Are you considering using or renting a car during your Disney World Vacation? Perhaps you are planning your first trip to Disney World and you are not sure whether you need a car or not? Well we think Disney World without a car is absolutely fine and below I will explain how to get to Disney World without a car.
You can have a great vacation at Disney World without a car, let’s take a look…
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How to Get to Disney World from the Airport Without a Car?
There are different options to get to Disney World from the airport if you don’t have a car.
Mears Connect Shuttle Bus Service
- Journey Duration: Approximately 45 minutes (varies for each Disney World Resort)
- Cost: $33.6 per Adult and $27.30 per Child (including return trip)
- Tipping: $1 – $2 per bag
Minnie Van
- Journey Duration: Approximately 32 minutes
- Cost: $199.00 Each Way
- Tipping: $1 – $2 per bag (if the driver assists you with your bags)
You can also book a Minnie Van to pick you up from the airport, but it does cost $155 each way plus tip. You can find out more about this option on the Disney World website here.
Minnie Vans are operated by Disney via Lyft.
Uber/Lyft or Taxi
- Journey Duration: Approximately 32 minutes
- Cost: $30 – $40
- Tipping: $1 – $2 per bag (if the driver assists you with your bags)
If you really need to you can use an Uber, Lyft or a taxi from the airport. Costs will vary depending on which service you use but with apps such as Uber you can estimate costs before your trip.
How to Get Around Disney World Without a Car
Once you are at Disney World you have plenty of options to get around by using Disney transportation. It is really easy to get around Disney World without using a car with different options at different parts of Disney World Resort.
Let’s take a look at the various modes of transport.…
Disney World Buses
Buses Operate throughout all of Disney World Resort
The most common form of transport is the Disney World buses. These operate throughout the resort and pick up guests from their resorts and take them to the bus stations located at the parks, water parks and Disney Springs. From these locations they also collect guests to take them back to their resorts and other to Disney Parks throughout the day too.
Each resort has their own bus stops. At most bus stops you will find a tv screen that updates pick up times live for each destination so that once you arrive at the bus stop you will know how long you should be waiting for.
The buses can get busy at certain times of the day:
- At the resorts about an hour before the Disney Parks Open.
- After evening fireworks at the Disney World Parks.
- Around park closing times.
- Sometimes prior to evening Magic Hours starting at another park (when park hopping).
You can read more about Extra Magic Hours here.
The Monorail
Operates around the Magic Kingdom Resort Area and connects this area to Epcot too.
The Monorail operates between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. At Magic Kingdom and the resorts surrounding Seven Seas Lagoon there is a monorail resort loop as well as the monorail loop connecting the monorail station at the Transportation and Ticket Center to Epcot.
We have written a full Monorail Guide which you can find here.
Boats
- Operates between Hollywood Studios and Epcot (including the Swan and Dolphin, The Boardwalk and The Yacht and Beach club)
- Operates between Magic Kingdom and The Grand Floridian, the Polynesian Village Resort, and Fort Wilderness Resort.
- Ferry Boats connect Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transport Center.
- Operates between Disney Springs and Port Orleans Resort, Old Key West Resort and Saratoga Springs Resort.
As you can see there are plenty of option to travel by water. The Friendship boat trip between Hollywood Studios and Epcot can be a nice 20-minute break where you can sit down and enjoy the sites of the Boardwalk area resorts.
The Disney Sky Liner
Operates between Hollywood Studios and Epcot with stations at the Riviera Resort, Caribbean Beach Resort, Art of Animation and Pop Century.
The newest addition to the Disney World Transportation System and it a fantastic mode of transport. We used it for the first time in November 2019 and it is very easy to use between Hollywood Studios and Epcot with one quick change at Caribbean Beach. The views are great as you approach the parks and resorts and we never waited very long at all to use the Skyliner.
Walking
There is a pathway between the Boardwalk and Hollywood Studios so if you want to you can walk between Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The pathway is alongside the water that the friendship boats travel along so it is a nice pleasant walk under the Florida sun.
Getting Around Disney World Using Paid Services
You can also use the Minnie Van service to get around Disney World using the Lyft App but of course you will be paying for the service.
You can also use Mears Taxi’s and Uber too, but these are probably only needed if you are running late to get somewhere. If you are fairly organized you should be fine without these paid services.
Below is a really helpful overview of using Disney World Transportation from the PCDev YouTube channel:
Getting to Locations Off Disney World Property Without a Car
On a previous Disney World vacation, we used Uber to get off Property from Jambo House at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We went to Vineland Premium Outlets then on to a nearby Walmart and we also went to the nearby Super target halfway through our vacation. The costs were affordable with the most expensive trip being the drive to the Premium Outlets which was just over $20. Uber is very easy to use and there are usually plenty of cars operating around Disney World.
We have also used a Mears taxis in the past to get to Universal Studios which cost $50 including tip. We pre booked and the taxi picked us up on time from our resort. However a taxi to Universal resort is more expensive compared to Uber.
What About If You Are Staying Off Disney World Property?
If you are staying off Disney World Property, then there are various shuttle bus services available which vary in quality and operating times. My advice would be to possibly stay offsite to enjoy Orlando and then move to a Disney World resort to benefit fully from the Disney Transportation.
There are clear advantages to staying at a Disney World Resort when you are mainly visiting Disney World. You are close to the parks along with the transportation along with having access to the Mears Connect to get collected from the airport on your arrival and then returned to Orlando International Airport at the end of your vacation.
My Take – It’s Relaxing Not Having to Drive
I must admit that the best thing about doing Disney World without a car is that you can relax and let Disney take care of the driving. For me not having to drive for a few weeks is a real luxury. Yes, at times you may have to wait for a bus that is taking longer than expected and Disney Transport can be busy at times but overall the service works very well.
On all of our Disney World vacations we have never used a car and nothing has ever happened that has made me want to rent a car to get around. Not having to drive adds to the experience and it is one less thing to worry about and when you are on vacation that is a good thing. In my opinion Disney World without a car is absolutely fine.
Make sure you check out our Disney World Transportation Tips to find out more about getting around Disney World. Please do share the article or the pin image below too if you found this article helpful as it helps support Next Stop WDW by reaching others who are planning a Disney World Vacation.
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Thanks for stopping by.
Darren
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