PO-R busses question

[mommy23]

Can anyone tell me how the bus transportation from PO-R to the parks has been lately? I know a few months back there were a lot of complaints posted. I'm hoping that the service is more reliable now. TIA


Sylvia

 

[TWOOD]

We just returned from POR 8/1-8/5. We used a bus to go to MK, DD, & Epcot, and had no problems. After MK closed, there were separate buses for FQ & RS, which really helped. We had a great time and never had to stand on the bus. It did take a while to return 1 afternoon from DD because a storm was so bad that TL was closed, so the traffic in & out was a nightmare. That was the only lengthy bus ride we had. Hope this helps.

 

[mommy23]

Yes it does. Thank you.

 

[Gretchen2]

We just got back from Port Orleans, the French Quarter side where they only had one busstop. Riverside had all four stops working and on route to the parks the pick up order was FQ then Riverside so your wait there would be shorter, and back it was FQ then Riverside for drop off. Magic Kingdom did have direct buses from each side. The only destination we had a problem with was Downtown Disney when we waited 45 minutes at the hotel to get a bus. So if you have a car with you, you may want to drive to Downtown Disney instead, or use the boat (they only run them from 4-11:30 I believe)

Gretchen

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

For the four Theme Parks, busses should run pretty regularly. In the morning, the busses are dispatched via MOD... Magic On Demand. In the Afternoon, most hubs will convert to our *NEW* Flex Dispatch. Busses typically are dispatched at 12-15 minute intervals. (whereas in previous, the busses were on set routes, and could get delayed, or run early/late... now, they are dispatched each time in... thus eliminating early/late)

All parks combine French Quarter, and Riverside... except Magic Kingdom. During busy seasons, they are separated, however, when things slow down, they are occassionally combined.

Stops go: (FQ,) South, West, North, East
--OR-- (FQ,) West, North, East, South


As for Downtown Disney... The past month has not been fun for the folks working at Downtown Disney. While Flex Dispatch worked WONDERS for the Magic Kingdom, it experienced some glitches with Downtown Disney. Partly due to the fact of all of the construction, and the other part is because of the logistics and complexity of the DTD routes. So, as it stands, Downtown Disney is back on fixed routes for the time being.

A few things to keep in mind... If the bus does not say "DOWNTOWN DISNEY" on it... it doesn't go there. And the driver probably has no clue when the DTD bus will arrive.

If it just started to rain, pour, storm, or whatnot... expect delays for the Downtown Disney bus. The reason for this is because everyone is mass-exiting Typhoon Lagoon, and the designers forgot to take this into consideration when designing the exit road. Huge traffic jam... and Security operating the lights doesnt help either. *sigh* (Not to mention, the traffic lights have been going out lately... grr)

If the Downtown Disney bus does arrive late... please understand that it is not the drivers fault, and that both the driver and the coordinator are doing everything they can do to get things going.

Please keep in mind though... what I have said about Downtown Disney is purely worst case scenario, and for the most part, the past week or two has been operating smoothly from what I have been hearing. We are working hard of course to make things even better.

 

[mommy23]

Thank you to all who responded. We will be there soon and my husband does not want to rent a car this time. This will be the first trip without a car and I'm not quite sure I like it.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by mommy23
Thank you to all who responded. We will be there soon and my husband does not want to rent a car this time. This will be the first trip without a car and I'm not quite sure I like it.

Relax... let us do the driving for you.

Think of it this way... We do the driving for you... so you won't get lost, or have to deal with those who are lost.

Our busses are air-conditioned (Some feel like meat lockers), whereas your car would be hot from sitting in the sun all day

We drop you off right at the front gate... no taking a tram, or walking far.

Also... keep in mind, Disney Transport is CONSTANTLY changing how we work (on an internal level), and as such, Service is always getting better. So, a comment on poor service 4 months ago, may have been rectified with a new change in service 2 weeks ago.

For example, in the past month, the Magic Kingdom implemented Flex Dispatch. This new form of afternoon/evening dispatch keeps the daytime busses running more frequently, and always on time. Last week Epcot started Flexing... and soon, Studios and DAK will Flex as well.

Another thing to note... morning park busses are staged and dispatched from a parking lot inside Port Orleans, so the morning rush is easily handled.

 

[whozit]

Just back (8/8/02-8/15/02). Experienced no bus problems at all. Left between 8:30am and 9am most mornings, wait was less than 5 minutes every time except for Animal Kingdom (that was about 10 minutes). Had to stand going to Animal Kingdom also, and also to Blizzard Beach, had seats every other time. Left after the fireworks at MK on Friday and there was quite a line for POR, looked like we'd be waiting quite a while and probably standing, but there was a bus with 2 people on it for POFQ. Decided to take that bus and figure out another way back to POR from POFQ....the bus filled up with others making the same decision, and as we pulled away from the MK, the driver announced that this bus only was scheduled to go to FQ, and asked how many were staying at Riverside, when 98% of the riders responded, he said he would swing by and make a drop at Riverside after the FQ stop. Can't complain about the bus service. (Also, used the boat transportation from Downtown Disney one afternoon(the boat was there when we got there, but we probably waited about 10 minutes for it to fill up and then depart).

 

[MICOL]

We were there for 7 days during the busy April Season and found the buses to work well. Only wait would be for the Magic Kingdom as that bus was always full.

 

[seashoreCM]

Is Downtown Disney Westside bus stop operating again?

If so, has WDW considered converting the Typhoon Lagoon service to a shuttle to Westside while all other DD buses skipped TL during TL's closing rushes?

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by seashoreCM
Is Downtown Disney Westside bus stop operating again?

If so, has WDW considered converting the Typhoon Lagoon service to a shuttle to Westside while all other DD buses skipped TL during TL's closing rushes?

The West Side bus stop is currently closed. It's a shame too, because they just re-did it... *shrug* To be honest, I dont know why the closed it, nor if or when it will reopen.

As for TL busses... the problem really lies with the exit road layout... it wasnt designed very well. The Disney/MGM Studios has the same problem during a park exit. I really wish they'd build an auxilliary exit from the Studios guest parking lot to Victory Way, thus alleviating a lot of the congestion.