The buses are really the backbone of the system, even though the monorail is what everyone thinks of at Walt Disney World. The bus routes take you from your resort to a park, waterpark, or Disney Springs. Some resorts such as Port Orleans French Quarter have only one bus stop for everyone, while its sister resort Port Orleans Riverside has four. With only one stop, it is completely direct both ways, but at times the bus line could be long during busy times. My advice is to try to get a room located close to a bus stop, and if possible, the first pick up. During our stay at POR, we were a two or three minute walk to the first pick up, and we always got on the first bus. Also be aware that some resorts such as Beach Club and Swan and Dolphin share a bus from certain parks (or at least at certain times of the day). There are monitors that are constantly updating wait times for the next bus to each park or Disney Springs. Buses to the water parks are also shared.
If you need to go from one resort to another resort for a dining reservation, you will need to change buses at a park. It is best to ask a cast member at your home resort which is the best park to transfer at if you are not sure. I was advised not to transfer at Disney Springs. Always give yourself a minimum of an hour or so to get from one resort to another. Park hoppers can also board buses from most parks to the others. One other thing to note is buses drop off next to the front entrance of the Magic Kingdom, not the Transportation and Ticket Centre as do other shuttle buses. But this does mean you also bypass the monorail ride.
The three Deluxe hotels located on the Magic Kingdom monorail are the Contemporary, the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. There are two monorails that circle around Seven Seas Lagoon connecting the Transportation and Ticket Centre to the Magic Kingdom, but only one of them stops at the three hotels as well. It runs in one direction only, going from TTC and stopping in order at the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian, MK, the Contemporary and back to TTC. It takes awhile to make this circuit so plan accordingly if coming to or going from these resorts. There is also a monorail that connects MK to Epcot, but it actually connects at the Transportation and Ticket Centre.
I would be completely remiss if I didn't mention the boats that you can take, including the ferry that sails across Seven Seas Lagoon connecting the Transportation and Ticketing Centre to the Magic Kingdom. But there are also riverboats that travel between hotels such as Port Orleans Riverside, Port Orleans French Quarter and Saratoga Springs to and from Disney Springs. There is also a boat from both Epcot and Hollywood Studios to and from the set of boardwalk hotels such as Beach Club. It does depart from near the World Showcase, so you would have to have a valid park pass to utilize it. Our family really enjoyed the tranquility of the riverboat ride from POR to Disney Springs and back again. Just be aware that the boats sometimes service more than one hotel, depending on time of day and crowd level. There is even a water taxi that takes you from one end of Epcot's World Showcase to the other.
While the Disney transportation system isn't flawless, and can get very busy at peak times, we went mid summer, and it was excellent. There are a number of perks to staying in a Disney Resort that I have outlined in several previous posts, but Disney's transportation system is certainly one of the best.
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