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

[TxYates]

We just changed from POR to CR and I'm so excited! I had to convince DD that a waterslide and beach were better than a princess room. We had a PIN for 30% off so we are spending $1100 more but $500 more than our original POR price and with all our character meals I think it's worth it.

[NJRRK]

Originally Posted by TxYates

We just changed from POR to CR and I'm so excited! I had to convince DD that a waterslide and beach were better than a princess room. We had a PIN for 30% off so we are spending $1100 more but $500 more than our original POR price and with all our character meals I think it's worth it.

POR has a better water slide than the CR, but I promise not to tell your DD.

[inky dinky doo]

Originally Posted by WDWKOOK

Melissa!

I think I recall this question being asked on the WL thread last year and so I did some investigating and found THIS SITE that lists pod compatibility. According to the site, all pods between 4-12 grams should fit a Cuisinart. They also list kosher pods.

But, at least at the CR you have a place to buy a really good cup of coffee. The Contemporary Grounds is just an elevator ride away in the lobby:

That's a great site, WDWKOOK! It's hard to find the pods locally, and even then, it's just Folgers. Thanks to you, though, I've ordered Wolfgang Puck's dark roast (my preference) from Amazon.

Does anyone know what kind of coffee the Contemporary Grounds sells? It's not Nescafe, is it???

[inky dinky doo]

Originally Posted by TxYates

We just changed from POR to CR and I'm so excited! I had to convince DD that a waterslide and beach were better than a princess room. We had a PIN for 30% off so we are spending $1100 more but $500 more than our original POR price and with all our character meals I think it's worth it.

Congrats on the 30% off pin, TxYates! You're going to LOVE staying at the Contemporary! There's nothing quite like being able to monorail or walk to and from the Magic Kingdom.

[MFLetou]

We'll be at CR in 2 weeks. Had 2 rooms (party of 4 adults, 3 kids) at POR but switched to CR Garden Wing with the 40% discount. Its still quite a bit more, but our last visit--fall of 2011-- we were lucky enough to stay in a BLT 1 bedroom (that was before the last little one) also on a 40% discount (those days are gone!) and being able to walk to MK was a total game-changer. To be honest, I'm probably more of a Poly person, but with little kids you just cannot beat being able to walk to MK.

Anyway, I'm wondering about the views from the Garden View rooms. Specifically, how well can you see the monorail from those rooms facing the parking lot? Our oldest is a monorail junkie--he has 6 different colored model trains and I swear he'd be content sitting at the Contempo all day just watching them go by. Our ideal would be to get two rooms together on the first floor so we can get the patio, but I'd really like to get him a view of the Monorails. I've told him we aren't staying in the tower and won't be facing the monorail but I'd sure like to surprise him. I haven't made a request yet, mainly because I couldn't get through on the phone last week.

Any guidance?

[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]

Originally Posted by momtoprincesses

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]

Originally Posted by 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

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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).

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