Animal Kingdom, Contemporary or Boardwalk

[Terry6228]

Booking a trip end of August for myself, my sister and 2 kids (10 and 5).
Debating between Animal Kingdom savanna view, Boardwalk garden or pool view, or Contemporary preferred room.

Thoughts on whats the best option? I love being on the monorail but theres been construction all over contemporary.

In Animal Kingdom is Kidani better or is Jambo house?

Boardwalk has an extra bed but how is the view????

Any opinions of photos are helpful. Trying to work my way through all of the DVC resorts lol.

 

[Steelers0854]

Widely different options, can you share more context about what you all want to do and how long you will be staying? BLT is great work walking proximity to MK, if you’re going to do a lot of MK that is a great option. We loved AK. Love the food out there, the hotel is beautiful and nothing beats waking up to the animals on the Savannah. It’s my vote unless you’re gonna be park heavy at either MK or Epcot.

 

[starsaber25]

I have stayed at all 3 in the last two years. The kids will love the savanna view at AKL. However, just keep in mind that the transportation there is only busses and everything takes a while to get to. When I was there in June it wasn't the biggest deal to me as much as it is to other people. I stayed at Kidani but it appears that most people prefer Jambo. The hallways at Kidani are Looooooooooooooooonnnnggg.

BWV is a great spot. I had a boardwalk view but I'm sure the pool view is totally fine. It is neat being on the boardwalk. And the walk to EPCOT cannot be beat. If you are spending any amount of time there then that is an amazing location. You can take the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios as well. But the few times I walked past there it must have been busy times and the line was long.

I assume you mean Bay Lake Tower when you refer to the Contemporary. BLT is my home resort and I absolutely love it. Yes the theming does not scream Disney World. But everything else about the resort is top notch to me. The 5-10 min walk into Magic Kingdom cannot be beat by any resort. I assume that you will be spending a lot of time there with the ages of your kids. You have access to all of the food at contemporary. You have monorail access. The two downsides to me is when you have to take the bus to Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom you share the bus with the Wilderness Lodge so it can get cramped. The next is the pool is nothing to write home about. The contemporary's is better but still not groundbreaking.

If I were you and you plan on spending a lot of time at Magic Kingdom then I would say BLT. But if you want your kids to be amazed by the Savanna then I would say AKL.

 

[Wedgeout]

Going to come down to own preference. Each great.

August. Have to consider weather. (Heat & unknown feel yet on hurricane cycles). I’d want to take many rest periods & enjoy A/C and the pool.

I’d go Contemporary. Great “home base”. Great transportation options for two parks. I feel the children are going to want to pop into Magic Kingdom the most.

Most other resorts in an area to tour & eat. (Fort Wilderness, Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian & Grand Floridian). Easy monorail or boat ride away.

 

[Terry6228]

Widely different options, can you share more context about what you all want to do and how long you will be staying? BLT is great work walking proximity to MK, if you’re going to do a lot of MK that is a great option. We loved AK. Love the food out there, the hotel is beautiful and nothing beats waking up to the animals on the Savannah. It’s my vote unless you’re gonna be park heavy at either MK or Epcot.

Staying 6 nights. We range in the theme park area TBH. My sister loves Epcot. 10 year old LOVES Hollywood Studios and there will obviously be a decent time spent at MK for the 6 year old.

Will be park hopping but also want to be able to enjoy resort pool as well as a decent selections of dining options IN our hotel (another reason I'm wary of BLT)

 

[Terry6228]

I have stayed at all 3 in the last two years. The kids will love the savanna view at AKL. However, just keep in mind that the transportation there is only busses and everything takes a while to get to. When I was there in June it wasn't the biggest deal to me as much as it is to other people. I stayed at Kidani but it appears that most people prefer Jambo. The hallways at Kidani are Looooooooooooooooonnnnggg.

BWV is a great spot. I had a boardwalk view but I'm sure the pool view is totally fine. It is neat being on the boardwalk. And the walk to EPCOT cannot be beat. If you are spending any amount of time there then that is an amazing location. You can take the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios as well. But the few times I walked past there it must have been busy times and the line was long.

I assume you mean Bay Lake Tower when you refer to the Contemporary. BLT is my home resort and I absolutely love it. Yes the theming does not scream Disney World. But everything else about the resort is top notch to me. The 5-10 min walk into Magic Kingdom cannot be beat by any resort. I assume that you will be spending a lot of time there with the ages of your kids. You have access to all of the food at contemporary. You have monorail access. The two downsides to me is when you have to take the bus to Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom you share the bus with the Wilderness Lodge so it can get cramped. The next is the pool is nothing to write home about. The contemporary's is better but still not groundbreaking.

If I were you and you plan on spending a lot of time at Magic Kingdom then I would say BLT. But if you want your kids to be amazed by the Savanna then I would say AKL.

Is the skyliner the only way to HS? I'm wary of it in August due to the weather and how they close it for rain TBH.

BLT has the monorail and I love being on the monorail. It's the only hotel I haven't stayed at yet on the monorail line I just feel like the other hotels may have more food options for the kids?

 

[Terry6228]

Going to come down to own preference. Each great.

August. Have to consider weather. (Heat & unknown feel yet on hurricane cycles). I’d want to take many rest periods & enjoy A/C and the pool.

I’d go Contemporary. Great “home base”. Great transportation options for two parks. I feel the children are going to want to pop into Magic Kingdom the most.

Most other resorts in an area to tour & eat. (Fort Wilderness, Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian & Grand Floridian). Easy monorail or boat ride away.

The monorail is the biggest reason why I'd lean towards BLT but we stayed at Poly last time and loved taking the boat as well when the monorail was crowded end of the night. Do you think the walk from MK to BLT at the end of the night in August heat is doable? We would obviously have a stroller for the 6 year old.

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

Do you think the walk from MK to BLT at the end of the night in August heat is doable? We would obviously have a stroller for the 6 year old.

Not only is it doable but it's the single biggest advantage BLT has over every other resort on property. I'd guess your group, if you walk at average pace will make it in roughly 10 from turnstiles to front door of BLT.

 

[Wedgeout]

Do you think the walk from MK to BLT at the end of the night in August heat is doable?

Oh yes!! Sun down, cools off nicely, short walk. Very short.

 

[gottalovepluto]

… also want to be able to enjoy resort pool as well as a decent selections of dining options IN our hotel (another reason I'm wary of BLT)

Why not be wary of BW then? The only food IN the hotel is the coffee shop. You have to walk outside for everything else. Having stayed both during downpours around dinner I much preferred crossing the covered bridge at BLT to gain access to all CR dining + some monorail dining options without really getting wet. I hated having to go into the weather to get BW dining.

 

[Skippyboo]

Is the skyliner the only way to HS? I'm wary of it in August due to the weather and how they close it for rain TBH.

BLT has the monorail and I love being on the monorail. It's the only hotel I haven't stayed at yet on the monorail line I just feel like the other hotels may have more food options for the kids?

No there is a walkway that goes along the canal by boardwalk to Hollywood Studios. You end up by the bus stops. The boats also run but they will be shut down for lighting. Skyliner is sort of the long way. You have to walk to International Gateway, load the Skyliner go to Riviera where doors open but you keep slowly moving then go to Caribbean beach. You get off the Epcot line and get in the HS line and go over to the park.

 

[sndral]

AKV Jambo DVC villas will be in the midst of their hard goods refurb this August if avoiding construction is a consideration for you. I personally like AKL/V, but it doesn’t appeal to everyone. If relying on WDW transportation it’s busing to every park, however, those w/ vehicles report that Kidani’s under the building shaded parking is a plus & Kidani will have just finished their refurb - so you’ll likely get a newly done villa.
BLT/Contemporary seems like it would complete your staying in every monorail resort goal, however w/ an August trip I assume pool time will be in play & BLT/Contemporary pools are underwhelming IMO & if you are looking at a Contemporary cash booking, I believe the BLT pool would be off limits since it’s limited to BLT guests? OTH, if restaurants at your resort matter, there are several at the Contemporary. I’ve read the BLT studios are pretty compact, a cash room at the Contemporary would be more spacious. It’s monorail (complete ride around the circle) or walk to MK. Monorail hop over to the front of Epcot & buses (sometimes shared w/ Wilderness Lodge I think) to AK & DHS.
BWV is an easy stroll to the back of Epcot & a longish walk to DHS, or you can take the slow friendship boats to/from Epcot & DHS. It’s buses to MK & AK - I don’t think BWVs share buses these days although I’ve read that their buses can get crowded because Swan/Dolphin guests walk over to use them. BWV’s pool is a decent size. My personal favorite in that area is the YC - but, it’s not DVC & wasn’t on your list of possible resorts .

 

[airjay75]

How are the kids with walking, especially in August FL heat? My kids are a bit younger (almost 5 and 7), and I don't think I'd want to count on them making the MK to BLT or the Epcot/HS to BW walk, especially after a long day in FL's August heat. I honestly think they'd do better getting on an air conditioned bus. That said, you've also got the monorail at CR and the boats at BWV, so it's not like you'd have to walk if they weren't up for it.

Personally, I'd be pretty excited to stay at Kidani to see the new refurb, but the downside to Kidani is that the primary QS restaurant is over at Jambo. But, I found the internal bus to be very quick and efficient when we stayed in July this past summer. The pool bar at Kidani also has some pretty good QS options. BLT also just finished their refub and I'd be excited to see that too.

Also, I'm just realizing that I think we're talking studios since you mentioned BWV and the extra bed. That is a pretty big plus for a BWV studio over BLT/AKV in my opinion. So, I don't know. I think there are a lot of pros and cons no matter what you decide to pick here.

 

[AstroBlasters]

August in FL…..

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

My vote is BW at the end of August - Food and Wine will have started and it’s great to be so close (even with littles). We go every summer and stay there or other adjacent resorts. If it’s too hot/far to walk, the boats are a convenient option.

I’ll say that the lack of dining options inside the resort can be tough - we usually just load up on Instacart and will walk to Swan/Dolphin in a pinch. This alone wouldn’t dissuade me from staying there though.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

There are pros to all 3, so it really depends on what speaks to your family.

BLT - amazing walk to MK. Personally I hate monorailing to Epcot but it’s fine. Larger rooms have an extra bathroom. Easy to enjoy the fireworks without dealing with MK craziness

BW - great access to both Epcot and HS (we are a walking family, though you can also boat or skyliner). You will need a stroller in any case. I also skyliner to riviera for food because it’s better than BW/BC offerings.

AK - best pool of the bunch, great food, and animals make for a nice break if you tire of parks. Also likely the cheapest option of the 3 so you can take some of that savings and Lyft to the parks if desired.

I like a split stay with an Epcot area resort and a MK resort because I don’t like having to deal with transportation, but only for trips of a certain length.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Could I throw a wrench in things and throw out Aulani as an alternative option….

 

[atthebeachclub]

No there is a walkway that goes along the canal by boardwalk to Hollywood Studios. You end up by the bus stops. The boats also run but they will be shut down for lighting. Skyliner is sort of the long way. You have to walk to International Gateway, load the Skyliner go to Riviera where doors open but you keep slowly moving then go to Caribbean beach. You get off the Epcot line and get in the HS line and go over to the park.

Honestly, after getting caught in a storm at HS last summer…if there is lightning and you are staying at BWV or BCV, I would just call a Minnievan if they don’t run busses (I think they might though).

The Skyliner wouldn’t be an ideal option in a storm, and if the boats are down and that’s your only option, a Minnievan will make your life so much easier.

 

[atthebeachclub]

I’m tempted to say Boardwalk is the best choice here except that in August the weather is temperamental and dining may be an issue (I think you’ll almost always have to walk outside).

If this is a parks heavy trip, consider Bay Lake. If not, consider Animal Kingdom Lodge. Kidani is lovely but long hallways. Jambo is more compact and has a beautiful lobby, plus amazing quick service at The Mara in the building.

 

[RickNJane]

We have BWV, AKV, and BLT as home resorts. We just could not make up our minds either so punted . I won't rehash what others have said here. I do agree with most everything said.
I can add that:

AKV has activities that the kids love, at least my grandkids (6 and 9) did. (as well as their mom!) We finished the bead activity where you meet with African CMs and learn about various things to earn beads. My grandkids wanted to finish the beads instead of doing a Park Day! The CMs are just amazing.

The Boardwalk itself is in the full scorching sun. Makes for a miserable walk to Epcot or HS. Or to grab food for that matter. Fortunately the boats are available. The recent (2 year old) refurb was done on the cheap (IMHO) and is already looking a bit shoddy around the edges.

Not much I can add to BLT.

Enjoy!