One of my biggest concerns when planning our Disney World vacation was how we were going to get from the airport to the hotel and from park to park at various times of day. There are 5 Disney World Parks – would we really be able to get around from park to park easily? I was traveling alone with my two daughters and without my husband’s help, the thought of logistics was a bit overwhelming. Would we have to wait longer for accessible shuttles? What if we couldn’t find a shuttle or my daughter was over the top with all of the stimulus of a theme park and needed to get back to our hotel quickly, how easy would it be to get a taxi that could accommodate her push chair? I had been on Disney World property for a Nascar ride along at Richard Petty Driving, but never in the parks themselves. All I knew was that Disney World was HUGE, and unlike Disneyland you can’t walk from park to park – how was that going to work for my daughter with special needs? I didn’t plan on renting a car, would I regret that and feel stuck? So many questions…
I should have known Disney would have that all worked out.
Disney Magical Express – Airport Transportation
When you stay at a Disney World hotel, you have free airport transportation to Orlando (MCO) on the Disney Magical Express. Some airlines even transfer your baggage for you so you don’t have pick them up and lug them from baggage claim or check them in at the airport – of course the airline I flew didn’t qualify… There was a lift and handicap accessibility in the back entrance of the bus. Once the bus gets rolling Disney cartoons and park information plays on TV screens on board because your kids need to be even more excited, right? I realized my special needs daughter had never heard Donald Duck before, I guess I hadn’t exposed her to the classics! After one of Donald’s explosive quacks, she started giggling and he quickly became her favorite Disney character. She got a tattoo to express her new found love of the Duck himself at the airbrush tattoo studio at Hollywood Studios.
Disney Boats
We stayed at the Disney Yacht Club, the dock out front had a shuttle boat that seemed to arrive every 10 minutes or so for Epcot or Hollywood Studios. The was a ramp and accessible entrance at the back of the boat. It was so accessible and convenient that my 16 year old daughter was able to take V on board for a girls morning at Hollywood Studios while I had meetings.
Disney Shuttles
The photo at the top of this page is on a Disney Park Shuttle. We took the shuttle to and from our hotel to several Disney parks – all shuttles had lifts and wheelchair tie downs, and the drivers were great getting V’s chair secured. The buses seemed to come about every 10 minutes or so, and although we never experienced lines longer than maybe 10 people, there were waiting areas set up, so I assume during peak times you might have to wait for the next bus.
Monorail
The Monorail is the iconic ride into the Magic Kingdom. The ramp up to it is a long ramp that you need to push a wheelchair up – I didn’t see any elevators – and at the top the cast members will put down a ramp so you can smoothly board the Monorail. At peak times the Monorail can be really busy – like after the fireworks – so you might end up waiting for your ride. But don’t worry about that, the monorails run every few minutes so the wait is never too long.
Taxi Cabs at Disney World
There were two times that we took a cab; once after our fireworks cruise, after a wonderful day and extraordinary evening we were exhausted, and being our first night at Disney World we weren’t sure how the shuttles worked and wanted to get home and to bed so we grabbed a cab that was waiting outside the boat docks, it had a wheelchair ramp and tie downs for V’s wheelchair. Our second cab ride was taken out of desperation. We had closed down the Magic Kingdom during their Extra Magical Hours and went to the shuttles, but a Disney Cast Member told us the wrong directions and we found ourselves at the shuttle station with no shuttles running! Happily there were LOTS of cabs waitiing, including wheelchair-accessible vans.
I was pleasantly surprised by how easy and accessible park and airport transportation was at Disney World, I never felt “stuck” and didn’t have any need to rent a car. I hope this helps you make your plans for a memorable Disney vacation!
Disclaimer: 2 nights stay and Disney World passes were provided for review purposes. Our experiences and opinions are our own, we can’t be bought that easily. 🙂
