The ALL NEW Disney's Contemporary Resort & Bay Lake Tower FAQ with PICs! (July 2011)

[NJRRK]

All of the standard rooms have from a decent to good view of the monorail. The shrubbery doesn't really affect the view since the monorails are 50 feet up.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I am looking forward to being back at BLT in June!

 

[WDWKOOK]

The Top of the World Member Lounge at the Contemporary Resort's Bay Lake Tower now opens at 6 p.m. (not 5 p.m.). In addition, the menu has been updated, and the sliders are no longer offered:

http://allears.net/menu/menu_towl.htm

REMINDER: If you are staying at Bay Lake Tower, remember that you can check in there, rather than over at the Contemporary. The BLT "front desk" is open from approximately 7:15 a.m. to 10 p.m.

From: The latest AllEars Newsletter.

 

[cheesemouse]

Hello! I am in the beginning stages of planning our family's first trip to DW in December and I am very excited! We are a family of four: mom (32), dad (35), daughter (turning five on our trip!), and daughter (2). We have decided that we want to stay at CR for the proximity of the resort to MK, and because we love the décor of the rooms.

We are looking at the Garden Tower since it is a bit less expensive. But I have read that it is farther from the amenities offered in the hotel. So how far are we talking about? Also, any other negatives to staying in that part of the hotel? Any positives? Thanks for any feedback you can g me!

We stayed in a garden room when our kids were 1 and 3. There are pros and cons to those rooms. Pros: They are cheaper. They are much closer to the pool than the tower. The ground floor rooms have patios whiclh we used a lot for the adults to hang out on while the kids were napping. The patio was also a nice 2nd entrance since we had the pack n play by the room door. The cons to the garden room are that it's farther to the monorail and restaurants and shops. The 2nd and 3rd floor rooms do not have balconies so there's no place to escape to while kids nap or go to bed early. Some of the garden rooms are quite a walk. If you get one of the furthest garden rooms, you have quite a trek to get to the food/monorail.

If a garden room is what you can afford, then great, you're still at the CR and it's awesome. If possible, request or pay for a pool view room on the ground floor. We had 5107 and were about 15 steps from the pool. So easy for a really quick afternoon or in our case, a midnight swim. Amazing how hot is still is at midnight in July.

And the single best feature, and why we book CR: the walkway to MK. A feature you get no matter what room you're in. Hope this helps.

 

[cheesemouse]

Hi all - It's been 3 years since we stayed at CR and 2 since our stay at BLT so I haven't been on here in quite a while. But, we have suddenly made a rather impromptu trip reservation because my DH is going to a conference at the CR in March and we decided to make a family trip out of it. I usually plan and book much farther out, but oh well. We will have 3 kids with us, 6, 4, 13 months.

A few odd questions mostly pertaining to having an infant with us (not my favorite thing to share 1 room for 5 people but oh well)

1) Will a pack and play fit in the bathroom? I know it's a split bathroom but I'm not sure how big the main area of it is because our previous room was an ADA room and had a HUGE bathroom!

2) If the pack and play doesn't fit in the bathroom where is the best place for it in the room?

3) Can you still get bed rails for the beds? Do they work on the daybed?

4) Has anyone ever used bed rails on the daybed to create a "crib"? It seems like it could be possible??? Perhaps not the safest??? Just trying to think outside the box here.

5) We have a Bay Lake View Tower room booked (1st time in the tower!!! ). Are there any rooms that have views of the monorail on this side??? I can't for the life of me remember how the monorail curves.

I'm trying to think of all options for our 13 month old. He's huge (as big as a 2 year old) and just really doesn't fit in a pack n play all that well anymore. I can't really remember if the daybed is positioned up against the outer wall AND the adjoining room wall such that I'd only have 2 sides to worry about if I put him in the daybed.

Thanks for any and all help. I have a lot of planning to cram in in just a few short weeks and I'm on the verge of a freak out.

 

[Liberator]

I realized that some of the garden wing rooms are facing directly to the Bay Lake.

Are these standard rooms?
Would be worth a try to request if yes when booking it

 

[NJRRK]

I realized that some of the garden wing rooms are facing directly to the Bay Lake.

Are these standard rooms?
Would be worth a try to request if yes when booking it

The standard rooms face the parking lot, all the rest are Garden View.

 

[GaBelle]

I just booked a 2 bedroom villa at BLT for Sept! Our first time there!
My question is: what is the difference between a dedicated and non-dedicated villa? We are "cash" guests.My reservation does not specify, so how do I know what I have?

 

[ChristianR]

According to the refurbishment schedule a guest room soft good replacement is taking place at the Contemporary. Has anyone of you seen the new rooms?

Now – March 22, 2013: Contemporary Tower and South Garden Wing will undergo Guest room soft goods replacement.

I would love to see some pictures.

 

[babyberger]

According to the refurbishment schedule a guest room soft good replacement is taking place at the Contemporary. Has anyone of you seen the new rooms?

Now March 22, 2013: Contemporary Tower and South Garden Wing will undergo Guest room soft goods replacement.

I would love to see some pictures.

I'm happy to hear this, the mattresses in December were a little worn. We'll be back the first week of Feb so hopefully new mattresses are part of the soft goods. I'll be sure to take pics and post them here or send them to Kook so she can post them (hopefully in the new CR thread).

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[toodycat]

Just booked a ones bedroom lake view for August. We've never stayed in a villa before. It should be fun and a new experience.

 

[momtoprincesses]

We stayed in a garden room when our kids were 1 and 3. There are pros and cons to those rooms. Pros: They are cheaper. They are much closer to the pool than the tower. The ground floor rooms have patios whiclh we used a lot for the adults to hang out on while the kids were napping. The patio was also a nice 2nd entrance since we had the pack n play by the room door. The cons to the garden room are that it's farther to the monorail and restaurants and shops. The 2nd and 3rd floor rooms do not have balconies so there's no place to escape to while kids nap or go to bed early. Some of the garden rooms are quite a walk. If you get one of the furthest garden rooms, you have quite a trek to get to the food/monorail.

If a garden room is what you can afford, then great, you're still at the CR and it's awesome. If possible, request or pay for a pool view room on the ground floor. We had 5107 and were about 15 steps from the pool. So easy for a really quick afternoon or in our case, a midnight swim. Amazing how hot is still is at midnight in July.

And the single best feature, and why we book CR: the walkway to MK. A feature you get no matter what room you're in. Hope this helps.

Thank you for this! You reassured me that we will be fine in the Garden Tower. And thanks for the tip on which room(s) to request!

 

[psac]

I just booked a 2 bedroom villa at BLT for Sept! Our first time there!
My question is: what is the difference between a dedicated and non-dedicated villa? We are "cash" guests.My reservation does not specify, so how do I know what I have?

The difference between a dedicated 2-bedroom and non-dedicated (lockoff) is that the non-dedicated can be split into a studio and 1-bedroom (with the doors between them locked) and booked separately. A dedicated only has one exit for the villa. In the dedicated, the studio portion has two doubles instead of a queen and a double sofa-bed. Most people like the dedicated when they have a big family with kids who would like real beds in the second bedroom, while the lockoff might be better for two families travelling together, where some occasional privacy might be good. In terms of which you have, you can request one or the other, but it's not guaranteed.
Enjoy!

 

[WDWKOOK]

According to the refurbishment schedule a guest room soft good replacement is taking place at the Contemporary. Has anyone of you seen the new rooms?

Now – March 22, 2013: Contemporary Tower and South Garden Wing will undergo Guest room soft goods replacement.

I would love to see some pictures.

These are the current CR-related rehabs listed on Intercot. I don't have details at this time.

Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Now – Sep. 21, 2013: Guest elevators will undergo enhancement.
• Dec. 24 – March 22, 2013: Contemporary Tower and South Garden Wing will undergo Guest room soft goods replacement.
• Jan. 6, 2013 - Late Summer 2013: 14th floor Suites Refurbishment. This includes a hard and soft goods refurbishment and a renovation to the concierge lounge.
• Jan. 15 – Feb. 8, 2013: Bay Lake Tower – Bay Cove Slide will be closed for refurbishment. The Pool will remain open.
• Jan. 27 – Feb. 17, 2013: 12th floor Atrium, Club level concierge lounge soft goods replacement and refurbishment will occur.
• Jan. 28 – Feb. 22, 2013: 2nd floor lobby wall covering replacement will occur.
• Feb. 2, 2013 – Late Summer 2013: California Grill will be closed for refurbishment.

 

[WDWKOOK]

I realized that some of the garden wing rooms are facing directly to the Bay Lake.

Are these standard rooms?
Would be worth a try to request if yes when booking it

No, these are Garden View bookings. You must book a Garden View room and request "Facing Bay Lake." Keep in mind that this is a request only and isn't guaranteed. Good luck - we loved our GW room that faced Bay Lake!

Just booked a ones bedroom lake view for August. We've never stayed in a villa before. It should be fun and a new experience.

We LOVED our BLT one bedroom in August and it was our "first time", too. I can't recommend it enough. Here is a link to my BLT TR:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2999831

 

[Hulles]

whats the best way to request a room on a high floor in BLT? Last year we stayed in BLT and were on the tenth floor I believe, and that had a great view. My son loves the view from higher up in the hotel. We have a 1br MK view booked in April. I believe when I made the reservation I just asked for "highest floor possible". would that do that trick or should I request a more specific room number?

I know its only a request though Just wondering the best tactic when putting the request in

 

[WDWKOOK]

whats the best way to request a room on a high floor in BLT? Last year we stayed in BLT and were on the tenth floor I believe, and that had a great view. My son loves the view from higher up in the hotel. We have a 1br MK view booked in April. I believe when I made the reservation I just asked for "highest floor possible". would that do that trick or should I request a more specific room number?

I know its only a request though Just wondering the best tactic when putting the request in

Welcome! I made my BLT request when I booked my cash reservation. Just call the WDTC and have them add a request for a high floor to your reservation. This is a better request than a specific room number. If your requested room isn't available, the room assignor won't know why you requested that room in order to put you in a similar room location. But, if you loved your last room, you could request "high floor such as room #xxxx."

 

[lovingeire]

I'm dying to book my Jan 2014 reservation but it won't let me online. Wonder if I can talk the husband into an August trip right before the kids go back to school?

 

[WDWKOOK]

I'm dying to book my Jan 2014 reservation but it won't let me online. Wonder if I can talk the husband into an August trip right before the kids go back to school?

Welcome! You can book, but you'd have to call. The rate will adjust when it's released and you can apply applicable discounts anytime.

Tell DH that August, (especially late August) has the lowest prices and lower crowd levels. General public discounts and Free Dining are usually available. It would be the perfect pre-2014 fact-finding mission

Good luck!

 

[WDWKOOK]

From MouseSavers:

12th Floor Atrium Club Level Lounge (Contemporary Resort) closed 1/27/13-3/22/13 for refurbishment.

No alternative lounge location is mentioned. I assume the IPO will contact booked Atrium Club guests. Let us know if you're booked CL at the CR during this time and have received any info from the IPO regarding the closure.





Tower Club Concierge Lounge and entire 14th floor (Contemporary Resort) closed through late Summer 2013 for refurbishment.

Bay Cove Pool Slide (Contemporary  Bay Lake Tower) closed 2/4/13-2/15/13 for refurbishment. Pool will be closed 2/14/13-2/15/13; guests can use the feature pool at Contemporary Tower on those days.

California Grill (Contemporary Resort) closed 2/4/13-late Summer 2013 for refurbishment.