disneydreamin247
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2008
Kook I'm joining in since Danimal has decided that as long as there is availability with the bounceback we will be staying here in October!
Kook I'm joining in since Danimal has decided that as long as there is availability with the bounceback we will be staying here in October!
I got back one week ago tomorrow morning from a terrific conference/vacation stay at the Contemporary Resort/Bay Lake Tower. I intended to attempt a live report, but life (work) interrupted, and I just couldnt find the time. The next best thing is pictures, right? Here are a few to get us started. I'll continue to post as I load them to Photobucket. Enjoy!!
Well I'll be dipped in snowflakes!! Thx for sharing that bit about the light under the TV!! I just found the switch!! How cute is that?!?!
CR is the only deluxe resort (besides AKL) that I never had a desire to stay at, that is until I started reading this thread. My DS12 has been begging to stay here for years, so I decided it was finally time to find out what makes it so special to its devotees...and this thread with everyone's amazing comments, insights, and photos has convinced me to give CR a try...a great AP discount helped as well! I just changed our reservation for 8 days over July 4th week from POR to CR!! Booked GW after seeing the recent reports and photos as it was a great rate, and am hoping to get the patio I requested. Thanks for all the great information on these pages!!
Good choice!!!!! I don't think you'll be disappointed. DH and I had no interest in staying at CR, we love YC! But the kids insisted, and we honestly love it there now. DS won't stay anywhere else, would rather not stay anywhere else I know you love your Poly but I think this will be a nice change.
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Does CR share buses with other resorts? (To AK and HS)
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DisneyFans222 - congrats on booking CR!!! I see you are in Boca, same here .
Good choice!!!!! I don't think you'll be disappointed. DH and I had no interest in staying at CR, we love YC! But the kids insisted, and we honestly love it there now. DS won't stay anywhere else, would rather not stay anywhere else I know you love your Poly but I think this will be a nice change.
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The Contemporary has always been one of my favorite resorts, probably because it's the first resort we ever stayed in. This trip was no exception. I just loved this room.
Good choice!!!!! I don't think you'll be disappointed. DH and I had no interest in staying at CR, we love YC! But the kids insisted, and we honestly love it there now. DS won't stay anywhere else, would rather not stay anywhere else I know you love your Poly but I think this will be a nice change.
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Indeed we did! Sadly it started to rain so we were only out for about 40 minutes. . Oh you will LOVE the BLT (and so will your son)! PS....our DS is ALSO the dictator in our family lol! He and Hubby are at the arcade giving Mommy a break! We will be riding the monorail this aftn. Going to attempt Fantasmic tonight (he watches it often at home with surround sound so hoping he'll be used to how loud it will be). Wish us LUCK!!MrsB - did you get to take out the Boston Whaler yesterday? I chuckled a bit reading your post. My DS who is almost 10 is on the spectrum and it usually dictates our day. He has fallen in live with CR and is willing to try BLT next year, lol! We booked a 1BR for the reasons you mentioned and are excited to give a try.
Does CR share buses with other resorts? (To AK and HS)
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Loved the pictures, after doing a split stay at the CR and Beach Club Villas, a split stay at the CR and Boardwalk and our stay at BLT this year we have finally given up staying anywhere else and have booked our room for January 2014 back at the CR...ahhhh can't wait to be back.
Now, onto Bay Lake Towers. I stayed in a lake view studio, room 7523.
Welcome and thank you! I'm going to link to your photos on the first page. It's great having some Standard GW Views for the thread. Yes, they do a test swatch of carpeting before a rehab. They choose a more obscure location to place the carpeting that's in contention. CR actually went with the pattern you saw co-mingled with the existing carpeting. Last year, WL tested a pattern with trains, but ultimately didn't choose it, if I recall correctly.We just returned from our stay at the Contemporary April 12-18.
We were there for a conference and had been on the phone asking if the conference rate was available in the Tower. The other option was the Poly, which we've also always wanted to stay at. We couldn't believe they'd gotten the lower conference rate to include the Tower, but after four people confirmed it, we booked. (Reminder to self: if it sounds too good to be true...)
Surprise! No Tower.
And, of course, all the rooms were booked at the Poly by the time we checked in and were told we were in the Garden Wing.
To say we were disappointed would be understatement city.
I think the girl checking us in did the best she could, though, after calling everyone she could and getting the "no" answer, and gave us room 5150, first floor in the far corner, along the waterfront with a private patio. It was incredibly quiet and secluded, with a few ferries passing by.
It was a lovely room, spacious and private, although twice as far from the MK as the Tower (and .3 miles isn't that far except when you're dog tired)
Part of the wing is undergoing refurb now, so you couldn't walk through the end closest to the Tower in the AC, but had to go around and in the center lobby area.
We did have to turn on the tub to get hot water going in the sinks each time, and I'm guessing this may have been due to the farthest reaches from the water heaters.
The only thing that frustrated me about the room (other than it wasn't in the Tower) was the AC's insistence on turning off. There seems to be a motion sensor that activates only when someone is upright and moving. When you're sleeping, it will not continue to run and warms back up. You have to get up out of bed to make it start again. Literally, not cool.
But you cannot beat that walkway to the MK at night, when the throngs are pressed like cattle waiting for the buses and the monorail and the ferries, and you're just sauntering along, usually alone, on that little walkway with your hotel right across the street. Since we are MK junkies, this feature trumps pretty much everything else, making old, less "themed" hotel still very attractive.
A few pictures
The carpet mystery. From pictures I've seen, the one section here is the update?
Welcome and thank you also for posting your photos. I loved coming back to the room in the evening after turndown and having the headboard lights dimmed and the lower part of the credenza illuminated - very cozy! Thank you for pointing out to others room features that I've come to take for granted.The Contemporary has always been one of my favorite resorts, probably because it's the first resort we ever stayed in. This trip was no exception. I just loved this room.
I wish I taken a better picture of the little switches built into the frame at the head of the bed. I thought that was the neatest little touch and made it so easy to turn the reading light off, without getting out of bed. (You can kind see one of the switches, if you look at the frame on the second bed, above the pillow.
I took this picture to show how the bottom part of the TV 'credenza' lights up. I hadn't noticed this in any of the pictures I saw beforehand, so it was pleasant surprise. Also, note the opaque panels in the closets in the hallway and how they're lit up inside. They seem to shed just the right amount of light and lend a cozy feeling to the room.
I hope you get CR for your BB. I think you'll come to love it as much as we all do. Let us know if you have any questions.Kook I'm joining in since Danimal has decided that as long as there is availability with the bounceback we will be staying here in October!
Welcome and congratulations on changing to CR! Being that you're going at a very busy time, you'll really appreciate the myriad transportation options. The walkway is so wonderful, especial during peak times and you can easily boat to WL and FW, where there is lots to see and do. Have you made all your ADRs yet?CR is the only deluxe resort (besides AKL) that I never had a desire to stay at, that is until I started reading this thread. My DS12 has been begging to stay here for years, so I decided it was finally time to find out what makes it so special to its devotees...and this thread with everyone's amazing comments, insights, and photos has convinced me to give CR a try...a great AP discount helped as well! I just changed our reservation for 8 days over July 4th week from POR to CR!! Booked GW after seeing the recent reports and photos as it was a great rate, and am hoping to get the patio I requested. Thanks for all the great information on these pages!!
I haven't seen any new lounge photos and thought it was completed at the same time as the CL rooms? Has anyone recently stayed CL and can shed some light on this? I believe the Tower Club lounge and rooms will be closed until the summer when the roof repair is done and CG re-opens.Okay we have seen the renovated room pics, does anyone of the Atrium Club renovation pictures yet What about the Tower Club? Is that still being renovated since that was a hard refurb.
Glad you've found your perfect WDW resortLoved the pictures, after doing a split stay at the CR and Beach Club Villas, a split stay at the CR and Boardwalk and our stay at BLT this year we have finally given up staying anywhere else and have booked our room for January 2014 back at the CR...ahhhh can't wait to be back.
Yippee! I now have Studio room photos to link to on the first page - thank you! I love your IronManorail photoNow, onto Bay Lake Towers. I stayed in a lake view studio, room 7523. First up, a few pictures from the overhead (fifth floor) walkway between the Contemporary and BLT.
Welcome and congratulations on changing to CR! Being that you're going at a very busy time, you'll really appreciate the myriad transportation options. The walkway is so wonderful, especial during peak times and you can easily boat to WL and FW, where there is lots to see and do. Have you made all your ADRs yet?