Copper Creek 1 Bedroom Villa or Contemporary Club Level Lake view in December?

[tazzgonzo]

Hi folks, i've been changing my mind about 4x a week about where to stay for our Disney World trip in December. First, let me tell you a bit about us. My partner and I (no kids) will be going for a week in December. It will be my second time ever (first trip was in 2015 and I stayed at the Yacht Club) and it will be his first in 15 years. We definitely will be hitting up all of the parks, and would like to try out some of the restaurants at Epcot and check out Galaxy's Edge, so it seemed like the Boardwalk area was a no-brainer.

However, the more I tried to plan our trip, the more I realized that I really don't enjoy any of the Boardwalk area resort themes except for the Yacht Club. Unfortunately, there is no availability there for our trip, so I looked into Beach Club and Boardwalk Inn. I'm weird and I hate the beach, and I really think that the decor at the Beach Club is very tacky, as are the carpet floors in the rooms. The Boardwalk Inn's decor is incredibly lackluster to me. Both of them look like your great aunt's house. I know, I'm probably offending a lot of fans of these resorts, but they're just not my cup of tea.

I looked at the Swan, and while it's fine in terms of decor, it's a bit sterile in that it seems to feel like you're staying at any hotel in america.

Which brings me to some hard thinking that I had to do in terms of what is important to us:

1) Immersive theming. I like to feel that I'm somewhere special and unique that I can't get anywhere else.
2) Good views. I'd pay extra for a great view in our room. We're planning a resort day or two, so the views and the resort will be important.
3) Location doesn't matter TOO much, but we think the monorail and boats are neat.

My top five resorts in terms of theme (based on pictures and videos) are: 1) Contemporary, 2) Wilderness Lodge, 3) The Polynesian, 4) Yacht Club, and 5) the new Gran Destino Tower.

Now my partner has straight up told me that he thinks the Polynesian is tacky and that his preferences would be Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge (which happen to be my #1 and #2) so we've narrowed it down!

While there weren't any Wilderness Lodge rooms available, I found a one bedroom Copper Creek villa available and an Atrium Club level lake view room at the Contemporary, both around the same price.

The Copper Creek one bedroom decor is AMAZING. The best I have seen at any resort, but the Contemporary has a lot of other things too! And the thought of having a lake view and being able to go see the fireworks in the Atrium club sounds pretty cool.

Suffice to say that we're torn. We CAN do a split stay, but it'd be 5 nights at CC and 2 nights at CR with a theme park view, no club level.

Here are my pros and cons with each. Hoping all you experts can help me decide!

Copper Creek One Bedroom Villa
Pros
+ Gorgeous room with a ton of space.
+ Great holiday theming at Wilderness Lodge
+ Very immersive theming.
+ Feels more unique/resort like... a true getaway vacation

Cons
- A bit of a hassle to get to Epcot (but we'd Uber/Lyft anyway).
- A bit isolated with few restaurants.
- No extra fast pass option

Contemporary Resort Club Level Lake View
Pros
+ Amazing guaranteed view on the 12th floor of Bay Lake
+ Nightly fireworks view at the Atrium Club.
+ Food, beverages, and alcohol included with club level room
+ Extra fast passes available (something that is really of interest to us)
+ Definite coolness factor with the monorail going through the resort.
+ We love the retro future theme.
+ Easier access to Epcot via monorail
+ More restaurant options and an easy monorail ride to Poly and GF, adding way more dining options.

Cons
- The rooms themselves do seem a bit plain (especially with the cool yellow mickey pillows removed)
- Not as immersive as Wilderness Lodge (feeling like you're on a vacation from your vacation)

Actually after writing it all out for the first time, it seems that I have my answer! Looks like the Contemporary definitely has way more pros here. Any reasons why I shouldn't do that?

 

[Wood Nymph]

The Copper Creek villas are indeed gorgeous and we would love to stay in them someday. But the Atrium Club would be really nice. You would have food sitting out there, ready to grab, instead of having to go somewhere to get it.

The only con is that we don't care for the monorail to Epcot because you have to take two monorails to get there, and the line at the monorail station in Epcot is very long at park closing. But you can always take a taxi.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I'd do Contemporary for the free booze alone. As two people, I think the extra space of the 1BR is probably not needed?

 

[tazzgonzo]

The Copper Creek villas are indeed gorgeous and we would love to stay in them someday. But the Atrium Club would be really nice. You would have food sitting out there, ready to grab, instead of having to go somewhere to get it.

The only con is that we don't care for the monorail to Epcot because you have to take two monorails to get there, and the line at the monorail station in Epcot is very long at park closing. But you can always take a taxi.

Yep! For end of nights at Epcot, if the line is too long, plan would be to go to Beach Club or Boardwalk Inn and grab a lyft back.

I'd do Contemporary for the free booze alone. As two people, I think the extra space of the 1BR is probably not needed?

Very good point, the 1 bedroom would be excessive for 2 people. It's the decor that has me sold on it! The studio villa doesn't look as nice (and also not available).

 

[DisneyWishes14]

For a couple, I would do the CR CL room. CCV is gorgeous, but if don’t need the space or won’t use the amenities of a 1-bedroom, it’s a waste of money, IMHO. What do would do is keep checking to see if a WL standard CL opens up. Many of those rooms have fireworks views and WL CL would most likely price out less than your two current options. Those rooms are the best CL bang for your buck in WDW IMHO.

 

[beccasmom]

I would recommend the CR Atrium Club in a heartbeat. We’re headed there soon for a few nights after our stay at Boulder Ridge (also a Wilderness Lodge property). The views are wonderful - I’m a theme-park view fan (unfortunately the pesky parking lot is in the way!), but the Bay Lake views are sensational too. Service in the lounge is excellent and we’ve never experienced crowding (depends on your visit dates though). We love it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'd do Contemporary for the free booze alone. As two people, I think the extra space of the 1BR is probably not needed?

But it is so nice. We have one bedroom villas for just the two of us booked all the time. Five nights in Sept/Oct, three nights in Jan, four nights in May for upcoming trips. We like the king sized bed.

 

[SG131]

I would pick CCV hands down. As others have said, the monorail from contemporary to epcot isn't the most convenient and if you time it wrong can take a lot longer. One bus ride is easier than that in my opinion. But aside from that, the Christmas decorations as wilderness lodge are fantastic. Much better than the contemporary in my opinion.

 

[tazzgonzo]

Ok I think I've locked it down folks! Thanks for all of your insights! While I still think the one bedroom Copper Creek Villa has THE BEST decor of any resort room, I think the pros for us for the Contemporary substantially outweigh the cons. We will plan to stay at Wilderness Lodge some way or another on our next vacation (which i'm hoping is a year after).

• Night 1 Arrival: Pop Century (because we don't know what time we'll arrive yet and it seems like a waste to pay for a club level room for only a partial day)
• Nights 2-5: Contemporary Atrium Club Lake View (4 nights)
• Nights 6-7: Polynesian standard (2 nights)

I know my partner called Polynesian "tacky" but I wanted to check it out anyway since it's in my top three. If we hate it, it's only two nights He'll deal