CR Garden Wing Advice

[DisLaw]

Hi! Just did a spur of the moment switch from WL to CR as a surprise for my DD who has longed to stay there and loves the modern decor I'm just laughing to myself because I always swore we'd never stay at CR because I always thought it was frankly hideous looking on the outside ( although the rooms look very nice) But I got a good rate and the walk to MK is so appealing as well as experiencing a new resort and not dealing with construction at WL.

So the room requests available to me included "balcony" which I'm reading do not exist in the garden wing. If I request that is there any chance of being upgraded to the tower? I'm fine with where we are, just curious. Also is the walkway covered from the garden wing to the main building? One of the things I appreciate about WL is that everything is under one roof. Been caught out in the rain one too many times!

Any advice or recommendations from people who've stayed there is much appreciated! In all my years of Disney travel I've never researched CR but here we come!

 

[KrazeeK120]

I think the available room requests for all rooms in a resort are the same, regardless of what you booked. You won't be upgraded simply because you make a request that isn't available for the room category you booked. If you want outdoor space, you should request a patio as the first floor rooms in the garden wing have them.

I've stayed in the tower, not the garden wing, but I'm pretty sure the walkway isn't covered. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, before anyone reading this thread gets nervous about WL, there isn't construction to "deal with" there. I stayed there 2 weeks ago and there are walls up and stuff, but it wasn't disruptive to my stay in the least. In fact, I'm wondering if a lot of people are switching away from there because the resort didn't feel crowded at all. I took a half-empty boat back right after the last Wishes show on 5/11. Quite remarkable considering the number of people in the park.

 

[Networth]

I can tell you placing "balcony" will not get you upgraded to the tower. There is a reason those rooms are quite a bit more than the wing rooms.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

In fact, I'm wondering if a lot of people are switching away from there because the resort didn't feel crowded at all.

Until July 17, when the new DVC villas open, the main WL building is only 50% full. They converted the other half to DVC, which is not yet open. Once people are in there, it will be a lot busier. In the meantime, when half the capacity of the main building is empty.... So it's not really about "switching," it's about what's bookable at all.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

There is one covered walkway between the garden wing and the tower.

I would request a patio for the garden wing (I think marking "balcony" will be a wasted request and may land you on the second floor of garden wing). I've stayed in both the tower and garden wing and, quite honestly, there are pros and cons to both. Unless I can guarantee a high floor in the tower (which you really only can do by booking CL), I would rather stay garden wing. Chef Mickey's can be very noisy and the elevators in the tower can be a nightmare - always packed always waiting for the next elevator while people cut in line though you've been waiting longer (kind of like the resort bus experience, IMHO). From garden wing, you simply walk from the wing to the lobby level of CR and straight out to the buses or walkway to MK or straight to the monorail escalator. You never have to deal with the elevator.

 

[wdwnut61]

We just stayed in a GW room for the first time in March and absolutely loved it. We have stayed in the Tower twice and the rooms are identical. There is a covered walkway and the location can't be beat.