Just Back CR Room #7103 North Garden Wing - any questions?

[jaysue]

Magical visit - received all my requests and more

Asked for non-smoking, ground floor. Received non-smoking, ground floor, only three rooms in from the walkway to the main building. It was a special requirements room for wheelchair access but that actually made it easier for my DS to use the tub and get out with the grab bars and the extra room in the bathroom is always a plus. The room did only have one sink in the bathroom though and that was the only downside of the bathroom I could see that was specific to wheelchair access.

The bathroom was a little dated, the fan did not work and nor did the light over the shower but it did not impact on the quality of the vacation. The water pressure was great, the room was clean and ok ok I like the purple colour.

The ground floor patio access was great, had a fairly direct view of Bay Lake (distant but there) whilst paying for standard view, easy and fast walk to MK, the beds were quite comfortable and the room was clean and tidy and well kept.

I thought the TV was a little small for a deluxe resort but no big deal and it was odd but channel 96 (cartoon) did not come in well and in fact was not even on the channel guide. This channel was fine at OKW and WL so I thought that was odd.

I requested and received an extended check out of 1.5 hours as my town car pick up time was moved closer to my flight time which allowed me and DS to take an extra loop on the resorts monorail to close our WDW trip.

The CR is a little hyper for kids - between the monorail, the games room, the atrium, the gift shops, walk to MK etc, it is a great place to take kids and would recommend it to others.

If you have any questions let me know

Thanks
jaysue

[Margaret West]

Did you notice if the resort had alot of guests or was it fairly slow. We leave in 2 days and was thinking about trying to pay for an upgrade to a tower room if possible. Thought that if they weren't as busy they might have extra tower rooms at a somewhat lower price.;)
:Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc

[jaysue]

I think it was moderately busy - did not seem to be overly crowded - heading into memorial weekend might be harder to get an upgrade for a lower price. When they showed me my room location, I dropped all ideas of asking for an upgrade beacuse all my requests and more were met.

They had a fair number of rooms in the North Garden Wing that I was able to choose from

DS and I loved it there

Thanks
jaysue

[madge]

woo hoo jaysue! :)

was this a regular reservation or booked through SoG?

thanks!

[jaysue]

Regular reservation through CRO - was quite surprised I got the North Wing since I had read it was generally reserved for SOG. The view was great since I expected to get a parking lot view for my standard view room and being on the first floor was a plus with the fast access.

Sure the themeing is not so "Disney" like there but with Chef Mickey's/Monorail/Atrium-Lobby/Kids Games Room it felt like a theme park onto itself

Really liked it and would stay again and recommend it as well

Thanks
jaysue

[madge]

sounds like a great room! we enjoy the NGW--have stayed there twice since SoG is there--had a patio room each time. We have one reserved again in October for 2 nights, so I have a ball park room number to be looking for. Our favorite of the two we stayed in was right across from the playground. We could kind of cut across there to the main building.

Madge :)

[BlueFairy]

We have considered CR for our Sept. visit. Do any of the standard view rooms have balconies or patios? We would really need one. Also, what views are possible with a standard room.
Tell me about the room decor. I have seen pictures of bright colors which look like redecorated tower rooms. Very nice. Other pictures look much less "decorated." Not so nice looking. How was this in your standard room.
Can you describe the pools. How many? Do they have kiddie pools, hot tubs, slides, etc. What about shady lounge areas nearby or a pool bar?
Thanks!!!!

[momoftwins]

if anyone knew if there was a map of the Contemporary? I was thinking of a deluxe for our monorail resort for your Feb visit. I know nothing about the CR. I have two small kids so I would not want to end up in a room as far away as possible from the monorail. What is a tower room, etc.

I remember our first trip with the twins when they were about 15 mo old. This was way before I even knew of this board. We stayed at the ASMU and they put us in a room that was in the farthest bldg from the main bldg. As a matter of fact, the room was the last room farthest away from the main walkway. It was on the second floor. I swear there was no one else in the bldg! My twins must have looked like criers! Now that I am more in te know - of course due entirely to these boards :Pinkbounc :D :Pinkbounc , I would never take that now.

Have a great Disney day.

[BlueFairy]

Momoftwins -
From what I can gather there are standard rooms in the wings. These are remote from the monorail. For something close to the monorail you must pay for a tower room or maybe garden view (not sure what this is). The tower rooms are in the main bldg. and have water views. I assume that the garden view rooms are also in the main bldg, but lower floors. I really am not sure about that though. The price is significantly different for rooms in the main bldg. vs standard rooms. Be sure to reserve the right room class if you want to be near the monorail.
I understand that the North wing standard rooms are a short walk to the MK.

[dw123]

The CR is a great hotel - especially with small kids! We stayed in the Tower at the end of April, and it's great.

The great thing about Tower rooms, though more expensive, is little walking. Momoftwins mentioned a lot of walking at ASMU - with a tower room there is the least amount of walking of any Disney hotel. You get off the monorail, go down an escalator and then up an elevator. At your room quick and easy!

There's more walking in the wing rooms. Make sure to request a wing room close to the tower - they are big!. I walked around the wing and the furthest rooms are far.

The first floor rooms in the wings are the only wing rooms that have patios - and not all of them have it. There are 3 floors in the wings and none of the upper floors have balconies. Balconies are only in the Tower - and they're great - especially if you're on the Magic Kingdom side!

[diathoney]

BlueFairy -
I can tell you about the north garden wing. We've stayed there several times. I alway request to be near the food court so we've only stayed in the first "leg" of the north garden wing.

The CR garden wings have patios on the ground floor. Most have two patio chairs - I have had only one chair before and had to call maintenance for the second.

The north garden wing is shaped like a U. One side of the U is next to the CR tower (where the food court is). The other end of the U is out near the lagoon. Inside the U is grass and a playground. The views of the center area of the garden wing are not standard rooms. I believe the parking lot view is the standard room. Farther down the wing the outside view changes to trees, I'm not sure if those are standard rooms or not.

The north garden rooms I have stayed in were decorated like the one tower room (10th floor) I stayed in in. My friends once said it looks like "Picasso threw up" - but I love the rooms. There are bright colors and quirky shaped wall mirrors. The rooms and bathrooms are large - much larger than all the other Disney hotels (except the Poly). They include a daybed and two queens (or a king).

There is a very large pool with a kind of fountain and hot tub in the center (along the edge, but centered in the pool). There is a curvy slide, but it's not a themed slide. My kids liked it - especially the fountain. There is a pool bar. I think I remember tables with umbrellas for shade. Between the pool and the north garden wing is the walkway to the boats. There is an adult pool farther out by the lagoon. There is a sandy beach area where the kids can play, but you can not swim in the lagoon. On the boat dock, there are fish/duck food machines.

There is a coffee bar in the lobby (it's hard to see when you walk in the lobby unless you come in from the pool side). There is a big arcade next to the food court.

One big plus - the north garden wing is the closest to MK, you can easily walk, take the monorail or take a boat.

In the tower (4th floor?) there are great gift shops, Chef Mickeys, a steakhouse and access to the monorail. Up at the top is the deluxe California Grill.

It's a wonderful place to stay!

[BlueFairy]

diathoney - THANKS!! What great details.
Just so I understand - the garden wings are decorated just like the tower in the newer decor, right? I guess the pictures I saw were older.
And as far as room class - Main bldg room are all "tower." Garden wing rooms are either "standard" or "garden view". Do I have this right?
Sounds absolutely great for us except for the balcony situation and we can't afford to upgrade. We may stick with WL.
Thanks again for the great description!

[BlueFairy]

Momoftwins:
Here is a link to the Contemporary map on Deb Will's site.
http://www.wdwig.com/contmap.jpg

[diathoney]

Just so I understand - the garden wings are decorated just like the tower in the newer decor, right? Yes - the tower room we stayed in was "fresher", but the decore was the same.

And as far as room class - Main bldg room are all "tower." Garden wing rooms are either "standard" or "garden view". Do I have this right? Yes, the garden view looks out on the grassy area in the middle. There is also a lagoon view. We have always booked standard at the CR, but frequently been upgraded. Not that you can count on bring upgraded. The best upgrade was from a standard to the tower room.

"Sounds absolutely great for us except for the balcony situation and we can't afford to upgrade." The second floor looks like they have balconies but they're just pretend.
The rooms at the CR are MUCH larger than the WL. We stayed at the WL in a room with bunks & a queen. It was cramped. Also the pool are ais much larger at the CR. But the WL is newer and the atmosphere is fabulous.

There are more transportation choices and food choices at the CR.

Good Luck making a decision! Choosing a place to stay is always tough. I've enjoyed all the Disney resorts. We've been to the CR the most because I've gotten the best deals there and we loved the amenities (larger rooms, transporation, and food) when my kids were little the MK was where we spent most of our time!

[Trinity721]

We also recently stayed at the CR NGW through SoG, on Mother's Day for a short trip. We had a room on the third floor and a beautiful view of the lagoon. DH and I did not care for the tacky decorating, but all the CM's were very nice and accomodating. Check in and Check out was no hassle at all. Our room was a good walk to the main building and monorail, but we didn't mind at all. It was our first stay onsite so we were just thrilled to be there. The resort seemed moderately busy, as mentioned earlier. I really liked the roomy bathroom, and the water pressure was great. Made a long day at the parks refreshing at the end of the day. I would definitely recommend it! Now DH doesn't want to stay anywhere but onsite, and has his sights set on the Poly for our next visit whenever that is.

[w8ting4pooh]

Where is the front desk? Is it on the 4th floor by the monorail also?

[momoftwins]

Wow! Thanks for all of the good info. The map is just what I wanted. I'm hoping we can go during Feb school vacation (President's week). I would take the kids out of school for a few days so we could check in during value season and stay during the next week.

It would be so nice to stay at a monorail resort. Let's hope for good discounts!

Have a wonderful day.

[diathoney]

Check-in / Front desk is on the ground floor. The food court, arcade and coffee bar are also on the ground floor.

The monorail is actually above the 4th floor. You take an escalator up to the monorail loading platform. It's cool because you can see large murals, Chef Mickey's and the Steakhouse from one side of the monorail when the monorail takes off.

[momoftwins]

For example, does the noise from the monorail make any of the rooms unacceptable?

Thanks.

[MJames41]

We didn't have a problem with the monorail when we were there. We stayed in the Tower only once though. In the wings, there is no noise at all.

[jaysue]

Wow, so much magic from one post

OK, from other posts I have heard that sometimes you can hear the whoosh from the monorail entering/leaving CR but they are very quiet vehicles.

The room size was about 440 square feet versus 340 at WL - having stayed at both not sure which is my favourite but the room does feel bigger and is.

My room was purple and yellow - I liked the decor and the quirky mirrors and lamps - found it to be neat and not tiring at all.

Thanks
jaysue

[jaysue]

These pictures might help as well:

http://disneypix.com/2000ft/Roll3/Roll03_004.htm

http://disneypix.com/2000ft/Roll3/Roll03_005.htm

Note the North Wing is to the right and slightly forward of the main tower

Thanks
Jaysue

[Kteacher]

We stayed in the North Garden Wing (ground floor, right past the first bend). We are not SOG, but were given NGW. Our kids are 10, 13, and 16. They loved the CR! There are 2 pools, one with a life guard, one without. The pools do not have any particular theme like at othere WDW resorts, but my kids loved them just the same. Food court was small, but adequate. The convenience of walking to MK was great, especially having the choice to walk back at night instead of waiting in line for a bus. We are staying in a tower room this next trip- I'll write a review after we get back:D