How To Use Disney World Transportation Between Parks After Hours
The best way to get the most out of your day at Disney World is to start at the park that opens the earliest and end your day at the park that stays open the latest.
But how do you get back to your car at the park that’s already been closed for hours?
It depends.
Some theme park parking lots are more accessible than others and some have more transportation options than others.
However, the most important thing to remember is that Disney won’t ever leave you stranded.
Below I’m breaking down exactly how to get between each park after hours, especially if you’re going back to the parking lot to get your car.
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Disney World Transportation Between Parks After Hours
When in doubt, you can always find a transportation cast member and ask them how to get to wherever you’re going.
If you can’t find a transportation cast member, ask security, or any other cast member you can find.
They will always point you in the right direction.
Disney will always do everything they can to help you get to where you need to go.
If all transportation has ended for the night, you always have Uber or Lyft as an option to get you where you need to go!
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When You Can Use Disney Buses To Get Between Parks After Hours
The general rule is that Disney buses will run until 1 hour after park closing.
But in reality, they will keep running until every guest has left the park.
Most of the time, the bus will be your best bet to get from one park to another, but there are a few cases I’ll share later where that won’t be the case.
These are the parks where you’ll take a bus to get to where you need to go:
- Magic Kingdom to Hollywood Studios
- Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom
- Epcot to Animal Kingdom
- Hollywood Studios to Magic Kingdom
- Hollywood Studios to Animal Kingdom
- Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom
- Animal Kingdom to Epcot
- Animal Kingdom to Hollywood Studios
When You Can Use The Monorail To Get Between Parks After Hours
The general rule is that the monorail runs for 1 hour after parking closing for Magic Kingdom and 2 hours after park closing for Epcot.
However, the same rule applies as the buses, where they will keep running as long as they need to until all guests have left for the night.
These are the times when you’ll have to take the monorail to get between parks after closing:
- Magic Kingdom to Epcot
- Epcot to Magic Kingdom
When you’re leaving Magic Kingdom, take the Express Monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center.
Then, you’ll transfer to the Epcot Monorail, which will drop you off at the Epcot parking lot.
When you’re leaving Epcot, take the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center.
This will drop you off at the Magic Kingdom parking lot.
If you need to get to the actual park entrance of Magic Kingdom, you’ll transfer to the Express Monorail.
On a recent trip, my sister and I had parked at Epcot, but stayed at Magic Kingdom until park closing.
The official monorail schedule said that the monorail wouldn’t be running back to Epcot that late.
So I found the nearest transportation cast member and asked him if they run any buses over there since the monorail was about to close.
He explained that the monorail would keep running as long as there were people that needed them.
So I just hopped on the Express Monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center, transferred to the Epcot Monorail, and got back to my car with no problem!
When You Can Use Disney Boats and Ferries To Get Between Parks After Hours
The general rule is that the boats and ferries stop running 1 hour after park closing.
The boats at Magic Kingdom only go to resort hotels in the Magic Kingdom Resort Area and do not go to any other theme parks, so you cannot take the boat or ferry here to get to any other theme park.
However, the Friendship Boats in the Epcot Resort Area run between Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
The only issue with this is that the boat drops off on the backside of Epcot, not at the front parking lot.
So you could take it from Epcot to the Hollywood Studios, but you can’t take it from Hollywood Studios to the Epcot parking lot.
There are also boats that run through the Disney Springs Resort Area, but none of these boats go to any theme parks.
Ultimately, this is the only time you can take a boat from one theme park to another after hours:
- Epcot to Hollywood Studios
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.
When You Can Use The Disney Skyliner To Get Between Parks After Hours
The general rule is that the Skyliner runs for 90 minutes after the latest park closing between Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
The Skyliner only connects Epcot and Hollywood Studios and some resort hotels – no other theme parks.
Again, the Skyliner has the same limitation that the boat does in that it drops off on the backside of Epcot, not at the Epcot parking lot.
So once again, the only time you’d be able to take the Skyliner to get from one theme park to another after park closing is:
- Epcot to Hollywood Studios
Alternative Transportation Options To Get Between Parks After Hours
If for any reason the buses, monorails, boats, and Skyliner are not able to get you to where you need to go, there are a few other transportation options to get you where you need to go.
How To Use Rideshare Services At Disney World (Uber & Lyft)
Rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are always available at Disney World 24/7.
They cost money, but in a “worst case scenario” type of situation, they’re a great option.
You could also call a taxi if you prefer a more old school method.
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Lyft Minnie Vans
The safest option though would be the Lyft Minnie Vans.
These are rideshare vehicles operated by Disney cast members and they only take you around Disney property.
It’s safer than a typical Uber, Lyft, or taxi because Disney cast members are trained and vetted in a way that other drivers are not.
Minnie Vans also get special access to the main entrance of Magic Kingdom, so if you’re leaving from there, it’s one of the best uses of the Minnie Vans.
All other rideshare services can only pick up and drop-off at the Transportation and Ticket Center and then you’d have to take the monorail or ferry to the Magic Kingdom entrance from there.
How To Drive Yourself Between Parks After Hours
Generally, the Disney theme park parking lots close 1 hour after park closing.
But again, as long as there are guests that are leaving, they will remain open to accommodate any needs.
A little bit of a hack to keep in mind is that if you’re trying to drive over to the Magic Kingdom parking lot and just drop somebody off to get back to their car, you can just drive by the Polynesian and drop them off there if the entrance to the Magic Kingdom parking lot is closed.
Same with Hollywood Studios.
If their parking lot entrance is closed, you can drop somebody off at any of the nearby hotels and they can walk into the Hollywood Studios parking lot (Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Beach Club, Swan, and Dolphin).
Animal Kingdom and Epcot don’t have any sort of resort hotel access like this though.
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The Best Way To Get To Each Theme Park After Hours
Magic Kingdom to Epcot = Monorail
Magic Kingdom to Hollywood Studios = Bus
Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom = Bus
Epcot to Magic Kingdom = Monorail
Epcot to Hollywood Studios = Walk / Boat / Skyliner
Epcot to Animal Kingdom = Bus
Hollywood Studios to Magic Kingdom = Bus
Hollywood Studios to Epcot = Minnie Van
Hollywood Studios to Animal Kingdom = Bus
Animal Kingdom to Magic Kingdom = Bus
Animal Kingdom to Epcot = Bus
Animal Kingdom to Hollywood Studios = Bus
How To Get Around Disney World Without A Car
Navigating Disney World can be very overwhelming if you’ve never been before, but as long as you remember that you can always just ask a cast member, you’ll be fine.
For even more tips and information about how to get around Disney World using only Disney’s transportation check out our guide, which covers normal operating hours.
