Did you know that Disney World has its own transportation?
You can take buses, the Monorail, the Skyliner, and even boats to get to various destinations within Disney World. In some scenarios, you can even walk! But what happens if those modes of transportation aren’t available for some reason? We’ve rounded up some of the ways you could get stranded in Disney World, and how you can fix it!
Skyliner Troubles
The Skyliner can be a unique way to get around Disney World property, but it isn’t always the most reliable. For example, if there is lightning or high winds in the area, the Skyliner may stop running since it is relatively exposed and high up in the air.
The Skyliner runs to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, as well as four hotels: Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and the Riviera Resort. If the Skyliner needs to shut down for any reason, you can use buses to get from your hotel to the park and vice versa, but one great feature the Skyliner provides is transportation between hotels. Let’s say that you’re staying at Pop Century, but have dinner reservations at Topolino’s Terrace at the Riviera.
Let’s also say that you and your group took the Skyliner there with the intention of also taking it back to your hotel, when all of a sudden a thunderstorm rolls in. The Skyliner is down and there’s no telling when it will be available again, leaving you stranded at the Riviera. If this happens, you have a few options.
You can take a rideshare like the Disney World Minnie Vans, or Uber or Lyft to get back to your hotel. If you’re looking for an option where you don’t have to pay, you could take a bus from the Riviera to a Disney World park or Disney Springs, and then once you arrive, hitch a ride on a bus heading back to your hotel.
Another thing to consider with the Skyliner is its hours are not always consistent. We’ve experienced situations where we’ve had a late night reservation at Topolino’s Terrace and by the time we were finished, the Skyliner was not allowing passengers to board at the Riviera station. We then had to walk all the way over to the Caribbean Beach station to get the Skyliner back to our destination.
The best way to avoid this situation is to pay attention to any signage that may be available at the Skyliner station that could tell you when it stops running that night and, when in doubt, you can ask a Cast Member.
Click here to see how to get from park to park in Disney World
Monorail Woes
So you parked at the Transportation and Ticket Center and headed into Magic Kingdom for a day full of fun. When you decide to leave, you exit the park and see that the Monorail is down (or maybe it’s just full of people). If the Ferry Boat also has a long line of people waiting to board, and you’re not wanting to wait, you can walk from the Magic Kingdom to the Transportation and Ticket Center. It’s not a short walk, but it is one that you can make. What you’ll need to do is take the walkway to the Grand Floridian.
If you take that walkway all the way to the Grand Floridian, it will actually connect you to the Polynesian Village Resort, which will then connect you to the Transportation and Ticket Center. It’s a bit of a trek and probably not one you’d want to make at the end of a day walking around the Magic Kingdom, but it is doable if you need to.
Click here to see every single way you can get to Magic Kingdom in Disney World
Parking Lot Problems
If you’ve ever found yourself stranded in a Disney World parking lot because you forgot to write down or take a picture of what section and row you parked your car in (we’ve all been there, don’t worry), Disney has released a new feature on the My Disney Experience app that could help you!
It’s called the Car Locator and it works like this: when you park your car at any Disney World theme park, Disney Springs, water park, or ESPN Wide World of Sports, you can go into the app and either manually input your car’s location or allow the app to automatically detect where you car is using bluetooth and location services. The automatic service is actually pretty accurate. At the end of the night instead of wandering around the parking lot, you’ll be able to head right to your car, ensuring that you don’t have to spend a night stranded in the park’s parking lot.
Another thing to consider is if you leave the park at any point with your car still in the parking lot. For example, if you drive to EPCOT and park there, and then decide you want to check out the BoardWalk or Yacht & Beach Club and exit via the International Gateway, you have to be sure to get back into the park before it closes, otherwise you’ve just been separated from you car.
You won’t be able to get back to your car the way you came, and you may be forced to take an Uber or Lyft back to the parking lot or see if a Cast Member can assist you. Make sure to pay attention to the park hours if you decide to leave a park while your car is in the lot.
Click here to see 9 transportation changes we wish Disney World would make
Tom Sawyer Island
Okay, we know this one isn’t technically transportation-related, but it IS a way you could get stranded in Disney World. To get to Tom Sawyer Island, you’ll need to take a raft from Frontierland across the Rivers of America to the island. The island usually closes before the rest of the park, so you’ll need to make sure you know when the last raft back to the “mainland” is scheduled.
Now, of course, they won’t let you stay there the whole night and have Cast Members who search the island to make sure no one is hiding out. But if you miss the raft back, you might find yourself waiting for a while until a Cast Member finds you.
Click here to see 6 big lessons we learned navigating Disney World
When traveling within Disney World property, it’s important to know that you can’t always use transportation to get to your destination. And if you can, it might not always be direct. If you’re traveling from hotel to hotel for example, you can’t take a bus directly from your room at All-Star Music to Port Orleans French Quarter for some beignets.
If you’re heading to Disney World soon, we recommend reading up on the different ways you can get around and coming up with a plan (and a back-up) for how you’ll get from Point A to Point B. And as always, stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney news!
Click here to see 8 new things to plan for during your 2022 Disney World trip
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Have you ever been stranded in Disney World? Let us know in the comments!
As soon as you exit your car, take a PHOTO on your cellphone of your car parking space number and your license plate number, and take a second photo of the parking lot character sign! Before getting on a tram ride, look around at LANDMARKS such as a bunch of trees or buildings to help guide you back to your car. When leaving the park, as you get close to your car, press the unlock car button to make your car “call out” to you. Do not get on a tram ride in the morning without making a note on your phone (with a photo or in notes). At the end of the day, you seriously will have no idea of where you parked 12 hours earlier, when exhausted. There is nothing worse than forgetting where your car is parked in the dark. It takes just a few seconds. Don’t forget this vital step!
You can also mark your parking spot using Google Maps.