Just back from a 10 night stay POR

[DONALD38]

Just returned last night from WDW and stayed at the POR for 10 nights (Sept 13 through the 23). All I can say for right now is that the buses are just horrible . Someone at WDW is not doing their homework when it comes to planning the buses . Also we have never seen so many rude, ignorant people until this trip . We meet some really nice families but the nasty ones definately make you not want to return. We found some of the CM's were also a little testy.

I will report back with a trip report later.

 

[disneydreamin-gang]

Oh No! I hate to hear that. We will be staying there next Sept and we have no choice. We are a family of 5. I will be waiting to hear details about all this. Keep us posted.

 

[Buzz2001]

Sorry about your stay. Buses can make or break it sometimes.

 

[PrincessPaczki]

DONALD38, you are absolutely right about everything you said. We were there the 14 - 22 at the POR and the buses at night were the worst that I have ever seen. My DH and I both commented about how rude people were on this trip at the parks. I can't wait to hear (and compare) the rest of your trip report!

 

[labattblue]

I'm not sure why buses are still a problem at certain resorts. The POFQ/POR bus issue is not a new problem. It has been around for years.

Very simple answer. Either give POFQ & POR their own buses or increase the frequency of the buses for this run.

Not enough buses? Buy some more!

Not enough drivers? Hire some!


Problem solved!

 

[msn4693]

Just returned last night from WDW and stayed at the POR for 10 nights (Sept 13 through the 23). All I can say for right now is that the buses are just horrible . Someone at WDW is not doing their homework when it comes to planning the buses . Also we have never seen so many rude, ignorant people until this trip . We meet some really nice families but the nasty ones definately make you not want to return. We found some of the CM's were also a little testy.

I will report back with a trip report later.

You think WDW would fix the PO bus situation by now. There is also a POFQ post about the same thing.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I agree. As much as I love POR, I hesitate to stay there again due to the bus sharing issue. If you are on the last stop at POR, you can bet you'll be standing quite a bit of the time. Because by the time it gets to you, its been to POFQ and the other stops at POR. It doesn't always happen, our first trip to POR was fine, not much sharing. Our second trip to Port Orleans, we stayed at FQ, thank God, that trip we shared every single time. Christmas week when the resorts were sold out. I was glad we were staying in FQ, I felt so sorry for the POR folks. Several times going to MK and Epcot, the drivers couldn't even stop at the last stop of POR, the bus just couldn't take any more passengers. What a nightmare for them. Again, I love this resort but they need to do something at long last to solve this problem.

Had great bus service at CBR and CSR.

 

[Lilolvr]

Someone at WDW is not doing their homework when it comes to planning the buses.

Sorry to hear about your stay. It's been an ongoing problem with the PO resorts that never seems to get corrected.

 

[kapoof]

i'm a deluxe girl but really would love to stay at pofq because it looks like such a cute fun resort, but i don't think i ever will due to the horrible bus situation. why can't disney give fq their own buses?

 

[Lilolvr]

why can't disney give fq their own buses?

good question

 

[Amy&Dan]

i'm a deluxe girl but really would love to stay at pofq because it looks like such a cute fun resort, but i don't think i ever will due to the horrible bus situation. why can't disney give fq their own buses?

If you want to stay at FQ, I wouldn't let the buses sway you from doing so. French Quarter is picked up first and dropped off first. So in the a.m., you won't have to worry, your one and only stop is first. At night, they don't always share but any resort, at park closing will have a packed stop and possible waits for other buses once the departing one is full. And at night, FQ is also dropped off first which is nice.

Even the deluxe resorts have this problem and share. What gets me is that POR is a big resort. If you are staying in that resort and your building is near the last stop, you may very well have times going to MK and Epcot in particular when the bus is full when it gets to you. Which means standing or waiting for the next bus. To me the buses at Port Orleans are more of a factor for POR than POFQ.

There is no doubt Port Orleans needs to do something about the buses. But I think some of the deluxes do too. At Boardwalk for example, I got so sick of sharing with BC, Swan and Dolphin. That resort is one I will never stay at again unless I have a car. Heck to me, even the monorail resorts would bother me if I was going anywhere but MK and Epcot. I think bus sharing in general is just a pain and Disney should do away with except at very down times of the day. Port Orleans Riverside just gets a lot of deserved criticism since its not connected to any park by anything other than buses and therefore its a big problem.

With the money you save staying at a mod, you could rent a car and solve all your problems and try this resort. It is wonderful!

 

[labattblue]

If you want to stay at FQ, I wouldn't let the buses sway you from doing so. French Quarter is picked up first and dropped off first. So in the a.m., you won't have to worry, your one and only stop is first. At night, they don't always share but any resort, at park closing will have a packed stop and possible waits for other buses once the departing one is full. And at night, FQ is also dropped off first which is nice.

Good...FQ gets picked up and dropped off first.

Bad...If after the POR bus stops, people are shoulder to shoulder and I have somebodys "behind" in my face, I'd almost rather be standing.

Run more buses or give POR their own buses. Its not rocket science.


We plan on renting a car and will probably only use buses for MK and take the boat to DTD. Anywhere else in the "world", we will drive.

 

[kapoof]

If you want to stay at FQ, I wouldn't let the buses sway you from doing so. French Quarter is picked up first and dropped off first. So in the a.m., you won't have to worry, your one and only stop is first. At night, they don't always share but any resort, at park closing will have a packed stop and possible waits for other buses once the departing one is full. And at night, FQ is also dropped off first which is nice.

Even the deluxe resorts have this problem and share. What gets me is that POR is a big resort. If you are staying in that resort and your building is near the last stop, you may very well have times going to MK and Epcot in particular when the bus is full when it gets to you. Which means standing or waiting for the next bus. To me the buses at Port Orleans are more of a factor for POR than POFQ.

There is no doubt Port Orleans needs to do something about the buses. But I think some of the deluxes do too. At Boardwalk for example, I got so sick of sharing with BC, Swan and Dolphin. That resort is one I will never stay at again unless I have a car. Heck to me, even the monorail resorts would bother me if I was going anywhere but MK and Epcot. I think bus sharing in general is just a pain and Disney should do away with except at very down times of the day. Port Orleans Riverside just gets a lot of deserved criticism since its not connected to any park by anything other than buses and therefore its a big problem.

With the money you save staying at a mod, you could rent a car and solve all your problems and try this resort. It is wonderful!

thanks for the great info! i know fq is first to pick up but what i am concerned about is having to drive thru por everytime to go anywhere. i stayed at the bc and we shared with yc but that was it. but the great trade off was we could walk to 2 parks!

my friend stayed at fq and liked the resort but said it took forever to get anywhere and would not stay there again because of it! but you are right about renting a car, that is something to think about...

 

[armomof3lvsdisney]

We love POR Have stayed there 3 times all during Spring Break which is a peak time. The last time we were there was March 2007. And we have never had a problem with the buses. I wanted to post to let the people who have upcoming trips to POR or are thinking about staying there, my family of 5 has never had a problem with the buses. POR is a beautiful, relaxing resort that has so much to offer for a Mod. resort.

 

[twinspluscade]

We were there Sept 8-16, and didn't think the busses were that bad. Yes, they got crowded at times (standing room only), but we expected that--especially at closing. We stayed at Pop last year, and busses were just as crowded there. I think a lot of it is perception: if you go knowing that you might have to stand at times, or wait a bit for a bus....you'll be fine. If you expect a bus to magically appear as soon as you reach the bus depot, full of empty seats waiting to be filled...you'll be disappointed.

I must say, the longest line I saw for any Disney transportation during our trip was for the monorail the night of the 15th. Was anyone else at MK that night? It was unreal. The line for the monorail went all the way back INTO the MK. I was actually GLAD that night to be getting on the bus.

We also thought the CM's at POR were very friendly and polite. I didn't notice any guests rude towards other guests, but did see some that were impolite towards the CM's. No please or thank you, etc. One woman rudely telling the CM at the POR food court, "I wanna cheeseburger" and then demanding, "Don't I get a dessert with that?" after receiving it. A lot of people in line at food court that had no clue how the dining plan works, and getting snippy with the CMs.

Overall, we LOVED POR, and would stay there again. It was very pretty, and the boat ride to DTD a nice touch.

Kelly

 

[PrincessDoubt]

I'm staying at POFQ Oct 6 to 13...and I'm sooo looking forward to it. (I almost cried when it wasn't available, but was able to change my booking later on).

Anyways...I knew about the buses thing and that FQ gets picked up first, but it means longer on the bus itself. So any advice for fun ways to spend the time on the bus? Does anyone know approximately how long the ride is? It's just me and my boyfriend going (a gift to me )...and my first time EVER to Disney and I want every moment to be Disneyful. Any thoughts or ideas...?

Thanks

 

[Amy&Dan]

I'm staying at POFQ Oct 6 to 13...and I'm sooo looking forward to it. (I almost cried when it wasn't available, but was able to change my booking later on).

Anyways...I knew about the buses thing and that FQ gets picked up first, but it means longer on the bus itself. So any advice for fun ways to spend the time on the bus? Does anyone know approximately how long the ride is? It's just me and my boyfriend going (a gift to me )...and my first time EVER to Disney and I want every moment to be Disneyful. Any thoughts or ideas...?

Thanks

It won't take that much longer. POFQ is very close to POR, it takes maybe 5-7 minutes longer when you share vs. not sharing. For the total ride, it depends on which park you are going to. I would say that once you leave the last stop at POR, no ride should be longer than 15-20 minutes tops. I always like to look over the park maps and times guides on my bus rides. They will give you a packet of information when you check in that has a map and times guide (this has the showtimes, hours, parade and evening entertainment schedule listed) for each park. So its nice to look that over, decide where you want to go first etc. I find the bus rides pretty enjoyable, you will meet nice people, everyone is happy because everyone is at WDW! And the scenery is pretty, its sometimes just nice to look out the window.

I will tell you that there is no food or drink allowed on the buses. So don't do what we did on our first trip: stop at the food court for a quick bite thinking you can eat in on the bus, you can't! Have a great trip, the first time at WDW is always so magical and you picked a great, romantic resort! Make sure you take the boat over to Downtown Disney at least once!

 

[mickeymousemom]

We love POR Have stayed there 3 times all during Spring Break which is a peak time. The last time we were there was March 2007. And we have never had a problem with the buses. I wanted to post to let the people who have upcoming trips to POR or are thinking about staying there, my family of 5 has never had a problem with the buses. POR is a beautiful, relaxing resort that has so much to offer for a Mod. resort.

ITA! We stay there every year in October and have never had a big problem with the busses. There have been times when we have needed a bus to MK, only to see 3 Epcot busses and a water parks bus before we get ours, but we take it in stride. No biggie, and it's only happened that way a few times. We love POR and would have a hard time staying anywhere else. Beautiful, peaceful grounds and a great place for a morning walk to the food court.

 

[hansel1]

Both of the stays we had at POR, the bus service was more than adequate. Having said that, you really need to try and get a bus at the SOUTH depot next to the general store. I have noticed that many of the busses will pick up at that depot only to drive out of the resort and head to the parks (leaving the other depots for the next available bus).

 

[Jrabbit910]

We stayed at POR in Nov 2005 and never ever did we run into any problems w/ the buses or the cm's there... Its one of our favorite resorts. I hope they fix whatever problems they are currently having. So sorry you had bad luck w/ the buses & some people.... Looking forward to reading ur tr....