I just got back from a 5 night stay, and we used buses 4 days out of 5 (used the boat to Disney Springs/Downtown Disney the first day...it was amazing!).
We were in a royal room in Oak Manor and walked to the bus stop in front of the lobby for every bus. The buses were usually empty when they arrived at that stop...and left directly to the park from that stop (aka, I don't know if they hit the other 3 stops around POR and just didn't get anyone else on board, or if we just got a direct lobby to park bus each time). On the way home, twice I had a direct park to lobby stop bus. Every other time (4 or 5 or so rides...as I went to and from parks each day), the lobby stop was the last stop on the return route, as the bus did the entire circuit around POR. I learned quickly that there was a 'back of the resort' stop that was equal walking distance to my room as the lobby stop was.
We went to 4 parks in 4 days...and would leave in the afternoon and go back at nights some days. Wait times for the buses at the resorts were short. One wait time at a park for the bus was long (15 minutes), but most waits were short, and about half were no waits (we walked to the bus stop and the bus was there and loading). Most times, the buses were empty, but at night and especially closer to the weekend, the buses on the way home to the resort were very full.
One night, when we had a late ADR at a Boardwalk resort restaurant, we figured we could take the bus and boat and make it on time...but we didn't want the stress, so opted for a taxi. Bell services had the taxi there immediately, and 6 of us split the $12 plus tip ride. We made it to the resort in plenty of time and were able to get a before dinner drink while we waited on the rest of our party to arrive.
So, in a nutshell...2 of the 3 past few trips I've taken to Disney during October have been spent at deluxe resorts where I could depend on easy access to at least two parks (Yacht Club/Epcot and Studios and Poly/MK and Epcot). While it was a bit easier to get back to my deluxe resort from certain parks, I was very happy with the overall transportation from POR (buses, boat, cab). During a low to mid-season stay, I'd easily chose to stay at POR again. The transportation was fine, the grounds were gorgeous, the rooms comfy, CMs friendly, and the price unbeatable.
We will be in POR in Sept 2016
