Orlando

Home / Routes from MCO / Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Orlando airport to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Furthest Disney deluxe resort from the airport and bus-only, but the savanna views are the point and the Animal Kingdom bus ride is short.

At a glance

Our pick
Rideshare (UberX or Lyft)
$46–$85
44 min
Cheapest
Mears Connect shared van
$35 return
70 min
Fastest
Private car, met at baggage claim
$160
40 min
With small kids
Private car or rental, for the car seats
$160+
40 min

Why that pick. Short enough that surge pricing stays survivable and fast enough that nothing else competes on time per dollar.

Every option, side by side

OptionTypical costDoor to doorPassengersCar seatsThe catch
Rideshare — UberX / Lyft$46–$8544 min1–3NoSurge at peak arrivals
Rideshare — XL / Lyft XL$72–$13144 min4–6NoOften the only way to keep a family together
Private car, sedan or SUVfrom $16040 min1–6On requestFlat quote, flight tracked, met inside
Mears Connect shared van$35 rtn70 minPer seatNoWaits to fill, several resort stops
Rental car$45–$70/day72 minWhatever fitsRentableCounter queue, then tolls and parking

Know before you go

  • Jambo House and Kidani Village are separate buildings with separate bus stops.
  • Allow 35 minutes by bus to Magic Kingdom.

Disney resort area

Every Disney resort gets free internal transport once you are on property, so the only transfer you actually have to solve is this one: airport to resort. Disney stopped running its own free airport coach in 2022, and nothing has replaced it at that price.

Buses lined up at the Disney Springs transfer centre.
The Disney Springs bus transfer centre, where Lynx Link 311 terminatesPhotograph by BenoƮt Prieur, CC0

How we priced this

Distance is approximately 22 road miles from Orlando International Airport. Rideshare figures are modelled from Orlando UberX pricing at $5.50 base plus $2.05 per mile plus a $4.00 airport fee, then widened to a range covering off-peak to heavy surge. They are estimates for planning, not quotes, and Orlando surges hard when flights land in waves or a convention lets out. Private car figures are typical flat rates for a sedan or standard SUV from a permitted local operator. Shuttle and transit fares are the published ones. All checked September 15, 2026.

Common questions

Mears Connect shared van at $35 return, taking roughly 70 min door to door. Cheapest is not the same as best: read the catch column above before you book it.

About 32 minutes of actual driving. Door to door, allow around 44 min by rideshare once you add the walk to the pickup zone and the wait for a driver, and longer if you checked bags. A pre-booked car that meets you inside saves most of that overhead.

It depends on party size and what your arrival looks like. For one or two people with carry-ons it is hard to justify against a $46 to $85 rideshare. For five or more people, a late-night landing, or anyone travelling with children who need car seats, a flat $160 quote that is met at baggage claim is usually the better purchase. We rank the operators on our private transportation page, and we disclose our interest in one of them.

Not for the resort itself, which has its own free internal transport. You need one if you plan to eat, shop or visit parks outside the resort bubble. Our rental car or rideshare guide works the seven-day arithmetic through, including tolls and parking.

Other routes in this area

Every route we cover from Orlando airport

Who wrote this

Evan Ross is publisher of this site and a working Orlando transport operator. He is a part-owner of Lenox Transport, which is why he knows how this city moves and why you should discount his ranking of car services. He lives in Winter Park and has been moving people around this city commercially since 2024. More about the site and its conflicts of interest.