Busses to MK from POR-Riverside

KrzyKtty

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We are staying at POR-Riverside in a Pool view Royal Room, so I guess we will be in the Magnolia section. I am considering driving to MK one day, or both, just to let the children and husband experience the monorail/boat at least once. I know that means dealing with the parking lot and stuff.

My question is your opinion on if it is worth it? I hear so many bad things about the buses at POR-Riverside, I figure it isn't worth it, even for MK direct drop off. However, with the new security procedures, I am not sure if the bus direct drop off may have quicker security lines? Is it quicker to get to the hotel and back on a bus, or driving even with the monorail?

We will be doing MK two days. The first is a half day getting there around 5ish. The second day we would be arriving around 8:30ish; however, we have a two hour break in our itinerary that we were thinking of using for a break. But this won't work if transportation is 30 minutes one way.
 

BigRedDad

Well-Known Member
POR is the main reason we no longer use buses. We wound up using POFQ transportation and just walking the distance. We still saved a ton of time by using POFQ.
 

KrzyKtty

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
POR is the main reason we no longer use buses. We wound up using POFQ transportation and just walking the distance. We still saved a ton of time by using POFQ.
I know and that was our original idea. But we are going for my daughter's 4th birthday. She is OBSESSED with the Disney princesses, so when we saw a good deal on the Royal suites, we switched. :(
 

Captain Barbossa

Well-Known Member
We are staying at POR-Riverside in a Pool view Royal Room, so I guess we will be in the Magnolia section. I am considering driving to MK one day, or both, just to let the children and husband experience the monorail/boat at least once. I know that means dealing with the parking lot and stuff.

My question is your opinion on if it is worth it? I hear so many bad things about the buses at POR-Riverside, I figure it isn't worth it, even for MK direct drop off. However, with the new security procedures, I am not sure if the bus direct drop off may have quicker security lines? Is it quicker to get to the hotel and back on a bus, or driving even with the monorail?

We will be doing MK two days. The first is a half day getting there around 5ish. The second day we would be arriving around 8:30ish; however, we have a two hour break in our itinerary that we were thinking of using for a break. But this won't work if transportation is 30 minutes one way.
I've sayed at PO Riverside twice and never had a bus issue to MK. Then agian that was my opinion and experience. I love the idea of your kids getting to ride the monorail. The only thing I don't like, is that you would have to pay to park if you drive your car. If you really want to ride the monorail, you could just take a break from MK and hop on (good way to cool off). That's what we do sometimes.
 

KrzyKtty

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I've sayed at PO Riverside twice and never had a bus issue to MK. Then agian that was my opinion and experience. I love the idea of your kids getting to ride the monorail. The only thing I don't like, is that you would have to pay to park if you drive your car. If you really want to ride the monorail, you could just take a break from MK and hop on (good way to cool off). That's what we do sometimes.
Oh wow. I thought you didn't have to pay for parking if you were staying at the resorts? At least that is what the Disney website claimed. Stated you needed to present valid Disney Resort hotel identification, whatever that is....
 

DisAl

Well-Known Member
Unless I am mistaken the same parking permit you have for your motel parking will allow access to the theme park parking lots. They should be able to verify that at the front desk of your motel when you check in and pick up your motel parking permit, or just ask the guard at the entrance to your motel parking lot when you check in.
If you just want to ride the monorail or boat, why not go on to the MK on the bus and then do a round trip loop on the monorail from the MK? We have done that several times.
I don't know how the boats work, but you could probably do the same thing on the boats. Just get on at the MK and stay on it to come back to the MK.
Either "ride" might make a good little rest period in the middle of the day.
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
Oh wow. I thought you didn't have to pay for parking if you were staying at the resorts? At least that is what the Disney website claimed. Stated you needed to present valid Disney Resort hotel identification, whatever that is....

The previous poster was incorrect. You do not pay for parking if you stay at a Disney hotel. They'll scan your Band and then wave you through.

That being said, if you want to drive to get the monorail experience, I'd suggest going when you'll be arriving mid-day. When you leave Riverside, turn *left* to get to Epcot Center Drive . If you follow the route the buses take up past Fort Wilderness you'll have to loop waaaay around past the TTC and Poly to get into the parking lot.

-Rob
 

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
OP, we have stayed at POR many times and are very familiar with the buses. This past February, Disney started using 2 buses back to back to MK each AM from appx 7:30am to 11:00AM, so that the demand would be taken care of. They did this the whole time we were there and it worked! Sometimes they just sent one of those stretch buses. We have never had an issue with buses at POR, but we only go in early Nov, Dec, or now Feb, definitely not a busy time of year, so maybe that's it. I wouldn't let the rumors scare you.
 

KrzyKtty

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OP, we have stayed at POR many times and are very familiar with the buses. This past February, Disney started using 2 buses back to back to MK each AM from appx 7:30am to 11:00AM, so that the demand would be taken care of. They did this the whole time we were there and it worked! Sometimes they just sent one of those stretch buses. We have never had an issue with buses at POR, but we only go in early Nov, Dec, or now Feb, definitely not a busy time of year, so maybe that's it. I wouldn't let the rumors scare you.
How long did it take the bus to get from the resort to the gate?
 

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
How long did it take the bus to get from the resort to the gate?

Honestly, I didn't bother checking the time. We just went early am and go there before rope drop. Now you can enter the Main street up to the castle an hour before the gates open. It's really nice to wander around, get a cup of coffee, sit and people watch til the opening show. If it would have taken a long time, I would have noticed that, but it must have been okay because I never thought it took too much time.
Sorry I don't know the exact numbers.
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
I've stayed at Riverside 4 times and never had an issue with the busses. South Depot, the one next to the lobby, is actually the last bus stop for the theme parks. You can drive to the Alligator Bayou section and use the West Depot, which is the first bus stop so the buses are always empty when they arrive, or you can use the East Depot, close to the Royal Rooms. There will be long waits at park closing especially for Riverside. But you can use the French Quarter buses and walk to your room since those rooms aren't a long walk from French Quarter. The lines can be long at the end of the day for the monorail and boats back to the TTC. We always went on the monorail in the middle of the day when the lines were shorter.
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
And the trip from the last Riverside bus stop to the bus stops at MK takes about 20 minutes. Sometimes less, sometimes more depending on time of day and traffic.
 

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
As far as driving or walking just to get on the buses at West Depot, I wouldn't recommend it. We used West the last 2 times because was closest to our room. However, since people have been posting, it is getting just as crowded as other depots. I talked with families that hiked from the Mansions just so they could get on the buses at West.
So, now, I think they are all pretty much evenly distributed, but the North depot is always noticeably empty. As I said, with the addition of 2 buses to MK at a time, there is no problem no matter which depot you use. I hope they keep this service going all year round. Hope this helps.
 

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
I have stayed at POR and did not have any issues with the bus. You do not have to pay for parking at the parks if you are staying at a Disney resort. But you do not need to drive the MK to ride the boat or monorail. I would take the bus to MK and maybe later in the day ride the boat or the monorail. My tip would be to not over plan your days if possible.
 

Pirate Magic

Well-Known Member
Why not take the bus to EPCOT then take the monorail to Magic Kingdom parking before you to Magic Kingdom take the boat across. It might take a little longer, but you will get to do everything, plus I love the view from the top of the boat you get some great pictures of the castle.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
We stayed at PORS (granted, it was in 2012) and had terrific bus service, four times a day (pre-rope drop to the parks, back to the resort after lunch, back to a park around 4pm, and back to the resort around 9 or 10pm), every day.

We've stayed at Wilderness Lodge, PORS and Caribbean Beach Resort in recent years, and found the bus service at each of them to be comparably good, by which I mean, we rarely waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. In fact, the worst experience we've ever had -- a one-time issue that had a crowd waiting for 90+ minutes for a bus to AK one morning -- was at Wilderness Lodge.

Also, the new bus arrival monitors at the resorts, while not always accurate (in our case, they tended to be in accurate in a favorable way, with buses arriving earlier than indicated), are a huge Godsend for those of us who hate the uncertainty of waiting for a bus.
 

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