What hotels are walking distance to the Magic Kingdom?

[Disneyland1084]

I'm a Disneyland veteran doing research for a WDW trip that's still a few years away. But I'm curious as to what hotels are walking distance to the Magic Kingdom? That may be the park I want to be closest too. And please no abbreviations because I won't know what you're saying. Thank you.

 

[mesaboy2]

I'm a Disneyland veteran doing research for a WDW trip that's still a few years away. But I'm curious as to what hotels are walking distance to the Magic Kingdom? That may be the park I want to be closest too. And please no abbreviations because I won't know what you're saying. Thank you.

Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Towers (which is Disney Vacation Club).

 

[Itinkso]

Contemporary Resort is the only one in walking distance.

MK is on the Monorail line and Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, and Contemporary are on the line and have easy access to MK.

 

[mrsclark]

The only resort that I know of that you can walk to the Magic Kingdom is Contemporary. You may also be able to walk from the Grand Floridian and Polynesian but even if there is a walking path, based on the distance, I think it would be faster to use the monorail from those two. Contemporary is also on the monorail loop. Hope this helps!

 

[mesaboy2]

The only resort that I know of that you can walk to the Magic Kingdom is Contemporary. You may also be able to walk from the Grand Floridian and Polynesian but even if there is a walking path, based on the distance, I think it would be faster to use the monorail from those two. Contemporary is also on the monorail loop. Hope this helps!

There is no complete walking path.

 

[mrsclark]

The only resort that I know of that you can walk to the Magic Kingdom is Contemporary. You may also be able to walk from the Grand Floridian and Polynesian but even if there is a walking path, based on the distance, I think it would be faster to use the monorail from those two. Contemporary is also on the monorail loop. Hope this helps!

I stand corrected! The last time I rode the monorail i saw a pathway from Grand Floridian to MK (and so by extension to Polynesian - which IS for sure linked to Grand Floridian by walkway), but that is not open to the public - sorry for the confusion!

 

[mickeyonasticky]

Like others have said, you can walk from Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower.

Contemporary (and BLT), Polynesian, and Grand Floridian are all on the resort monorail line.

You can also take a boat between Magic Kingdom and Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, and Fort Wilderness Campground. There is no boat between Contemporary and MK because it does have that walking path.

 

[mickeyonasticky]

I stand corrected! The last time I rode the monorail i saw a pathway from Grand Floridian to MK (and so by extension to Polynesian - which IS for sure linked to Grand Floridian by walkway), but that is not open to the public - sorry for the confusion!

It's not that it's not open to the public, it's that it isn't a complete path. There is a nice pathway that heads TOWARDS GF from MK, but it stops at the Electical Water Pageant channel.

 

[mesaboy2]

I stand corrected! The last time I rode the monorail i saw a pathway from Grand Floridian to MK (and so by extension to Polynesian - which IS for sure linked to Grand Floridian by walkway), but that is not open to the public - sorry for the confusion!

Well.....it is open to the public, it's just that it's not a complete path. There's this little canal in the way....

 

[DOOM1001]

I stand corrected! The last time I rode the monorail i saw a pathway from Grand Floridian to MK (and so by extension to Polynesian - which IS for sure linked to Grand Floridian by walkway), but that is not open to the public - sorry for the confusion!

there's a pathway that looks like it will go towards GF but it dead ends,they never completed the path.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

But even the Contemporary is not as close as most hotels on Harbor Blvd in Anaheim.

 

[Itinkso]

But even the Contemporary is not as close as most hotels on Harbor Blvd in Anaheim.

True, it's probably equivalent to walking from the McD's on Harbor to the DL turnstiles. If that is considered far, then any of the Monorail resorts would be a great choice.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Resorts forum

 

[ElizabethG]

Well.....it is open to the public, it's just that it's not a complete path. There's this little canal in the way....

Walk, jump, swim, climb, walk, and you're there!

 

[Momoftwins+1]

The walk from Contemporary takes 5 minutes max and that was with me pulling along three smaller children while pushing DH in a wheel chair thanks to a broken foot just before vacation. Its shorter than walking from Paradise Pier Hotel at DL to the entrance to DL. You do have to cross a road on a cross walk though.

 

[amym2]

I would think most DLR vets would actually spend more time at the other parks because they are more unique to WDW than MK. You might consider hotels in the EP area (Beach Club, Boardwalk, Yacht Club) because you can walk to EP and walk or boat to DHS from there. We haven't stayed at any of those resorts, but I've read that their bus service to MK is less than desirable. Personally I'd probably go with a more centrally located resort that has decent bus service to all of the parks (Port Orleans Riverside for a moderate or Old Key West for a deluxe). You might consider Wilderness Lodge, which has a boat to MK and decent bus service, although it's similar to the Grand Californian.

Nothing is walkable at WDW like it is at DLR. Yes, you can walk to MK from the Contemporary or Bay Lake Towers, but that's the only park you can walk to. It would be a shame to go all the way to WDW and spend most of your time at MK. Just go to DLR if that's the case (and don't get me wrong, we love MK, but the same rides are better at DL)!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I would think most DLR vets would actually spend more time at the other parks because they are more unique to WDW than MK. You might consider hotels in the EP area (Beach Club, Boardwalk, Yacht Club) because you can walk to EP and walk or boat to DHS from there. We haven't stayed at any of those resorts, but I've read that their bus service to MK is less than desirable. Personally I'd probably go with a more centrally located resort that has decent bus service to all of the parks (Port Orleans Riverside for a moderate or Old Key West for a deluxe). You might consider Wilderness Lodge, which has a boat to MK and decent bus service, although it's similar to the Grand Californian.

Nothing is walkable at WDW like it is at DLR. Yes, you can walk to MK from the Contemporary or Bay Lake Towers, but that's the only park you can walk to. It would be a shame to go all the way to WDW and spend most of your time at MK. Just go to DLR if that's the case (and don't get me wrong, we love MK, but the same rides are better at DL)!

As DLR vets we agree with this. Our first WDW visit we planned on spending time at MK and it was one of our least favorite parks because it was so similar to Disneyland, yet just different enough to drive us crazy. Now after a few visits we love it and spend more time there, but for a first visit from California staying near Epcot might be a neat idea, so you can walk right into the back side of Epcot and either walk or boat to Hollywood Studios.

Another key difference to remember coming from California is that everything is super spread out. You can ride on a Disney bus on Disney property at freeway speeds for almost half an hour and not leave Disney. This means you will have to rely on the transportation options more at WDW than at Disneyland. For example, at Disneyland the monorail is fun but you could totally walk the path instead, while at WDW it covers many miles. Just go with it, and enjoy the different options (boats, buses, monorails) and consider it part of the fun.

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

I would think most DLR vets would actually spend more time at the other parks because they are more unique to WDW than MK. You might consider hotels in the EP area (Beach Club, Boardwalk, Yacht Club) because you can walk to EP and walk or boat to DHS from there. !

Don't forget the Swan and Dolphin resorts, and they would make for a less expensive vacation.

 

[nkereina]

Wilderness Lodge is another, more budget friendly, option if you want to be near Magic Kingdom. There is boat transportation to and from Magic Kingdom. Not as convenient as walking or the monorail, but better than the buses.