Hi Gretchen!
Thanks for posting your transportation question to the Disney Parks Moms Panel. I love helping guests move efficiently from one location to another during their Walt Disney World Resort vacations.
While I do enjoy riding the complimentary Disney buses to reach destinations all over property, I can appreciate the desire to get back to one's Disney resort hotel quickly at the end of an exhilarating and exhausting day in the theme parks. I'm going to tell you how to get back to
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge from Epcot in a blink.
Watch
Illuminations: Reflections of Earth from the bridge between the United Kingdom and France pavilions at Epcot. When the nighttime spectacular concludes, leave Epcot through the International Gateway Entrance. Take a five minute walk to the lobby of
Disney's Beach Club Resort. (You could take a boat instead if you don't feel like walking, but that will take longer.) Walk through the lobby and exit through the resort's front doors. You will likely find taxis waiting there. If there are none visible, just ask the valets and one can be summoned quickly. That cab can whisk you back to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge in no time. This process will be faster than waiting to board a bus at the front of Epcot after Illuminations.
Wishing you many magical memories on your upcoming vacation,
Jill