Which would you choose AKL CL or Contemporary Garden Wing Garden View

[zoo2tycoon]

My 20 year old son and I are doing a Mom/son trip in August. Currently have arrival day at POFQ the move to AKL CL. I saw today for same price we could do entire stay Contemporary Garden Wing Garden View.

We will have rental car. We are trying to decide where to stay. We have no issues walking. Idk how much we'd use CL. We've stayed Poly other visits. I've stayed tower at Contemporary but never Garden.


Pros /Cons of each?

 

[bamaliving]

I personally don't like the Contemporary. It feels more like a convention center than a family resort to me. There is a lot to do there though, and it's super convenient to MK. I wouldn't want to do a split stay either, so Contemporary may be a better choice for you. Both resorts have some great restaurant options.

 

[megs1313]

that's actually a really tough call.

Do you have park hoppers? will you do a lot of MK touring? How much time will you spend in your room/at your resort?

At the end of the day, i think it comes down to this:

Contemporary means no split stay and a walkway to MK.

AKL CL means CL offerings at what (to me) is a much nicer resort.

so if you're more park-oriented, i'd go with CR-GW. If you're likely to spend more time at the resort, i'd go for AKL CL.

 

[rwdavis2]

We stayed AKL club level in 2012 only to be able to do the Sunrise Safari(since discontinued). We did not use CL very much. For breakfast and a couple of snacks during the day. I would never pay extra for it based on our experience. The staff does not have access to anything you cannot do,yourself, such as ADRs.

It was nice but not really worth it. I would pay extra for Savannah View though.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

We do have park hoppers. Idk how much we'd use club level as we are doing Early Morning Fantasyland breakfast thing, KTTK tour,etc and park hopping
Was thinking of express transportation too

 

[lady_hlh]

We love CR garden wing, this will be our 3rd time going back this August. The rooms are really big like the Poly. The walk to MK is great and the walk over the tower is no big deal. We also loved AKL but I don't think I would pay extra for CL if you're not spending a lot of time at the resort

 

[Shanti]

My 20 year old son and I are doing a Mom/son trip in August. Currently have arrival day at POFQ the move to AKL CL. I saw today for same price we could do entire stay Contemporary Garden Wing Garden View.

We will have rental car. We are trying to decide where to stay. We have no issues walking. Idk how much we'd use CL. We've stayed Poly other visits. I've stayed tower at Contemporary but never Garden.


Pros /Cons of each?

My vote is for Contemporary Garden View the whole stay. We stayed there once and the rooms are spacious and stylish, exactly like the rooms in the tower. We had a first floor room & therefore had a nice patio that had a view out to the pool & Bay Lake. The garden wing was quieter than the tower, and had a Magic Band entry system. I liked the security of that. It was a 30-second walk from the door of the garden wing to the door of the tower.

The biggest bonus was being able to walk to and from MK. That is awesome at rope drop, when taking mid-day breaks, and when leaving at a busy time like right after fireworks. No hour-long transportation hassle to get back to the resort.

 

[Shanti]

I should add that there is really something to be said for the luxury of unpacking once and only once, really making your resort a home away from home for your entire stay. I like AKL a lot, but not if being there requires a split stay. Club level isn't worth a split stay, either, especially if it means the other half is at a moderate.

We've done split stays, but only for resort-focused trips in the summer in which we want to experience different feature pools. But for a theme parks-focused trip, I don't recommend it.

 

[VAfamily1998]

We do have park hoppers. Idk how much we'd use club level as we are doing Early Morning Fantasyland breakfast thing, KTTK tour,etc and park hopping
Was thinking of express transportation too

Honestly, given the above info I wouldn't choose either. CR Garden wing just doesn't appeal to me--I think the main appeal of CR is stepping outside your room and seeing the monorail!
If you won't use the lounge much, it might not be worth paying those prices.
Since you think you will do a lot of park hopping, you might want to consider YC, BC, or BWI for the close proximity to two parks.