Swan And Dolphin Transportation at Disney World

Trying to figure out how transportation works at the Swan and Dolphin at Walt Disney World?

If you’re staying at one of these resorts, you might be wondering whether you’ll have the same park access as Disney-owned hotels and which transportation options will actually save you time.

The Swan and Dolphin sit right in the middle of the EPCOT resort area, within walking distance of the BoardWalk, Yacht Club, and Beach Club.

That location gives you access to Disney transportation, including boats, buses, walking paths, and even direct routes to certain parks.

After staying here and testing the different options myself, I’ve learned that where you’re headed makes a big difference in how you should get there.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how Swan and Dolphin transportation at Disney World works, including how to reach each theme park, water park, Disney Springs, and other resorts, so you can spend less time navigating and more time enjoying your trip.

Swan And Dolphin Transportation At Disney World

The Swan and Dolphin (and the Swan Reserve) are perfectly situated to have full access to all of Disney’s transportation options.

Let’s break down each one by convenience.

1. Boats

Usually Disney’s free transportation services are reserved for Disney owned and operated resorts, and this is one of the few exceptions.

Disney’s Friendship boats, also known as water taxis, actually pick up and drop off directly at the Swan and Dolphin.

These are the boats that travel between Epcot and Hollywood Studios and stop at the Boardwalk, Yacht & Beach Club, and the Swan & Dolphin.

It’s about a 30 minute round trip adventure if you’re taking the full boat loop.

2. Skyliner

You can also access the Skyliner nearby, though it’s not technically connected to the Swan & Dolphin.

The Skyliner pick up and drop off is just outside of the Epcot World Showcase entrance.

So you can walk over there, probably a 10 minute walk or so from your room and take the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios, Caribbean Beach, Riviera, Art of Animation or Pop Century.

You could also take the boat to the Epcot drop off and the Skyliner entrance will be right there if you don’t want to walk or aren’t able to walk that far.

What’s nice about the Skyliner going to several resorts in addition to the theme parks is that you can make dining reservations at Caribbean Beach or Riviera and just take the Skyliner over to dinner and back.

You won’t have to drive anywhere or take a bus to a park, then take another bus to the resort.

3. Walking

The Swan & Dolphin are in walking distance to quite a lot of things at Disney World.

You can walk to Epcot in less than 15 minutes.

You can walk to Hollywood Studios in less than 30 minutes.

You can walk to the Boardwalk, Beach Club, and Yacht Club in about 5 minutes.

You can even walk to the Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf course in about 5 minutes.

It’s such a convenient place to stay for a Disney vacation.

4. Buses

The Swan & Dolphin have their own buses to take you around Disney property, but I recommend walking over to the Boardwalk, Yacht Club, or Beach Club and taking Disney’s buses instead.

Disney transportation isn’t an exclusive service for registered hotel guests only (yet).

It’s available to any person on Disney property at any time, except one minor change at Disney Springs.

NOTE: Disney is beginning to implement reservation verification systems for Disney Springs bus and boat 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.

There’s no system where they verify you’re a resort guest to get on their transportation at the Boardwalk, Yacht Club, or Beach Club (yet).

While the Swan & Dolphin have buses that run every 20-25 minutes, there are some draw backs.

If you’re taking the Swan & Dolphin bus to Magic Kingdom, they’re going to drop you off at the Transportation & Ticket Center.

From there you have to take a monorail or ferry over to Magic Kingdom.

It’s much easier and quicker to go to one of the Disney resorts nearby and take their bus to the Magic Kingdom entrance, which Disney resort buses have exclusive access to.

Buses don’t run to Epcot or Hollywood Studios from the Swan & Dolphin since you have all the transportation options I listed above available to you.

With Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs it’s a toss up.

If the bus is out there when you’re leaving, just take it, because that will be faster than walking to the next resort and potentially waiting up to 20 minutes for the next bus.

5. Monorails

There is no direct monorail access from the Swan or Dolphin.

The easiest access would be to take the Swan & Dolphin bus to Magic Kingdom, which actually goes to the Transportation & Ticket Center, which is on the monorail route.

Additionally, if you have theme park tickets, you could go through Epcot from the World Showcase entrance and walk to the main park entrance.

The monorail picks up there and goes back to the Transportation & Ticket Center.

From there, the monorail can go to the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Magic Kingdom.

6. Driving Yourself

You are also able to take your own transportation around Disney World if you want to.

Swan & Dolphin resort guests get free standard theme park parking at Disney World during their stay.

So if you prefer to drive, it’s definitely an option.

Parking is always free at the water parks, Disney Springs, and Wide World of Sports, so you could easily drive to those places too.

7. Rideshare Services

You can take Uber, Lyft, or whatever your preferred rideshare service is from the Swan & Dolphin.

Another Disney perk this resort has is that you can also take their Minnie Van service.

These are Lyft rideshares that are driven by Disney cast members.

Minnie Vans have exclusive access to the front of Magic Kingdom, whereas all other rideshares would have to drop you off at the Transportation & Ticket Center.

How To Get Around Disney World From The Swan & Dolphin

Here’s a quick breakdown of how you can get to each theme park, water park, and Disney Springs from the Swan & Dolphin:

Magic Kingdom

• Disney bus from Boardwalk/Yacht Club/Beach Club
• Walk through Epcot to main entrance (if you have valid park admission), take monorail to TTC, take monorail or ferry to Magic Kingdom

Epcot

• Walk to the World Showcase entrance
• take a Disney boat to the World Showcase entrance

Hollywood Studios

• Walk
• take a Disney boat

Animal Kingdom

• take a Swan & Dolphin bus
• walk to Boardwalk/Yacht Club/Beach Club and take a Disney bus

Typhoon Lagoon

• Drive
• take a Swan & Dolphin bus to Disney Springs, transfer to a Typhoon Lagoon bus
• walk to Boardwalk/Yacht Club/Beach Club and take a Disney bus to Disney Springs, transfer to a Typhoon Lagoon bus

Blizzard Beach

• Drive
• take a Swan & Dolphin bus to Animal Kingdom, transfer to a Blizzard Beach bus
• walk to Boardwalk/Yacht Club/Beach Club and take a Disney bus to Animal Kingdom, transfer to a Blizzard Beach bus

Disney Springs

• take a Swan & Dolphin bus to Disney Springs
• walk to Boardwalk/Yacht Club/Beach Club and take a Disney bus to Disney Springs
• Drive

How To Get To Other Disney Resort Hotels From The Swan & Dolphin

Here’s how to get to the other resorts at Disney for dining reservations, entertainment, or just to resort hop and explore other resorts.

In general, my advice would be to walk over to Hollywood Studios, then catch a bus to whatever resort you want to go to.

There are only a few exceptions to this that will be faster.

If you’re going to the Boardwalk, Yacht Club, or Beach Club, just walk or take the boat around the lake since these are all on the same property.

If you’re going to Caribbean Beach, Riviera, Art of Animation, or Pop Century, take the Skyliner at the Epcot World Showcase entrance to those resorts.

Getting Around Disney World Without Renting A Car

In my personal opinion, the ability to walk to so many places is the best transportation option at the Swan & Dolphin.

Being able to walk to 2 theme parks for rope drop instead of relying on packed Disney transportation can set you up for a much better theme park day.

Also having the ability to take boats and the Skyliner to a variety of places is a great perk, considering the Swan & Dolphin aren’t even Disney resorts.

Easy access to buses for everything else, makes this such a convenient resort to stay at for your Disney vacation.

Check out our guide on how to get around Disney World without renting a car for even more information about other transportation options available throughout the resort.

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