Taking the Boat Between Wilderness Lodge and Magic Kingdom (Photos)

If you’re staying at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, you have two options for traveling to Magic Kingdom: take a bus or boat. We get a lot of questions about this, and during our last stay, we ran into a couple of scenarios where guests were confused about their options. So, I wanted to put together a few tips for taking the boat between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Magic Kingdom.

These tips and travel times are based on our experiences. Disney’s Wilderness Lodge’s boat dock is at the back of the resort. Here is a photo that shows the walkway from the resort’s lobby to the boat dock. It’s a short, less than 5-minute walk.

Here are a few photos of what you can expect to see along the way. The photo below was taken from the sidewalk that leads directly into the resort’s lobby.

If you go this route, you’ll have to take a couple of stairs through a boulder.

Guests in wheelchairs and ECVS can take the sloped path inside the lobby. The photo below shows a wheelchair-accessible sign that directs guests to an accessible entrance and exit.

Both paths come out in the same place in front of the Copper Creek Falls.

Here, you’ll see signage that directs you to the boat path. You’ll stay on the left side of the fenced pool area.

At the end of the sidewalk, you’ll run into a raised boardwalk over the marsh.

Signage continues to point you to the boat dock.

Soon, you’ll see the boat dock in the clearing ahead.

Boat transportation to Magic Kingdom boards on the left side of the boat dock. Make sure to get in the correct line. The right side of the boat dock is the blue flag launch. It only runs between 3:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., taking guests to Fort Wilderness and the Contemporary.

The red flag entrance is on the left side of the boat dock. Boat service runs up to a half hour before the Magic Kingdom opens and continues until a half hour after the park closes. (This includes the early park benefit for resort guests.)

Here are a few photos of things you’ll see along the route.

After passing the Contemporary, you’ll go through a narrow area that’s actually an overpass. If you’ve ever ridden a bus to Magic Kingdom or driven to the Contemporary, you might remember driving through a tunnel. This area along the lake crosses over that tunnel. Ask the boat captain if you cannot figure out where it is. Most of them love to share these kinds of things.

You’ll likely pass other boats along the way. The boat shown below is the most common boat that runs between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Magic Kingdom. We know it’s headed to the Wilderness Lodge because it has a red flag. This boat is wheelchair and ECV-accessible.

We’ve almost reached the Most Magical Place on Earth, the Magic Kingdom.

When everyone exited, I took a photo of our boat. This particular boat is not accessible, so you would need to wait for the next boat. But no worries—the boats run regularly.

Here is a photo of the resort launch at Magic Kingdom.

When you arrive, you couldn’t be any closer to the ticket turnstiles at Magic Kingdom. However, you will have to walk through a brief security check. When you leave, you’ll exit the park and board the return boat to Wilderness Lodge at the same dock. (This dock is shared with Fort Wilderness but has two separate lines.)

It’s boat dock #1.

Here’s our average travel times:

Boat from	Boat to:	Time:
Wilderness Lodge	Magic Kingdom	12 minutes

Boat from:	Boat to:	Time:
Magic Kingdom	Wilderness Lodge	11 minutes

What if it’s raining?: The boats continue to operate during rainy weather. However, they cease operations in the event of inclement weather. If this happens, you’ll need to take the bus between Wilderness Lodge and Magic Kingdom. This bus service is shared with Fort Wilderness. If you board the bus at Magic Kingdom, it drops off at Wilderness Lodge first. Then, it continues to Fort Wilderness before returning to Magic Kingdom. (This bus service between Wilderness Lodge and Magic Kingdom is always available. It is a secondary option. You are not required to take the boat.)

Final Thoughts

We hope you enjoy this overview of how to travel between the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness. If you’re interested in more tips, our Wilderness Lodge Transportation Guide is our most recommended read for the resort. It shares how to get from the resort to the theme parks, Disney Springs, and other popular locations at Walt Disney World.

• How to Walk from Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary
• The Grand Floridian Walkway to Magic Kingdom (with the Distance)
• How Long It Takes to Get From Grand Floridian to Epcot (Monorail)
• How to Get Between Kidani Village and Jambo House

You might also enjoy our Resorts Gal Routes series, which shares some of our favorite routes to popular Walt Disney World destinations.

In the Comments

Did you find this tip helpful? Did you know you could take a boat between Wilderness Lodge and Magic Kingdom? It’s a peaceful way to travel. Leave us a comment below with your thoughts.