Contemporary or AKL?

[Bearybear]

We stayed at the AKL last month and loved it. We had excellent service, my DS, 5, loved seeing the animals every morning and evening (we had a Savannah view room) and found the busses to be very good without hardly any waits.

We're going again in February, and are trying to decide between AKL again and the Contemporary. My son was enthralled with the monorails, and still talks about them daily. However, the Contemporary (Magic Kingdom view) is about $1200 more than the ALK. Is there anything besides the monorail to recommend the CR?

Also, my son's 2 favorite parks were MK and AK. How long is the bus from CR to AK? At AKL, we didn't share busses (except with Kidani, which we found hardly anyone from there on the busses, it almost seemed empty). Does the CR share busses with other resorts? Except one time at MK park closing, we always got a seat on the busses to/from AKL, but from reading the posts here, it seems that other resorts don't have this kind of service.

Thanks for all your help in deciding this.

 

[mdrob214]

I've stayed at both and would recommend CR hands-down. We actually stayed in the garden wing, which was much cheaper than a tower room. i know it's not an MK view (which also is a view of the parking lot, don't forget) but it had a lovely garden view and was not at all inconvenient. Now, I haven't stayed in the tower, so I have no comparison, but I didn't feel cheated at all by being in the Garden Wing. AKL does have good bus service, they don't share with anyone. But being on the monorail is priceless. We walked to MK and took the monorail back most times. To Epcot, we took the monorail to TTC (first stop), then hopped off, and went around to the Epcot monorail. The buses to DHS and AK weren't bad. We shared with the Poly in July. I think GF and WL shared. AKL was beautiful and I'm glad we went, the savannah view was totally worth it. The restaurants are teriffic, too. But I feel now like I've been there, done, that, got the t-shirt, and don't really need to go back. I'd stay at CR again in a heartbeat, though.

Whichever resort you choose it'll be great--you're at WDW!

 

[wdwwishes]

I would go for A.K. L. The only advantage I see to the C.R. is being on the monorail and Cali. Grill. To me all of the other resorts are themed better and just seem more welcoming that the C.R. We've stayed at both and while it's been a few years ago that we did C.R., it's not on my repeat list. We went over there in June for dinner at Cali. Grill and the new decor just didn't do it for me. A.K.L. is definitely on my repeat list.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I'm partial to the CR. I have found most persons settle with their favorite for whatever reason. If yours is AKL then stay there.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would go with the Contemporary because in my opinion I believe they have a much better overall location then the Animal Kingdom Lodge and a lot more transportation options, plus their guest rooms are going to be a lot bigger. When it comes to their bus situation in the mornings they share wither either the Polynesian or Wilderness Lodge, however in the afternoons they share with the Polynesian and Wilderness Lodge. Although no matter what the Contemporary is where you will be picked up 1st and dropped off 1st.

 

[madalex]

Also, my son's 2 favorite parks were MK and AK. How long is the bus from CR to AK?

Seeing as how AKL is very near AK and CR is very near the MK, it is safe to say that the length of the bus ride from CR to AK is about the same as the buse ride from AKL to MK (15 - 20 minutes).

 

[jstone71]

I would say AKL. I've stayed at AKL earlier this year and loved it (Kidani Village). Although I like to try as many Disney hotels as possible to have new experiences, I actually have no desire to ever try the Contemporary. I really enjoy well themed hotels to immerse myself in a new place and the boring Contemporary just doesn't do it for me. I'm sure the monorail is cool, but the rest of the hotel I've walked around in seems cold and boring.

 

[ppony]

Stayed at both and of course, both have their pros and cons. For that much in a $ difference, you certainly can rent a car if easy transportation is an issue. We almost always rent a car to be able to come and go when and where we want. IMO, AKL has much more in store for the younger kiddos (not to mention the adults that like that theming more ). It's certainly easy enough for you to get on monorails and take them. Each day you do the MK you'd be doing a monorail anyway (unless you walk from the CR which I must say ROCKS) despite which place you stayed at and each day you do AK, you'd have to bus it. The monorail can only get you to Epcot from CL and if you won't go there or only do it once (we go once if at all ourselves), I'd wonder whether it was worth it to me to pay over a grand more. If MK and AK are your favorite parks, you'll always have one that is FAST to get to and one not. You already know you LOVE the AKL.

To be fair though, we are staying at the Poly for 2 nights in 2 months because we will be doing a DCL cruise and will only be at a park (MK) for one day so ultimate convenience was our priority this time as we have a toddler that will not take the whole day and our DS (9) and DH will most likely open and close the parks.

Future owner in AKV. No bias here.

That didn't help much.

 

[WDWKOOK]

I would definitely recommend the CR over the AKL for all of the reasons listed above AND the fact that you can walk to the MK. It's only about a 10 minute walk from the Tower, and less than 15 mins. from the GW. You can also go over to the WL or FW with a quick and fun boat ride, and everything is in one self-contained building (except for the laundry which is on the 2nd floor in the GW).

As a PP mentions, you really should compare the cost of the AKL to the GW at the CR.