Planes, Trains and Monorails... All about Disney World Transportation Options!

So you’ve never been to Disney World, or it’s been a few years. Besides the all-important details of where to stay and when (which of course I can help you decide!), you’ll likely be wondering how to get around. The size of Disney World is around 40 SQUARE MILES - basically the size of San Francisco or double the size of Manhattan!!

Odds are you’ll be taking many forms of transportation to get to all of the Magical spots you want to encounter. I’ve listed most of the different choices you’ll have here - but as things are always changing and you may have special needs not covered here, please call me and we can make sure these options work for you!!

The Monorail - This is one of the best options. Classic Disney and basically an attraction on its own. If you ever see T-shirts with the slogan, “Please stand clear of the doors / por favor mantentase alejado de las puertas” you can bet that’s a Disney monorail shirt. But not only is it fun, it’s practical. The monorail goes through 3 resorts - Grand Floridian, Polynesian and Contemporary. It also connects the Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation Center which then connects to Epcot. If you stay at a Monorail resort, you can use this for 2 of the 4 parks!

Boats - Who doesn’t love a short boat ride especially when the Magic Kingdom is looming ahead? For a nice, fresh air ride to the Magic, hop on a boat. Fort Wilderness Campground, Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian boats will take you directly to Magic Kingdom. Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter both have boat service to Disney Springs as does Old Key West and Saratoga Springs. Boardwalk, Beach Club and Yacht Club have boat service to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Buses - This may not be the most glamorous way to travel, but it gets you there without worrying about parking or finding your way and as with all of the other transportation listed here, it’s free! Buses are available from all resorts to the parks and Disney Springs. Just look for the big signs telling you which bus stall to head towards - super easy. And now you can see the bus arrival times in your My Disney Experience app so you could spend a few extra minutes soaking up Main Street instead of standing in the bus line! Just be aware that at times like closing, the lines could get long so get a move on if you are in a hurry to get to your resort.

Minnie Vans - This is the one service that is NOT free. It’s provided through the Lyft app. You’ll pay a bit but if you have dinner reservations that you don’t think you’ll make or a FastPass to Flight of Passage that you’re about to miss, it might be worth it. The service is door-to-door so people with limited mobility might think about this. Although the buses/monorail/boats are all accessible, it can be nerve-wracking to try to drive a scooter onto those with a crowd watching. Minnie Vans are personal transportation.

Skyliner - Not yet open but should be amazing when it does! Once operating, the gondola system will connect Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot to four resort hotels- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and a new Vacation Club property, Disney’s Riviera Resort.

Walking - I know, you’re well aware that you can walk from place to place! But keep in mind that you can only walk to the Magic Kingdom from the Contemporary. And you can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios from Boardwalk, Beach Club and Yacht Club. More walking may not work for everyone but I love to stroll through Disney World and prefer this whenever I can!

Let’s get you a trip booked to Disney World - give me a call!!! Don’t forget - just like the Disney provided transportation, my services are FREE!!

Disney's Contemporary Resort - Is It Right for Your Vacation?

On our recent trip to Disney, we stayed at Disney's Contemporary Resort.  In today's post, I'll talk about the pros and cons of staying at this Deluxe category resort.

First, the good, or really, the GREAT things about this resort:

The proximity to the Magic Kingdom!  It's NEXT DOOR!  The main reason we chose this resort is that the Magic Kingdom is our favorite park and we end up there almost every day.  You have a couple of options to get to Magic Kingdom - the monorail which comes through the lobby of the hotel and a walking path which is about a 10 minute walk.  I think I did it in 5 minutes because I was a bit excited to get over there!  

I took this looking over the railing just outside our room inside the resort.

The walkway starts just past the bus stop.      

I was always torn on whether to take the monorail or walk.  The truth is you'll walk A LOT at Magic Kingdom and adding more steps to your day may not work for you.  But the benefit is that you don't have to wait in any lines for transportation, security is at a checkpoint along the way for bag checks and we were always the ONLY PEOPLE in line there so never a wait.  

But if you do think you should save your steps, the monorail is a fun way to get to the Magic Kingdom.  Just be aware that the ride to the Magic Kingdom is longest on the way there - it stops at the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian before getting to Magic Kingdom.  On the way back to the Contemporary, though, you're the first stop.  If you're leaving at a non-busy time (not park closing, after fireworks...), I'd probably take the monorail back.  But if you want to stay until the park closes, you'll be in a long line of others getting on the monorail so I'd suggest walking if you can handle it.

Another great thing about this resort is the view you'll have (if you get a Theme Park View).  Normally a theme park view is an added cost but we were pleasantly surprised (OK, I freaked out!) to have one this time even though we didn't book that room.  I didn't want to spend the extra money considering I want to be in the parks the entire time and wouldn't enjoy the view much.

Well, after staying in this room, I was totally spoiled.  Look at our view!!

Cinderella Castle!

Space Mountain!

I never expected to be in the room to see Magic Kingdom's fireworks but as it turned out we saw it on 3 different nights.  We were too tired to stay in the park til fireworks on the day we ran the half marathon.  And then a couple of other times we just happened to get back to our room in time to see them.  And although I would prefer to be in the parks for them just because of how awesome they are, they're pretty darn good from a distance.  You can even hear the music coming from the park!

The resort is close to EPCOT also and again, you can take the monorail there which is convenient.  My only complaint is that you have to go through security twice to get to EPCOT.  Since you have to transfer monorail lines at the Ticket and Transportation Center, they have no way of knowing that you went through security at the Contemporary.  The lines went pretty quick but a bit frustrating to do it twice.

The only other complaint I have about the resort is that it's loud.  Chef Mickey's is in the lobby area and they open pretty early for breakfast and are open late for dinner.  So when kids see Mickey and squeal, it's pretty easy to hear.  I tend to be up early and late so not a big deal but if you have little kids that are trying to sleep it might be an issue.  We were on the 10th floor and Chef Mickey's is on the 4th.  But with the open lobby, the sound travels up.  

All in all, I LOVED it and would definitely stay there again.  I have my sights set on the Polynesian for my next trip (have you heard they have Dole Whip on site?), but once I check out a few more resorts, I'd love to stay at the Contemporary many more times!

I'd love to chat with you about which resort would be best for your family.  Every situation is different!! 

Here are a few more pics from our room/the resort: