Is my experience with POFQ normal?

[Brett Wyman]

I waited over 30 minutes past the expected arrival time at BC once for a MK bus. Finally gave up and walked over to YC to catch that bus instead. It happens every where. Accidents occur, busses breakdown, yada, yada, yada. As long as its the exception and not the norm, I can deal with it.

 

[85glht]

Bus transportation is hit or miss at any resort. Some days you’re a winner and some, well, you get the point.... this is what we have found... we are usually in the loser category so we have rented a car in the few trips... this way we eat breakfast off property (cheaper and better quality food) and have the freedom of coming and going at our pace.... the only downside is I have to drive myself, where sometimes it is nice to just relax on a bus and be driven to our hotel at night

 

[Babsy]

I am sorry that POFQ didn't live up to your expectations.

I wouldn't say that it is a 'normal' experience that you had for a stay at POFQ. But it could be a similar experience at any WDW resort, unfortunately (well, except for no TS at a moderate).
This is especially true of the bus issue, which is prevalent problem all over the 'world'. We have stayed at all the resorts often enough to know from experience that a resort that seems to have terrible transportation issues on one trip may have amazingly good transportation on another. It really is variable everywhere and not resort specific - at least not as far as I can tell. Sometimes you get a run of good luck, sometimes you get a run of very bad luck. Most often the experience is mixed.

When it comes to staying at POFQ vs POR, I agree with you that the experience for us has been overall more positive at POR. But, it is a matter of personal preference in our case. We actually like the extra amenities at the larger resort and enjoy the theming of POR more. We don't really have a problem with transportation at either one. I understand that many people love the small resort feeling of POFQ. Usually, however, I will pick any of the other moderates for my trips over POFQ.

We all have different preferences in the resort that we enjoy. The good thing is that there is enough variety in WDW to have something for almost everyone.

At least now you know that POFQ isn't your favourite and you can opt for a different resort next time!

 

[skyblue17]

We stayed at POFQ about a year ago, and honestly, their bus situation was one of the reasons we loved it. We were in Building 5 and being so close to the buses, and having only one bus stop for the resort, was a perk for us. We also didn't find that we had to wait long for buses, nor were they particularly crowded. This was during Halloween week, so I imagine mileage varies depending on demand/crowds, but the longest we waited for a bus was actually to get back to the resort after a long Epcot night.

 

[fractalpotato]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, it's good to know this isn't the usual experience, maybe we just had an off week there. I will say it seemed to get a little bit better towards the end of the trip.

But I tend to agree with a previous poster. I do a blend on Disney transportation and rental car during my trips and by the time you drive to the park, wait for them to scan your Magic Band, drive to a spot, wait for a tram, and get hauled to the front I don't think you save any time. What you are getting is the feeling of being in motion, which is for many easier than waiting at a bus stop.

You definitely save time with a car, undoubtedly. In the best case scenario, the bus may be the same time as driving, which I doubt, but even so, we waited 10 to 40 minutes for busses, whereas a car is immediately available on our schedule. We also had a lot of resort-to-resort travel this trip, and there is no way bus to park and back is faster than a direct shot by car. We've gone from asleep to park gates in under 30 minutes regularly with rental cars and never beat 75 minutes this trip except one occasion where a bus arrived as we did and had no ECV to load.

Overall, I think we just got a bad patch of luck and under estimated the padding needed to arrive places via Disney Transport, though we definitely noticed a lower bus service level for that resort, I guess that's not typical. The boat service to and from Disney Springs was superb as we are used to though. The food court was still a big letdown, we just didn't care for the selections or prices, and we did hit several of our normal haunts and new places and didn't feel like the prices were out of line (for Disney) so I am going to stand by my criticism of the food court.

Overall, even with a rental car eliminating the bus factor, the food options, typically higher rates and lack of additional pools I don't see us returning. Who knows? Suddenly we find ourselves planning a visit to the Polynesian next year!

Matt

 

[a1tinkfans]

Sorry your experience was not a good one OP.
I hope ur next visit to disney will be much better for you.
I’m headed there shortly and hope it’s as it’s been in the past for us .. a good experience.

 

[tjmw2727]

We really like POFQ so I will try not to come off as "defensive" I hope. It is one of our favorites because of the small size, the boat to DTD and the over all friendliness of the CM's here. A little research would show it has no sit down restaurant but you can walk to POR and eat at theirs (spoken in a not at all snarky voice). Honestly we have AP's and use TIW so we like the fact that POFQ doesn't have a sit down so we can use our discount

It is one of the few Disney resorts that offers live entertainment in the lounge - in addition to being in walking distance to the lounge at POR and their live entertainment.

One of the benefits for us is that there is one bus stop and POFQ doesn't share buses so we have found the service better than most moderates and even some deluxe resorts that either have multiple stops or share with other resorts. I never rent a car as not driving is a perk of being on vacation for me so we have used buses at all but about 2 resorts and there is always "that day" imho at every resort where your bus just never arrives!

 

[Moliphino]

POFQ used to have a nice table service restaurant (Bonfamille's), but it closed in 2000. They used to give you a basket of beignets at breakfast, we loved it there.

 

[nkereina]

no table service restaurant that we could find?

There's not. They are sister resorts with POR, which is where Boatwright's is located (TS).

Mostly we were frustrated by Disney Transport. This is the first trip in six years I haven't rented a car because of the parking fees, and I regret it so much. Disney transport is so slow, but moreover, POFQ busses never come. Multiple times over several days we waited for nearly an hour for a POFQ bus, and several times just gave up and took a POR bus or called Lyft. (We had some Lyft problems too).

Its been a while since we've been to POFQ, but the thing about the buses that stuck out to me most was the chaos at the bus stop. I think slow buses could attribute to that. What I mean is that there were always crowds of people standing around at the bus stop and it was a mad dash when a bus pulled up, without regard for who was there first. There were no queues at the bus stop like you'd find at the parks or values. Made it a little crazy.

In addition the QS restaurant was so very slow, just... so slow, and expensive

All food at Disney is expensive. That's nothing new and POFQ I don't think can be singled out for that. I've found POR food court can be slow too when things are made to order. The register experience is often slow as well, but I partially blame customers for this - people being distracted, adding things on, not knowing their credits or what they're buying, etc. etc.

 

[stinkpickle]

"...Multiple times over several days we waited for nearly an hour for a POFQ bus..."

Not normal at all.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

We are at the tail end of a stay at POFQ this week and I've got to say, I'm really unpleasantly surprised at how... not great an experience it was. We are normally at POR, it's our favorite resort and it's been great every single time. Of course it's had hiccups, but generally very good.

POFQ on the other hand, well, we only stayed here because we were traveling for a wedding and this had the rate and POR didn't. It's a nice enough resort, smaller than we realized, but that's fine. One pool, which wasn't too crowded in November, no table service restaurant that we could find?

Mostly we were frustrated by Disney Transport. This is the first trip in six years I haven't rented a car because of the parking fees, and I regret it so much. Disney transport is so slow, but moreover, POFQ busses never come. Multiple times over several days we waited for nearly an hour for a POFQ bus, and several times just gave up and took a POR bus or called Lyft. (We had some Lyft problems too).

In addition the QS restaurant was so very slow, just... so slow, and expensive, and the food was not that great. We ended up eating the parks a lot more (usually after giving up on an attempt at rope drop because the bus was so delayed) and it's just been unpleasant.

Just wondering, because normally the resort experience is much better. We also got nagged by Mousekeeping twice even though we turned it down for a gift card. One time they interrupted us at a very... inopportune moment (we are a traveling couple!) which is frustrating. Overall they just seem to have a lower quality of stay here.

Matt

Just back from my 5 night stay NOV 13 thru 18. It was just my sister and myself. I thought FQ was outstanding!!. Buses came when they said they would, love the bus board. We never waited more than 15 minutes. A lot of times we even got seats! The food in the food court was very good. We were on the QS dining plan and only did a few breakfasts and quick a few later "dinners". I love that everything was made "to order". Waiting a few minutes for good HOT food is OK by me!! We did not opt for the GiftCard over Maid service and we came back to a clean room, beds made and fresh toweled room every evening! Ah, the joy of vacationing! This was my 2nd time staying at POFQ and I hope to again.

 

[KellyHonos]

Last time I was at French Quarter in 2016, we had a great time. We loved how quiet it was. The pool was a favorite. Unfortunately, the food court was under construction while we were there, so we didn't experience that to the fullest, but their new set up in a different spot wasn't too bad. We made the most of it. We didn't experience any extensive issues with the busses either. Everytime we go, we use nothing but the buses. Unless there is some direct correlation between long bus waits and FQ, I don't know if it's necessarily fair to blame FQ for long waits. Plus, we are getting into the holiday season. Perhaps there's just a high demand right now? Either way, sorry to hear you had a less-than-satisfactory experience at one of my favorites! You win some, you lose some.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I was there 11/2-11/4.

I found the buses to be very good but there were two times I arrived and I heard people complaining that they had been waiting over 30 minutes for a bus. We never waited long. Even at park close the buses came quick, the lines were never long and we never had to stand. I guess since it's a small resort there aren't as many people taking the buses.

I do find the food court to be very slow also. And the ordering/paying area is small too. Very crowded. It Took forever to get an omelet.

DD loved POFQ and wants to stay there next trip. I loved the smallness of the resort. We were steps away from the bus stop.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

There's not. They are sister resorts with POR, which is where Boatwright's is located (TS).



Its been a while since we've been to POFQ, but the thing about the buses that stuck out to me most was the chaos at the bus stop. I think slow buses could attribute to that. What I mean is that there were always crowds of people standing around at the bus stop and it was a mad dash when a bus pulled up, without regard for who was there first. There were no queues at the bus stop like you'd find at the parks or values. Made it a little crazy.



All food at Disney is expensive. That's nothing new and POFQ I don't think can be singled out for that. I've found POR food court can be slow too when things are made to order. The register experience is often slow as well, but I partially blame customers for this - people being distracted, adding things on, not knowing their credits or what they're buying, etc. etc.

I find the DDP slows down the register areas most everywhere. People arguing over what's a snack credit vs. QS credit. The CMs always looked relieved when I told them we had no DDP.

 

[Brett Wyman]

I find the DDP slows down the register areas most everywhere. People arguing over what's a snack credit vs. QS credit. The CMs always looked relieved when I told them we had no DDP.

You should have seen their faces trying to figure what a non-alcoholic "signature drink" was last year, right when the program updated to include alcohol!

 

[Lynne M]

When thinking/talking about the question "how is the transportation at this particular resort," and especially when choosing a resort on the basis of transportation, I find it helps to look at it from two different perspectives.

1) Things that are specific to that resort

• How many bus stops are there at the resort - in other words, do we have to stop a bunch of times before we even leave the resort?
• Do buses that stop at this resort also serve other resorts - or, do we have to stop a bunch of times on the way to our destination?
• What kinds of transportation does the resort offer - for example, some have bus transportation only, some have monorails and/or boats and/or walking paths.

2) Things that are not specific to that resort

• "I waited forever for a bus/boat/monorail"
• "There were never enough buses for all the people who were waiting"
• "We always had to stand on the bus, they were always so crowded"

The problems the OP had with bus wait times at POFQ could have (and do) happen at every resort, because POFQ isn't running its own bus system. It's a centralized system, and who gets hit with the long wait times that day or week is just a matter of bad luck. Some days, it might be all of the resorts. Long waits and not enough buses are problems with the system as a whole. It might be a volume issue, it might be a rash of mechanical problems, or a bunch of drivers calling out sick, a bad dispatching decision - the "stuff happens" problems that go with running what's essentially a big-city transportation system.

ANYway, the point I'm trying to make is that if you read a horror story about bus waits at a certain resort, don't let it put you off staying at that resort, because those kinds of problems don't affect one resort more than any other. Focus on things that are specific to the resort.

 

[Cornish Lad]

Stayed at ASMusic in 2016 and were convinced that Sports and Movies buses outnumbered Music buses by 2:1 when leaving the parks - probably all in the mind! Wherever you stay it seems that "your" buses are less frequent than anyone else's. Had 3 weeks at POFQ in September and only once was there an inordinate delay in a bus and that was one night on leaving HS - and everyone in the queue was complaining to the extent that a few people went up to the dispatcher to find out what the delay was - waited well over 30 minutes and we were not the first in the queue. Apart from that the buses were fine and the boats to DS were excellent. Already planning to stay at POFQ on our next trip.

 

[adelaster]

I've recently completed a few stays in the last year. I was not pleased with our last visit a few weeks ago and experienced some of what you mention.

That said, I had previously had mostly pleasant visits, and still had some good moments. I don't have plans to return to or stay on WDW property in the future though. There is a great deal of inconsistency.

 

[Kathleen Zwally]

I stay at PORFQ in low times (sept)...but busses came at regular intervals and had no issues.