Shades of Green Transportation (2026): Buses to Parks, TTC Access & Rideshare Tips

1 March 2026 by Steve Bell 10 Comments

Here are your Transportation Options at the Shades of Green Resort, the Armed Forces Recreation Center Resort located right on Walt Disney World property.

On this page, we’ll cover getting to Shades of Green and then getting around Walt Disney World once you are there.

Getting to Shades of Green

Airport Transportation Information

Here are the various options for your transportation from Orlando International Airport to Shades of Green:

• Mears Connect powered by Sunshine
• Limo Service
• Disney’s Minnie Van Service
• Uber or Lyft
• Taxi
• Rental Car
• Split your stay between Shades of Green and a Disney World Resort(s)

Mears Connect, Driven by Sunshine, is a Disney’s Magical Express replacement that started operations on January 1, 2022. It’s the exact same service that the Magical Express once provided, by the same contract company that did the Magical Express for Disney, except that you now have to pay for the service. Since Disney is not paying for the service anymore, they now serve Shades of Green, as well.

Mears connect also offers a shared (with other parties) van service direct to only your resort with a short to no delay from their counter.

Update 14 July 2023 – Mears Connect and the Sunshine Flyer have merged.

Limo Service – There are numerous limo services available to take you to Walt Disney World.

Uber and Lyft -Are great alternatives to traditional transportation companies. Uber and Lyft are currently starting at around $30 one way to WDW. Uber and Lyft are great alternatives to traditional transportation services. Fares to and around Walt Disney World can be much lower than other commercial options.

If you or someone in your party doesn’t yet have a Lyft account, you can get a $5 credit towards your first ride when you sign up for Lyft using this link. This promo is for your first ride only, this is perfect for a quick hop across WDW property.

Here is a link to Uber’s Orlando International page for pickup instructions and price estimates.

See our Using Uber, Lyft, and Minnie Vans at Disney World post

Minnie Van service from and to the airport is back for some Disney guests, see my Minnie Van Post for full details.

Taxi – Taxis at the airport are about $75 each way to Disney World.

Car Rental – You might be able to find a good military rate. I’m a USAA member, and they have discounts negotiated with all the major car rental companies.

---

---

Once you do arrive at Shades of Green, it’s easy to get around

A great benefit to staying at Shades of Green is the complimentary bus transportation to the Walt Disney World Theme Parks and to the Transportation and Ticket Center.

Shades of Green buses run throughout the day on a seasonal schedule. ADA options include ramps and lifts for certain designated routes. Shuttles and transportation to other areas around Central Florida are available at an additional charge.

The bus loading area is conveniently located in the front of the resort on the lower level. Click here for pictures and directions to the Shades of Green bus loading area.

Note: In order to use Shades of Green’s fleet of buses, all adults will have to show either a military ID and their Shades of Green resort ID (non-military sponsored guests show their photo ID).

Shades of Green’s Bus System

Shades of Green currently offers bus service to:

• Magic Kingdom via the Transportation and Ticket Center
• EPCOT via the Transportation and Ticket Center
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• Disney Springs
• Disney’s Currently Operating Water Park (either Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach)

Shades of Green’s Buses now have on-board Wi-Fi.

Shades of Green Transit Navigator: Best Routes to Every Park, Resort & Disney Springs

Shades of Green Bus Schedule

Bus service is dependent on the daily theme park schedules. Service typically begins approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes to 2 hours prior to a park opening.

• Magic Kingdom & EPCOT – This is a shared bus that departs approximately every 20 minutes to and from the Transportation and Ticket Center, where it stops at Bus Space C10. NOTE: Due to the closure of the walkway to the Polynesian Resort, Shades of Green has said they will be adding more buses to this route. However, they have also said the buses will not depart any quicker than every 20 minutes. I’m not a rocket scientist, so I’m not sure how both statements can be true…
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios  & Disney’s Animal Kingdom – This shared bus departs Shades of Green approximately every 30 minutes at 15 and 45 after the hour. Animal Kingdom is the first stop, followed by Hollywood Studios.
  • At Animal Kingdom it departs from the Charter Bus area (to the left when exiting the park) on the hour and half-hour
  • At Hollywood Studios it departs from the Charter Bus Area Space 60 at Hollywood Studios at 15 minutes and 45 minutes past the hour.
• Disney Springs – Bus departs approximately every hour on the half-hour from Shades of Green and from the Westside Charter Bus loop, Spaces 1-7  on the hour. The first Bus leaved Shades of Green at 9:30 am.
• Disney Water Parks – Direct bus service is not currently provided to the Disney Water Parks. Disney’s water parks are not always operational at the same time (often only one is open).
  • On dates when Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park is open: From Shades of Green, take the bus to Disney Springs. area and then transfer onto the bus for Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park. To get to the Typhoon Lagoon bus at Disney Springs you will need to enter Disney Springs at the West Side Bus Loop Security Area and walk to the Disney Bus Loop at the other side of the Disney Springs West Side (just over a half mile walk).
  • On dates when Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park is open: From Shades of Green, take the bus to Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park and then transfer onto the bus for Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park. To get to the Blizzard Beach bus at Animal Kingdom, you will need to walk from the Charter us area to the Disney Bus area (a roughly 0.3 mile walk).
  • Water Park bus service begins 30 minutes before park opening and ends 60 minutes after park closing.

Shades of Green’s buses do run both early and late to parks for Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, and for special late-night events like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.

A note about the Shades of Green’s bus stops at the theme parks, there are no queue lines formed by railings as there are at the Disney bus stops. When returning to Shades of Green, it can be a free-for-all. Often, people just arriving at the bus stop will swarm the bus door when it arrives, ignoring the people who have been waiting and who have formed an impromptu line. Don’t be these people!

Shades of Green publishes a weekly schedule adjusted for park opening and closing times. They typically have the current and next week’s posted: Shades of Green Bus Schedule.

Shades of Green’s buses offer on-board WiFi.

Shades of Green – Magic Kingdom Transportation

You have a few options to get to and from the Magic Kingdom from Shades of Green.

Use Shades of Green’s Bus Transportation. Your bus departs Shades of Green from the lower level bus stop and will take you to the Transportation & Ticket Center (TTC), which is where all non-Disney transportation arrives for the Magic Kingdom. You’ll be dropped off at spot C10 at the TTC Bus Lot (to the right in the image below). C10 is at the southern end of the lot closest to the TTC.

From the Transportation and Ticket Center you can take either of the 2 monorail lines to the Magic Kingdom, the Express, or the Resort line. The Express Monorail only stops at the TTC and Magic Kingdom. The Resort Monorail will go from the TTC, The Polynesian Village Resort, The Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, the Magic Kingdom, The Contemporary Resort, and then back to the TTC.

You can also take the Ferry Boat to the Magic Kingdom.

NOTE: Sadly as of 1 May 2023 the walkway from Shades of Green to the Polynesian is no longer available!

Shades of Green – EPCOT Transportation

Using Shades of Green’s Bus Transportation, your bus will depart Shades of Green from the lower level bus stop and will take you to the TTC. You’ll be dropped off at spot C10 at the TTC Bus Lot. You will then take the Epcot Monorail line to EPCOT.  It is a roughly 4-mile trip that concludes with a scenic loop around Epcot before arriving at the Epcot Monorail Station right outside the front gate.

Shades of Green – Hollywood Studios Transportation

Using Shades of Green’s Bus Transportation, your bus will take you to the Charter Bus Stop at Hollywood Studios, circled in the image below.

Shades of Green – Animal Kingdom Transportation

Using Shades of Green’s Bus Transportation, your bus will take you to the Charter Bus Stop at the Animal Kingdom, circled in the image below.

Shades of Green – Disney Springs Transportation

Using Shades of Green’s Bus Transportation, your bus will take you to the West Side Bus Loop at Disney Springs, which is at the far left in the image below.

Shades of Green Bus Links:

• Shades of Green’s Bus Stop
• Shades of Green’s Disney Bus Stops

Shades of Green’s Bus System Ratings

Here’s how MDT Readers rate Shades of Green’s Bus System on a 1 to 5 scale in our Shades of Green Surveys.

You will also see the following symbols after the numerical rating to indicate the most recent trend:

• Rating Increased is +
• Rating Decreased is –
• No Change is =

This symbol is then followed by how much the rating changed.

Overall Satisfaction – 4.01, -0.03

Convenience – 4.04, -0.03

Comments:

The system is too reliant upon the Disney System. People taking advantage of extended hours at places like Epcot, must use Disney Transportation (buses, boats and internal loop of monorail) to get to ticket and transportation center, Park closes at 1:00 AM, but Disney closes Epcot monorail at midnight. Similar problem if late dinner reservations at Animal Kingdom.  Last bus leaves AK while you are dining.  Leaves about a two hour return ride, unless you use personal vehicle.

Bus transportation to/from theme parks needs a rethink.  Use personal vehicle for reliability.

The system is too reliant upon the Disney System. People taking advantage of extended hours at places like Epcot, must use Disney Transportation (buses, boats and internal loop of monorail) to get to ticket and transportation center, Park closes at 1:00 AM, but Disney closes Epcot monorail at midnight. Similar problem if late dinner reservations at Animal Kingdom.  Last bus leaves AK while you are dining.  Leaves about a two hour return ride, unless you use personal vehicle.

The lack of ability to walk to Polynesian and having to wait 45 minutes for Disney springs bus makes me wonder if I should use a Disney resort.

Since the walkway from SOG to the Floridian & Polynesian was been closed (Understanding it was Disney’s decision). Could an overhead walkway be considered?

My daughter had a very unfriendly bus driver as she took my 6-year-old back to the hotel to swim from the magic kingdom. It was very hot and they were standing in the direct sun waiting for the bus. The bus driver pulled up and left a few people off. Instead of giving my daughter the go-ahead to board the bus, he shut the doors and began to drive away. Thank goodness a family was waving the driver down to stop for them, or my daughter would have been stuck. I was livid when she explained to me what happened.

We prefer to walk to the monorail. Bus system is difficult for children and handicapped and with all of the timing requirements to get to Disney in time for lightening lane reservations and queues the buses are not convenient. A walking bridge would be ideal to the Polynesian.  And free parking at Shades and Disney parks would alleviate the inconvenience of not having the ability to walk to the poly.

The buses required long waits. We ended up using ride share a couple of times.

Has Disney moved the Shades bus stops? I felt like they used to pull up to the same areas as the WDW buses, but now they seem to be really far from the park entrances

Love the SOG bus system and the drivers were great.

Bus drivers were great. All were very friendly and nice. (except one-not overly friendly, but that was ok)

All of the bus drivers were so FRIENDLY this time. We loved getting on the bus with a friendly face smiling at us. here’s an old man comment: When leaving the Magic Kingdom, there is no “line” for the bus at the TTC. Some guest, for whatever reason, may walk up to the bus door without regard for those who had been waiting. We never missed the bus because of this, but did have to stand when younger people were sitting.

Very nice clean friendly drivers and buses.

I appreciate the rope lane dividers (have been suggesting for years instead of the mob approach). Maybe extend to inside with signage. One morning we were stretched almost to the Express To Go entrance.

They desperately need direct drop off Magic kingdom not the TTC and drop off and pick up Disney Springs not at west side, to far away from popular restaurants.

We loved all the bus drivers, all friendly and funny. They should run more often after parks close to make the busses less crowded

I think they should run the buses more frequently. Also, some of the bus stops were way away from main buses. Bus drivers were always nice. Also…needed more buses at park closing.

Depending on your time of arrival to the bus location, if you timed it right, there is minimal wait.

Buses were very prompt.

They need more pick up and drop off times.

Love the system with the schedule.

Way to overcrowded late evenings, don’t run enough buses, we used Monorail to Poly and walked from there it was always quicker late evenings.

Returning was usually a slightly longer wait, but not more than 30 minutes max.

Desperately need organized que lines for each bus destintation instead of the herds rushing the buses (esp TTC)

I like knowing what time my bus will be there.

At busy times for TTC it is better to walk to the Poly

They need way more Universal buses!

Drivers are always polite

Locations and times are not convenient at all.

This was our first time staying at Shades of Green. We were never informed of the need for the guest ID card and constant ID checks which caused some very ridiculous delays. The times we were told the busses would arrive for pick up were off by 30 minutes causing us to be late for 2 events. For a military establishment this was all very unorganized and an absolute disgrace to the men and women who serve this country and pay a lot of money to visit here. We ended up having to walk way more than necessary due to the bus system not doing their job efficiently.

The one lady driving the Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom combined route bus was not particularly friendly or pleasant and she drove very fast. Though the bus was crowded, her speed and movement made it a bit unsafe to stand. My husband and I both sat at the very first opportunities to do so. Families with small children who typically have mom and kids sitting and dad standing up, were sitting mom with child in lap, dad with child in lap, et cetera.

The Best Drivers — so friendly and helpful.

See the Full Survey Post for all ratings plus guest comments in each category!

Click Here to see Shades of Green’s current bus schedule

ID Checks on Shades of Green Buses

Walt Disney World Transportation System

Shades of Green guests have access to the Walt Disney Transportation System which includes: monorail, ferry boat and bus transportation all over Disney World property.

Walking / Disney’s Monorail

Shades of Green is located within walking distance of Disney’s Polynesian Resort. It’s about a ten or fifteen minute walk. From there you can take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, the Transportation and Ticket Center (to transfer to the EPCOT monorail or WDW buses to other destinations), or visit other Magic Kingdom Resorts. Click here for pictures and directions to the Polynesian Resort.

Shades of Green New Security Gate 

Walt Disney World’s Transportation and Ticket Center

Shady Shuttle

The Shady Shuttle will run you around Shades’ property and half way to the Polynesian for the walk to the monorail station

Parking

Shades of Green has a large parking garage. Guests of the hotel who park their car overnight will be charged a $17.00 fee per day for its use.

Those visiting Shades of Green for a short period during the day (to buy tickets, shop, or dine) will be charged an hourly rate:

Shades of Green Guests pay $25 per day if they choose to drive their cars to the Disney theme parks and use their parking lots.

Getting back to Shades of Green from the Magic Kingdom Parking Lot. Don’t go miles out of your way when driving a car!

Epcot Parking for Shades of Green’s Guests

Car Rental

Rental cars are available at Walt Disney World’s Car Care Center, which is located near Shades of Green. It’s not walking distance (over a mile and a half along roadways without sidewalks), but their free shuttle will pick you up from anywhere on property.

Enterprise, Alamo and National care rental companies are located here. you can call 407) 824-3470 to book or do it online.

Use these links to book, as you can’y find the Car Care Center when searching their sites:

• Alamo
• National
• Enterprise

Complimentary shuttle service from select Walt Disney World Resort hotels to the Disney Car Care Center Car Rental Facility can be arranged by calling (407) 824-3470 ext. 1. Guests renting a car through Enterprise, Alamo or National must schedule at least one hour prior to pick up time and be waiting at the pickup location at the appointed time. If you are unable to keep your appointment, please contact the Car Care Center to reschedule.Operating Hours: 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM every day

Besides Car Rental the Car Care Center offers:

• A Speedway Gas and Convenience Store
• Extensive car repair services
• Roadside Assistance on property till an hour after the last park closes, call (407) 824-0976
  • Complimentary Towing Service to Car Care Center or, if the center is closed, to a destination within 3 miles of Walt Disney World Resort
  • Fuel Assistance
  • Battery Jump Start
  • Flat Tire Assistance, including inflation of flat tire
  • Winch Out (vehicle stuck in mud)

Other Transportation Information

See my Transportation Overview Page

Your Guide to Disney World Transportation

How do I get to Shades of Green?

Shades of Green’s Bus Stops

Using Uber, Lyft, and Minnie Vans at Walt Disney World

Disney’s Minnie Van Service

Getting Around Walt Disney World for Shades of Green Guests

Mears Connect

Shades of Green Transportation — Frequently Asked Questions

Is Shades of Green on Disney’s monorail?

No. Shades of Green is not on the monorail. Shades buses take you to the Transportation & Ticket Center (TTC) for the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT monorails, or to Disney charter areas at other parks.

Can I still walk to Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort?

No. The walkway between Shades of Green and the Polynesian is closed. Use Shades buses, Disney transportation, or rideshare.

Where is the Shades of Green bus stop?

On the lower level at the front of the resort. From the lobby, exit the front doors and go down the waterfall stairs (or take the elevator by Bell Services), walk through Express Café, and out to the bus loading area.

Who can ride Shades of Green buses, and what IDs are required?

SoG buses are for registered Shades of Green guests and their sponsored guests. Adults must show military ID and SoG resort ID; sponsored non-military guests show a photo ID.

How often do the buses run?

Frequencies vary by park hours. Typical patterns (subject to change): Magic Kingdom & EPCOT via TTC about every 20 minutes; Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom (shared) about every 30 minutes (xx:15/xx:45); Disney Springs about hourly. Always check the weekly SoG schedule in the lobby or online.

Do Shades of Green buses support Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, and late events?

Yes. Buses run early/late for Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, and special events (e.g., MNSSHP, MVMCP). Verify first/last coach times for your date.

Where do Shades of Green buses drop off at each destination?

• Magic Kingdom & EPCOT: TTC (Bus Space C10). Transfer to monorail or ferry for MK; to EPCOT monorail for EPCOT.
• Hollywood Studios: Charter Bus Area (around Space 60).
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Charter Bus Area (to the left when exiting).
• Disney Springs: West Side Charter Bus Loop (Spaces 1–7).

Is there on-board Wi-Fi?

Yes. Shades of Green buses have on-board Wi-Fi.

Is there direct service to Disney water parks?

Not currently. Transfer required:

Typhoon Lagoon open: SoG → Disney Springs → Typhoon Lagoon.

Blizzard Beach open: SoG → Animal Kingdom → Blizzard Beach.

Service generally begins 30 minutes before opening and ends 60 minutes after closing.

Are wheelchairs/ECVs and strollers accommodated?

Yes. ADA options include ramps/lifts on designated routes. Strollers should be folded. Arrive early and tell the driver if you need ramp/tie-downs.

Any etiquette tips for the TTC stop?

Some SoG stops lack permanent queue railings. Please form a line and avoid crowding the doors when the bus arrives.

How do I get from Shades of Green to the Magic Kingdom?

Take the Shades bus to the TTC, then board the Express or Resort Monorail or the Ferry Boat to the Magic Kingdom.

How do I get from Shades of Green to EPCOT?

Take the Shades bus to the TTC, then transfer to the EPCOT monorail (a scenic loop into the park entrance).

What are my options from Orlando International Airport (MCO)?

Mears Connect Driven by Sunshine (shared or express), rideshare (Uber/Lyft), taxi, limo/private car, or rental car. Choose based on budget, timing, and luggage.

What are the current parking options and costs at Shades of Green?

Shades of Green has a large parking garage. Overnight hotel guests pay $17/day. Day visitors have posted hourly rates with a daily maximum.

Can I rent a car on property?

Yes. The Disney Car Care Center (near SoG) offers Alamo, National, and Enterprise with complimentary resort pick-up (book ahead; typical hours 7:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.).

---

---

---

---

---

---