First time at PO-French Quarter, best way to get to the parks?

[sdc10]

I will be staying at Port Orleans - French Quarter for the first time in a few weeks.

Not familiar with it's layout/distance to the parks so was hoping for opinions on best methods of travel to and from.

We will have our own car, so does it make more sense just to drive and park ourselves?

Reading elsewhere I saw some comments saying buses at PO get pretty filled really early in the morning.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Definitely take the bus to MK. Bus will drop you off right at the entrance whereas driving yourself you have to park and then take the monorail or ferry.

 

[Wood Nymph]

There is one bus stop at French Quarter and is usually dedicated to that one resort. But the bus will sometimes share the route with Riverside, which has four bus stops. I would definitely take the bus to MK but might consider driving to the other parks.

There is a boat to Disney Springs which is a nice way to travel.

 

[jcarwash]

If you have your car, I'd use it to drive to EP, HS, and AK. I find driving quicker and easier than using the buses. But like above, I'd recommend taking the bus to MK because of the drop-off at the entrance.

 

[CynBeth]

I would take the bus to all of the parks. We stayed here once years ago and the buses were just fine. We more recently stayed at Riverside and found it good there too.

 

[sdc10]

Definitely take the bus to MK. Bus will drop you off right at the entrance whereas driving yourself you have to park and then take the monorail or ferry.

Was not aware of this, thank you for that information

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We find it easier to just take the buses. We like parking the car and not getting back in it until it's time to leave. We were at POFQ over New Years and we had very good bus service. Just one morning we were running later than we should have, heading to AK, and waited awhile for a bus. Other than that, we had very good luck with the buses and we never once went over to Riverside to pick up there. However, one day we left the park early and there was no POFQ bus forthcoming but there was a Riverside bus in the next bay with no riders. The driver called us over and told us to get on and he dropped us at FQ on his way to Riverside.

Unless it's changed in the past few weeks, as I recall, only AK and MK are using the parking lot trams, so if you drive and park to Epcot or DHS, you'll have to do a fair amount of walking before you even get into the park. To us, it's just easier to take the bus.

 

[Jamie430]

We find it easier to just take the buses. We like parking the car and not getting back in it until it's time to leave. We were at POFQ over New Years and we had very good bus service. Just one morning we were running later than we should have, heading to AK, and waited awhile for a bus. Other than that, we had very good luck with the buses and we never once went over to Riverside to pick up there. However, one day we left the park early and there was no POFQ bus forthcoming but there was a Riverside bus in the next bay with no riders. The driver called us over and told us to get on and he dropped us at FQ on his way to Riverside.

Unless it's changed in the past few weeks, as I recall, only AK and MK are using the parking lot trams, so if you drive and park to Epcot or DHS, you'll have to do a fair amount of walking before you even get into the park. To us, it's just easier to take the bus.

Our plan is to not get back in our car until we leave

 

[fla4fun]

Things to consider . . .

Do you plan to drink any alcohol in the parks? If so, use Disney transportation. Especially at Epcot during a festival, this is something to take seriously.

Are you going to the park early or later in the day? As a PP mentioned, they are not running the parking lot trams at Epcot or DHS. If you go early, you will be parking your car closer to the entrance gates, than if you go later, which makes the walk from your car even longer. If you are going later, I recommend the bus. Earlier, the car is fine.

A lot of people don’t like the crush of opening and closing on Disney transport. If you usually sleep in, and like to leave before closing (I am one of those), Disney transport is not as crowded.

Weather. The bus stops typically have some sort of covering if it’s raining. The walk through the parking lot does not. If the forecast is for rain, you may stay drier using the bus.

It may sound like I am coming down hard in favor of Disney transport. Many times it is more convenient than driving yourself, but not always. I have my car with me as well, and I have driven to the parks occasionally. I am going later this month and am considering driving to Epcot a day or two because I plan to buy art and may not feel comfortable carrying it on a bus. There isn’t going to be a clear cut answer as to which is better, since the circumstances are going to be different for each day for each family. The only time I recommend taking Disney transport every time, is to MK, for reasons others have posted.

 

[leebee]

Everyone says "take the bus to MK" but we always drive, especially if we are staying for the fireworks. I've stood in that bus queue for over an hour, waiting for a bus back to POP. NOT what my feet or patience want to do after a looooong park day. We always drive when we can, even to MK. After all- where ELSE can you ride a monorail?

 

[mkb3]

POFQ is the one resort where I thought Bus Service was the absolute best. Might have just been lucky but we hardly waited at all.

So far that has been my favorite resort I've stayed at.

 

[Dsny4fun]

Stayed at FQ in Dec....the buses were great. Never once did we share with Riverside and we tool buses at all different times of the day. Sometimes we would arrive at the bus stop and it would say the next bus to the park we were going to would be in 20 minutes....and then 3 minutes later the bus would show up. Also love taking the boat down to DS as we have dinner there most nights.

 

[midwestdee]

If it matters, I believe only MK & AK have trams going back & forth from the parking lot. We were at POFQ in June. Bus transport was very good - was more likely to share with POR mid-day.