POR/FQ buses

[BebopBaloo]

Are the buses really that bad at POR? I've read many reviews about bus service and realize that all resorts have their bad days and that even a lot of the deluxes have multiple stops. It seems though that there are a lot of complaints about the buses from POR and some for POFQ which shares w/ POR.

If you had good bus service, when did you go, and what do you consider good?

If it was bad, when did you go, and what do you consider bad?

 

[kerri0616]

Visited 12/24/11-12/30/11. POFQ. I would call the bus service excellent. We waited at our bus stop every morning quite early (6:30 am) in order to make 7am rope drop. We were never late for rope drop and we did NOT make the rounds through POR on those early mornings. We had one afternoon when we did have to go to POR, but that was a one-time occurrence.

Our longest wait at a park for our return bus was 10 minutes. I think we had to stand on maybe just 2 occasions the entire week.

We were there during THE busiest week of the year!

I can only give rave reviews to the resort itself. Bus service was the cherry on top of the sundae!

 

[Luvmepluto]

We have stayed at POR numerous times and including are upcoming stay....we have never had any issues with the bus system there. Now....they do have multiple stops so you need to make sure that you know which depot you are near. Trust me...it can be a long walk if you get off at the wrong stop!

I can't wait to be back!

 

[goofygal531]

We had amazing bus service this past October! It honestly surprised me.

PO-FQ has only one bus stop unlike PO-R and the other moderate resorts. Therefore the service is much more efficient.

I have to tell you, with the recent room refurb, queen beds, small resort and excellent bus service I'd stay there again over any EPCOT area resort. They have the worst bus service! One bus for five resorts!

PO-FQ is Disney's best secret, not DVC

 

[etemplet]

We visited in 2010 and 2011 and stayed at POR both times. Bus service was very very good, everywhere we went.

 

[jba2]

We visited Jan. 1-6/2012 and we never waited more than five minutes. We usually drive to the parks but we didn't have a car this visit. We were very impressed with the bus and boat service (to DTD).

 

[disneybliss2]

We've only stayed at POFQ, so I can only comment on it's bus service and not POR. When we stayed at POFQ (summer), the bus service was EXCELLENT! We had only stayed at Pop previously, so that's all we had to compare it to. World of difference! There's only one bus pick up/drop off area, but the most people we ever saw there was 10 of one morning. We usually only had to wait five min. for a bus, once it was closer to 10 min. under a cool, shaded area. It was always calm and relaxing--no fight for getting a seat, worried if everyone would fit on the bus or if we'd have to wait on the next one to come, etc. We were very impressed!

 

[Luvmepluto]

We've only stayed at POFQ, so I can only comment on it's bus service and not POR. When we stayed at POFQ (summer), the bus service was EXCELLENT! We had only stayed at Pop previously, so that's all we had to compare it to. World of difference! There's only one bus pick up/drop off area, but the most people we ever saw there was 10 of one morning. We usually only had to wait five min. for a bus, once it was closer to 10 min. under a cool, shaded area. It was always calm and relaxing--no fight for getting a seat, worried if everyone would fit on the bus or if we'd have to wait on the next one to come, etc. We were very impressed!

I agree that it is a world of difference when you compare it to Pop. That is the reason that we upgraded from a Value to a Moderate this year.

 

[disneychic2]

We've stayed at POFQ several times in September and once in November and we found the bus service excellent. We seldom shared with POR and the waits were, for the most part of short duration. We stayed at POR once and we didn't care for all the internal stops, but the waits weren't bad at all. We always go at less busy times, so this may not be everyone's experience.

 

[StarGirl11]

We had amazing bus service this past October! It honestly surprised me.

PO-FQ has only one bus stop unlike PO-R and the other moderate resorts. Therefore the service is much more efficient.

I have to tell you, with the recent room refurb, queen beds, small resort and excellent bus service I'd stay there again over any EPCOT area resort. They have the worst bus service! One bus for five resorts!

PO-FQ is Disney's best secret, not DVC

I agree on POFQ being Disney's best secret! Absolutely adored the hotel when my Mom and I stayed there last Jan for the marathon. Would be staying there in two weeks if they had rooms available when we went to book. But alas they didn't have the type of room I needed!

About the bus system during the last trip I took the buses once, and that was to DHS on the last full day of the trip. And the DHS route is one of the ones that stops at all the stops at Riverside. The only thing I seemed to notice is that you need to be careful about where you get off (there are four bus stops) and the further along the route you are (or basically the further you are from the front I believe) the more full the bus is when it gets to you. But that's more common sense than anything.

 

[Terk-1]

Are the buses really that bad at POR? I've read many reviews about bus service and realize that all resorts have their bad days and that even a lot of the deluxes have multiple stops. It seems though that there are a lot of complaints about the buses from POR and some for POFQ which shares w/ POR.

If you had good bus service, when did you go, and what do you consider good?

If it was bad, when did you go, and what do you consider bad?

I was there in early November and stayed at POFQ. As it always picks up & drops off at POFQ first, never ran into a problem getting a seat when picking up @ POFQ. We had some days where we would see 5 buses for Animal Kingdom before we saw the first one for EPCOT. When the buses did not share with POR, we were on our way quickly. When we did have to share, that was a different story. Painfully slow getting around all the stops for POR before heading to whatever park we were going to.

One afternoon it took 45 minutes to get from POFQ to EPCOT. The bus was packed at POFQ and the driver asked if anyone was getting off at POR. Everyone said no, but the driver went to POR anyway. Well, as no one was getting off and there was no room for anyone to get on, it took a very long time just to get around the property, as he would sit at each stop for awhile knowing no one was getting off and he could not legally fit anyone else on.
Transportation was just as slow getting from the parks back to the resort. Long, long lines, lots of buses for the deluxe resorts and very few for the moderates. Took over an hour one night to get from the Magic Kingdom back to the resort.

By this point, we were all wishing we had rented a car. This was the first time we had regretted using just Disney transportation.

I don't blame the resorts for this, but rather transportation. We may have just had a bad time frame with transportation, but it actually made me contact them directly to complain (and I never do that). Am planning a stay later this fall and am hoping for better service.

 

[Missytara]

For resorts that share buses, you will always have crowds at peak times.

I always travel on slightly off peak times and have never had an issue with the buses. Also, I often travel alone, so I don't mind waiting a bit to get a seat on the next bus.

The only frustration I found earlier on, is you would see three MK buses come in a row (the first one would fill up and not another was needed), but no DHS. They have solved that issue with better dispatching. However, sometimes, they change the sign after they are at the stop and you can no longer see it from the front. All of the sudden, it is a DHS bus and everyone is rushing on it and that one fills up too.

The good part about the POFQ/POR is that you have a second option, from the resorts, to take the DTD bus. I always end my day at one of the resorts, either for dinner or drinks. Then I take either the first parks bus or the DTD bus.

Once you get to DTD, it is a five minute or so walk to the water taxi. After 4 pm, they run every 10 minutes, so it is never a long wait, unless it is the last taxi of the night.

 

[CynBeth]

We stayed at POFQ during Thanksgiving Week and found the bus system excellent. We were at the bus stop around 7:30 am and the buses for the parks came quickly. Yes we made the stops at POR but it was very quick and we were at the parks in no time. For the most part coming back from the parks we did not share a bus and did not wait long at the parks for a bus. The few times we park or resort hopped and had to get a bus from our resort in the afternoon or evening also was a great experience. We also enjoyed the boat to DTD.

 

[PixieDustFanatic]

We just came back from a weeklong stay at POR, I have nothing but good things to say about the transportation! I, too, was worried given past reviews I had read, but we did not experience any troubles. We arrived promptly for rope drop, never had to wait long at park closing and had no issues during midday either.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We stayed at POFQ the first week of Oct and had FANTASTIC bus service. One day we experienced what the poster above did where we stopped at every POR stop even though there was no more room on the bus. Other than that day, we didn't share with POR any other times. We never waited more than 5 minutes or so for a bus.

 

[camandjacksmom]

I think those bad bus rumors were from some of us who love POR/PFQ so much that we want people to run away screaming to keep it the best moderate resort out there!!! If you go to the main bus stop your wait is minimal. We have gone in June and Febraury during both times the waits were really short. Even the bus to HS during Star Wars weekend was managable. We got on the first one no fuss!! The longest time Ive ever waited was on the bus coming home but I think that is with any of the resorts.

 

[boscov]

I have stayed there several times and I have never had an issue with the bus service. I think only once did I wait more than a couple minutes. One tip I can offer for POR - when going to the parks, especially in the morning, get on the bus at the main stop. The buses come a lot faster here in the morning and fill up quick so they generally don't make other stops. Then, get off at the stop closest to your building when you come back.

 

[BebopBaloo]

It's encouraging to see so many good bus reviews. We'd really like to try POR on our next trip. The bad bus reviews were making me a little uncomfortable about choosing it. We really enjoy being able to just use Disney transportation, even if we have a car. However, I didn't want to spend half the trip waiting on buses.

Thanks for the feedback and advice!

 

[Moneypenny]

We were at POR 2/4 - 2/11 and the bus service was great. We always went to the North Depot (not the main one). We never waited more than 10 minutes for a pickup from POR (and generally it was closer to 5). Sometimes we did stop at POFQ on the way to the park, but that didn't take more than a few minutes since POFQ only has one stop and the resorts are right next to each other.

Leaving Epcot one afternoon we did wait about 15 minutes for a bus to come, but that was the worst of it. Sometimes on the way back to POR the bus would stop at POFQ first, but again, that only added a few minutes.

We had to stand once leaving MK after Wishes, but I expected that and the drive from MK to POR is short so it wasn't an issue.

 

[Missytara]

It's encouraging to see so many good bus reviews. We'd really like to try POR on our next trip. The bad bus reviews were making me a little uncomfortable about choosing it. We really enjoy being able to just use Disney transportation, even if we have a car. However, I didn't want to spend half the trip waiting on buses.

Thanks for the feedback and advice!

You will find as you are on the boards more, there is a tendency on some subjects for 90% of the posts you read are people complaining about something and 10% complimenting the same item. For every one person who comes home and posts how great their trip was, the other 9 will post something that they loathed about their trip.

It is just human nature.