Contemp vs animal kingdom

[JOLAROCHE]

Which resort would you pick and why. I am in a dilemma and not sure which one to pick. I am going with husband and son age 18 we will also be taking our 19 year old daughter who has only been with us 2 years and never stayed on property. She has been to Florida once when she was 8 and stayed outside the park. I am not sure how much disney she did. Please help me decide. cont vs animal kingdom

Jo

 

[Marionnette]

Which resort would you pick and why. I am in a dilemma and not sure which one to pick. I am going with husband and son age 18 we will also be taking our 19 year old daughter who has only been with us 2 years and never stayed on property. She has been to Florida once when she was 8 and stayed outside the park. I am not sure how much disney she did. Please help me decide. cont vs animal kingdom

Jo

I like the theme better at animal kingdom. But the transportation is better at the contemporary. They both have there pluses. It just depends on what your looking for.

 

[tluvstink]

Both are nice resorts but with the cont you have 2 queen size beds plus a day bed. I also like the way the bathroom is divided. The shower is on one side and the commode and sink are on the other.

If you go with AK I would pick a room with bunk beds I think either one will be nice.

Terri

 

[CTdiznymom]

I think I would go with the Contemporary for the mentioned reasons. Transportation is so much easier, not only to the MK but to the TTC. Not sure how much Disney your son has done, but if the 2 of them want to explore on their own, or if they want to get a head start on you and DH, I would be more comfortable having them go from the Contemporary rather than deal with the busses at AK. Maybe you can plan a dinner at AKL, it is an awesome experience and worth the visit if you haven't been before.

 

[zumbergc]

I think it depends on how much the family loves/likes animals. So, if you love animals, and enjoy watching them. Are you getting a savannah view room? Sitting on the balcony in the morning / afternoon/ or evening is really nice. We've been at AKL several times, we enjoy the animals.

We stayed at the contemporary once. Make sure to request an upper floor, or you could end up on the floor above the monorail, and you can feel it vibrate. Well, I could feel the vibration, made it rough on naps, waking me in the morning...

We didn't feel the money for the CR was worth the experience. Yes, you are within walking distance to MK. However to get to epcot, you have to take one monorail, to another monorail (seemed like it took a good 30-45 minutes to get their). Then you had to take a bus, which had several stops to get to AK or MGM.
AKL you have the buses, but you only stop at AKL, VAKL.
If you had little kids, i would see the reasoning behind CR, quick access to the park your probably going to spend most of your time, but with adult children...your going to be visiting all the parks.

I would think a 17/18 yr old could handle rising a bus on their own, and for 2 of the parks, its a bus ride for CR.

All depend on which parks you like, and your desire to see the animals.

This is something different, but we prefer staying in the epcot resort areas, you can essentially walk/boat to MGM and EPCOT. Then bus over to MK and AK.

 

[peanut1967]

I know the CR location is good, but to me its cold and like a concret jungle, I know some people love it and thats fine but personally its got to be AKL, we spent a week there last year and it was amazing sitting by the pool and you can see the giraffe and the other animals. The theming is so amazing and relaxing.
angie

 

[JOLAROCHE]

I have to tell you I love both that is why I am so stumped what to do. I love all your help. I am still deciding

 

[MNT568]

Those are my 2 favorite resorts! For the age of your kids i would go with the Contemporary. We just returned from a trip, we stayed at the Poly but visited AKL and CR for meals. I wish we had stayed at the CR again. It seemed like there were more tween/teen aged kids there. My DS loves the arcade at the CR. I liked AKL when my DS was younger, there are lots of activities for the younger kids and the pool slide is smaller and the arcade is also smaller.

 

[csharpwv]

Are you planning of paying for a view/room upgrade?

If you are - which one?

Tower room with bay lake view at the Contemporary?
I think if I were to stay at the Contemporary - I would definitely want to stay in the A/frame structure - not the Garden Wing -

If you are going to upgrade to a Savanna View - that would be a big factor at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

it all depends on your budget!

If you are just doing a standard view/standard room - I think I would go with AKL - I just don't think the design of the Contemporary is as appealing. Don't get me wrong - I have ALWAYS wanted to stay at the Contemporary - because I've always though it was really cool! BUT - given your situation - I think I would go with AKL.

 

[SGMCO]

We're staying at AKL for the 1st time this trip and I like it because it is so
warm and inviting. I don't care for the contempary it seems cold to me.
I love animals. I have stayed at 3 different MOD resorts that were located
in different areas and have never found transportation to be bad at any of the resorts
so I wouldn't base my decision on that. AKL also has 3 very nice
restaurants and we are trying Jikos and Boma. AKL also has CMs that
are from Africa and tell about there home--I like learning about other cultures.

 

[madelyn]

Tough decision. Last stay was at AKL (DVC Kidani). The Savannah view was impressive and the day we arrived we spent alot of time viewing the animals. But after that we kinda got "used to the animals" and didn't spend as much time outside. My parents that did not go to the parks everyday may have spent more time looking at them. The theming is really nice at AKL but the buses not as nice as monorail access. Never stayed at the Contemporary but stayed for 2 nights at the Grand Floridian. Access to the MK can't be beat on the monorail. But with older kids will you be spending that much time at the MK? Do your other family members have any input on where you stay? My favorite location for resorts I've stayed at are the Dolphin and the Beach Club. Can't beat walking to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. But I haven't stayed at either since for various reasons. Usually budget dictates our resort choice. If I had no budget I would love to try the Polynesian lagoon view although my childhood dream was always to stay in the Contemporary Tower!

 

[SunnieRN]

What a fun decision you are faced with!! I own points in DVC at... Animal Kingdom and.... Bay Lake, (the contemporary).

The contemporary has location, for Magic Kingdom and Epcot, unless the monorail is having issues!, restaurants (which you can boat/monorail to at the Magic Kingdom, the monorail resorts and Epcot, a modern and sleek look.

AK (animal kingdom) has a totally different atmosphere. You walk in and are immersed into an African theme, including actual art and drum music. In my honest opinion, it is breathtaking. The bus system at AK is fantastic, compared to some of the other resorts. They really have it down! Depending upon which type of dining you will partake, there are less restaurants in the immediate vacinity.

Either one has a lot more advantages/disadvantages than it's counterpart. This is part of the Disney mystique and is what will help mold your vacation.

Have you looked into staying at a DVC resort? Both AK and Bay Lake have 1 bedroom units that have a sofa sleeper and a chair sleeper in the living room and two full bathrooms. They also have a kitchen if you are so inclined or just want a quick breakfast or snack.

You could pay Disney or rent points from an owner for a DVC stay!! Good luck deciding. I love them both for totally different reasons, but prefer the more laid back, vacation style mode to AK. I also know I will get to the parks in a reasonable amount of time as the bus service is superb. Ok, I am officially 'homesick' now!!