Ride the Skyliner from all routes (start to end of line and back!) 

This is a fun activity that kids and adults enjoy. It’s relaxing and depending on the time of day, you may only be seated with your own party. Skyliner gondola’s hold up to ten guests.

If you are not staying at a Skyliner resort you can always leave EPCOT or Hollywood Studios for a period of time during your scheduled park day to check out the area.

OR, take the buses to Hollywood Studios and hop on the Skyliner.

OR  take an Uber/LFYT to one of the other resort areas  (maybe plan a meal in the area, enjoy it and then walk and ride around the Skyliner.)

EPCOT Resort Area – EPCOT Skyliner Area

The EPCOT Resort area is one of my absolute favorite places on property. There is so much to do, beautiful and is very logistically convenient. This area is also the site of the EPCOT International Gateway entrance. 

The area is extremely walkable. You may also utilize the Disney Friendship Boats – which will take you across Crescent Lake and to Hollywood Studios (in lieu of walking or using the Skyliner).  

• Fantasia Gardens – mini-golf (located near Marriott Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve hotels). Playing Mini-golf during your vacation is a perk available at a discount rate during select times as part of your Magical Extras when you are booked on a Walt Disney World Travel Company Package (room and tickets). I would suggest getting there earlier in the day as more families show up later in the day and the wait to play can be long. The discounted rate is only available for a certain number of guests for specific times of the day/week so be sure to plan accordingly!
• Walk the Boardwalk!
  • Lots of great food, relaxing views.
  • Boardwalk Bakery and the Pizza window at Trattoria al Forno could be a great place to grab some snacks and meals in a pinch. There is also a gift shop.
  • Jellyrolls Piano Bar and Atlantic Dance Hall
  • Performers are usually out and about in the evening for a limited time and are a must stop and watch if you have the time!
• Coming Soon: The old ESPN Club restaurant is being renovated and will become The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers. Dining and tea parties will be bookable at this location when it opens in 2023.

Other Restaurants and things worth mentioning!

• Beaches and Cream (Burgers, Fries and amazing shakes… and the Kitchen sink!) (Beach Club and has a  walk-up window for ice cream. Walk-Up Window is opened seasonally). 

• Ale and Compass (Yacht Club), Yachtsman Steakhouse (Yacht Club), Cape May Cafe (Beach Club). 

Walk or sit around the beach area in front of the Beach Club around part of Crescent Lake.  

Disney’s Riviera Resort 

• The pool bar, Bar Riva, gets awesome reviews!
• La Petit Cafe, small coffee and croissant shop 
• Primo Piatto (excellent Quick Service)
• Topolino’s (at the top of Riviera) gives beautiful views of Walt Disney World Resort as well as fine dining and a character dining for breakfast. (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy). Dinner is great but both meals are difficult to get, even at the 60 day window. 

Disney’s Caribbean Beach 

• This is the main transfer station between EPCOT and Hollywood Studios lines of the Skyliner. It is hopping! Be sure to walk around and check out the beach, pools and the vibe! 
• When the main restaurant, Sebastian Bistro, returns, it is sure to be as popular as ever!
• A quick walk across the parking lot, or a transfer via the Skyliner, and you are right next door at Disney’s Riviera Resort. 

Disney’s Pop Century and Art of Animation 

• Walk around and enjoy all the theming. From the characters to the decades, there is so much to see! The gift shops are huge and they also have food courts.  
• People  rave about the vibe at Petals Pool Bar.  
• Landscape of Flavors at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort offers 5 mini-restaurants that offer unique themed dining area experiences. This is a very popular “food court” type of dining location. 
• Shopping is plentiful in the gift shops near the main dining areas at these resorts. 

Be Warned: Potential issues with transportation 

During the rainy season in Florida, it is highly likely that storms will require the Skyliner transportation system to go down for extended periods of time. When this happens the Skyliner Cast Members will direct everyone to resort buses. At the time of this drafting the bus depots at each Skyliner resort will add bus transportation to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios (even though typically not offered because of the SKyliner) and will also offer a resort bus loop that will loop throughout all the Disney owned resorts along the Skyliner. BE ADVISED that the MDE app nor the bus boards are usually updated with this information, meaning they don’t have posted arrival times for buses. You just have to wait. Hopefully Disney will correct this at some point but as of August 2022, this was the case. 

Skyliner Storm Policy

Per conversations with Cast Members during my stay in late July 2022, the Disney Skyliner safety protocols require a storm to be at least 12 miles away and an additional 30 minutes wait in order to begin re-starting and loading the Skyliner after a thunderstorm event. Additionally, they must perform safety and maintenance checks before resuming operation. 

Yearly Routine Maintenance

The Skyliner system typically undergoes it’s planned maintenance in late January between the holiday season rush and marathon weekends. This has usually been a lower crowd level time in years past and seems to be why they have chosen this time period. It is already scheduled for 2023 to close around January 22 for about a week.