Just got back - any questions?

[megrod74]

We just got back from 8 days on the FTP - 9/27-10/4. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, went to all 4 major parks, and also Typhoon Lagoon, Pleasure Island and Circque.

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

[sters]

How long was the ferry ride to Downtown Disney?

 

[shellybaxter]

My husband and I are going to WDW the first part of November. We are staying at POR. I am currious about the disney transportation. Did it ever take you a REALLY long time to get anywhere? Were there taxis available if you didn't want to wait for the bus, say to go to another resort for dinner. And which section of the resort did you stay in? Hubby and I would rather be in a quieter section and have to walk a bit to get to the bus and food etc, but aren't sure where to request. We paid for a King bed, and have heard that most are in the Mansion section, but I really like the Alligator section and am not sure if it has King rooms. I'd just love to hear any tips or ideas about the resort itself and how easy/hard you found it to get to where you wanted to be from there?

Last question - did you have a GOOD TIME!!

 

[megrod74]

The ferry ride to DTD lasted about 15 minutes to the West Side (you need to tell the captain that you want to stop there) and 22 mins. to the Marketplace. It was a nice ride, especially when there was still daylight.

I don't remember it taking a long time for the busses to go anywhere from the resort. Several times I timed it, and it can definitely FEEL a lot longer than it actually is. Never more than the 15-20 minutes that they promise. Taxis are available and the resort can call one for you - the recommended company is Checkered Cabs I believe. I would recommend that if you plan on a PS at another resort. We stayed in the Mansions - Parterre Place #9542. My only requests were: non-smoking and close to the main bldg. We were really close to the main bldg and that was our bus stop. Our room, however, was not the best. The first thing I noticed was the smell of smoke. I guess some smokers got stuck in the non-smoking bldg. Luckily, my mom had some Bath & Body works linen spray which we used on everything and never noticed the smell again. My other complaint was the mold in the shower which I had housekeeping spray. The room is definitely in need of refurbishment. If you aren't happy with your room be sure to speak up!
Our room was very quiet, it overlooked the center courtyard with the fountains. I have stayed at Alligator Bayou in the past and liked them better, but our location was great at Parterre Place. The South Depot bus stop was usually the last to be picked up going to a park and the first to be dropped off coming home.

Let me know if I forgot something!

 

[danny1649]

Use Fast Pass?How did it work?Did you ride Mission Space at Epcot?How was it? Thanks

 

[DISshopkeeper]

Didja see any DISers???

 

[jscharf]

Hi I was at port orleans the same time as you. Were you the one with the tshirt with the green dis mickey?

 

[megrod74]

Unfortunately I didn't remember to bring anything lime green And actually, I didn't notice anyone else with any.
We used FastPass for Tower of Terror and Space Mtn. It worked great. In fact for ToT the stand-by line was really forever b/c there were so many people with Fast pass.

Mission: space was great. my mom and I rode it twice, but my DH chickened out the 2nd time; he didn't want motion sickness, although he didn't get it the first time. I had taken Meclizine before riding though.

 

[danny1649]

For the reply to my ?'s now you are planning your next trip right.

 

[megrod74]

you're welcome! Actually, we were talking about our next trip being a Land & Sea pkg - we've never been on a cruise Don't know when it would be though.

 

[44disney]

Hi! We are going next week, so I want to know how crowded was each park, and whether you visited the early entry park each day or not. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[megrod74]

Here is our itinerary and the crowd levels:

Sat - AK (not crowded) and EP (more crowded than AK but nothing bad) we had a good view of Illum. 10 minutes before it started
Sun - EP (totally empty) and spent the afternoon at ESPN club watching the Eagles - also not crowded. At night I think the only thing we waited long for was Maelstrom!?
Mon - MGM (low crowds) no wait for RnRC. At one point we did have to wait 1/2 hr for ToT for some reason. They kept taking the Fast Pass people instead. The park seemed to get more crowded closer to the Fantasmic time. We arrived at the show 45 mins ahead and sat about 3/4 of the way around.
Tues - MK (very low crowds) I don't think we had to wait for anything. I think we used FP for Space Mtn, but it wasn't necessary
Tues night - DQ - from 8-10, got more crowded as the night wore on
Wed - MK (again very low crowds)
Thurs - MGM (crowds seem to be picking up) but no where near summer crowds
Thurs afternoon - EP - (not crowded)
Fri - AK - the only EE park that we did. we didn't do very much this day, but around 9am we had no wait for the Safari.
Fri night - MK for MNSSHP - Didn't have to wait for any rides
Sat - Typhoon Lagoon - we left at 2:30 so there weren't any waits, but I noticed as we were leaving the lines were getting longer.
We are used to going in the beginning of Dec, so compared to that the crowds were heavier, but I actually liked it better that way. It gave the parks more life, and there seemed to be a lot more entertainment. Also, you never felt like you were the only people in an attraction, like Lion King or Millionaire, where I'd feel really conspicuous.
We only took pics with characters if there wasn't a line (we were 3 adults) and this happened several times, even in the Judge's Tent in Toontown.
HTH!

 

[disneyjunkie]

Was COP open?

 

[megrod74]

The only time it was open was during MNSSHP - but at least we got to see it