How Early In the Morning Do Resort Buses Start Heading to the Theme Parks?
If you’re new to the Disney planning game but are thinking about taking advantage of Early Extra Magic Hours, 8 am advanced dining reservations or are just early risers, you may be wondering whether or not you’ll be able to catch an early morning resort bus to the theme parks. For many Disney guests, you’ll have at least one day where you need to get on the bus pretty darn early. With that in mind, we thought we’d reassure you that Disney has your early morning travel covered!
Walt Disney World Resort Buses
Planning an early morning visit to the theme parks especially when there are dining reservations involved can be a nail-biting experience. This isn’t helped by the fact that there’s a lot of conflicting information online about how early resort buses start making trips to the theme parks. However, take it from this Disney regular, if Disney World is offering early morning dining reservations, tours or Early Morning Extra Magic Hours THERE WILL USUALLY BE A BUS TO TAKE YOU THERE!
In most cases, the Disney Transportation System will start running buses from about 2 hours before park opening. This ensures that guests with 8 am breakfast reservations can typically hop the first bus around 7am! However, guests should always allow yourself a generous window. Sometimes buses will show up straight away while other times there may be a wait of about 15 – 20 minutes.
INSIDER TIP: If you need to get to the parks early, always try to get to the first bus of the day (From 7:00 – 7:20). By the 7:30 am mark buses start to fill up fast and overcrowding, full buses and delays may occur (especially for those staying at larger resorts where the buses may make multiple stops!)
Keep Tabs on Bus Times
For your convenience, each of the bus stops at the Walt Disney World resorts also have a monitor that will provide you with live updates about bus arrival times. You can also find up-to-date bus information using the My Disney Experience App. If in doubt, you can always speak to a Cast Member at the front desk of your resort who can also provide you with helpful information regarding resort bus arrivals!
Boats and Monorails
Let’s not forget about those of you that are staying at a resort where buses or boats are your primary mode of transportation. Boats typically start running around 7 am. The same rules usually apply to the monorail. However, the monorail lines are often undergoing maintenance or construction so it’s important to stay up to speed on how this may impact your stay. Again, the front desk of your resort is a good place to go for monorail construction updates.
Help! The Buses Didn’t Show Up As Early As You Said and I’m Going to Miss My Dining Reservation
It’s important to bear in mind that things happen, buses break down, fill up or get stuck in traffic. As I said above, it’s always important to give yourself a generous window to arrive at the parks. However, sometimes arriving late is simply unavoidable. With that in mind, we’ve written an entire article about showing up late for dining reservations. You’ll find it here.
Minnie Vans Are a Good Back-Up Plan
I’ve been late for my fair share of early morning dining reservations and another option I’ve been known to use is Disney’s Minnie Van Service. Using the lyft app you can order a Minnie themed car to pick you up and whisk you to the theme parks, or resorts. Yes, there’s a fee involved for this service but sometimes to keep your plans on track it’s worth the extra cash! If you see via the monitor at the bus stations or the My Disney Experience app that the buses are dreadfully behind its nice to have a back up plan.
You can find out more about the Minnie Van Service here.
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