Best Resort for Bus Service?

[Therapeutic Smile]

So in the past, I've stayed at resorts in the Epcot/MGM area, and always loved the convenience of getting (almost) everywhere sans bus. Last December, I stayed at POR, and had to take a bus everywhere shy of DTD. This winter, DGF and I are going to WDW, and I want to evaluate all our options, including the bus transportation situations at different resorts.

Does anyone have any comments about buses to/from resorts they've stayed at? I wasn't terribly impressed with POR's system, having to go around to two or three stops in order to leave the resort, then stopping at POFQ, then sometimes somewhere else (OKW? CBR? I can't recall)... and if I could afford it, believe me, we'd be staying at an Epcot area or Monorail resort, but we want to stay under $100 a night (value season) so our options are Value resorts or, if we can get a good discount rate like I did last year ($84 for POR), a Moderate.

Can anyone help me? Let me know what some of the bus situations are at the Mods/Vals... because if I could afford it, I'd just end all this and stay at the Poly or the BWI

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

For Port Orleans, morning routing is dynamic. Often, the bus will only make half the stops, with another bus being assigned the other half.

For the afternoon, all theme park buses start at FQ, then go to Riverside. The MK will have separate buses for each.

Downtown Disney is the only bus that goes to Riverside, and then FQ.

Port Orleans does not share with any other resort.

 

[NHBelle]

Well I think AKL has the best bus system, becasue it does not share a bus and makes no other stops, BUT since thats a deluxe we are going to try CSR. We heard they also do not share a bus, so I am hoping it'll be good.

 

[betterlatethannever]

There is only one stop at the AKL and it doesn't share with anybody else.
There is only one stop at POP and it doesn't share with anybody else.

The following resorts do not share with anybody else but have several stops within the resort.
PO
CSR
CBR

The following resorts only have one stop but share (at times) with other resorts
ASSp
ASM
ASMo
YC
BC
BWI
S
D

Ed

 

[Uncle Buck]

I did some resort hopping on my last trip. POR was awful. Just when you'd see your bus coming, they would switch the marquee for some other destination.

POP was very slick.

 

[simzac]

This is a very difficult question to answer, and here's why. Lets say 2 families are both staying at the same resort and have identical family members. Because of timing, family A always walks up to the bus stop 2 minutes before the bus they want arrives, always finds a short line, and never boards a crowded bus. Family B always walks up to the bus stop 2 minutes after the previous bus left, finds long lines at each stop(yes both scenerios can happen on the same day), and always gets on a bus packed to the gills. Family A comes home and tells these boards how great the bus service was on their trip, family B tells these same boards how lowsy the bus service was. Moral of the story is this, the buses along with the monorail and the boats are complimentary transportation, accept it as that, allow enough time in your daily travels for delays, and you will find that the bus service at any resort is just fine.

 

[Therapeutic Smile]

simzac, that is true, but the information I was looking for was exactly what betterlatethannever posted... thanks so much! We'd been considering POP, ASMo, CSR... the bus situation alone could keep us at POP in the event we go Value, but it's good to know CSR doesn't stop at other resorts.

I was sure that the POR buses stopped not only at POFQ (I know it's "one resort" now, but the extra stop still bothered me) but somewhere else as well... OKW, I thought... I guess I could have been mistaken.

Thanks for the info, all. AKL does sound nice, but if we go Deluxe, it will be at a Monorail or Epcot-area resort.