Taking the monorail is an essential part of the Walt Disney World experience, even if you aren’t staying at a monorail hotel. In this post, we’ll start with a map of the Disney World monorail before discussing the three monorail lines and our tips for riding. Read on to learn all about the Disney World monorail.
Disney Wolrd Monorail Map
Here’s a map of the Disney World monorail system. The rest of this post explains the system in more detail and adds context to this map.
Disney World Monorail Lines and Travel Times
There are three lines for the Disney World Monorail—the Express Line, the Resort Line, and the Epcot Line.
Express Line
The Express Line of the Walt Disney World Monorail travels from Transportation and Ticket Center to Magic Kingdom and back again. On the above map, it is represented by the dotted loop.
The Express Line travels counterclockwise, going from Transportation and Ticket Center, passing through Polynesian without stopping and then Contemporary without stopping before arriving at Magic Kingdom. It then travels from Magic Kingdom, passing through Grand Floridian without stopping, and returning to Transportation and Ticket Center.
The Express Line takes about 4 minutes to make the journey from TTC to Magic Kingdom and about 4 minutes to make the journey from Magic Kingdom to TTC. Roundtrip will take closer to 10 minutes because of the time spend waiting at either station.
Resort Line
The Resort Line of the Walt Disney World Monorail travels roundtrip between TTC and Magic Kingdom but also stops at the resorts along the way. On the above map, it is represented by the solid loop.
The Resort Line travels clockwise, making the following stops:
Magic Kingdom
Transportation and Ticket Center
Magic Kingdom
The resort line takes about 15 to 20 minutes to make a complete loop. Stops account for a lot of that time. Coming from Magic Kingdom, you can expect to take roughly:
2 minutes to get to Contemporary
6 minutes to get to TTC
9 minutes to get to Polynesian
13 minutes to get to Grand Floridian
17 minutes to get back to Magic Kingdom
Epcot Line
The Epcot Line of the Walt Disney World Monorail travels roundtrip between TTC and Epcot, those being the only two stops. On the above map, it is represented by the solid fading line with the “to Epcot” and “from Epcot” ends.
The most notable thing about the Epcot Line’s route is that is travels over some of the park on the way to Epcot, giving you a chance to preview the day ahead. Getting from TTC to Epcot takes about 9 minutes, and getting from Epcot to TTC takes about 9 minutes.
Riding the Disney World Monorail
Now that we’ve got the basics of the routes down, let’s talk through what you need to know about riding the monorail.
The Disney World Monorail is Post-Security
The Disney World monorail is on the secure side of the resort. That is, you will always pass through security before boarding the monorail. If something is not allowed in the parks, it will not be allowed on the monorail.
This is nice because it means that when you get to Magic Kingdom or Epcot, the two parks served by the monorail, you won’t have to go through security again.
How often does the Disney World monorail run?
The three monorail lines theoretically run with different frequency, but because of delays etc., you should plan on the monorail running about every ten minutes. In most cases it will be faster than that, but we don’t consider the system and schedule to be reliable enough to cut down that estimate.
Can you ride the Disney World monorail without a ticket?
Yes, you can ride the Disney World monorail without a park ticket. (This is in contrast to California’s Disneyland, where a park ticket is required.) The only caveat is that you’ll need to get to the monorail. This means either paying for parking at TTC or Epcot yourself or taking an Uber / Lyft / Minnie Van to Epcot or TTC.
Monorail access is entirely outside the parks. You can ride the monorail just to visit the hotels, or even to do something like a monorail bar crawl.
Can you ride the monorail roundtrip?
Yes, you can sit on the monorail as long as you like, provided that it’s operational.
What time does the monorail start running?
The monorail typically starts running 30 minutes before the start of Early Entry, which is (almost always) 60 minutes before the regular opening time for the park. The Resort and Express Lines start 30 minutes before Early Entry at Magic Kingdom, and the Epcot Line starts 30 minutes before Early Entry at Epcot.
Is the monorail okay for rope drop at Magic Kingdom?
If you’re coming from TTC, you can choose between the Express monorail (no reason to take the Resort Line) or the ferryboat to get to Magic Kingdom for rope drop. Both work fine. I personally prefer the ferryboat for its views, and I’ve never had a day wrecked by taking it. That said, if a ferryboat just left then I’d probably go for the Express monorail.
If you’re coming from Contemporary, you should take the walking path to Magic Kingdom rather than the Resort Line (which will make three stops before Magic Kingdom) if you’re aiming for a good rope drop.
From Grand Floridian, we prefer the walking path (Zoe does it in 16 minutes, I do it in 12), but the monorail is just a single stop and so good for rope drop, too. From Polynesian, any of the monorail, boat, or walking path can work.
Is the monorail okay for rope drop at Epcot?
It’s ridiculous, but there usually is no bus service between Epcot and the monorail resorts. You’re expected to use the monorail. This means if you want to get to Epcot from these resorts, you’re expected to take the Resort Line to TTC and then transfer to the Epcot Line. (From Polynesian and Grand Floridian you can walk to TTC.) This can easily take upwards of 30 minutes, with a lot of potential spots for delays.
Personally, if I’m serious about Epcot rope drop, I’m taking an Uber or Minnie Van from the monorail resorts.
This is going to be particularly important once Guardians of the Galaxy stops using a virtual queue and joins the regular rope drop procedures. Whenever that happens, you won’t catch me paying $600+ a night to take two monorails to Epcot.
Which hotels are on the monorail?
As noted above, there are three hotels along the monorail: Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian. These are the only three hotels along the monorail.
Which hotel does the monorail go through?
While the monorail stops at the above three hotels, the Contemporary stop is prominently located inside the hotel, with the monorail running through the middle of the hotel.
What Monorail models are in use at Disney World?
Disney World uses the Mark VI monorail model. These debuted in 1989. The newest generation, the Mark VII, is currently in use at Disneyland only, having debuted in 2008.
What are the monorail colors at Disney World?
There are currently 12 monorail trains at Disney World. Their colors are:
Black
Blue
Coral
Gold
Green
Lime
Orange
Peach
Red
Silver
Teal
Yellow
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
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