Hi, I’m visiting WDW for the first time in May next year and staying in the Art of Animation resort. Is it possible to walk from our hotel to any of the parks or to Disney Springs, or between different parks, or is that just unrealistic? It sounds like it takes ages to get anywhere using the shuttle buses.
I’ve stayed at Disneyland Paris and Disneyland California, and we always walked everywhere, but I do appreciate that WDW is much bigger than either of those.
Any comments or advice would be gratefully received! Thanks very much.
slightly old but seemed to still be somewhat accurate.
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The thing that First Timers really cannot comprehend is the enormity of Walt Disney World property. It is vastly larger than DLP and DL. There are some locations between which it is possible to walk (see @bigmikeh1965_639024 's link) but there are plenty that it is not only impossible but simply entirely too far to walk.
The nice thing is that, the locations between which it is possible to walk, offer really lovely strolls to enhance the amenities at your resort. And, depending on where you are staying there are often multiple transportation options available to you. From AoA you can use the bus and, now, the Skyliner.
Getting around is not difficult, but it usually requires more than one’s own two feet and it does take you some time. As a rule, it’s good to factor an hour to get from place to place whenever you’re not able to make the trek yourself.
Welcome! This is a great place and if you stick around you’ll learn lots!
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As @bigmikeh1965_639024’s link points out you can walk to Pop. You will also be able to take the skyliner to HS or EP and then walk form one park to another (or boat as another option).
You can walk from Art of Animation to Pop Century but that’s it. You’ll have access to the Skyliner which is amazing and a game changer for hopping back and forth between DHS and Epcot. Disney World spans something like 40 square miles or the same size as San Francisco (according to the recording on the Skyliner). You will use busses to get from AoA to MK and AK and Disney Springs.
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The skyliner really is a game changer! We’d been twice before and just went a 3rd time and stayed at AOA. The ease of getting into Epcot and HS with the skyliner was unbelievable to us. My kids strongly resented having to drive to the other parks, and we had the ease of having our car. No, there really isn’t much you can walk to from AOA, but you have the buses and the skyliner, and AOA has such great amenities that you don’t have to leave it to get great pools or food.
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If you’re willing to pay for it the Minnie Van service is great too. Even though we had a car I used that once when DH needed the car and I needed to get to a different resort for an ADR. It was very fun!
We’d been on many trips to WDW when we went to DL in 2013. It was so incredible that the two parks were RIGHT NEXT to each other ! ! !
At your WDW resort you’re about 5 miles as a bird flies from Magic Kingdom. You’re much closer to Animal Kingdom and even closer to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. As others have said, there are few sidewalks and usually, if you’re doing 6 - 10 miles in the park, who needs to walk even more. I’m always amazed when I see joggers at WDW. Really?
What messes me up at WDW are the way the roads curve and swerve this way and that way. Very poetic and completely mind blowing to me. If I’m at Caribbean Beach, I know in what direction - west or north say - a park is from my location. Yet the road, and often that voice from the phone app, will have me going south. 
We’ve tried to follow the Disney signs (Magic Kingdom area keep right). We detail one person to read signs while another drives (presumably watching traffic). Pretty much always wind up at a surprise location; we never discover where we went wrong.
This could go a long way in explaining why my grandniece’s favorite ride at WDW is a Disney bus. 
We love the bus arrival info on the Disney app. We time the walk from our room to the bus stop almost right after unloading the car. Rarely do we wait for a bus any more.
It also helps for less bus waiting to go early to the parks and try not to leave a park when everyone else is. At Epcot’s park closing we’ll browse thru Mouse Gears (big shop with lots and lots of souvenir ideas). At Magic Kingdom we’ll sit and watch the Castle for awhile.
For purely walking…
- Back and forth between AoA and POP
- Back and forth from CR to MK (and eventually GF to MK as well)
- Back and forth between EP and DHS - and BW, BC, YC, Swan, and Dolphin (which are between the two parks)
- Poly to TTC
- Back and forth between Poly and GF (kind of a long walk) and eventually Poly all the way to MK (a long walk)
- There is no way to walk to AK; you have to take a bus - even from AKL.
- SSR to DS.
As others have mentioned, the Skyliner is a game changer when it comes to staying at AoA or POP.
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And OKW to DS I believe.
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Thank you - I didn’t know about the bus arrival info on the Disney app, and that’s a great tip.
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How do I find the bus arrival info on the app? I see the bus stop locations, but not times.
You can only see it once you are checked into your resort and it is only for the buses at the resort. It is under your resort info,
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I agree with the above about the Skyliner being a game changer! I have stayed at Pop 3 times now & think the bus service is great. But man, adding the Skyliner made evening hopping so easy. A guaranteed seat & the view make it more of an “attraction” than a transportation method IMO.
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