CR-Help choosing Garden Wing or Tower

[rere101399]

Trying to decide what the best fit is for us at CR. Price is definitely a factor and would love to get into the CR at the lowest rate. However, overall fit plays a role in addition to the cost and it could be flexible if necessary. We are a family of 4, with a 3 and almost 5 year old boy. Here are some of my thoughts:

-All very light sleepers, sensitive to noise (makes me think that the quiet of garden wing would be preferred)

-Two boys who are train/monorail obsessed (makes me lean to the tower)

-Will probably spend most of our time in MK and love the idea of the short walk from CR (does the extra walk to garden wing just totally diminish that?)

-First trip for kids and DH, want it to be awesome. The cost is so high already that I feel torn between not wanting to spend more than necessary (like for the tower) and not wanting to spend as much as it costs for garden wing only to be disappointed.
Which would you choose?

 

[GrandCalifornian]

That is a tough call, and while we have not ever chosen to pay the extra for the Contemporary, we are generally fans of getting the cheapest room at the nicest resort. The view difference in this case though is substantial.
You have summed up the options and differences well. I would mention that the extra walk from the Garden Wing does not diminish the benefit of being able to walk to MK. It is still a 5-10 minute walk from the lobby to MK, so a few minutes walk to there is not a big deal. You still will be at the only resort with the option of walking to MK at all.
It will be a personal choice, up to whether you think your family will be happy with a Garden Wing room or whether they would wish they were in the big building. Good luck with the choice.

 

[Ohana2011]

My hubby, daughter & I stayed in a Garden Wing Deluxe Room Aug 2015. It was quiet, close to the pool, nice lake view & spacious. We walked the back pathway to the Tower & monorail (stairs up from the back pathway into the CR - this is the way we walked between the blogs every day, so I'm not certain if there's a way to go w/o stairs... Sorry to say, we didn't pay too much attention to alternate ways of getting to our room from the Tower). To get to the pathway that leads to MK you have to walk through the parking lot - you could use the breezeway from CR to BLT then take the elevator or stairs to the lobby. I'm not a fan of walking through a parking lot with young children though.

Will you have strollers? Nothing like having to carry little ones who are dog tired after a long day in the parks. If you stay in the Tower, it's quicker & easier to get tired little ones into bed... Garden Wing takes a little longer to get to along with stairs, escalators or elevators to get to your room (from the Tower).

Have a great trip!!

Edit: ps - Our DD was 10 at the time... Able to walk her tired little body wherever she had to. Lol. Loved the room & stay.

 

[Jewel3k]

My hubby, daughter & I stayed in a Garden Wing Deluxe Room Aug 2015. It was quiet, close to the pool, nice lake view & spacious. We walked the back pathway to the Tower & monorail (stairs up from the back pathway into the CR - this is the way we walked between the blogs every day, so I'm not certain if there's a way to go w/o stairs... Sorry to say, we didn't pay too much attention to alternate ways of getting to our room from the Tower). To get to the pathway that leads to MK you have to walk through the parking lot - you could use the breezeway from CR to BLT then take the elevator or stairs to the lobby. I'm not a fan of walking through a parking lot with young children though.

Will you have strollers? Nothing like having to carry little ones who are dog tired after a long day in the parks. If you stay in the Tower, it's quicker & easier to get tired little ones into bed... Garden Wing takes a little longer to get to along with stairs, escalators or elevators to get to your room (from the Tower).

Have a great trip!!

Edit: ps - Our DD was 10 at the time... Able to walk her tired little body wherever she had to. Lol. Loved the room & stay.

We did not have to walk through the parking lot when we went. We had a ground floor. We walked under the canopy that led to the lobby, through the lobby and out the door by the bus stop and onto the path for MK. It was delightful, having a double stroller, not to take any elevators or escalators unless we wanted to get to the monorail or visit the 4th floor.

The garden wing is very quiet and for an added bonus you are very close to the pool. While I'm sure staying in the tower is lovely, it was easy to get to from the wing and we didn't feel like we were missing out.

 

[Ohana2011]

We did not have to walk through the parking lot when we went. We had a ground floor. We walked under the canopy that led to the lobby, through the lobby and out the door by the bus stop and onto the path for MK. It was delightful, having a double stroller, not to take any elevators or escalators unless we wanted to get to the monorail or visit the 4th floor.

The garden wing is very quiet and for an added bonus you are very close to the pool. While I'm sure staying in the tower is lovely, it was easy to get to from the wing and we didn't feel like we were missing out.

Doesn't surprise me that we missed the walkway from the building to MK!

 

[ErinF]

It is a tough choice, I agree. We stayed in the tower (not theme park view) on our last trip in June 2014 and we loved it. But we opted to save $$$ this time, and we have garden wing reserved for this June.

Our tower room was plenty quiet, but we were the last room on the hallway, not sure if that made a difference. My boys are very monorail obsessed as well, so it was cool to be staying in the tower. But to watch the monorail meant standing out in the hallway in front of our room....which they wanted to do a lot, but that wasn't always so practical.

I personally don't think the extra walk to the garden wing will be that big of a deal. I did laundry on our last trip, and the laundry room is in the garden wing so I trekked out there and back and didn't think it was too bad.

One thing to know about the tower: at peak times the wait for an elevator can be kind of long! We were on a lower floor so we took the stairs on more than one occasion.

 

[manicstreet]

Didn't read the replies so this could have been answered:

If money is no problem - stay in the tower.

If money is an issue - stay garden wing. Still get the amenities, just not in the main building. No big deal in my opinion.

 

[AshleeH]

We stayed in the Garden Wing and while it is a very nice room, very peaceful, and nice to see the water, we were disappointed that we weren't in the tower. It is cheaper though - and the walk to MK is virtually no different. The only difference is you can sometimes cut through the lobby of the hotel, straight to the backdoors, depending if you need to do that for a shortcut. I'm hoping to stay in the Contemporary when I take my daughter, for the ease of getting to MK, but I am specifically requesting a Tower room for that trip!

 

[Babsy]

Trying to decide what the best fit is for us at CR. Price is definitely a factor and would love to get into the CR at the lowest rate. However, overall fit plays a role in addition to the cost and it could be flexible if necessary. We are a family of 4, with a 3 and almost 5 year old boy. Here are some of my thoughts:

-All very light sleepers, sensitive to noise (makes me think that the quiet of garden wing would be preferred)

-Two boys who are train/monorail obsessed (makes me lean to the tower)

-Will probably spend most of our time in MK and love the idea of the short walk from CR (does the extra walk to garden wing just totally diminish that?)

-First trip for kids and DH, want it to be awesome. The cost is so high already that I feel torn between not wanting to spend more than necessary (like for the tower) and not wanting to spend as much as it costs for garden wing only to be disappointed.
Which would you choose?

I have stayed in both the tower and garden wing.

1. I have never had an issue with noise in either. Perhaps it is because we have always been in a room (in the tower) on a high floor? IDK, but it hasn't been an issue for me.

2. The Grandchildren (aged 5 & 3) LOVED the monorail going through 'our' hotel!

3. The walk from the GW is really not much longer to the MK than from the tower. It doesn't negatively impact us at all.

4. The tower view of the MK is amazing! It really is spectacular, so it IS nicer to stay there if it is in the budget. Also, tower rooms all have balconies which are awesome for nap time and after kids are gone to bed for the night. One of my favourite all time memories during dozens of trips to WDW is of sitting on the balcony with my two grand daughters watching the Wishes fireworks in our PJ's. Absolutely magical!
All that said, the GW rooms are identical to the tower rooms, minus the balcony and view, so they are a good deal for staying in a prime location, walking distance to the MK and living in a large very comfortable room. Except for the bathroom sinks, we find the CR rooms to be among the very best at WDW. Only the GF and Poly compare, IMO, in size and amenities. We did enjoy being on the ground floor in the GW. WE had a patio and easy access to the pool. The views from many of the garden wing rooms are lovely as well. In many resorts you would pay a premium for that view. At the CR it is a reduced rate! Definitely good value in the GW, IMO.

It is a dilemma. The high cost of a WDW vacation does require a consideration of how much you want to spend vs how important some things are for you to spend extra $$$ upon. For me, when bringing the grand children for the first time, the Tower TPV was worth the price. We did go value season, we did manage to get a discount and we didn't stay here for the entire trip (also stayed at less expensive AKL and YC). So we took measures to reduce the cost.

Good luck choosing! What ever you decide, the CR is a wonderful resort!

Enjoy!

 

[Babsy]

Just wanted to add:.

If you decide on the tower, request a high floor and odd numbered room. The view is better, possibly noise is less of an issue, and you can see the castle from your bed.

If you decide on the GW, request ground floor. You will have a patio and you won't need to use elevators to go to your room.