WL or CR

[yohojsparrow]

We are currently booked for at WL. I have seen the pictures for CR and the rooms look remarkable. I've always felt that CR was a little cold but there seem to be alot of fans. WL is themed so well and we like idea of the remote feeling. Is being on the monorail and the extra space in the rooms worth losing the great theme of WL?

 

[MickeyNicki]

We stayed at both and the only thing we liked at CR was the monorail...the food was yuck, the rooms were undergoing renovation and the themeing..well we were not "feeling" it.

Now the WL is amazing, we drove up to valet and felt like we were at home!

 

[lulugirl]

I voted WL, it's beautiful!
CR doesn't appeal to me at all.

 

[ToyStory]

The rooms are nice, but I voted for WL for the following reasons:

1. To save money. If I were to stay at CR, it would have to be in a MK Tower room.
2. I don't like the pool area at CR. Seems to me outdated.
3. The renovations and contruction that is happening at CR. Maybe once the dust clears I would go but not now.

 

[boomhauer]

I voted WL, it's beautiful!
CR doesn't appeal to me at all.

I agree.

If both resorts were the same money, I'd still stay at WL.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I voted for the Contemporary and here is why. Their renovated rooms are so much nicer then the new ones at the Wilderness Lodge, you have the Monorail right there so it makes things easier when going to the Polynesian and Grand Floridian, they are the only Resort with a walkway to the Magic Kingdom, great restaurants which include the California Grill, Chef Mickey's and the Concourse Steakhouse, if you need to take a Disney bus to another Resort then just walk over to the Magic Kingdom bus station and you would be able to watch Wishes every night. Either from a Magic Kingdom View room in the Tower, or from the 4th floor observation deck.

 

[yohojsparrow]

anyone else?

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Hi, I have only stayed at WL, not CR, just so you know. We have stayed at Poly 4x, so are familiar with the ease of staying at a monorail resort.

We loved WL! I guess it may depend on your party. If you have little children, the monorail to CR is great, especially at night when everyone is tired... or you can skip the monorail and walk back to CR from MK. You can't beat bypassing the bus frenzy and walking back to your resort (that is what I have read anyway). Plus, for Epcot, you can take the monorail to TTC, then switch to the monorail to Epcot.

That said, WL is great. We loved it there. The lobby, everything about WL (except for all the pool chair hogs which you will find anywhere ) was just wonderful. The CMs were great too. No complaints about the bus service. We took the boat to MK a couple times, but took the bus thereafter. Only once did we have a long wait and that was about an hour from AK to WL.

I do not think you will be disappointed in WL, but CR has it's transportation perks.

tink

 

[wildernessDad]

We love the WL. Own at VWL.

 

[auntie]

Wilderness Lodge ALL THE WAY! Have stayed there many times..and it's our favorite resort. It has a very serene authentic feel. Majestic, yet tranquil at the same time. Enjoy the varied activities..including being able to bike ride over to FW. Love that the entire resort is contained in one U shaped building..no walking outside(that is.. if you don't want to..especially in bad weather) to reach the lobby. The grounds are spectacular. We were very imprssed with the rooms..and even more so since the refurbishment. The lobby where the stream begins and meanders outside to the rockscaped scenary, eventually leading to the themed pool and the geyser on Bay Lake. Gotta love it.


Contemporary...I remember it from the 70's when I went to Disney the first time with my mom and cousin. Frankly...and just my opinion(but you did ask! ) it looks as if it's stuck in a time warp.(I on the other hand have aged gracefully..and hardly look a day older than my teenage self back in '74! )Everytime the monorail opens I have this vision that Marcia, Greg, and the rest of the Brady Bunch will appear singing and dancing their way through the concourse. While it was impressive in it's day...it just has that "back in the day" appearance. Doesn't appeal to me.

 

[chasgoose]

Wilderness Lodge ALL THE WAY! Have stayed there many times..and it's our favorite resort. It has a very serene authentic feel. Majestic, yet tranquil at the same time. Enjoy the varied activities..including being able to bike ride over to FW. Love that the entire resort is contained in one U shaped building..no walking outside(that is.. if you don't want to..especially in bad weather) to reach the lobby. The grounds are spectacular. We were very imprssed with the rooms..and even more so since the refurbishment. The lobby where the stream begins and meanders outside to the rockscaped scenary, eventually leading to the themed pool and the geyser on Bay Lake. Gotta love it.


Contemporary...I remember it from the 70's when I went to Disney the first time with my mom and cousin. Frankly...and just my opinion(but you did ask! ) it looks as if it's stuck in a time warp.(I on the other hand have aged gracefully..and hardly look a day older than my teenage self back in '74! )Everytime the monorail opens I have this vision that Marcia, Greg, and the rest of the Brady Bunch will appear singing and dancing their way through the concourse. While it was impressive in it's day...it just has that "back in the day" appearance. Doesn't appeal to me.

I feel that way to some extent too, although I have always felt the Contemporary felt more like those bland atrium hotels that were all the rage in the '80s (even though it was built in the '70s), but at least the rooms have been updated to the current urban chic boutique hotel style that is all the rage now.

I do think that the Wilderness Lodge has the nicer public spaces and pool area than the Contemporary (especially with the construction going on at the Contemporary), but the rooms at the Contemporary are so much nicer. They aren't as dark and woodsy as the Wilderness Lodge and they are so much bigger (you can fit 5 instead of 4 in the Contemporary). Plus any view from the tower (and some of the lake view rooms in the wing) is better than the best view at the Wilderness Lodge. Add the monorail, Chef Mickey's if you have kids, California Grill if you want a nice adults dinner and I think the Contemporary is the better choice. That said, if you are torn and the Wilderness Lodge is significantly less expensive than the Contemporary, I would do that. For me the money would be worth staying at the Contemporary, but if it is a close decision for you I always say take the cheaper option.

This is sort of off-topic, but I think the Poly is even more outdated looking than the Contemporary. Whereas the Contemporary is kind of a bland '80s outdated, the Poly has an overly kitschy '70s "Trader Vics" feel without the irony necessary to pull it off. Except unlike the Contemporary, the overpowering '70s feel continues into the bedrooms, even though they were just renovated. I don't care if it was based on traditional Hawaiian architecture or whatever, that doesn't stop it from being dated and tacky.

 

[boomhauer]

The odd thing about the Contemporary for me is, I don't feel the outdated look of it. It just holds no appeal theme wise. There is no theme.

As for the rooms, the pics of the old rooms are just ugly. They look like something from "A Clockwork Orange". And the new ones, they look like a very nice hotel. Big deal.

I'm all about theme I suppose.

 

[swilphil]

CR has the best location of any WDW resort. You can walk to MK. The rooms are beautiful and LARGE. Monorail and restaurants make it special.

If it were significantly more money than WL, I don't know if I would stay there, but you can get good rates at CR in the garden wing. If you splurge on the MK view, you will be treated to an awesome view out your window. We also liked the little beach on the backside where the kids can play in the sand.

Theming isn't too important to me, and I'm not impressed with WL theme anyway. Too many trips as a kid in cabins at the Ozarks and in the Colorado mountains.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

they are both great places to stay
I would pick WL as theres some construction at the CR in the lobby and stuff over the next couple of months

 

[Renee1061]

Okay, I'll admit I've never stayed at CR. But after only one visit, I am hooked on WL!! I love it!!

 

[Tigger714]

When I go to Disney I want to eat, sleep and breathe disney 24 hours a day and that means staying at the WL. It truly transports you to another world. If I want to stay at an upscale hotel I can do that when I go to the city. If I'm in a hurry to get to the parks then why am I on vacation???? We go for the slow & easy vaca!

 

[keishashadow]

Feel like a traitor voted for CR

our stay in MK view room was fantastic, i shall never forget it. As for no theming you either get it or you don't.

WL is our next fav...a whole different vibe, and impressive in it's own right. Wouldn't have bought there if we didn't luv it; truly an immersive & relaxing enviornment.

still, CR MK is a class in it's self, cannot compare the view from the balcony & ability to watch wishes in comfort imo.

Hopefully, that 'lil wish will be granted via a CR DVC

 

[DizzDoll]

I'm a CR fan all the way through . I loved it from the first time I stayed there a looooooong time ago and watched the paddle boat go past our room ( we stayed in the south wing with a lake view).

We stayed there again last year and were given an upgrade to the tower with an MK view. The view was to die for , watched Wishes from our balcony, and the water parade . We loved waking up to the MK and going to sleep as the castle "kissed" everyone good night. We're walkers/runners and the walk over to the MK is a mere sprint for us, but a nicer (and faster) alternative than doing the mono loop.

We didn't feel that the resort was sterile or outdated. That could be just us. But then again we weren't spending all our time in the resort anyway. The pool area was fine . The pool itself was fun, clean (meaning no duckies swimming in it a la WL), and there are tables with umbrellas set up if you get a snack to eat outside.

We liked grabbing the mono to the TTC for the switcheroo to Epcot as opposed to taking busses. And in defense of the WDW transportation system, the busses were pretty punctual last year. But I digress.

The rehabbed rooms are beautiful. IMHO the pictures really don't do them justice. The beds were very comfortable and plenty of room for people, luggage, and pins!!!!! The only downside to the rooms are the bathrooms. They REALLY botched them up bad. There are 2 double sinks, if that's what they're called. What they really are are two huge, shallow, square eyecatchers, and nothing else. Not a lot of shelf space in there, either. As I said, that's the only downer as far as I'm concerned.

The CMs are very polite, cordial, fun with the kids and if you EVER have a need for 400,000 stickers in one day, the CR is the place to get them. The CMs give them out like candy.

We had no troubles checking in, checking out, making ressies for horseback riding, parasailing, or anything else we wanted to do, and it was always a pleasant experience working with the CMs.

As far as dining experiences go, we made use of the Food and Fun Center each morning for the kids' breakfast (freshly cooked pancakes) which were pretty good in their opinion. I opted for coffee since I'm a java junkie , and WDW java is junk , and fresh fruit salad. Kept what I couldn't eat in the free fridge. The Concourse Steakhouse was superb. Everything we had (and there were 6 of us) was excellent. Our wait staff was top notch.

I know this is a huge issue for all of us, Mousekeeping, and again IMHO Mousekeeping did an outstanding job. We had neither bugs nor cobwebs in our room, AND we had towel animals.

So, I would have no problem recommending the CR. Now watch, this year they'll screw us over BIG TIME and then I'll have to eat my words

 

[Jynohn]

We stayed in the Contemporary North Garden Wing several years ago when it was being used as overflow for Shades of Green, and we HATED it there. I don't know about the rest of the hotel, but the wings felt dirty, dingy and outright depressing. And from the outside, I felt it looked like a housing project I know the North Garden Wing is gone now, and the South Wing has undergone a rehab, but still the Contemporary just doesn't feel like "vacation" to me.

Now the Wilderness Lodge, on the otherhand, I feel is breathtaking. From the moment I first walked in the lobby I felt like I was transported to another place and time. I don't think you'll be disappointed there, and the added benefit is that I think it's less expensive than the Contemporary.

 

[mprewitt]

The only benefit CR has over WL is it's location on the monorail (quicker access into the MK). However, WL has great theming and is a great place to retreat to after a long day in the parks! I vote WL.