These are all the free, Walt Disney World provided ways to move about the property. The best part about these is they don’t just take you to and from your resort to the parks, they take you anywhere on property. Although, it may take a little planning to get from point A to point B depending on where are starting and ending.
The Skyliner
The newest transportation option with dedicated resort stops at the Riviera Resort, the Caribbean Beach Resort, a shared stop for the Pop Century and Art of Animation Resorts, and two of Walt Disney World’s Theme Parks, Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Because the Epcot stop is at the International Gateway entrance, you have easy access to the Beach Club Resort, Yacht Club Resort, and BoardWalk Inn. In total, that’s seven resorts and two parks.
The Monorail
There are three Monorail lines at Walt Disney World, the EPCOT, the Express, and the Resort Monorail. The Epcot line will transport you to and From the Transportation and Ticket Center, aka the TTC, and EPCOT. The Express will take you from the TTC to the Magic Kingdom. In addition to the same two stops as the Express, the Resort Monorail also has stops at the Contemporary Resort, the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and the Polynesian Village Resort.
Resort Boats
Before I start talking about the resort boats, I want to acknowledge the Ferry Boat which is an alternative to the Express Monorail. It will take you back and forth to the TTC and the Magic Kingdom. It’s pretty straight forward and serves a single purpose with only one round trip route.
The resort boats on the other hand can be a little tricky. They don’t go everywhere and some have dedicated stops and others are shared between multiple resorts and theme parks.
You can get to the Magic Kingdom by boat from Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, and the Wilderness Lodge. Boat transportation between Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios is available from the BoardWalk, the Beach Club, the Yacht Club, and the Dolphin and Swan. Lastly there are the boats that will take you to and from your resort to Disney Springs. The resorts offering Disney Springs transportation are the Old Key West Resort, the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, and the Port Orleans Resort – Riverside & French Quarter.
Buses
Buses are the last Disney provided options and they mainly function to get you from your Resort to one of the four theme parks or Disney Springs. From those locations you can catch another mode of transportation to get to where you like to go. I would say when going from one resort or another, buses are the most challenging way to get to do this, simply because you have to go to some sort of hub and connect. The best thing about the buses is they are the last mode of transportation to get shut down to to inclement weather conditions.
Why talk about this?
The main reason I wanted to put this out there is to point out that this is a great way to explore parts of the resort you might not normally see. Maybe you planned to have a non-park day to lounge by the pool or just relax a bit. If it’s cloudy or you get a bit of cabin fever, go explore another resort. The theming at the resorts is wonderful. They all have their own restaurants. Some even have several to choose from as well as their own lounge/bar, or two. I personally think some of the best place to eat are at the resorts. If you are there during the Easter season or the fall and winter holiday season, the resorts get pretty into the holiday spirit too. Most of us know that drinking around the world at EPCOT is a thing. But did you know that you could also do a Monorail or Skyliner food/bar crawl. Depending on where you are staying, getting back to your room when you are done, can be fairly easy.