Need Help Picking a Resort

[dmp336]

I am going with a friend's family and they are staying at the Contemporary. That is way out of my budget so I am looking into the Caribbean Beach Club, Animal Kingdom Lodge or Animal Kingdom Coronado. Which is closest and/or easiest to get to the Contemporary? I am a first time park goer so I have NO IDEA. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Skippyboo]

Coronado Springs and Animal Kingdom Lodge are over by Animal Kingdom and are the furthest any from Comtempory which is by MK. I would look at Wilderness Lodge to see if that’s in your budget. It’s not on the monorail like Polynesian or Grand Floridian but it has boat service to MK. The other resorts you would have to take a bus to MK. So you can stay just about any of the resorts.

 

[dmp336]

Coronado Springs and Animal Kingdom Lodge are over by Animal Kingdom and are the furthest any from Comtempory which is by MK. I would look at Wilderness Lodge to see if that’s in your budget. It’s not on the monorail like Polynesian or Grand Floridian but it has boat service to MK. The other resorts you would have to take a bus to MK. So you can stay just about any of the resorts.

Thanks. With our dates and number of guest only AK Lodge, AK Condonado and Caribbean are the options.

 

[Skippyboo]

Thanks. With our dates and number of guest only AK Lodge, AK Condonado and Caribbean are the options.

Caribbean Beach will give you Skyliner access to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. It’s a moderate level resort a bit spread out, has multiple pools which a feature pool with a pirate style fort.

Coronado Springs is also a moderate. It’s spread out too but it has a tower section that’s new which it’s super nice. Has a Mayan Temple theme pool plus a couple of small regular pools. All bus service to parks.

Animal Kingdom Lodge has 2 sections Jambo House which is mostly hotel rooms and Kidani which is DVC. It’s a deluxe resort so you get inside doors. Jambo has 2 table service restaurants and a QS. Kidani has a table service restaurant. There is a big savanna area with zebra and giraffes handing around. There a big pool at Jambo & Kidani. All bus service to parks.

 

[auntlynne]

A few questions:
Are you trying to meet your friends at their hotel? Or some place for dining? Or just at the theme parks.

Will you be using your own car or Disney transportation?

... Animal Kingdom has some decent (for Disney) pricing for its reopening in August, using the Summer Savings discount. I find it to be an overlooked gem, with its grand African-themed lobby and animal viewing areas. But many people don’t like it’s distance from the parks other than Animal Kingdom. And there are people who skip that park, if they have to miss one.

There are also non-Disney hotels around Bonnet Creek or near Disney Springs that may be more affordable, often with transportation to the parks.

Not everyone can (or want to) pay Disney hotel prices. Lots of options.

 

[dmp336]

A few questions:
Are you trying to meet your friends at their hotel? Or some place for dining? Or just at the theme parks.

Will you be using your own car or Disney transportation?

... Animal Kingdom has some decent (for Disney) pricing for its reopening in August, using the Summer Savings discount. I find it to be an overlooked gem, with its grand African-themed lobby and animal viewing areas. But many people don’t like it’s distance from the parks other than Animal Kingdom. And there are people who skip that park, if they have to miss one.

There are also non-Disney hotels around Bonnet Creek or near Disney Springs that may be more affordable, often with transportation to the parks.

Not everyone can (or want to) pay Disney hotel prices. Lots of options.

I’m just trying to figure out if the Caribbean, Animal Kingdom Lodge or Animal Kingdom Coronado is easiest to get to the contemporary.

 

[Skippyboo]

I’m just trying to figure out if the Caribbean, Animal Kingdom Lodge or Animal Kingdom Coronado is easiest to get to the contemporary.

The answer is none. For all three you have to get an Uber or take Disney bus to MK and either walk or take monorail to Contemporary

also it’s Coronado Springs not Animal KingdomCoronado

 

[Dug720]

Animal Kingdom Lodge or Animal Kingdom Coronado

Do you mean Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House and Animal Kingdom Lodge Kidani Village? Or both parts of Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House and Kidani Village) and Coronado Springs Resort?

There is no "Animal Kingdom Coronado".

 

[Eastern]

https://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/propertymap.htm (^^^scroll down for map key) btw on that map Downtown Disney = Disney Springs, Disney MGM = Disney Hollywood Studios This map is a little dated but it gives a good overview of parks/resort relative locations.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/maps/ more current but you have to zoom in

I guess the answer would be any one of those resorts because they are all about the same far-ish distance. You can't walk, but they are all a quick enough (10-15 minutes, depending?) uber ride over. It won't be a case of you walking over to join them for a walk to MK or popping over for a short visit. If I were you, I would take a look at online pictures to get a feel for what each resort is like.

For more excrutiating detail you can go to any of the threads on the resorts board related to these locations. Or do a search for a narrower selection of topics.

To get to the CR, from one of those resorts, using Disney transportation: the quickest way would be to take a bus over to MK and then walk over to CR. (That is walkable, with a designated path, about 10 minutes.) That would involve you waiting for a bus and then walking over, so not too bad. It's when you start mixing modes of Disney transportation that the travel time becomes longer.

One important thing for a new Disney guest to know is that Disney involves a lot of walking, for us usually anywhere from 5-10 miles per day in the parks. So probably best for you to meet your friends at a designated spot rather than going to meet them at their resort and then going from there.

 

[Eastern]

Another option is to add more detail to your question, like dates of travel. Sometimes people will have more suggestions if they can pinpoint what you are looking for. Have you priced out Swan/Dolphin? Those resorts are in the Epcot area and allow you to walk to both Epcot and DHS. Also as someone mentioned, there are other hotels that are more affordable in the Disney Springs area. CR is fun but the prices are outrageous.

 

[Dug720]

Also, just clarifying OP... Do you mean Beach Club/Beach Club Villas or Caribbean Beach Resort? Those are also two different things.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Are you trying to meet them at the hotel or the parks?
Personally I would just stay at what ever hotel fits your budget. Disney transportation goes almost everywhere .
When we stayed at pop we took the bus to MK and walked over to the contemporary.