I never thought of myself as the sort of girl who gets excited over transportation enhancements, but that was before I saw our new Disney Springs bus loop. With eighteen load zones, a picture-perfect drop off location, and centrally located access to Town Center, it’s one of my favorite new additions. (And with venues like ZARA, UNOde50 and Sprinkles Cupcakes in the mix, that’s saying a lot!)
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Starting last week, guests traveling to Disney Springs via complimentary Disney Resort bus transportation noticed some changes. Our Disney motorcoaches now have their own dedicated bus lanes, giving them more efficient access to the property. And once here, guests are dropped off at The Gateway, offering a stunning arrival into our newest neighborhood. It’s a grand entrance, indeed!
With the opening of this new location, the former Marketplace bus loop will support other transportation needs including vehicles coming from nearby Good Neighbor Hotels, Hotel Plaza Boulevard and Shades of Green.
One of my favorite perks of staying at a Disney Resort Hotel is the transportation – knowing that I can unpack my car keys and leave the driving to someone else is the ultimate vacation luxury. (Plus, with no keys in my purse, I’ve got room for an extra indulgence or two… something from ALEX AND ANI or PANDORA, perhaps?)
Whether you arrive via bus, boat or decide to drive yourself, I hope to see you soon at Disney Springs!
Comments
The new area is gorgeous. That being said my fitbit tracked .9 miles from the main Disney store to our bus stop. .5 of which was just around the bus terminal. Ridiculous. There had to be a better way.
Yesterday traveling to Disney Springs from Epcot via bus only took an hour and a half each way, including the multiple busses, 45 minute wait for our return bus to Old Key West, and the updated route supposedly making the trip more efficient. I am wondering if the three hours wait time outweighed the cost for a taxi or car rental. Did I mention it was standing room only on the bus?
I am staying at the riverside resort…I will be going to the night of joy concert at ESPN zone…so afterward…do I take a Disney bus back to a select resort…and wait for another Disney transportation bus to take me to MY resort? will the Disney busses be running that late? would they drop me off at say, magic kingdom, and then I catch a bus to riverside? I’m very worried. thank you
So, taking the bus from the Grand Floridian end of August there is now only one drop off place and we will be dropped off at The Gateway area of Disney Springs?
Will The Gateway area also be where we will wait for a bus back to the Grand Floridian?
This update was a looooong time coming! The previous bus loop was not efficient at all – and overly congested. I agree with some other previous posts – there should be options for a direct ride to DS from the parks. I like the idea of needing your magic band for buses to the resorts – or to be able to use a dedicated bus to DS. I would imagine with the number of buses in service plus the cost of the technology equals not a practical option…
If going to Disney Springs after the parks – go to the nearest Disney resort to the park you are visiting (even if not where you are staying) you will get to Disney Springs much quicker. I don’t remember which resorts are closer to each park but I did get to Disney Springs quicker when I traveled this way. I am sure there is a Disney wiz who actually knows.
To echo an above comment: take Saratoga Springs bus from parks to Saratoga Springs Resort. Get off at Congress Park stop. Walk ~5 minutes to the Marketplace section of Disney Springs. Ta-dah, problem solved.
About how long does it take to get to Disney Springs from the resort hotels like Poly or Floridian? We are visiting soon and I’d love to visit DS before our flight leaves at 430pm, but not sure if we’ll have time using the buses. Either way this is great news, but I agree about getting there from the parks. There has to be a way to make that work.
We were there this weekend-It looks beautiful but it is a long walk around those loops to get to your bus. I agree that the buses should run from the parks to Disney Springs. We had a lot of issues with bus service this past week.
If you take a bus from the parks to Saratoga Springs, you will be very close to Disney Springs. Then you could walk, or take a boat to finish your journey.
I believe they stopped the direct buses from the parks because people were circumventing the parking fees at the parks by parking at Disney Springs (formerly Downtown Disney), then taking a bus to the parks.
This is nice..but… I whole-heartedly agree that there needs to be transportation from the theme parks directly to Disney Springs. I waste so much time traveling from parks, back to the resort, just to get to Disney Springs. Why not make buses only accessible by magic band? So those of us who are staying on property don’t have to waste 2 hours getting from a park to DS. Have resort guests swipe their magic bands to get on the bus? So it’s not abused by people not staying on property.
Have been going to Disney since 1976. Have watched the growth from one Park to another. The Now Disney Springs growth is fantastic, instead of 3 separate areas it is now all in one. From shows to restaurants an have always Loved this area , Portabelos as far as I am concerned has always been the best rest. Will be back there in August. Now with my Grandchild from Alaska..
That’s great about the connection to the resorts to the Disney Springs Gateway. Still, I wish there were buses from *the parks* directly to Disney Springs.
When MK or Epcot closes early, I lose 1-2 hours of shopping time getting to a resort to then get on a bus back to Disney Springs, which can close at 11 or midnight.
Can someone put in a word with someone to make parks-to-Disney-Springs connections happen?
This is a great idea. I look forward to visiting this November. Thanks for the update.
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