AKL vs CR

[Koh1977]

Thinking of switching from CR to AKL...Right now we have a deluxe Garden Wing room booked for 6 nights in August. Me, my DH, DS6 and DD2. We will have our own car if that matters.

If we switched to AKL, we'd book a pool view room with bunk beds. It would save us about $475.

We haven't stayed at either one...thoughts??

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[DISzy]

We stayed at CR a couple of years ago and loved it. We were planning to say there again until DD said, "it would be cool to be with the giraffes." When I compared prices, we could stay club level at AKL for same price as standard parking lot view at CR. so, we stayed at AKL club level. We loved it!!!! We had no probs with buses, restaurants there are fantastic, and well, club level spoiled my family. We are heading back there in Sept. I have another friend though who doesn't like staying at AKL because she lines to feel like she is sleeping in the theme park. CR is definitely better for her. AKL feels like an African safari vacation. It is quiet and peaceful and beautiful but definitely different vibe from CR.

 

[AJKMOM]

AKL is my favorite resort, I love the theming and the pool.

However, if you will be spending a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom, then the Contemporary is your best choice. You might want to consider a split stay, a few nights at each resort. It isn't as difficult to do as you might think.

 

[Disneyhenry]

We have stayed at AKL and loved it! I think with the ages of your kids, your family will love it too.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thinking of switching from CR to AKL...Right now we have a deluxe Garden Wing room booked for 6 nights in August. Me, my DH, DS6 and DD2. We will have our own car if that matters.

If we switched to AKL, we'd book a pool view room with bunk beds. It would save us about $475.

We haven't stayed at either one...thoughts??

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We are trying the CR for the first time in December, so I can't comment on that resort, but we loved AKL and thought the buses were great. The resort is beautiful, dining options are great (IMO) for both CS and TS, the gift shop is nice, and it's great having the option to view animals in spots around the resort if you don't have a savanna view room. We had a pool view room on our last AKL stay and I loved it. The view was pretty and our room was conveniently located to the elevator to go down to Mara and the pool. Good luck deciding, although I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

 

[raven69david]

We have done both, twice. The CR felt very stale while AK was just the opposite. We loved the atmosphere at AKL. The "cool" factor of staying at CR wore of 10 minutes after leaving the lobby and reaching my room. It was cool, but we won't do CR again any time soon unless we get a fantastic rate, which I don't see happening any time in the near future.

My kids are DS1 and DD8. DD did not like it very much, but was the exact opposite of AKL as that is her favorite resort.

 

[ElizabethG]

That's a tough call. Those are my two favorite resorts. You really can't go wrong with either one. Do you have a basic itinerary? What things are you going to do? Some things are more convenient from one vs the other. They are both very wonderful, very different experiences. Split stays are great. We are doing our third split AKV/BLT stay this year. However, I only like to do split stays when I will be there for 10-nights or more. You lose at least a large part of a day when you switch.

In the end, you should just go with your gut. Whichever one you are leaning towards, go with that. You can't make a wrong decision.

 

[RapunzelsGoodMom]

Two of my favorites as well. We did CR (well, BLT) last year and loved it. Just back from an AKL only trip and loved that too. So our next trip is a split stay. Best of both worlds! But love the CR and the vibe/proximity to MK. Love the movies outside and the water pageant. And taking the boat to WL to visit and my kids find the monorail so exciting.

And then there is the calm, breathtaking splendor of the AKL and the animals. The kids activities, pools and cast members are awesome for you AKL or resort only days.

You can't go wrong with either...but split stays are even easier with your own car and creative packing!

 

[rcraw45425]

We are definitely CR folks. Tried AKL in January and decided it 's just not our cup of tea. A lot of people love it though and you'll be happy wherever you stay, you're at Disney, right?

 

[chasgoose]

Based on the ages of your kids, I imagine you will be spending most of your time at MK. I think staying at CR might be your best choice based on that. Being able to walk back to your hotel/hop on the monorail will be a big plus with young kids who will need to take a break.

Are there regular garden wing rooms available at the CR? They will still be bigger than the rooms at AKL and will be cheaper than the room you currently have.

 

[akl-fan]

We are doing a BLT/AKV split in September. If you will be spending most of you time in the parks especially MK then go with CR. If you plan to have lots of resort time pool time then go with AKL.

It is not a great idea to commute from AKL to MK using a car it takes for ever, then you have to get a parking tram and boat/monorail. If you do go with AKL i would highly recommend using Disney transport on MK days,

 

[Koh1977]

AKL is my favorite resort, I love the theming and the pool.

However, if you will be spending a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom, then the Contemporary is your best choice. You might want to consider a split stay, a few nights at each resort. It isn't as difficult to do as you might think.

Already tried to win DH over with a split, but we are also doing 2 nights offsite when we do Sea World, so too many moves he thinks for the length of time we're there.

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[Stitch's Greatest Fa]

Loved AK, Cr was nice but just kinda felt like any old Hilton/Radisson etc with a train running through it lol!

 

[pilferk]

Thinking of switching from CR to AKL...Right now we have a deluxe Garden Wing room booked for 6 nights in August. Me, my DH, DS6 and DD2. We will have our own car if that matters.

If we switched to AKL, we'd book a pool view room with bunk beds. It would save us about $475.

We haven't stayed at either one...thoughts??

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I love AKL. Love, love, love it. We don't stay anywhere else.

That being said:

If you're not super-regular visitors, and you're not taking a slower pace for your trip, I'd say go with CR.

First of all, given your kids ages, I'm guessing you will be spending a good amount of time at MK. You can't beat the distance from the CR to MK...you can literally WALK from the resort to the front entrance.

Second...given the proximity to MK, and your kids ages, CR makes it awful easy to wedge in that afternoon pool break.

While I love AKL, it's a good 15 or so min drive to MK..and then you have to park at the TTC and grab the monorail/ferry to get to the MK gates. Alternately, you can take the resort bus directly to the MK gates...but it's still a good 15 to 20 min ride into the park, and then (depending on when you leave) a haul back to the resort.

To my family, that haul is worth it. But my kids are a bit older (10,8,6 right now) and our trip "pace" is sort of laid back.

 

[Koh1977]

I love AKL. Love, love, love it. We don't stay anywhere else.

That being said:

If you're not super-regular visitors, and you're not taking a slower pace for your trip, I'd say go with CR.

First of all, given your kids ages, I'm guessing you will be spending a good amount of time at MK. You can't beat the distance from the CR to MK...you can literally WALK from the resort to the front entrance.

Second...given the proximity to MK, and your kids ages, CR makes it awful easy to wedge in that afternoon pool break.

While I love AKL, it's a good 15 or so min drive to MK..and then you have to park at the TTC and grab the monorail/ferry to get to the MK gates. Alternately, you can take the resort bus directly to the MK gates...but it's still a good 15 to 20 min ride into the park, and then (depending on when you leave) a haul back to the resort.

To my family, that haul is worth it. But my kids are a bit older (10,8,6 right now) and our trip "pace" is sort of laid back.

I would like this trip to be more "laid back" in all honesty. We've been so many times, I'd like something a bit different and I'm afraid if we stay at the CR, it'd be too easy to continue rushing around from one place to another...

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[pilferk]

I would like this trip to be more "laid back" in all honesty. We've been so many times, I'd like something a bit different and I'm afraid if we stay at the CR, it'd be too easy to continue rushing around from one place to another...

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Well..then AKL might work for you.

What I like most about it is that it's relatively tranquil. The pace just seems to be a bit slower for us, not being right on top of a theme park. It's sort of a nice oasis, away from the hub ub, where you can relax a little bit more (IMHO).

I rush the other 350 days a year...to and from work, to and from soccer/basketball/base-softball with the kids, etc. While I LOVE WDW, and we do spend more than our fair share of time in the parks, I love coming "home", letting the kids kick their feet up and watch TV while DW and I head out the the balcony with a drink (adult beverage or otherwise) and just chill out. I love taking a day mid-trip to just play with the kids by the pool...and there's no temptation to run right out to the park that's within spitting distance. I love that it's more of a destination point and not simply a pass through. Because it's a bit further removed from the parks...it seems like the traffic level is a bit more subdued. For us, its a nice break.

 

[RapunzelsGoodMom]

If you want a more relaxed trip, I'd probably go AKL instead then. The pools are great and they had SOOOO many kids activities. We were only there for four days but managed to do 1 and 1/2 park days, cookie decorating, the kids parade, pool EVERY afternoon, walk around the hotel to see the animals and talk to the cast members, hang out near the Mara (we were at Kidani).... It was amazing. My DD3 looked like she wanted to cry when I told her we were leaving. I felt the same way. It was amazing....

I LOVE the CR and it is one of my favorites. I remember watching the train come into the lobby in amazement and the great food, arcades, etc. So I choose it for the convenience and because I have such fond memories. I also like the Poly for the same reasons (but just not QUITE as much but I know I'm in the minority there.....). But we do BLT when we are going commando and will be in the MK every day....but AKL when we want down time. PERFECT escape.

And the buses from ALK to Magic Kingdom were no trouble for us. It seemed to take about the same amount of time as the Epcot resorts in my opinion, and they were quick to arrive and drop us off. Could have been good luck but I will take it. We did drive when we went to Epcot though....just easier since we were going for RD. But wouldn't mess with the tram, TTC, monorail to MK if you do stay at AKL.

You really can't go wrong - both are great! But I'd probably recommend AKL given your preferences for this particular trip. Our next one is commando so back to MK-area! I can relate to your visit strategy!

 

[TX Momof2]

I've only stayed at AKL. We loved it! The buses are very efficient; however, it does take 25 min or so to get from MK to AKL. If you're going to be taking breaks you may want to stay at CR. With young kids, it's nice to be close to the action.