When Walt Disney first envisioned the premier theme park experience, Disney World buses were not part of the vision. Instead, he saw a vast highway in the sky, gliding off to interconnected resorts and the magical city of tomorrow.

While not as mythical as Walt’s original idea, the Walt Disney World bus system does fulfill part of that purpose, efficiently connecting vast areas of the park and resort system. However, getting around using Disney World buses does take a certain bit of knowledge if you want to avoid waiting at bus depots for a mode of transport that will never come.

To keep your trip on track, here is our guide to Disney World buses.

Understanding the Disney World Bus System: An Overview

The majority of buses in use at Disney World shuttle guests from their resort to the theme parks, water parks and Disney Springs from their resort hotel. A smaller number are employed to take cast members from parking areas to work within the parks and resorts.

Guests staying at a Disney World Resort Hotel have the option to hop on a Disney bus when heading to the parks. Pick up and drop off points are located outside the lobby at most deluxe resorts. Larger moderate and value resorts may have multiple pick up and drop off points to make it easier for guests to locate a bus depot without walking too far.

When leaving the parks, you’ll find convenient pick up points outside the main gates. Ample signage will help direct you to the correct depot. From there, all you have to do is wait for the next bus to arrive.

As of April 26, 2024, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reported that Disney World was operating 787 buses and employing 2,439 driversIt’s hard to pin down exactly when the Disney World transportation system started offering bus service from onsite hotels to the different parks. Some sources say as early as 1971. While this makes sense since Disney’s Fort Wilderness campgrounds was open at the time, none of the sources provided by Google gave any supporting evidence for the information. It is clear that buses were in use in 1983, as Disney Avenue includes an interesting retrospective on bus service from 1983 through 1995 on their site, including pictures from the transportation guides available at the time. Another interesting tidbit comes from the September 22, 2009 edition of the Orlando Sentinal, when a device mounted to a bus tire shut down all of Disney World Resort for a few hours. Bomb squads were called in, and it was discovered that the threat was nothing more than a tire pressure monitoring device used on a single bus in the 300-vehicle fleet as a test

Disney World Bus Routes and Connections

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You can travel the world on a bus as long as it’s Mickey’s world you’re visiting. The Disney World bus system travels from all of Disney’s on-property resorts. This excludes Disney Springs area hotels that are privately owned as well as the Swan and Dolphin.

The only caveat here is that you won’t be able to hitch a ride to every park on a Disney bus. The Grand Floridian, for instance, has access to the monorail line, so guests to Magic Kingdom don’t need a bus to take them there.

Likewise, the Beach and Yacht Club resorts as well as Caribbean Beach are located on the Skyliner route, so you’ll be traveling above ground for your journey to Hollywood Studios.

Bus transportation is available to and from the following resorts and locations, including all Disney World value, moderate and deluxe resorts. Following the list below, read on for more important information, including what it’s like to ride a Disney World bus and tips for making sure you can get on one when you want to.

While buses are prevalent across Disney World property, they don’t travel to every location from every resort. The Disney World Transportation system is vast and includes the monorail, Skyliner and watercraft in addition to Disney’s fleet of motor coaches.

You’ll find Disney World bus routes as follows:

While the early 1983 buses mentioned above were striped with a single color to denote the resorts and parks they served, today’s buses sport digital signage to indicate where the motor coach is going next.  These digital signs have made it possible for Disney to operate more flexibly and efficiently when a bus is needed on a new route. The driver only needs to change the location on the sign and head off in a new direction.

What’s It Like to Ride a Disney World Bus

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As part of the Disney World transportation system, Disney World buses are an efficient way to travel from your resorts to the parks and back again, and Disney is certain to keep their fleet up-to-date and running in magical fashion. In fact, the current fleet has seen several alterations over the years.

In 2013, for example, Disney began testing electric buses. Apparently, these eco-friendly vehicles weren’t as magical as they sound, since the majority of Disney’s bus fleet remains diesel driven, something insiders cite as a major impediment to Disney’s mission to reduce the company’s carbon footprint (hint, expect more eco-friendly changes to come).

Other advancements over the years include GPS enablement, allowing each bus to auto generate PA announcements as the bus passes critical landmarks. From time to time, you may ride a bus with this feature. You’ll know when you hear the familiar Disney voice suddenly start speaking over the noise of the crowd, telling you about something located nearby.

In 2019, Disney World rolled out its latest tech-friendly buses, all wrapped with the likeness of some of Disney’s most beloved characters. In addition to sporting friendly faces, each bus is equipped with charging ports and Wi-Fi, which is a great amenity if you can score a seat to settle in and connect your device.

Seating on a Disney World Bus

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Seating a Disney World bus is similar to many city buses, affording guests with hard plastic seating. You’ll also find ample standing room in the first half of the bus.

The simple truth is, Disney World buses offer a limited number of seats, and if the driver needs to accommodate a wheelchair or electric mobility scooter, he or she will need to fold up seating to make space. As a result, you could find yourself standing as you make your journey, particularly if you are traveling close to park opening or closing.

It’s not a bad way to travel, particularly since most journeys are short, but handholds are located in the ceiling. This makes it a bit of stretch for those of us who are shorter or holding a tired or sleeping child. Fortunately for the latter, many guests are very accommodating and will willingly give up a seat.

If you’re worried about your ability to stand for the ride, speak to the driver or wait for the next bus to arrive when you have a better chance of getting on first.

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Catching a Ride

You can catch a ride on a Disney World bus from either your on-property resort hotel or one of the parks or destinations on Disney property.

To board a bus from one of Disney’s parks, simply return to the same location where you were dropped off upon arrival. You’ll find large and informative signs guiding you toward the bus stop for your resort.

Once at the depot, simply enter the queue and wait.

Bus depots are also available at each resort. Larger resorts including Disney World moderate and value hotels, as well as some vacation club villas, offer multiple stops for guest convenience. Most Deluxe resorts offer only one centrally located bus stop.

While you’ll never have to walk far to catch a bus, you might wait longer at larger resorts for a bus to arrive. This is due to routing of the buses. Most are assigned a prescribed route. As each driver enters the property, he or she heads to the first stop. If the bus fills up at stops one through three, it will then head toward the park.

When the next bus enters the property, it does the same thing, leaving again as soon as it is full. If you’re traveling close to park opening, this could leave you waiting for a bit for an empty bus if you’re standing at a stop close to the end of the loop.

Fortunately, accommodating bus drivers will radio back to headquarters when this happens, allowing Disney to direct buses to pick up passengers waiting at later stops.

We waited once at Polynesian Village over a half an hour for a bus to Animal Kingdom. A driver to another park happened to recognize that he’d seen the same people during two of his stops. He asked where we were going and radioed it in. A bus was quickly rerouted to pick us up.

Timing and Scheduling: When to Catch Your Bus

Buses operate nearly everywhere across Disney World and are the only form of transportation to/from the Animal Kingdom, water parks and value resorts. Buses run on a consistent schedule beginning around an hour prior to scheduled Early Theme Park Entry until around 2 hours after park closing.

According to most sources, you could wait up to 20 minutes for a bus to arrive for pick up. However, in our experience, we’ve found intervals between the arrival of buses to be closer to 10 minutes, if we arrive shortly after the last bus departs.

At many times of day, there is more than one motor coach operating between a resort and a theme park. For instance, if Magic Kingdom opens at 8:30 am (Early Theme Park Entry), you’ll notice multiple buses running between the park and each resort from around 7:30 until noon.

During the afternoon hours, you will find fewer buses operating on each route, since far fewer guests travel during this time.

Timing Your Arrival at the Resort Bus Stop

If you’re planning to hitch a ride on a Disney World bus to one of the parks in the morning, be advised that the early bird gets the worm. In this case, that’s a seat, or often even a ride, on the first bus heading toward your destination.

As you get closer to park opening, the stops get more crowded. Even if you are at the first stop on a loop or catching your bus from a single point at a Disney deluxe resort, you could easily find yourself waiting for a second or third bus to arrive before you can get on.

In some instances, a single bus may serve multiple resorts, depending upon the number of guests visiting at that particular time. For instances, we’ve stayed at Polynesian Village and made stops at Grand Floridian to pick up guests before heading off to some parks.

This is where crowd control becomes tricky. As guests become impatient waiting for multiple buses to arrive, some are inclined to show their not-so-magical side. That means you could be pre-empted from getting on a bus by a later arriving guest. Unlike the bus stops located at the parks, resort bus depots do not have queues where passengers can form an orderly line or even a spot on the concrete where guests can gather for each bus.

That means boarding is a bit of a free for all, and the more guests there are waiting, the harder it becomes to keep track of who arrived when.

Disney World buses will start running 60-90 minutes before park opening and run 60-120 minutes after park closing. You’ll find the same crowded conditions beginning about 30 minutes prior to park close and continuing up to an hour after.

To avoid waiting in line, you can time your arrival to exit about an hour before closing time or simply hang around the park for a bit, waiting for crowds to clear. We often do a bit of shopping, as most stores remain open, or take time to snap some pictures.

See Bus Wait Times in the My Disney Experience App

If you’re traveling at an off-peak time, catching a Disney World bus is much simpler. You’ll find arrival times listed in the My Disney Experience App. To take advantage of the feature, make sure you set up a My Disney Experience account and download the app before you leave on your vacation.

Once you’ve entered your information, including your resort reservation, you’ll be able to see when buses traveling to various destinations will arrive at your resort. Keep in mind that times are listed dynamically. They will change according to traffic conditions and the speed at which the bus is traveling.

So, you can expect to see an arrival time for ten minutes get longer or shorter depending on current travel conditions.

Disney has also positioned screens at each resort depot. These overhead monitors track the next bus for each park and display the expected arrival time.

Accessibility Features of Disney Buses

You’ll find Disney buses to be easily accessible. Upon arrival at the bus stop, simply park your wheelchair or mobililty scooter in the accessible waiting spot.

Once the bus has arrived, the driver will exit the vehicle and lower a ramp in the middle section of the bus. He or she will help load your wheelchair or scooter if you need assistance. If you wish to remain seated and not transfer to a bus seat, your chair or scooter will be strapped in to prevent any movement during the ride.

In general, there is only room for one or two wheelchairs or electric mobility scooters per bus. If there are a number of people waiting to board, you may be asked to wait for room on the next bus.

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Family-Friendly Tips for Strollers

If you’re traveling with a stroller, you may want to practice folding and unfolding your device prior to your trip. While guests are allowed to roll right into the monorail with strollers open and in use. You will need to fold up your stroller and carry it closed onto the bus.

Children will be asked to sit in a seat or on a lap during the journey. They will not be permitted to sit in the stroller. This allows drivers to load as many passengers as possible and get more guests to the park in a reasonable amount of time.

Alternatives to Riding a Disney World Bus

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In our comparison of Disney World transportation options, Disney World buses ranked somewhere in the middle for guest experience. While most guests find interiors to be clean (despite frequent use) and transportation times reasonable, bus driver friendliness was hit or miss.

The time it takes for buses to arrive at bus stops was another pet peeve. While Disney says that buses pick up approximately every 20 minutes, this can vary depending on the resort where you are staying and the time of day.

Transportation between your resort and your destination can vary as well. Disney World resorts are located around the property, putting some in close proximity to some parks but distant from others.

Overall, you should plan on a 10–20-minute ride, but even when traveling to the farthest points, rides never seem to take as long as you’d expect. However, there are some potentially faster ways to travel to and from your destination.

Ride sharing, for example, allows you to skip the wait at the bus depot. By using either Lyft or Uber you can arrange to have a driver meet you, often outside your room, and drive you straight to the park.

While this is definitely a more private and relaxed experience if you’re traveling close to park opening or closing, it won’t necessarily get you there ahead of the pack. Disney has been known to hold auto traffic into the park at the gates until right before park opening. This was a popular practice as Disney parks employed social distancing measures to keep large numbers of guests from congregating at park turnstiles prior to official opening.

If this practice should rear its ugly head again, you could find yourself sitting for awhile in traffic while buses speed on ahead. You could also encounter angry drivers who make their living on tips. Most need to accommodate a certain number of passengers an hour to bring in sufficient income. Since the app calculates your cost based on distance, most don’t account for the time the driver will spend sitting at a closed entry gate.

Members of our party ran into this problem in late 2020. The driver demanded that they get out of the car and walk into the park. Since they were on a major multi-lane road still quite a distance from the park gates, with no real pedestrian area, this wasn’t feasible. Despite offering a large tip, the driver continued to insist that they get out of the car, even though he had no way to turn around and exit the traffic jam around him.

Still, we enjoy ride sharing at certain times of day, mostly if we want to travel right at park closing, but will use the Disney World bus system the majority of the time.

To see the complete list of pros and cons related to ride share, visit our post comparing all available Disney World transportation options.

Final Word on the Disney World Bus System

Disney World has spent multiple years refining and improving the Disney World bus system. As such, it is one of the more efficient ways to travel between your resort and the parks. Best of all, use of the buses is included in the cost of your resort stay. If you’re visiting Disney World on a budget, this is one of the perks of admission, so why not use it to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

More information on Disney World Transportation for Your Disney World Vacation Planning

Disney World Transportation and Ticket Center, More than Magic Kingdom Parking

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Disney World Resort Transportation: The Ridesharing Bus Showdown

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Jump Aboard the Disney World Monorail and Journey to Three Resorts and Two Theme Parks

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