The Pros and Cons of Staying at a Disney Resort Hotel with Multiple Bus Stops

Pros and Cons of Having Multiple Bus Stops

If it’s not apparent, the time it takes to make extra stops is the most significant negative when staying at a larger resort. Think about it. You’re excited and ready to get to the parks in the morning. So, every little stop on the way feels like it’s taking forever, even if, in reality, it’s not. As humans, we often judge things based on our feelings. If you were to track the route times, it might debunk those feelings or at least downgrade them.

Of course, none of us are immune to the occasional bus fiasco when the driver misses a stop and has to double back, or you wait at the bus stop for a considerable amount of time because the bus is stuck in standstill rush hour traffic around 5:30 p.m. Those things cannot be helped. For reference, many locals reroute across Disney property when traffic gets backed up on I-4. This makes the area near Disney’s Animal Kingdom a traffic nightmare. We avoid traveling to and from this specific park or the immediate area between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. It’s not terrible every day, but it naturally gets more congested during those times.

Another potential negative is that you could accidentally exit at the wrong bus stop on your return to the resort. Imagine it’s dark, and the bus is so full it’s standing room only. You’ve had a long day in the parks, and your children have fallen asleep on the bus ride. You’re so tired that you’re not paying close attention and exit at the wrong stop. As you begin to make your way back to the room, you don’t recognize anything. Exhausted, you spend the next 15 minutes wandering the resort until you finally locate your room. Wow. You weren’t planning on all those extra steps this late at night.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to scare you away from staying at a resort with multiple bus stops. These tremendous resorts are gorgeous and offer numerous benefits, one of which is using the buses to get around the resort.

How To Use Multiple Bus Stops To Travel Around the Resorts

Below, we’ve provided an overview of how to use the bus stops to get around each resort. One resort has a dedicated internal bus that never leaves. The others all have a system where guests can use the buses to get from point A to point B within the resort. All you need to know is how it works.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has a dedicated internal bus that circles the entire resort approximately every 20 minutes. Most guests don’t realize you can take the internal bus to and from your area to any other resort bus stop, including a bus stop at the Skyliner and Old Port Royale (the main lobby).

Example: You’re staying in Martinique and visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You can take the internal bus from Martinique’s bus stop to the Skyliner. (You can also walk to the Riviera Skyliner. But you would have to exit the Skyliner at Caribbean Beach and reboard the line to Hollywood Studios.)

Here are the stops the internal bus makes around the resort:

• Martinique
• Old Port Royale
• Barbados
• Trinidad
• Caribbean Beach Skyliner Station*
• Jamaica
• Aruba

*The other resort buses do not stop at the Caribbean Beach Skyliner Station.

Companion Guide: Bus Schedule and Travel Times for Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

At Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, you’ll want to take the Disney Springs bus from El Centro (the lobby and Gran Destino Tower) to any resort section. The Disney Springs bus’s last stop will be the Cabanas before it leaves the resort.

To get from your resort area to another, take any theme park bus to El Centro and Gran Destino Tower. We always ask the bus driver if they will stop at the lobby. While not typical, they could bypass the last stop if the bus were to fill before it reached the lobby. The drivers are good at paying attention and ensuring guests exit at the right place when possible.

Example: You’re staying at Ranchos and don’t want to walk to the lobby for dinner. Take the next theme park bus from your bus stop to the shared stop at El Centro and Gran Destino Tower. Let the bus driver know when you board that you’re exiting at the lobby.

*This tip might not always work well first thing in the morning when the buses fill quickly. Since the bridge was added across the lake a few years ago, the walking distances have become significantly shorter. During our last stay, I tracked the walking distances from the rooms to the lobby at Coronado Springs.

Here is the order of the bus stops for the theme park buses at Disney’s Coronado Springs:

• Bus Stop 2 (Casitas)
• Bus Stop 3 (Ranchos)
• Bus Stop 4 (Cabanas)
• Bus Stop 1 (El Centro and Gran Destino Tower)

*Again, the Disney Springs buses are an exception to this rule. They stop at the resort’s front entrance at bus stop one and then travel to two, three, and four. This bus leaves the resort after it drops off at the Cabanas.

Companion Guide: Bus Schedule and Travel Times for Disney’s Coronado Springs

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa: This resort is the most difficult to walk across because of its layout. We always use the bus system to get around when we stay here. The Disney Springs bus doubles as the resort’s internal bus. However, it’s a little more confusing because the Disney Springs bus enters the resort at a different location from the other buses. Like the other resorts with multiple bus stops, it follows the same order. It only has a different starting point. Here’s how the internal/Disney Springs Route works:

• The Springs (Main Lobby)
• The Grandstand
• The Carousel
• The Paddock
• Congress Park
• Disney Springs

*All other buses start at The Grandstand first. They continue in the same order listed above. The Springs will be the last stop before they leave the resort.

Example: If you spend the afternoon at the resort’s feature pool, you can take the Disney Springs bus back to your resort area. The bus stops at every resort section. Congress Park is the last stop before the bus leaves the resort.

Example: You can take any theme park bus from your resort area to The Springs (the main lobby and pool). The Springs is the last stop before the bus leaves the resort.

Companion Guide: Disney’s Saratoga Springs Bus Schedule and Travel Times

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this article gave you a good idea of how resorts with multiple bus stops work. Sure, it will take a little longer to loop around the resorts when coming and going. But, overall, we have found that Disney transportation is efficient and convenient. No, it’s not always perfect, and you could have a mishap that causes a delay here and there. Things happen. For more on the buses at Disney World, you might enjoy:

• Disney Resort Bus Schedule Guide
• Everything You Need to Know About the Buses at Disney World
• Disney Bus Travel Times (The Complete Guide)

Or you might like to preview our entire transportation guide.