5 Mistakes Disney World Rookies Make on Disney World Buses

Walt Disney World’s transportation system offers numerous ways to travel around the “Most Magical Place on Earth”: The Monorail, the Skyliner, various types of watercraft, and — of course — buses. The resort’s fleet of over 400 buses transports the 13th largest bus ridership in the U.S. across over 43 square miles of roads.

That’s a lot of passengers, with many first-time passengers making rookie mistakes each year. These are some of the most blatant miscues you must avoid if you’re taking your first trip — or first trip in a long time — to Disney World anytime soon.

“They Underestimate Travel Time”

Once again, there are 43 square miles of bus routes across Disney property, which means some trips take longer than others, like the route between the All-Star Resorts and the Magic Kingdom, or the Seven Seas Lagoon resorts to Animal Kingdom. Riders need to be aware of this, so that they depart their hotel early enough to make it to their park of choice in time to make rope drop/Lightning Lanes/dining reservations/arc.

“They Don’t Check Other Options”

While some Disney hotels only have bus service around the resort, others have multiple options, and guests need to know what services their hotel offers beforehand. For example, guests staying at hotels on the Skyliner route don’t offer buses to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios (outside of periods when the Skyliner is closed, such as during yearly refurbishments). The same can be said for resorts on the Monorail line and the Magic Kingdom.

“They Don’t Realize That They Can’t Take Buses Directly Between Hotels”

Walt Disney World hotels don’t offer bus service between each other. So, if you have dining reservations at a hotel restaurant, for example, and your hotel only offers bus transportation, you’ll need to take a bus to one of the theme parks — we’d advise figuring out which is closest to your destination — and then hopping on a second transportation method from there to the hotel.

For example, if you’re staying at Pop Century and have a dinner reservation at the California Grill, you’d take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and then monorail (or walk) over to the Contemporary.

“They Don’t Realize Disney Springs Doesn’t Offer Buses to the Parks”

In a similar vein, Disney Springs doesn’t offer bus service to any of Walt Disney World’s theme parks, likely to prevent guests from parking for free at the shopping district and then heading to their park of choice via the bus system. If you find yourself needing to get to one of the parks from Disney Springs, we’d suggest a similar strategy to traveling between hotels. Figure out which hotel is closest to the park you’re heading to, and take a bus to that hotel.

“They Don’t Fold Their Strollers”

Parents traveling on Disney buses should be aware that strollers must be folded and held while on board.

“They Don’t Account for Internal Bus Loops”

In addition to Walt Disney World’s main bus transportation system, several larger, more spread-out Disney World hotels have internal bus loops that carry guests to the main bus stations. These bus loops make it easier for everyone to find a stop close to them, BUT it also means that a bus could fill up before it even gets to your stop (especially in the morning), and add 30 minutes to an hour onto your commute.

The Disney World hotels with internal bus loops are:

• Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort (3 stops)
• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (8 stops)
• Saratoga Springs (5 stops)
• Old Key West (5 stops)
• Coronado Springs (4 stops)

Whether your next Disney World trip is your first or just your first in a long time, be sure to avoid making these rookie mistakes. Stay tuned to AllEars for more Disney World tips.

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