If staying at a hotel at Walt Disney World, don’t rent a car, ride the Magical Express Bus.
Here’s how it works: Once a reservation is made at a Disney hotel, assuming those are made at least two weeks in advance, travelers will receive, via snail mail, special luggage tags. Those are placed on the luggage to be checked at the airport. On arrival in Orlando, travelers can go straight to the Magical Express Bus check-in with their reservation letter no need to grab the bags off the carousel. The bus takes you straight to the Disney hotel and takes care of getting the luggage. (For arrivals between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. visitors have to grab luggage themselves.) Luggage shows up in the traveler’s room approximately three hours later.
This is particularly handy for morning arrivals. After check-in, visitors can leave any carry-ons with the hotel bell staff, and then go frolic in the theme parks. (Big hint, make sure you have things you might need with you like medicines, admission tickets, credit cards and identification like a driver’s license.)
Universal and SeaWorld do not currently offer this kind of service, so other arrangements such as a shuttle, limo, taxi, Uber or Lyft, or rental car will have to be utilized. The other services can be used for Disney too.
With participating airlines it can also work in reverse. Many of the Disney hotels have a location where luggage can be checked in for the flight home – then just board the Magical Express Bus for the return to the airport.
If you stay on Disney or Universal property, getting around is fairly easy. Universal offers boat transportation between its hotels and Citywalk, the gateway to its theme parks. If there are high winds, they have bus service available too, or just walk.
Disney has many methods to get around its 27,000 plus acres. If you’re staying at the hotels around the Seven Seas Lagoon, they are on the monorail beam, so it’s as easy as hopping aboard the monorail to get to the Magic Kingdom or Epcot theme parks. For the other two theme parks, Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Disney’s Animal Kingdom, there are buses.
There are also watercraft shuttles at several of the Disney hotels, and all hotels have access to the Disney bus system, which can take people to anywhere on the property. All the transportation systems on Disney property are complimentary while staying there.
For getting from Disney to Universal, or vice versa, or to other local attractions such as SeaWorld, taxis, Uber or Lyft are probably the best options – unless a rental car is desired, but then you have to pay for parking everywhere, including the hotels.
There are also a variety of shuttle companies that can be used, with reservations.
Best recommendation: Don’t rent a car. Rely on the shuttles and other resort transportation systems.
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