More advice sought - AKL vs CSR

[TCO]

Hi guys, so I have another question and am after advice and opinions.

I rang Virgin about upgrading my flight out to PE and it was £700 for 2 of us, when I was on I also enquired about upgrading to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for the 10 nights we are there, all in including the PE outband flight it is £1000 extra, so basically only £300 for the hotel upgrade.

Would people say its worth the extra £300 to upgrade to the AKL?

Opinions on either resort would be greatly appreciated.

 

[gemmybear83]

If you can easily afford it for an extra £300 I would probably upgrade to AKL.

We stayed at CSR in October and loved it - we were in Casitas 5 in a king room, we loved the renovated rooms (much nicer than the concierge room we had in Wilderness Lodge later in the trip) and it actually seemed bigger because of the clever use of furniture in the room.

The resort is huge, we were lucky because we were in Casitas it was only a 5 min walk, and the bus top was a couple of mins away (Casitas has the best bus stop first to be picked up and first dropped off).

We really liked Pepper Market (if your on the DDP - very expensive if not) for counter service, as it was proper cutlery, loads of choice etc but thought the desserts at other counter service was better.

CSR is really quiet, and the only disadvantage some of the deluxe resorts have is that they seem very noisy due to the influx of people visiting the restaurants etc.

I will leave you with some photos of CSR feel free to ask any questions:

 

[TCO]

Thanks very much, I do like the look of both so it's a tough one. I will have to weigh up stuff like the ease of getting around at the two, we will be using the free transport and we are on the Full dining plan .

 

[wayneg]

Never been to CSR.
AKL is our fave resort but would have to be a Savanna view, std room would not interest me. Chances are you would be upgraded to Savanna view but can't be sure.

 

[anthony2k7]

AKL is the best resort at WDW in my opinion - although as wayne said, if you're gonna do it then do it properly and get a Savanna view.

Best theming. Nice + quiet (compared to poly/CR anyway!). Good value compared to the other deluxes as well.

Transport wise you're stuck with the bus for both. CSR has bus 4 stops which adds to the journey time if you want to get off at the last stop, but likewise AKL now has two stops as well. CSR is a little closer to the parks though.

You need to consider your budget though, if its going to be tight for AKL then I'd maybe still go for CSR so you have more spending money.

 

[traceycooper]

could you do half & half - eg 5 nts in each??

 

[anthony2k7]

could you do half & half - eg 5 nts in each??

How do split stays work with the dining plan?

 

[wayneg]

How do split stays work with the dining plan?

They don't unfortunately. If you check out of 1 hotel the DDP stops, would have to buy more tickets for 2nd reservation.

 

[TCO]

Thanks everyone, Virgin are ringing me back tomorrow to confirm the price, the only sticking point is I have alreayd paid to upgrade my free QSDP to the full one, however at the Deluxe you get the full plan for free so they are trying to knock off the money I already paid.

Would love a Savanna view but I think thats stretching the budget a bit much, you never know we may get an upgrade due to it being the wifes birthday (I can but hope)

My only worry about the AKL is having to wait for ages to be able to get on a bus that isn't full, we're going 21st September which may be busy due to free dining.

 

[natalielongstaff]

We loved AKL, the buses were not a problem ( except MK ! on both days the bus took ages to turn up )

 

[jen_uk]

The buses were great at AKL in August, best of all the resorts we have stayed in. They came regularly and were usually only half full

 

[TCO]

Booooooourns

Virgin just rang me back and said now if I still want to upgrade it will cost me £300 BUT I will lose the dining plan as the free dining offer has expired. Looks like I'm back to the CSR, ah well it looks lovely still.

Thanks all the same this place is a lifesaver for people like me who hate making decisions

 

[wayneg]

Free DDP is available on bookings upto 2nd Aug next year, for travel dates between 1st August- 18th November 2010
http://www.virginholidays.co.uk/special_offers/disney_diningplan/

 

[TCO]

Looks like another phonecall is in order then, if that is the case there is surely no reason why I would have to pay the £29 per person per day for the dining plan

 

[wayneg]

Why is it so difficult for Virgin? Do they try it on or are they really so slack?
Good luck.

 

[TCO]

Thanks, the guy I spoke to yesterday said he'd ring me today to confirm, he didn't call so I rang them and it's his day off and the person I spoke to today seemed less efficient.

I'll try again tomorrow