Contemporary Garden View or AKL Savannah View?

[Dawgfan81]

Good evening!

Looking to book a 8 day Disney vacation next May. We’ve always been a POP Century family as we enjoy the parks and only come back to recharge and rest. Both of our kids are soon to be grown so we figured we’d go to one of the resorts we’ve always wanted to try one day. So recently we got a coupon in the mail for returning families. We can stay at the Contemporary - Garden Viewfor 8 days and Park hoppers for $6700. On the flip side, we can stay at Animal Kingdom with a Savannah View for $5800. I’m just curious to those who have stayed at either or both would care to weigh in with their opinion please.

 

[Pyotr]

I would stay at AKL Savana view and not think twice about it. I did not care for the Garden View rooms at all last time I stayed at the CR. My wife said she would never stay in one again.

We love everything about AKL. Some people complain that it’s too far out and the bus rides are long. I found the bus service to be better than every other resort.

And the food...... best on property by far.

 

[heidijanesmith]

I just wanted to be sure, are you talking about Garden Rooms or Tower rooms with a Garden view?

I would not like to stay in the Garden Rooms that are outside the Tower. They seem to be inconvenient, I have never stayed there, but looking at the map and spending time in the Tower.......they look to be in a less than ideal location.

We really enjoyed our AKL room. We had a pool view and loved it. My parents had a Savannah view and thought it was fantastic and well worth the money. They do spend quite a bit of time in their room, so they really got use of that view.

 

[DisneyRobin]

I’d pick the contemporary. I’d prefer to be in a tower room but the garden Wong sounds better than anything at AKL. AKL is very nice - just far from everything I’d want to do. We love staying at the contemporary because we can walk to the magic kingdom and take a monorail right from the resort to get to Epcot. I like being in the center of things and not spending s lot of time traveling around from place to place. The contemporary is much more central to everything I like to do at Disney. If you like to go to AK park a lot, AKL May be the best one for you.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Good evening!

Looking to book a 8 day Disney vacation next May. We’ve always been a POP Century family as we enjoy the parks and only come back to recharge and rest. Both of our kids are soon to be grown so we figured we’d go to one of the resorts we’ve always wanted to try one day. So recently we got a coupon in the mail for returning families. We can stay at the Contemporary - Garden Viewfor 8 days and Park hoppers for $6700. On the flip side, we can stay at Animal Kingdom with a Savannah View for $5800. I’m just curious to those who have stayed at either or both would care to weigh in with their opinion please.

I've stayed at both and both were wonderful. If you're more into the resort, I'd go with AKL. Better pools (all guests get to use the Jambo pools & the Kidani pools), better quick service dining, and really nice table service, too. And of course, the animals...

Contemporary is great if you'll spend a lot of time at MK. The convenience of being able to walk to and from can't be beat. I like CR's rooms better than AKL's since the AKL refurbishment. It also offers a view of the Electric Water Pageant. But it's busier than AKL, has a lackluster pool (they need to renovate that thing asap), and in general it feels more like a nice hotel than a resort to me.

 

[Dawgfan81]

Thanks for the responses! The Contemporary room is a Garden Wing-Garden View. Main reason for considering it is how close it is to MK (our favorite park). AKL Savannah interests us because my wife and daughter love animals and wandering the resorts on our breaks. Such a tough decision. Thanks again for the responses and am open to anymore.

 

[DianeW]

AKL Savanna view. It's fabulous! I've stayed in both Bay Lake Tower (lake view) and AKL Kidani Village (savanna view) this year. Both resorts are amazing, but nothing beats eating breakfast on your balcony with the giraffes and zebras. Nothing.

 

[mickeymom22]

Out of these two resorts, I have only stayed at the AKL. I would choose it over the Contemporary. My hubby and I stayed there once without the kids and loved it. We loved the food offerings from the food court to the TS restaurants. We enjoyed watching the animals from our room. One night the giraffes slept right outside our balcony. We also liked hanging out at the pool and the lounge. It is a beautiful resort.

On the flip side, when we visit the Contemporary it makes me feel like we are in a very busy airport. There just always seems to be too many people there for me. Maybe because I am always in the main areas...gift shops, Chef Mickey's, monorail platform, etc. We did enjoy a quiet dinner at the Wave with extended family once. We would go back there. On our trip without the kids, we ate at the California Grill and it was great!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I've stayed at both and I would choose CR - Garden Wing. AKL is beautiful, but the rooms are quite small and I, personally, would not want to spend 8 nights there. It's quite remote and if you will be traveling to MK, EP and/or DHS a lot, it's not terribly convenient. I, personally, would get tired of the same food offerings in that amount of time as well. I do agree AKL is a better themed resort, but, in terms of comfort and proximity to parks and other resort dining, I would do CR. I actually really like the garden wing. The rooms at CR are quite large and, of course, you can walk to MK and monorail to EP. The garden wing, IMHO, is actually more convenient than the tower as you can walk straight through the lobby to get on the path to MK without having to deal with frequently crowded elevators in the tower. You will also have so many dining options close by via the monorail to GF and Poly and boats to WL and Ft. W.

 

[clayfolks]

Another AKL vote here. I’ve stayed at both recently and when I am at CR, I don’t really feel as if I am vacationing. It feels more like a business trip. The transportation from AKL is the most consistent on property. Getting to the MK from CR is easy. Getting everywhere else involves some level of pain and often includes shared buses.

 

[MomOTwins]

Such an easy choice--AKL!!! With a long trip you'll have lots of time to enjoy the resort and not miss anything at the parks. And with all the money you will save, you could take Minnie Vans to and from the parks whenever you want to get around quickly and easily. If you were in the tower and had a theme park view that'd be a tougher call, but AKL savanna view is a huge upgrade over garden wing.

 

[Mzpalmtree]

I haven’t stayed at the contemporary yet, but have done AKL Savannah view and it was amazing! Plus the renovated rooms are very nice and make the small rooms seem bigger due to the reduced footprint of the furniture, etc. We really enjoyed watching the animals from our balcony in the mornings and evenings. Plus the resort is GORGEOUS. For the savings AKL would be my pick. I will say I really didn’t enjoy the buses though. And it wasn’t because it was so “remote.” Honestly the length of the trip to and from the parks (other than AK) really wasn’t as far as people make it out to be and I would hardly call AKL remote. What annoyed me about the bus situation (at least on my trip) is that the lodge shares buses with Kidani but picks up there first and drops off there first so you get the super crowded bus on the way to a park and the longer bus ride on the way back. Every time we tried to even get on a bus at the lodge it was almost full. Even though they are so close together at the end of the day I swear I felt like that trip to Kidani (driving right past the lodge mind you) and back to the lodge took FOREVER. I would definitely stay there again though.

 

[SaintsManiac]

AKL savannah view. No question.

 

[gatour]

I have stayed at both.

AKL Savannah view room for a cheaper price than the CR garden view room would be my go to choice.

 

[dwonderz]

Echoing the others - AKL Savannah View is fantastic! We found the transportation to be pretty good when we stayed there - and you can't beat the setting!

 

[Babsy]

Good evening!

Looking to book a 8 day Disney vacation next May. We’ve always been a POP Century family as we enjoy the parks and only come back to recharge and rest. Both of our kids are soon to be grown so we figured we’d go to one of the resorts we’ve always wanted to try one day. So recently we got a coupon in the mail for returning families. We can stay at the Contemporary - Garden Viewfor 8 days and Park hoppers for $6700. On the flip side, we can stay at Animal Kingdom with a Savannah View for $5800. I’m just curious to those who have stayed at either or both would care to weigh in with their opinion please.

AKL:

pros
beautiful theming
comfortable rooms, all with a balcony
animals outside your room
tasty food at Mara, Boma and Jiko (and Sanaa next door at Kidani)
Quick bus ride to AK
two awesome pools

cons
smaller rooms
no daybed
bus stops at Kidani first
only buses for transportation
limited food options if you are a picky eater
longer than usual bus ride to the MK
LONG corridors


CR:

pros
Large comfortable rooms
daybed plus two queens
really nice views
comfortable beds
walk to the MK
monorail to Epcot, the Polynesian and the GF
boat to Fort WILDERNESS and the Wilderness lodge
walk to the MK parking lot (5-10 minutes) to bus to any other resort during MK hours
many types of food available nearby, something for everyone
awesome food options - Contempo Cafe (QS), the Wave, Chef Mickeys, California Grille - all at the CR!
even more awesome food options easily accessible at the Poly, GF, FW (Hoop Dee Doo Revue) and WL
watch fireworks from your resort
Did I mention - WALK TO THE MK? - this is huge!

cons
theming is less obvious, although the monorail does GO THROUGH YOIUR RESORT
pool is very plain, slide is OK
second and third floor rooms do NOT have a balcony - sliding glass doors open to a rail
monorail to Epcot requires a change at the TTC to the Epcot monorail
flat bottom sinks (really? whose brilliant idea were those?)

WE have stayed in both multiple times. If the $$$ difference isn't an issue, we prefer the CR for the location and all the reasons mentioned above. That said, if I were going for 8 days, I would probably do a split stay with 5 days at the CR and 3 days at the AKL Jambo. You get to experience both of these great resorts and take advantage of the benefits of both locations.

Don't underestimate theming. It is very important to how you feel at your resort. I would like to point out, however, that I feel a lot different when staying at the CR than when visiting. You don't get to experience much of the benefits of staying here when visiting, only by actually staying here do you 'get' the benefits of the CR.

Take a look at some pictures online to get an idea of which you would prefer to call home for 8 days.

Enjoy whichever you choose. Either of these resorts is a wonderful choice.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I lean towards Animal Kingdom Lodge because I like the theme better than Contemporary and there’s so much to do at the resort (free activities throughout the day, animal watching). I also love the restaurants there! You’d also be saving a lot of money which you can use on Lyft/Uber/Minnie Vans if you don’t want to rely on buses.

You can’t beat the walk from Contemporary to MK, so if you plan on going between the hotel and MK throughout the day on multiple days, it might be worth it to stay there (or split stay as a previous posted suggested). I don’t find getting to Epcot that convenient because you have to do a monorail transfer.

Disney makes split stays/luggage transfers very easy, as long as you don’t need to go back to the hotel mid-day for a nap.

Have a great trip!

 

[MissionMouse]

We have stayed at both:

What you see is what you get. We all prefer a theme over another. AKL felt like a destination in itself. Realize animals show up in the viewing areas to eat...when done they leave, so get the feeding time schedule. MK you have fireworks and water pageant.What appeals to you?

Location matters, so consider your park plans and if you are planning on resort/pool time. Time on buses, monorail adds up and so can lines. Ability to walk to the #1 park is a plus. No balloons at AKL...if this matters

Resort restaurants draw crowds to the resort. This makes the resort busy and means there will be extra demands on the resorts transportation options. Their both busy

Dont stress a lot. You will be fine with either one of these choices. Get your families thoughts too...unless its a secret. CR is more $ due to demand allows them the ability to get more which may be connect to it being located next to MK.

 

[cassie58]

Thanks for the responses! The Contemporary room is a Garden Wing-Garden View. Main reason for considering it is how close it is to MK (our favorite park). AKL Savannah interests us because my wife and daughter love animals and wandering the resorts on our breaks. Such a tough decision. Thanks again for the responses and am open to anymore.

If your wife and daughter are animal lovers, and enjoy wandering resort, AKL Savannah View is a no-brainer! DD and I are animal lovers(she is planning to be a vet) and it is amazing to have zebras and giraffes right in your backyard as mentioned above - could sit there all day! (Stayed on Sunset Safari which was awesome - can use Touring Plans site to see room views). And other viewing areas throughout the hotel. Plus beautiful lobby in Jambo, and can also wander over to Kidani, and can use both pools. We would stay there everytime if we could afford it!

Since this of course does not address being close to MK as your favorite park, you could also consider a split stay with first few days at Contemporary, doing MK and Epcot and then switch for AK and HS and resort time at AKL.

 

[brockash]

Good evening!

Looking to book a 8 day Disney vacation next May. We’ve always been a POP Century family as we enjoy the parks and only come back to recharge and rest. Both of our kids are soon to be grown so we figured we’d go to one of the resorts we’ve always wanted to try one day. So recently we got a coupon in the mail for returning families. We can stay at the Contemporary - Garden Viewfor 8 days and Park hoppers for $6700. On the flip side, we can stay at Animal Kingdom with a Savannah View for $5800. I’m just curious to those who have stayed at either or both would care to weigh in with their opinion please.

We would def. stay at CR, even if garden view over AKL. We spend most of our park days at MK/Epcot and you just can't beat the vicinity.