Resorts Gal Tips: How Long Does It Take to Get From Disney’s Grand Floridian to Epcot?

Are you planning a stay at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa? While traveling to and from the Magic Kingdom is simple, you might be surprised to learn that it takes a little longer to get to Epcot. Regarding complimentary transportation, guests of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort are limited to the monorail when traveling to and from Epcot. Of course, you could always use a car service or a Minnie Van. But that can get expensive, and most of the fun is in the journey, right?

So, we tracked how long it takes to give you an idea of what to expect. The data we’re sharing below shows the average time it’s taken to travel this route over several years. We keep track of our travels and enter them into a spreadsheet that spits out the results. If we see a significant shift, we update accordingly.

Here are the results:

Monorail From:	Monorail To:	Time:
Grand Floridian	Epcot	26 minutes (travel time only)
Epcot	Grand Floridian	30 minutes (total time)

Here’s how the route works:

Step One: When you leave Grand Floridian, you’ll board the resort monorail. The monorail platform is on the second floor of the main building, one floor up from the lobby.

Step Two: You’ll stay on the monorail until you reach the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC), which is three stops later. (The resort monorail travels in a circle around Seven Seas Lagoon, stopping at Grand Floridian, Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Contemporary, the TTC, and Disney’s Polynesian.)

Step Three: When you reach the TTC, exit the resort monorail and board the monorail to Epcot. If you stay to the right, you can take a shortcut to the Epcot Monorail. (Most guests go to the left here and don’t realize a separate path leads directly to the Epcot monorail platform.)

This route takes an average of 26 minutes (travel time). However, that timing doesn’t account for waiting in line for the monorail. Considering wait times, it takes approximately 45 minutes to get to Epcot from the Grand Floridian.

When you leave Epcot, you’ll return to the Transportation and Ticket Center via the monorail. From the TTC, you’ll board the resort monorail to Grand Floridian. (There is no shortcut on this side.) The return route averages approximately 30 minutes. However, if you’re leaving Epcot at closing, expect long lines for the monorail.

Monorail Hours:

Per Disney: The Resort and Express Monorail begin operating 30 minutes prior to when Magic Kingdom park opens and stop one hour after Magic Kingdom park closes. The EPCOT Monorail begins operating 30 minutes prior to when EPCOT opens and ends two hours after EPCOT closes.”

Reference

Example: If the park opens at 8:30 a.m., then early theme park hours begin at 8:00 a.m. So, the monorail will begin operating by 7:30 a.m.

*It has been our experience that the resort monorail begins running as early as 6:30 a.m. to accommodate resort guests. A sign sharing the hours of operation is posted near the entrance of Grand Floridian’s monorail station. Since the timing fluctuates, you might want to take a picture of the hours at the beginning of your trip.

There you have it! We hope this gives you an idea of how long it takes to travel between Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Epcot. If you’re visiting Epcot, you’ll want to consider this extra travel time. While it is longer than most routes, we enjoy taking the monorail. When you reach Epcot, you’ll loop through the park before stopping near the front entrance. The ride through Epcot is beautiful!

If you’re learning your way around the resort, our Grand Floridian Transportation Guide is one of our best resources. It discusses how to get from the resort to each major destination at Walt Disney World (and a few popular ones)!

If you would like access to our transportation times for Disney’s Grand Floridian, we have them available in the Resorts Gal Community with our budgeting spreadsheets. You’ll get access to our transportation times guide for every resort at Walt Disney World, and our spreadsheets will help you plan an almost exact budget for your vacation!

In the Comments

Did you find these times helpful? Were you aware that the monorail route between Grand Floridian and Epcot was this long? Leave us a comment with your thoughts. We love hearing from you!