Also just home from POR

[dizneefamily5]

We, too, just returned home from POR. Our stay was 6/13-25. We were very happy with the resort itself and would like to stay there again ONLY if we don't do the parks. WE would love to stay there and just enjoy the resort. However, the bus service is terrible, in our opinion. We have never stayed at a resort where we had to share bus service. We stood on EVERY trip, including our 3 year old. The busses were always full coming from POFQ and we just had bad timing getting to the lines at the park bus stops. WE were SO disappointed with the bus service here. The room was great - bldg 15 - the pools were packed with unsupervised children. I don't want to sound like we hated it because, it was an amazing vacation! I would just love to know which resort is recommended for bus service that actually meets the demand of the guests who are there. I would have thought that POFQ and POR could have seperate busses with teh resorts at capacity! I would love to hear any suggestions from others who felt their bus service was great! We are looking for ideas for next June We are gluttons..................

 

[Mycroft]

Thanks for the information. You have fed into my worst fear. I have always stayed at monorail resorts before and I'm really worried about transportation. I am leaning more and more toward renting a car since I really can't afford a deluxe this trip or ever again most likely (Three kids, one income will do that for you ).

 

[dizneefamily5]

I would definitely rent a car. BAsed on our experience, MK is the only park where the bus is a MUST! Driving put us WAY behind schedule there. If you do decide to drive to MK, PM me for directions to avoid the main gate. Driving to DTD, and teh other parks was just way easier. BTW, we just sold our DVC property so that I could stay home as well, so we are also adjusting to our new "lifestyle" so I know the one income thing!!!

 

[Cindybell]

It may have been the time that you went to the parks that gave you so much trouble. We always left early and only had to stand three times. The rest of the time we got a seat and it never seemed like a long wait to get a bus. Usually we were running to catch the bus that just arrived.

 

[dizneefamily5]

We, too, usually left the resort by 8:15-8:30. We never had to wait long for a bus, they were just always full when they arrived, having already been to POFQ. We did speak to several people at the North and West Depots who did wait and were told the busses were too full after stopping at South Depot (this is where we were). They had wait times of up to 1 hour over there. The resort is just too large, in my opinion to share busses with anyone else. We will return there if they decide to change that, otherwise, we'll try someplace else!

 

[BANNISTER]

We are staying at POR for three nights July 20-23 before switching to another resort for the week. Wow, doesn't seem right that these huge resorts would have to share bus service during this peak time of the year, esp. with HCOE just starting. I'll keep my fingers crossed for good bus service as we are using ME from the airport and will be relying soley on disney transportation.

 

[SAWYERMAW1]

We were there in May and didn't have a complaint about the buses. We normally stay at POFQ but tried POR for our last trip. When we stayed at the BC, their bus was shared with YC, BW plus Swan and Dolphin. That took some time.

 

[Tiffany]

We, too, just returned home from POR. Our stay was 6/13-25. We were very happy with the resort itself and would like to stay there again ONLY if we don't do the parks. WE would love to stay there and just enjoy the resort. However, the bus service is terrible, in our opinion. We have never stayed at a resort where we had to share bus service. We stood on EVERY trip, including our 3 year old. The busses were always full coming from POFQ and we just had bad timing getting to the lines at the park bus stops. WE were SO disappointed with the bus service here. The room was great - bldg 15 - the pools were packed with unsupervised children. I don't want to sound like we hated it because, it was an amazing vacation! I would just love to know which resort is recommended for bus service that actually meets the demand of the guests who are there. I would have thought that POFQ and POR could have seperate busses with teh resorts at capacity! I would love to hear any suggestions from others who felt their bus service was great! We are looking for ideas for next June We are gluttons..................

Hi,

I am just wondering if the only reason why you rated the bus service as terrible was because you had to stand? Having to stand on public transportation is common up here in the Boston area so as long as the buses ran about every 20min as Disney states they will I do not believe it is fair to rate the service terrible just because you had to stand on the bus. Just wondering if there were other factors to your rating?

 

[dizneefamily5]

We believe very strongly that we should NOT have to stand on the bus in Disney. Given the ages of children there, and the extreme fatigue, the least WDW can do is make it possible for everyone to sit. Our other complaint was that there should be queue lines at the resorts and DTD. Three seperate occasions , so many people pushed their way in front of us that we missed the bus. In my opinion, the busses are one of Disney's greatest investments. Our sole reason for staying onsite is the busses. We just think they should make it as nice as possible as it is a great asset for them.

 

[tessqt]

I have been seeing posts(since I found this site a few months ago), about the poor bus service for POR. We are renting a car for that very reason, my memory is not what it use to be but I remember when my dh and I stayed there and FQ (when it was Dixie Landing) many years ago, my biggest complaint was the time we spent on the busses. With a 6 & 8 year old now I'm not dealing with it, I wish we could stay at a monorail resort but that's not in our budget but a rental car is!

Glad you still had a good time!

 

[Daisy'sMom]

We had good experiences, too, but it wasn't full-force summer yet so that probably made a big difference. We usually got on at the West Depot which was sometimes the first stop, but not always. I never did figure out the method to the madness. There were times at night when leaving the parks that we would find a bench and just wait until the line shortened enough that we knew we would not have to stand, but our resort line was not always the longest either. I'm sorry your magic was spoiled by the buses. Pixie Dust for a better trip next time!

 

[eeyore45]

We believe very strongly that we should NOT have to stand on the bus in Disney. Given the ages of children there, and the extreme fatigue, the least WDW can do is make it possible for everyone to sit. Our other complaint was that there should be queue lines at the resorts and DTD. Three seperate occasions , so many people pushed their way in front of us that we missed the bus. In my opinion, the busses are one of Disney's greatest investments. Our sole reason for staying onsite is the busses. We just think they should make it as nice as possible as it is a great asset for them.

I think you have a valid point, but then, how is Disney supposed to know? Maybe they would rather we rent cars than use their transportation! Esp valid is how when the Resort is full, sometimes it seems to be a hit or miss, but I think Disney should be more respectful... imo

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

 

[bluejasmine]

I am actually suprised at your experiences with the bus system at POR, my family of 9 went during spring break(March 28-April2), it was more crowded that I have ever seen it, and we had no problems with the bus, well except for once, we had to wait 20min for a bus to come once but other than that we felt spoiled since we are use to ASMo and having to walk what felt like miles to a bus stop leaving the parks. If I remember correctly all POR bus stops at the parks were practically the first bus stops! Also the fact that there was 4 stops instead of just one made a huge difference, I requested our room to be close to a bus stop for that reason. We did stand on several occasions although people were very courteous in giving up their seats for small children and their mothers. I guess if you are willing to pay for a deluxe resort for that reason, than I say go ahead, I understand the more you pay for your resorts the more the perks and I have defanitely seen this in WDW. I just wish I could afford more than just value, I have only been able to stay at a moderate (POR) once and felt very, spoiled...

 

[Tiffany]

We believe very strongly that we should NOT have to stand on the bus in Disney. Given the ages of children there, and the extreme fatigue, the least WDW can do is make it possible for everyone to sit. Our other complaint was that there should be queue lines at the resorts and DTD. Three seperate occasions , so many people pushed their way in front of us that we missed the bus. In my opinion, the busses are one of Disney's greatest investments. Our sole reason for staying onsite is the busses. We just think they should make it as nice as possible as it is a great asset for them.

While that is your opinion and I due respect it I also feel that it is unrealisitc as basiclly what Disney is providing is mass transit service from their resorts to their parks. It would not be cost effective to run buses without having people stand on them. In fact the new buses are built to have less seats and more standing room. While I respect your opinion I do think it is unfair.

 

[goofy4tink]

We were just at POR, June 24-26. We were at Beach Club for the week before. I will say that the bus service at POR was far superior to that of BC. Now, we didn't leave for the parks at the peak times this trip. Most times we were at the main depot at around 9:30-10:00. I don't think we stood once going to a park. We did stand several times using the bus at BC. I overheard one bus driver, picking us up at POR, talking to a fellow passenger about the disbursment of the buses. It seems that at certain times, the buses go to both resorts, at others they service each one individually.

I did notice some people being pretty upset that they had to stand on the bus. But, most of these people came strolling up at the end of the boarding process. If you don't want to stand you have the option of waiting for the next bus. I know it's called Magic on Demand, but I don't think that even Disney is going to provide the kind of service that enables all to have a seat at all times.

 

[RADOPT]

We, too, just returned home from POR. I would love to hear any suggestions from others who felt their bus service was great! We are looking for ideas for next June We are gluttons..................

We had great bus service from POR!!! - that was our first trip to WDW - Nov 2001 when no one wanted to go . Probable the only time WDW was really slow.

Actually that was the only time we have been at a moderate. POFQ closed and we ended up at POR. We did have better bus service at WL - of course it is more pricey. But it also has some nice features (water parade, boat to MK, etc). I think the only way to get around the bus issue is to have a car. Since the resorts are next to each other, you could find out where they pick up first and walk over to the stop or the first stop at your resort.

 

[Lizzybee]

We were there over Spring Break this year and found the bus service to be terrific, with the exception of one day. I think it was a fluke that everyone from POFQ and POR decided to go to AK for early EMH on the Saturday before Easter...bad planning on my part, I had made a PS for Donald's that day. Our game plan was be there at the start of EMH and do the safari then go to the PS. We waited 45 mins for a bus that morning, I called Guest Services and soon two busses were pulling up. I told them it would be more than 1 load going to AK. A mother and daughter were there waiting before we got there and we were next, then the rest of the ton of people. We got on but the mother daughter duo who were there first weren't on. I told everyone to squeeze in to get them on or they'd have to move and let us out because it wasn't fair if they don't get on because they were here before anyone. Miraculously, they made it on. At about 1:30pm a torrential rain storm started and lasted quite awhile so when we got to the bus depot to leave our line ran through the queing area and all the way back from the back of the depot to the front! We hopped a bus from AK to CBR and from CBR to MGM and MGM to POR, it seemed like more fun than standing in line drenched and cold. That being said...other than that we never waited more than 5 mins for a bus.

 

[Troy08]

Buses are a hit or miss thing at DW.; It;s just like mass transit in any large city. People stand on the NYC subway all the time. You could commute every day and never get a seat. I've stood, I've sat, I've waited at DW. It's a crapshoot! The luck of the draw-however, I will say that most of the time I chose to stand so an elderly person or person with small child could have my seat. I think it's the number of buses or lack thereof that people get upset with, not really having to stand.

 

[dizneefamily5]

I didn't expect this to become a "defend Disney" thread. My suggestion is just that when POFQ and POR are at a certain occupancy, they should not share busses. That would solve the issue. I don't mind standing, and neither do hubby or 10y/o dd or 9 y/o dd, but my 3 year old just can't do it. Until we hear better things about the busses, I think we'll stay offsite in a home with more space and drive ourselves. As I see it, the WDW busses are the only real asset to staying onsite.

 

[Avalanche]

I was really surprised when we stayed at POFQ last July when the buses in the morning were full (people standing) when we left POFQ and they would still go to POR before going to the park.