How To Get Between Parks At Disney World Without Using Disney’s Transportation

Getting between Disney World’s theme parks without using their free transportation may sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be.

Whether you’re trying to make a tight dining reservation, avoid the crowds, or just prefer a bit more control over your day, there are several reliable ways to park-hop without ever stepping onto a Disney bus, monorail, or Skyliner.

From walking paths and rideshares to lesser-known drop-off spots and smart driving tips, I’ve tested all the non-Disney transportation options during my visits and in this guide, I’m sharing exactly how to get between parks at Disney World on your own terms.

Let’s make your day smoother, quicker, and way less stressful.

How To Get Between Parks At Disney World Without Using Disney’s Transportation

Here are 5 different transportation methods to travel around that are not Disney World transportation options.

1. Driving Yourself

If you brought your own car or have a rental car, a great way to get from one theme park to another is just driving yourself.

Once you’ve paid for parking at one park, you’re covered for the whole day, as long as you keep your receipt.

There is a lot of signage to help you get from point A to point B, but there are definitely some navigational gaps.

I highly recommend using a GPS if you’re going to drive yourself around Disney World.

I know all the roads very well, but still use one anyway, since some parks have a few different routes you can take to get between them.

You also never know if there will be a road closure due to an accident or construction, so you’ll be able to find your way around better with a GPS.

As a side note, the Disney World app can tell you where you parked or you can take a photo or send your parking row to someone to reference later, so you can find your car easily.

2. Rideshare

Rideshare is very popular at Disney World for people that are in a hurry.

It’s great if you have a dining reservation you need to get to and don’t have time to wait for a bus.

You never know if the travel time for the buses will be 2 minutes or 20 minutes and many times that can be the difference in making it to your reservation on time or not.

If you’re not in any hurry and don’t have any sort of unique needs that require private transportation I really do recommend just taking Disney’s complimentary transportation.

Depending on which parks you’re trying to get to, you may be able to take a bus, monorail, Skyliner, boats, or the ferry.

Minnie Van

A cool option that Disney World offers for rideshare services is their Minnie Van, which you can book through the Lyft app.

These are driven by actual Disney cast members.

They always hold up to 6 people, and have 2 car seats available for free.

There are even ECV and wheelchair accessible Minnie Vans.

The best place to take a Minnie Van though is the Magic Kingdom entrance.

It’s the only way to get dropped off right at the front of the theme park entrance without taking a Disney bus or monorail.

All other rideshares and drop-offs have to go to the Transportation and Ticket Center and then from there you would have to take a ferry or monorail over to Magic Kingdom.

For more information on this, I have a blog post that goes super in-depth on how to use rideshare services at Disney World.

3. Public Transportation

Taking public transportation that isn’t Disney owned and operated only works for a select few options.

The LYNX bus system, which is Orlando’s bus system, has stops at Disney Springs and the Transportation and Ticket Center (which is where you’d go to get to Magic Kingdom).

Disney Springs does not offer bus transportation directly to the theme parks because parking at Disney Springs is free and theme park parking is not free, so it’s to deter people from taking advantage of the system.

If you got dropped off at Disney Springs, you’d have to take a Disney bus to one of Disney’s resorts and then go to the theme parks.

NOTE: Disney is beginning to implement reservation verification systems for Disney Springs bus transportation.
You must provide a valid resort reservation, dining reservation, or recreation reservation in order to take a bus or boat from Disney Springs to anywhere else on property.
I anticipate this will soon spread to even more areas around Disney World.

Or you could take a rideshare directly to a theme park from Disney Springs.

If you really wanted to, you could walk over to the Saratoga Springs resort hotel and take the Disney bus from there to whichever theme park you’re trying to get to.

With the Transportation and Ticket Center, you have direct access to Magic Kingdom and Epcot by monorail.

4. Walking

I mentioned this at the beginning, but Epcot and Hollywood Studios are actually a walkable distance from each other.

If you exit Epcot from their World Showcase entrance, you just have to walk to the other side of the Boardwalk resort.

From there, there is a pathway that follows along the river to the entrance of Hollywood Studios.

There is signage along the way, but since it’s pretty much a straight walk, it would be hard to get lost.

It’s about a 45 minute walk for most people.

5. Getting Dropped Off

The same things generally apply to this option as if you were driving yourself.

Each theme park has a guest drop off area, so you don’t have to pay for parking if someone is just dropping you off and going somewhere else.

Cast members will direct you where to go if you’re ever confused.

The drop off area should be the same area that rideshare services pick up and drop off, unless you’re at Magic Kingdom.

At Magic Kingdom, again you have to meet at the Transportation and Ticket Center.

When you’re at the Transportation and Ticket Center, you’ll go to the rideshare pickup/drop off area.

Other than that, whenever you’re ready to go from one park to the next, you just have to have whoever is picking you up meet you at the drop-off/pick-up area for any given park.

Then I still recommend using a GPS to get to your next destination since the road signs don’t always list every single park along the route.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few common questions I see about getting around Walt Disney World without using their transportation.

How To Get Between Parks At Disney World Without Using Disney’s Transportation

Getting from one theme park at Disney World to another without using Disney’s transportation is really simple.

There are so many options to choose from, including driving yourself, using a rideshare service, using public transportation, walking, or having someone drop you off and pick you up.

I personally would still use Disney World’s transportation since it is free whether you’re staying there or not.

But there are definitely some circumstances where it’s easier or quicker to choose another option.

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