Port Orleans Transportation

[ckaranassos]

My DD (she's 20) and I are arriving at Port Orleans Riverside for the first time on 3/5/16 and staying to 3/10/16. This will be our first time traveling without the boys and not staying in a deluxe and was wondering what to expect with Disney's Transportation (buses). We are also on the fence about using Disney's Magical Express for the first time too. Would it be better to rent a car and drive ourselves to/from airport and parks (although far more expensive) or is Port Orleans' transportation good? Thoughts on Disney Magical Express greatly appreciated too. Give you some background- we are park hoppers and will be eating dinner at Epcot several nights. Thanks for all the help!

[faline]

We've used Magical Express a number of times. It works well and is inexpensive compared to renting a car. Depending on your arrival time in Orlando, one plus is that you can skip the stop at the baggage carousel and let Disney handle your luggage for you.

Driving or using Disney transportation comes up for discussion quite a lot. It typically comes down to a person preference. We typically use Disney transportation regardless of where we stay. My brother, on the other hand, prefers to drive. Port Orleans is one of the resorts that has more than one stop but transportation there, I think, is on a par with Disney transportation in general. Just a quick comparison. On one trip, my brother and his family were staying with us at Old Key West. We set out to go to the Magic Kingdom where we were going to breakfast together at the Crystal Palace. My husband and I went to the bus stop. My brother and his family got in their rental car. We saw them go by and wave. Our bus arrived and we headed off to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom, wandered around Main Street and took some pictures. They arrived at the Magic Kingdom about 20 minutes after we did.

I'd say you should do whatever you are most comfortable with.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

As Faline said, Disney transportation is very subjective. We take the AutoTrain, and therefore have our car. We usually drive to the parks about 3/4 of the time and take the busses the rest. That being said, the busses are generally pretty efficient.

A challenge to POR is that there are multiple bus stops, so quite often you'll have to stop within the resort, before heading out to the park. This isn't a big deal to some people, and a deal breaker to others.

For me, (and we eat in Epcot most nights too), I'd get a car. It is a 7 minute drive from POR to Epcot, you just can't beat that on a bus. But, if you're heading to MK, take the bus, even if you have the car and save yourself the whole TTC mess.

Either way, enjoy your trip!

[kakn7294]

We always rely on Disney transportation. It's so much cheaper and I like that somebody else is doing the driving! It can be a bit time consuming compared to driving yourself (except to MK since you park at the TTC) but I still prefer to let Disney do the driving.

[#1donaldfan]

Magical Express makes it simple for you. No rental or tolls to pay. The bus system at POR is just as good as any other resort, but it can sometimes get crowded. I feel as though it's very much worth the extra wait than to get the car, drive, find parking then walk 63 miles from the parking lot to the entrance of the park.