In the over 50 years that Walt Disney World has been open, the seemingly ever-growing Vacation Kingdom has expanded from one theme park, two hotels, and a campground, to four theme parks, two water parks, a shopping district, and nearly 30 hotels.
Over that time, a vast transportation network has been developed to connect all these disparate experiences in convenient ways for guests. Today, we’ll be looking at all the way to travel from Disney World’s first theme park: Magic Kingdom to Disney World’s newest theme park: Animal Kingdom.
Disney Bus Service from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom
The first, and most direct, way to travel from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom is by using Disney’s bus service. Simply exit the Magic Kingdom, walk to the bus loop at the left (from the exiting perspective) of the park’s entrance, and take the bus to Animal Kingdom. (Note, guests previously needed to take the Disney Monorail or a watercraft to the Transportation and Ticket Center to catch a bus to Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, but that’s no longer the case). However, the direct route isn’t the only way to take a bus between these two parks.
Disney Bus Service from Magic Kingdom Resorts
If the line at the Magic Kingdom’s bus stop is overwhelmingly crowded, or you simply want to stretch your legs a bit, you can walk to any of the resorts along the Seven Seas Lagoon – Contemporary, Polynesian Village, or Grand Floridian – and take a Disney bus from their Animal Kingdom stop.
Driving from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom
If you drove your car to the Magic Kingdom and wish to drive from there to Animal Kingdom, you can. Simply take the Disney World Monorail or a watercraft from the Magic Kingdom to the Transportation and Ticket Center, grab your car from the lot, and drive the just under 7 miles to Animal Kingdom. As is the case with all parking fees at Walt Disney World parks, you’ll only need to pay to park once per day, so parking at Animal Kingdom will be “free” since you’ve already paid to park at the Magic Kingdom.
Ride Share Options from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom
Ride share options like Uber and Lyft are available to travel from Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. As with retrieving your own car, you’ll need to take the Disney World Monorail or a watercraft from the Magic Kingdom to the Transportation and Ticket Center where there are designated Uber and Lyft pickup areas. From there, simply call your car and enjoy your drive to Animal Kingdom, where you’ll arrive at the designated drop point.
Minnie Van Options from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom
Walt Disney World’s in-house ride share service — Minnie Van — is available for travel from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom. In fact, it’s the more convenient ride share option since — unlike the aforementioned Uber and Lyft options, which require traveling to Transportation and Ticket Center — Minnie Vans have a dedicated pickup area outside the Magic Kingdom park itself. In addition, the drop point at Animal Kingdom is slightly closer to that park’s entrance as well.
Stay tuned to AllEars as we continue to provide tips and tricks for navigating around and to all of the Disney World parks!
Which of these transportation methods is your preference when traveling from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom? Were there any you weren’t aware of? Let us know in the comments below.
I think the walkway between magic k and grand flo is closed. So that’s not possible now. Walk to the others or take the bus. Also the Minnie Mouse van ride is cool but expensive. You should add the cost to and from as well.