Disney World is huge as it is home to four theme parks, two water parks, a shopping and dining district, over 25 hotels, and so much more.
Welcome to Disney World!
All of this may sound overwhelming, and if you are worried about getting around the resort, Disney World provides free transportation for guests staying at their resorts as well as for those looking to park hop. While we have a few gripes with Disney World transportation (we are looking at you, TTC!), we are really starting to wonder when Disney World will fix the limited transportation options to Animal Kingdom as well as some of their resorts.
Disney World has many different types of transportation options, including the Monorail, the Skyliner, busses, and watercraft. Taking these forms of transportation can be a ride in itself! While there are so many forms of transportation, Animal Kingdom and a handful of Disney World hotels only have Disney buses as their mode of free transportation, and it is time for this problem to be solved.
Bus Transportation from Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Disney has been aware of its glaring transportation problem, and that is why the Skyliner was introduced in 2019. The Skyliner gave Caribbean Beach, the Riviera, Pop Century, and Art of Animation a new way to get to and from EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Plus, EPCOT already had Monorail transportation to connect it to the Magic and watercraft transportation to connect it to the EPCOT area hotels as well as Hollywood Studios.
Disney World’s Skyliner
So we think it is about time that Disney builds another way to get to and from Animal Kingdom as well as its surrounding resorts. Currently, no matter where your starting point is, the only way to arrive at Animal Kingdom via free Disney transportation is by Disney bus. While the bus system has worked, sometimes these buses can be crowded. It can also be so disappointing after a long park day, and you have to watch the bus pull away from your resort’s bus stop without you.
Animal Kingdom bus station
There are a handful of Disney World hotels near the Animal Kingdom area, including Animal Kingdom Lodge, All-Star Movies, All-Star Sports, All-Star Music, and Coronado Springs, which also have Disney buses as their only mode of transportation.
Disney Bus
We know that Disney has a lot on their plates right now as many new and exciting projects are on the horizon at Disney World this year and in the years to come. Still, another form of transportation to Animal Kingdom, as well as these resorts, would help keep transportation flowing, rather than only having Disney buses as a form of transportation.
Animal Kingdom Lodge Bus Stop
If you are staying at one of these resorts, it can be a good idea to rent or bring your own car. Another option is to order a Minnie Van via Lyft. We have our fingers crossed that one day, transportation to and from Animal Kingdom and its surrounding resorts will expand at some point.
Minnie Vans
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Extending the Skyliner from Hollywood Studios to AK would be fantastic. It would connect the resorts already on the Skyliner, the Crescent Lake resorts, and spurs could be put on for the All Star resorts, Coronado Springs, and Blizzard Beach. Nearly a dozen resort would have access to it without needing a bus.
I totally agree with you! They need more transportation options for several of the resorts.
We would like to see more of the Skyliner to connect the rest of the parks and resorts.
I have also noticed that the options for the disabled using scooters can be extremely limiting. We were staying at the Pop Century and the line for the mobility scooters to go on the Skyliner was 20 deep!!!!!!!!!!!! It took us OVER AN HOUR just to get on the Skyliner to meet our friends at Epcot.
We usually drive on our trips now, and we are likely to keep driving, but I’m all for more transportation options that mean fewer other guests are making that same choice. Especially if the transpo is a draw in itself, like the Skyliner or the boats. It would be great if there was a Skyliner route to connect ASR, BB, AK, and CS to Hollywood Studios. Then, almost everyone would have an alternative to get almost anywhere without getting on a bus. The ‘problem’ I see with that is that it would mainly serve the value ASR, and value resorts seem like an area where Disney is unwilling to invest now. But to me, this would be the natural second ‘route’ for the Skyliner to grow.
I don’t know how realistic it would be, but I would love to see Disney expand the Skyliner to the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom! The Skyliner is BY FAR the best option for those of us who use ECVs. With the monorail and especially the bus there’s often a sense that everyone is waiting on you, and you have a (sometimes hostile) audience as you struggle to maneuver on and off. For the Skyliner you load and unload from your own line, and then your gondola merges with everyone else. No impatient audience, and you pull straight in and back straight out, without a lot of jockeying to get in position. And the ride itself is a lovely moment of peace in an otherwise loud and peopley place.
Bus approximate time arrivals should be posted on the app. Whilst we are on the subject, why isn’t the tv screen at the hotels with bus times, on my room television. Get to the stop and realizing you’ll be waiting 20 is far worse than missing a bus at AK.
Lack of reliable transportation is why I won’t stay at Animal Kingdom lodge again. Feels like half your day is gone just trying to get to and from there.
So we hope that someday Disney will figure it out. That isn’t a good end to the article. If Disney knows there is problem, who’s working on it? What’s the status of their response? The fist complaint I have is that they ended their relationship with Mears and did away with the Magic Bus. Then the bigger issue is the timeliness of the ground transportation busses. If your at the Animal Kingdom Resort, you wait, and wait, and wait some more.
How much more do you want to pay for going to the park or staying at these hotel for Disney to build another mode of transportation for you. Me leave the prices alone and keep the busses
This is all a nice idea but the big question is what? There are no major waterways associated with these resorts so some form boats are not an option. The Monorail is hideously expensive to operate and maintain and Monorail expansion is not going to happen so forget that pipedream. I suppose they could expand the Skyliner but that is probably harder and more expensive than it sounds.
One thing I think they easily could and should do is build a nice walking path from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Animal Kingdom. I’ve measured it and it is about one mile from the main lodge to the front gate of the park. A little long but I’m sure some people would still enjoy doing it. By comparison the walking path from the Boardwalk to Hollywood Studios is a little shy of 2/3 of a mile.