Contemporary Resort?

[boscov]

Ever since I started going to WDW, I've always been curious about the CR. I'm fascinated by the structure, the views, everything. But, my question is, would you recommend this resort and why? My biggest concern is it's going to feel like a hotel, not a resort. That's a big thing I see that Poly or WL or BC over CR. Can CR compare to these places? To me, if you can't stay in the tower, it would almost be a waste. Is this true? Any info on CR would be great.

 

[larryz]

Good questions, and based on my experiences both in the garden wing and the tower, I'd say it very much feels like a resort. The theme is modern theme-park resort. The restaurants, the shops, the monorail running thru, the murals, the understated Disney in the rooms -- all of that contributes. Some of the biggest standard rooms on property, and the views are good no matter where you are. You don't get to see the MK from a lot of them, but even the garden wing has nice views of the waterways around the resort (see, I called it a "resort").

 

[scjo68]

I like it a lot, and it definitely feels like a resort to me. It is not overly themed, though. But to me it is classic DisneyWorld.

The convenience of transportation to MK and Epcot is great. I think if I were going at a really busy time and wanted to stay till closing at MK, I would definitley want to stay at the CR. While everyone is in crowded lines waiting for monorails, ferries, and buses, we could just walk back to our room.

I will mention that my DH does not care for the CR. He dislikes the lack of wooded areas, all the "cement". So the urban feel of the CR does not appeal to everyone. The Poly, one of our other favorites, has a more relaxed, removed from themepark feel. Being in the CR, I kind of feel like I am still in a theme park, or at least in a busy city.

 

[DisneyHardin]

We stayed at the CR a few years ago and the hotel was beautiful. We stayed in the Garden Wing and we agreed that we wouldn't stay there again unless we stayed in the tower. It wasn't super far to the food court, etc, but we still felt like we were in the annex out back.

 

[Doc Goofy]

I've stayed at most of the deluxes and I adore CR. To me it is very themed. It feels like a space station - that I have left Earth and am visiting Planet Disney! We first stayed there in 1984 and stayed last time about three years ago at Christmas (magical). I wish I could afford to stay there (with a theme park view) every time. But WL is a close second for me...

 

[WsPrincess]

We love it and felt resort for sure!!! We have stayed twice. Once Garden Wing and once Tower (MK View CL) and to be honest, we liked the Garden Wing just as much and in some ways more then the tower. We had a 1st floor room with an awesome patio overlooking the grounds, close to the pool and the best part was no waiting for elevators. The rooms were identical and we just loved it. CR is our favorite resort, especially for the location. Now that we bought into DVC I am going to miss staying there.

 

[TJA]

I remember having those same worries before we tried CR. The lobby does feel like a hotel, but once you get on the 4th floor where all the action is, then it's definitely disney. And you will not spend much time in the actual lobby -- you will be on the 4th floor for Chef Mickeys, shopping, fast food, arcade.

We've stayed in both the tower and the wing. Latest stay was on the CL floor facing the MK, which was an absolute dream room. I remember reading on here about getting an odd-numbered room and being able to see the Castle change colors from bed, but until I actually experienced it for myself, I didn't really know just how special that is. So if you ever get the chance, take advantage of it.

The wing wasn't "bad," but we only stayed there for 2 nights just to go to the Halloween party at MK. We wanted easy access to and from the MK, but not at the tower price. So if you're looking for something like that, then the wing is a good choice. But if you're looking for an all-around vacation like at the Poly or BC, then the tower is what I'd recommend.

 

[almcg]

We could see the Castle from our Garden Wing, Standard View room! How cool is that?

 

[OKW Lover]

I've stayed in both the garden wing and tower rooms at this resort. It pretty well lives up to its original theming as a contemporary hotel...in 1970. I've always found it to be a "cold" hotel.

It certainly does have a wonderful location though.

 

[jhaig]

We will be staying at CL (12th floor) this November and was wondering about a couple of room request issues:

1) Is there a huge difference between odd and even numbered rooms? Is an odd numbered room the preferred view of Epcot, WL, etc?

2) Do CL rooms have two queen beds or one king?

 

[OKW Lover]

1) Is there a huge difference between odd and even numbered rooms? Is an odd numbered room the preferred view of Epcot, WL, etc?

According to this map there is no difference between even and odd room numbers as far as location or view goes.

 

[Laketravis]

We stayed at CR my first time back in almost 40 years. Loved it, but it's hard to justify the cost.

 

[meredith1]

We stayed in the tower with a MK view in 2011. The room was big and the location really couldn't be beat with our situation (3.5 yr old dd).

The service was terrible. When I go on vacation I want to be pampered. I want the service to be there and it just wasn't at the CR. Nobody came to clean the room for our first three days, the CM's were nice but, just didn't go out of their way. It was like they were doing just enough to get their job done downstairs. We saw house keeping once in our five day stay.

Would I stay there again? Probably not but, I won't say, never.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

It depends on what you are looking for and which park(s) you want to spend the most time at.

I love the CR and bought DVC at BLT because of my love for CR.
I enjoy the 4th floor and all the action there. It has the hustle and bustle of a big city and I like that. I like the quick easy walk to/from MK. From MK I can take a bus to any WDW resort. I enjoy the monorail and exploring the other monorail resorts and like the ride to Epcot. Nice boat ride to/from FW & WL. My children have always had fun in the pools. We have rented "water mice" and pontoon boats from the marina.

The rooms are very large with 2 queen beds and a daybed. Some rooms have a king bed & daybed, but I have never stayed in a king room. The bathroom is also large with double sinks and a tub in one area, and separate area for toilet. The rooms are the same in the tower and wing, except tower rooms have a balcony. I have stayed in the wing, tower MK view, tower lake view, and CL. CR is one of my favorite resorts!

 

[waynesgirl]

We stayed on Garden Wing, next to lake. Had the whole end of wing. We loved it...felt resorty but also was modern and slick.

 

[Soon2beMrs.]

We have never stayed at the cr however we are dvc owners at bay lake and we love the cr! One reason is IMO it is the original resort for WDW. I think it isn't overly themed and it is on the monorail which is another plus!

 

[karensi]

I have a time share at Orange Lake (Sat to Sat) but just booked an extra night(will arrive on Friday now ) at the CR.
With 3 small grandsons we always eat at CM's the first night of our vacation so this should be just perfect!
Cant wait till April!!

Karen

 

[scjo68]

We could see the Castle from our Garden Wing, Standard View room! How cool is that?

That's very cool! I have never heard that before!

 

[Magic3forme]

we stayed there in 2004 and loved it. Seeing the fireworks from our room was so awesome! Our daughters loved being able to see the castle.

when we bought DVC it made it real easy to pick... Bay Lake. I love staying there and seeing the castle change colors at night.

the convenience of the monorail, shopping and food court is a bonus too!!

 

[AndyFL]

I remember having those same worries before we tried CR. The lobby does feel like a hotel, but once you get on the 4th floor where all the action is, then it's definitely disney. And you will not spend much time in the actual lobby -- you will be on the 4th floor for Chef Mickeys, shopping, fast food, arcade.

We've stayed in both the tower and the wing. Latest stay was on the CL floor facing the MK, which was an absolute dream room. I remember reading on here about getting an odd-numbered room and being able to see the Castle change colors from bed, but until I actually experienced it for myself, I didn't really know just how special that is. So if you ever get the chance, take advantage of it.

The wing wasn't "bad," but we only stayed there for 2 nights just to go to the Halloween party at MK. We wanted easy access to and from the MK, but not at the tower price. So if you're looking for something like that, then the wing is a good choice. But if you're looking for an all-around vacation like at the Poly or BC, then the tower is what I'd recommend.

Perfect summation of how I feel about CR as well.