by Disney Magic Diva
We’re a hopper family. Whenever we go to Walt Disney World Resort, we always choose the park hopper option for our tickets. It costs a little more, and a few times we’ve seriously debated if we should spend the money, but in the end we opt to purchase the hopper option. Every single time. We just don’t want to give up the flexibility of being able to switch to another park mid-day.
With the introduction of express bus transportation between parks, hopping has become much easier. (We can’t wait to try this on our next trip! Read Military Diva’s review here!) But did you know there is already a fast way to get between Hollywood Studios and Epcot, and it has nothing to do with a bus … or a car … or a boat! All you need are your feet!
There is a walkway between Hollywood Studios and the BoardWalk area resorts. We had read about this option for a while, but never really took the opportunity to try it out. We weren’t really certain where it was, and even less certain how long of a walk it really was. The thought of venturing out on an unknown walkway was a little intimidating, especially if you have little ones in tow or are already exhausted from a long, hot day at the park.
Boy, was that a mistake. It is really easy to find, and not nearly as long of a walk as we feared. In fact, I’m certain that unless you were fortunate enough to literally “walk-on” a bus (or boat), you can get from Hollywood Studios to Epcot faster by walking the path than by taking motorized transportation.
So where is the walkway? As you exit Hollywood Studios, follow the signs to the busses for other parks. They’re a little further along than the busses for the resorts. Just keep walking towards the lake, and turn right. As you approach the bus stop for busses to other parks, the lake will be on your left. The walkway follows the lake, so look for signs. It sounds way more complicated than it actually is. You really won’t have much trouble finding it.
The walkway itself is about 8-10 feet wide, making it easy to navigate. Plenty of room for strollers or scooters as well as pedestrians. You will probably even see a few runners using the path as a great trail to get in their workout! At a casual, leisurely pace, you’ll be at the BoardWalk resorts in about 12-15 minutes. From here, you can follow the boardwalk around Cresent Lake and into the International Gateway entrance at Epcot. It’s probably another 8-10 minutes. So in 20-25 minutes, depending on your pace, you can walk from Hollywood Studios to Epcot! You could spend that much time just waiting for a bus to arrive. Likewise, with the stops a boat makes at resorts along the way from Hollywood Studios to BoardWalk, and then from BoardWalk to Epcot, you could easily take just as long using the boat transportation.
DIVA TIP: If you are visiting Walt Disney World Resort for one of the many festivals at Epcot (International Festival of the Arts, Flower and Garden, or Food and Wine) or for some galactic Star Wars fun at Hollywood Studios, think about staying at an Epcot area resort and minimize your travel time to the parks by taking the walkway. You can read my comparison between Yacht and Beach Club Resort here and Fairy Diva’s review of BoardWalk Villas here.
So if you’re not too exhausted, or just want to work off that Mickey Bar, consider taking a stroll along the lake and walking between parks. It’s a delightful way to get away from the crowd, and enjoy some of the beauty of Disney resorts.
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