0203 950 7371If you’re in the middle of planning your trip from the UK to Disney World, and thinking of staying at the Port Orleans Resort, you no doubt have a ton of questions. One question you might have is “Can you take a boat from Port Orleans to Magic Kingdom?” Well, unfortunately, this particular resort does not have a boat that directly takes you the Magic Kingdom. But don’t lose heart, if you are set on staying there, it does offer boat transportation to other areas where they offer boats that take you to the Magic Kingdom via the waterways.
Waterway Routes In The Magic Kingdom Area
There are four major routes that are available to the Magic Kingdom area and they are all designated by a different colored flag. All the routes operate 20 minutes before the park opens. If there’s bad weather the boating system shuts down, especially if lightning is present.
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The Gold Flag Launch –
This boat carries its guests of the Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa and also the Polynesian Resort. It operates 30 minutes prior to the park opening up. The travel time on the route is around 20 minutes and seven minutes between stops and the wait time can be about 10 to 15 minutes.
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Green Flag Launch –
This route carries guests to and from Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. This is a very busy route because this is the only way to get to the Magic Kingdom from the Fort Wilderness Resort. This particular route will usually run two different cruisers because of the high traffic. The trip usually takes about 13 minutes and the wait time between boats can be 10 to 20 minutes.
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The Red Flag Launch –
This boat route transports their guests two and from Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. They use one boat and the travel time is about eight minutes and the wait time for the boat is around 9 to 12 minutes.
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Blue Flag Launch –
This one has two launches for their guests around Bay Lake that’s between Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary Resort, and Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.
If you take the Green Route you’ll be happy to know that this is probably the most scenic of all the routes if you are just looking to relax and kill a little time.
Port Orleans Resorts Waterways
Just because the Port Orleans resorts don’t have direct boats to the Magic Kingdom itself, you’ll be happy to know that they have a wonderful boat transportation system to other great destinations on their man made Sassagoula River that winds through beautiful woods that goes past the Treehouse Villas and the Saratoga Springs Resort to Lake Buena Vista the the fun Disney Springs for great shopping entertainment, and dining.
Sassagoula River Cruise
This is a free service where the ferries take guests from both of the Port Orleans resorts down the river straight to Disney Springs. It’s a lovely 20 minute cruise that very relaxing and pleasant for anyone and it’s something you shouldn’t miss.
Their fleet has 15 different boats that travel four different routes. All the boats are decked out in very bright and pretty yellow and blue and they all have very Southern names:
- Memphis Miss
- Louisiana Lady
- Sassagoula Sunset
- Bayou Princess
- Cresent City Queen (it is meant to be spelled this way and not Crescent)
- Magnolia Blossom
- Florida Queen
- Buena Vista Queen
- Saratoga Queen
- Blossom Queen
- Jazz Lady
- Delta Lady
- Azalea Bloom
- Southern Breeze
- Jazz Queen
Water Taxis Available Too
You’ll also find that they include their own internal water taxi service that services all three of the docks at Disney Springs:
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Yellow Flags & Purple Flags –
These water taxis depart from the Disney Springs Marketplace dock. The Port Orleans Riverside Resort uses the yellow flag and the Port Orleans – French Quarter Resort uses the purple flag.
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Blue Flags –
This one departs from their central dock called The Landing. The service includes Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa along with the Treehouse Villas.
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Green Flags –
This boat departs from the dock at The Landing and it services Disney’s Old Key West Resort.
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Red Flags –
This is the internal Disney Springs water taxi that has a circular route that runs from the Marketplace dock which is right next to the Rainforest Cafe and goes over to the west Side dock which is opposite of the Cirque du Soleil. It then goes back via their Landing dock which is close to the Characters in Flight balloon.
Operating Hours
It’s important you find out a head of time what the hours are due to a variety of reasons. However, here are the “normal” operating hours from both of the Port Orleans Resorts to Disney Springs usually begin at 10:00 am and end at at 11:00 pm with the very last boat leaving from Disney
Springs leaves at about 11:30 pm. All the boats run about 10 minutes apart during day hours and a little more frequently in the late afternoons and evenings.
Seating Capacities
The maximum seating capacity for the shorter boats and ferries generally hold 32 people whereas the longer boats and ferries can hold a maximum of 37 people. You can actually tell the difference between the boats by the amount of pairs of yellow pillars that support their overhead canopies. There are three for the smaller ferries and boats and there are four for the larger ones.
Accessibility
All of the boats and ferries do accommodate ECV and wheelchair guests and there is no need to transfer from their seats. The captains of the boats also will attach ramps to help people get on and off the boats safely and always before other guests are allowed to get on and off.
When The Boats Aren’t Running
There may be times when the boats aren’t running, however, that won’t make it hard on you because you will be able to use their free bus services. Their shuttles operate from about 8:00 am all the way till 1:00 am every day of the week.
To help take the stress out of organising your break, The House of Travel offers some excellent Disney package holidays to Walt Disney World. This ensures that you can enjoy your time here, with all of the planning in hand. After all, there’s no better way to explore Disney than by letting the experts take charge! Either give us a quick call on 0203 950 7371 or simply fill this quick form here for a call back request today.
