Resort Choice help - CR vs. AKL

[mrsr2ro]

Please take into consideration the details of our trip and offer your adivce --

Travel party -- My parents, Myself, and my DD who will be almost 2.5 (fairly easygoing, but still needs afternoon nap).

Dates/Times -- Planning a short 4 day trip 3/1 - 3/4. Would arrive at hotel around 2pm, and leave around 3pm.

Hope to visit each of the parks for only about half a day each and have plenty of rest time at the resort. If weather permits, some pool time. This trip is all about keeping DD in good spirits -- no need to go commando and do every ride/attraction.

Planning only 2 TS -- 1900PF breakfast and TH breakfast.

So I'm trying to decide between:

CR Tower MK View and AKL Savanna View

I'm thinking that CR is way more convient transportation wise, but AKL seems to have more fun things at the resort.

What would you recommend for us? I know very little about AKL, so any extra info would be appreciated.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

CR MK view the view is awesome, worth every penny for us You will definately save transportation time by staying at CR. We loved it and we arrive at CR on Jan 1st for 11 nights

 

[CoolPool]

CR because the room is biggest.

Let's make this memorable for you and your parents.

 

[cbg1027]

I think the answer depends on how much time you want to spend at the resort. If the only 'extra' thing you plan to do at the resort besides using your room is swimming, then I would go with CR for the easier transportation.

I just stayed at AKL and LOVED it. It is an amazing resort, but your only free transportation option is buses. Some people complain about AKL being so 'far' away from everything but it's not bad. The longest bus ride would be the 20 minutes to and from MK. They have tons of resort activities from 8:30am - 9:30pm. It's a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the parks. Plus, it's easy to spend time sitting on your balcony watching the animals. So I would say if you don't want to spend much time at the AKL exploring those activities, I would go with the CR.

Here is an example of the activities offered at AKL, they change every month though: http://www.aklresort.com/content/activities-page-1-0?size=_original

That website, www.aklresort.com is a good place to explore to find out more about AKL.

 

[juliemcalister]

What a difficult decision! These are our two favorite resorts so I don't think you can go wrong. Will you be flying or driving? If you'll have a car then the travel times are roughly the same. We were there in August and stayed at CR with a car. Our longest travel times were when we used the monorail so I wouldn't avoid AKL with a car.

 

[asdfghjkl13]

CR for location, transportation options
AKL for theming, and there's more to do at the hotel.

Overall I would have to go with CR because I hate WDW buses and you don't need ones for MK & Epcot.

 

[kaffinito]

Well the CR is awesome, but if you plan on spending a lot of time at the resort then I would go for AKL. They have a lot of activities, a great pool, and you can use the new pool at Kidani as well. The food there is good, and the atmosphere (though some find it dark) is terrific. There are a lot of "bead' activities where you complete a task to get a cool bead, and a kids parade with instruments from the store in the evening.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would go with the Contemporary because in my opinion they have a much better overall location, transportation options, bigger rooms and they are the only resort with a walkway to and from the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Disney grandma]

I love the atmosphere of AKL, but for a shorter trip I would stay at CR. So close to MK and the rooms are much larger. There would be a daybed for your daughter to sleep on, and at that age she would love seeing the castle from your room.

 

[bethclayton]

AKL is one of my favorite resorts and I have never stayed at the CR. You probably can't go wrong with either, but I am leaning a little bit towards CR.

I noticed you only have 2 full days, both of which have breakfast reservations, and that you plan on visiting all four parks, with an arrival time of 2 pm the first day and departure of 4 pm the last day. To be honest, that could end up being hectic and kind of work against your goal to have a lot of relaxation time.

For example, on the day you have the 1900 PF ressie, if you stayed at AKL, you would have to take the bus to MK and then the boat or monorail to GF, then have breakfast, then wait again for the boat or monorail to get to the MK. Travel time can really eat up a lot of time. I'm not sure what time your reservation is, but you would probably not be getting to MK very early, and maybe only have a few hours before it is nap time.

I know this is not what you asked, but I am wondering if you should consider making your TS meals dinners instead, instead of using up potential park time for your meals. That way, you could do the parks in the morning, come home, nap, swim, and then have a relaxing dinner.

Have you considered not doing all four parks, in case she really falls in love with the MK?

I think AKL has tons to do at the resort and a very relaxing vibe, but CR might be better for this trip. If she loves MK more than you expect and you want to
go back for one or two more rides after her nap, it is just a short walk. She can see the fireworks every single night from the room. And your transportation to breakfast the one day will be much simpler.

Good luck with your planning. I have never taken my kids when they were quite that young, but I'm sure it is just amazing to watch their reactions.

 

[danyella522]

CR for sure with a 2.5 year old and time frame

we loved AKL but I personally felt like it was too much with young children going back and forth from the parks all day. We'll stay here again but when our children are older.

The monorail was irreplaceable for us. The girls would fall asleep in their stroller after the fireworks. We would just wheel them onto the monorail and back into the room. It was a hassle to fold the stroller, attempt to carry them onto the bus, and then unload.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Though I have not stayed at CR, we stayed at the Poly this last July and AKL the prev May.

No doubt the monorail was more convienent for MK and Epcot, but we did not mind the bus ride at all from AKL. The longest bus for us was DTD, 35 min.

We went back every afternoon for a nap/swim at both resorts and really did not think either was a chore location wise.

AKL savanah view would be wonderful for your 2.5 year old and the lobby would be wonderful to explore.

CR is more dull, theme wise to us and would choose AKL over CR for the theme.

A MK view of the fireworks everynight would be awesome for your 2.5 year old also.

So many positives for both resort, really hard to choose. Either one will be awesome!