Is It Faster To Get Around Walt Disney World By Renting A Car Or By Riding Disney’s Transportation?
Which is faster? Renting a car or riding Disney’s transportation?
There are some places, like Magic Kingdom, where Disney transportation has exclusive access, making Disney transportation much quicker than driving yourself.
A select few places at Disney World, like the water parks, don’t have direct transportation, so those are faster to drive yourself to.
For the most part, all other places you’d want to go around Disney World would take about the same amount of time whether you have a rental car or take Disney’s transportation.
If you don’t have a rental car, it’s totally fine to rely on Disney’s transportation to get you anywhere you need to go on Disney property.
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Is It Faster To Get Around Walt Disney World By Renting A Car Or By Riding Disney’s Transportation?
For most theme parks and resorts around Disney World, it’s a toss up between which method of transportation is the fastest.
Sometimes you have to wait 20 minutes for a bus to come and in those cases driving yourself will be faster.
But if you’re only waiting 5 minutes for a bus, it’s about the same amount of time.
One thing to consider with this is if you’re using any sort of mobility device.
Some of Disney’s transportation options are accommodating with these with no delay, some don’t accommodate them at all, and some can make limited accommodations.
Below I go into detail when it’s faster to drive yourself and when it’s faster to take Disney transportation.
When It’s Faster To Rent A Car:
If you’re going to the Blizzard Beach water park, it is faster to drive yourself.
This is because there is no direct transportation to Blizzard Beach.
You have to take a bus to Animal Kingdom first, then hop on a different bus that runs just to Blizzard Beach.
If you’re going to the Typhoon Lagoon water park, it is faster to drive yourself.
This is also because there is no direct transportation to Typhoon Lagoon.
You have to take a bus, boat, or even walk to Disney Springs first, then hop on a bus that runs just to Typhoon Lagoon.
If you’re staying at Saratoga Springs or any of the Hotel Plaza Blvd resorts, you can walk to Disney Springs.
If you’re staying at Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Treehouse Villas, Port Orleans French Quarter, or Port Orleans Riverside, you can take a boat to Disney Springs – weather permitting.
All other guests would take a bus to Disney Springs before hopping on the 2nd bus to Typhoon Lagoon.
Lastly, if you’re going from one Disney resort to another or one theme park to another, it’s faster to drive yourself IF the resorts are not on the monorail, Skyliner, or boat routes.
This again is because there is no direct transportation between these resorts.
These include:
- Coronado Springs
- Gran Destino Tower
- All Star Sports
- All Star Movies
- All Star Music
- Animal Kingdom Lodge (Kidani Village & Jambo House)
- Animal Kingdom Theme Park
All of the All Star resorts you can walk from one to the other.
Coronado Springs and Gran Destino Tower are also in the same place.
But if you’re trying to get from one of these resorts to any other resort at Disney World, you’d have to take a bus to one of the theme parks or Disney Springs, then take another bus to the resort you want to go to.
So that’s why it’s faster to just drive yourself.
However, you need to have a reservation for dining or something else to be able to drive to another resort and park there because security will ask and there is limited parking.
When It’s Faster To Take Disney’s Transportation:
If you’re going to Magic Kingdom, it’s faster to take Disney’s transportation.
Disney buses and the Disney Minnie Vans drop off right at the Magic Kingdom entrance.
All other transportation has to go through the Transportation and Ticket Center first, then take a monorail or ferry across the lagoon to Magic Kingdom.
Additionally, if you’re going from one Disney resort to another or one theme park to another, it’s faster to take Disney’s transportation IF the resorts are on the same monorail, Skyliner, or boat routes.
These parks and resorts include:
- Monorail – Grand Floridian, Polynesian Village, Contemporary, Bay Lake Tower, Magic Kingdom, Transportation & Ticket Center, Epcot
- Skyliner – Riviera, Caribbean Beach, Art of Animation, Pop Century, Epcot, Hollywood Studios
- Seven Seas Lagoon/Bay Lake Boats – Grand Floridian, Polynesian Village, Contemporary, Bay Lake Tower, Wilderness Lodge, Fort Wilderness, Magic Kingdom, Transportation & Ticket Center
- Disney Springs Boats – Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Treehouse Villas, Port Orleans River, Port Orleans French Quarter, Disney Springs
- Epcot Area Boats – Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Beach, Swan, Dolphin, Epcot, Hollywood Studios (you can actually walk between all of these too)
All other resort to resort combinations or theme park to theme park combinations, it would be faster to drive yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Disney transportation take?
This depends on which mode of transportation you’re on and where you’re taking it.
The monorail only take a few minutes at each stop, so you can do a full loop in 15 minutes or less.
The longest bus ride would be from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Disney Springs, which is about 20 minutes.
Most boat routes can take a full loop in about 20 minutes as well.
How long does it take to drive around Disney World?
This also depends on where you’re driving from and where you’re going.
Most resorts and theme parks are within about a 10-15 minute drive of each other.
The farthest distance would be Animal Kingdom Lodge to Disney Springs, which can take about 20 minutes.
These are estimates with average traffic.
Park closing times tend to have the most traffic and it may take up to 15 minutes longer to get to where you need to go.
Where To Stay At Disney World
If at all possible, it is always best to stay at a Disney Resort Hotel.
These come with a bunch of additional perks and immerse you more in the Disney experience.
As a second choice, there are also a ton of partner hotels that are on Disney property, but aren’t owned by Disney.
For example, there’s all the hotels in the “Disney Springs Resort Area” along Hotel Plaza Boulevard and the Bonnet Creek Resort Area hotels.
Additionally, there is the Swan & Dolphin, Shades of Green, and the Four Seasons that are all on Disney property.
If none of those are available or are out of your price range, then I recommend local timeshare resorts.
They are available to non-timeshare owners just like a regular hotel would be, but they usually have more amenities like full kitchens, extra bedrooms, and more.
I’ve reviewed a ton of my favorites on another blog of mine called Timeshares, Resorts, and More.
These are some of the resorts I recommend checking out:
Aqua Sol
Aqua Sol is the furthest away.
It’s on the far side of Animal Kingdom, but it has it’s own mini water park and mini golf and a ton of other resort amenities.
The 2 bedrooms are recently renovated and absolutely beautiful and so spacious.
For the rooms themselves, this is my first choice.
Cypress Pointe
Cypress Pointe is just 5 minutes outside of Disney Springs and it’s my favorite place to stay when I can’t stay on property.
It’s one of the cheapest of the resorts and they have a really nice volcano pool and cafe.
I won a drawing for a free pool cabana for a day and made the absolute most of it!
Grande Villas
Grande Villas is actually right across the street from Cypress Pointe.
These two resorts actually share their amenities and guest access points with each other since they are both owned by Hilton Grand Vacations.
I enjoyed the pool deck area of Grande Villas because all of the amenities and entertainment were centrally located.
It’s usually pricier than Cypress Pointe, but the rooms are nicer.
Grand Beach
Grand Beach is on the south east end of Disney, closer to places like Wide World of Sports and Art of Animation, but still easily accessible to Disney Springs.
This resort looks like the Grand Floridian, so you might have seen it before when driving around Orlando.
The rooms are definitely a little dated, but the jacuzzi tub in the room is really nice and so is the pool.
It was one of the quieter resorts I’ve stayed in too.
Mystic Dunes
The last one I want to mention is a good compromise between all the resorts.
It’s usually pretty cheap, but not the absolute cheapest.
It’s about 15 minutes from just about any of the Disney theme parks, so it’s really convenient.
The resort is closer to more residential type areas and is really spacious.
There’s a golf course and it has more of a vacation resort feel than all of the others.
We’ve stayed here several times and it’s also the most convenient for us to visit family.
The Wrap-Up: Is It Faster To Get Around Walt Disney World By Renting A Car Or By Riding Disney’s Transportation?
Depending on where you want to go, some places are faster to get to than others if you rented a car for your trip.
A good rule of thumb is to drive yourself to the water parks (parking is always free), but if you’re going to Magic Kingdom, take Disney’s transportation.
If your resort is on additional transportation line like a boat, monorail, or ferry, use those to get around to your connecting resorts or theme parks rather than driving.
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