Best resort for bus access

[PALionKingfan]

I was thinking about going in late October, and for the first time I don't want to rent a car. Which resort, moderate or value, had the best bus system. I am talking about proximity to the rooms, frequency of pick ups, etc. I stayed at Caribbean and was glad I had a car because the closest bus was a hike and a half from my room. I would appreciate everyone's thoughts and opinions.

 

[Kaytie]

Frequency of pickups is generally about 20 minutes at any resort and the same going back. Outside forces like accidents or breakdowns can make the interval longer.

Most resorts have a single bus stop, outside the lobby. Exceptions are most Moderates (PORS 4, CS 4, CBR 8), AKL 2, SSR and OKW with about 5 each, and of course FW with multiple internal stops that require transferring to external buses. Actually very surprised you had a hike and a half at CBR. You must have been in Aruba, where the bus is at one end of the village instead of right about the middle.?

A Preferred room at a Value or Moderate should get you close to the main/only bus stop. What's the maximum distance you're willing to walk to and from the bus?

 

[CynBeth]

POFQ is a compact resort so even the furthest building is a short walk to the bus stop. If it does share a bus with POR it stops there first and then goes to the stops at Riverside. We really liked it when we stayed there a few years ago. There is a boat to Disney Springs and you can go over and use the amenities at Riverside which is also a short walk.

 

[dansdad]

Most resorts have a single bus stop, outside the lobby. Exceptions are most Moderates (PORS 4, CS 4, CBR 8), AKL 2, SSR and OKW with about 5 each, and of course FW with multiple internal stops that require transferring to external buses.

To be accurate, CBR has 7 not 8 stops.

 

[Shanti]

I was thinking about going in late October, and for the first time I don't want to rent a car. Which resort, moderate or value, had the best bus system. I am talking about proximity to the rooms, frequency of pick ups, etc. I stayed at Caribbean and was glad I had a car because the closest bus was a hike and a half from my room. I would appreciate everyone's thoughts and opinions.

When we stayed at Pop Century we had a good experience with buses. We never waited too long, there was just one central bus stop in front of the resort, and we didn't share the bus with any other resorts. Efficient.

 

[ncc1701]

POFQ is a compact resort so even the furthest building is a short walk to the bus stop. If it does share a bus with POR it stops there first and then goes to the stops at Riverside. We really liked it when we stayed there a few years ago. There is a boat to Disney Springs and you can go over and use the amenities at Riverside which is also a short walk.

The Port Orleans resorts are close to Epcot, DHS and MK. We have stayed at POFQ on all our trips since 1998 and the sharing with POR has gotten less . You can run in to good & bad service at any resort even on the same trip. Overall the service we have gotten has been very good. If DS is in your plans the boat is a great change. As of 2015 by 5:00pm the two Port Orleans resorts have seperate boats to DS which is an improvement.No matter where you decide to stay checkout the resort map for any shortcuts. We have saved steps cutting thru courtyard , walkways thru buildings rather than staying on the main paths.

 

[BraveLittleToaster2]

We love the bus service at AKL, even more so Kidani since that stop gets picked up first. We have never waited long for a bus there and we have always gotten a seat. Best buses we've had and we've stay at lots of deluxes!!

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

POR has 4 stops, and no room is more than a few minutes walk to a stop. You could also put in a room request to be close to a bus stop, and POR has a good reputation for fulfilling requests, if faxed in (although not guaranteed, obviously).

 

[AngiTN]

I was thinking about going in late October, and for the first time I don't want to rent a car. Which resort, moderate or value, had the best bus system. I am talking about proximity to the rooms, frequency of pick ups, etc. I stayed at Caribbean and was glad I had a car because the closest bus was a hike and a half from my room. I would appreciate everyone's thoughts and opinions.

Are you sure about that? Those bus stops are spread out throughout the resort. Maybe you hiked to the wrong one?

Anyway, to answer your question, there is no such thing as the best resort for bus service. No resort has quicker service. It's all based on your personal timing on reaching a stop and your luck in when the next bus arrives.
We got home last night. Each time we walked to the bus stop we had the extreme luck of having the bus we wanted pulling up to the stop as we walked up, we never even had to sit down to wait. Needless to say, we have the report that it was the best bus service ever. Someone there the same days as us could have walked up 5 min later and found the bus pulling away and had to sit to wait for 15, 20 min and would have reports that they had the worse bus service. Which of us is right, which wrong? Neither. In reality, it's usually a mix. Half the time you get there and wait a min or two and half the time you get there and wait 15 min or so. It's rare for your luck to be bad, or good, each time. But all in all, every resort has the same levels of bus service and what 1 person found on their trip will have no bearing at all on what you find on your trip. Or even the same trip as another person at the same resort.

 

[sharadoc]

POFQ has a quick walk to all bus stops. For values, I would say the All-Stars are the best. Short walk, and in some cases, it's closer to walk to the resort next door. Like if you're in Mighty Ducks at Movies, the food court and bus stop at Music are really close, depending on the room.

 

[Amanda999]

Unless you are willing to pay to stay at a monorail or Epcot resort, I'd say Pop: you can take either AOA or Pop bus (its a short walk over a bridge between AoA and Pop - well, most useful if you have a room at Pop kinda near the bridge area). IIRC their stops are next to each other at every park (they can change that, though).

That said, I've waited at least 40 minutes every single trip at least once a bus, and I've stayed every level of resort - even Poly. (It was always early afternoon, to go from park to the resort - I suspect we leave during a time few people do, so not many buses.)

 

[loves to dive]

Are you sure about that? Those bus stops are spread out throughout the resort. Maybe you hiked to the wrong one?

Anyway, to answer your question, there is no such thing as the best resort for bus service. No resort has quicker service. It's all based on your personal timing on reaching a stop and your luck in when the next bus arrives.
We got home last night. Each time we walked to the bus stop we had the extreme luck of having the bus we wanted pulling up to the stop as we walked up, we never even had to sit down to wait. Needless to say, we have the report that it was the best bus service ever. Someone there the same days as us could have walked up 5 min later and found the bus pulling away and had to sit to wait for 15, 20 min and would have reports that they had the worse bus service. Which of us is right, which wrong? Neither. In reality, it's usually a mix. Half the time you get there and wait a min or two and half the time you get there and wait 15 min or so. It's rare for your luck to be bad, or good, each time. But all in all, every resort has the same levels of bus service and what 1 person found on their trip will have no bearing at all on what you find on your trip. Or even the same trip as another person at the same resort.

This. The bus is the bus is the bus and you are going to get good and bad service everywhere.

 

[heidijanesmith]

CS Castita section, building 4 has a bus stop right outside. I stayed there for a conference, it was an amazing location. CS has fantastic bus service. There are four stops, but they go very quickly and do not share with another resort.

DM stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, building 4. She said the bus stop was very close as she has hip issues.

 

[maxiesmom]

CSR. I always request to be near the fitness center, which is part of building #4. The first bus stop picked up is steps away. And CSR typically has great bus stop locations at all of the parks.

 

[LaBelleVie]

I third Coronado Springs!

 

[terri33inne]

We've stayed all levels, and honestly our best bus experiences overall have been at the Values.... Worst experiences have been at the deluxes, with moderates in the middle. While the mod's share an internal bus route with multiple stops they hit them fairly quickly... whereas WL for example stops at WL, and then goes to FtW or GF for another pick-up... IMO takes much longer.

At the end of the day it's imperfect, and sometimes it will go great, there will a bus waiting for you when you get to the stop with plenty of seats, and your at the park entrance in 20 minutes... other times you'll just miss a bus and wait 45 mins for the next one (this is from personal experience), and it will be 90 minutes before you're at park entrance... That can and has happened at every resort... no guarantees.

 

[samsteele]

POP Century or AS Sports. After years of staying onsite including 1 Deluxe (worst busing) plus a mod POR (gorgeous resort but multiple bus stops), the Values do busing best. Think about it. They transport thousands of guests. If efficient busing plus better pricing is your goal, look at the Values. POP does it very well. AS Sports does it best in the All Stars cascade.

 

[auntlatoya]

Our best bus experiences overall were at POFQ. We love the size of the resort, which leads to less people waiting for buses especially at park close.