleasure Island.Plus,there are three designated bus stops,one at Marketplace,one at Pleasure Island entrance, and one at Downtown Disney.These should be helpful in avoiding driving your car.Last year we stayed at the AllStar Sports Resort and once I parked my car,I didn't have to use it to go to the parks or Marketplace.I did,however,use it in the mornings to go to the McDonald's for breakfast which is located on Disney property about two tenths of a mile from the AllStar Resorts gated entrance.The only other time I used the car is when we left Disney property to go to Universal Studios and other places located off of Disney property.This was an enjoyable experience for us,even though the buses can get crowded with people standing in the aisles.But not on every bus ride.I hope I have helped you,but as I said,there may be other ways that I am not aware of.
 
Bus service is provided from the Animal Kingdom Lodge to all four parks - Magic Kingdom (MK), Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, and the Animal Kingdom itself. Also, buses go from the Lodge to Downtown Disney, Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach. Each bus clearly displays it's destination (some, like the Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon Bus, go multiple locations). Also, you should recieve a transportation guide upon check-in to the Animal Kingdom Lodge which explains all this.

However, the suggested transportation routes are not always the fastest. Yes, you can reach the Contemporary or Grand Floridian by changing buses at Downtown Disney (I suggest changing at the Marketplace stop). There is a better way, though. Instead, as long as you are traveling to/from the Contemporary/Grand Floridian within an hour or so of park operating hours (at opening or after closing), take the Magic Kingdom bus from the Animal Kingdom Lodge, then transfer to the Monorail (at the Magic Kingdom station) to reach your dinner destination. Reverse the process to get home. If you are returning to the Animal Kingdom Lodge well after Magic Kingdom park closing, the bus from the theme park to the Lodge may have stopped operating, so then you will have to take the Downtown Disney bus (and change at the marketplace, or just stay on board to reach Pleasure Island). Simply put, the theme park bus will almost always be faster when it's operating.

There are other options, such as transferring at Epcot and taking two monorail routes to reach the Contemporary, but in the interest of simplicity just keep the theme park bus routes in mind. Remember too, the Downtown Disney bus operates after 2 a.m., so you can always get back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge that way - don't worry about being stranded.
 

All of the above is correct. However, you should also know that the bus ride from AKL to Downtown Disney is the longest ride in the transportation system, and can take up to 40 minutes. Many guests who have a car available prefer to drive to Downtown Disney and use the Disney buses for all other destinations.
 
Thank you all so much for your input. I know it will be so helpful to me when we get to Disney this Friday. I can't wait!
Tannya
 
The Disney transportation system (buses, monorail and boats) is available free to all visitors.
 












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