Last Updated on September 25, 2023 by Happily Ever Park Hoppers
So I briefly touched on the Shades of Green bus system in my resort post. But I wanted to go over how to get around WDW while using a variety of different options.
Getting around while staying at Shades of Green
Getting around Walt Disney World while staying at Shades of Green Resort doesn’t need to be complicated. Familiarize yourself with Shades of Green transportation, bus stop locations, understanding how to get around all of Walt Disney World as well as several other tips for when you’re staying at Shades of Green Resort.
Shades of Green Transportation
Shades of Green has it’s own bus system that operates exclusively for Shades of Green guests. Each adult in your party will be given a bus pass upon your arrival that extends to your check-out date. You will not be allowed to board a Shades of Green bus without at least ONE adult in your party presenting the pass to the driver. The Shades of Green bus system currently has 3 Bus Lines:
- Transportation & Ticket Center – Magic Kingdom & Epcot
- Begins 1 hours & 30 minutes before park opening – Three times within the hour
- Leaves SOG at :00, :20 and :40 – Leaves TTC at :10, :30 and :50
- Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios
- Begins 45 minutes before park opening – Twice within the hour
- Leaves SOG at :15 and :45 – Leaves AK at :00 and :30 – Leaves HS at :15 and :45
- Bus travels to AK first, then HS
- Disney Springs
- Begins 30 minutes before park opening – Once within the hour
- Leaves SOG at :30 – Leaves DS at :00
- Bus travels to Epcot first, then DS
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Know The Schedule
It is important to know the Bus Schedule because the Shades of Green busses only run once or twice an hour. GET THERE EARLY. Whether you’re leaving to head to the parks or headed back to the resort, make sure you give yourself time to get in line. The first bus of the morning WILL be crowded and there is no guarantee you will get on it if the bus fills up. It is also important to know WHERE the Shades of Green bus stops are because at some parks they may not be in the same location as the Disney busses.
Traveling to/from Magic Kingdom
Taking a Shades of Green bus to Magic Kingdom, you will depart Shades of Green and be dropped off at the Transportation & Ticket Center (TTC) – the Yellow circle – at spot C10. You will then take the Monorail or Ferry boat to the front entrance of Magic Kingdom.
**Please note: There are TWO Monorail lines at the Transportation & Ticket Center that will take you to Magic Kingdom. The Express Line only stops at the TTC and Magic Kingdom. The Resort Monorail will go from the TTC, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort , Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Contemporary Resort and then back to the TTC. So if you are wanting to get off at one of the resorts on the Monorail loop, be sure you get on the Resort Monorail.
How else can you get to Magic Kingdom?
Walkway Closure – as of May 1, 2023
PRIOR TO MAY 1st, a popular way to get to Magic Kingdom from Shades of Green was by walking to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. Due to construction and roadwork to a new four lane “highway” that will be replacing Floridian Way (the main road that guests would cross to get to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort). The walkway is NO LONGER ACCESSIBLE. Guests WILL NOT be allowed to walk down the walkway or in the roadway. The gate guards will not allow you to even walk or drive a scooter near the edge of the property.
Also, know that if you are bringing your own car and think you can park at a Disney Resort Hotel on the Monorail Loop, know that this is not a practical option. Only those with dining reservations (or registered guests of that resort) will be allowed to park at the Monorail resorts. And. Know that you’ll only be allowed to park there for 2 hours.
Take a Minnie Van to Magic Kingdom
If you are looking for the fastest and direct way to Magic Kingdom from Shades of Green, that is going to be by ordering a Minnie Van. A Minnie Van is the ONLY way to arrive at the front entrance of Magic Kingdom. All other ride share options will be dropped off at the Transportation & Ticket Center where you will have to take the Monorail or Ferry to the entrance of Magic Kingdom.
You can order a Minnie Van via the Lyft app and selecting the Minnie Van option. Make sure the option you are selecting says Minnie Van, otherwise you will be selecting a regular vehicle that cannot take you to the front of Magic Kingdom. Also, know that Minnie Vans will cost more than a regular Lyft. But they are operated by Disney Cast Members, have 2 child car seats, seat 6 and have charging cords in case you need to charge your phone. And. Know that Minnie Vans can take you all over the Walt Disney World Resort, not just to Magic Kingdom. Again, they are just the only ride share option that will bring your directly to the front of Magic Kingdom.
Traveling to/from Disney’s Animal Kingdom
The Shades of Green bus stop for Disney’s Animal Kingdom is in the opposite direction of the Disney busses. When exiting the park, you are going to head to the left unlike the Disney busses which are to the right. There will be a small pergola/awning in the parking lot with benches where you can sit and wait for the Shades of Green bus. When the bus arrives, it will pass by the pergola and loop back around for guests to board the bus.
Traveling to/from Disney’s Hollywood Studios
The bus stop for Hollywood Studios is just past the Disney Skyliner station at Character Lot Space #60. You will walk past all the Disney Resort Hotel busses, so if you’re cutting it close to the pick up time, just keep going! It will feel like you’ve passed it, but just remember it’s the third row back.
Traveling to/from Epcot
Just like going to Magic Kingdom, to get to Epcot you are going to take the bus to the Transportation & Ticket Center and hop on the Monorail. The bus stop for the TTC is Bus Space C10. Once you arrive at the TTC, you are going to take the EPCOT MONORAIL line. Be sure to pay attention you get on the correct Monorail line.
If you are wanting to enter through the rear entrance of Epcot through the International Gateway, you have a couple of options
To quickly get to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure or to avoid walking all the way through the World Showcase. You will want to the Shades of Green bus to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. From there you can either:
– Take a Friendship Boat from Disney’s Hollywood Studios which will then stop at the Swan & Dolphin Resort, Disney’s BoardWalk, Disney’s Yacht Club and then the International Gateway.
– Take the Disney Skyliner which is an aerial gondola that had a transfer stop where you will disembark and board a new gondola to continue on to Epcot. There is a stop at Disney’s Riviera Resort but you will not need to get out. And then the final stop will be at the International Gateway.
– Walk from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to the International Gateway. The pathway goes just past the Disney Skyliner and the bus stop. You will walk through Disney’s BoardWalk and eventually to the International Gateway. The pathway from Disney’s Hollywood Studios to Epcot is about a mile and a quarter, or a 20-25 minute walk depending on how fast you walk (or how sore your feet are).
Traveling to/from Disney Springs
At Disney Springs, the bus stop is again in a different location than the Disney busses. The bus stop is on the West Side Loop Spots 1-7. It says 1-7 because it seems to fluctuate depending the day or if there are other busses in a specific number. Be sure to arrive before the departure time so you can see the Shades of Green bus pull in and don’t get left behind.
Using Disney Transportation
With the walkway closure using Disney Transportation isn’t “as” convenient as it once was. But Disney Busses do run a lot more often and you always have the option to take a Disney Bus and/or Disney Transportation to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and then walk to the Transportation & Ticket Center (roughly a 9 minute walk).
Know that you CAN still use any form of Disney Transportation, especially if you’re heading to Disney Resort Hotels for a dining reservation.
Traveling within the Walt Disney World Resort
If you’re traveling within the parks or from a park to a Disney Resort Hotel for a dining reservation, use Disney transportation to get to whatever your destination is. Say you took a Shades of Green bus to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the morning but you have a dinner reservation at Story Book Dining at Artist Point, inside Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and then plan to head to Magic Kingdom to finish your night. You would leave Disney’s Hollywood Studios and travel to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge via a Disney bus. Then you will take a boat from Disney’s Wilderness Lodge to Magic Kingdom. At the end of the night, take the Monorail or Ferry to either the TTC to get on a Shades of Green bus and head back to the resort.
If you are just wanting to travel between parks, again you can use any Disney transportation to do so. For some routes, your only option maybe to take a Disney bus. Like Magic Kingdom to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you would take a Disney bus to get from one park to another. But if you’re traveling from Disney’s Hollywood Studios and want to go to Epcot, you can either take Disney’s Skyliner or a Friendship boat.
This may seem like a lot and you might just end up staying in the same park all day and this may not even be relevant to you. But just know that you are not restricted to only Shades of Green busses. You can use any form of transportation to get around Walt Disney World. If you are unsure as to which is the best route, use the My Disney Experience mobile app and
And that about covers traveling to and from Shades of Green. There is always calling for an Uber/Lyft but that is completely your choice. Sometimes we will call for one if we just want to get to where we are going right then and there; like if we have reservations and are running out of time. On average most rides cost about $10-$15 if you’re headed to a park and around $20 if you’re headed to Disney Springs. Again, completely up to you and not necessary if you give yourself enough time.
One last note, keep in mind that you will need to arrange your own transportation from the airport. There is no shuttle that will take you from MCO to Shades of Green. We have called for an Uber/Lyft ($30-$45/one way) and also called for a car service through Tiffany Towncar (call for a military discount).
If you still have any questions after going through everything, please drop a comment and I will be sure to get back to you.
Spreading magic one post at a time
Kristin
I thought you said the walkway between shades of green and the Polynesian was closed for now. Is that not the walkway for accessing the resort monorail? I’m confused, please help.
Hi Lauren,
Thank you for reaching out. I can understand your confusion with the walkway closure and getting to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and/or accessing the Resort Monorail.
From Shades of Green, you will board a SOG bus and go to the Transportation & Ticket Center. From there, if you are wanting to go to one of the resorts on the Monorail Loop, you will board the Resort Line. There is a walking path from the TTC to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, but you would still need to board the SOG bus to the TTC and then walk over.
If you are wanting to just go to Magic Kingdom, when you get to the TTC you will have the option to choose what Monorail line you want to take. Either the Resort Line or the Express line (which will not stop at any of the resort).
I hope this makes sense. If not, please let me know.
Kristin
Yes, I understand now. That’s a bummer that the walk way is closed right before we go. Oh, well. Thanks for clarifying!
If walking to the Polynesian from SoG, is it best/quickest to take the resort monorail from the resort or the express monorail from the TTC?
If you’re going to the Polynesian to catch the Monorail, the only option is the Resort Monorail. If you are going to the TTC that is where you have option between the Express or Resort Monorail
Thank you for the reply. I meant, is it best to walk to the Polynesian and take the resort monorail or best to walk to the TTC and take the express monorail?
Mike
I just posted a second comment because I realized I didn’t answer your question all the way. Do you see that response? If you want you can always shoot a message to our Facebook page @DisneyParksSnob
Mike, I realized that I Only partially answered your question. My apologies.
The “best/quickest” way is going to depend on a few things and is really just a personal choice.
In the mornings for the first couple busses, the bus to the TTC is going to be packed and the line will be very long. We find it faster to walk to the Polynesian and get on the Resort Monorail. It’s about a 10 minute walk and you might only have to wait 3-5 minutes for the Monorail to come. Whereas if you take the bus to the TTC, you could wait 20-40 minutes just to get on the bus and then wait for the Express Monorail.
Later in the day, the bus to the TTC won’t be busy at all and if you time it right, only wait a few minutes for the bus to arrive and get right over to the TTC. (The bus ride from Shades of Green to the TTC is only about 3-4 minutes)
I hope this helps.
Kristin
Kristin,
Thanks so much for the great info. When you suggest getting to the bus stop early for the first bus, can you be a tad more specific. I have teenagers included in our group of 8 that may balk at say arriving early for a 6:15 bus to Animal Kingdom.
Cynthia,
That is a very early first bus and I completely understand what you’re saying. For a 6:15am it’s hard to say how full a bus that early could be. If you are wanting to be there for rope drop and take advantage of Early Theme Park Entry, you will not want to miss that first bus. But if you’re ok with getting there slightly after, if you happen to miss that first bus you would get there just around 7:00am. Personally, if I were trying to get there for Early Entry, I would try to be down at the bus no later than 6:05. Especially with a party of 8, you’re going to want to make sure that there is space for everyone.
I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Kristin
Thank you!
Do you know if an Uber or Lyft can drop you at the Magic Kingdom gate, or do they have to drop you at the TTC? Also curious as to the quickest transportation route to Magic Kingdom first thing in the morning, the monorail from Polynesian or bus?
Erica,
If you take an Uber or Lyft to Magic Kingdom, you will be dropped off at the TTC. Magic Kingdom is the only park that non-Disney transportation cannot drive up to the front of the park.
In the morning, the “fastest” way to get to Magic Kingdom will vary. The Shades of Green bus will take you to the TTC and it’s a very short ride. However, for the first bus you are going to want to be down at the bus stop well before the scheduled departure time. Going to the Polynesian is a popular option but if you can’t catch a ride from the Shady Shuttle, the walk is about 10-15 minutes depending on how quickly you walk. Then the Resort Monorail from the Polynesian is only 2 stops away from Magic Kingdom. It really depends on how early you get to the bus, how long you have to wait or how long it takes you to walk.
I hope this helps! If you have more questions, please let me know 😄
Kristin
I love this information ..Thank you for sharing this.
Of course! I’m so happy you found it helpful.