POR bus tips???

[lornak]

After researching a little bit about the bus situation at POR, I am nervous! It seems that not too many people have good things to say about the service!! Does anyone have advice on how to maximize the bus service here? Are certain bus stops better or less crowded? I'd appreciate any advice!!!

 

[mommyintn]

We caught the bus at the West Depot which was close to our room and there was never a big crowd at that stop. The main stop was always the busiest. We never encountered any of the nightmare stories we heard about POR bus service. The longest we waited for a bus was 25 minutes and that was in the middle of the day when we were leaving Epcot. Other than that it all went really smooth.

 

[kelliz]

We haved stayed their twice during busy times and it was never as awful as described. THe main depot in the morning can be busy during the morning.

 

[Disneyof3]

We stayed there 2 years ago and yes compared to ASM the buses were slower and few and far between. But like Mommyintn said they weren't as bad as some people are saying. The longest bus we had was from MK, one night and we asked the bus driver about it and he said they NEVER leave anyone behind even if they have to take a bus from another resort and make it POR they will. We had very few that night and then a bus driver or CM saw the line up for POR and the next minute we knew 4 buses with POR showed up. At the time we had 3 kids under the age of 8 and trust me if the line ups were really bad I would of remembered and the youngest would of been screaming at the top of his lungs.

 

[rivas101202]

We stayed there in Sept and the buses were packed. It wasen't that bad though. We usually had to stand and at night coming home we had to wait for 2 or sometimes 3 busses but it is disney and there are a ton of people. I was not as bad as i expected it to be. Every one on the bus was friendly and nice. One hint though, move to the back of the bus. People don't like to move back and there is usually more room back there.
Shelly

 

[bytheblood]

I think the bus service for POFQ is great. It does pick up first, so maybe that is why the guests staying at POR do not care for it.

 

[SassyLassy]

We stayed there in Sept and the buses were packed. It wasen't that bad though. We usually had to stand and at night coming home we had to wait for 2 or sometimes 3 busses but it is disney and there are a ton of people. I was not as bad as i expected it to be. Every one on the bus was friendly and nice. One hint though, move to the back of the bus. People don't like to move back and there is usually more room back there.
Shelly

I went with Shelly and it was busy at the front! When I went with my husband though we left from the West Depot and there was NEVER more than 3 or 4 people, it was great!! Then it would go to the front stop and we would see everyone standing waiting for the bus!
As for coming back, yeah, POR has some packed buses but nothing that got crazy. We had a to wait for a couple of buses to pass then we got ours.

Actually, once we jumped on the POFQ bus and it was soooo empty! lol

 

[binky]

We caught the bus at the West Depot which was close to our room and there was never a big crowd at that stop. The main stop was always the busiest. We never encountered any of the nightmare stories we heard about POR bus service. The longest we waited for a bus was 25 minutes and that was in the middle of the day when we were leaving Epcot. Other than that it all went really smooth.

Wow, this could have been written by me! We were there in May, staying in AB #25. We caught the bus at the West Depot also, and it was practically empty when it picked us up. During our stay, the Main Depot was picked up last. We never had to stand on the way to the parks, but coming back we often had to stand, especially if we left at park closing. But I think that is how it is for most all the resorts if you leave at closing. I should add that a couple of times we had to wait for a second bus. I thought the buses were very efficient, nothing like what I've read alot on the DIS. Maybe we just got lucky, because it was pretty busy during May (including Memorial Day weekend). The only advice I would give you is to catch the bus pretty early in the morning. We were always at the Depot before 8:00. Have a great trip and good luck!

 

[drag n' fly]

After researching a little bit about the bus situation at POR, I am nervous! It seems that not too many people have good things to say about the service!! Does anyone have advice on how to maximize the bus service here? Are certain bus stops better or less crowded? I'd appreciate any advice!!!

I too would love to know how to maximize my time using the bus service. So far it appears the west depot is a good bet. Any other suggestions would be really appreciated!

 

[Mason7AK]

Just wondering what you all think - if many people from POR end up going to POFQ food court in the am for breakfast, what will that do the the dynamics of the lines for buses? Do you think the POFQ Main Depot is going to be packed and the buses full before they even hit the stops at POR?
My friend and I are staying at the end of Feb and have two children with us in wheelchairs - I am thinking we might have a LONG wait for a bus that isnt full and can take two wheelchairs!
We have even thought about switching to CSR.....but our package is paid for and hate to make changes less than six weeks before the trip!
Thanks for your insight!
Angela

 

[Fiona R]

We had only one problem with buses in our 6 night stay 16-23 Dec. We used the main South Depot, I got the impression that other Depots got missed out if the bus was full, as I said only one problem from MK back to resort mid afternoon because the drivers changed and the relief was late and there were two wheelchairs that took 20 minutes to load, the driver seemed to have problems with the lift.

 

[mommytodarlings]

We stayed there in Sept and I was very worried about the buses after reading so much about them. We didn't have that much trouble.

We always went to the main depot. We only had to stand once (well dh did) and that was on the way back from MK in the rain.

We were travelling with myself, dh and 4 children (4.5 yo, 3.5 yo, 2 yo and infant) I had the infant in a front carrier and we had 2 umbrella strollers with us that dh folded and carried.

However, we did let the first bus go a couple of times, so we could be the first people on the next bus.

I loved the POR and the bus service would not prevent me from staying there again.