Disney's CONTEMPORARY RESORT Information & Questions

[MrsSkellington]

What "flavor" toiletries are available in the CR right now?

I loved the grapefruit scent of 2013. I stayed at the GF in September and they had a Sea Salt scent instead.

What should I expect in Feb at the CR?

We were there 10/29-11/3 in the Garden Wing and had the sea salt. Blech.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Oh!! Sea Marine is my favorite!!!!

We always get it at the GF but the Poly had the Grapefruit this summer

 

[bmanwahoo]

We stayed at the Contemporary (Garden Wing, Garden View) from 11/14 to 11/21. It was our 3rd Disney trip but first ever stay at the Contemporary. This thread was INVALUABLE in helping us plan for our stay. So thanks to all of you that contributed - we felt like we knew so much about the Contemporary before ever setting foot there.

Some pros/cons, with the pros far outweighing the cons:

PROS:
- Location, location, location: we absolutely loved the ability to walk to/from Magic Kingdom, and the ability to monorail to/from Epcot

- Room requests were honored (high floor, close to transportation)
- Spacious room, no issues with housekeeping, everything restocked as expected
- Very helpful front desk (asked about transportation, fastpass +)
- One of the backlit mirror lights was out when we got there. We left a note on the bed for housekeeping, and it was fixed the next day.

CONS:
- Room wasn't ready until 3:45 pm. We arrived around 10:30 am and of course weren't expecting it to be ready then. We did figure it would be ready by the 3pm check-in time. We checked in on things a couple different times but they weren't able to give us any exact information. The last time we inquired (about 3:15 pm) they did give us each a general FP + to be used 1 day, 1 time at any park (we chose Hollywood Studios - extra ride on Toy Story)
- Sinks. As mentioned on here numerous times, they are lousy. Don't drain well at all, and with the double sinks, there wasn't much storage space at all for toiletries. We ended up using one of the sinks for storage.
- No clock in the room. Just seemed odd - anytime we wanted to know what time it was, we had to find a phone and look at it.
- Refrigerator wasn't working when we got there. Found it to be unplugged. Odd.
- Only mug refill area was at Contempo Cafe. It would've been nice to be able to fill them at the pool.

We loved our stay at the Contemporary and would stay there again in a heartbeat.

 

[ClareH37]

Stupid question alert - re. the fire exits/stairwell at the end of the building towards the MK, am I right in thinking you can go out there and watch Wishes? If you do, can you get back in afterwards or do the doors lock automatically behind you? Thanks

 

[mickeynut1]

Good afternoon ... I don't think I have been on here since before we left for our vacation! I wanted to say "THANK YOU!" to everyone who answered questions I might have had and to those who wished us a good vacation. It was terrific, and we really enjoyed our stay at BLT.

Glad you had a great trip!

Booked CR GW for 5/3 thru 5/8. Celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary without the kids. First time at CR and booked mainly to be near MK. I've been thru the thread so I'm up to speed with the resort. Not nearly as complex as YC was for our last visit, which is nice.

Hope you have a great anniversary trip .

Add me to the Log-o-Rail!
Staying at Bay Lake Towers in a 2 bedroom, Theme Park View villa, for 7 nights, October 16 thru 23!!


It will be Me, DH, DS(8th birthday) and DD(5) and my Mom. I haven't told my mom where we are staying. She thinks it will be a regular hotel room with her sleeping on the couch!

Then (hopefully) we will be moving on to Beach Club Villas for another 5 days.

Sounds like a great trip in the works! Enjoy the planning .

We have booked our trip for 11/4-11/12/16 to stay in the GW GV. I see on the website that king rooms are available but they can not be specifically booked. I called Disney and they said that there are no King rooms available in the GW or the Tower. Is this something I have to simply put in on a room request (which I did)? I'm just confused because I cannot find anywhere online to select the room type for the GW or Tower as far as bed selection.

Congrats on booking the CR for your next trip. I can't answer about the king beds, but hopefully others will be able to help .

We stayed at the Contemporary (Garden Wing, Garden View) from 11/14 to 11/21. It was our 3rd Disney trip but first ever stay at the Contemporary. This thread was INVALUABLE in helping us plan for our stay. So thanks to all of you that contributed - we felt like we knew so much about the Contemporary before ever setting foot there.

Some pros/cons, with the pros far outweighing the cons:

PROS:
- Location, location, location: we absolutely loved the ability to walk to/from Magic Kingdom, and the ability to monorail to/from Epcot

- Room requests were honored (high floor, close to transportation)
- Spacious room, no issues with housekeeping, everything restocked as expected
- Very helpful front desk (asked about transportation, fastpass +)
- One of the backlit mirror lights was out when we got there. We left a note on the bed for housekeeping, and it was fixed the next day.

CONS:
- Room wasn't ready until 3:45 pm. We arrived around 10:30 am and of course weren't expecting it to be ready then. We did figure it would be ready by the 3pm check-in time. We checked in on things a couple different times but they weren't able to give us any exact information. The last time we inquired (about 3:15 pm) they did give us each a general FP + to be used 1 day, 1 time at any park (we chose Hollywood Studios - extra ride on Toy Story)
- Sinks. As mentioned on here numerous times, they are lousy. Don't drain well at all, and with the double sinks, there wasn't much storage space at all for toiletries. We ended up using one of the sinks for storage.
- No clock in the room. Just seemed odd - anytime we wanted to know what time it was, we had to find a phone and look at it.
- Refrigerator wasn't working when we got there. Found it to be unplugged. Odd.
- Only mug refill area was at Contempo Cafe. It would've been nice to be able to fill them at the pool.

We loved our stay at the Contemporary and would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Thanks for your review! Glad you had a great time and would return the CR .

Stupid question alert - re. the fire exits/stairwell at the end of the building towards the MK, am I right in thinking you can go out there and watch Wishes? If you do, can you get back in afterwards or do the doors lock automatically behind you? Thanks

I think you can get back in, but I might be thinking of something else so I'm not 100% sure. Hopefully others will be able to answer for sure .

 

[Sammyjo199]

We have booked our trip for 11/4-11/12/16 to stay in the GW GV. I see on the website that king rooms are available but they can not be specifically booked. I called Disney and they said that there are no King rooms available in the GW or the Tower. Is this something I have to simply put in on a room request (which I did)? I'm just confused because I cannot find anywhere online to select the room type for the GW or Tower as far as bed selection.

I can't answer this but I was told I could get a king room at garden wing but it wasn't guaranteed. I did put that as my only request through the phone and didn't check anything else off dieing online check in. I'd love to know if this isn't possible

 

[Tropics]

Does anyone know more about the Bay Cove pool closure? It looks like it closes the day I get there! wah!!! We're staying BLT February 1-9. We're bringing a couple of younger cousins for a 'once in a lifetime' trip. We purposefully picked this resort because we anticipated construction at WL. I know it doesn't ruin my whole vacation but since I only just found this out. I'm kinda bummed out for now.

I guess the best we can hope for is a late start to construction? Anyone have any experience with this? Did other deluxe resort pool refurbs start on time?

Kind words and constructive thoughts only, please.

I'm curious as well. We arrive Feb 22 so there's no getting around this. After so much planning we rented points and got a TPV room that make up for a trip that we had to cancel at the last minute last year. Does this also mean that the only place for mug refills will be Contempo Cafe? I'm not happy about this.

 

[bltman]

We stayed at the Contemporary (Garden Wing, Garden View) from 11/14 to 11/21. It was our 3rd Disney trip but first ever stay at the Contemporary.

We were just there from 16th to 21st (Spent 14th and 15th at Universal), also our first time at CR but out 3rd visit. I loved how quiet garden wing was compared to the main building but the walk was still manageable to get our breakfast at contempo cafe in the morning. I also like how spacious the rooms feel. Walk to MK is so easy. Transportation to Epcot is pretty good too. Agree with all your pros and cons (same room readiness issue), though my daughter is short so the sinks were good for her. After night #2 we asked the front desk for a clock so my kids would know what time it was (daughter woke us all up thinking it was morning at 5:50am - only positive was that we made front of rope drop for Soarin that morning). Took them about 45 mins to get get the clock to us.

We have now stayed at CR, WL and BWI. Of the 3, I liked CR the best, then BWI and then WL (though I think my wife liked WL the best). The ability to walk to the parks is a prime consideration for me,

 

[WDWKOOK]

I'm so excited! I booked the CR for the 2nd part of our stay in March. We're booked at POR for the first half and I wanted to pick something else for a change to end our trip. And I think after busing everywhere the walk and monorail will be awesome.

So... should I keep the 2nd location as a surprise?

What did you end up deciding? Where do they think they're staying?

We stayed over Christmas last year, non CL TPV, and requested high floor away from Chef Mickey's, with the beds facing the MK. It didn't feel like a parking lot view to us, it was magical seeing MK the last thing before sleep and the first thing when you woke up! Youngest is here just staring...

...And Olaf, too

Thank you for posting your cute photos. I love how you made your room extra magical.

Good afternoon ... I don't think I have been on here since before we left for our vacation! I wanted to say "THANK YOU!" to everyone who answered questions I might have had and to those who wished us a good vacation. It was terrific, and we really enjoyed our stay at BLT.

I don't have any additional pictures of our room since they look exactly like the ones already posted (HA lakeview studio #7614) but I did want to make a comment that might affect any others who book this for a mobility disabled family member. The shower is spacious and my husband loved being able to take his walker into that area to take long showers. However, there is no soap dish in the shower, nor are there any grab bars, other than on the door itself. We had to hang a plastic bag on his walker to hold soap and shampoo.

Welcome home and thanks for letting everyone know about the HA BLT shower. Do they still sell soap on a rope?!

Booked CR GW for 5/3 thru 5/8. Celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary without the kids. First time at CR and booked mainly to be near MK. I've been thru the thread so I'm up to speed with the resort. Not nearly as complex as YC was for our last visit, which is nice.

Congratulations on booking! I'll add your dates to the Log-o-Rail

Add me to the Log-o-Rail!
Staying at Bay Lake Towers in a 2 bedroom, Theme Park View villa, for 7 nights, October 16 thru 23!!


It will be Me, DH, DS(8th birthday) and DD(5) and my Mom. I haven't told my mom where we are staying. She thinks it will be a regular hotel room with her sleeping on the couch!

Then (hopefully) we will be moving on to Beach Club Villas for another 5 days.

Your mom is going to be SUPER surprised, and relieved to have her own bed and bath.

We have booked our trip for 11/4-11/12/16 to stay in the GW GV. I see on the website that king rooms are available but they can not be specifically booked. I called Disney and they said that there are no King rooms available in the GW or the Tower. Is this something I have to simply put in on a room request (which I did)? I'm just confused because I cannot find anywhere online to select the room type for the GW or Tower as far as bed selection.

Welcome and I'll log your dates. The only way to guarantee a GW King is to book one of the Deluxe rooms which all have a king bed and queen sleeper. In the Tower, you can book a Tower Club Level king, but not online. Other than those options, you can request one, but it can't be guaranteed.

We stayed at the Contemporary (Garden Wing, Garden View) from 11/14 to 11/21. It was our 3rd Disney trip but first ever stay at the Contemporary. This thread was INVALUABLE in helping us plan for our stay. So thanks to all of you that contributed - we felt like we knew so much about the Contemporary before ever setting foot there.

Some pros/cons, with the pros far outweighing the cons:

PROS:
- Location, location, location: we absolutely loved the ability to walk to/from Magic Kingdom, and the ability to monorail to/from Epcot

- Room requests were honored (high floor, close to transportation)
- Spacious room, no issues with housekeeping, everything restocked as expected
- Very helpful front desk (asked about transportation, fastpass +)
- One of the backlit mirror lights was out when we got there. We left a note on the bed for housekeeping, and it was fixed the next day.

CONS:
- Room wasn't ready until 3:45 pm. We arrived around 10:30 am and of course weren't expecting it to be ready then. We did figure it would be ready by the 3pm check-in time. We checked in on things a couple different times but they weren't able to give us any exact information. The last time we inquired (about 3:15 pm) they did give us each a general FP + to be used 1 day, 1 time at any park (we chose Hollywood Studios - extra ride on Toy Story)
- Sinks. As mentioned on here numerous times, they are lousy. Don't drain well at all, and with the double sinks, there wasn't much storage space at all for toiletries. We ended up using one of the sinks for storage.
- No clock in the room. Just seemed odd - anytime we wanted to know what time it was, we had to find a phone and look at it.
- Refrigerator wasn't working when we got there. Found it to be unplugged. Odd.
- Only mug refill area was at Contempo Cafe. It would've been nice to be able to fill them at the pool.

We loved our stay at the Contemporary and would stay there again in a heartbeat.

Thank you for posting a great summary of the pros and cons. Now you can help others plan their stays at CR

Stupid question alert - re. the fire exits/stairwell at the end of the building towards the MK, am I right in thinking you can go out there and watch Wishes? If you do, can you get back in afterwards or do the doors lock automatically behind you? Thanks

Did I miss it or did you not post about your recent stay at WL?

The fire escape doors are locked from the outside. You would need to prop it open or have someone let you back in to return (expeditiously) to your room.

We were just there from 16th to 21st (Spent 14th and 15th at Universal), also our first time at CR but out 3rd visit. I loved how quiet garden wing was compared to the main building but the walk was still manageable to get our breakfast at contempo cafe in the morning. I also like how spacious the rooms feel. Walk to MK is so easy. Transportation to Epcot is pretty good too. Agree with all your pros and cons (same room readiness issue), though my daughter is short so the sinks were good for her. After night #2 we asked the front desk for a clock so my kids would know what time it was (daughter woke us all up thinking it was morning at 5:50am - only positive was that we made front of rope drop for Soarin that morning). Took them about 45 mins to get get the clock to us.

We have now stayed at CR, WL and BWI. Of the 3, I liked CR the best, then BWI and then WL (though I think my wife liked WL the best). The ability to walk to the parks is a prime consideration for me,

So you didn't have a clock either? This is a strange phenomenon. Thank you for posting about your stay and I wonder where you'll stay next time?

 

[Skywise]

So uh... no Christmas Wreath decorations on the main window again?

 

[WDWKOOK]

So uh... no Christmas Wreath decorations on the main window again?

WL was the last to get decorated this year, but it's all done. Is the wreath still not up?

 

[5Hfan]

WL was the last to get decorated this year, but it's all done. Is the wreath still not up?

We missed this so much last year!!!

 

[ClareH37]

Did I miss it or did you not post about your recent stay at WL?

The fire escape doors are locked from the outside. You would need to prop it open or have someone let you back in to return (expeditiously) to your room.

I had to cancel this year's trip, also next year's (stupid health stuff) but should be OK for 2017 Such a long way off but at least something to look forward to. My last trip at WL was in 2014, I loved it there so much and am disappointed to read about the expansion so it's going to be off my return list until all the work is finished.

It's my first time planning a trip to the Contemporary, time for something new I think I'd probably be better off watching Wishes from the observation deck as the doors lock, I'm currently booked in a tower baylake view room as I think the view looks gorgeous, only downside of course is not having a Wishes view.

 

[trishadono]

We have booked our trip for 11/4-11/12/16 to stay in the GW GV. I see on the website that king rooms are available but they can not be specifically booked. I called Disney and they said that there are no King rooms available in the GW or the Tower. Is this something I have to simply put in on a room request (which I did)? I'm just confused because I cannot find anywhere online to select the room type for the GW or Tower as far as bed selection.

We had one in May 2014 in the garden wing. I had called and noted it on my reservation. When we got to the room and it wasn't a king I called from the room using "house Phone" and they found me a room without having to go back to the lobby. Ours was on the side facing the pool.

 

[JaimeK]

What did you end up deciding? Where do they think they're staying?

Yes for now I'm keeping the secret. We're starting the trip at POR so they think we'll be there the entire stay

 

[mickeynut1]

The fire escape doors are locked from the outside. You would need to prop it open or have someone let you back in to return (expeditiously) to your room.

Thanks for clarifying, KOOK . I guess it makes sense to have those doors locked from the outside, I must be thinking of the observation deck and being able to get back in from there.

I had to cancel this year's trip, also next year's (stupid health stuff) but should be OK for 2017 Such a long way off but at least something to look forward to. My last trip at WL was in 2014, I loved it there so much and am disappointed to read about the expansion so it's going to be off my return list until all the work is finished.

It's my first time planning a trip to the Contemporary, time for something new I think I'd probably be better off watching Wishes from the observation deck as the doors lock, I'm currently booked in a tower baylake view room as I think the view looks gorgeous, only downside of course is not having a Wishes view.

I'm sorry you've had to cancel a couple of trips, but 2017 isn't that far off....it will be here before you know it . Hope you enjoy the planning for your first CR stay. We've never stayed at the CR, but are hoping to try it sometime next year.

 

[PNO4TE]

Welcome home and thanks for letting everyone know about the HA BLT shower. Do they still sell soap on a rope?!



So you didn't have a clock either? This is a strange phenomenon. Thank you for posting about your stay and I wonder where you'll stay next time?

You know.... I have no idea if soap on a rope is still sold anywhere! That would help out. But still no shampoo or conditioner within safe reach.

And, Bob and I were just discussing the clock in the BLT studio... There wasn't one in there either! Of course, the bedside area is so small that he kept knocking the phone off as it was, so maybe that was a good thing!

 

[Quellman]

I'm curious as well. We arrive Feb 22 so there's no getting around this. After so much planning we rented points and got a TPV room that make up for a trip that we had to cancel at the last minute last year. Does this also mean that the only place for mug refills will be Contempo Cafe? I'm not happy about this.

Since you are staying at the BLT, you will be able to access the pool there and they have the soda machine at the pool bar you can use. But if you want the coffee, hot chocolate you will need to trek over to the main building.

 

[mat5]

I just booked a garden room with a garden view, I have stayed here before but never in a garden room.
I read that I should enjoy the garden rooms, and don't mind the little extra walk and quiet is nice.
Have these rooms been updated recently? Any thoughts good bad, room conditions?

Thank you

 

[ClareH37]

I'm sorry you've had to cancel a couple of trips, but 2017 isn't that far off....it will be here before you know it . Hope you enjoy the planning for your first CR stay. We've never stayed at the CR, but are hoping to try it sometime next year.

Thank you The way time is flying by I don't think it'll be too long either lol