How to Get to Port Orleans French Quarter from Disney Springs (with Travel Times)

We’re back with another edition of Resorts Gal Routes! For this route, we’re discussing getting to Port Orleans French Quarter from Disney Springs. As we do on our usual routes, we’ll take advantage of the complimentary transportation options provided by Disney. You might travel this route for a variety of reasons. Many guests enjoy taking the Sassagoula River Cruise from Disney Springs to Port Orleans French Quarter for the pure enjoyment of the boat ride. Guests also like to visit the resort to pick up an order of beignets or tour the resort’s scenic grounds.

Regardless of why you’re visiting, you’ll want to know how to get to Port Orleans French Quarter. Of course, you can always visit any theme park and take a bus to Port Orleans French Quarter. For example, if you’re staying at Coronado Springs, you can take a bus to Epcot and then board another bus to the resort. This is what we call a resort transfer. However, for this route, we’re visiting Disney Springs for the river cruise option and because of its proximity. Now, let’s figure out how to get to those Mickey-shaped beignets!

Route 1: Take the Sassagoula Ferry Cruise to Port Orleans French Quarter

If you want to take a Disney Springs water taxi to Port Orleans French Quarter. You’ll need to make your way to the Marketplace boat dock at Disney Springs. If you arrive at Disney Springs via a bus, you’ll want to take a right when you enter the venue and head toward the Marketplace side of Disney Springs. You’ll walk through Town Center toward the Lego Store and World of Disney.

You’ll exit the Marketplace near Rainforest Cafe. The restaurant sits underneath a volcano that blasts a flame every few minutes. It’s a good reference point to ensure you’re headed in the right direction. You’ll take an immediate left when you exit Disney Springs at the Marketplace. The Marketplace boat dock sits just ahead on a bridge.

Need to Know: The walk between the bus drop-off at Disney Springs and the Marketplace Boat Dock takes approximately 15-20 minutes. If you do not want to walk across Disney Springs, use the resort transfer method discussed above or Route 2, further below. Also, the water taxis at Disney Springs are wheelchair, stroller, and ECV-accessible.

Here is the boat dock at Disney Springs. It services Disney’s Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Port Orleans Riverside, and Port Orleans French Quarter.

Our average tracked time for the boat ride between Disney Springs and Port Orleans French Quarter is approximately 15 minutes. (We keep spreadsheets with a record of our routes to provide our readers with as accurate information as possible.) These routes are popular, especially on the weekends and later in the day. So don’t be surprised if you find a long line.

Route 2: Take a Bus from Disney Springs to Port Orleans French Quarter

You can also take a bus from Disney Springs to Port Orleans French Quarter or vice-versa. The bus stops for all the Disney Springs Area Resorts are on the front row, which makes them convenient to access. Whether you plan to take the boat or not, you want to know that every Disney World Resort offers bus service to Disney Springs.

I mention this often on the site because I run into this issue regularly. Many guests will get to the bus stop at one of the Port Orleans Resorts, and the digital sign says Disney Springs “use water taxi.” They then turn around to leave and find the boat, not knowing that the bus will pull up any minute and that it is the quicker option…at that point. The bus ride between Port Orleans French Quarter and Disney Springs averages 12 minutes.

If you had only known to wait on the bus, you would have already been at Disney Springs by the time you walked from the bus stop to the boat dock, got in line for the boat, and waited. This happens without fail every time I’m at one of the Disney Springs Resorts. The signs are misleading.

You also need to know about the bus option in the event of inclement weather. Say you take the boat from Disney Springs and spend an hour or two at Port Orleans French Quarter. Then, when it’s time to leave, it looks like it might rain at any minute. You do not want to get stuck on a partially open-air boat in the middle of a downpour and then have to walk back to the Disney Springs bus stop. In this situation, you would want to know that you can take the bus back to Disney Springs and then find the bus stop to return to your resort. Another example might be if you were staying at the Contemporary, you could take a bus from the French Quarter to Magic Kingdom and then walk or monorail back to your resort.

The Resorts Gal Spin

All the routes we write about in this series are based on issues we’ve experienced or witnessed. While Disney transportation is not without flaws, it is reliable. It’s even more reliable if you know your options and how to piece them together in ways that make sense to your travel plans. Some will want the shortest, least time-consuming ways to reach their destinations. While others will want to enjoy the leisure of seeing everything there is to see on the way. So, I hope this route gave you some practical (and fun) ideas for getting to Port Orleans French Quarter!

Final Thoughts

For more on Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, you might enjoy the following:

• Photo Walking Tour of Port Orleans French Quarter
• Where to Get Beignets at Disney’s French Quarter
• Seeing the Port Orleans Resorts at Christmas
• Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides at Disney’s Port Orleans Resorts

In the Comments

Have you ever taken the Sassagoula River Cruise? Do you enjoy the boats at Walt Disney World? In the comments section below, please share your thoughts, experiences, or questions.