Contemporary Main Building vs Contemporary Garden Wing

[MyOtherSS]

Hey Everyone, My girlfriend and I just booked our second trip to Disney and we booked a room with a "garden view". We were under the impression that the garden wing was part of the main building and were disappointed to find out that it isn't. We are planning on just dropping the extra $500 to stay in the main part of the resort because we feel like it's almost pointless to be spending the extra money on a deluxe resort and being away from the main resort itself. I feel like it's deceiving when Disney shows you the Contemporary you see and percieve it as the big, nice looking main building but include the dinky sized resort next to it that is barely in the picture for a little cheaper. I mean I've been going to disney since I was born and always thought the small thing next to it was a business building for employees or something.

Does anyone have experience staying at both parts of the resort? We're pretty set on changing our reservations but would consider keeping them if the garden wing isn't that bad.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I have stayed in both.

The rooms in the garden wing are exactly the same size as the rooms in the tower. The room will have either a king bed & day bed or 2 queen beds and a day bed. The bathrooms are large with double sinks and tub in one area & a small area w/door, for toilet.

Rooms in the tower will have a balcony and view of either lake or Magic Kingdom.

The wing is a short walk to the main building.

Lots of hustle & bustle in main building.

 

[twinboysmom]

It's right there, a very short walk. I would stay in those rooms in a heartbeat. One difference is that you are not guaranteed a balcony in those. The rooms in the tower do guarantee a balcony. The south wing is quieter than the main building with the same rooms as the tower. And they come with a substantial savings. Why don't you look at the contemporary resort thread on these boards and see if you think you need to spend another $500 to upgrade your location.

 

[WsPrincess]

I have stayed in both, a tower room the first time and a Garden Wing room the last time. We loved them both!! As pp said, rooms are exactly the same. We actually requested and got a 1st floor room so we had a wonderful patio with such a peaceful view. The balcony was nice but we hardly used it so it was really not worth the extra cost.

DH actually liked the Garden Wing room better since we never had to wait for an elevator and we were right by the pool which was AWESOME. We would stay there again in a second and we love not spending the extra money but having a great location and room!!

 

[almcg]

It really isn't that bad! In fact we loved how quiet the Garden Wing was and so close to the pool. We've already booked our Garden Wing room for next year and i'm really not sure if we'll ever pay the extra to stay in the main building

 

[dchi]

We are about to have our third stay in the tower, magic kingdom view and I have yet to see the entrance to the garden wing. How exactly or where exactly is it? I do think about giving the garden view room a try sometimes after our next trip.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We always stayed in the garden wing when we used to enjoy the CR... North garden wing.... It was easier to get to the entering the main building and rooms don't start until the 5th floor.... Pain for us since we enjoy going to the pool, back to room for more drinks, snacks etc.... A lot easier from a garden wing and they are cheaper... How often do you sit in the room and look out the slider??? When we're at the resort, we're usually at the pool and just sleep in the room...some of the changes they made to the CR were not to our liking and the resort lost its draw.... We moved on , WL now captures our interest for a cheaper price, still a deluxe with a boat to the MK....

Good luck on your decision, don't rule out the garden wings, for my money they are the quietest part of the CR, !

 

[MyOtherSS]

Thanks for the input everybody. We'll have to reconsider whether we keep our reservation there or not. Our last stay at AK villa was really nice but we were on the go so much we really didn't get to enjoy the room as much as we'd like to have. We added an extra day compared to last year and want to enjoy the resort more.

 

[rock_doctor]

We stayed in the tower once when i was young and it was noisy. If i were to chose i would go with the wing. It isn't that far away, still walking distance to the MK, boat ride to FW or WL or a monorail ride away from a good chunk of everything else. Go with the wing and take the saved money and stay a day or two longer. We own at BLT and spend a month a year staying (basically) where the north wing was and absolutely love it. Quiet and next to nearly everything.

 

[andrencau]

Tower has my vote. We stay on the MK side and love it. I love being able to walk out of our room and look over into the Grand Canyon Concourse and watch the hustle and bustle. Or go out on the balcony and enjoy wishes or just sit and enjoy the view of Seven Seas Lagoon. If I didnt want to stay where the monorail was an elevator ride away, I would stay at Wilderness Lodge.

 

[mariamouse]

I think the whole tower vs. garden wing debate depends on your personal preferences and priorities.

Personally, I would not pay to stay at the CR again unless it was in a tower room. We stayed in the North Wing a little over ten years ago (pre-BLT) and had a lovely trip, but did feel like we weren't getting the "full" experience.

If your main priority is having a large room and taking advantage of all of the amenities the CR has to offer, you will be plenty happy in a garden wing room. As PPs have stated, the rooms are equally large and are actually closer to the pool/lake. I imagine that the views from the South Wing are also quite decent given that you will either be facing the pool or the lake/monorail.

For us, location and the atmosphere of a resort are key. Although the North Wing was (at most) another 5 minutes from the MK and only 2 minutes or so away from the tower, it just felt different. We did not feel like we were in the middle of it all like we would have been waking up to the sounds of Chef Mickey's from our room. I also appreciated that the tower enables you to just hop on the elevator down to the monorail and restaurants/shops. It should be noted, though, that we are a family that enjoys the hustle bustle. If you prefer quiet, the garden wing would likely be a better choice. Finally, the views from the tower just cannot be beat. I know that we will eventually be back at the CR just to take advantage of that unbeatable MK view from the tower.

I guess what it comes down to for me is that the CR grounds are really not all that impressive in comparison to the other deluxes. IMO, what makes the CR unique is the tower atmosphere.. not so much the pool area that you would be passing every day to walk to and from the tower. We just would have preferred to have the tower as our home base and only walk out to the grounds if/when we felt like it.

This is turning into a book, but I want to reiterate that it comes down to your personal preferences. If you want a large room, access to the grounds, a quieter atmosphere and a convenient location, you will appreciate the garden wing. If you care about being in the middle of it all and really getting that feel that you are taking full advantage of the magic, you may prefer the tower. I would still pick the garden wing over a value or moderate any day, but would likely pick another deluxe over the garden wing. The tower, on the other hand, would potentially sway me from my favorite deluxe resorts.

HTH.

 

[MyOtherSS]

I think the whole tower vs. garden wing debate depends on your personal preferences and priorities.

Personally, I would not pay to stay at the CR again unless it was in a tower room. We stayed in the North Wing a little over ten years ago (pre-BLT) and had a lovely trip, but did feel like we weren't getting the "full" experience.

If your main priority is having a large room and taking advantage of all of the amenities the CR has to offer, you will be plenty happy in a garden wing room. As PPs have stated, the rooms are equally large and are actually closer to the pool/lake. I imagine that the views from the South Wing are also quite decent given that you will either be facing the pool or the lake/monorail.

For us, location and the atmosphere of a resort are key. Although the North Wing was (at most) another 5 minutes from the MK and only 2 minutes or so away from the tower, it just felt different. We did not feel like we were in the middle of it all like we would have been waking up to the sounds of Chef Mickey's from our room. I also appreciated that the tower enables you to just hop on the elevator down to the monorail and restaurants/shops. It should be noted, though, that we are a family that enjoys the hustle bustle. If you prefer quiet, the garden wing would likely be a better choice. Finally, the views from the tower just cannot be beat. I know that we will eventually be back at the CR just to take advantage of that unbeatable MK view from the tower.

I guess what it comes down to for me is that the CR grounds are really not all that impressive in comparison to the other deluxes. IMO, what makes the CR unique is the tower atmosphere.. not so much the pool area that you would be passing every day to walk to and from the tower. We just would have preferred to have the tower as our home base and only walk out to the grounds if/when we felt like it.

This is turning into a book, but I want to reiterate that it comes down to your personal preferences. If you want a large room, access to the grounds, a quieter atmosphere and a convenient location, you will appreciate the garden wing. If you care about being in the middle of it all and really getting that feel that you are taking full advantage of the magic, you may prefer the tower. I would still pick the garden wing over a value or moderate any day, but would likely pick another deluxe over the garden wing. The tower, on the other hand, would potentially sway me from my favorite deluxe resorts.

HTH.

thanks for the write up, you pretty much made up my mind, Tower it is! We are the type who would rather be involved and in the middle of everything rather than have the seclusion and quieter area.

 

[Ali]

I booked garden view and got upgraded to Tower. I've been told it happens frequently. I couldn't afford Tower and was happy for the pixie dust!

That being said, if I were paying for it again I would pay for the tower. Walking down the hall, in the hotel, up the elevator or escalators and into the cafe for a drink refill seems obnoxious.

Make sure you go out the exit door on the 6th floor looking away from the magic kingdom and look down to the left (HOLD THE DOOR SO YOU DON'T GET LOCKED OUT) to see something cool.

 

[larryz]

We are about to have our third stay in the tower, magic kingdom view and I have yet to see the entrance to the garden wing. How exactly or where exactly is it? I do think about giving the garden view room a try sometimes after our next trip.

As you enter from the front parking lot (or the monorail) go down to floor level, then go out to your right ...

http://**************.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Map-of-Disneys-Contemporary-Resort.jpg

If you're out by the pool, looking at the lake, turn to your right and it's the three-story rooms between you and the Wilderness Lodge.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

The main reason we stay at CR is the MK view rooms in the Tower. We love to watch the fire works from own balcony every night. I would not pay to stay in the garden view or the water side of the tower. If we couldn't have MK view we'd stay somewhere a lot cheaper. But that is just our opinion

 

[mariamouse]

thanks for the write up, you pretty much made up my mind, Tower it is! We are the type who would rather be involved and in the middle of everything rather than have the seclusion and quieter area.

I'm so glad that I could help! I am sure that you will have a magical stay in the tower... such a unique experience sleeping just feet away from the MK with the monorail gliding through below.

 

[fla4fun]

I have stayed in both. The rooms themselves are identical. The only difference is that the tower rooms have balconies and the wing rooms don't.

The wing being a separate building is no different than the separate buildings at GF or Poly. Better than those, actually, because there is a covered walkway to the tower for inclement weather. At the others, you're just out in the rain.

My main complaint with the tower is the elevator. When I travel during slow season, the waits for the elevator are horrible. I stayed over July 4th this year (very busy), and it was so bad that we took the stairs most of the time. The elevators are slow and they are small. If there are any strollers or ECVs then you can only fit a family or maybe two at a time. The wing is only three stories, so the elevators aren't as bad, and the stairs aren't either (we were on the 9th floor in the tower - quite a haul up and down stairs). I tend to book the wing rooms just because of the elevators.

 

[WsPrincess]

I have stayed in both. The rooms themselves are identical. The only difference is that the tower rooms have balconies and the wing rooms don't.

The wing being a separate building is no different than the separate buildings at GF or Poly. Better than those, actually, because there is a covered walkway to the tower for inclement weather. At the others, you're just out in the rain.

My main complaint with the tower is the elevator. When I travel during slow season, the waits for the elevator are horrible. I stayed over July 4th this year (very busy), and it was so bad that we took the stairs most of the time. The elevators are slow and they are small. If there are any strollers or ECVs then you can only fit a family or maybe two at a time. The wing is only three stories, so the elevators aren't as bad, and the stairs aren't either (we were on the 9th floor in the tower - quite a haul up and down stairs). I tend to book the wing rooms just because of the elevators.

In June we were so thankful we were in the Garden Wing because of the elevators. There was a conference there and they were stopping all the elevators at that level when the meetings got out so none were getting to the ground level. One family was waiting over 30 minutes because they had a double stroller and had no choice but to wait. Also the 2nd day 3 of the elevators were not working so again, there were HUGE waits for those who could not take the escalators.