Thanks, looks like it is large to me. Not too enclosed so to speak. We have never stayed at CR as we always wonder if it is so noisy from the monorail and it being a covention center. But last year my mom and I walked from MK to eat at the Wave and the walk was lovely. And the lobby didn't seem so noisy/busy feeling. We are thinking of a split stay. Going with CR and then hop over to either BC , YC or BWI. We have never stayed at BWI either so maybe the trip should be all new resorts.
Some years back, we had a non-CL stay at CR. The monorail wasn't a problem, but the annoying music from chef Mickeys was! I think they got ride of that though, because so many people hated it. It did wake me (kind of a good thing), but then it was stuck in my head. I can still hear "Celebrate!" repeating over and over if I think about it.
The atrium floor (and Tower) are both quiet. If you don't know which you have, then you almost certainly have atrium. Tower is almost all larger suites.
to answer your question about the size of the lounge....The new BC is larger than pretty much all the rest, except maybe Poly. At WL and AKL, the lounge seating overlooks the lobby, but at WL the food area is a galley. At AKL it is more open. The CR lounge isn't as big at the one at the Poly. The CR one has large sliding glass doors (like many people have in their homes), so to me, it is more open tan some others. You can also go on the balcony if you wish, though that might not appeal to you.
A nice thing about Cr is pretty much all rooms aren't that far from the lounge. If you request- and get -a room close to the lounge, it will be very close. Also, if the room itself doesn't bother her, you can always take your food back to your room. We often do that if the lounges are ever crowded. the BWI lounge is a bit more complicated. It is one of the larger lounges, but no balconies. And if your room is far (as ours was) it can be quite far from the lounge and the main pool. CR is much more compact, BWI is a bit sprawling.
If you are staying at CR, the easy hops for visits will be Poly and GF via monorail, or WL and Ft W via shuttle boat.
Getting to BC/YC/BWI from CR is a bit of a hike. You could take a bus from MK bus stop, but a better choice might be to visit them from HS (or Epcot) on a day you visit HS. Personally, we like to pair our HS with late dinner at BC/YC/BWI/Swan/Dolphin. Those are all easy via boat from HS. (then to get back to CR, you take a bus from those resorts to MK- so long as you do it before MK closes.)
Sometimes the easiest way to do resort hopping is via taxi.