Port Orleans Riverside FAQ thread --- 2012, Part Two --- NOW CLOSED

[andrewilley]

The real problem is that the buses are just not predictable enough. You might allow 90 minutes and get there an hour early, or allow 60 minutes and get there 5 minutes late. Each of two buses might have a 20 minute wait if you're unlucky, or both might turn up as soon as you get to the bus stops.

I would say allowing 60 minutes for resort-to-resort transportation (with some exceptions, such as the Contemporary and maybe the Poly/GF) is really the bare minimum safe time.

We actually had no problems at all with the bus service over the last two weeks, and to try to get some sort of objectiveness into the discussion I timed every journey that I took and checked which stops each bus made. Once I've collated all the notes, I'll upload them. Perhaps others could do the same? It's very easy to do with a smartphone and a simple text editor or notes app.

One thing I did learn is that the routing around POR does actually have a general pattern to it, it's not just random. To try to avoid jog-jams, some park buses (e.g. Studios) are meant go to the South Depot first and then round the circle route, while other park buses (e.g. MK, Epcot) do the circle route first and then the South Depot. Downtown Disney (for some reason) is meant to do South Depot, then the circle, and then back to South again. However these are still only 'guidelines' and I saw some exceptions. Don't know about AK as we didn't go there, but I'd have thought it would be the same as Studios.

Andre

 

[Venomhatch]

As soon as you get off the busses walk like you were going to go into the park but don't. Go to the left and you'll see the boats down to the left directly in front of the MK entrance. Look for the dock with the grand floridian and poly listed on the sign. Should be the dock closest to the monorail. But no you will not have to go into the park.

Here is a map "X" is where you get dropped off at by POR Bus circle is where you need to go to get a boat to the GF then Poly.

 

[twokids0204]

The real problem is that the buses are just not predictable enough. You might allow 90 minutes and get there an hour early, or allow 60 minutes and get there 5 minutes late. Each of two buses might have a 20 minute wait if you're unlucky, or both might turn up as soon as you get to the bus stops.

I would say allowing 60 minutes for resort-to-resort transportation (with some exceptions, such as the Contemporary and maybe the Poly/GF) is really the bare minimum safe time.

We actually had no problems at all with the bus service over the last two weeks, and to try to get some sort of objectiveness into the discussion I timed every journey that I took and checked which stops each bus made. Once I've collated all the notes, I'll upload them. Perhaps others could do the same? It's very easy to do with a smartphone and a simple text editor or notes app.

One thing I did learn is that the routing around POR does actually have a general pattern to it, it's not just random. To try to avoid jog-jams, some park buses (e.g. Studios) are meant go to the South Depot first and then round the circle route, while other park buses (e.g. MK, Epcot) do the circle route first and then the South Depot. Downtown Disney (for some reason) is meant to do South Depot, then the circle, and then back to South again. However these are still only 'guidelines' and I saw some exceptions. Don't know about AK as we didn't go there, but I'd have thought it would be the same as Studios.

Andre

When we went - ALL the buses dropped off at to South Depot first, with the exception of Magic Kingdom.

We did MK 3 times, and one time it went South First, the other 2 South Last.
In fact, one of the times when it was going South last, they had a wheelchair boarding at North, and it really slowed us down. So I got off during the boarding and walked over to the Parterre building, while my wife waited and got off at South and walked. I got back about 10 minutes before her.
This was Saturday Aug 25th, at around 3:30 pm.

 

[Sunday]

According to folks posting on the discount codes & rates thread, its free dining from August 18 to Sept 26, 2013
__________________

Thanks, I am ALL OVER that!

 

[Stan Solo]

Good morning everyone I'm just siting in the Orlando airport waiting for our plane looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. We had a great two weeks in Orlando the last part of our trip was in POR.

I was finally able to meet Andre in person and was one of the many highlights of our trip. Last night we capped off our vacation with a Yee Ha Bob show and had a blast.

As far as the busses goes we went very early to the parks and stay out until after the fireworks are over. In the morning leaving POR the longest we had to wait for a bus 2-3 min. Coming back we had some very, very long lines and twice we ended up taking the POFQ bus then DTD and finally POR. The first time we tried this I asked the bus driver at FQ if he was stoping at riverside before he went to DTD. He told me he wasn't but since we were the only two on the bus he could make the detour for us. The second time the driver told us he couldn't (even though we were the only ones on the bus) but told us just to stay put because after DTD Riverside would be his next stop. both times we planed to just walk back to POR but the DTD bus pulled up right behind ours.

If you don't like packed busses I would just stay in the park for an extra hour or two after the fireworks (we did this last year). We had early ADRs each morning and did not want to take a chance sleeping in.

 

[DisneyClown]

As in my previous post, I would request Oak Manor for a standard royal room.

Parterre Place has some of the more remotely located standard rooms.

We were in Acadian House last year with a rather large group in a standard room facing the parking lot and close to a bus stop. It was a nice leisurely walk to the food court in the morning and in the afternoon, it was nice to get off the bus at our stop and we weren't but a stone's throw to our room.

What is also nice about POR, as compared to other resorts, is the walkways are covered by the corridor above; so once you get to the building, you are walking in the shade to our room. Also, we rarely saw anyone walk by our room all week; it was like we had that whole entire corner to ourselves.

Enjoy!

Thank you!!!

 

[jsw1114]

We stayed at movies middle of aug last yr I felt the bus system was very poor. It took way to long to wait for a bus to and from the parks, we had stayed at pop in 08 and never encountered waits like that. So this year we decided to move up the ladder so to speak and try a moderate in hopes that this trip would b better (I swear last yr there was a riverside bus like every five min departing MK)

 

[Bingham2]

Thanks everyone for your help!!!!!!!! If it wasn't for this site (and this thread for so much POR help and advice) I wouldn't even know I couldn't go straight to Poly!! (Yes, I'm that Disney ignorant. lol)

 

[netnurse31]

We stayed at movies middle of aug last yr I felt the bus system was very poor. It took way to long to wait for a bus to and from the parks, we had stayed at pop in 08 and never encountered waits like that. So this year we decided to move up the ladder so to speak and try a moderate in hopes that this trip would b better (I swear last yr there was a riverside bus like every five min departing MK)

It funny you say that. We have been saying the same thing about CB. Last year we stayed at CB and it seemed like there were three times as many buses for POR. This year we are at POR and we see so many buses to other resorts and it seems like POR has far fewer than any other! I think it's all the luck of the draw. It just depends on when and where you are and the timing of the buses at that time.

That being said, we are at POR, on day 6 of an 8 day trip and we are having a great time. This is our first time staying at POR and we have had a terrific experience here. We are staying in a Royal Guest Room in Oak Manor. I sent a fax in 3 days prior to our arriving, requesting a room in Oak Manor, on the first floor, as close to a bus stop as possible. All of our requests were granted and we were given a great location. We booked a standard view room but are facing a garden view. It is close to a parking lot (hence the closeness to a bus stop). The East stop is just moments from our rooms and we have never heard anyone walking by our room. We did have a rather large frog perched on our door one night when we returned from the parks. We joked that perhaps it was staged given the Princess and the Frog reference of our room...lol. For those who are squeamish about such critters I'd recommend a higher floor. We never had anything run into our room though despite the location.

 

[FigmentChick]

I will also say that we have lost hours, yes, HOURS of our vacation both waiting on, and riding on, the busses. Next time we come to WDW, if ever, we are absolutely renting a car.

This is why we always rent a car. We like the freedom to be able to go, go, go as soon as we'd like. Plus, my hubby is disabled, so having our own vehicle is a necessity in our eyes.

For next year's trip, we're planning on taking the Auto Train, so we'll be able to have our own minivan. Can't wait!!!

 

[DJFan88]

For next year's trip, we're planning on taking the Auto Train, so we'll be able to have our own minivan. Can't wait!!!

Autotrain is awesome. So glad we tried it this year. Will do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[FigmentChick]

Autotrain is awesome. So glad we tried it this year. Will do it again in a heartbeat.

Thanks! It's just so much cheaper for us this coming year. Air fare for the 5 of us will run a minimum of $1,244 and then there's the rental car of about $300 (and that's for mid to full size, not the minivan weare used to). Plus I have a $200 credit from Amtrak because I was stranded on the train from Wilmington, DE to Washington, DC in for 4.5 hours (yeah....not fun!). So, the Auto Train will cost us about $826 where as airfare and rental will be about $1,600......no thinking twice!

 

[Lemonademouth]

It funny you say that. We have been saying the same thing about CB. Last year we stayed at CB and it seemed like there were three times as many buses for POR. This year we are at POR and we see so many buses to other resorts and it seems like POR has far fewer than any other! I think it's all the luck of the draw. It just depends on when and where you are and the timing of the buses at that time.
.

I read on another board the perfect answer to the statement this was in response too. I am paraphrasing and adding my own experience, but the sentiment is the same

Buses for each resort will be different for each family. I really had no wait or filled to capacity issues our entire week in POR last November. We were usually showing up to the depots around the same time the buses were, both at the parks and at the resort. But if a family who was also staying at POR and was going about their vacation identically to ours but 5 minutes behind us, they would most likely day they had the worst time with the bus service. That scenario could be said about any resort, or even your experience year to year. When I'm back in 13 days it may be completely different. My big point I suppose would be, don't judge a resort by its buses because. You could stay at the Contemporary or the Poly and have just as much of a wait time.

 

[siskaren]

I read on another board the perfect answer to the statement this was in response too. I am paraphrasing and adding my own experience, but the sentiment is the same

Buses for each resort will be different for each family. I really had no wait or filled to capacity issues our entire week in POR last November. We were usually showing up to the depots around the same time the buses were, both at the parks and at the resort. But if a family who was also staying at POR and was going about their vacation identically to ours but 5 minutes behind us, they would most likely day they had the worst time with the bus service. That scenario could be said about any resort, or even your experience year to year. When I'm back in 13 days it may be completely different. My big point I suppose would be, don't judge a resort by its buses because. You could stay at the Contemporary or the Poly and have just as much of a wait time.

Here's the post in its entirety:

The bus service is pretty much the same at all resorts; buses to each destination are supposed to run on average about every 20 minutes. So why do so many people insist it's bad one place and good at another? Human nature, or at least two aspects of human nature. One is a phenomenon you can call the "grass is always greener" effect (everyone else's experience seems better than our own), and the other is the mistaken assumption that what happens to us once is the way it usually is for most people at most times.

"The grass is always greener ...." For EVERY resort, you can find posts from people saying something like this: "We waited forever at closing time at Magic Kingdom for a bus to (our resort) while we watched 4 buses from (another resort) drive on by." Seriously, there's not a resort this hasn't been written about.

The second point is perhaps the more important point. Just because you have a not-so-great experience with buses at a resort doesn't mean the bus service stinks. It could mean they were having a rough day or two. But more likely it means that you were just unlucky with timing.

My example is my stay at Polynesian a couple years ago. We noticed by our second or third day that we never, and I mean NEVER, waited more than about 2 minutes for whatever bus we wanted, whether going from resort to park or park to resort. So we started to joke about it as we walked up to the Poly bus stop in the morning or to a park bus stop when leaving a park, but it always worked that way for that entire week.

So, should we conclude from that that Polynesian has the best bus service ever? Absolutely NOT. It just means our timing was very lucky. Imagine another family that did everything exactly like we did, only they always did it exactly 2 minutes later than we did. They would've had a dreadful bus experience, as they would've waited almost 20 minutes for every single bus for an entire week. Does their bad experience mean Poly has bad bus service? Of course not, just like my great experience doesn't mean it has the best bus service.

In the same way, my great bus service at Caribbean Beach Resort in 2005 and my so-so bus service at Port Orleans French Quarter in 2006 DOESN'T mean that CBR's bus service is better than POFQ's, it just means that my individual experiences on those exact days was better at CBR than at POFQ.

And that's why we read such mixed reviews of bus service at various resorts. Just because someone had a lot of wait time doesn't mean the bus service stinks.

I strongly advise you to pick a Moderate resort based on the theme, as well as the small ways they differ in amenities.

 

[julluvsdisney]

Just left POR yesterday and we all LOVED it! We have stayed at POFQ and comparing the two I'd say POR far surpasses POFQ! My only regret would be not splurging for preferred! The extra few hundred would totally be worth it! We got a room in AB building 36 room 3663. I think we my have been upgraded to a garden view as we could not see the parking lot from the room due to the lush surroundings. I wasn't sure I'd love the AB theming but I loved it! We were able to look into the mansion rooms because I knew someone staying there and I really preferred the AB theming ! We also loved the welcoming greeters at the door in the lobby! The man with the toy alligator was adorable ! I honestly can't think of one bad thing at POR! This will be our resort of choice for the next few trips for sure!!

 

[KristiKat]

Just left POR yesterday and we all LOVED it! We have stayed at POFQ and comparing the two I'd say POR far surpasses POFQ! My only regret would be not splurging for preferred! The extra few hundred would totally be worth it! We got a room in AB building 36 room 3663. I think we my have been upgraded to a garden view as we could not see the parking lot from the room due to the lush surroundings. I wasn't sure I'd love the AB theming but I loved it! We were able to look into the mansion rooms because I knew someone staying there and I really preferred the AB theming ! We also loved the welcoming greeters at the door in the lobby! The man with the toy alligator was adorable ! I honestly can't think of one bad thing at POR! This will be our resort of choice for the next few trips for sure!!

Glad you had a great trip. I love POR and can't wait til we return in Feb. I've been thinking of upgrading from water view to garden or preferred and I'm a little worried if we'll like the AB theming, glad to hear you loved it and thought it was better that the mansion theming.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Just left POR yesterday and we all LOVED it! We have stayed at POFQ and comparing the two I'd say POR far surpasses POFQ! My only regret would be not splurging for preferred! The extra few hundred would totally be worth it! We got a room in AB building 36 room 3663. I think we my have been upgraded to a garden view as we could not see the parking lot from the room due to the lush surroundings. I wasn't sure I'd love the AB theming but I loved it! We were able to look into the mansion rooms because I knew someone staying there and I really preferred the AB theming ! We also loved the welcoming greeters at the door in the lobby! The man with the toy alligator was adorable ! I honestly can't think of one bad thing at POR! This will be our resort of choice for the next few trips for sure!!

Glad you had a great trip!! Looking forward to trying it out in April!

 

[Lemonademouth]

Here's the post in its entirety:

Thanks. Couldn't remember where I had read it.

 

[Bingham2]

Just left POR yesterday and we all LOVED it! We have stayed at POFQ and comparing the two I'd say POR far surpasses POFQ! My only regret would be not splurging for preferred! The extra few hundred would totally be worth it! We got a room in AB building 36 room 3663. I think we my have been upgraded to a garden view as we could not see the parking lot from the room due to the lush surroundings. I wasn't sure I'd love the AB theming but I loved it! We were able to look into the mansion rooms because I knew someone staying there and I really preferred the AB theming ! We also loved the welcoming greeters at the door in the lobby! The man with the toy alligator was adorable ! I honestly can't think of one bad thing at POR! This will be our resort of choice for the next few trips for sure!!

So excited to hear you loved it11 We have splurged for preferred not know anything about the resort and at first I wasn't sure about the AB theming, but most people say they love it and it's nicer than pictures.

 

[Kathy Z]

Here is a map "X" is where you get dropped off at by POR Bus circle is where you need to go to get a boat to the GF then Poly.

Thanks everyone for your help!!!!!!!! If it wasn't for this site (and this thread for so much POR help and advice) I wouldn't even know I couldn't go straight to Poly!! (Yes, I'm that Disney ignorant. lol)

That is a great screen shot, Venomhatch. It shows the transportation options much better than mere words.

Bingham2, don't feel bad about your "Disney ignorance". We can see that with just 65 posts you are still in the learning mode. One other option for getting from the MK bus depot to the Polynesian that has not been mentioned yet is to take the ferry which runs from the ferry dock at MK across the lagoon to a dock adjacent to the transportation & ticket center. When DH & I stay at a non monorail resort and have an ADR at the Polynesian we take the bus to MK and when we get off the bus we first look towards the ferry dock to see if there is a ferry just beginning to load. If you take that ferry across the lagoon it will drop you off between the TTC and the Poly (get off the ferry and take the walkway to the right to walk through the Polynesian grounds.) If there is no ferry at the dock we head over towards the smaller boat and monorail station. A few times we have made it just in time to catch the boat and that is a quick ride. If we've just missed the boat we go up the ramp to the monorail. I hope that I didn't confuse you further by giving you another option.