The following forms of transportation are available at Disney’s Yacht Club:

• FriendShips (Boats)
• Disney’s Bus Service
• Walking Paths
• Skyliner (within walking distance)

*You can also walk to two theme parks from the resort, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.

You’ll take a bus from Disney’s Yacht Club to Magic Kingdom. The resort’s bus stop is conveniently outside the resort’s front doors. Disney’s Yacht Club shares its bus service with sister resort, Disney’s Beach Club. So when you board the bus at the Yacht Club, you’ll stop at the Beach Club. After that, you’ll continue to the park. Disney’s Yacht Club is the first stop when returning to the resort from the Magic Kingdom. So you’ll be at an advantage on the return trip.

Location is often the primary reason guests stay at Disney’s Yacht Club. It takes approximately ten minutes to walk between the Yacht Club’s lobby and Epcot. Of course, that walk depends on how fast or slow you walk and which exit you use when leaving the resort. If you’re facing the lighthouse, you’ll take a left and continue straight until you reach Epcot’s International Gateway.

Alternatively, you can continue to the lighthouse and board one of Disney’s FriendShips to Epcot. However, the boats take longer than walking. The boat departs from the Yacht Club and continues across the lake to Disney’s BoardWalk. There, it will stop and unload before continuing to Epcot. This route takes approximately 15 minutes. You’ll board on the left-hand side of the dock if you decide to take the boat to Epcot.

You’ll have a couple of options for traveling to Disney’s Hollywood Studios from the Yacht Club. First, you can walk to Hollywood Studios. However, I would caution that you know the length of the walk. We’ve mapped it, and it’s approximately 1.25 miles between Disney’s Yacht Club and Hollywood Studios.

This is one of our favorite “long” walks at Disney World, but it’s not for everybody. Some days, it’s not even for us, especially when the sun is beating down so much that you might have two seconds to enjoy an ice cream cone before the entire thing turns into a happy snowman. That said, the serene walk is one of the best ways to escape crowds on the way back to the resort.

Like Epcot, you can also take a FriendShip from the Yacht Club to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You’ll board on the right side of the dock. On this route, you’ll stop at Disney’s Swan and Dolphin Hotel to load and unload. Then, you’ll continue to Hollywood Studios.

Disney’s Friendship Boats are a pleasant way to travel. Most of the seats are inside, but one row is open on the back of the boat. So, if you get in line early, you might be able to snag a seat outside. On the return trip from Hollywood Studios, you’ll stop at the Swan and Dolphin before arriving at the Yacht Club. If you want to learn more, we have a complete guide that discusses Disney’s Friendship Boat routes.

You’ll take a bus from the Yacht Club to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It takes approximately 15 minutes to travel from the resort to Animal Kingdom. However, loading and unloading can take extra time when you stop at the Beach Club. Again, you’ll be the first stop on the return trip. This bus service is shared with Disney’s Beach Club and Disney’s BoardWalk.

You’ll take a bus from the Yacht Club to Disney Springs. This bus service is shared with Disney’s Beach Club and Disney’s BoardWalk Resort.

One of the things we’ve yet to discuss is how to get to Disney’s Water Parks from the Yacht Club. Most of the time, you’ll have to take a bus from the resort to another location. Then, you’ll transfer to another bus for the water park.

In the past, Disney offered direct bus service from the resorts to the water parks. That could be the case on your visit. The sign at the bus stop will indicate whether or not you’ll take a transfer bus. The following steps detail the transfer process.

For Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, you’ll take a bus to Disney Springs. From there, you’ll board a bus that travels across the street to the water park. You’ll take a bus to Disney’s Animal Kingdom for Blizzard Beach. There, you’ll board another bus that travels directly to Blizzard Beach.

While it’s fairly easy to get to the water parks, by the end of the day, the extra transfer often feels like a hassle. We almost always drive our car to the water park so we can come and go at our leisure. You might consider taking the bus on your way and ordering a Minnie Van or a car service on the way back.

It’s important to note that on the return trip from Typhoon Lagoon, you’ll get dropped off at the main bus stop at Disney Springs. From there, you’ll have to walk to the pick-up area and find the return bus stop to Disney’s Yacht Club. I don’t know about you, but I carry more to the water parks than to the regular parks. So I hate to tote all my belongings, including wet swimsuits, back to the bus stop.

Disney’s BoardWalk Resort is directly across the lake from the Yacht Club. You can walk or take a FriendShip boat from the lighthouse to the resort. The walk takes about 10 minutes at a leisurely pace.

Most guests will want to visit the monorail resorts for dining or touring. There are several ways you can do this from the Yacht Club. The most efficient way is to take a bus from the resort to the Magic Kingdom. From there, you will have to walk through security at Magic Kingdom. Then you can walk, boat, or monorail to the following resorts:

• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (walk, boat, monorail)
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (boat, monorail, technically can walk via the Grand Floridian walkway to Magic Kingdom)
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort (walk or monorail)

Alternatively, you can walk or boat to Hollywood Studios from the Beach Club. After you get to Hollywood Studios, you can catch a bus to any of the Magic Kingdom Resorts.

If you want to visit Fort Wilderness or Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, you can take a bus to the Magic Kingdom. You’ll then take a bus or boat from Magic Kingdom to either resort. Alternatively, you could take a boat or walk to Hollywood Studios and then board a bus to any of those resorts as long as it’s within the park’s operating hours.

You may want to use the Skyliner during your stay at Disney’s Yacht Club. Skyliner stations are available at Epcot’s International Gateway and Hollywood Studios. For example, if you want to take the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios, you can do so. However, it won’t be any quicker than the Friendship Boats. This is something you would do more for leisure than for convenience.

The Skyliner travels in this direction:

• Epcot’s International Gateway (Sits outside the park entrance.)
• Disney’s Riviera Resort (You are not required to exit here.)
• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (Everyone must exit here.)
• Then get in line for Hollywood Studios. (Or get in line for Art of Animation and Pop Century)

All guests must exit at Hollywood Studios. From there, you can turn around and travel back in the opposite direction if desired.

For visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, take a bus from the Yacht Club to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Then, take a bus from the park to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Note that the bus makes two stops at the Lodge. The first is Kidani Village, and the second is Jambo House. You’ll want to know which location is your intended destination. Alternatively, you can also boat or walk to Hollywood Studios and take a bus to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We hope this guide helped simplify things for your vacation. Disney is a large place, and while getting around the property isn’t necessarily challenging, it is frustrating not knowing the best way to do it. When you stay somewhere as convenient as the Yacht Club, you certainly want to know how to take advantage of the prime location. Sign up for our newsletter below, and we’ll send you a copy of our Yacht Club Transportation PDF to use while you’re on vacation.