If you’re hoping to get to Disney Springs for some shopping and dining in the upcoming days, there’s a situation happening there that could impact your plans.

You might be familiar with how to get to Disney Springs via your own car (and park in the designated parking lots) or via the Disney World buses. Select hotels also typically offer boat transportation to Disney Springs — a special perk! But, that perk isn’t so great when it’s not available…

We stopped by Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa in early June and visited one of the boat docks there. This is one of the hotels that typically offers boat service for its guests that helps get them from the docks at the hotel to an area closer to Disney Springs.

Under normal circumstances, there are a few different docks in the Saratoga Springs area (one behind the lobby building and one in the treehouse area). Those typically connect via boat service to the dock that Saratoga Springs shares with Disney Springs, getting guests that much closer to the shopping and dining action.

But things aren’t as they normally are right now. A Cast Member at Saratoga Springs told us that the dock area had been drained for about a week. Apparently, a lack of rain in areas up north has impacted some of the waterways to get to Disney Springs.

Another Cast Member (this time at Disney Springs) gave us somewhat contradictory information. This Cast Member shared that reportedly there are dams in certain parts of Disney World to control water flow — one at Disney’s Old Key West Resort and one at Disney Springs by the dock. Because of lower rain levels, this Cast Member indicated that they are at around a foot below their normal water levels and are losing more inches of water each day.

Regardless of what exactly is causing the issue, it seems that some water problems have caused the boat service from Saratoga Springs to an area closer to Disney Springs to be SUSPENDED. That’s a big shift for those who might have been expecting to rely on this transportation.

One Cast Member told us that they did not currently have a way to predict when things would be back to “normal” and thus enable the boats to run again, but they did share that this was a rather rare occurrence.

Another Cast Member indicated that if they could receive around 5 to 6 more inches of water, they could potentially offer the boat services to/from Disney Springs again soon.

From what we saw, there are buses running from stops on the Saratoga Springs bus loop to Disney Springs, so that is an option to consider. This has typically been offered in addition to the boat service but it might be more important now that the boat is unavailable.

According to the Disney World website, “There are bus stops located throughout Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, including one near High Rock Spring Pool. An internal bus also travels between High Rock Spring Pool and the Treehouse Villas.”

You can also walk from Saratoga Springs to Disney Springs, so that may be another thing you’ll want to look at. It is a walk that’ll take you several minutes so plan that into your day, but if the weather is nice it can be a relaxing way to make your way over to the food and fun.

Other Disney World hotels that typically offer water transportation to the Disney Springs area include:

• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
• Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter

These areas are similarly being impacted by the water level issues reported at Saratoga Springs. According to the Cast Member we spoke to at Disney Springs, NONE of those hotels are currently able to offer boat service to/from Disney Springs and the hotels.

If you’re planning to go to Disney Springs soon and were hoping to use a boat from one of these hotels to get there, know that it might NOT be a possibility for a while. You may need to rely on Disney buses, walking, or another transportation option of your choice (like your car, a Minnie Van, or rideshare) to get there. Be sure to factor that into your plans when looking at how long it’ll take you to get places.

For more help navigating Disney World’s transportation, click here to see our entire page on the topic!

Want more updates about Disney Springs, click here to see the menu changes recently announced for Raglan Road, or click here to see what restaurant in Disney Springs may be getting a REMODEL soon.

Stay tuned for the latest info!

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Are you a fan of the boats that go to Disney Springs? Tell us in the comments.

The post This Hotel CHANGE Could Complicate Your Trip to Disney Springs first appeared on the disney food blog.