Don't Fear The Disney Bus
- Ruth
- Mar 22
- 5 min read
My Experience Using Buses to / from Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
One of the most hotly contested questions in the WDWAO Facebook group is, “Will I regret booking a resort that has bus-only transportation?” I get it! That fancy new Skyliner is a big draw so it’s hard to know if you’ll miss out by not staying at a moderate resort with Skyliner access vs. one with just buses. In this blog I’ll chronicle my first-hand experience with buses during a recent stay at my favorite moderate resort, Coronado Springs.
Coronado Bus Basics
Frequency: Buses run every 20 minutes, starting 45 minutes before the park opens and continuing until one hour after it closes.
Stops: There are four bus stops within the resort: #2 Casitas, #3 Ranchos, #4 Cabanas, and #1 Gran Destino Tower. The buses pick up guests in this order and drop them off in the same sequence on the return trip. Yes, you’re reading that correctly. Bus stop #1, at the building with the most desirable and expensive rooms, isn’t the first stop.
My Experience
I’ve stayed at Coronado 6 times since 2023, with two stays in standard village rooms (once in Ranchos, once in Cabanas). The rest of my stays, including this one, have been in Gran Destino Tower. I’ve never had a negative experience but also have never timed my trips or taken notes on the experience. This time, I’m mapping it all out for you day by day. This may not be the most exciting blog you read this week, but it’s detailed. Let’s go!
Arrival day: Uber dropped me off at the lobby (in Gran Destino Tower building) at 9:20. I checked my bags at bell services, filled my water bottle, and headed to the bus stop. I didn’t even have time to check the status board for ETA for next bus, because one pulled up as soon as I got there. I hopped onboard at 9:33 with six other guests and we were on our way. The bus was about half full. I was on Main St USA snapping my first selfie at 9:56, so I’d call that an efficient first experience. Twenty-three minutes for the ride, getting off the bus, walking to gate, and getting through security is about as good as you could ask for.
Coming back was a dissimilar experience. I left the park at 5:40 and arrived at Coronado’s bus lane (#11) to find quite a few guests waiting. They indicated it had been over 15 minutes. Considering busses run every 20 minutes, that’s not technically late, but at the end of a long park day, it feels much longer. The bus pulled in at 5:48pm, loaded up (including a scooter, which adds to boarding time) and headed out close to full, with a few guests standing. We pulled into Coronado’s back gate just after 6pm. Here’s where things got interesting. First stop at Casitas. Those getting off shuffled through the crowded bus, exited, and new people got on. Now we’re fuller than we were when we left Magic Kingdom. Repeat that process at Ranchos and Cabanas stops and it’s now 6:30 before we arrive at Gran Destino Tower’s stop. While the process was definitely more chaotic than the morning trip, it was still reasonable at 30 minutes from departing MK to stepping off the bus at the last stop.
Day 2: On this day, the plan was to start at Animal Kingdom and end at Hollywood Studios, so the bus log will have one more leg. I got lucky this morning and, again, my bus pulled in just as I got to the bus stop at 8:30 am. There were only seven people on the ride to AK and the trip took 12 minutes. When I left Animal Kingdom for Hollywood just after 2pm, it was a short wait for the park-to-park bus, the bus wasn’t full, and that leg of the trip also took 12 minutes. Easy!
At the end of the day, I got to the bus stop at 8:39pm, bus pulled up immediately and left for Coronado at 8:45pm with the bus about ¾ full. The ride to Coronado from HS is only 9 minutes and with no guests getting ON the bus at any of the stops, drop offs went quickly. I was off the bus at Gran Destino at 9:02. I’d say this day was about as idyllic as bus transportation could be and should not be counted on every
Day 3: I got to the bus stop at 9:15am and we were on our way to Epcot at 9:23. The bus was full, plus a few standers. We didn’t have any scooters. This is a good time point out that scooters are a big wild card when it comes to bus travel times. It takes a significant amount of time to load and unload scooters, so if you are on a bus with two of them, that alone can add 10 minutes to the trip.
At the end of my day, I got to the bus stop at 7:50pm to find throngs of people waiting. I thought for sure I’d not make the first bus. Bus pulled in at 7:56pm and loaded in far more people than I though humanly possible, with me being the last person on before they cut off boarding. We pulled out at 8:02pm with me standing directly behind the driver. We pulled into Coronado at 8:10pm and even with the other three stops, I was back “home” at the tower at 8:20.
Reflections & Skyliner Comparison
This was a pretty normal bus experience for Coronado. Some trips will be full, some will not. Sometimes you luck out and the bus pulls up as soon as you get there, sometimes you'll wait. Of note, you can check bus times on the My Disney Experience app before you walk to the bus stop, so you can minimize waits if so inclined.
The big plus for Coronado when it comes to bus transportation is location. Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios are all typically 10-12 minutes. Magic Kingdom is closer to 20 minutes.
For a comparison to Skyliner, here’s what you’d be looking at for travel time to Hollywood Studios and Epcot from Caribbean Beach Resort, the only moderate resort serviced by Skyliner.
Caribbean Beach Resort to Hollywood is 6 minutes. Caribbean Beach Resort to Epcot is 12 minutes. This doesn’t include time spent walking to Skyliner or waiting in line for it. Note that for this information, I relied on internet search since it’s been a while since I stayed there.
The big plus to Skyliner is personal space and, for those using scooters, easy loading & unloading. I’ve stayed at three Skyliner resorts before, Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera. While I appreciate the personal space aspect of Skyliner, I dislike the lengthy line to board them at the end of the park day, heat inside them in summer, and the weather variability. Skyliner service is paused for lightning and/or high winds so that can cause added delays.
For me, a bus-only resort is fine. Disney busses are incredibly efficient, predictable, clean and safe. I won’t overlook a resort just because it doesn’t have Skyliner, boat, or monorail access. What the resort has to offer is more important than how I get to the parks. If transportation is a significant factor for you, I hope what I’ve shared will help you make the best choice for your next trip. See you in the parks!
Would you choose to stay at a bus only resort? Tell us why.
That was great info, very detailed. Hope someday soon I'll be able to use it😎
I haven’t stayed at Coronado but it looks really great in the vlogs. We never rent a car now so we use Lyft and the Disney busses. After nearly 30 years, I still get a bit of a rush getting on WDW transport. Sometimes it’s a chore when the busses are busy but it’s offset by those rare but amazing occasions that you get the bus to yourselves. 😀
Another great blog Ruth. One of the reasons I have never stayed at Coronado Springs Resort, is because of this bus issue. I don't like Disney Buses at all. So any opportunity to not use them, is a win for me on my vacation. I especially dislike them at the end of the day, when you're heading back to the resort after a long day in the parks, and there are kids over tired, crying, screaming and parents not "parenting". I am never lucky with the wait times either and I seem to always get the scooters delaying my arrival to the parks too. My biggest annoyance though is driving around a resort picking up and dropping off, wastin…
Great perspective, thanks for sharing