I LOVE This Disney World Hotel, but I Ran Into a HUGE Transportation Problem on My Last Stay

Staying on property in Disney World is one of my absolute favorite things to do.

Can I do it often? Unfortunately not, because my wallet would burst into flames, but that just means it’s that much more special when I get to. Usually, you’ll find me in a value hotel (#popcenturyforthewin), but on my last trip, I got the AMAZING opportunity to stay in a moderate resort for the first time! While I loved it, I did run into a MASSIVE transportation issue you need to know about.

When my travel party and I arrived at Port Orleans Riverside, we checked in smoothly and made our way to our beautiful Royal Room, which was right across a bridge from the main building (what an easy commute!).

After we unpacked, we decided to head to Disney Springs for dinner. I recommended taking the boats, since a trip across the river sounded so peaceful. We got in a short(ish) line and prepared to wait.

But when 20 minutes had gone by, and we had only moved forward 1/3 of the line and only seen one boat come by, I had a feeling something was up. That feeling was confirmed when we saw a boat come by, but then it disappeared somewhere. 

When the boat after that pulled into the dock about 10 minutes later and we inched forward a bit, we were able to see that the boat wasn’t full when it pulled away — there were about 3-4 rows left empty. It was at this time a Cast Member came by the line and informed us the wait time had doubled to an hour (we didn’t see an official wait time posted anywhere, just a heads up) because only one boat was running.

Unfortunately, she informed us this was due to a medical emergency on the other boat, which is why I’m assuming we saw it come by, but not stop at the dock. As for why the boat running wasn’t fully filling up with people, I’m still not sure, but my group and I decided to head to Disney Springs with our own car instead, which did prove to be much faster than the boat or bus.

Pro tip though, if a Cast Member tells you the line will be longer, you have two options:

• Get out of line IMMEDIATELY and head to the other form of transportation to get ahead of the massive crowds that are about to head that way behind you, OR
• COMMIT to staying in line so you can potentially move up as a ton of other people leave (this one’s a little riskier in case the people in front of you don’t leave).

Either way, taking your own vehicle (if you have it) will likely be the fastest, but then you’ll just have to hope your parking spot is still there when you come back. And remember that bus transportation to and from Disney Springs is also available from the resorts, and if you don’t have a car, you can always take a rideshare such as Uber or Lyft. Yes, that will cost you extra money, but if you run into a problem and need to get to a reservation, it might be worth it!

As always, stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest Disney World news and tips!

Learn all about Port Orleans Riverside here!

What’s your favorite part of staying at a Disney World hotel? Tell us in the comments!