Hello Crystal!
I'm happy to hear you are planning your 2019 Walt Disney World Resort vacation. I hope you are having a wonderful time picking out all of the pixie-dusted details to make your trip extra magical.
As a land-locked, Colorado girl I can't help but want to see the ocean when we visit Florida. Cocoa Beach is a great choice, because not only is it only a bit over an hours drive, the waves are great and the beach is beautiful. There is public bus service available, however, when I was researching for our trip, the only fares and times I could find made the hour-ish trip more like a 3-hour trip and I didn't want to lose valuable beach time. I recommend looking into renting a car either at
Disney's Car Care Center or the Orlando International Airport or checking with such services as Lyft, Uber or taxis to complete your trip.
On trips where a beach visit just wasn't possible we'd plan on even just one night sometimes at
Disney's Beach Club Resort. While it's not the ocean, the beach vibe of the hotel mixed with the incredible sandy bottom pool at Stormalong Bay at least gave my kiddos the chance to splash in the water and build sandcastles on the "shore." Perhaps you can plan a split-stay to take advantage of the amenities of this resort before heading home.
Happy planning, Crystal, and please let us know if there is anything else we are able to assist you with.
Magical Wishes,
Lauren