The Walt Disney World website has been updated with the new Disney Springs transportation restrictions that we’ve been reporting on since June 16th. The policy, which took effect June 28, limits bus and watercraft service between Disney Springs and Disney Resort hotels to Guests with a qualifying reason to travel. Until now, the rules had circulated through on-site signage and information shared by BlogMickey.com, but the website had no formal statement. That changed with the latest updates to the resort’s transportation information.
Disney Updates Website With New Disney Springs Transportation Policy
What the Website Now Says
The new wording confirms that bus service from Disney Springs to Disney Resort hotels is available for Guests staying at a Disney Resort hotel or visiting one with a valid dining or experience reservation. Disney notes that Guests will be asked to show a valid Resort hotel room key, dining reservation, or experience reservation. Reservation holders get a defined window: they may board the appropriate Disney Resort hotel bus from Disney Springs up to two hours before their reservation time.
Bus service from Disney Springs to Disney Resort hotels is available for Guests staying at a Disney Resort hotel or visiting one with a valid dining or experience reservation. Guests may be asked to show a valid Resort hotel room key, dining reservation or experience reservation.Â
Guests with a valid dining or experience reservation may board the appropriate Disney Resort hotel bus from Disney Springs up to 2 hours before their reservation time.
The page also defines service hours. Bus service between Disney Resort hotels and Disney Springs runs during Disney Springs operating hours and ends one hour after closing. Guests planning a late evening should keep that cutoff in mind, since the final buses depart shortly after the district shuts down for the night.
The changes extend beyond bus service. Disney has also updated its watercraft information to reflect the same restrictions on the Sassagoula River Cruise, which connects Disney Springs to Disney’s Old Key West Resort, Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, and Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter. Guests boarding the cruise toward a resort will be asked to show a valid room key, dining reservation, or experience reservation, and the same two-hour boarding window applies. The language is significant because it gives Guests a permanent, official reference point. Before now, anyone trying to confirm the policy had to rely on photographs of signage or reporting on BlogMickey.com.
Guests boarding the Sassagoula River Cruise from Disney Springs to a Disney Resort hotel may be asked to show a valid room key, dining reservation or experience reservation. These Guests may board the Sassagoula River Cruise from Disney Springs up to 2 hours before their reservation time.
One Page Still Out of Sync
Not every page reflects the change. The transportation FAQ that addresses Guests who are not staying at a Disney Resort hotel still lists Disney Springs as a destination reachable through the complimentary transportation network after parking at a theme park.
The FAQ tells day Guests they can park in a theme park lot and use Disney buses and boats to visit multiple parks, dine at a resort, or shop at Disney Springs. That guidance predates the new policy and now sits at odds with the bus and watercraft pages, which restrict resort-bound service to Guests with a room key or a qualifying reservation.
In fact, that scenario – parking at a theme park and using Disney’s transportation network – is the very scenario that we tested yesterday. Per Disney’s rules, we would’ve been stranded at Disney Springs if not for some still-available loopholes.
The Story So Far
- The Disney Springs transportation restriction took effect June 28, limiting bus and watercraft access for Guests without a qualifying reason to travel.
- We covered the updated on-the-ground signage installed at the Disney Springs bus depot as the policy went live.
- We took a firsthand farewell ride on the Sassagoula River Cruise ahead of the watercraft changes.
- Disney has now added the policy to its website across both the bus and watercraft pages, the first official online statement of the new rules.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!