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| Transportation Methods: Ferryboats, Monorail, and Water Taxi |
Walt Disney World is such a big complex of resorts, shopping locations, and of course, the Parks, that there has to be an immense number of different ways to get around in Disney. In this post, we’re going to take a look at some of the incredible options that a guest has for getting around!
Resort Transportation: Disney Buses
Image via WikipediaCertainly the most common form of transportation around Disney involves traveling by bus. Every resort has bus depots, in fact many of the resorts have multiple pickup and dropoff spots to fit the size of the resort! There are a few things that you should know about the buses. First of all, each bus that comes by your pickup location is designated for a specific location or group of locations. To know which location a particular bus is going to, look at the top of the windshield to see what the digital readout says. If you are going to the Magic Kingdom, don’t get on a bus that reads Animal Kingdom by mistake!
Second, the buses will always deliver passengers first, so if you are getting ready to board, know that those that need to get off will be done first. Also, people needing assistance will also be taken care of first.
Third, when you are leaving a park at the end of a long day, when you are heading to your bus pickup location, know that there are going to be a LOT of people getting on that bus also. When you are waiting in line, remember why we are all here in the first place. Talk about the cool things you saw that day. Remember all of the fun you had. Don’t let a long line cause you to do or say something you will regret tomorrow.
Resort Transportation: Monorail
Image by Express Monorail via FlickrOne of the really great things about going to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot is that you can ride the Monorail from one park to the other, and also to some of the great resorts located near the Magic Kingdom. The monorail, with it’s cool futuristic look and sleek design, was a favorite of mine when I first started going to the parks back in 1978. To this day, riding the monorail is a fun activity, and one that we like to do often.
The monorail has changed some since it first opened up. The unfortunate accident they had in 2009 has put a stop to the unique experience you used to get by riding at the front of the train with the driver. Cindy, Sophie and I were able to experience this twice a couple of years back, and we still have the “Co-pilot” cards that they gave us for doing so!
Resort Transportation: Boats
Walt Disney World has a wide array of different boats that you can enjoy. At the Magic Kingdom there are the Ferryboats, which will take you from the entrance to the Magic Kingdom over to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Additionally, there are the water taxis which you can take to the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Fort Wilderness, and Wilderness Lodge resorts.
At Port Orleans Resort (both Riverside and French Quarter), they have water taxis that will take you to the other resort, or to Downtown Disney! It is a very relaxing way to take some time and go do some shopping!
You can even take water taxis from Epcot to the Boardwalk, and a different set of boats from Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios!
These are the three main transportation methods for Disney, but two that you may want to consider also include using the family car or walking! In many cases it is quicker to get to a park by walking than by waiting for any of the other methods of transportation. If you are at the Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian (or even at Bay Lake Towers), take a relaxing stroll over to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom! Or, if you are staying at the Boardwalk resorts, take a stroll over to Epcot and enter via the International Gateway!
Lastly, if you are staying on property, you can drive your car to any of the other locations and park there. For example, we had breakfast at the Cape May Café last June, so we drove from Port Orleans French Quarter, parked for free at the Beach Club (we just showed them our parking pass for POFQ), and then after our breakfast we walked right over to Epcot for the day! We have also before driven to the parks, and with our resort parking pass you don’t need to pay to park at the Parks.
With all of the different options available for getting around the resorts, it really makes it easy to just park your car when you arrive and just leave it until you are ready to leave to come home. One of the fun things you can do on vacation is to try out the various types of transportation to see what you like best! But most of all, remember that the drivers are there to help us, so treat them with the respect that they deserve.
The boats at Port Orleans Riverside are one of the things that make it a favorite resort of ours. It is such a nice change from the buses!
It's a nice and fun thing to keep track of each method you've used. Go deeper by tracking each color of Monorail; each Bus destination; and types of Boats. Sooner or later, you'll have done them all!
Then start on the attraction vehicles: each Jungle Cruise boat, etc.
I haven't tracked the colors before, so that's a good idea. Last visit, though, we were all confirming the various types of travel we had made — just during that one trip! We took water taxis from POFQ to DD, ferry boat to MK, water taxi from Boardwalk to Epcot, monorail, bus, innertube from Kali River Rapids, runaway train from Big Thunder Mountain, limo from Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and I can't even remember what else!