CSR vs. WL vs. AKL

[faithinyourdreams]

Need some help here as I'm having trouble making the decision of where to stay. My friend is getting me a Cast Member discount, so wherever, I choose to stay, will be 50% off. I want to get the most bang for my discounted buck....I'm travelling alone (going to see my friend at Disney) and I really wanted to stay at a Deluxe this time. I fell in love with the WL but looking at reviews, it seems AKL is just as good.

I am going for five nights and the CSR is half the price of the WL. AL is about 200 cheaper than WL. WL Is still expensive, despite the 50% off. Is CSR really nice? I'm not overly fond of the walkways layout and I know the Deluxe Resorts are all one big location with no outdoor walkways. What are your suggestions? Thanks so much!

 

[Sheepdog23]

Hi!

If i had that discount I would choose the poly but of the ones you have mentioned, definitely WL. I love how peaceful it is while being extremely central. AKL was great, but far from everything. If you are going to relax, then AKL is perfect and super quiet. If you want to have a great time with the ease of being able to go anywhere quickly, then WL as it is a short boat ride from MK and contemporary (monorail). I know that by renting points from a DVC member, you can stay at AK and WL for about the same as 50% so maybe you should try CSR.

good luck choosing!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would go with the Wilderness Lodge because when comparing to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Coronado Springs, I think they have a much better theme, atmosphere and overall location. Plus they have more transportation options with their boat to the Magic Kingdom, along with their other boat to the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness.

 

[KatMark]

Need some help here as I'm having trouble making the decision of where to stay. My friend is getting me a Cast Member discount, so wherever, I choose to stay, will be 50% off. I want to get the most bang for my discounted buck....I'm travelling alone (going to see my friend at Disney) and I really wanted to stay at a Deluxe this time. I fell in love with the WL but looking at reviews, it seems AKL is just as good.

I am going for five nights and the CSR is half the price of the WL. AL is about 200 cheaper than WL. WL Is still expensive, despite the 50% off. Is CSR really nice? I'm not overly fond of the walkways layout and I know the Deluxe Resorts are all one big location with no outdoor walkways. What are your suggestions? Thanks so much!

We love the CSR and it has been our home nine of our last ten trips. However, this year we are finally trying the AKL for a couple of nights before going to the CSR as we've always wanted to get a savannah view room at the AKL. The WL holds no appeal to us at all for a number of reasons.

If the money isn't an issue, I would go with the AKL.

 

[faithinyourdreams]

Thank you so much for the help! I think what I've decided to do is CSR for my first three nights and WL for my last two nights. I was hesitant about splitting the stay, but I figure by the end, I will have more time to spend in the resort. I really wanted to experience AKL, but i intend to go eat at at least two of their restaurants and I can walk around and still get the experience. Feel free to continue expressing opinions! I am not booking until tomorrow

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I personally would not do a split stay for only 5 nights, as I would not want to take park time out of my vacation to pack and have to wait for my luggage at the next resort. But if you choose to, I'd pick CSR and WL.

We love CSR and think it's a great place to stay at a good price. We've stayed there 3 times and have a 4th coming up in May. When we had a 40% military discount, we splurged on WL and loved it too. We have small kids and spend a lot of time at MK, so the boat ride to/from MK was a huge asset. We had great luck with the boat launch. We were there just before Thanksgiving and it was all decorated for Christmas and was just breath-taking. We could see Wishes from our balcony every night and I did like that I could just zip down the elevator and get mug refills and a snack and be back in the room in just a few minutes.

We visited AKL on one visit and the decor does not appeal to us, nor did we particularly care for Boma. Just not our taste and would not be our choice to stay there.

I will say that we drive to WDW, so we are always free to take our own vehicle if we choose, so any resort that uses buses exclusively is not a deal-breaker to us. However, we often choose to take the Disney buses and have found CSR's service to be the best of any resort we've stayed at.

Good luck with your selection - I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter where you lay your head!

 

[mickeynut1]

We've stayed at both WL and AKL and while AKL is a great resort, we prefer WL for its location . We love being close to MK and having the option of taking the boat to/from the MK as well as to the CR for dining and/or shopping at the monorail resorts .

 

[mickey&minniealways]

WL is great for proximity to the MK if you have little kids. If this is a solo trip then you might want to be closer to some of the other parks. I find AKL to be brathtaking. When you walk into that main lobby the the first thing you think of is O Wow! If you can aford the savanah view there is nothing like waking up in the morning and seeing those animals while having that first cup of coffee. I have always wanted to try CSR but for us it just doesn't work. There is know way I am ever going to get my DD15 to share a bed with her brother.

 

[faithinyourdreams]

I am a solo traveler and losing park time doesn't really matter to me. I've been to Disney a number of times and have done the full days of walking and I've even done all the parks in one day. This vacation is more to spend time with my friend and wander the parks, enjoying the things i never had time for, like looking at all the various resorts and seeing all the fireworks shows. Tha'ts why the hotels matter more to me this go around.

 

[NYY2SMP]

I would definitely go with Wilderness Lodge. My favorite part was nothing was to far away from our room unlike Coronado Springs were you have to walk to get to the main lobby.