Magic Kingdom Resort Area Help! Can't Make Up Mind

[Derrrit]

So we're planning another trip to the swamp this holiday season, Can not express my excitement! We currently have a 1 bedroom villa Savannah view at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo house booked December 7th -10th, never stayed at this resort and I've already fell in love with it. Setup for Vacation:

• Dec 7th: Leave for The Walt Disney World Resort, Check in at Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House
• Dec 8th: Visit Disney's Animal Kingdom
• Dec 9th: Visit Epcot
• Dec 10th: Switch hotels for night to a Magic Kingdom Resort, and visit Sea World's Discovery Cove in the morning/afternoon till Hotel room is ready
• Dec 11th: Checkout of hotel, visit Magic Kingdom till flight departure home.

But I can't make up my mind which Resort Magic Kingdom resort I wanna stay at! I've only stayed at one MK resort in my life (Poly Bungalows) Fireworks are a big thing for me, so I've looked into The Contemporary Rooms and the Theme Park views are beautiful and has the Firework music on the TV, But the hotel it self to me personally seems Cold, sterile, loud, and I want to feel relaxed after a day at Discovery Cove.


The Grand Floridian seems to be so relaxing and pretty, and I've been dieing to stay at this resort for a while and I kinda want to experience the Walt Disney World Flagship Hotel, But there Theme Park views seem to be at really bad angles, and the Music for the Fireworks aren't pumped in. But I could stay in a cheaper room at the Grand Floridian and do a private firework cruise and that would cost about the same as a Themepark view.


In the end it all comes down to this, Theme park view at Contemporary for one night or Lagoon view at The Grand Floridian One night with Private firework cruise. I keep going back and forth to The Contemporary because even though I feel it's not as Relaxing as The Grand Floridian, it still has a lot of charm and a Walt Disney World original. (ps. We do not want to stay at The Polynesian again, being up close to the bungalows will tempt us)

 

[Surgie2]

With your schedule there won’t be lots of resort time so I’d definitely do Contemporary. You really don’t need to go to Sea World if you don’t want to. When you leave AK your luggage will be moved for you if you choose. You could go straight to Contemporary, park your car and check in. You are a guest starting at 6:00 am. Room likely not ready but you can have breakfast and be ready to walk less than 10 minutes to Magic Kingdom.

That would give you a full day and evening at MK. Such an easy walk back after fireworks. I think the Contemporary gets a bad rap for its architecture and styling. In fact it was such a modernistic design for its time and has stood the test of time as an iconic WDW design. Plus it’s just one night...even if you dislike the theme of the Contemporary, having a theme park view and its location would way override that imo.

To me, buying a 4-day WDW ticket and taking advantage of walking to MK on both December 10 and 11 would be 100% preferred (and likely cheaper) than a 3-day ticket plus a day at Sea World. I couldn’t resist two days at MK to take in all those beautiful Christmas decorations and have 2 days of FP to enjoy favorite rides.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would pick the Contemporary. After a day at Discovery Cove, I wouldn't want to deal with a fireworks cruise. I would just want to settle into my room, sit on the balcony and watch the fireworks. Then walk to MK the next day! CR really has its own charm. Take some time to look at the murals, watch the monorail go by, etc. It is a WDW original!

 

[AllieBoo]

We loved the Contemporary. Being able to walk to MK is awesome!

 

[beccasmom]

We’re at BLT now. Ending the day with watching the fireworks from your balcony is just about as perfect as it gets (was chilly out there last night but I’m not complaining!).

 

[bumbershoot]

Why are you wanting to book a Mk resort room when you won’t even be there until it’s about to be dark? I’m not tracking the point, so it’s hard to say which one.

For watching fireworks I was going to suggest poly since we had an experience the other day of catching the fireworks from the main outdoor space there and it was incredible.

Viewing area from contemporary can be so breezy and cold that we’ve never stood there longer than 2 minutes and never caught the fireworks during bay lake stays.

But here I keep talking about the outdoor spaces, and those can be accessed by non guests. So then I loop back to wondering why you’re moving resorts.

 

[wishuponastar1984]

Why are you wanting to book a Mk resort room when you won’t even be there until it’s about to be dark? I’m not tracking the point, so it’s hard to say which one.

For watching fireworks I was going to suggest poly since we had an experience the other day of catching the fireworks from the main outdoor space there and it was incredible.

Viewing area from contemporary can be so breezy and cold that we’ve never stood there longer than 2 minutes and never caught the fireworks during bay lake stays.

But here I keep talking about the outdoor spaces, and those can be accessed by non guests. So then I loop back to wondering why you’re moving resorts.

i am with you. Switching resorts for just one night sounds like a lot work considering you aren't really using the amenities you are paying a pretty penny to use.

The dolphin encounter is cool but you can do that a lot of places outside of Orlando and you won't be paying the outrageous Disney hotel prices to do so.

 

[Derrrit]

Why are you wanting to book a Mk resort room when you won’t even be there until it’s about to be dark? I’m not tracking the point, so it’s hard to say which one.

For watching fireworks I was going to suggest poly since we had an experience the other day of catching the fireworks from the main outdoor space there and it was incredible.

Viewing area from contemporary can be so breezy and cold that we’ve never stood there longer than 2 minutes and never caught the fireworks during bay lake stays.

But here I keep talking about the outdoor spaces, and those can be accessed by non guests. So then I loop back to wondering why you’re moving resorts.

i am with you. Switching resorts for just one night sounds like a lot work considering you aren't really using the amenities you are paying a pretty penny to use.

The dolphin encounter is cool but you can do that a lot of places outside of Orlando and you won't be paying the outrageous Disney hotel prices to do so.

Because you usually cannot check into the Hotel room till 4 pm. We did Discovery Cove last year and loved the experience, it’ll fill our morning and afternoon till the Room is ready. It’s really not that much work to switch hotels, Disney just transfers all your luggage for you. We needed something to do between the time we checkout at AKL and the time we check into the MK resort, and Discovery Cove fits that category perfectly.

Also The Animal Kingdom Lodge room is 880$ a night, so it’s not like we’ll be spending any extra money even with a Theme Park view at any of the MK resorts.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

I think the GF is beautiful at Christmas time! Since you're going in December this is what I would choose. If you do the fireworks cruise, bring a blanket or jacket just in case, being out on the water is a lot chillier than being on land. I've seen Happily Ever After from the Contemporary (I did the Highway in the Sky Dine Around in December) and from Ohana's, and while they were pretty, it's NOTHING compared to seeing the fireworks in the park. I've never done the fireworks cruise but I'd venture that they viewing area is closer than from the resorts. Alternatively, is it possible that that's a party night and you could just buy a party ticket and see the fireworks that way? I'm not sure if it'd be HEA or the Holiday Wishes (are they still doing that?), but that way you wouldn't be watching the fireworks from very far away.

 

[Hopefully]

Because you usually cannot check into the Hotel room till 4 pm. We did Discovery Cove last year and loved the experience, it’ll fill our morning and afternoon till the Room is ready. It’s really not that much work to switch hotels, Disney just transfers all your luggage for you. We needed something to do between the time we checkout at AKL and the time we check into the MK resort, and Discovery Cove fits that category perfectly.

Also The Animal Kingdom Lodge room is 880$ a night, so it’s not like we’ll be spending any extra money even with a Theme Park view at any of the MK resorts.

Did you miss the post abov? You can check into your resort as early as 6-7 AM. You are a guest of the resort and can use all amenities. You do not need to wait until the afternoon. I still don’t get your point

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

Did you miss the post abov? You can check into your resort as early as 6-7 AM. You are a guest of the resort and can use all amenities. You do not need to wait until the afternoon. I still don’t get your point

To be fair, in December it could be very chilly, so they may not want to use the pool or other amenities of their hotel that day, whereas at Discovery Cove they give you wetsuits when you're in the water with the dolphins. OP, you can hang at the hotel if you want the full day you check in & check out, regardless of when your room is ready!

 

[Surgie2]

Because you usually cannot check into the Hotel room till 4 pm. We did Discovery Cove last year and loved the experience, it’ll fill our morning and afternoon till the Room is ready. It’s really not that much work to switch hotels, Disney just transfers all your luggage for you. We needed something to do between the time we checkout at AKL and the time we check into the MK resort...

Not sure if OP is returning but as others have said, there is no need for any "down time" between checking out of one resort and into the other. Simply check in to your new hotel as early as 6:00 am and you are free to use the amenities and enjoy your day at MK. I think maybe the OP has missed recognizing that option based on his/her reply.