New to the DisBoards/planning a trip

[DJRosko]

Hello all-I've been poking around here the last few weeks and finally decided to register and get some help from this great community! I'm planning my honeymoon for Sept 2014 and have only been to WDW once as a 11/12 year old(now 30). My fiancé unfortunately for me not only worked at WDW two years in college-but has also been there a million times and is quasi "ruining the magic" so to speak for me. I'm all about staying at the Contemporary Resort as I've wanted to stay there since I was a kid. This is going to be my "no holds barred WDW vacation" and my questions about the CR(forgive me I'm not 100% on all the acronyms yet) involve Club level 12th floor vs Atrium Club Level 14th floor and Deluxe Dining vs Platinum Dining. We're doing 7 nights 8 days park hopper(not sure about typhoon lagoon or Blizzard beach yet) and I would love to get some suggestions and recommendations from people who've done both types of Club level at the CR... My first choice is the GF but I think that's a pipe dream $$ wise.

Sorry for the long post but its my first and hopefully ill get the lingo down soon and be able to streamline my posts and make sure they're in the right spots!
I'm very much looking forward to interacting with all of you on my way to a fabulous WDW vacation!

 

[mickeynut1]

Hello all-I've been poking around here the last few weeks and finally decided to register and get some help from this great community! I'm planning my honeymoon for Sept 2014 and have only been to WDW once as a 11/12 year old(now 30). My fiancé unfortunately for me not only worked at WDW two years in college-but has also been there a million times and is quasi "ruining the magic" so to speak for me. I'm all about staying at the Contemporary Resort as I've wanted to stay there since I was a kid. This is going to be my "no holds barred WDW vacation" and my questions about the CR(forgive me I'm not 100% on all the acronyms yet) involve Club level 12th floor vs Atrium Club Level 14th floor and Deluxe Dining vs Platinum Dining. We're doing 7 nights 8 days park hopper(not sure about typhoon lagoon or Blizzard beach yet) and I would love to get some suggestions and recommendations from people who've done both types of Club level at the CR... My first choice is the GF but I think that's a pipe dream $$ wise.

Sorry for the long post but its my first and hopefully ill get the lingo down soon and be able to streamline my posts and make sure they're in the right spots!
I'm very much looking forward to interacting with all of you on my way to a fabulous WDW vacation!

Welcome to the Dis and congratulations on your upcoming wedding/honeymoon .

We are staying at the CR for the first time in December, so I can't help with CR questions, but if you check out the CR FAQ, that will give you a lot of great information . With that said, you came to the right place as you will get a lot of useful information on these boards to help plan your trip .

 

[pamkat1820]

Details about CR I can't give you I do know the garden wing does not have balconies. CL is a great idea but I wouldn't do it with the deluxe dinning plan. Total food over load. If you didn't have CL it would be one but I think it would be way too much.

Good luck with all the planning

 

[fla4fun]

Details about CR I can't give you I do know the garden wing does not have balconies. CL is a great idea but I wouldn't do it with the deluxe dinning plan. Total food over load. If you didn't have CL it would be one but I think it would be way too much.

Good luck with all the planning

I agree. If you are staying club level, then the regular dining plan may be enough for you. That would get you one table service meal per day, one quick service meal per day and one snack per day, plus you would have the offerings in the lounge for light meals or snacks. I think anything more than the regular dining plan would be a waste.

As far as the two club levels, I have not stayed in either, but have done a lot of research (and dreaming!). Most of the rooms on the 14th floor are suites. If I remember correctly I think there are only two regular rooms, and everything else is a suite. So it's really hard to get a regular room on that floor, if that is what you are interested in. The rooms on the 12th floor are all standard rooms.

The 14th floor has much larger balconies than the 12th floor. They are about double in depth (distance from sliding door to railing) compared to the 12th floor, which has a similar balcony size to the lower floors.

As far as service, everything I've read says that the guests get the same amenities whether they are on the 12th floor or the 14th floor.

If you go to the CR info thread there's a ton of information and photos. Happy planning!

 

[Pakey]

You've got the answers on CR CL. I will tell you that I did Platinum Plan for a week while staying GF RPC and I would not recommend it. You are so busy on the Platinum Plan that CL becomes a waste.

I have been to WDW many times and I would not recommend Platinum if you are interested in spending time enjoying attractions/park time. Your $$ would be better spent elsewhere.

I think doing deluxe dining in combination with club level is also overkill but not as extreme as platinum.

 

[jperrot1]

I have only stayed CL at the Poly and can say that staying CL at WDW is an experience that is awesome. It is great having your own lounge down the hall from your room where you just walk down and get a soda or whatever is being offered during your down time. We never looked at CL as a place for meals except for breakfast. All other food and drink offerings we looked at as snacks and for there to make you feel pampered. But, a calorie is a calorie in the form of a drink, snack, or whatever, and I agree with everyone else about the idea that staying CL and getting a deluxe meal plan might not yield your money best. I don't know what I would recommend in your situation. Anyways, congratulations

 

[karenklo]

If you are going to have a deluxe dining plan, CL will be a waste. We have stayed CL at AKL and Poly and did not even need the dining plan at all with my DH, me and two growing boys! Price out the GF without CL and see if you can fulfill your dream of staying there!

 

[rt2dz]

If you are going for deluxe dining or platinum dining, you may want to consider renting DVC points and staying in either a studio or a 1 bedroom at either BLT or GF.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[vicki_c]

If you are going for deluxe dining or platinum dining, you may want to consider renting DVC points and staying in either a studio or a 1 bedroom at either BLT or GF.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

You can't get the platinum plan with a DVC reservation.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Also have never stayed CL at Contemporary, but I will chime in with the others that CL (any resort) + deluxe dining will be too much.

Last year I took my brother (adult) to Disney, he had not been since he was a little kid, so it was essentially a "first visit" for him. My brother has always been very generous with my kids and me, so I wanted to treat him well, and we stayed CL at YC + deluxe dining plan--I wanted to make sure that he would have plenty to eat without having to pay anything or even care about prices.

But it was way too much. He's actually a very large guy and a big eater and he was getting sick of eating--and we felt like we had to eat so much just to use everything up. We actually ended up forfeiting a few meal/snack credits--and we even ate at 2 signature restaurants (they count as 2 dining credits instead of one).

A few months prior to the trip with my brother, my family (me, dh, and our kids) stayed CL at BWI, and didn't get any dining plan. Each day, we typically had breakfast at the club level lounge, one Table Service meal (paid out of pocket, since no dining plan), then just snacks from the lounge or a light counter service meal--and that was PLENTY of food!

 

[DJRosko]

Thanks so much for all your posts! The main reason I was going to go with the deluxe dining is because I want to eat at Le Cellier and also (not sure if its possible) Victoria & Alberts and possibly some other of those places that require 2 table credits per person... I don't want to have to worry at the end of the week about having credits left etc.
another question I had was-when will the packages be out for Sept '14 and do you all think they'll be similar to this year? (Free dining/30% off rooms)

 

[Missyrose]

Thanks so much for all your posts! The main reason I was going to go with the deluxe dining is because I want to eat at Le Cellier and also (not sure if its possible) Victoria & Alberts and possibly some other of those places that require 2 table credits per person... I don't want to have to worry at the end of the week about having credits left etc.
another question I had was-when will the packages be out for Sept '14 and do you all think they'll be similar to this year? (Free dining/30% off rooms)

Victoria and Albert's does not accept any dining plans except for the Platinum plan.

 

[DJRosko]

Victoria and Albert's does not accept any dining plans except for the Platinum plan.

Epic fail!!!

 

[DJRosko]

Also have never stayed CL at Contemporary, but I will chime in with the others that CL (any resort) + deluxe dining will be too much.

Last year I took my brother (adult) to Disney, he had not been since he was a little kid, so it was essentially a "first visit" for him. My brother has always been very generous with my kids and me, so I wanted to treat him well, and we stayed CL at YC + deluxe dining plan--I wanted to make sure that he would have plenty to eat without having to pay anything or even care about prices.

But it was way too much. He's actually a very large guy and a big eater and he was getting sick of eating--and we felt like we had to eat so much just to use everything up. We actually ended up forfeiting a few meal/snack credits--and we even ate at 2 signature restaurants (they count as 2 dining credits instead of one).

A few months prior to the trip with my brother, my family (me, dh, and our kids) stayed CL at BWI, and didn't get any dining plan. Each day, we typically had breakfast at the club level lounge, one Table Service meal (paid out of pocket, since no dining plan), then just snacks from the lounge or a light counter service meal--and that was PLENTY of food!

We're thinking of doing CR CL, Plus dining and I can't decide between the 14th floor tower club level and the 12th floor Atrium Club level-mainly I want to watch wishes without having to eat at Cali Grill-which we will be doing as well!

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks so much for all your posts! The main reason I was going to go with the deluxe dining is because I want to eat at Le Cellier and also (not sure if its possible) Victoria & Alberts and possibly some other of those places that require 2 table credits per person... I don't want to have to worry at the end of the week about having credits left etc.
another question I had was-when will the packages be out for Sept '14 and do you all think they'll be similar to this year? (Free dining/30% off rooms)

The DlxDDP is great if you will be doing a lot of signature restaurants. As far as staying CL and having the DDP (or DlxDDP), when we stay CL, we don't do it for the food offerings (although the food offerings and drinks are a nice perk), but rather for the lounge for someplace to relax/hang out other than around the resort or in our room. We do a sit down meal every night of our trips whether we stay CL or not. With that said, if you are thinking of staying CL for the convenience of the lounge and the great views from the lounge, I don't think the the DDP would be a waste (my opinion, of course). With that said, however, I can see how the DDP would be over kill for those who utilize the lounge for all of the food offerings throughout the day.

New rates have been known to come out in August, but have been released as early as June/July the last 2 years, so the 2014 rates could come out at any time. September is a slower time of year, so I think your chances of a discount for that time is pretty good .

 

[DJRosko]

Thanks so much Mickey Nut-my fiancé seems to think like everyone else that the dxdp is overkill however we're looking at 2 SIG restaurants and a few other table service meals as well in addition to the quick service and CL snacks... She's also telling me "im not sitting in the room to look at the MK" which I disagree with... Sometimes you just want what you want and have to save up to get there! Hence my second job for the summer!!

 

[mickeynut1]

Thanks so much Mickey Nut-my fiancé seems to think like everyone else that the dxdp is overkill however we're looking at 2 SIG restaurants and a few other table service meals as well in addition to the quick service and CL snacks... She's also telling me "im not sitting in the room to look at the MK" which I disagree with... Sometimes you just want what you want and have to save up to get there! Hence my second job for the summer!!

You're welcome . It's hard to decide as there are so many options when going to Disney. We personally love the DDPs (both regular and deluxe plans) and for us, if we were doing a lot of 2 TS meals, it would be the deluxe plan without hesitation (even with CL). If you won't be at the resort a whole lot but still want the convenience of the lounge, maybe look into the regular DDP with 1TS, 1CS, and 1 snack per night if you think the DlxDDP would be too much. Good luck and have fun planning .