Travel time between parks

[Pinky679]

I am planning my first trip to Disney World and can't figure out real world travel times between the 4 parks. We will be using the internal buses (or walking when applicable) and I have seen a bunch of estimations ranging from 15min for some park-park trips to 2hr. Can anyone give a breakdown of real time so I plan for the trips between parks (for park hoping).

 

[Alesia]

I always allow an hour, but it never takes that long.

If you want more specific estimates, you can check Google maps. Make sure to add some time for waiting and getting through security

 

[foodiddiedoo]

You can walk from the International Gateway in Epcot to the entrance at Hollywood Studios in 23 minutes according to google. It's about 1.2 miles so that's a fairly slow paced walk.

 

[_19disnA]

The 'real time' will vary widely depending on how crowded the parks are on any given day, time of day as well as the transportation system used. For example, you can go from Magic Kingdom using the monorail to Epcot, but have to go via the Ticket/transportation center. Your family may be the next in line or have to wait for another monorail during peak times. That is fairly typical for all Disney transportation. No one is going to be able to provide exact times for any form of transportation. Buses run about every 20 minutes and you may be able to board the next one or during peak times have to wait longer. A bus may have just departed as you are arriving, so it will be necessary to wait for the next one available.

It also depends on where you are staying since Disney is a HUGE facility and no single hotel will be closest to every park.

 

[wdw&sonny]

An hour is a good estimate. From the time you decide to leave a park, walk to the front, over to the bus, wait for the bus, board the bus, ride the bus, arrive at second park, depart the bus, walk to security, go through security, walk to the gate, use the tapstiles and get into the park, about an hour is a good estimate. As others have said, depends on which park-to-park and other factors.
Since it's your first trip, consider taking a mid-day break back to the resort. Enjoy some rest, relax, read, pool time, then head to dinner at a resort and to an evening park. That breaks up the day and keeps you energized.

 

[sponica]

I try to keep my hops restricted to MK-->Epcot or DHS--> Epcot so I don't have to rely on a bus.

 

[jpakstis]

In all honesty, it always seems to take about 20-30 minutes more than I anticipated! I think 1 hour is a good estimate. I also couldn't imagine hopping to three parks in a day (we have two kids, which always complicates everything!).

 

[Pinky679]

In all honesty, it always seems to take about 20-30 minutes more than I anticipated! I think 1 hour is a good estimate. I also couldn't imagine hopping to three parks in a day (we have two kids, which always complicates everything!).

I was only planning one hop a day (doing EMH and 3 fast passes then hop to less crowded park around lunch time)

 

[ThinkBelieveDream&Dare]

In case it's useful for OP or anyone, here's a pic showing the distances between parks

 

[SG131]

Honestly, I've always gotten park hoppers, but don't use them all that much. I think the common thing for me to do is to hop to epcot from HS for dinner because their options are much better. To me it's not usually worth the time wasted going from park to park.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

Disney buses run late sometimes. id say about 75 percent of the time there are no issues. Most trips from any point to any other point are 30-45 minutes.

Disney is HUGE....The Walt Disney World Resort is made up of 47 square miles of land…. or about 30,000 acres. So moving from park to park tir from a park to a resort takes longer that you might think. For a first trip, I would not suggest a park hopper ticket. You will need a full day to enjoy each park. HWS is a great park for your 3rd or 4th day...it is smaller so it is a nice break on th 3rd or 4th day for your feet as compared to MK, Epcot and AK which will have you walking allllll over the place to get to things within each park. have fun!

 

[Searc]

Disney buses run late sometimes. id say about 75 percent of the time there are no issues. Most trips from any point to any other point are 30-45 minutes.

Disney is HUGE....The Walt Disney World Resort is made up of 47 square miles of land…. or about 30,000 acres. So moving from park to park tir from a park to a resort takes longer that you might think. For a first trip, I would not suggest a park hopper ticket. You will need a full day to enjoy each park. HWS is a great park for your 3rd or 4th day...it is smaller so it is a nice break on th 3rd or 4th day for your feet as compared to MK, Epcot and AK which will have you walking allllll over the place to get to things within each park. have fun!

There is no set bus schedule, so they don't "run late". They run about every 20 minutes, everywhere. Sometimes less, sometimes a bit more.

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

There is no set bus schedule, so they don't "run late". They run about every 20 minutes, everywhere. Sometimes less, sometimes a bit more.

I guess I didnt use exactly the right words, but in general sometimes the buses seem to run easily with no long waits and at other times I feel like I wait forever. Luckily the times that I feel like Ive waited forever, are fewwer and far between....

 

[sethschroeder]

There is no set bus schedule, so they don't "run late". They run about every 20 minutes, everywhere. Sometimes less, sometimes a bit more.

If I say I will meet you in 20 mins and then show up in 30 mins I am late. You dont need to have a set schedule to be late.

You can also say the bus is running behind schedule even if there is no official schedule.

See it at airports as well. At LGA they even have supervisors who monitor busses are on "schedule".