Hiya Rosanne - welcome to
planDisney!
I'm so glad that you stopped by to ask your question about the
complimentary bus transportation at
Walt Disney World Resort! The many transportation options at
Disney Resort Collection hotels are a great way to easily get around to the theme parks, water parks,
Disney Springs, and everything in between! The buses truly open up a whole new world of possibilities for your vacation - it's like having your own world-traveling chauffeur! Where else can you go from France (
EPCOT) to the savannas of Africa (
Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park) then to New Orleans (
Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter), all on the same day?! I absolutely love not needing to worry about parking or directions during my vacations and I'm sure you will too.
Resort buses typically pass through a resort every 20 minutes or so, but this does depend on the time of day, crowds, traffic, and of course, weather. There have been terrific updates recently to many of the bus stops including digital screens with updated schedules and estimated arrival times for buses to various destinations across Walt Disney World Resort. You can usually expect the first buses of the day to appear about 45 minutes prior to a park's opening time, and the final bus bound for a resort hotel typically leaves the parks one hour after park closing. This means you'll have plenty of time to both rope-drop in the morning and squeeze in every last bit of park time at night, all without needing to worry about where you parked!
In general, I always plan for about a 15-minute bus ride between most locations at Walt Disney World Resort. So, if you walk to the Port Orleans French Quarter bus stop and see that the bus to Magic Kingdom Park is estimated to arrive in 10 minutes, you can plan on arriving at Magic Kingdom in about 25 minutes or so. The same math would also apply to Disney's Art of Animation Resort.
Do keep in mind that you will need to take a short walk from the bus stops to the entrance gates at the theme parks, so be sure to accommodate that as well. Also, some of the larger resorts have multiple bus stops, which might add a couple of extra minutes to your total travel time. Speaking of bus stops, if you're not exactly sure where to catch a bus, you can use the map in the
My Disney Experience Mobile App to find the nearest stop! Just tap on the map pin icon at the bottom of the screen, then tap
Wait List to see the drop-down options -
Transportation will be the last option!
I hope this helps your planning - please don't hesitate to
reach out to me with any other questions!Ryan J.