Deciding if we should stay at The Contemporary...

[Melanie230]

Can anyone give me reasons to spend the extra $$$ to stay at the Contemporart versus staying at POR Royal Room? This is just an idea we were tossing around. We have never stayed at a Deluxe, and spend a lot of time in the parks. I know one of the perks of the Contemporary is location. I just wondered what others thought are good reasons to stay there.

 

[LorieDisneyLover]

Location is a definite plus ... and the variety of transportation options ... monorail, boat, bus.

Bigger rooms.

Probably better view.

A place to go if weather is bad ... main lobby, shopping, etc.

Those are a few pluses I can think of right off.

 

[WsPrincess]

We love CR!! We booked a Garden Wing room this last trip and it was PERFECT and so much cheaper than the tower. We love the extra space and being so close to MK. With 2 little kids we like not having to worry about buses for the most part

 

[DisneyHardin]

We stayed at the CR a couple years ago in the Garden Wing. The room was huge and GORGEOUS, but we were grouchy all week that we hadn't upgraded to the tower because we felt like we were missing something by being out in the annex. Last trip we stayed at POFQ and it was just fantastic, so until we can afford a tower room at the CR, we will just stick to moderates.

 

[LazyDaisy]

I think with the Contemporary, you either are OK with the theming, or you're not. A lot of people think it's too sterile - and it is a big contrast from POR. But, if the theming doesn't automatically turn you off, the Contemporary is a pretty sweet deal. It's convenient, there's several dining options, it's not really spread out, and you get the Monorail as well as the other modes of transportation. Heck, you can even walk to the MK. I wasn't keen on staying there at first, but after spending a few nights there, I would totally book it again at some point. But yeah, I think it all boils down to whether you like the "feel" of it. I think it's the plainest of all the resorts (values not included, because I've never been to a value one, so I can't comment).

 

[Laketravis]

When we were kids, the two times my brother and I went to Disney World and stayed at the Poly, we both wish we had stayed at the only other and coolest of the two resorts at the time - CR.

Almost 40 years later and the first time back to Disney World since then, I stayed at the CR for a week in 2010.

Really enjoyed the room, the view, and the location but for me it's one of those things that are so utterly expensive you can't really justify the expense other than to be able to say you did it. (By comparison, I recently stayed at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas for less than half the cost per night and that place was, by far, three times the hotel).

But now I can say we did it. And like MVMCP, we'll most likely never do it again.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We love CR!! We booked a Garden Wing room this last trip and it was PERFECT and so much cheaper than the tower. We love the extra space and being so close to MK. With 2 little kids we like not having to worry about buses for the most part

We also stayed in a wing room and loved it. We didn't need to wait for an elevator because it is only three stories tall. Easy to take stairs. Not like the tower. We didnt miss the tower at all.

 

[funantiques]

It's all about money. Save the cash, and visit the CR. Go to California Grill and watch the fireworks.

 

[Melanie230]

Thanks for all the responses. If we book it we will book a tower room. We have always stayed at Pop Century because our kids are HUGE theme park kids and we spend so much time in the parks. I was thinking if we booked the CR then we would slow down a bit this time. I think if we go we will stay at CR. I love knowing we can sit on our balcony and watch the fireworks.

 

[WsPrincess]

Thanks for all the responses. If we book it we will book a tower room. We have always stayed at Pop Century because our kids are HUGE theme park kids and we spend so much time in the parks. I was thinking if we booked the CR then we would slow down a bit this time. I think if we go we will stay at CR. I love knowing we can sit on our balcony and watch the fireworks.

We did a MK View room in the Tower our first trip and it was BEYOND amazing but we found out of 6 nights we walked the fireworks one time (we were in the parks the other times). And we loved the patio in the Garden Wing. It was so peaceful and so close to the pool!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

The Contemporary is a great resort! It has wonderful shopping and restaraunts. They have the character dining restaraunt Chef Mickey's - which is a great place.

You also have the monorail transportation which can take you to the Poly/GF and of course to MK

the pool is also great with a slide

overall the contemporary just has a great "disney" feel.

 

[cormac05]

The location and the monorail is why I'm staying there!

 

[buzznina]

I always say give it a shot and at least you will know for yourself We have enjoyed all of our stays at the deluxe resorts that we have stayed at, but we have also enjoyed, just as much, our stays at the Mods. We do spend a day or 2 at the resort for down days, but most of our time we are at the parks. We have had great trips but have always questioned whether it was really worth the extra $$. We will stay at a deluxe in the future but only for short trips or renting DVC pts.

 

[hcompton]

Another vote for CR! We stayed in a Garden Wing last year & loved it. Less expensive than the tower, and really enjoyed the quietness of the Garden Wing. Loved being able to just walk to MK, head back to the room for late afternoon naps for DD3, then head back out for dinner & more park fun.

 

[nemofans]

We stayed at CR & didn't like it at all. If you will have a stroller, then I recommend not staying there. It's too much of a hassle trying to get around that hotel.

 

[let'sgo]

I stayed in the tower with a Bay Lake View and fell in love with the resort. It was just so convenient. And the Electrical Water Pageant stopped on Bay Lake and I loved watching it from the balcony.

The game room is great, the monorail is right there, there's all sorts of water sports available there--fishing, personal watercraft, rental boats, and parasailing.

There's good restaurants, and the monorail for jumping to the other restaurants. There's a boat to go to Wilderness Lodge for eating over there as well.

But everyone has their favorites so you'll just have to try it out for yourself and see what you think. But I loved it!

 

[scjo68]

I loved the CR and would stay there again if we got another great discount like we had then. We had 40% off and booked a standard view garden wing room, which is the least expensive room on the monorail loop. It was worth it for that price. I would have a hard time justifying paying full price for a tower room, unless it was a very special occaision.

Walking to/from the MK was so convenient. Of all the parks, MK is the one to most likely have a huge transportation bottleneck, since even if you drive there you must wait for group transport back to your car. Only CR guests can walk right back to there room, no matter how crowded the MK is at closing. If I was determined to be in the MK for 4th of July or Christmas day, etc., that would be an occaision where the CR would be worth it to me.

Regarding the theme: My DH didn't care for it. He was OK with staying there, because of the convenience, but he prefers trees, landscaping, nature, etc. He felt there was too much concrete at CR. I let him choose the resort for our anniversary trip next year, and he picked POR. I do think the price has something to do with it LOL, but the natural theming is more his style.

I liked the theme of CR, though. It was very "Disney". It felt very "bustling city", as opposed to relaxing, though.

 

[ols386]

We stayed in one of the tower rooms a few years ago, and loved it. It was really nice being able to see the fireworks from your room.

Nice just to go out and sit on the balcony at any time of day...the view is amazing.

I also like the size of the rooms. They are larger than the values and mods.

Of course, the monorail is always nice.

Walking to Magic Kingdom is very convenient.

I'ds stay there again, probably not in the tower, but one of the wings. The tower is extremely pricy, but wanted to stay there just once.

I also like the dining choices at the CR.

 

[FourBees]

So I am thinking of staying here for one night in November when we do Mickeys Christmas party. I thought we would do this because I was thinking that it would be nice to just be able to walk back to the hotel instead of worrying about transportation at midnight. So my questions are how far is the walk? Is the Garden Wing further than the tower and if so by how much? Would you pay the extra $80 for a tower room? It will be DH, myself and two DD's 14 and 16 so no little ones. We won't really be in the room much so I am not worried about view or patio. TIA

 

[hcompton]

Four Bees,

The walk from the Tower to the Garden Wing is maybe a two minute walk. It's also covered in case it's raining. To us, the walk to hardly noticeable considering all of the walking you do in a day at the parks.