Transportation Options at Disney’s Caribbean Beach (Every Way To Get Where You’re Going)

Disney’s Caribbean Beach is a massive resort offering multiple forms of transportation. If you’re planning a vacation, you’ll want to know how to get to and from Caribbean Beach Resort to other popular Disney destinations.

We’ve stayed at Caribbean Beach many times and have experienced every form of transportation at the resort. From the resort’s numerous bus stops to the Skyliner, we know how to help you get where you’re going!

The resort has a fantastic location near Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Guests can quickly access either park and the surrounding resorts on the system. Additionally, bus service is provided to other popular destinations. However, bus service is only offered at Epcot and Hollywood Studios in the event of inclement weather or when the Skyliner is not operating.

Below, we’ll discuss how to get from Disney’s Caribbean Beach to the theme parks, Disney Springs, water parks, and many other popular destinations. We’ll also review the ins and outs of using the various modes of transportation at Disney’s Caribbean Beach. If you have an upcoming vacation, make sure to save this guide for quick reference while on-site.

Transportation Options at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Disney’s Caribbean Beach has the following complimentary transportation options:

• Disney Skyliner
• Disney Bus Service
• Walking

*Guests can use a personal car or pay for a car service, taxi, or Minnie Van via the Lyft app to most destinations. However, from our experience, some resorts might not allow personal cars to park if the guest doesn’t have a valid dining reservation at that resort.

How to Get to Magic Kingdom from Disney’s Caribbean Beach

Guests can take complimentary bus transportation from Disney’s Caribbean Beach to the Magic Kingdom. As simple as that sounds, you’ll likely want to access the resort bus stop nearest your location.

Caribbean Beach is one of the largest moderate resorts at Disney World. Since the resort is so large, they offer an internal bus system. Each village has a bus stop at Caribbean Beach. The buses travel in this order:

• Martinique
• Old Port Royale
• Barbados
• Trinidad
• Jamaica
• Aruba

Once you arrive at Magic Kingdom, you’ll be within a short distance of the security clearance area. After walking through security, you’ll continue to the ticket turnstile. When you leave Magic Kingdom, you’ll return to the same area and locate the bus stop for Disney’s Caribbean Beach.

How to Get to Epcot from Disney’s Caribbean Beach

When traveling from Caribbean Beach to Epcot, you’ll take the Disney Skyliner. You can walk from your village to the Skyliner station or take the internal bus.

If you’re staying in Aruba or Martinique, you’ll likely want to walk to the Skyliner station at Disney’s Riviera Resort. This station sits directly between Aruba and the Riviera. Guests can board and travel directly to Epcot without stopping at this station.

Those from Trinidad, Barbados, and Jamaica can walk to the central Skyliner station at Disney’s Caribbean Beach. From there, you’ll board the Skyliner to Disney’s Riviera Resort and Epcot. The Skyliner will drop as it passes through the Riviera station. But you will stay on until you reach Epcot, which is the next stop. When you arrive at Epcot, you’ll be at the International Gateway, the park’s secondary entrance.

Tip: At the end of the night, the line for the Skyliner is often tremendously long. Many shops toward the front of the park stay open after the park closes. So we recommend waiting and letting the park clear out after the fireworks.

A cast member is always available in the drop-down areas for the Skyliner. They make guests aware of that location and ask them if they would like to stay on or exit. If it’s an exit-only stop, they will also let you know. I mention this because many guests are anxious about missing their stop. Disney does an excellent job of ensuring guests get where they are headed.

How to Get to Hollywood Studios from Disney’s Caribbean Beach

When traveling from Disney’s Caribbean Beach to Hollywood Studios, you must take the Skyliner. However, this route works differently than the one to Epcot.

If you are closest to the Riviera station, you can board a gondola from the Riviera to Caribbean Beach. But you must exit at Caribbean Beach. From there, you’ll join the line for the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios. Or you can walk to the Caribbean Beach Skyliner station and join the line for Hollywood Studios. Either way, this can be another long line first thing in the morning.

Note: The Skyliner station at Caribbean Beach is the central hub. Every line comes back to this location. So you’ll have guests exiting from Pop Century, Art of Animation, and the Riviera (in addition to guests of Caribbean Beach) joining the lines here for Hollywood Studios and Epcot.

Tip: To avoid long morning lines for the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios, you might consider taking a car service. It’s less than five minutes from Caribbean Beach’s main entrance to Hollywood Studios. At the end of the day, you can take the Skyliner back to the resort.

How to Get to Disney’s Animal Kingdom from Caribbean Beach

For Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you’ll need to take a bus from the village nearest your location. Wait times for the next bus to arrive are posted at the bus stop. These waits are fairly accurate because the bus is transmitting a signal from its location. So, if you see the numbers fluctuate, it could be because the bus was stopped in traffic or at a red light.

It’s important to remember the name of your bus stop for the return trip. When the bus returns to Caribbean Beach, it will stop at each village and Old Port Royale. If you want to exit at the resort’s lobby for dining or other needs, you’ll want to exit at Old Port Royale.

Note that this bus enters the resort at a different location from the other buses. So when returning from Animal Kingdom, you’ll want to listen when the intercom announces your stop. The stops will be in the same order, but this bus usually starts in Jamaica, while most other buses start in Martinique.

How to Get to Disney Springs from Disney’s Caribbean Beach

To get to Disney Springs from Caribbean Beach, you’ll want to take a bus from any village bus stop or Old Port Royale. That bus will drop you off at the Town Center entrance to Disney Springs.

Upon return, the bus stop is on the opposite end of Town Center, close to where the West Side begins. A pass-through area between the Coca-Cola store and Wolfgang Pucks leads directly to the bus stop.

If you take a car service to Disney Springs, they will drop you off near The Market entrance or on the opposite side of Disney Springs near Cirque de Soleil. You will have to go through security at Disney Springs before entering the venue at these entrances.

Overview of the Skyliner at Caribbean Beach Resort

If you’re considering Caribbean Beach as your vacation destination, you likely already know it’s a Skyliner Resort. The Skyliner travels from Caribbean Beach to the following locations:

• Hollywood Studios
• Epcot
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
• Disney’s Pop Century Resort

Hours of Operation:

The Skyliner begins running approximately an hour before the park opens. This includes one hour before the park opens for early morning benefits for resort guests.

What if the Skyliner goes down?

If the Skyliner goes down, bus service is provided to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. However, that bus service will stop as soon as the Skyliner resumes.

If the Skyliner goes down while you’re at Epcot, buses are usually sent to either the Beach Club or the Boardwalk bus stops. From there, a bus will pick you up and get you back to the resort. Often, this bus service is shared with the other Skyliner Resorts. From our experience, this can take a long time.

When this happens, a cast member is usually standing near the Skyliner entrance at Epcot’s International Gateway to direct guests where to go to catch a bus. During inclement weather, a sign is usually out directing guests where to go.

At Hollywood Studios, you’ll walk past the Skyliner to the bus stop, and someone will direct you to the correct bus stop. From our experience, this location is not usually a hassle because they often have buses readily available.

Caribbean Beach to Disney’s Water Parks

Disney usually requires bus transfers to its water parks. If this system is in use, a sign at the bus stop will indicate you must transfer buses.

• To get to Typhoon Lagoon, you’ll take a bus to Disney Springs, then a transfer bus to Typhoon Lagoon.

• To get to Blizzard Beach, you’ll take a bus to Animal Kingdom, where you’ll transfer to Blizzard Beach.

Both routes will work the same on your return trip.

Internal Bus at Disney’s Caribbean Beach

Caribbean Beach has an internal bus that takes guests to and from each village. This bus runs longer hours than the others, often late into the night and beginning earlier.

If you stay at the resort, you might not be aware of the internal bus unless you see it while you’re waiting. This bus is not listed on the wait times screen. It circles the resort every 20 to 25 minutes in the following order:

• Martinique
• Old Port Royale
• Barbados
• Trinidad
• The Skyliner Bus Stop
• Jamaica
• Aruba

This is the same route the other buses run. However, this is the only bus that stops at the Skyliner. For example, if you’re staying in Martinique, you can take the resort’s internal bus to the Skyliner. Or if you exit the Skyliner at the end of the night, you can hop on the internal bus from the Skyliner bus stop and take it back to your village.

You might also use the internal bus to visit Old Port Royale for dining, shopping, or the pool. However, if you’re staying in Jamaica or Aruba, you can quickly access Old Port Royale by crossing the bridge over Barefoot Bay. Below is a photo of the Jamaica side of the bridge.

Bus Hours at Disney’s Caribbean Beach

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 extended theme park hours in the morning for resort guests and extended evening hours for deluxe resort guests. However, during our last stay, we found that the buses began running about an hour to an hour and a half before a park opened.

Walking Options for Caribbean Beach

Unfortunately, you cannot walk from Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort to any theme parks. However, you can walk from Caribbean Beach to Disney’s Riviera Resort. Disney’s Riviera sits on the far side of the lake between Jamaica and Martinique.

It takes approximately 12 minutes at a leisurely pace to get from Old Port Royale (Caribbean Beach’s main lobby) to Disney Riviera. We enjoy dining at Disney’s Riviera often. It’s one of the best foodie resorts around!

Disney’s Caribbean Beach to Other Disney Resorts

Lastly, I wanted to discuss the best ways to get to a few popular resort destinations for touring or dining reservations. I don’t know about you, but we tend to spend a good deal of time resort-hopping.

You can climb aboard a gondola to visit the Epcot Resorts Area from Caribbean Beach via the Skyliner. Within a few minutes walk from the International Gateway (where the Epcot Skyliner drops you off), you’ll be within short walking distance of the following hotels:

• Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
• Disney’s Beach Club Resort
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• Disney’s Swan and Dolphin

If you don’t want to walk to the Epcot Resorts, you can take the Friendship Boats from the International Gateway to all three resorts.

To visit the Magic Kingdom Resorts, you’ll want to take a bus from Caribbean Beach to Magic Kingdom. You’ll have to go through security at Magic Kingdom, but not the ticket turnstiles.

Then you’ll want to do one of the following depending on where you are headed:

• 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)
• Disney’s Fort Wilderness (boat)

To visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, you can take a bus from Caribbean Beach to the theme park. Then, board a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge. This bus will stop at Kidani Village and then at Jambo House. You’ll want to know which stop you need ahead of time.

Another option is to take a bus from Caribbean Beach to Disney Springs and then board a bus from Disney Springs to any Disney Resort Hotel.

Related: Disney Springs Transportation Guide

Accessibility at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Most transportation options at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort accommodate guests with accessibility needs. Disney provides an overview of each form of transportation on their website. Learn More: Transportation and Mobility Disabilities at Disney World

Final Thoughts on Transportation at Caribbean Beach

While Disney’s Caribbean Beach is massive, a good base knowledge of how transportation works will go a long way during your vacation. During our last stay, we were waiting at the bus stop early one morning. A family nearby, who had been waiting for some time, asked us about the Epcot bus. They were surprised to find out they had to use the Skyliner.

They probably wasted at least 45 minutes waiting for a bus that wasn’t coming and then leaving to walk to the Skyliner. Had they been aware of the options, their morning would have gone a lot smoother, and they would have likely made it to the parks for the early morning benefit.

As someone who stays in resorts often, I encounter these kinds of scenarios on every visit. This is what inspired me to write these guides. A Walt Disney World vacation is expensive, and time is money. I hope you’ll benefit from our practiced experience and not waste time waiting for a bus that’s not coming.

Lastly, it’s important to remember that you’re on Disney’s time when you utilize Disney transportation. So sometimes, you might have to wait longer than expected for a bus or other form of transportation. It’s just part of it, so be prepared.

As the saying goes, it’s more about the journey than the destination. That’s especially true for a monorail ride through Epcot or a sunset ride on the Skyliner.

For more information about Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, you might enjoy the following:

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Review
• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Restaurants
• The Pools at Caribbean Beach Resort
• Laundry at Caribbean Beach Resort
• Centertown Market Review at Caribbean Beach

In the Comments

Did you find this Caribbean Beach transportation guide helpful? Do you have any questions about getting to and from the resort? Have you dealt with long lines for the Skyliner at Caribbean Beach or long waits for the bus? Share any of your thoughts, positives or negatives, in the comments below.