Quick Reaction - Boardwalk Inn, AKL Jambo House or Contemporary for a July 2020 Trip

[GeorgiaHoo]

Thinking about switching from Port Orleans to one of the three deluxe for a July trip to take advantage of free regular dining. Never stayed at any of the three but have visited each. Previously stayed at Yacht Club, Port Orleans and Polynesian in the past. Which has the best pool? Party is all adults. Thanks in advance.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I'll vote for Boardwalk. Nice rooms. Nice staff. Very chill. Lots of adult activities near by. Bars, the dance hall, nice restaurants there and at all the surrounding hotels. Easy access to HS and Epcot.

I dig the scary clown pool. There's a great bar there. DH and I would just quickly down a drink and grab an industrial floaty and just swirl around with the pool's currents for hours. And then occasionally hop out to soak in the spa and then bounce back to the pool. The kids loved it too.

I have no interest in AKL. I can't do a deluxe with only bus transportation. It seems like a rip off.

Can't speak to Contemporary yet. Getting ready to stay there in February. I'm sure I'll love being able to walk to MK or just monorail around for nice bars or restaurants, but you know the MK area resorts can seem hectic sometimes.....

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I'll vote for Boardwalk. Nice rooms. Nice staff. Very chill. Lots of adult activities near by. Bars, the dance hall, nice restaurants there and at all the surrounding hotels. Easy access to HS and Epcot.

I dig the scary clown pool. There's a great bar there. DH and I would just quickly down a drink and grab an industrial floaty and just swirl around with the pool's currents for hours. And then occasionally hop out to soak in the spa and then bounce back to the pool. The kids loved it too.

I have no interest in AKL. I can't do a deluxe with only bus transportation. It seems like a rip off.

Can't speak to Contemporary yet. Getting ready to stay there in February. I'm sure I'll love being able to walk to MK or just monorail around for nice bars or restaurants, but you know the MK area resorts can seem hectic sometimes.....

Thanks for the response. The bus-only transport at AKL is a BIG drawback for me too. I'd like to stay there but I hate Disney buses.

 

[loves to dive]

Of the three I'd do BW. I'm not a fan of CR, its too - well - Contemporary for my tastes. We used to stay at the MK resorts years ago but switched over to the Epcot resorts since MK tends to be a half day park for us but we spend part of every day at either Epcot or HS. Being able to walk to those two parks is a huge plus. I've stayed at AKL and loved it, it was for a couple of days of a split stay before moving over to BW - we used those days to go to AK - since you have to bus there anyway and MK - since I'm not a fan of using the monorail. I have stayed at all three resorts.

Something to think about before you decide - do the math. Remember that you are going to be paying rack rate for the room and have to get park hopper tickets through WDW. You can usually get rooms at a discount - especially on discount sites like Orbitz and you might not want or need park hoppers and if you do you can get them for less through somewhere like Undercover Tourist. The "free" dining might end up costing you more. Would you normally eat that much food? Do you normally eat snacks every day? It might work out that free dining is a better deal but I'd do the math first.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Of the three I'd do BW. I'm not a fan of CR, its too - well - Contemporary for my tastes. We used to stay at the MK resorts years ago but switched over to the Epcot resorts since MK tends to be a half day park for us but we spend part of every day at either Epcot or HS. Being able to walk to those two parks is a huge plus. I've stayed at AKL and loved it, it was for a couple of days of a split stay before moving over to BW - we used those days to go to AK - since you have to bus there anyway and MK - since I'm not a fan of using the monorail. I have stayed at all three resorts.

Something to think about before you decide - do the math. Remember that you are going to be paying rack rate for the room and have to get park hopper tickets through WDW. You can usually get rooms at a discount - especially on discount sites like Orbitz and you might not want or need park hoppers and if you do you can get them for less through somewhere like Undercover Tourist. The "free" dining might end up costing you more. Would you normally eat that much food? Do you normally eat snacks every day? It might work out that free dining is a better deal but I'd do the math first.

Thanks for the response. The park hoppers and dining will be a plus for us--we usually jump between parks each day and like to eat a table service dinner for each meal.

 

[Eastern]

BWI. You are close to Epcot/World Showcase for eating and drinking. Epcot resorts have better outside atmosphere than CR (you can stroll around the lake. CR has a parking lot). AKL is just too far away from stuff for me. You can also walk from BWI to DHS if you want to attempt to ride RotR

 

[Krystal659]

Thanks for the response. The bus-only transport at AKL is a BIG drawback for me too. I'd like to stay there but I hate Disney buses.

I love the Contemporary, especially for summer trips. I agree with the PP, the ease of the monorail is wonderful. You have all the monorail resort restaurants just a few stops away. However, the pool is nothing special (I am not a pool person, so it does not bother me). I will also say it is not as "Disney" themed as some may like, but again that simply does not bother me.

 

[Krystal659]

BWI. You are close to Epcot/World Showcase for eating and drinking. Epcot resorts have better outside atmosphere than CR (you can stroll around the lake. CR has a parking lot). AKL is just too far away from stuff for me. You can also walk from BWI to DHS if you want to attempt to ride RotR

I adore the boardwalk resorts in the winter and spring, but way to hot to leave the parks for mid-day breaks during the summer. So, I guess it would depend on the type of trip you were taking too. If you are doing an Epcot festival, then boardwalk wins!

 

[Wild4Walt]

We fell in love with AKL ( Jambo House ) and would stay here again over BWI. BWI is great for location but we like that AKL is off the beaten path. ( That is one of the things we loved most about this resort ). The buses weren't bad ( we did use our app to get an idea on how long the wait would be for the bus which helped ), most trips were 15 minutes tops after we were on the bus. The longest was a 30 minute ride to DS because the bus was having a problem.

 

[AMB1]

I vote BWI for an adult trip. You can’t beat the access to EPCOT with all the dining options and the adult atmosphere.

We have also stayed at the CR. The walking path to MK is great and the rooms are large and nicely appointed. The balconies are very concrete and weren’t inviting. To me, the CR feels like a hotel, not a resort. I like it for a weekend, but for anything longer I need a nice pool and nice grounds to walk around and explore.

Haven’t stayed at AKL because I don’t like the transportation options

 

[TOBS2010]

BWI hands down. As everyone mentioned, there is a lot more to do and eat/drink between Epcot and the other area hotels that are walkable or accessible via boat. However, I have to agree---I would check the numbers to see if it really is worth it to move up to deluxe. You could always go for Port Orleans and if you get free QS you can upgrade the dining. We found that to be cost effective last summer when we went. Port Orleans has beautiful ground and the boat transportation to DS makes it easy to get to with all of the bar/dining options over there too.

 

[Christine]

I don't think you can go wrong. I've only stayed at the Contemporary and Grand Floridian. I'm a weirdo that LOVES the Contemporary (I even prefer the Garden Wing for its quiteness). Pool is nothing special but it's also not wild and crazy. Loved sitting out there looking over Bay Lake. Loved the busy vibe of Level 4 with Contempo Cafe and people watching. Convenient monorail.

I think the BWI hotel itself would be great. I am not a fan of the Boardwalk area/theming. Just very "meh" to me but has good access to Epcot area so a plus.

AK resort is nice and homey but too far-flung and dark inside.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Thanks for all the responses. We ended up booking BWI for the convenience to Epcot and DHS and the pool looks nicer than that at Contemporary. If Animal Kingdom was walking distance to a park then we might have stayed there. Looking forward to our first stay at BWI (though not super-excited about a July trip since it's going to be HOT).