Buses at Port Orleans Riverside

bjmzl · Apr 10, 2011

What is it that makes the buses so bad? We stayed at ASMU a few years back and they were bad enough that I have not been back. We were going to rent a car but this might seal it if the buses are as bad as I have read.

Blackbeltdisneygirl · Apr 10, 2011

I think it just depends on the day and any circumstances that arise. We had no real waits with POR in October. We only waited a long time on our day of arrival at the airport, but it was a free dining plan week, and our line was HUGE. Then we waited that same day after EMH at Epcot, but we were newbies and didn't realize you shouldn't rush out right as everyone else does at park close! Every day after that were short waits.

Oh, and my mom said she never waited at ASMU, so it must've been a funky time!

OThopeful35 · Apr 10, 2011

I was a newbie myself last year and we had good bus service. As many of the posters on the Dis say, it is usually a hit or miss and it depends on that particular day. I do not think anyone can predict the bus service at Disney.

bjmzl · Apr 10, 2011

I am really getting worried, did you both enjoy the resort as well?

Honey0701 · Apr 10, 2011

I've stayed there 2-3x/year back to 2007. The longest I've ever waited for a bus (to a particular park) was 27 mins and it was around 7pm to get to Epcot during F&W & EMH that night.

That particular time, there were plenty of other busses, just not the one I wanted! Other than that, never waited more than 10-15 mins for a bus, regardless of which stop I used.

Sugar Jones · Apr 10, 2011

We stayed there in September and had no problem with the busses. We had our vehicle there and my husband is the most impatient person in the world, so if he never felt the need to drive instead of the taking the bus then trust me it wasn't bad :lmao:

As for the resort itself - we absolutely loved it. The grounds were beautiful, the foodcourt was very good, the quiet pool by bldg 16 was great as well as the main pool & waterslide. We stayed in Bldg 16 which was a very good location for us.

Blackbeltdisneygirl · Apr 10, 2011

bjmzl said:
I am really getting worried, did you both enjoy the resort as well?

I wouldn't be going back if I didn't love it! We had absolutely no complaints with our stay at POR. We loved it. The only drawback was how far away our room was from everything, but it was only bad for me b/c I have a slight disability with my feet. If you take away the pain in my feet, the walk was beautiful and peaceful. Plus, you're gonna have to walk pretty much wherever you stay. The scenery is BEAUTIFUL, the pool wasn't packed when we were there, and the dining was great. We ate counter service there most nights after the parks. We also ate at Boatwrights and really enjoyed it. We can't wait to go back! We are doing a split stay at Coronado b/c we really wanted to try it out, but then decided to add a couple days so we could head back to POR also!

Sue M · Apr 10, 2011

We haven't had a problem with bus service at POR, have stayed 2x, going on 3rd in Aug.

mjp12831 · Apr 10, 2011

Por is great and bussing was fine on July 4 week. It's a big resort so it requires some planning. Post 7 is right that if you're away from things the walk can be significant to the bus stop.

Missytara · Apr 11, 2011

I have never had an issue with the buses, but I tend to use them odd times of the day; mid-morning, mid-afternoon, early evening.

I am also most likely by myself, so it is pretty easy to get a seat.

However, I can tell you one thing is impatience. I sat next to two guys one morning what waited no more than THREE minutes and were already complaining about the service.

On the way back, I arrived first at the line to the bus stop. A family arrived about two or three minutes after me. About seven minutes later, another family arrived and asked the family behind me how long they had been waiting. They said 25 minutes, at least, if not a half an hour. :scared1:

I was like, are you serious - you have been here seven minutes.....

sue_gowin · Apr 11, 2011

We must have bee there during the worst weeks ever!!! We stayed there the past 2 years in a row, and one night after illuminations, we waited almost an hour and a half for a bus. All the other resort terminals we're totally empty (I mean, NO ONE was there) and we had a line down the entire sidewalk. Other nights we've waited about 40-45min. It was ridiculous. My DH is a very impatient person, and almost wrote Disney off altogether because of this experience. I'm trying to get him to go back again this year, just to a different resort!!! POR is a beautiful resort, we just didn't like the buses.

FOCUS · Apr 11, 2011

We went in October and never had an issue. Always rode early in the morning and got on at West depot. The waits were short (7-10 minutes at most) and the bus was always empty when we got on. We usually came home with the masses at whatever time the nightly fireworks/show let out. That usually required a little patience, but the waits for POR busses didn't appear to be any longer than any other resort.

kaffinito · Apr 11, 2011

You can have bad bus karma at any resort. There have been a lot of trips of ours when we just arrived at the bus stop right after a bus had left and we had to wait 20 minutes for another one.

By far the worse resorts for buses during our trips were GF and Poly, if that helps. If I had arrived at the bus stop just 10 minutes later we wouldn't have had as long of a wait, KWIM? But each time we either arrived too early or too late and had just missed our bus. It really is just timing and "luck of the draw" no matter where you stay.

anabelle · Apr 11, 2011

We have stayed there three times in the last couple of years. We went late June of last year and really didn't have too many issues with the buses. One time a CM even called a "back-up" bus for us. It was a charter bus without any Disney signage. That time some people had been waiting 30 minutes and the CM wasn't going to wait anymore so that is when he called for the supplemental bus. It seems that a lot of people have complained about the bus service to POR, so Disney had CM's watching the wait times at the main bus stop.

OThopeful35 · Apr 11, 2011

bjmzl said:
I am really getting worried, did you both enjoy the resort as well?

Yes we enjoyed our stay at the Riverside. If you want to be close to the foodcourt make sure you pay for preferred. They were sold out by the time I made my reservation and we were in Building 26 or 28. We were close to the bus stop and the quiet pool was right outside our door, but it was a long walk to the food court. Close to the end of our 7 day stay, my 7 yr old didn't want to go to the food court anymore :sad2:

It was very hot and it melted the ice in our mugs :rotfl:

DisneyRunner2009 · Apr 11, 2011

I never had a problem with buses at POR. I always used the South Depot. This is the bus stop by the gift shop/lobby. As someone else mentioned bus karma can get you at any resort. Last year, there were three groups of us at ASMu. My DD and her boyfriend had good bus karma through out the trip. Myself, DH and DD had okay bus karma overall. The monorail for MK opening at the TTC was bad karma. The monorail was delayed first thing in the morning due to a safety issue. We drove over, in order to return the rental car that afternoon. My sister and her group had terrible bus karma during the trip. One time a new bus had to be called in, because someone got sick on the bus waiting there.

2010_Bride · Apr 11, 2011

I honestly think that Disney does the best they can with the busses. As already stated, sometimes there is a problem with a bus (mechanical, illness) and then it slows the system down.
Were were just at POR in March and never waited more than 15 or maybe 20 minutes (once or twice). Otherwise they were coming about every 15 minutes. We were told they come every 20, so I think we lucked out many times :wizard:

We used the North depot each and everytime as it was the closest to our room. I have no complaints!

lblume91 · Apr 11, 2011

Our family loves, loves, loves POR! I, too, have seen the complaints but we just haven't had any real problems. Is there a line first thing in the morning, waiting to get to the parks? Usually. Is it unbearable? Nope. The worst lines we have seen were getting back to the resort at paark closing. We have waited through one bus being packed full for a 2nd bus. If you loiter around the park for a little while after official closing time, the crowds clear out from the bus stops.

steffaknits · Apr 11, 2011

We stayed POR in August last year and found the bus service to be fine. It was nice not to have to worry about traffic and just relax. We did have a long wait one day at DHS and the music got a little annoying by the third day, but no major issues. One thing I will say is to be careful which bus you get at the end of the day. All day long POR and POFQ share buses but at closing they each get their own bus. We didn't know and in our half dead stupor staggered onto the one for POFQ after EMH one evening. The bus driver had pulled over and started to eat his lunch before we realized he wasn't taking us back to our hotel! :rotfl2:

He was nice enough to get us to the right place and even took us directly to the bus stop closest to our building. Needless to say we didn't make that mistake twice.

DAZY3BYZ · Apr 11, 2011

We have stayed at POR many, many times. The bus service there we've always found to be good as a whole. You can run into bad bus service at ANY resort. Actually, our worst overall bus service was at BC! POR is a lovely resort. Bus problems/issues happen at every resort.

Buses at Port Orleans Riverside

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