And here comes Belle, the Port Orleans Princess!!! Someone else gave me that nickname on another thread and I thought it was funny!!!!! Anyhow getting to the matter at hand, I have stayed at both sides and find them equally nice. Of the three sections ( FQ where all of the buildings are designed to look like the row houses in New Orleans, Riverside:Mansions, where the rooms are designed to look like the Southern Plantation houses, Riverside:Alligator Bayou, which is designed to be more rustic and look like the houses in the Bayou ( Swampy) areas) My personal favorite is the Mansion area. I prefer the straight ahead layout of the Mansions, the manicured flower gardens, and the romance of the Plantation look (alaScarlett O'Hara/ Rhett Butler thing) I really dont think you can go wrong with any of these choices personally though so go with whichever theme appeals to you.
As far as a Water View, I would also saay that is a question of preference. I specifically booked a water view at Riverside when traveling with my mom so she wouldnt have to walk so far. Well we got a room location that was just PERFECT!!!!! We were right by the footbridge to the Main Building so Mom didnt have to go far for coffee in the morning ( there is also a coffee pot and supplies in the rooms there) and in addition to that on the other side of the room was the quiet pool for our area. So Mom would get up in the morning, try to not disturb me, go get her coffee, come back sit by the quiet pool and make friends!!! Mom had indicated that if she goes again I have to try to get her that exact room!!! Geee Mom I am good but not that good!!!!! King Beds, I Am unaware of the exact layouts and room locations of the Kingsize beds so I cant answer that one.
Romance level at all three areas are fine. As I said go with what tickles your fancy.
Convienence, Can you be a bit more specific here? for what? Dining, Park access, etc? Il will tell you that this resort area( they are side by side and you can walk from one to the other) is pretty much in the center of it all and is very close to EPCOT and MGM. The other parks arent too far away either and all of them have individual busses running back and forth all day long. Crowds should be fairly light with the possible exception fo the weekends when the locals come in for the Food & Wine Fest. Food & Wine is a great time and a lot of fun to do. I have actually managed to try everything ( they are sampler sized dishes) that I wanted to two years ago. It took me two days to eat my way around the world!!!!!!!!!
Who should you book your trip with?? Well you have a number of options. Pam of Kingdom Konsultant is the travel sponsor for these boards and my own person travel agent. I find working with her wonderful. She will look for the most amount of vacation for the least amount of money for you and is a full service agent so she can do airfare, hotel, tickets, transport etc) You can also book through Disney yourself. They are always very friendly and helpful but CANNOT offer any suggestions on discounts, whereas Pam does! I hesitate to use any other agencies at this point as they arent as familiar with Disney as I Am and so therefor may not know the answer to some questions that are asked. Pam goes to Disney as frequently as she can so she is not only an agent she has first hand knowledge of the property, which most agents cant claim. Weather...it does vary I have been there in the beginning of December and have been able to comfortably go swimming and I have been there in November and we were freezing!!! it all depends on the year and the weatehr at that time. Just check
www.weather.com, punch in 32830 which is the zip code for the resort area and pack accordingly. they also have a section on that same site for historical weather trends for different times of the year. Check it out.
And now for the grand finale, so far everyone here has done a great job of describing the resorts but a picture is worth a thousand words. One of our members had posted a link to her own personal pics of the Port Orleans resort ( Both sides they are labeled as to which is which) She had said I could direct people to the site so here it is:
http://home.comcast.net/~candisfl/wsb/html/view.cgi-photos.html-.html
Take a look ( I use the slideshow feature) And let me know what you think or if you have any more questions!!! Belle
