Why It's a BAD Idea To Stay at These Disney World Hotels in January

Not all Disney World hotels are created equal. Some have exclusive perks and advantages that aren’t available at other resorts!

Disney’s Riviera Resort

One of the best perks in our opinion is unique and fast transportation options. Why take a bus when you could hop on the Monorail, walk, or ride the Skyliner to the parks? The Disney Skyliner is a gondola system that we love to use to ride to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. There are only a few hotels that are part of the Skyliner system, but soon those resorts will temporarily lose that perk as the Skyliner closes for refurbishments!

Disney World’s newest form of transportation is the Disney Skyliner, a gondola in the sky connecting EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios with several Disney Resorts.

Disney Skyliner

Skyliner stations are located at the following hotels:

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (the Skyliner hub)
Disney’s Pop Century and Art of Animation Resorts (the two hotels share one station)
Disney’s Riviera Resort

Having a Skyliner station gives those hotels an edge over other, similarly priced resorts. However, they’ll lose that edge when the Skyliner is closed in January 2024.

Skyliner Station at Disney Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort

The Disney Skyliner is going to be closed starting on January 16th, 2024. The Skyliner will be completely closed from January 16th through January 21st, 2024. Skyliner service between Disney’s Riviera Resort and International Gateway at EPCOT will remain closed through January 27th, 2024.

Skyliners arriving

Just because the Skyliner is closed doesn’t mean you’re completely out of luck, though. During the closure, there will be complimentary bus services for each of the Skyliner resorts to and from EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. So if you’re planning a trip between those dates, be sure to be prepared to use other modes of transportation!

Disney bus

If your trip falls during the Skyliner closure, you might want to check out some other Disney World hotels that have better transportation. The Monorail resorts (Grand Floridian, Polynesian Village Resort, and Contemporary) are often considered the best for transportation.

Walt Disney World Monorail

Some other hotels have boat services to the parks or Disney Springs. Here’s a look at hotels with access to boats.

To Magic Kingdom:

Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

To EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
Disney’s Beach Club Villas
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
Walt Disney World Swan Hotel

To Disney Springs:

Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter

Boat

If you’re planning your vacation now and having a hard time keeping up with all the changes, closures, and updates, check out our friends over at Small World Vacations. They can take all the stress out of planning your upcoming Disney World trip. And the best part is that their services are completely free!

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We’ll keep watching for more updates from Disney World, so stay tuned to DFB!

Click here to learn all about Disney World transportation.

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Are you a fan of the Disney Skyliner? Let us know in the comments.