AK vs CBR - My dilemma

[Mle8308]

If you are only using your room to sleep and shower, I'd look into Pop Century. It also has Skyliner access and isn't nearly as spread out as CBR. Something will always be a hike at CBR. I would save the money and spend it on food and drink or a future trip. Save AKL for when you can enjoy the resort and it's amenities.

 

[SkipperDave]

Where are your friends staying?

AoA.

 

[SkipperDave]

Well, here's the new update, folks....

I'm actually a CM at Disneyland and was very, very close to leaving the company, which is why I purchased a hotel and tickets for this trip.

However, after an excruciating and frustrating wait, I was finally given the transfer I asked for six months ago.

So I WILL be sticking around the company a little longer. And so now I rebooked CBR with a cast discount. (since I waited a while, exactly zero deluxe resorts were available with a cast discount. Oh, well!)

So, the dilemma is officially over.

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts! Unfortunately, I'm stuck in a remote pirate room, but I can suck up the extra walk for the money saved.

Cheers!

 

[Mle8308]

Well, here's the new update, folks....

I'm actually a CM at Disneyland and was very, very close to leaving the company, which is why I purchased a hotel and tickets for this trip.

However, after an excruciating and frustrating wait, I was finally given the transfer I asked for six months ago.

So I WILL be sticking around the company a little longer. And so now I rebooked CBR with a cast discount. (since I waited a while, exactly zero deluxe resorts were available with a cast discount. Oh, well!)

So, the dilemma is officially over.

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts! Unfortunately, I'm stuck in a remote pirate room, but I can suck up the extra walk for the money saved.

Cheers!

Enjoy! I'm a former WDW CM and will be meeting up and visiting DL in October with some of my CM friends (WDW). I know it will be busy, but I'm still very excited! The location of the Pirate rooms isn't so awful, there is the Spyglass Grill which is next to the quiet pool in that area and you aren't terribly far from the Skyliner. 4K WDW has a great walkaround video of CBR on You Tube if you want to get your bearings (not sure if you've stayed there before).

 

[AussieFan8]

Enjoy! I'm a former WDW CM and will be meeting up and visiting DL in October with some of my CM friends (WDW). I know it will be busy, but I'm still very excited! The location of the Pirate rooms isn't so awful, there is the Spyglass Grill which is next to the quiet pool in that area and you aren't terribly far from the Skyliner. 4K WDW has a great walkaround video of CBR if you want to get your bearings (not sure if you've stayed there before).

I just watched that last night! I had never been tempted to stay at CBR until I watched the video. It looks beautiful and relaxing!

 

[SkipperDave]

Enjoy! I'm a former WDW CM and will be meeting up and visiting DL in October with some of my CM friends (WDW). I know it will be busy, but I'm still very excited! The location of the Pirate rooms isn't so awful, there is the Spyglass Grill which is next to the quiet pool in that area and you aren't terribly far from the Skyliner. 4K WDW has a great walkaround video of CBR on You Tube if you want to get your bearings (not sure if you've stayed there before).

Thanks for the info! I'll definitely check it out! Let me know when you're in DLR. I may or may not still be there, but you never know!

 

[katyjeka]

CBR is one of two resorts I don't plan to visit again. Bus service was terrible(I know many who have had great service)We stayed twice and as luck would have it buses were a nightmare both times. The main pool was always packed and we seemed to always be far from where we needed to be. I know this sounds a little picky but it's also the only Disney resort that we've stayed at with filthy windows. My sister loves the place and has stayed several times. An early morning or late evening walk around AK is spectactular. The resort is beautiful and the theming is Disney at its best. Sorry but my vote is AK!

 

[SkipperDave]

Mods, feel free to close the thread!

 

[katyjeka]

Mods, feel free to close the thread!

Sorry!! I'm on my phone and didn't see your last post. Have a great time.

 

[SkipperDave]

Sorry!! I'm on my phone and didn't see your last post. Have a great time.

Ha. That's okay! I appreciate you sharing my thoughts. Up until I decided to go with the cast discount, I was really leaning towards AK. Maybe some other time!

 

[leebee]

AKL, hands down. Deluxe vs. moderate? CBR is large, sprawling in fact, and if you don't get a room near the Skyliner it's a looooong walk in the morning and especially at night after being on your feet all day- or you get the joys of the internal bus system. We've stayed both places, and CBR is one of my "never again" resorts just because of this. OTOH, I love AKL. Loved it when we had literally no view, loved the partial savanna view, loved the free upgrade to savanna view. I love the lobby, the lounge, the restaurants, the pool (and I am NOT a pool-person). It's just so peaceful, upscale, lovely. I don't understand everyone's complaint about it being "such a long bus ride." I don't see it as any much different from any of the Disney bus journeys- I hate the buses, so there's that, it doesn't matter to me. However... Skyliner is pretty cool, but what happens when it goes down? Then you are stuck on the Skyliner, or stuck waiting for Disney to get its act together and send a bus. I don't know... Deluxe vs. mod for such a minor cost? I'd do the deluxe all the way.

 

[toodycat]

I would go with AKL. The moderates are a lot to navigate. You don’t need to take a bus within AKL. Even if your room is not savannah view, you can see the animals from many viewing areas in the resort and CMs are happy to educate you about the wildlife if you ask. The animals are amazing and the AKL pool is so relaxing. Also, even if you decide not to change resorts, I would skip the park hoppers. We just visited last month and never used ours.

 

[SkipperDave]

Folks, please don't continue to respond. The issue has been settled.

Thank you. Mods, please lock thread.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

So a little backstory on my situation:

I'm going to WDW in mid-August for four full days.

I will be joining friends, a family of four. I've traveled with them once to WDW a number of years ago and now we're all finally able to get back, though I will be going for only a portion of the two-week span they will be there.

I had initially booked my stay at Caribbean Beach. I wanted to stay in a moderate place and CBR sounded pretty good. (Last time, I found my stay at POFQ to be utterly underwhelming.)

This seemed like a fun and interesting place with the huge bonus of Skyliner access.

However, because I can never leave well enough alone, I keep checking back on the website to see if any other more interesting spots have opened up within my relative price range.

And I just discovered today an itinerary for Animal Kingdom that is only very slightly higher than my CBR itinerary. In fact, if I wind up ditching the park hopper for two of my four days (for two days, I'll be using comped tickets, so I'm only paying for two more days), the price difference is literally only $30. With Hopper, it goes up to $100.

And I'm wondering if I should make the switch. Animal Kingdom really does look like a special and unique place.

However, the fact is, I won't be spending much time at all in my hotel. I expect to stay in the parks as much as possible and spend the evenings dining or drinking with my friends at places like Trader Sam's and Disney Springs.

I don't even really have any available meals to take advantage of AK's dining, nor any real time to enjoy their other activities and amenities.

I'd really be going there just for the vibe and the style.

And then, of course, there's the massive inconvenience of AK's location, which is the polar opposite of the convenience of the Skyliner, which I'll be using for at least two days of my visit.

Any thoughts about this? Any fans of AK that would recommend going in spite of these issues?

Or should I just go with the simpler, more convenient, if more prosaic option, of CBR?

Thanks in advance!

AKL IS MY FAVORITE RESORT. But, for your short stay I would keep the reservation you have and save AKL for a 7 night stay or longer so you can truly experience it.

 

[Kleese]

So a little backstory on my situation:

I'm going to WDW in mid-August for four full days.

I will be joining friends, a family of four. I've traveled with them once to WDW a number of years ago and now we're all finally able to get back, though I will be going for only a portion of the two-week span they will be there.

I had initially booked my stay at Caribbean Beach. I wanted to stay in a moderate place and CBR sounded pretty good. (Last time, I found my stay at POFQ to be utterly underwhelming.)

This seemed like a fun and interesting place with the huge bonus of Skyliner access.

However, because I can never leave well enough alone, I keep checking back on the website to see if any other more interesting spots have opened up within my relative price range.

And I just discovered today an itinerary for Animal Kingdom that is only very slightly higher than my CBR itinerary. In fact, if I wind up ditching the park hopper for two of my four days (for two days, I'll be using comped tickets, so I'm only paying for two more days), the price difference is literally only $30. With Hopper, it goes up to $100.

And I'm wondering if I should make the switch. Animal Kingdom really does look like a special and unique place.

However, the fact is, I won't be spending much time at all in my hotel. I expect to stay in the parks as much as possible and spend the evenings dining or drinking with my friends at places like Trader Sam's and Disney Springs.

I don't even really have any available meals to take advantage of AK's dining, nor any real time to enjoy their other activities and amenities.

I'd really be going there just for the vibe and the style.

And then, of course, there's the massive inconvenience of AK's location, which is the polar opposite of the convenience of the Skyliner, which I'll be using for at least two days of my visit.

Any thoughts about this? Any fans of AK that would recommend going in spite of these issues?

Or should I just go with the simpler, more convenient, if more prosaic option, of CBR?

Thanks in advance!

If you want my honest opinion of someone who loves and stays at both places. I would stay at Pop Century. Caribbean Beach is gigantic and over whelming. The rooms are nothing to write home over. Not compared to other resorts at least. Also,we were not impressed over the food court food. Taco shells are hard and they are supposed to be soft shells etc. What you should stay here for are the pools
,the beaches ,the ambiance and skyliner access. Since your only going to really enjoy the skyliner the price will not be worth it for you I don’t think.

Animal Kingdom Lodge is an amazing place! So many details and so many awesome food choices. However again if your going to go beginning to end at the parks it doesn’t sound like you will enjoy any of it. The first trip we did here we got very little time to enjoy it. We didn’t even catch the resort shop open. We ate breakfast at Boma, swam 1 time in the pool and only got to rock in the rocking chairs outside when we were waiting for the bus to go home.

Save your money and when you have more time to have full or half days at your resort then I think both of these will be well worth it. Please let us know what you decide

 

[SkipperDave]

Please let us know what you decide

I already did. A few times.

 

[SkipperDave]

Well, this is hilarious, folks! I called Reservations today to ask a small question and we got to talking about cast member discounts.

There is currently an Animal Kingdom standard room available at the EXACT price of my initial CBR reservation!

(The CBR reservation price did drop even lower, though!)

So now I could get a REALLY cheap AK room for only $800 for four nights.

Or I could just go super cheap and get the even cheaper CBR room. Which I think I'm going to do. Saving money is a priority at the moment, the skyliner convenience is a huge factor and I'm just not going to be spending much time in the room.

Oh, well!