The NEW Disney's Contemporary Resort FAQ with PICTURES! (Feb 2008)

[TJM1976]

Returned from our first visit to the CR yesterday. We stayed in the Garden Wing room 6128, which is first floor pretty near the beach/pool. Had a good trip, great weather. Miss it already.

Have done Poly for our past trips. There were pros and cons of the CR compared to Poly for us.

Of course the biggest pro is the monorail running through. My kids enjoyed the pool. They are 9, 6 and 4. We were able to get a life vest for the 4 yr old. He doesn't like going under so he stuck to the steps mainly but he had fun. The older 2 swam all over and really enjoyed the slide. We've only been to the Poly in January so it's hard to compare the pools since we didn't use the Poly one much. I do like how the Poly has the zero entry. My 4 yr old would have preferred that to the steps. They did have movies on the beach several nights but we only watched a bit one evening.

We ate breakfast at Chef Mickeys, ate dinner a couple times at Contempo, and one lunch at the Sand Bar. Food was good at all.

I liked being close to the pool but I do wish we were in the tower. I felt a bit detached from everything.

As for the room. I know it is said that they are bigger than Poly but it seemed smaller to me. It may just be the layout. I HATED the sinks at the CR and the lack of counter space. Didn't care for the doors on the bathrooms either, not very private. Overall the rooms at the Poly are much better IMO. I didn't care for the CR theming in the rooms compared to Poly.

Overall I prefer the Poly theming to the CR but it wasn't bad at the CR. The long walk from the room to the tower was so drab compared to the Poly but there was a huge construction fence up around the pool area so that is what we would walk by every day so not much of a view. It may be different when the fencing is not there.

We used the Magic Express and we were in our room all checked in within 90 minutes of landing in the plane. CR was the last bus stop too. We used the bus to go to HS, and Winter Summerland golf and it was quick and painless. Used the walkway to MK once, seemed a bit long. Used the monorail for everything else.

Staff was friendly. Housekeeping was very poor. Our room was a bit dirty when we arrived. The wall of the shower was literally coated with chunks of long brown hair that I had to wash down the drain before I could use it. It did blend a bit with the marble so maybe housekeeping didn't see it? Even though we'd put the towels on the floor every night we'd never get all of them replaced. One night we were only left with 2 large towels. Several nights no hand towels and several nights no washcloths. We got by okay though. The worst thing was we found a bed bug on a pillow. Now it was about half way through the stay and I went to get in bed and moved a pillow. There was the bug on the pillow underneath. It was brown and about the size of an apple seed. I put it in a ziploc and searched for evidence of more bugs. I didn't see anything. I've never seen a bed bug and I thought they were much smaller. This looked to me like a tick but different than the ticks in NE. Since I saw no evidence of any other bugs and none of us were itching we didn't complain. Last night I googled bed bugs and there is no question that is what it is. I still have my ziploc and it's still alive after 6 days! Wish I would have complained now. I have all my laundry and luggage in the garage so hopefully we avoided bringing anything home. I do plan to email Disney about the matter so they can at least fumigate that room. I doubt nor do I expect that they'll do anything for me.

Overall I would choose the Poly over the CR in the future but if the deal was good enough I'd return to the CR but choose a tower room.

Glad to hear you had a great trip!!! I'm considering the CR for this summer when friends are in town.

Sorry to hear about your un-magical expierence with the cleaning of your room. I stayed at CSR a while back and the room was well below average clean. I have surfed though several of the resort boards and other trip reports and the past 6 months, alot of them have said their rooms weren't clean. What I suggest (and I did with my CSR stay) is visit the WDW web site and click contact us and send them an email. I asked for no compensation other than an acklowdgement of my complaint. If mgmt is aware of the issue, maybe they will do something about it. A WDW resort stay isn't cheap. And the room should be clean. Just my 2 cents

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Shel,

Thanks for the review. I'm sorry it wasn't more to your liking.

I'm curious - were there still computer terminals in the garden wing rooms?

There was a place to hook up your own computer but there weren't computers provided. HTH!

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

Glad to hear you had a great trip!!! I'm considering the CR for this summer when friends are in town.

Sorry to hear about your un-magical expierence with the cleaning of your room. I stayed at CSR a while back and the room was well below average clean. I have surfed though several of the resort boards and other trip reports and the past 6 months, alot of them have said their rooms weren't clean. What I suggest (and I did with my CSR stay) is visit the WDW web site and click contact us and send them an email. I asked for no compensation other than an acklowdgement of my complaint. If mgmt is aware of the issue, maybe they will do something about it. A WDW resort stay isn't cheap. And the room should be clean. Just my 2 cents

I have emailed my TA to ask for contact info regarding the bug and housekeeping. Like you I expect no compensation but I do want to make them aware.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

As for the room. I know it is said that they are bigger than Poly but it seemed smaller to me. It may just be the layout. I HATED the sinks at the CR and the lack of counter space. Didn't care for the doors on the bathrooms either, not very private. Overall the rooms at the Poly are much better IMO. I didn't care for the CR theming in the rooms compared to Poly.

Actually, about half the rooms at Poly are larger than CR's rooms, so it's possible that your Poly room was larger (although I agree about CR's room layout - the rooms are pretty but don't feel as spacious).

 

[TJM1976]

I have emailed my TA to ask for contact info regarding the bug and housekeeping. Like you I expect no compensation but I do want to make them aware.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/contact/

Here is the link to Guest Relations. It does take a while for them to send you a response or contact you (possibly up to 2 weeks). So be patient.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

Please please please let them know about the bed bugs, that is a really serious problem. They are almost impossible to get rid of and as you noticed they will live forever. Make sure to take a pic of the bug so that they can see it.

Yikes! I'm so glad to hear your family did not get bitten.

 

[disneytriplets]

Please let them know about the bugs!!! We are staying in the Garden Wing in September and we would rather not have bed bugs! Thank you!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Returned from our first visit to the CR yesterday. We stayed in the Garden Wing room 6128, which is first floor pretty near the beach/pool. Had a good trip, great weather. Miss it already.

Have done Poly for our past trips. There were pros and cons of the CR compared to Poly for us.

Of course the biggest pro is the monorail running through. My kids enjoyed the pool. They are 9, 6 and 4. We were able to get a life vest for the 4 yr old. He doesn't like going under so he stuck to the steps mainly but he had fun. The older 2 swam all over and really enjoyed the slide. We've only been to the Poly in January so it's hard to compare the pools since we didn't use the Poly one much. I do like how the Poly has the zero entry. My 4 yr old would have preferred that to the steps. They did have movies on the beach several nights but we only watched a bit one evening.

We ate breakfast at Chef Mickeys, ate dinner a couple times at Contempo, and one lunch at the Sand Bar. Food was good at all.

I liked being close to the pool but I do wish we were in the tower. I felt a bit detached from everything.

As for the room. I know it is said that they are bigger than Poly but it seemed smaller to me. It may just be the layout. I HATED the sinks at the CR and the lack of counter space. Didn't care for the doors on the bathrooms either, not very private. Overall the rooms at the Poly are much better IMO. I didn't care for the CR theming in the rooms compared to Poly.

Overall I prefer the Poly theming to the CR but it wasn't bad at the CR. The long walk from the room to the tower was so drab compared to the Poly but there was a huge construction fence up around the pool area so that is what we would walk by every day so not much of a view. It may be different when the fencing is not there.

We used the Magic Express and we were in our room all checked in within 90 minutes of landing in the plane. CR was the last bus stop too. We used the bus to go to HS, and Winter Summerland golf and it was quick and painless. Used the walkway to MK once, seemed a bit long. Used the monorail for everything else.

Staff was friendly. Housekeeping was very poor. Our room was a bit dirty when we arrived. The wall of the shower was literally coated with chunks of long brown hair that I had to wash down the drain before I could use it. It did blend a bit with the marble so maybe housekeeping didn't see it? Even though we'd put the towels on the floor every night we'd never get all of them replaced. One night we were only left with 2 large towels. Several nights no hand towels and several nights no washcloths. We got by okay though. The worst thing was we found a bed bug on a pillow. Now it was about half way through the stay and I went to get in bed and moved a pillow. There was the bug on the pillow underneath. It was brown and about the size of an apple seed. I put it in a ziploc and searched for evidence of more bugs. I didn't see anything. I've never seen a bed bug and I thought they were much smaller. This looked to me like a tick but different than the ticks in NE. Since I saw no evidence of any other bugs and none of us were itching we didn't complain. Last night I googled bed bugs and there is no question that is what it is. I still have my ziploc and it's still alive after 6 days! Wish I would have complained now. I have all my laundry and luggage in the garage so hopefully we avoided bringing anything home. I do plan to email Disney about the matter so they can at least fumigate that room. I doubt nor do I expect that they'll do anything for me.

Overall I would choose the Poly over the CR in the future but if the deal was good enough I'd return to the CR but choose a tower room.

Thank you for posting that honest review.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

RE: bed bugs I did put together a letter to send to Disney Guest Communications today and faxed a copy to the Contemporary resort. I also included pictures of the bug and the bites that are appearing on my neck. I didn't do the email option because I couldn't attach any pictures that way. I'll update if I get a response.

The bug is still thriving in the ziploc. There are also lots of what looks like grains of salt in the bag now too. Research tells me that those are eggs. It would be fascinating if it wasn't so gross!

 

[WDWKOOK]

RE: bed bugs I did put together a letter to send to Disney Guest Communications today and faxed a copy to the Contemporary resort. I also included pictures of the bug and the bites that are appearing on my neck. I didn't do the email option because I couldn't attach any pictures that way. I'll update if I get a response.

The bug is still thriving in the ziploc. There are also lots of what looks like grains of salt in the bag now too. Research tells me that those are eggs. It would be fascinating if it wasn't so gross!

!!!!! for notifying management about the bed bugs

In '07 I had to send Disney Guest Relations an e-mail regarding a terrible, 2-hour long, check-out accounting fiasco we experienced with a manager at the CR. They followed-up with a thoughtful letter of apology and call from Guest Relations, a call from a senior manager at the CR, a gift card, and personalized service prior to our next visit. I am confident that your notifying Disney of your horrific bed bug experience will illicit a productive and timely response and that will make all of our future stays better. Please keep us posted, and if you don't like the response you receive, move up the Disney food chain.

 

[kmdintx]

Anybody know what kind of breakfast items I can get for a snack credit at Contempo?

 

[islandbound1day]

I just returned home from our first on site Disney stay. We stayed at the Contemporary. We had a Magic Kingdom Tower View on the 11th floor in room 4747. It was wonderful. I have to admit that I am VERY PICKY about hotels and do tend to nit pick about things but the CR was great. We had no sign of bed bugs in our room (thank goodness) and I loved the decor. I travel often and found the decor even better than some high end hotels that I have stayed in on business. My main concern with booking the Contemporary was the fear of noise. I am a very light sleeper and I asked many questions about the noise issue on this board and received mixed opinions. I experienced NO OUTSIDE NOISE at all. I was thrilled! The rooms were sound proof and I could not have been more pleased. My 10 year old was thoroughly pleased with the pool and the arcade and did not want to leave. We could have stayed at any of the deluxes but I chose the Contemporary and I was very happy with my decision. I gave my son the choice on where to stay next and figured he might want to try the Poly or Grand Floridian but he say he wants to go back to the Contemporary. That says a lot since he thinks the pool and slide are really awesome at the Poly but really loved the CR.

There were only a couple of negatives that I experienced. The first is the bus transportation to Downtown Disney on Saturday 3/28. The bus took over an hour to arrive and I had to go to the desk to get assistance in order to even get the bus there. I was meeting my parents there who were driving over from Jacksonville and my son had not seen them since Christmas so he was anxious to get to Downtown. Once on the bus it was another 30 minutes so that experience was painful. The other negative is the Contempo Cafe. I feel like they need more selections and specifically the desserts. They are the same everyday and those cupcakes looked awesome but after the first couple of days, I wanted something different. Overall the food at the Contemp was tastey. My son loved the french toast and I think the waffles were excellent.

I hope quick Contemporary review helps future travelers.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I just returned home from our first on site Disney stay. We stayed at the Contemporary. We had a Magic Kingdom Tower View on the 11th floor in room 4747. It was wonderful. I have to admit that I am VERY PICKY about hotels and do tend to nit pick about things but the CR was great. We had no sign of bed bugs in our room (thank goodness) and I loved the decor. I travel often and found the decor even better than some high end hotels that I have stayed in on business. My main concern with booking the Contemporary was the fear of noise. I am a very light sleeper and I asked many questions about the noise issue on this board and received mixed opinions. I experienced NO OUTSIDE NOISE at all. I was thrilled! The rooms were sound proof and I could not have been more pleased. My 10 year old was thoroughly pleased with the pool and the arcade and did not want to leave. We could have stayed at any of the deluxes but I chose the Contemporary and I was very happy with my decision. I gave my son the choice on where to stay next and figured he might want to try the Poly or Grand Floridian but he say he wants to go back to the Contemporary. That says a lot since he thinks the pool and slide are really awesome at the Poly but really loved the CR.

There were only a couple of negatives that I experienced. The first is the bus transportation to Downtown Disney on Saturday 3/28. The bus took over an hour to arrive and I had to go to the desk to get assistance in order to even get the bus there. I was meeting my parents there who were driving over from Jacksonville and my son had not seen them since Christmas so he was anxious to get to Downtown. Once on the bus it was another 30 minutes so that experience was painful. The other negative is the Contempo Cafe. I feel like they need more selections and specifically the desserts. They are the same everyday and those cupcakes looked awesome but after the first couple of days, I wanted something different. Overall the food at the Contemp was tastey. My son loved the french toast and I think the waffles were excellent.

I hope quick Contemporary review helps future travelers.

I am glad you were bed bug free! LOL! We also commented on how quiet the resort was. We stayed in the garden wing so I wasn't really worried about noise but we hearn no one. Really felt like we were the only people there until we went to a public area.

My kids agree about the pool. It wasn't crowded at all which was nice! The time we did try the Poly pool the line for the slide was 20 minutes long and that was in January! The pool itself was crowded too. It was nice and relaxed at the CR.

We took the bus to HS and it arrived pretty quick for us but there were a ton of people waiting when we arrived and I overheard many complaining that they'd been waiting a long time for that bus. Other bus we took was to Blizzard Beach to play the Winter Summerland golf and it was quick. Never tried DTD.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

I just returned home from our first on site Disney stay. We stayed at the Contemporary. We had a Magic Kingdom Tower View on the 11th floor in room 4747. It was wonderful. I have to admit that I am VERY PICKY about hotels and do tend to nit pick about things but the CR was great. We had no sign of bed bugs in our room (thank goodness) and I loved the decor. I travel often and found the decor even better than some high end hotels that I have stayed in on business. My main concern with booking the Contemporary was the fear of noise. I am a very light sleeper and I asked many questions about the noise issue on this board and received mixed opinions. I experienced NO OUTSIDE NOISE at all. I was thrilled! The rooms were sound proof and I could not have been more pleased. My 10 year old was thoroughly pleased with the pool and the arcade and did not want to leave. We could have stayed at any of the deluxes but I chose the Contemporary and I was very happy with my decision. I gave my son the choice on where to stay next and figured he might want to try the Poly or Grand Floridian but he say he wants to go back to the Contemporary. That says a lot since he thinks the pool and slide are really awesome at the Poly but really loved the CR.

There were only a couple of negatives that I experienced. The first is the bus transportation to Downtown Disney on Saturday 3/28. The bus took over an hour to arrive and I had to go to the desk to get assistance in order to even get the bus there. I was meeting my parents there who were driving over from Jacksonville and my son had not seen them since Christmas so he was anxious to get to Downtown. Once on the bus it was another 30 minutes so that experience was painful. The other negative is the Contempo Cafe. I feel like they need more selections and specifically the desserts. They are the same everyday and those cupcakes looked awesome but after the first couple of days, I wanted something different. Overall the food at the Contemp was tastey. My son loved the french toast and I think the waffles were excellent.

I hope quick Contemporary review helps future travelers.

Thanks for your awesome review - glad that you enjoyed CR for the most part.

We were in room 4747 once - it's the BEST non-concierge room at the hotel! Highest regular floor, far from Chef Mickey's, and closest room to MK with beds facing the castle (in room 4748, the beds face the other way, so 4747 is better for that reason).

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I just returned home from our first on site Disney stay. We stayed at the Contemporary. We had a Magic Kingdom Tower View on the 11th floor in room 4747. It was wonderful. I have to admit that I am VERY PICKY about hotels and do tend to nit pick about things but the CR was great. We had no sign of bed bugs in our room (thank goodness) and I loved the decor. I travel often and found the decor even better than some high end hotels that I have stayed in on business. My main concern with booking the Contemporary was the fear of noise. I am a very light sleeper and I asked many questions about the noise issue on this board and received mixed opinions. I experienced NO OUTSIDE NOISE at all. I was thrilled! The rooms were sound proof and I could not have been more pleased. My 10 year old was thoroughly pleased with the pool and the arcade and did not want to leave. We could have stayed at any of the deluxes but I chose the Contemporary and I was very happy with my decision. I gave my son the choice on where to stay next and figured he might want to try the Poly or Grand Floridian but he say he wants to go back to the Contemporary. That says a lot since he thinks the pool and slide are really awesome at the Poly but really loved the CR.

There were only a couple of negatives that I experienced. The first is the bus transportation to Downtown Disney on Saturday 3/28. The bus took over an hour to arrive and I had to go to the desk to get assistance in order to even get the bus there. I was meeting my parents there who were driving over from Jacksonville and my son had not seen them since Christmas so he was anxious to get to Downtown. Once on the bus it was another 30 minutes so that experience was painful. The other negative is the Contempo Cafe. I feel like they need more selections and specifically the desserts. They are the same everyday and those cupcakes looked awesome but after the first couple of days, I wanted something different. Overall the food at the Contemp was tastey. My son loved the french toast and I think the waffles were excellent.

I hope quick Contemporary review helps future travelers.

Thank you for posting that great review.

 

[mom2aredhead]

For the buses, we found it to be a bit easier to walk over to MK and catch one of the buses there. Depending on where we were going it was direct vs. stopping at Poly and GF first, and I found they came a bit more frequently.

 

[Bricket]

!!!!! for notifying management about the bed bugs

Yes, thank you very, very, very much. Because I assure ALL OF YOU, Mr. Walt Disney (God rest his soul) included, if my son is bitten by a bed bug or anything that looks like one while staying at any DW Resort that I will be throwing a big, honkin' fit, everyone will know about it and IT WON'T BE PRETTY.

And that is a promise.

Get rid of your bugs CR...not cool.

 

[Bricket]

Ok, so I read that the pathway to the MK has been found to be confusing to guests lately. Something about sections being fenced off and "detours" having to be taken. Is this still going on?

Also, can CR guests still use pools at Poly? And isn't there another neighboring resort's pool CR guests can use?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Also, can CR guests still use pools at Poly? And isn't there another neighboring resort's pool CR guests can use?

Since the Contemporary pool has re-open I doubt they can use the pool at the Polynesian. Also there is no other pool not located there that they can not use.

 

[Bricket]

Cool, thanks.

So no more using Poly or FWL pools now.

I figured as long as there were fences up, work was being done and guests could use neighboring hotels' pools. And you're saying no...only CR pools now, refurbishing or whatever they were doing is now over?