Questions about French Quarter Ferry

[DisneyAuntie12]

Will be at French Quarter in December and wondering how long the ferry ride is to Disney Springs, and also how long the line is during busy times like the holidays. I was hoping to travel back and forth to Disney Springs a fair bit for snacks and meals but am wondering if that’s realistic. I’ve seen a few people mention that the ferry fills up at Riverside first and then doesn’t stop at French Quarter, sometimes for several ferries in a row. Also not sure how long the ride is once you’re onboard.

 

[fla4fun]

Will be at French Quarter in December and wondering how long the ferry ride is to Disney Springs, and also how long the line is during busy times like the holidays. I was hoping to travel back and forth to Disney Springs a fair bit for snacks and meals but am wondering if that’s realistic. I’ve seen a few people mention that the ferry fills up at Riverside first and then doesn’t stop at French Quarter, sometimes for several ferries in a row. Also not sure how long the ride is once you’re onboard.

There is also a bus to DS from FQ, if the boat line looks long. There’s no way to know how busy it will be on any particular day, other than it seems like it’s busier in the evening when people go to DS for dinner. I have used the bus a lot more often than the boat.

 

[Ghost Host 998]

Purely anecdotal, but from our experience in September 2022 (admittedly a "lower" crowd time) we rode 3 times there and back. I didn't time it exactly, but the trip is about 20 minutes, each way. We rode during the day and night and at both opening and closing times for DS. The longest we waited was about 10-15 minutes. We also never ran into a time where the watercraft had to turn anyone away (including ECVs) from being full. If/when we stay at FQ again, I would conservatively plan for the trip to take 35-40 minutes each way, and anything less would be a bonus.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

Thanks for the info… sounds like transportation to DS is fairly manageable!

 

[DWillowBay]

Will be at French Quarter in December and wondering how long the ferry ride is to Disney Springs, and also how long the line is during busy times like the holidays. I was hoping to travel back and forth to Disney Springs a fair bit for snacks and meals but am wondering if that’s realistic. I’ve seen a few people mention that the ferry fills up at Riverside first and then doesn’t stop at French Quarter, sometimes for several ferries in a row. Also not sure how long the ride is once you’re onboard.

Also...there is a lovely walking path from French Quarter to Riverside....beautiful River views.... You can always walk to Riverside and catch the ferry there if you feel like that's important. Have a great trip!

 

[HopperFan]

Always be prepared and have back up plan for bus - if it rains too heavy or there is any lightning in the area, boat stops. We were once on it going to POR when the rain started and they pulled in to POFQ and made us all get off. Got a bit soaked running to POR for our ADR.

 

[growhappiness]

The only issue we ran into was trying to take the boat back to POFQ on a Saturday night (but in May, "slower" season), the line at DS was ridiculously long. We waited about 15 mins and a cast member came by and said it would be at least another hour til we'd be on a boat. We ended up taking a bus home instead.

 

[meliscan]

I have done POFQ in December and September and in the past waiting for the ferry hasn't taken too long to get to Disney Springs. We never encountered the issue of the ferry being too full to take us to Disney Springs. We have taken the bus back to the hotel at times as we were at the opposite end of Disney Springs from the boat dock. I love the ferry. It's such a nice ride to Disney Springs.