Magic Kingdom Ferry Boat Queue Expansion Gets Green Light from Water Management District

Gallery / 7 Photos
Magic Kingdom Ferry Boat Queue Expansion Permit Plans

See all 7

Posted: Tuesday March 24, 2026 4:21pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The South Florida Water Management District has approved Disney's permit application for the Magic Kingdom Ferry Boat Queue Expansion project at Seven Seas Lagoon.

Magic Kingdom Ferry Boat Queue Expansion Permit Plans

Disney filed the application earlier this year. The approval allows construction to begin on dock expansion, hardscape improvements, and a floodplain compensation area at the ferry boarding location.

Magic Kingdom Ferry Boat Queue Expansion Permit Plans

The project will expand waiting areas and boarding facilities at the Magic Kingdom ferry dock, and continues a decade of ferry infrastructure upgrades. In 2014, Disney added a second ferry boat dock at both the Transportation and Ticket Center and Magic Kingdom shorelines, doubling capacity.

Magic Kingdom Ferry Boat Queue Expansion Permit Plans

In 2021, Disney added second-level unloading capability at both docks. Guests can now exit from two levels of the ferry boats.

No construction timeline has been announced.

Magic Kingdom Ferry Boat Queue Expansion Permit Plans

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

Mr. SullivanMar 27, 2026

I think we’ll see another new transportation option before we see additional monorails

lazyboy97oMar 27, 2026

I addressed that. The doors don’t have to drop down and swing out. They could just slide along the exterior.

TouchdownMar 27, 2026

It’s the trains, the doors need clearance to open.

EricsBiscuitMar 27, 2026

Yes a permanent ramp is a good idea

lazyboy97oMar 27, 2026

This is another issue that is less the trains and more the station facilities. The floor of the train is not that high above the top of the beam. Even with doors that don’t drop down (something that could be retrofitted to the current trains) the station platforms as they exist would still be too low. At a minimum sort of ramp would still be required, although it could be a permanent one.

GoofyernmostMar 27, 2026

That's why I made the suggestion. You and I both know it won't happen but it seems to me that would be a way to add an transportation attraction using something they already have that would be the most expensive thing about the whole idea.

EricsBiscuitMar 27, 2026

If they ever purchase new monorails one great way to improve efficiency would be to try to make them level with the platform. That would eliminate the need for those clunky ramps.

disneyC97Mar 26, 2026

2-3 steam sidewheelers. Appeared on postcards from pre-opening. Beautiful boats.

TrainsOfDisneyMar 26, 2026

On opening day there was a steamboat - the liberty Belle is sadly not the first WDW steamboat to go the way of the dusky seaside sparrow (anyone? that’s a DEEP cut reference if there ever was one!)

HauntedPirateMar 26, 2026

That's what I was thinking, that it was literally inches of clearance.

lazyboy97oMar 26, 2026

Well less than a foot. Mere inches as most.

HauntedPirateMar 26, 2026

Ah, that's right, I was thinking it was 8 trains, but it's 10. Plus steam train storage below, IIRC. Isn't the vertical clearance currently only a a foot or less? I honestly haven't thought about that in quite a while, so the details have been shuffled to a dusty corner of my memory.

lazyboy97oMar 26, 2026

The barn is capable of holding ten trains, so only two need to be stored in the Contemporary during severe weather. But any new trains need to fit in the barn. That said, expanding the barn is easier than modifying the Contemporary. The bigger constraint at the Contemporary is the vertical clearance. To date, monorails with open gangways are taller than the Mark VIs. There isn’t a lot of space between the top of the monorails and the underside of the hotel walkway above.

GoofyernmostMar 26, 2026

Don't they have a beautiful paddle driven steamboat that was recently fired that could be added to the seven seas lagoon fleet? All they need is an extra side load dock on both sides and they have a new attraction that is also a utility vessel. They could even have the ghost of Mark Twain pointing out all the sites to be seen during the trip. ;) ⛴️