Disney Transporation: to & from POFQ

[biggroofy]

A family of Five (4 adults, 1 infant) will be staying at POFQ during March break for a week. Wondering if we should enjoy Disney Transportation (Buses, boat), or should we rent a car.

Nice members in this forum adviced that buses trips from Port Orleans (French Quarter) to MGM, MK, Epcot does not take long, around 15-20 minutes (however, could be crowded).

However, from one of the threads, there is a link to the trip calculator, in which the results scares me, something like POFQ to Magic Kingdom takes 45 mins, and POFQ to Swan takes 90 mins

Can someone kindly comment on the average time required on disney transportation?

1). POFQ <-> Epcot
2). POFQ <-> MGM
3). POFQ <-> MK
4). POFQ <-> CR
5). POFQ <-> Swan
6). POFQ <-> Disney Downtown (I will take a boat anyhow)

Thanks!

 

[paults]

5). POFQ <-> Swan

4). POFQ <-> CR

about these, there's no buses resort to resort, you would need to make a transfer. That's way it could take longer.

As for to the parks , we always use disney transportation. We're on vac so don't want to drive and fight the traffic. can't help on times because it varies with time of year.

 

[Nebsky]

Hi...We stayed at POFQ last spring break and it was great.
I like the location alot. This is my favorite hotel!

After getting on the bus and leaving parking lot it took the following minutes to get there. These are estimates...It all depends on weather the bus leaves and goes into Riverside. If it does, add another 10-15 mins.

1). POFQ <-> Epcot 10-20 mins
2). POFQ <-> MGM 10-20 mins
3). POFQ <-> MK 15-20 mins
4). POFQ <-> CR 15-20 mins bus to MK....10 mins to walk
5). POFQ <-> Swan 10-20 mins to DTD, then another 15-25 on another bus
6). POFQ <-> Disney Downtown (I will take a boat anyhow) 25 mins on the boat. GREAT!!!!! 12 mins to DTD.

 

[biggroofy]

Thank you guys!

I guess the average time is not bad, better to go for Disney transporation in this case. I was worried (thought of car rental option) since one day we are having breakfast at Contempoary Resort (Chef Mickey) at 8:30am. So I guess leaving POFQ at 7:30am (including time waiting for buses) should be good enough?

so POFQ (Bus) -> MK, and then faster to walk to CR than taking monorail?

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

One hour is plenty of time to get to Chef Mickey's. The walk to the Contemporary is around seven minutes from the MK entrance. From the bus stop as you face the MK just turn right when you get on the walk and continue. You will be walking away from the MK entrance with the monorail station behind you and the monorail tracks above you to your left. Can't miss it.
To get to the Swan the easiest way is to go from either Epcot or the Disney Studios. You can walk from the Epcot International Gateway (near United Kingdom) in about ten minutes. As you exit Epcot just keep walking straight. The Beach Club will come up first on your right, then the Yacht Club and the Swan is straight ahead.
From the Disney Studios it's a longer walk so you may want to take the Friendship boats. They run continuous service from the Studios to the Epcot IG stopping along the way at the Swan/Dolphin, Boardwalk, and Beach/Yacht Clubs. You can take the boat from the Epcot IG but the walk is ususally faster.

 

[biggroofy]

Thanks wdwgoofeee for the detail explanation. In this case, I will probably forget about renting a car.

Does anyone know how far is DWD from Orlando International Airport? In other words, how long does Disney's Magical Express take, to drop you off at your resort?

 

[JennSaint]

In the case of Pofq to Swan I might take a cab. Fare would probably be around $10-12. We have done this a few times when going from resort to resort and found it pretty inexpensive and quicker then switching buses etc.

 

[biggroofy]

Thanks JennSaint. We would like to take a cap too, however, since we have a 2-year-old child, need to verify:
1). Does taxi has car-seat available (i heard it is compulsory for kids under 8)?
2). Can a taxi accomodate 4 adults + 1 infant?

Are there caps waiting at resorts, or you have to call them to come?

 

[UrsulasShadow]

DME averages about 1.5 hours, from flight landing until you get to check-in. I've heard some luck into 1/2 hour travels, and have heard (but find doubtful) 3 hours for the longest. Mine was almost exactly 1.5 hours.

 

[JennSaint]

Thanks JennSaint. We would like to take a cap too, however, since we have a 2-year-old child, need to verify:
1). Does taxi has car-seat available (i heard it is compulsory for kids under 8)?
2). Can a taxi accomodate 4 adults + 1 infant?

Are there caps waiting at resorts, or you have to call them to come?

Unfortunately I cannot answer your question regarding car seats since I've never traveled with a 2 year old. My boys were 4 & 5 on our first trip to Disney. Maybe the hotel could confirm the car seat issue for you?

I know a taxi can accomodate 4 adults ( 1 in the front seat and 3 in the back)
My guess is you'd need 2 cabs though with also having an infant.

Most of the time there are cabs really close by and we only end up waiting approximately 5-10 minutes.

Good Luck! Using Disney transportation and taking a couple of cabs a few times during your stay will be much cheaper than renting a car.

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Thanks JennSaint. We would like to take a cap too, however, since we have a 2-year-old child, need to verify:
1). Does taxi has car-seat available (i heard it is compulsory for kids under 8)?
2). Can a taxi accomodate 4 adults + 1 infant?

Are there caps waiting at resorts, or you have to call them to come?

You can ask bell svcs to call a taxi-van, that seats 8, and make sure they have the car seat.
We had 5 adults, though, and what we got was a regular taxi. Driver didn't care, though, and we all piled in...figured it was his ticket...although I have to say, it was a little nerve-wracking not to have everyone with safety belts!
A sign in the front seat only said that all front-seat passengers must wear a safety belt, though. Is that the law in FL?

 

[Nebsky]

Thanks wdwgoofeee for the detail explanation. In this case, I will probably forget about renting a car.

Does anyone know how far is DWD from Orlando International Airport? In other words, how long does Disney's Magical Express take, to drop you off at your resort?

Both times I have used ME it has been AWESOME!!
Both times we were off the plane and in the bus rolling to the resorts in less than 20 mins. In June, my son and I stayed at Pop. 1st stop. 2nd time back in Nov, we were the 1st stop only because we were the only ones one the bus. I would think that POFQ would get dropped off before Riverside otherwise. We were at the resort in roughly 45 mins total.

 

[biggroofy]

Thank you everyone for the valuable advice. I think I will make use of Disney Transportation, and avoid driving on my own. For resort -> resorts, I will try to call a taxi that can seats 8 persons (with car seat), unless they are ok to take an infant without car seat (is that against the Florida traffic law?) - since with the bulky car seat, i am sure a regualr taxi cannot ammodocate 4 adult passengers + 1 child on the car seat.

Oh yes, I found another site that estimates transportation time -
http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.asp?action=rts

POFQ -> Epcot: 34 mins
POFQ -> MK: 17 mins
POFQ -> MGM: 18 mins
* Add 5-10 minutes at each segment wait time for transportation

I am just a bit surprised, since Epcot requires the longest transportation time, according to them. By looking at the map, it seems MK is farthest, and Epcot is closest to POFQ.

 

[JennSaint]

Thank you everyone for the valuable advice. I think I will make use of Disney Transportation, and avoid driving on my own. For resort -> resorts, I will try to call a taxi that can seats 8 persons (with car seat), unless they are ok to take an infant without car seat (is that against the Florida traffic law?) - since with the bulky car seat, i am sure a regualr taxi cannot ammodocate 4 adult passengers + 1 child on the car seat.

Oh yes, I found another site that estimates transportation time -
http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.asp?action=rts

POFQ -> Epcot: 34 mins
POFQ -> MK: 17 mins
POFQ -> MGM: 18 mins
* Add 5-10 minutes at each segment wait time for transportation

I am just a bit surprised, since Epcot requires the longest transportation time, according to them. By looking at the map, it seems MK is farthest, and Epcot is closest to POFQ.

When we stayed at POFQ last February it never took 34 minutes to get to Epcot once we boarded a bus. I would say it was no more than 15 minutes.