Disney World Non-Park Day Activity: Ride the Monorail
The Disney World monorail is iconic. This highway in the sky can gain you access to the Magic Kingdom and to Epcot. This method of transportation is a fun activity that has no cost. You can hop on this monorail without any kind of fee, giving you a fun thing to do on a non-park day during your Disney World vacation.
There are several ways to gain access to the monorail system. You can hop on the monorail at the entrance of Epcot. This monorail will take you to the ticket and transportation centre, which is in the Magic Kingdom resort area. So simply grab a resort bus to Epcot and hop on. The monorail has a stop at the Magic Kingdom entrance. So head to the Magic Kingdom by resort bus and grab one of two monorails. One monorail will take you straight to the ticket and transportation centre, the other will stop at each of the three resorts found on the monorail track as well as the ticket and transportation centre. You can also jump on the monorail at any of the three monorail resorts, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Village and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. If you’re staying at the Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness Campground, you have boat access to the Contemporary. Grab one of these resort’s buses from Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios to get your way to the resort. The monorail is found on the second floor of the Grand Floridian Resort and the Polynesian resort. At the Contemporary resort, the monorail is found on the 6th floor, which you can access to by elevator or escalator. Just to be aware, you will have to go through security before making your way onto the monorail.
Why would you want to ride the monorail? For someone who never rode the monorail until our honeymoon, my 6th trip to Walt Disney World, riding the monorail is a ride in and of itself. On the Magic Kingdom resort area monorail you get beautiful views of the resort grounds and at night you get a spectacular view of Main Street U.S.A. and Cinderella’s Castle. How long the monorail ride takes depends on which you choose to ride. The monorail ride from Epcot to the Ticket and Transportation centre is long and the least scenic because you’re simply driving over the highway. The monorail ride from Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation centre is the fastest. The resort monorail is my favourite because we like to get out and visit the different resorts along the way.
What to do during your monorail ride? If you’re riding the resort monorail, stop at each resort and explore. You can pool hop, shop, dine or just wander around the resorts. Each of the three resorts on the monorail are deluxe resorts and therefore have several amenities that are open to all. The Polynesian Village has an art gallery, the Grand Floridian has the Grand Floridian Society Orchestra, the Contemporary Resort is home to Chef Mickey’s. On our vacation last January, we took a monorail ride on one of our non-park evenings just to see the resorts lit up at nighttime. There’s also becoming a thing where guests are doing a monorail crawl, this can be of the alcoholic variety or non. Stop at each of the resorts along the monorail and grab a specialty drink at one of their lounges or grab a specialty dessert at one of their eateries. Or you can pay for the Highway in the Sky Dine Around Progressive Dinner, which is a Disney World guided eating tour which takes guests to a dining location at each of the resorts and finishes with a viewing of the Magic Kingdom fireworks. A ride on the monorail can be as grand or simple as you’d like.
It’s not a must for each and every Disney World visit, but it’s certainly a fun event to add to your itinerary. Certainly a great thing to do on a rainy day.
For more ideas on activities to do on your non-park day during your Disney vacation check out these previous posts:
Disney World Movies Under the Stars
Animals at Animal Kingdom Lodge
Happy Planning, Friends.
