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The Best $15 I Spent at Walt Disney World

A few days ago, my family and I returned from an epic adventure at the Disney Social Media Mom Celebration. As part of the event, I gained inside access to upcoming Disney movies, resort and park news which I can’t wait to share with you (posts coming soon). The conference agenda was jam packed with pixie dust which only left us a few hours to explore Disney World on our own. Armed with our Fast Pass+, I set out to maximize the fun in a minimal amount of time and in the process, I found an invaluable resource you must know about.

Disney’s Express Bus Transportation is hands down the best $15 I have ever spent at the parks.

Disney's Express Bus Transportation

Because we had only a few hours in the parks, we intended to hit EPCOT, Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios in a single day. Ambitious? Maybe. But we did it thanks to the Express Transportation service! So why is this service arguably the best $15 I have ever spent at Disney World? Let me break it down.

On the first morning, I simply asked our Disney resort concierge to add the Express Transportation tickets right to our Magic Bands. The cost is just $15 per person per day (and $24 per person for extended stays).  Because the service does not begin till 10am, you will make your way to the park and go through security as usual. When entering our first park of the day, EPCOT, we stopped at Guest Services to inquire about the Express Transportation schedule and location for pick up. The buses run every 30 minutes but you want to get the daily schedule so you are not wasting precious park time waiting for the next bus to arrive.

In EPCOT, the pick up location is near Guest Relations by Spaceship Earth. Just look for the signs and check in with the cast member who will scan your Magic Band. You will promptly be escorted backstage and onto an Express Transportation Bus which uses behind the scene roads to get to your destination quicker than using the regular park transportation. Another plus? You are dropped off inside your desired park allowing you to skip the long walk and security lines.

No lines. No crowded buses. Shorter commute. Less walking. No security lines. Faster to the fun! BEST.SERVICE.EVER.

We were literally the only people on the bus which allowed tired eyes to take a quick nap and rejuvenate. The Express Transportation dropped us off inside Magic Kingdom near Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin which was made it super easy to get to our “Be Our Guest” reservation in plenty of time. Again, don’t forget to ask the bus schedule when you arrive at the park if you plan to hitch another ride that day.

Disney's Express Transportation

After hitting all of our favorite rides in Magic Kingdom, we headed back to the Express Transportation pick up, checked in and were on our way to Hollywood Studios (again being the only family on the bus). The bus dropped us off right behind Tower of Terror allowing us to again skip security lines and head straight to the magic.

If you have Park Hopper passes and plan to hit multiple parks in one day, the Express Transportation is WELL WORTH THE PRICE. A few final notes:

  • Since the buses drop you off inside the parks, you will miss the “grand entrances” to each park (for example, walking down Main Street towards Cinderella’s Castle). If those photo opportunities are important to you, be aware that you will have to double back to see them.
  • Because you are behind the magic when you are escorted to your bus, photos and video are discouraged.

If you are looking for a way to pack more fun into a Disney vacation, definitely consider the Express Transportation option! We found it to be truly magical!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, this service was discontinued in August 2017.

36 thoughts on “The Best $15 I Spent at Walt Disney World”

  1. This is really neat to have this option, and it isn’t that much extra by the sounds either cost wise. If I ever head to Disney World, I will be looking into this option!

  2. This sounds like a great idea for people who want to get around Disney! When we went, the bus was super crowded so this would be a nice alternative.

  3. Holy Moly Batman!! This sounds like the bomb and I will definitely be looking it up the next time we head to Disney!

  4. We are familiar with the challenges that come along with the two Disney parks here on the west coast., so I can only imagine navigating multiple parks. This service seems to be money well spent for sure!

  5. I will have to share this information with my eldest niece. Their family is heading to Disney for a vacation in March. They could really use the Park Hopper passes and Express transportation!

  6. How come I have never heard of this???? And I live here! EEEK! Definitely going to check this out as those security lines can take a really, really long time. AND the bus lines…

    thanks

  7. sounds like you really had a lot of fun, i will surely remember this 15$ post when i go to Disney with my daughter thanks fo sharing.

  8. Yes! That is the best! You end up taking so many different shuttles and buses inside Disney World. Being able to cut out transportation time and get to more fun is so worth the price.

  9. This was just explained to me when I called Disney with a question. Since the $24/person is good for 7 days & we are planning a 10 day trip, I think we are going to see how much time is spent on the regular busses first. If it is too slow, I will sign up for this service for the last 7 days. Glad to read that someone used it & it worked well!

  10. We bought the 7 day pass for $24/person!!!! It was the best purchase I have invested in Disney. Especially on the super packed days. Saved so much time , avoiding bag checks and re entry at main gates ! Well worth the money. Disney also guarantees you park to park within 20 minutes. Would do it again in a heartbeat!!!! Oh and best part , none of the buses were half full. We even had a few rides with the entire bus to ourselves !!!!

  11. We did this and it is currently in a pilot phase so it is not fully publicized. It is $15 a day per person or $24 per person for multiple days. It was worth not having to deal with security at every park!! My husband and I decided to tell everyone about it so it goes from a pilot phase to a permanent option.
    We even had fast passes set up for the park we hopped to and as soon as we got there we bypassed lines and hopped on rides!! By far just another way Disney gives you the most magical experience possible!!!
    Remember in order to do this you should have a park hopper pass not just a regular pass!!!
    So worth it will do it every time we go!!!!!
    We did not stay on property and still found it to be worth it we just went back to the park we started at and caught the nighttime show!!!

  12. Do you have to stay on Disney property to use this option? We will be staying at Shades of Green a non Disney resort.

  13. My husband and I had a get away weekend without kids and we used this and loved every minute of it. We did the $24 for the extended stay and well worth the money. One day we got to the bus early just because we were tired and looking for a few extra minutes to rest. It it wasn’t for the Express we would have missed using FP at HS when it dropped us right at RnR and that is what our FP was for.

  14. Thank you for sharing. Will the magic express transportation only run between the parks? Can we take the magic express back to each Resort or Disney Springs?

  15. I used it in April at $19 for one day. It was so worth it…3 parks in one day and only had to go through bag check once. Don’t start at magic kingdom though, because it has the longest bag check line.

  16. Is the express buses equipped to handle a mobility chair.? we have 2 members of our family using the mobility chairs. This sounds well worth the price. It will save a lot of time to enjoy the parks

  17. The Express Transportation Service was discontinued in August 2017. If you’re going to continue to promote this blog post on Pinterest, the *least* you can do is update this post to make sure that people know that this service is no longer available.

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