Best Hotels Connected to the Disney Skyliner

The Disney Skyliner is Disney’s newest mode of transportation around their Walt Disney World Resort complex. It connects Epcot and Hollywood Studios through the air, as well as 9 of their resorts. If you’re looking for an overview of what the best resort to stay at on the Disney Skyliner is, read on. If you ended up here by mistake and you’re looking for the Disney Skyliner map, read our Disney Skyliner overview. One of the most common questions we find is:

Knowing what hotels are connected to the gondola system at Walt Disney World helps immensely in figuring out which one will be the best for you to stay at! Now we can get to our rankings of which one is the best!

1.) Boardwalk Inn

Disney’s Boardwalk is one of my favorite hotels to resort hop to. The waterfront boardwalk theming makes it a perfect nighttime hangout on a non park day and you get a great vantage point for the nighttime fireworks show at Epcot. Add in the fact that the Skyliner is a short walk from the hotel and so is the International Gateway entrance to Epcot, and this is my number one Disney Skyliner connected resort!

2.) Yacht/Beach Club

While technically two separate hotels, I lump the two of them together as one in the same. Yacht and Beach Club sit across Crescent Lake from Boardwalk and have solid theming, but the entertainment value of Boardwalk holds it one peg higher than these two. Nevertheless, you’re still about the same distance from the Disney Skyliner station at Epcot and the International Gateway entrance to the park. A great alternative if Boardwalk is unavailable.

3.) Riviera

I hesitated to put this as number 3 behind Boardwalk and Yacht/Beach Club, but the value of being at the Epcot park entrance put those two above Riviera. Riviera does have an added advantage of being halfway between Epcot and Hollywood Studios, but it does take longer overall to get to Epcot from here. The theming and elegance is on point, making it one of the premiere stays on all of Disney property, but if we’re ranking the best for staying on the Disney Skyliner route, Riviera comes in at a close 3rd.

4.) Caribbean Beach

Caribbean Beach is one of my favorite relaxing resorts on property because you do get the “beach bum” feel with all of the little private beaches across the resort. There’s nothing better than taking in the hot Florida sun in a hammock, then going back to the room to shower and get ready for a nice dinner. Being that Caribbean Beach is the “hub” for the Disney Skyliner, you are a short ride from either Epcot or Hollywood Studios without having to transfer cars. A room update might push this over the top to number one of it ever happens!

5.) Swan/Dolphin

The Swan and Dolphin Resorts are quite the conundrum when you dive into the details. They’re on Disney property and get most Disney property perks, but they’re not owned by Disney and they don’t get all the property perks. Because of this, I put them lower than Caribbean Beach, Riviera, Yacht/Beach Club, and Boardwalk, even though they are gorgeous properties.

6.) Art of Animation

The larger of only 2 value resorts on the Disney Skyliner route has some of the best movie theming out of all Disney resorts. Cars is one of my favorite Pixar movies and Disney really pulled out all the stops when designing the Radiator Springs section of the resort. You’re a 3 minute ride from the Caribbean Beach transfer station by staying here. If you’re only looking for a cheap room with good theming for your kids, this is the place to stay. Remember it is a value resort, so you won’t be getting any of the extra elegance of a moderate or deluxe resort.

Your Thoughts

How many of these resorts have you stayed at? Have you stayed there since the Disney Skyliner opened? If so, let us know what you think and if you’d change our list! We’d love to hear from you!