Just back from Riverside.....

[sazcjg]

I was concerned about the talk of the poor bus service, the long walks due to the size of the resort, poor housekeeping before we left. Well here is my opinion now that we are back after 7 days staying at Riverside. I requested building 14 or 15. I got building 15, room 1537. It was a good walk to the lobby, food court etc but not near as far as other buildings so definately request 14 or 15! The housekeeping was fine! Actually we enjoyed coming "home" to towell animals every night Now for the bus situation......from epcot it is terrible!!!! chose to take a cab several times From Magic Kingdom it wasnt bad at all Riverside had its own bus and was not paired up with French quarter. Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom were hit and miss sometimes not so bad others just terrible To sum this up the busses were very frustrating most of the time. Will definately rent a car IF we ever stay here again.

 

[cepmom]

thanks for the review. We are staying at POR for the first time in August. We have always rented a car in the past, except when it was just me and my kids last August at Pop Century. I wasn't thrilled with having to take the bus every where but it wasn't all that bad.

I have heard mixed reviews on the bus service from POR so I was hesitant to not get a rental again. DH is not a fan of bus service and would be especially annoyed if the service was spotty. I think we'll stick with a rental this trip...most likely using bus service for MK only.

When did you a make your building request? I want to request a building also, but wasn't sure if I should do that now or wait until closer to our arrival date.

 

[kaybird]

When this happens, we often take the MK bus, then just hop the monorail to EPCOT. It is an easy hop, and saves $$ and frustration

 

[Minnie&Nana]

When did you a make your building request? I want to request a building also, but wasn't sure if I should do that now or wait until closer to our arrival date.

It's always good to make your request as soon as you make the reservation(or call any time to add it)...then be prepared at check-in to ask about your request and if not available have a few back-ups. Hopefully, the CM checking your family in will be willing to go over possibilities with you.

Have a great trip!!

 

[KayakDaddy]

I guess we have just been lucky with the buses during our stays at POR. It seemed like during the morning rush POR had separate buses from POFQ during the morning rush, then they shared buses during the less busy mid-day.

One thing that helped us a lot was a tip that I got off of the Disboards. To catch the early morning buses to get to the parks before rope drop, we walked across the bridge to wait for the bus out in front of the main building. That way we were the first on the bus and we got real seats. By the time the busses made it around to the stops that would have been closest to our building they were either full or standing room only.

 

[mousehouselover]

We were at POR a month ago and didn't like it. It was too big, the dining room was loud, we almost always took the car to the main building and we the hot tub was always full.

Our bus stop (closest to buildings 24-29) was the first stop at POR and we had to go around to all the other stops before leaving the resort. We barely made (or were a bit late) for a few early breakfasts. We opted to drive a few days just so we didn't have to deal with the bus.

We only booked POR because we are a family of 5 and needed the trundle. I would suck it up and do it again only if we had no other lodging options to stay on site. Neither DH nor I were impressed with the resort.

 

[chickenskin]

I highly recommend renting a car, I know it's and additional expense but it is well worth it for convenience sake.

 

[wideeyes]

we went last year to POR and I found the buses fine, the only bus that was a problem was POR - BB which was always full in the morning when it arrived at POR, even if they sent another that would also be full. We ended up going to TL instead. They was plenty of buses at park closing time though.

 

[toystorymom]

We also stayed at POR because we are a family of 5 and were in the AB section (sorry, can't remember the building #). I thought the resort was beautiful, very peaceful walking around seeing ducks and rabbits, etc. The food court was good and the walk there wasn't too bad, and we almost always used the small pool just outside our building rather than walk to the main pool. Often had it completely to ourselves.

We did have our own car and used it for most of the parks. When we took the bus we always walked to the main building to catch it there, that was the closest stop for us. Then we went to the other stops around the resort. I remember thinking there was no way I would want to be staying in one of those buildings - way too far from the food court etc in the main building. Felt like you would need to take a bus to use your refillable mug! And after a long day in the park, the walk up to the second floor was tough carrying a sleeping child.

I think we may try the AS Music Suites or 2 connecting rooms in a value next time.

 

[Lilolvr]

Now for the bus situation......from epcot it is terrible!!!! chose to take a cab several times From Magic Kingdom it wasnt bad at all Riverside had its own bus and was not paired up with French quarter. Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom were hit and miss sometimes not so bad others just terrible To sum this up the buses were very frustrating most of the time. Will definately rent a car IF we ever stay here again.

I know what you mean. It's terrible that a resort this large shares with another resort.

 

[REL1203]

I just returned from a 10day stay at POR and I really found the buses to be bad. Sharing with another complete resort always sucked. Even if you were on the first stop of POR, the buses were always half full at minimum, usually more in the morning. We were near the last bus stop, and one morning, 4 completely full MK buses drove right by me not even stopping. I really really disliked the buses. I wouldnt return to POR cause of this. I also didnt like that you could hear every time any toilet within 50yards of your room flushed you could hear it in yoru room since they use the high pressure flush toilets. I stayed in the mansion section. The resort looks beautiful I will add though, just I will stay at CSR or try CBR next time i want to try a Mod.

 

[Bibbidi]

Just wanted to chime in here because we've stayed at POR several times and haven't really had a problem with busses. I think it is lousy that they share with POFQ, but last year we stayed at the BC and had to share with the YC and Swan/Dolphin stops. Not only that, but we had to wait over 40 minutes for a bus once at the MK in the middle of the day. My point is, I don't think it matters so much what resort it is, but that poor bus service can happen with any hotel at any time. I think if you can roll with the punches and know that at times there might be a wait, then it will be less frustrating. POR is my favorite mod and I wouldn't let the concern of bus service steer me away if I want to stay there again next time.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

So true about buses and resorts - BC/YC/BW, Swan/Dolphin have terrible bus service! Waited so long and no fun having to stop at so many resorts.

AKL buses often stop at a water park, WL shares buses, Poly and GF share buses...longest bus wait we ever had was at GF.

So, guess it just depends on the season, crowds etc. Or maybe luck!!

 

[maxiesmom]

I just returned from a 10day stay at POR and I really found the buses to be bad. Sharing with another complete resort always sucked. Even if you were on the first stop of POR, the buses were always half full at minimum, usually more in the morning. We were near the last bus stop, and one morning, 4 completely full MK buses drove right by me not even stopping. I really really disliked the buses. I wouldnt return to POR cause of this. I also didnt like that you could hear every time any toilet within 50yards of your room flushed you could hear it in yoru room since they use the high pressure flush toilets. I stayed in the mansion section. The resort looks beautiful I will add though, just I will stay at CSR or try CBR next time i want to try a Mod.

Just a fyi, while CBR does not share with another resort, it does have seven bus stops all its own. So I don't think that resort would have a better bus system than POR. CSR's busses tend to be less full, because they have so many convention guests that don't go to the parks. But CSR is pretty far from all of the parks, except for the Animal Kingdom.

I agree with the other posters who say that the bus service can be hit or miss all over. Our worst experience with the busses was when we stayed at the Beach Club. I much prefer the busses at POR.

 

[Lilolvr]

CSR's busses tend to be less full, because they have so many convention guests that don't go to the parks. But CSR is pretty far from all of the parks, except for the Animal Kingdom.

Not so, CSR has quick rides to all the parks and is the most central to the 3 parks. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World in part three "Selecting your Hotel" it states that the commuting times to the parks from CSR are: 7:30 to MK; 4:00 to Epcot; 4:45 to MGM; and 4:45 to Animal Kingdom! As a comparison from POR it is 12:00 to MK; 8:00 to Epcot; 12:30 to MGM; and 16:15 to AK. See the map below.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1390487

 

[Mickey23]

I agree about the transportation. It's better to rent a car.

 

[AmberLuvsWDW]

We're planning our first trip to POR in Aug. We usually stay at CR, but wanted to try a mod. Not too thrilled about these reports. Maybe we'll try somewhere else.

 

[nikki'smom]

Sorry about the transportation. Hopefully you were still able to have a good time.

 

[ampc3]

We also just got back from 8nights stayed in bldg 18.. I had requested either 18 or 14. 14 is the closest to everything, but 18 was nice and close as well..

We thought it was beautiful, we were prepared for it being big and spread out. Housekeeping was fine, didn't get any towel animals but, she always put the kids stuffed animals in some sort of pose.

Yes buses were hit or miss, MK had the best set up b/c you don't have to share. There never seemed to be any rhyme or reason to which stop would be picked up or dropped off first.. We stood 90% of the time at night, stood a few times in the am. We did have a car as well, but only drove our last night b/c we had dinner at the POLY then we just hopped the monorail over to the MK, that was soo nice when we left the park we were back in our car in less than 15min after leaving the park.

I know we kept hearing stories about the Epcot bus when we were there. We got lucky in the am for the most part, our problems were always coming home.

The resort really is beautiful tho.

 

[YesMickey]

We're planning our first trip to POR in Aug. We usually stay at CR, but wanted to try a mod. Not too thrilled about these reports. Maybe we'll try somewhere else.

Whoa, You are spoiled staying at CR. Bus service is just that, "mass transit". If you plan ahead and aren't running late the busses are fine. My guess is the people that are complaining, complain about alot anyway. We usually give ourselves 45min. when taking a bus at Disney. That way if we get there early we are early and go do something real quick. Something we overlook on other trips. If the bus is running late or slow, we are still ok. It's vacation, you are supposed to enjoy yourself and relax. POR is great because of the boat to DTD, and I have heard people complain about that too here. Go to POR, you' ll love it.