Help Me Decided - AKL or Contemporary

[ambolejack]

Oh the dilemmas!

We are heading back to the World in mid-November. We are currently booked at AKL standard view and Contemporary Tower Bay Lake View. My husband and I are having a hard time deciding which reservation to keep.

We visited AKL during our last trip in May and my kiddos (DD2 and DS8) fell in love with the resort. The animals are the big draw but they also loved the pool. After a day in the parks, going back to the resort would feel like a whole other world. However, I am concerned about how secluded the resort is from everything. Also, I watched the bus lines leaving the parks last trip and AKL always seemed to have long lines.


I really like the convenience of Contemporary since we will be visiting MK 2-3 days and Epcot 1. Plus, my son loves the idea of the monorail line running through the hotel. I have stayed here before, but in the garden wing. The idea of staying in the Tower even excites me! The rooms are so much bigger and having so many restaurants within a monorail or boat rides would be great.

Now, I can justify about anything when it comes to Disney, but I have having a hard time justifying the extra $2000 to stay at the Contemporary. DH is not interested in doing a split stay. He wants to unpack and be done for the week.

Is there anyone out there that has stayed at both? Willing to share your thoughts on both resorts?

 

[Micca]

We have stayed at both, and we are DVC members at both. While AKL has the animals and fantastic theming, the Contemporary rules when it comes to location. However, 2 grand? Hello AKL!

 

[clapton]

Have stayed at the CR many times and own DVC at the BLT. Have only stayed at AKL once, we enjoyed our stay at AKL but felt t was a little bit too far away from things for our liking. CR has a great location if you are spending a lot of time at he MK. You can't beat walking back to te hotel at the end of the night. Also like the quick ride on the monorail to the other hotels! Have a great trip whatever you decide.

 

[kadrachb]

Having stayed at both, I think I'd pick CR since you'd be doing a lot of MK time. But I'd also look at what your schedule might be. If you have a lot of resort time, I'd go more towards AKL. This past May, the buses really weren't bad at AKL. I mean lines could be long from leaving MK right after the fireworks, but it was never unbearable for us. And at one point which it was getting to long, two buses showed up. I never felt like AKL was too far away from anything, and I found the seclusion to be nice after a busy day in the parks.

 

[rwdavis2]

We've stayed at both and the only advantage to CR is the monorail and being able to walk to MK. I'd pick AKL every time.

 

[Turk February]

We have stayed at both with our daughter. Contemporary when she was 2 1/2, AKL when she was 4. For convenience, you can't beat CR. Being able to walk back from MK was amazing after a long day, and that's where we spend the majority of our days. For theming though, AKL obviously has it beat by miles (just about any resort beats CR in theming IMO). CR always felt like a hotel to us, but the proximity to MK, the theme park view room, and the monorail really add up to a lot of points.

With AKL, the theming is amazing, the safari view is unreal, and the rooms are great. I would stay at both again but if given the choice where money was no issue with a young child I would pick CR. However, at $2000 extra I would pick AKL without a doubt. $2K is a lot of money.

 

[Babsy]

If it is at all possible in the budget.....

I would stay at the CR. Reasons why:

AS already stated: proximity to the MK (walking!)
Monorail access to Epcot
easy to take the AKL bus to the AKL from the MK bus stop to see the animals and to dine
Huge rooms and balcony with a spectacular view of bay lake
Chef Mickey's downstairs
Great dining options both at CR and a monorail away at Poly and the GF
Boat to FW and to the WL for dining and activities there
Did I mention: WALKING to the MK!!??!!

the CR is an amazingly comfortable and convenient resort. Absolutely the BEST for a visit largely entered in the MK and with small children!

AKL is nice, but it would perhaps be nice saved for a later trip when the children are older.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We cut our teeth back in the 80's when we began our madness at the north garden wings of the Contemporary Resort...we have stayed once at AKL, and truthfully, weren't impressed with anything there, especially the remoteness of its location...

That said, nothing beats the resorts in the MK area, you're linked to 4 + resorts and Fort Wilderness giving you tons of restaurants, lounges an shopping by either boat or monorail...not to say the walk to the MK is the settling point..

We'll never go back to AKL, even the savannah view room we had, we saw little deer, big horned steer and giraffe only at feeding time...most of the day it was a treed field...not pleasant to look at and being out on one side made for a long walk to food and pool...no thanks

 

[addiln]

I have stayed at both and will be staying at BLT again in a few day. I love the fact that I can walk to MK and the monorail is right there. It makes everything so much easier to get around. I really enjoyed AKL as well. I thought the resort was a more relaxed resort and enjoyed my morning coffee on the balcony. Also I don't think BLT is worth the extra 2k.

 

[moonshadow]

I have stayed at both and the monorail is certainty convenient, however the AKL is a fantastic resort and it being $2000 cheaper would be a deal breaker for me.

Also you said your children loved it and what you wrote summed it up: "After a day in the parks, going back to the resort would feel like a whole other world." I think you answered your own question. Have fun either way.

 

[colagirl]

I have stayed at both and the monorail is certainty convenient, however the AKL is a fantastic resort and it being $2000 cheaper would be a deal breaker for me.

I agree with this. We've stayed at AKL twice, and while sometimes the location is inconvenient, and I am not a fan of the bus system, it is not $2000 worth of inconvenience. You could budget $100 or so for cabs when you didn't feel like doing the buses. The animals are wonderful, and my son loved the pool at AKL.

 

[NicholeB630]

I have not stayed at AKL but possibly on our next trip. We stayed at Bay lake tower twice now and love it. We love being able to walk to MK especially bc we to spend more time there than other parks. The rooms are nice and we always eat breakfast at Chef Mickeys. I just want to stay somewhere different next time that we haven't before.

 

[kollerbear]

We have stayed at both, and we are DVC members at both. While AKL has the animals and fantastic theming, the Contemporary rules when it comes to location. However, 2 grand? Hello AKL!

THIS.

We have stayed at both with our daughter. Contemporary when she was 2 1/2, AKL when she was 4. For convenience, you can't beat CR. Being able to walk back from MK was amazing after a long day, and that's where we spend the majority of our days. For theming though, AKL obviously has it beat by miles (just about any resort beats CR in theming IMO). CR always felt like a hotel to us, but the proximity to MK, the theme park view room, and the monorail really add up to a lot of points.

With AKL, the theming is amazing, the safari view is unreal, and the rooms are great. I would stay at both again but if given the choice where money was no issue with a young child I would pick CR. However, at $2000 extra I would pick AKL without a doubt. $2K is a lot of money.

YES.

I agree with this. We've stayed at AKL twice, and while sometimes the location is inconvenient, and I am not a fan of the bus system, it is not $2000 worth of inconvenience. You could budget $100 or so for cabs when you didn't feel like doing the buses. The animals are wonderful, and my son loved the pool at AKL.

CAB BUDGET! Brilliant.

Seriously, I've stayed at both, agree that your itinerary seems like a better fit for CR, but that difference is just too high. I'd do AKL. Maybe try renting points at Bay Lake Tower sometime? I bet that would be a much more affordable way to stay there. David's Point Rental calculator is saying it would cost $1562 for a week in a standard view studio or $2940 for a 1-bedroom at BLT in mid-November. Not that there is availability right now, but if you ever were able to plan far enough ahead, that would be a great way to do it.

 

[CynBeth]

Could you do a split stay?

 

[brinkley07]

I was just talking to a friend of mine who is also a DVC member about the buses and crowds. We love AKL and haven't really had trouble with the buses, but she was saying she always takes a cab back at the end of the day to save time. It was running her around $20 or so to take the cab which would be much better than the $2000. Contemporary is not a favorite for us, and it isn't on our stay again list. Poly or GF would get us back sooner if were only about being near MK and the monorail, but we have usually ended up back at AKL every time in the past 6 years. Good luck with the decision!

 

[BobC]

I have done neither but visited both.

I would chose AKL. The only way I'd stay at CR is if it was Bay Lake Tower.

Everyone says 'oh the buses are awful at AKL' but I visited there a few times and they're not bad at all and quite frequent!

 

[GrumpyBelle]

I would not spend an extra $2000. AKL is our favorite resort. We have stayed there multiple times and never had an issue with the buses.

 

[Jennasis]

We've stayed at both and love both (though we own BLT DVC). If money is an object, go with AKL. If money is no object, go with Contemporary. CR/BLT is our favorite resort of all time...hence why we bought it. But AKL is a close second.

 

[glamourgirl]

AKL hands down. CR has advantage of proximity to MK but IMO the only edge over AKL.
AKL feels secluded b/c that is the point. You are supposed to feel like you are stepping into the wilds of Africa, which I think they do wonderfully considering it is in central Florida.
The pools are great at AKL. We like to stay at Jambo but Kidani pool is better. Great food options and just an intangible feeling when walking into the lobby.
Not sure of your dates, but we love AKL with its Xmas decor. The tree is stunning.

In the grand scheme of things, AKL is not that much further than any other Disney resort. What's a few miles more once you already down there?

You can take a taxi to get where you need to go with the $2000 in savings. I would put the $2000 in savings directly into a bounceback offer for next trip.

 

[gkrykewy]

How about an in-between option: AKL Savannah View . AKL is just the best, but you can't go wrong with either of those choices.