POR transportation

[Christinaxo]

Hey guys! So right now I am booked at POFQ because of the one bus stop and compact size, but man does POR look stunning! Everything about it is so much more appealing to us and with my kids being older, 10 & 6, I feel like they would enjoy the amenities at POR more. We don't mind having to walk around (we stayed at CSR last year and were a good walk away from the food court/main building and had no issues) but I have read, and heard, horror stories about POR's transportation. Is it really that bad to sway us from staying there? Thats pretty much the only drawback for us I think. We are going in late July, I know it will be hot and busy. Thanks for any advice!

 

[kimbe21]

We have stayed at both POFQ and POR and we will only go back to POFQ. You are correct, POR is beautiful but you can walk the path over to it from POFQ and explore the grounds. We even walked over and ate dinner at the food court.
The bus system at POR was a nightmare for us. Depending on your location you could wait two buses to get to the park (that could be 25+ minutes just to get on a bus). Having just 1 bus stop at POFQ makes things much easier and quicker. POR is much bigger so their are more people staying there and more people trying to get onto the bus at the end of the night. We felt like we spent a lot of time waiting for buses when we stayed at POR.
Once night we were leaving MK after the fireworks and after waiting for 3 buses and knowing that we still would not get on the 4th bus half of the group got in the POFQ bus line and took it to the hotel and walked over to our room at POR. We arrived 45 minutes sooner than the rest of group who continued to stand in the POR bus line.

 

[fairy oma]

We stayed at POR and loved the resort but I do agree that they need additional transportation. We waited for 1 hour to catch a bus after MK fireworks and we finally jumped on the POFQ bus and then caught the last boat to POR; it was a lovely way to end a very tiring day. The 2nd evening after MK fireworks we just caught the first bus to POFQ and walked the riverwalk back to POR.

 

[Robbi129]

We loved POR. We must have lucked out with the buses, we did not have any trouble with them at all. We were in Magnolia Terrace and were very close to the a East Depot, and right next to the bridge to ole mans island. The food court here is my favorite of them all.

 

[thr33boys]

The way I look at it is, it can't be that bad or it wouldn't have the following it has. It has such a following, that discounts for it (free dining) are hard to come by. We may just use uber when heading back from a park if we stay till park closing, which would still be cheaper than renting a car.

 

[shaneray]

I recommend not being scared away from a resort that appeals to you because of transportation horror stories. You could have a horrible experience with transportation anywhere. Stay where you want to stay and hope for the best.

 

[buzznina]

Transportation is on the bottom of our list when picking resorts. And as you can see (which we learned years ago) do not leave after the fireworks with 1,000's of other people. No matter what transportation you take, you will wait.

 

[maxiesmom]

I've stayed at POR 4 times, and have yet to have a horrible bus experience. I've stayed at POFQ too, and while that is a nice resort, my heart belongs to POR. It is beautiful, peaceful, and has what I think is the best food court at WDW.

I will say if you are able, book a preferred room. Some of the non preferred rooms can be quite a walk from the food court and gift shop.

 

[ChristineOH]

We stayed at POR for a week a couple of years ago. It is beautiful, and I personally feel it's much prettier than FQ. I like the food court and pool better too.

We didn't have any trouble with the bus system. We only waited more than 10 minutes once, and only shared with FQ once. We mostly got on at the north stop, and got off at the north stop or main stop. The Poly's bus system was more annoying, having to go to other MK area resorts, although that was fine too.

Being able to hop on a FQ bus is actually one of my favorite tips. There was a long POR line after fireworks, so we just hopped on the FQ bus, and walked back. It is only 5 to 10 minutes to walk, depending on where your room is. We are pretty quick walkers, but still, it's not bad. If you're in a Royal Room, it's a 5 minute walk to FQ. You could even walk there and catch the bus if you think it's less frustrating.

 

[EmilyS90]

We stayed there in May. Leaving the resort was no problem. However, coming back at park closing was a pain. We ended up catching the POFQ bus instead and just walking back POR. But we were staying in the Oak Manor building so it wasn't a far walk.

Also, if you have any dining reservations in DTD and want to take the boat, give yourself plenty of time. We found the lines rather long around dinner time and had to wait a bit to finally get on a boat.

 

[ncc1701]

We rarely stay till closing but the times we have staying at POFQ if the lines was too long we would hop on the POR bus then walk back . I think leaving a park at closing unless you can walk back you will have long lines. Do figure on waiting for boat to DTD if you go around dinner time. We plan on an hour to get to DTD .

 

[HopperFan]

I would never book based on transportation alone. I would book with the room and theme that appeals to you. We have not had any real problems at POR that were consistent, every resort will have a bump now and then. We do always go to the South Depot (by main building) because it is the first stop and we always got a seat.

There are a couple resorts where I wouldn't stay without a car but POR is not one of them. I rarely use my car there.

 

[916chipndale]

Didn't have a problem with transportation when we stayed there 2 years ago. Yes the lines will be crowded after fireworks but that is true for pretty much all resorts. After Wishes one day the line for Riverside was about 3 full bus stops so I just simply got on the French Quarter bus which about 10 people in line and walked to Riverside. And I agree with some of the PP's , never book on transportation alone. You can have great or bad experiences at any resort.

 

[aVASTGrl]

If POR is where you really want to stay, I say stay there, because if you don't, you'll spend your whole trip wondering what you're missing! We prefer POFQ out of the mods, so I can't say anything about the POR transportation, but you could have a good or an equally bad experience at any resort; don't let that be the deciding factor in your choice!

 

[Christinaxo]

Thanks everyone! When I really think about it, it makes sense that transportation should not be a deciding factor, we really could have a bad experience anywhere. I do prefer the theme of POR especially the mansion section so I am pretty sure we will switch, hoping for a great trip either way! And thanks for the tips we will definitely check out both resorts

 

[librarymom2007]

We have stayed there 3 times and never had an issue with transportation. We love POR.

 

[theduhaimes]

POR is our favorite mod and we have stayed there 5 times. We have never had a problem with transportation. We did stay at CSR one time and we thought POR had better transportation. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Fizban]

Hey guys! So right now I am booked at POFQ because of the one bus stop and compact size, but man does POR look stunning! Everything about it is so much more appealing to us and with my kids being older, 10 & 6, I feel like they would enjoy the amenities at POR more. We don't mind having to walk around (we stayed at CSR last year and were a good walk away from the food court/main building and had no issues) but I have read, and heard, horror stories about POR's transportation. Is it really that bad to sway us from staying there? Thats pretty much the only drawback for us I think. We are going in late July, I know it will be hot and busy. Thanks for any advice!

We've stayed at both and have never had any issues with transportation from either. Now if you want to discuss just absolutely horrid transportation then look no further than CBR.

 

[Ismo]

I definitely agree that POR needs more buses. They were always fine going to the parks, never waited to long. But going back at night was another story. I did feel like every other moderate resort was picked up twice in the time we were picked up once. But that didn't stop us from choosing to stay at POR again last summer. I think it is probably the most beautiful resort. It is so peaceful and quiet there. I loved the river and we really enjoyed walking through the the resort in the morning. For us as long as the buses got us to the parks okay, we didn't mind how long they took to get us back. We only ever waited 15min in the morning. For us personally, I would stay at POR, it's worth it for the beauty of the resort. We just bought into DVC, and we've already said that we're going to miss POR.

 

[goofy4tink]

We have never had a bus issue at POR...stayed many times. The buses are not better, no worse than other resort buses. When waiting for a bus, at park closing, everyone thinks the other resorts have more frequent buses!!! Everyone! No resort has fewer buses running......the transportation people fully understand how many guests they need to service at any given time and send out the appropriate number of buses.
Please, do not choose a resort based on 'horror stories' you may have read. For every horror story, you will find many more good reports. People tend to post when they are unhappy about a situation!
If you stayed at CBR and had no issues, POR isn't going to be any different.