Coronado Springs or Animal Kingdom Lodge???

[Crush Dude!]

Hi folks im headin to the world in 5 weeks staying at pop for 3 weeks, and last year stayed at all star movies, coming from ireland its always much easier to take a long holiday than multiple trips thru the year and theyv coast ALOT so i could have to give it a miss next year but, with having possibly 2 years max to save for a trip were gonna stay at a mod/deluxe resort and i want to know your opinions on these two resorts, which is ur favourite? What theming is better? Any help or opinions are welcome and greatly appreciated, thanx in advance :wave::wave::wave:

 

[Lucky]

I love them both, but stay at CS more often because it's so much cheaper. If my income suddenly doubled, I'd go to AKL savannnah view instead.

Besides the animals, AKL has great theming, great restaurants, and the best resort gift shop.

 

[Crush Dude!]

I love them both, but stay at CS more often because it's so much cheaper. If my income suddenly doubled, I'd go to AKL savannnah view instead.

Besides the animals, AKL has great theming, great restaurants, and the best resort gift shop.

Yeah true, the savannah view rooms are dear but amazing from what ive seen, and how have ur trips to cs been?? worth every penny??

 

[mickey7879]

I've always wanted to stay at AKL with the Savannah view! There is just no way we could afford it and I wouldn't want to stay in any other room.

I have stayed at CS once. We didn't care for it very much at all. We were however, on our "conceptionmoon" and brought back a little souvenir, so it'll always hold a special place in our hearts.

If you can afford it, go with AKL.

 

[Chrononymous]

AKL is just gorgeous. I have been there just to hang out, but haven't actually stayed there.

CS is one of my favorites. It has a nice restaurant/food court, and a great pool, and beach.
It can get pretty crowded and rowdy on the buses if there is a convention there though (and there always seems to be a convention there!)

I don't know if this is still true, but CS used to be on the same bus route as the Boardwalk.
We used to get off at the Boardwalk and have morning tea in the lounge (because it was free!) before heading into the parks.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

You'll hear a lot of fantastic things about AKL. The theming is beautiful - one of the best, IMO. The dining at the resort is again, some of the best on WDW property.

The only reason I would pick CS over AKL is because I think AKL is too crowded. Because of how popular it is, it gets tons of visitors who aren't staying there. I just felt like I was still inside a theme park when I was there, and didn't find it to be relaxing. If you're going with children though, they will absolutely love it.

If you're considering deluxe, think about the Polynesian or Boardwalk. At the Polynesian the theming is top notch, as is the dining, and you're on the monorail system. So you could get to 2 of the 4 major parks so easily. You can watch the Wishes fireworks from the beach at the hotel. At the Boardwalk, you can walk to DHS or Epcot, and it's very peaceful there. Plus you have so much to do being on the boardwalk.

 

[Frank&Ollie]

Coronado Springs is the best Moderate Resort. It is a resort more than the others are.

You can spend time there and feel like you are at a resort, not just a themed hotel. I love it. Been there twice and going back this year.

It is its own bus route now (per previous post)

go Coronado!

 

[lbrad]

Stayed at AKL (parking lot view cause thats all I could afford)
and we loved it. Gorgeous themeing! Boma was nice. Kids enjoyed the
pool/slide, food court, and shop. Lots of little amenitites...animals at every window, night time story telling, and night vision binoculars to name a few. It it a large resort but I found it peaceful (we were there in early November).
I have not stayed at CS so I can't give MHO.

Good Luck

 

[tumelo]

Definately the Animal Kingdom Lodge....I LOVE that property. I will not stay anywhere else but that resort. Even though, I've been there many times, I am still in awe when I walk in the lobby. The savanna view is outstanding, and as someone mentioned, they do have the best resort gift shop. The theming is so great in this resort.

If you have kids, they have tons of activities throughout the day in the lobby and by the pool.

I have never had any problems staying here. Did I happen to mention how much I love it there!! :sohappy:

 

[Dwarful]

Well, I'd vote for AKL. We did one trip to CS at Christmas 2006. We were not that impressed with this resort. we were close to the main area, but a walk and a half to the dig site pool area. The buses stop at each of the 'inner bus stops' so depending on where you catch the bus you could be first on or last on, meaning that even when the next bus arrives you could still have standing room only. It is a very large resort, which in turn means lots of people. I'd say if you were saving up two years for the trip, splurge and stay at AKL.

 

[Buzz2001]

Check out my CSR website for pics and info.

http://coronado_springs.tripod.com/

Here is just some quick info on CSR.

CSR is a large resort.

CSR has newly renovated rooms (about half done as of 3/2009) and queen beds (only mod to offer them).

A terrific main pool area that includes a 123 ft slide (2nd largest at WDW), kiddie pool, arcade, playground, sand volleyball court, hot tub (largest on WDW property), a bar, and snack bar (very good food for CS).

Reliable transportation that is not shared with other resorts, 4 resort stops and quick rides to all the parks. CSR has the closest bus stops to the park entrances too (first stop at DHS and MK)!

Other amenities you may be looking for in a resort.

Only moderate to offer suites.

A spa, salon, tanning beds, a lap pool and fitness center (free to its guests).

Full menu room service, expensive though.

Central air, flat panel TV’s and WiFi available.

Rix Lounge – a dance club voted most trendy bar in Orlando.

A business center with computer access.

 

[Stellajack]

AKL or CSR

Since you are coming from Ireland ('sure, a little bit of heaven fell from out the sky one day' :dazzle for an extended visit, I would definitely choose AKL as the resort. There are lots of activities available for your children here, many already mentioned, storytime, planned activities & crafts inside the resort, animal watching from Arusha Rock, etc.

We have stayed in early Dec. when crowd level is low and in mid-June when crowd level is medium to high and each stay was great! One of the best perks is not having to wait as long for bus travel back to the resort at park closing times (not always the case with Values or Mods buses).

This is an incredible resort and I say go for it!!:wave:

 

[SchultzFamily]

My DH and I LOVE the CSR. That being said, we are dying to stay at the AKL with a savannah view. Since we had to cancel this year's trip due to finances, we are going to go in 2010 and do a split stay with the first three days at the AKL and then move to our beloved CSR. I can't give you any first hand info on AKL since we've not stayed yet, but it is a stunning resort and I love being able to see all the animals from the times we've visited. We love everything about the CSR--from the new queen beds, the three quiet pools, the large hot tub, the main pool, the food court, the take and go food (Cafe Rix), the fitness center/spa.

I don't think you can go wrong with either one. And, you could always do as we're going to do next year, do a split stay!