Disney’s Beach Club Villas Transportation Guide

Beach Club Villas Transportation Options

Guests staying at Disney’s Beach Club Villas will have access to the following modes of transportation.

• Friendship Boats
• Disney Bus Service
• Walking
• Skyliner*

*The closest Skyliner station is at Epcot’s International Gateway, which is only a short walk away.

How to Get to Epcot from Disney’s Beach Club Villas

When it comes to Disney’s Beach Club Villas, you can’t find a better location within proximity to Epcot. It takes approximately five minutes to walk between the resort and Epcot. That said, the exact length of your walk depends on your pace and which exit you use when leaving the resort. However, if you’re leaving Beach Club Villas, you can use the shaded outdoor sidewalk that extends from the villas to the end of the resort.

You’ll want to familiarize yourself with this shortcut when you arrive. This path comes out where some guests like to use an entrance/exit from the main building near room 1501. (Make sure if it’s raining, you’re aware of this secret entrance. It will keep you from getting soaked or help you cool down if you’re overheated.)

Once you reach the edge of the Beach Club, you’ll join the walkway along Crescent Lake. You’ll take a left as though you’re walking away from the lake. You’ll see a slight incline ahead. Once you get to the top, Epcot’s International Gateway is only a few steps away.

For reference, the International Gateway is a second entrance to Epcot. It’s much easier to enter the park here than at the front entrance. However, it is crowded at certain times, especially at rope drop. Guests who use this secondary entrance are visiting from the surrounding Epcot Resorts and Skyliner Resorts. Meanwhile, guests of the other Walt Disney World Resorts and off-property guests enter via the park’s front entrance. (Epcot is the only park with multiple entrances.)

You can also take Disney’s Friendship Boat service from the Yacht Club’s dock to Epcot. However, this route is significantly longer and requires an additional stop. Exiting the Beach Club Villas, you’ll take a right on the walkway by Crescent Lake and head to the lighthouse. I haven’t timed it exactly, but there isn’t much difference between walking to the boat dock versus walking to Epcot. Once you reach the lighthouse, you’ll board the boat on the left-hand side of the dock. This boat then travels across the lake to Disney’s BoardWalk, where it will load and unload before it leaves for Epcot.

Beach Club Villas to Hollywood Studios

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is also within walking distance or a boat ride of Disney’s Beach Club Villas. We enjoy the walk, but it might be too long for some. It takes us about 17 minutes at an average pace to get between the park and the resort.

You’ll take a right on the pathway at Crescent Lake, pass the Lighthouse, and keep heading toward the Swan and Dolphin. At the center of the bridge, you’ll take a slight left toward Disney’s Hollywood Studios. If you go to the left, you’ll go to the Boardwalk. The bridge continues to the Swan and Dolphin. (This will all be pretty obvious, so don’t worry too much about remembering to take a slight left.) For pictures of this route and exact mileage, see Walking Between Hollywood Studios and Epcot.

Tip: We love this walk and think it’s a great way to decompress. You will, however, want to be weather aware. It can be miserable if the weather is hot and you wouldn’t want to get caught out on the path if a storm is approaching.

For the FriendShip Boats, you’ll walk to the lighthouse and board on the right side of the dock. These boats have interiors with benches, but the views are pleasant from the windows. They have one open-air row on the back, which is always the most popular. The FriendShips accommodate guests in ECVS and wheelchairs.

After boarding, you’ll stop at Disney’s Swan and Dolphin before heading to Hollywood Studios. While the boat ride to Hollywood Studios is usually quicker than walking, waiting for the next boat’s arrival can take time. Additionally, you’ll have to make that extra hotel stop on the way.

Beach Club Villas to Magic Kingdom

Bus service is provided from the resort’s primary bus stop to Magic Kingdom. From the Beach Club Villas, you can walk directly to the resort’s bus stop. There is a separate path from the Beach Club Villas that leads to the resort’s front entrance. From there, you can continue past the entrance and across the covered bridge to the bus stop. You can walk through the resort if desired. However, it is quicker to take advantage of these direct paths to and from the villas wing.

Bus transportation is shared with Disney’s Yacht Club. The bus stops in this order: Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Magic Kingdom. So, on the way back, the bus will stop at Yacht Club before the Beach Club. (If we feel up to the walk, we’ll exit at the Yacht Club and take the indoor/outdoor walkway by Stormalong Bay to the Beach Club. It’s a pleasant walk and often nice to exit a crowded bus. But if you’re exhausted, you’ll likely want to wait for the Beach Club. It will only take a few more minutes to get there.)

Beach Club Villas to Disney’s Animal Kingdom

You’ll take a bus from the resort to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It takes approximately 10 minutes to travel between the resort and the theme park. This bus route is shared with Disney’s Yacht Club and the BoardWalk. The bus stops in the following order: Yacht Club, Beach Club, BoardWalk, Disney’s Animal Kingdom. (Extra buses are often provided at rope drop. So you may not have an extra stop on the way to the park in the morning.)

Beach Club Villas to Disney Springs

You will also take a bus from the resort to Disney Springs. This route is usually shared by all three of the Epcot Resorts. The bus stops at Yacht Club, Beach Club, and then BoardWalk before heading to Disney Springs. The resorts share a bus stop at Disney Springs. This is a fairly short route, but you might run into traffic near Disney Springs. The buses have a separate lane that helps them get through quicker.

What Time do Buses Begin Running at Disney’s Beach Club?

Per Disney, “Bus service between Disney Resort Hotels and Disney Theme Parks begins 45 minutes prior to opening and ends one hour after closing.” That time includes early theme park hours in the morning for resort guests and extended evening hours for deluxe resort guests. (We have tested early morning bus hours at the resort and have found buses running anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes before park opening.)

Wait times are posted at the bus stop. These times are transmitted from the bus, so they are accurate. Occasionally, the time fluctuates when a bus is delayed. For example, they might stop at a traffic light, which causes the time to adjust.

You do not have to be in a hurry to leave the parks at closing time. Disney does an excellent job of ensuring guests return to their resorts. We like to wait and let things clear out before attempting to leave.

Accessibility at Disney’s Beach Club

Most transportation options at Disney’s Beach Club accommodate guests with accessibility needs. Disney provides an overview of each form of transportation on their website. All bus stops have a separate spot for guests in wheelchairs and ECVs to wait. Additionally, the Friendship Boats accommodate most wheelchairs and ECVs.

Disney has an excellent resource on their site if you want to learn more: Transportation and Mobility Disabilities at Disney World

Beach Club Villas to Disney’s Water Parks

Most of the time, you’ll have to take a transfer bus to get from the resort to a water park. The wait times sign at the bus stop indicates whether you need to transfer. If you have to transfer, here’s how that works:

• 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.
• For Blizzard Beach, you’ll take a bus to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. There, you’ll board another bus that travels directly to Blizzard Beach.

It’s fairly easy to get to the water parks. However, by the end of the day, it feels like a hassle to return to the resort. 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 upon return.

Beach Club Villas to Disney’s Boardwalk

You can walk or take a FriendShip Boat from the Lighthouse to Disney’s Boardwalk. It’s about a 10-minute walk at a leisurely pace.

Beach Club Villas to the Monorail Resorts

You’ll have several ways to get from Beach Club Villas to the monorail resorts. In most cases, we would 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 (walk, boat, monorail)
• Disney’s Polynesian Resort (boat, monorail, technically can walk via the Grand Floridian walkway to Magic Kingdom)
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort (walk or monorail)
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (boat or bus)

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.

The Skyliner

Lastly, I wanted to share a few tips for using the Skyliner during your stay at Beach Club Villas. 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.)
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios (Or you can travel from Caribbean Beach to 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.

View all of our Disney Hotel Transportation Guides.

More Planning

Resorts Gal specializes in Disney World Resorts, Characters, and Dining. Check out some of our resources, like our Disney World Resorts Guide. It provides an overview of everything you need to know about the Disney Resort Hotels. For dining, our Disney World Dining Guide is an excellent place to start. Our Disney World Transportation Guide is an excellent resource for planning your routes. It’s one of our most popular resources. If you plan to meet characters in the parks, we have an updated list of Disney World Characters. It includes every available character meet-and-greet in the parks and where to find rare characters throughout the year. Lastly, our Disney Parks Guide provides a complete overview of all four theme parks and water parks.