Let’s face it. As Disney Adults, we’ve probably ALL dreamt of staying at one of Disney World’s Monorail resorts at some point.
Grand Floridian Resort
You see, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, Polynesian Village Resort, and Contemporary Resort all have Monorail stops. This means you can hop on the Monorail at any point and head on over to Magic Kingdom and EPCOT! However, if you’re planning on visiting Magic Kingdom, it can be FASTER at times to just walk! Being able to wake up in the morning and take a quick walk over to Magic Kingdom is viewed as a HUGE perk — and it is — but we need to talk about some downsides associated with walking to and from Magic Kingdom. Here’s why it might not be the hotel perk that you think it is!
In the mornings, being able to walk to Magic Kingdom is GREAT, especially if the Monorail is busy. Those lines can get LONG over at the hotels! Being able to walk, perhaps enjoy some coffee, and just spend some time in the fresh air as you walk to the park can be a great way to spend the morning. We have no qualms there!
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
The problems arise at the end of the night. Typically, everyone is sort of flocking out of Magic Kingdom around the same time each night. The lines for the ferry, buses, Monorail, and even resort boat launches get incredibly backed up to the point that you could be waiting more than an hour to hop on your preferred mode of transportation.
The Monorail
However, at that point, it becomes a serious dilemma. You’re so tired that you truly can’t decide if you’d rather go on a 20-minute walk or wait in line for an hour. THAT’S how badly your feet, legs, and back are hurting after a full day spent in a hot theme park.
Magic Kingdom at night
This can be made even WORSE if your room at the hotel is off the beaten path. Those are extra miles put in after walking a LOT during the day already! So…if you find yourself in this position, here’s what you can do.
Wait it out!
First and foremost, you totally don’t have to leave the park as soon as fireworks are over. A lot of folks choose the end of the fireworks show as a great time to head back home, even if the park doesn’t close until 30 minutes later or even an hour later.
Evening in the Magic Kingdom
To avoid those crowds, you can always wait it out in the parks! Grab a last-minute snack before the restaurants and snack carts close, find a place to sit and people watch, or even stroll around the shops to see if you find any souvenirs you like.
Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom
Then, you might have all the energy you need to walk home, or you can hop in line for transportation when the lines are hopefully much shorter.
Start later in the day
Who says you have to go all out — rope drop to park close? If that’s your thing then by all means, GO FOR IT, but that isn’t everyone’s style. Heading into the parks later in the day will help ensure you have enough energy to make it home without crawling there.
The Ferryboat!
If you do love rope dropping Magic Kingdom, you can always head back to the hotel at midday for a nap or some pool time to ensure that you still have some energy for later. Those lines are nearly nonexistent at midday!
Wear shoes that don’t make you hate walking.
Ever worn a pair of shoes that looked super great but were good for sitting around and not much else? Yep! We’ve been there too.
Fantasyland
Thankfully, we spend a LOT of time in the Disney Parks and we’ve narrowed down some of our FAVORITE shoes to wear to the Disney Parks. If you want our shoe recommendations, click here!
Frontierland
The truth is, though, that we could recommend shoes to you all day long, and even if they work for us, they might not work for you! Everyone’s foot, strides, and needs are different, and you should get fitted for a shoe that works great for you. A local running store like Fit2Run or Fleet Feet is a great place to start.
And there you have it! Following those tips is a great way to ensure that being able to walk to Magic Kingdom remains a great perk — and not a hassle.
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What you do is head out before the fireworks. We didn’t stay at a resort but walked from the parking lot. We took the monorail back to parking about 15 minutes before the fireworks. Watched them from the boat launch(they play the music you hear at the park) then jumped in the car and left. Maybe 20 of us watching from there. We could see them fine and no headache getting out of the parking lot.
Walking is always better than standing still…standing still just makes my feet hurt more!
Yeah, no. I’d rather walk to my far away room than wait an hour and still have to walk from the monorail to my far away room.
When I’m by myself, I’ll always choose to walk.
If convenience is your main concern, I can’t recommend The Riviera enough. I’ve never seen the skyliners backed up, ever. And it has its own exclusive bus line to all parks, not shared with other resorts the way the GF and Polynesian share a bus. Therefore no mode of transport to the Riviera is ever crowded or has a long wait. I also never stay in the park to watch the fireworks, they are just as spectacular and easily viewable from the room balcony as they are in the park itself (I make site to request such a view whenever I book).
Following up on Paul’s comment…We have had one issue on the skyliner at Riviera going to Epcot at park opening. The main skyliner terminal at Caribbean Beach collects guests from 3 different Disney resorts at park open for Epcot and sends them all to the Riviera skyliner station and then to Epcot. That’s a ton of people filling every gondola on its way to Rivera. A lot of people rope drop Remy’s in Epcot this way with their early entry benefit. That was our plan but had to change it with a 50 minute delay waiting for an open gondola at the Riviera skyliner station. If every gondola is full leaving Caribbean to Epcot then you won’t get on the skyliner at Riviera. If the cast members leave a gondola open every so often from Caribbean then you have a chance. I can understand if the cast members don’t; the main Caribbean skyliner hub at park open for 2 parks is insanely busy like an ant hill.