Choosing a Walt Disney World hotel is already one of the bigger decisions in any vacation plan. For families traveling with babies, toddlers, or preschoolers, though, that choice can come down to something far more practical than the pool, the room theme, or the on-site restaurants.
Transportation matters — and an upcoming Disney Skyliner closure makes that especially true for parents planning a January 2027 trip.
What's Happening With the Skyliner?
The Disney Skyliner will temporarily close from January 24 through January 30, 2027, for annual maintenance. The gondola system normally connects EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios with four resorts: Disney's Pop Century Resort, Disney's Art of Animation Resort, Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, and Disney's Riviera Resort.
During the closure, Disney will provide complimentary bus transportation for guests staying at those resorts. On paper, that sounds like a straightforward swap — guests still have a way to reach the parks, and the closure only lasts seven days. For parents traveling with young children, however, a bus and the Skyliner are not always interchangeable. The difference becomes especially noticeable when a stroller enters the picture.
Why the Skyliner Is Such a Game-Changer for Families
Disney's Pop Century Resort and Disney's Art of Animation Resort are particularly popular with families. Both are value resorts, Art of Animation features heavily themed areas that appeal to young children, and both share a Skyliner station. Caribbean Beach and Riviera also offer Skyliner access, making the gondola system a meaningful transportation advantage across several different price points.
That convenience becomes even more valuable when parents are managing little ones. A family heading out for a park day may already be carrying a diaper bag, snacks, water bottles, cups, sunscreen, ponchos, and extra clothes — and that's before adding a stroller and one or two tired children to the mix. Simply getting from the hotel to a theme park can become an event of its own.
That's where the Skyliner can make a real difference. Depending on the stroller's size and configuration, many families can roll a stroller directly into a Skyliner gondola without folding it. Single strollers and many tandem double strollers — where one child sits in front of the other — can be much easier to manage this way. Wide side-by-side double strollers may need to be folded before boarding. For a family whose stroller can remain open, that is a huge convenience.
Instead of taking a child out, emptying loose items, collapsing the stroller, and carrying everything aboard, parents can have a much smoother transition from the resort to transportation. That might sound like a small perk before having children. Parents who have actually navigated Disney World with toddlers know it can feel anything but small.
How Buses Change the Routine for Stroller Families
When the Skyliner closes in January, Disney's buses become the primary option for guests at these four resorts — and buses can change the morning routine considerably. Strollers generally need to be folded before boarding Disney buses, which means parents can't simply roll their child aboard the way they may be used to doing with a compatible Skyliner stroller.
Picture arriving at the bus stop with two children, a stroller, and several bags. The children need to come out of the stroller. Anything that prevents the stroller from folding needs to be removed as well. Someone has to collapse it, carry it onto the bus, and keep control of everything else — while one parent may be holding a toddler and managing a diaper bag and drinks. If another child is tired, upset, or simply doesn't want to stand still, the situation gets harder. Then the family gets to do it all again after reaching the park.
It becomes particularly exhausting at the end of a long Disney day. A child who happily walked onto a bus at 8 a.m. may be sound asleep in the stroller by 9 p.m. Folding that stroller could mean waking the child, holding them for the entire bus ride, and simultaneously keeping track of everything the family accumulated throughout the day.
The Skyliner doesn't eliminate every challenge of visiting Disney World with small children, but for families with compatible strollers, it can remove one particularly frustrating step from every single park day.
Should Families Consider a Different Resort That Week?
That's why the January closure could influence where some families decide to stay. Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera will temporarily lose one of their biggest transportation perks during the closure. If a family specifically chose one of those hotels because of the Skyliner, paying for that resort during a week when the gondolas aren't running may suddenly feel less appealing.
That doesn't mean these hotels become bad choices — there are plenty of reasons to love each one beyond transportation. However, parents should think carefully about what they're actually paying for and how they expect to move around Walt Disney World each day.
A family with older children might barely notice the difference. Everyone can get on the bus, find a seat or stand, and head to the park. A family with a baby, a three-year-old, a double stroller, two bags, and a week's worth of toddler vacation necessities may see things very differently. For those guests, transportation becomes part of the resort's overall value.
Alternatives Worth Considering
Families traveling January 24–30 may want to compare Skyliner resorts with hotels that offer transportation better suited to their plans during the closure. Guests primarily visiting Magic Kingdom, for example, might place greater value on staying somewhere with convenient access to that park. Other families may prefer a resort with boat transportation or one within walking distance of their most frequently visited parks.
The EPCOT Resort Area is another interesting option for families spending significant time at EPCOT or Hollywood Studios. Disney's BoardWalk Inn, Disney's Yacht Club Resort, and Disney's Beach Club Resort all sit within walking distance of the International Gateway area, and they have their own existing transportation options — including buses and boats connecting the EPCOT Resort Area with EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.
Of course, switching hotels isn't automatically the right move. Price differences can be significant, and transportation is only one part of choosing a Disney resort. But it is worth considering before booking.
Seven Days Can Feel Like a Lot With Little Ones in Tow
A one-week transportation closure probably won't ruin anyone's Disney World vacation. Still, parents shouldn't dismiss the impact simply because Disney is providing replacement buses. Transportation works differently when you're responsible for little kids.
The Skyliner's appeal isn't only that it gets guests from Point A to Point B. For many parents, the real benefit is how simple that journey can be: walk to the station, roll aboard with a compatible stroller, sit down, and head toward the parks. Remove that option, and suddenly there are more steps.
Take the children out. Grab the bags. Remove the cups. Fold the stroller. Carry the stroller. Carry the child. Board the bus. Find somewhere to sit or stand. Get everything off. Reopen the stroller. Put everything back.
None of those tasks is particularly difficult on its own. Doing them repeatedly while navigating Disney World with young children is another story entirely.
That's why families planning a January 2027 vacation shouldn't treat the Skyliner closure as just a minor transportation note buried in Disney's refurbishment calendar. If the Skyliner was one of the main reasons they planned to book Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, or Riviera, the closure could genuinely change the equation.
Seven days isn't a long closure. But if those seven days happen to be the exact seven days of your Disney World vacation — especially with a stroller and a couple of little ones in tow — choosing a different resort may suddenly be worth a closer look.