How to Get from Each Disney Park to Disney Springs

A view of Disney Springs from the Port Orleans ferry

Disney World has a robust system of free transportation that will take you all over the Walt Disney World property. It will take you by bus, by monorail, by Skyliner, and by foot. However, for some reason, Disney does not want you to go from Disney Springs to a Disney Park or from a Disney Park to Disney Springs in an efficient manner. My suspicion is that this is to prevent people from taking up the free parking spots at Disney Springs and taking buses to the parks. This would make parking at Disney Springs even more difficult and deny Disney parking revenue from offsite guests. So, in order to go from one park to Disney Springs, you first need to get to a resort. Then, you can use one of the transportation options at that resort to get Disney Springs. Then you can build your minifigure at the Lego Store. If you don’t know what Disney Springs is, go check out my description of Disney World here.

Before we start though, if you have a car, it’s easiest to get between Disney Parks and Disney Springs with said car. The parking is free at Disney Springs, and if you paid for parking at the parks, that payment is good for the rest of the day if you want to go back and forth. The only park where taking a car may not be faster is Magic Kingdom. If you drive to Magic Kingdom, you have to trek to the Transportation and Ticket Center and take the monorail or ferry to Magic Kingdom (and do the same on the way back). The buses go straight to the entrance, so it takes a step and a lot of walking out if you don’t use a car.

Now, onto the fast ways to get from each park to Disney Springs and back.

Jump to Section:
How to Get from Magic Kingdom to Disney Springs
How to Get from Disney Springs to Magic Kingdom
How to Get from Epcot to Disney Springs
How to Get from Disney Springs to Epcot
How to Get from Hollywood Studios to Disney Springs
How to Get from Disney Springs to Hollywood Studios
How to Get from Animal Kingdom to Disney Springs and back

How to Get from Magic Kingdom to Disney Springs

The Entrance to Magic Kingdom

There are a couple different fast options here, depending on how much you want to walk. If you don’t mind walking, head left out of the Magic Kingdom entrance to the Contemporary Resort. Then take a bus to Disney Springs. It’s about a half mile walk between the two, so that’s 10 minutes if you’re shambling or 2 minutes if you’re an Olympic runner with a top-of-the-line jogging stroller.

Here’s a “hidden” Mickey on the sidewalk from Magic Kingdom to Contemporary.

Second, if walking doesn’t sound like fun, take the monorail to the Contemporary Resort. Then, take the bus to Disney Springs. Waiting and riding time will likely be longer than walking, but at least you won’t be in danger of melting to the sidewalk in the Florida heat. That being said, you will have to walk out of Contemporary to the bus stop. Unfortunately, the monorail does not go to Disney Springs.

Third, if you’re not in a hurry and prefer a more scenic route, here are a few options. You can take a boat from Magic Kingdom to Wilderness Lodge and take the bus from there. Or, you could take a bus to Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, or Port Orleans French Quarter (Riverside will be longer) and take the boat to Disney Springs. French Quarter only has one bus stop, so that’s the fastest of these choices. You can also walk from Saratoga Springs, but it’s a long bus ride around (4 stops) to the Congress Park bus stop before you can walk.

If you get on the Wilderness bus at just the right time, you can see the fireworks.

How to Get from Disney Springs to Magic Kingdom

If you want to get from Disney Springs to Magic Kingdom, the route is similar but backwards. If you want to walk to Magic Kingdom, take the bus to the Contemporary Resort and walk to the entrance—same half a mile at your 800m pace.

However, things change if you want to take the monorail. To get from Disney Springs to Magic Kingdom via monorail, you first want to take a bus to the Grand Floridian, then take the monorail to Magic Kingdom. This is because the monorail only runs one way, and the Grand Floridian is the last stop before Magic Kingdom. You can take a bus to any of the monorail resorts (the other is Polynesian), but Grand Floridian is fastest.

Second Dad to the Right vigilantly parenting on the monorail.

Going from Disney Springs also gives you a walking then bus option (or two bus option) as well. You can walk from Disney Springs to Saratoga Springs, then take a bus from the Congress Park stop to the Springs stop, then on to Magic Kingdom. Also, if you take a bus to Saratoga Springs, it stops at the last stop before Magic Kingdom. You can switch buses and head on your way. You can’t use this method very efficiently coming from Magic Kingdom because it involves a lot more bus stops inside the Saratoga Springs resort.

The scenic routes remain the same. If you want to take your precious time and see some beautiful sights, take a boat to Port Orleans French Quarter (Riverside is still longer), Old Key West, or Saratoga Springs, and then take bus. Or, take a bus to the Wilderness Lodge, say hi to Snow White at Artist’s Point, and take the boat past the bungalows to Magic Kingdom.

The People Mover did not get Carlos from Connections Café and me to Disney Springs. (Shirt: live action Winnie the Pooh)

How to Get from Epcot to Disney Springs

To get from EPCOT to Disney Springs, you have a few different fast and fun options. The first option is not necessarily the fastest, but it’s the bus only option. The fastest way to take only buses is to go from Epcot to Port Orleans French Quarter, then take a bus to Disney Springs. Since POFQ only has one bus stop, you don’t have to worry about going to several stops before waiting for a bus to Disney Springs. All of the resorts near EPCOT have limited bus access because they want to walk or take the Skyliner, and of the resorts near Disney Springs, only POFQ has one stop.

The fastest way to Disney Springs from EPCOT is to take the Skyliner or walk. To take the Skyliner, get off at Riviera, then take the bus to Disney Springs. If you feel like walking, the closest resort to EPCOT is Beach Club. Head there, then take a bus to Disney Springs. IMPORTANT NOTE: if you take the Skyliner or walk from EPCOT, you need to depart from the back of EPCOT via the International Gateway between the France and England pavilions.

If you want a scenic route, take the Skyliner to any resort and then head to Disney Springs by bus, or take a bus from the front entrance to Saratoga, Port Orleans, or Old Key West and take a boat to Disney Springs. French Quarter only has one bus stop, so that’s the fastest of these choices.

How to Get from Disney Springs to Epcot

To get from Disney Springs to Epcot, there are a few different choices. You can take a bus to any of the Skyliner resorts (Pop Century, Art of Animation, Riviera, Caribbean Beach) and then take the Skyliner to EPCOT. Of these choices, Riviera will be the fastest because it’s closest to EPCOT and typically has the shortest line. It also only has one bus stop.

To get there by bus only, take the bus to Port Orleans French Quarter (which is close by and only has one bus stop), then take the bus to EPCOT. Don’t go to any of the resorts near EPCOT by bus if you don’t want to walk or ride the Skyliner. Bus access from those resorts is limited.

An awkward smile from my kids at the Port Orleans French Quarter lobby

If you want to walk, take the bus to any of the EPCOT resorts (Beach Club, Yacht Club, or Boardwalk) and walk to EPCOT. Of those resorts, Beach Club is closest and will have the shortest walk. If you take the Skyliner or walk to EPCOT, it’s important to remember that you will enter through the back entrance (International Gateway) between the France and England pavilions. We like to stop by France for a crepe before doing anything else.

You can also walk to Saratoga, then take the Magic Kingdom bus from the Congress Park stop to the Springs stop. You can also take the bus directly to the Springs stop, then transfer buses to one going to EPCOT. You can’t do this very efficiently coming from EPCOT because it’s 4 bus stops before you get to Congress Park or 5 bus stops before the Springs.

You can also take a boat to one of the Disney Springs resorts (both Port Orleans, Old Key West, or Saratoga Springs), and then take a bus to EPCOT. Unlike with buses, Port Orleans French Quarter will not be the fastest. Saratoga Springs is a shorter boat ride, and it drops off at the Springs (Saratoga bus stop), which is the last bus before heading to the parks. However, since there are five bus stops at Saratoga, the bus might be full. Therefore, it might be safer to go to POFQ.

How to Get from Hollywood Studios to Disney Springs

To get from Hollywood Studios to Disney Springs, you have a few different options, but all of them require transfers. The first way is to use only buses. Since resorts near Hollywood Studios prefer you take the Skyliner, walk, or boat, the fastest way is to take a bus from Hollywood Studios to Port Orleans French Quarter. POFQ is close to Disney Springs and only has one bus stop, so it should streamline the transition process. You can also catch a boat from Port Orleans, Saratoga Springs, or Old Key West if you take a bus there. Port Orleans French Quarter will also be fastest in this scenario. Here’s a detailed article about the boat between Port Orleans and Disney Springs.

The next option, and probably the most fun, is to take the Skyliner. Get on the Skyliner at Hollywood Studios and take it to Caribbean Beach. Then walk over to the Jamaica bus stop and take a bus to Disney Springs. You’ll stop once at Aruba and then on to your destination. Since there are several bus stops prior to Jamaica at Caribbean Beach, its possible that the buses will be full. If you’re nervous about this, particularly if you’re traveling with a large stroller and kids, take a second Skyliner to Riviera. Then you can take a bus to Disney Springs. Riviera only has one bus stop and is known to be the least busy of the resorts.

The final two choices are taking a boat or walking. You can take a boat or walk to the Boardwalk, Beach Club, or Yacht Club in order to take a bus to Disney Springs. From Hollywood Studios, the Boardwalk Inn is the closest by boat or foot and therefore the fastest option. The boats are incredibly slow, so walking is a better option if you’re in a hurry.

Part of the Hollywood Studios/Epcot walking path near Beach Club

Note: While walking to Boardwalk is the fastest walking resort option, the boat actually goes to Swan and Dolphin first. You could take the bus from there, but since it’s not a Disney bus, it will take you to the West Side of Disney Springs. Depending on where you are trying to get to at Disney Springs, that may or may not be faster. You can take the Swan and Dolphin (Mears) buses for free (but you can’t take them back to Swan and Dolphin).

How to Get from Disney Springs to Hollywood Studios

To get from Disney Springs to Hollywood Studios, you will have to travel by two buses, a boat and a bus, a bus and a boat, or a bus and a Skyliner—or a bus and walking. Again, I believe this is to keep people from parking for free (and taking up a spot) at Disney Springs, and then riding to the parks. But if you came there for an early dinner and want to head back to a late park show, this is how we do it (as Montell Jordan would say).

To take two buses, you can take a bus from Disney Springs to any resort that’s not a Epcot/Hollywood Studios resort (because they want you take the bus or Skyliner) and then take a bus to Hollywood Studios. The fastest one is probably Port Orleans French Quarter because it only has one bus stop, so you won’t have to circle around before heading to Hollywood Studios. The one to Saratoga Springs is also a good option because it drops off at the last stop before heading the parks. Just switch buses and head out. The risk here is that the bus may be full from the other stops.

You can also take a boat to Port Orleans French Quarter (or Riverside, Saratoga Springs, or Old Key West) and then take a bus to Hollywood Studios. The boats are slower though, so only take this route if you want the view or experience. The Saratoga bus is actually the shortest ride and drops off at the last stop before Hollywood Studios, but again, it may be full.

To get to Hollywood Studios by Skyliner, take a bus to Caribbean Beach Resort or Riviera, and then take the Skyliner to Hollywood. If you go to Caribbean, you only have one Skyliner trip, but you will have multiple bus stops before you get to the Skyliner. If you go to Riviera, you will have transfer Skyliners at Caribbean Beach, but there’s only one bus stop. I recommend this option because my family would much rather be on the Skyliner than on a bus, especially if we have a stroller.

Another option is walking from Disney Springs to Saratoga Springs then taking a bus from the Congress Park stop to the Springs stop then on to Hollywood Studios.

The proximity of Saratoga Springs Congress Park area to Disney Springs boat dock.

Finally, you can walk to Hollywood Studios. You could just walk several miles down the highway, but that’s not what I mean. Several resorts are within walking distance to Hollywood Studios and have dedicated walking paths. They are Boardwalk, Yacht Club, and Beach Club. To get from Disney Springs, take a bus to one of those resorts and walk the rest of the way. Boardwalk is closest. Note: Swan and Dolphin are also part of the walking path, but you can’t take a bus there unless you are guest (but you can take buses from there).

I already said finally, but it’s late, and I thought up the most roundabout way to get there. You could take a bus to Wilderness Lodge, take the boat to Magic Kingdom, and then take the monorail to the TTC. Then you could take the monorail to EPCOT (if you have a park hopper ticket or AP). Then walk through EPCOT and take the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios (with a Caribbean Beach Resort transfer). This would probably take several hours, but it uses almost every form of transportation.

How to Get from Animal Kingdom to Disney Springs and back

The Entrance to Animal Kingdom (Photo Cred: Michael Lehet https://flic.kr/p/CfM8A)

To get from Animal Kingdom to Disney Springs, take a bus to Port Orleans French Quarter, then take a bus or a boat to Disney Springs. There aren’t a lot of options better than that here. You can technically go to any resort and then take a bus to Disney Springs, but POFQ has only one bus stop, so it’s likely your fastest option.

To get from Disney Springs back to Animal Kingdom, follow the opposite path. Take a bus or boat to POFQ, and then take a bus to Animal Kingdom. You can also walk, boat, or bus to Saratoga, then take a bus to Animal Kingdom. This might be faster than POFQ, but you run the risk of the Saratoga bus being full from the other stops.

I’m waiting for Animal Kingdom to have cooler transportation options like hot air balloon or underground train, but for now, it’s all buses (or your car).

Other Places You May Want to Get to in Disney World

That’s a pretty exhaustive list on how to get from the parks to Disney Springs. Another frequently asked transportation question is how to get from each park to a different park.