Contemporary or AKL?

[ginga]

It's been a while since we've stayed onsite. Already stayed at GF, Caribbean, & Coronado. I had planned to book at AKL, but now I'm wondering, since we have 2 teens, if Contemporary would be better as they could easily hop on the monorail. Suggestions please.

[wdwgrandma]

Purely as a matter of preference, I'd say AKL. Much nicer resort. But the monorail does make it easy.

[Mickeymac]

Ginga, what are their park favorites? That might dictate which location is the best, or even indicate a completely different one.

OH! And welcome to the forums! Glad to 'meet' you! :D

[ginga]

Mickeymac,

Thanks for the welcome! What a great forum. They probably like MGM best. But we only went to Animal Kingdom once, right after it opened, so they have added much more since then. I get the feeling that AKL is a distance from the parks. True? Does that make getting to the parks on the buses a pain, and we're talking Christmas when it will be much more crowded.

[mickeycrazy]

Welcome aboard!

We have stayed at both & loved AKL. It is beautiful, transporting. There really is nothing that can compare to waking up with giraffes & zebras outside your balcony.
You would have to take a bus everywhere. Overall we found the service to be fine. One good thing is you don't have to share buses with any other resort so you are always taken directly to the park you want to go to once the bus arrives. With CR, for MGM, DD, AK you share the bus with at least two other resorts so it always seems to take a while.

I would also keep in mind where you are planning to dine. If you will be dining at alot of MK resorts, the monorail makes it super easy & quick to eat at Poly or GF.
If transportation & convienence are the most important to you, CR will be your best of the two, and even then I would only say stay there if you are going to have a tower room. It always took us forever to walk to our garden wing room, very frustrating.

My vote would be for the AKL because of the theming & the feel (they also have some great restaurants).

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a great trip!

[Mickeymac]

I second what Mickeycrazy says about the bus system. It might look further on the chart, but you're park to front door with AKL, with a 15-20 minute commute. With all the other resorts with the exception of Pop Century, you share a bus with other resorts. Over at the Moderates, that adds to your commute time. To top it off, AKL seems to enjoy some of the nearest stops, as it is a deluxe. I adore the Animal Kingdom Lodge, so I'm a bit biased in that area.

However, in your case, I would consider one of the Epcot area resorts; the Boardwalk, Yacht or Beach Club, or the Villas in that area. You're a short boat ride away from both Epcot (Mission: Space, Test Track, Soarin', fab restaurants) and their favorite park MGM (Stunts, Lights, et al, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, That dropping elevator thingy, etc.) My son (14) loves that area, and I feel extremely comfortable letting him roam that whole Epcot/MGM/Boardwalk area on his own. Plus, if you go with the Yacht and Beach, they have a killer pool set up. Oh, and it looks heavenly at Christmas.

Are you going Christmas week?

[Belle230]

I like Contemporary. It is very modern and in a GREAT loacation. :wink:

[dcfromva]

Between the two choices of CR and AKL, I'm with Belle230, I would pick the CR :D One of the main reasons I like the CR so much is because it is an easy walk to the MK. Plus, many of the rooms have views to the nightly fireworks (Wishes) and the Electric Water Parade. I like the Concourse Steakhouse and California Grill (two of the restaurants at the CR) and I like being able to take a boat launch over to Ft. Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge. I like being on the monorail, too.

But, given that MGM is your favorite I like Mickeymac's suggestion of Y&BC or BW resorts ... BW would be a little bit closer to MGM. You could take a boat launch or walk: it is about 10 mins or so from the BW--just a tad further from Y&BC. (Y&BC are the closest resorts to EPCOT with BW being just a tad further away).
-DC :ears:

[ginga]

Geez, what wonderful responses. I'll look into all the suggestions. We're planning to go the week after Christmas. Went two years ago at that time and loved it. Expected the crowds to be horrendous, but they were manageable, especially later at night when the families with small kids left. Then, it was a late decision and we stayed off-site, but I want to do better planning this time and stay on-site. I'm assuming we need to book early for that time of year, correct?

[Belle230]

I would book really early. Some resorts fill up for this time of the year more than 6 months in advance. Some of the bigger ones still have rooms though.:eek:

[d_dreamer]

I'm gunna vote for AKL