Disney Springs Transportation Guide
At some point during your Disney World vacation, you’ll likely want to visit Disney Springs. Whether it’s to explore the venue on an off day from the parks, or the place you go for dinner on an evening when you finish up early, the venue is often one of those check-off your list types of places. Even better, you don’t have to pay admission to visit Disney Springs.
Below, we’ll discuss transportation options at Disney Springs, including buses, water taxis, and walking, where applicable. We’ll also review complimentary parking and rideshare details. If you haven’t visited Disney Springs lately, you might be surprised how much the place has grown. It’s so large that you’ll want to know where you’re going before arriving, especially if you have a dining reservation or are visiting a specific destination within the venue.
How to Get to Disney Springs
Depending on your departure point, you’ll have several options for traveling to Disney Springs. Complimentary transportation options to Disney Springs from Disney World’s Resorts include:
- Disney Buses
- Water Taxis
- Walking Paths
When applicable, you might consider driving your car to the venue. For those with plans to do some shopping, it’s nice to have the ability to store packages in your vehicle instead of carrying them all day.
Complimentary bus transportation is provided to Disney Springs from Disney’s Resort Hotels. However, some of the resorts near the Disney Springs area provide alternate transportation options to the venue in addition to buses. We’ll look at these options in more detail below.
But it’s important to note that ALL Disney-owned and operated hotels provide bus transportation to and from Disney Springs.
Disney Springs Bus Schedule
Buses begin running from the resort hotels approximately 30 minutes (usually anywhere from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.) before Disney Springs opens. Bus service continues up to an hour after the venue closes. Disney does an excellent job of ensuring their resort hotel guests get back to their hotel at the end of the evening.
Disney Springs Bus Transportation
Guests traveling to Disney Springs via Disney buses are dropped off at the Town Center bus loop. Town Center is conveniently located at the center of Disney Springs.
Buses do not run from the theme parks to Disney Springs. Additionally, buses do not run from Disney Springs to any theme parks.
Further down, in the tips section, I’ve added details on how to leave a theme park and get to Disney Springs. We use these methods when we leave a park and visit Disney Springs for dinner.
A Note to Guests Staying in the Disney Springs Resort Area
If you’re staying at Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, Port Orleans Riverside, or Port Orleans French Quarter, you might get to the bus stop (at your resort) and see that the wait times sign says “use watercraft” for Disney Springs. You can use the boat service. However, the bus still runs from the resort to Disney Springs. It just doesn’t display the wait time. We are at these resorts often and see numerous guests get confused and leave to go find the boat. While we enjoy taking the boats, we have found that the bus is often more efficient.
For example, if you’re staying in the Carrousel section of Saratoga Springs, you might prefer to take the bus to Disney Springs. This will be a much quicker (and shorter) option than walking or taking a boat to Disney Springs. Below is a photo of the bus stop at Disney Springs.
Rideshare to Disney Springs
Those traveling to Disney Springs via a car service (i.e., Lyft, Uber, Minnie Vans) are dropped off and picked up at the old Marketplace bus loop. This area is called Disney Springs East. An additional rideshare location is available on the West Side (Disney Springs West) near the Watermelon surface parking lot and Cirque de Soleil.
Disney Springs Parking
As mentioned above, free parking is available at Disney Springs. Several garages and lots surround the venue:
- Lime
- Orange
- Grapefruit
Disney Springs Lime Garage is at the Town Center and exits near The Polite Pig restaurant. Disney fans argue that Lime is the better of the two garages because of its central location. This garage is often the first to fill up on a busy day.
For those who like to keep things low-key, we much prefer to park in the Orange Garage. The Orange garage is located on the West Side of Disney Springs. This parking garage has an exit near the Coca-Cola Store. A few nearby restaurants include Jaleo, Wolfgang Puck, and Chicken Guy!
Grapefruit’s garage is across the street from the venue and has a pedestrian bridge. Surface parking lots (Strawberry and Watermelon) are located toward the back of Disney Springs.
*Parking for guests with disabilities (permit required) is available in the garages and surface lots. Those who need to rent an ECV, wheelchair, or stroller can do so at Sundries, which is near the bus loop at Town Center. See Disney Springs Guest Services for more details.
Unfortunately, valet parking has been discontinued at Disney Springs.
Water Taxis to Disney Springs
Select resorts offer water taxi service to Disney Springs. Those resorts are as follows:
- Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort
- Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter
Water taxis drop guests off at the Disney Springs Marketplace boat dock. We have a separate article that shares details of the boat ride between Disney Springs and the Port Orleans Resorts if you want to learn more about this service.
Related: Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Transportation
Walking to Disney Springs
Guests visiting Disney Springs from Saratoga Springs can walk back and forth to the venue. The walkway to Disney Springs is near the Congress Park section of Saratoga Springs. It’s a beautiful walk along the water with views of Disney Springs.
Follow the path toward The Marketplace. When you reach the end of the walkway, cross a bridge to enter Disney Springs. There, you will go through a security checkpoint before entering the venue.
Related: How to Walk From Saratoga Springs to Disney Springs
An additional walking path is available on the West Side of Disney Springs. This path cuts across the golf course and ends up at The Springs boat dock at Disney Springs. You can take another path from this location to Old Key West. However, we would not usually recommend walking to Old Key West from Disney Springs. It’s a remote path that takes approximately 30 minutes at an average pace. We have a separate article with photos and the distance.
Related: How to Walk from Old Key West to Disney Springs
Additionally, guests of non-Disney hotels near Disney Springs can use one of the raised pedestrian bridges to access Disney Springs. These footbridges are on the opposite side of Disney Springs, close to Lake Buena Vista Drive. We have a few reviews of those nearby hotels:
- Drury Plaza Hotel at Disney Springs Review
- Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace Review
- Doubletree by Hilton at Disney Springs Review
Water Taxis at Disney Springs
All water taxis coming to and from the resorts drop off at the Marketplace boat dock. Unfortunately, the water taxi service that formerly served the West Side and Landing closed a few years ago. So, the Marketplace boat dock is the only working dock at Disney Springs.
Disney Springs Transportation Tips
Before we wrap things up, I wanted to share a few tips for using various transportation options to get to Disney Springs. Anyone visiting Disney Springs can use Disney transportation even if they are not staying on the property.
- There is no cost to visit Disney Springs
- Parking is free at Disney Springs.
- All Walt Disney World Resorts provide bus transportation to and from Disney Springs.
- Guests staying at Saratoga Springs have the luxury of being able to walk, bus, or boat to Disney Springs.
- Guests staying at Port Orleans Riverside, French Quarter, Old Key West, and the Treehouse Villas can take a boat or bus to Disney Springs.
- Water taxis provide transportation to the Marketplace dock at Disney Springs.
- Buses do not run from Disney Springs to the theme parks or vice versa.
Here are a few ways you can use transportation to get to Disney Springs after leaving a theme park:
From Magic Kingdom to Disney Springs:
- Walk to Disney’s Contemporary Resort and take a bus to Disney Springs.
- Take the resort monorail to the Contemporary, Polynesian, or Grand Floridian and take a bus to Disney Springs.
- Take a bus from the Magic Kingdom to any resort. Then, stay at that bus stop until the next bus to Disney Springs arrives. (Some resorts will be out of the way distance-wise.)
- Take the bus from the Magic Kingdom to Saratoga Springs Resort, exit at the “Congress Park” bus stop, and take the walkway to Disney Springs.
From Disney’s Animal Kingdom to Disney Springs:
- Take a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge (the closest resort to Animal Kingdom). Then, board a bus to Disney Springs.
- Take the Saratoga Springs Resort bus from Animal Kingdom, exit at the “Congress Park” bus stop, and take the walkway to Disney Springs.
- Catch any bus from Animal Kingdom to a resort. Then, stay at that bus stop and take the next bus to Disney Springs. (Keep in mind some resorts will be out of the way.)
From Disney’s Hollywood Studios to Disney Springs:
- Walk or take a Disney Friendship Boat to the Boardwalk, Beach Club, or Yacht Club. Then, take a bus to Disney Springs.
- Take the Saratoga Springs Resort bus from Hollywood Studios, exit at the “Congress Park” bus stop, and take the walkway to Disney Springs.
- Catch any bus from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to a resort. Then, stay at that bus stop and take a bus to Disney Springs. (Use this tip with discretion. Some resorts will be out of the way.)
- Take the Disney Skyliner to any available resort. Then, head to that resort’s bus stop and take a bus to Disney Springs.
From Epcot to Disney Springs:
- Walk or boat to Disney’s Boardwalk, Beach Club, or Yacht Club. Then, take a bus from the resort to Disney Springs. This can be done by exiting at Epcot’s International Gateway. The International Gateway exit is between the United Kingdom and France Pavilion.
- Use the Disney Skyliner at Epcot’s International Gateway to visit a Disney Resort. Head to the bus stop at that resort and take a bus to Disney Springs.
- Take the Saratoga Springs Resort bus from Epcot and get off at the “Congress Park” bus stop. Then, take the walkway to Disney Springs.
- Catch any bus from Epcot to a resort, stay at that bus stop, and take a bus to Disney Springs. (Some resorts will be further travel distances using this tip.)
Here are a few other considerations:
- Disney’s Swan and Dolphin no longer use Disney’s bus service. Guests of these resorts are dropped off at the West Side of Disney Springs.
- If you would like to ride the water taxis, you can take a bus from any theme park to Port Orleans Riverside, French Quarter, or Old Key West. Then, take a boat from those resorts to Disney Springs.
All of these travel tips can work great when transportation is running smoothly. However, some of these scenarios might end up taking longer than expected. Terrible timing or unforeseen issues could lengthen travel times.
When leaving a theme park, we almost always take a bus to Saratoga Springs and then walk to Disney Springs. Taking this route eliminates the possibility of waiting for an additional transfer bus.
Below is a picture of the Congress Park bus stop at Disney’s Saratoga Springs. This is where you’ll disembark if you elect to take this route. Saratoga Springs is a massive resort with several bus stops. When they finally call Congress Park over the speaker system, you might worry about finding your way to Disney Springs.
Fear not. The walkway is directly across from the bus stop. An arrow-shaped sign indicates that it leads to Disney Springs.
Within a few moments, you’ll see this view of Disney Springs.
Final Thoughts
We hope this transportation guide for Disney Springs helped you figure out the best way to travel back and forth to the venue. When it comes to Disney, the journey to the destination is often fun, especially when visiting new places along the way.
If you must be at Disney Springs at a specific time, you want to allow at least an hour of travel time. Also, consider how far you’ll have to walk once you arrive. As far as dining reservations, you might enjoy our guide to the best restaurants at Disney Springs. It includes our favorite places to eat and what we’ve enjoyed at them.
You might also like to browse our Disney Transportation Guide for a complete list of articles on how to get around Disney. It includes some of the following: