I have instructed several students on Alpha 40's and they all did well. I agree with your instructors that parkzones are simply underpowered for ANY wind and IMO not good training aircraft. IMO you need a solid plane with enough power to get to a safe altitude where you can learn to maneuver and give your instructor room to assist you safely. Small electrics like the Parkzones leave you perilously close to the ground for too much of the flight during training phases. Not to mention charging times and other problems.
I have no experience on the Alpha sim so I can't help there. I would expect that it would help though.