6 days at Contemporary from Chicago

[redbirdgrad]

Hello everyone,

Got back from WDW on Thursday, August 23rd. Drove down from Chicago and had 6 full days at Disney - Did all 4 parks and Typhoon Lagoon with my 7 and 4 year old. Stayed at the Contemporary North Wing with a bay view ( room 8309 ), I walked off the distance for anyone needing to know since we were at the end. Did the Ice Cream Social at Epcot, Chef Mickey's Breakfast and Cindy's Breakfast in the Castle. Ask any questions you want!!!!!

General comments - Great time had by all - kids got autographs, pictures, monorail licenses and loved MK. I actually enjoyed Animal Kingdom alot more than what I would have thought. Lines were not bad especially the 16th and 17th seems the crowd got bigger starting Monday the 20th. People still don't understand Fastpass - its great and you have to do early entry at all costs - you can do tons of rides before 9:00. It was hot but very manageable with mid-day breaks - I think it would have been worse if we weren't having the same kind of heat here before we left. I think our next trip will be in winter and taking the kids out of school to avoid the crowds totally. I want to thank the DIS for all the help on planning/scheduling and will continue to hang around to help others and plan my next trip. Also - rode Jungle Cruise late one night and the skipper was a Redbird student - only two others on the boat and they were also from Illinois - what are the odds?

If anyone has any specifics they want to ask - fire away!!!!!

Redbirdgrad

 

[Wishydoo]

Hi Redbirdgrad, I was at the Contemporary Aug. 16th - 21st. North Wing.. Room 7348...Lagoon view.

Did you notice a convention during the last part of your stay? It looked to me like one had arrived at the Contemp. on Mon. 8/20

 

[redbirdgrad]

I didn't notice a convention per se - but the parks seemed a whole lot more crowded starting that Monday - also I didn't know ( someone on the monorail mentioned it ) - that Saturday the 18th was the first day the Florida residents "blackout" period was over - they said that the MK was really crowded on Saturday - I however was at Typhoon Lagoon - which was also very crowded.

 

[denisenh]

Hi redbirdgrad!
I will be staying at the contemporary in November for the first time and am interested in the wing rooms and distances to the monorail and food court. How is the walk? We are used to walking and are usually far away from the main building at other resorts, like CS, DxL....is the walk like that?
Did you feel like you were near the MK? I imagine we won't be looking at any part of it so I am starting to wonder if it is even worth staying there. Do you think it was worth it?
How did you like the decor of the rooms? Are there coffee makers in the rooms?
It sounds like you had a great time and a road trip! Love them!
Thanx!

 

[redbirdgrad]

Denisenh,

I was in the north wing room 8309 - which was the third floor, bayview, closer towards the marina. We could leave our room go right down the stairs, cut across the playground and enter the food and fun center within 2 minutes - the kids called that the shortcut. If I left my room walked towards the center of the wing ( staying in the hallways ) and then walked towards the North Wing entrance off the parking lot - it was longer - I counted the strides one day - from my room to the main hallway was 36 strides and from the end of the hallway to the front entrance of the north wing it was 113 strides. I walk alot also and the walk was nothing either way but the "shortcut" was used 95% of the time. It will be a much shorter walk than what you are used to at other resorts - and the North Wing puts you real close to the bus stop also.

Yes it was worth it, we walked to the MK one day, being able to jump on the monorail coming back from the MK and being in the CR within seconds was great. We could get back to the CR just before ten and watch the fireworks from the MK then turn around and see the Electric Water Pageant at 10:05 behind the Contemporary. The kids loved the Food and Fun center, ( especially the Fun Center ), the pools, Chef Mickeys, even hanging out in the 4th floor lobby.

The room decor was bright colors, wavy lines, abstract shapes - The kids liked the "crazy look" to it - and I just cared about queen size beds and three pillows on each bed. You can ask for a coffee maker when you check in. My family enjoyed it and the road trip - I enjoy the drive, reminds me of my childhood. Let me know if you have any other questions I'm glad to help.

 

[denisenh]

Thank you redbirdgrad! What a big help! I have been following "Keith" around on the resort board because he also has a few questions about the CR and it seems like few respond.
I appreciate your speedy response!!
Just one more question....
Do the wing buildings have a doorway to the outside just at the ends of the halls? I imagine that the doors are secure and one would need room key to enter them.
oh and one more...are the exterior walkways between buildings covered?
Thank you for your time!

 

[redbirdgrad]

Yes the wings have to the outside only at the ends of the halls - they are open til 11:00 p.m. I think and then key access is needed with your room key. To your second question - yes and no - You can walk from the middle entrance of the tower to the North wing outside and be covered ( or you can cut through the food n fun ), however the "shortcut" I mentioned in my earlier response is not covered as you cut through the playground. Let me know if you have any other questions big or small - I researched my trip for months before going and was probably over prepared but that was better I guess.

P.S. Note - The one thing I did wrong at the Contemporary was going to the bus stop to go to Typhoon Lagoon - there is a bus for Blizzard Beach but for Typhoon Lagoon you need to Monorail to the TTC and then catch the bus there.

 

[nicka]

I just posted questions today in the Resort section......maybe you can offer opinion?

Self, wife, 6,4,& 2 yr olds and grandma are booked (2 rooms) for CR Wing Oct 18-23. Should I save about $500 and switch over to PO-Riverside? I read great reports about PO and wonder if I am overpaying for use of Monorail.

I suspect wife will be heading back to room with baby mid-day, if not all of us for pool/nap breaks. Is CR best place for this reason? How difficult is travel back to PO from MK compared to your comments re: short (seconds) monorail trip to CR?

Another option is to upgrade into the Tower......is the additional $500 worth it?


Thanks!

 

[denisenh]

Thank you again redbirdgrad! I have really put a lot of thought into it and because our stay is so short and thanks to you I will leave my reservation as is at CR.
I want so badly to stay at FW cabins again but it makes sense to do that in February when our stay will be much longer.
Less time wasted getting all over the place is more time enjoying.

Hi nicka....just butting in here. We stayed at PO riverside in February this year and I can say that we had some of the worst transportation on that trip, such as VERY overcrowded buses and what seemed like long transport times. It didn't bother us too much but we did start using our rental car more to go to the parks. (We rent a car on all our trips because we like to go offsite and look around.) Have you considered Fort Wilderness Cabins? Discounted rates of $149. offered. They sleep 6 and are a boat ride to the MK.
Personally, I think CR sounds like a good spot for quick and easy breaks from the parks.

 

[redbirdgrad]

Nicka and Denisenh,

I would agree with Denisenh, here is my experience - I stayed at CBR when it was just my wife and we were there when the parks were empty - the catching a bus and waiting wasn't a big deal because we were in no hurry and had no kids. This time I also considered doing that - but with a 7 and 4 year old in the heat in August - I didn't want to be waiting anytime for buses if I didn't have to. We spent most of our time in the MK so the CR with the Monorail was fantastic, I'm happy I spent the extra $$$ to stay there. Its great to take that midday break by just jumping on the monorail and being in the CR within seconds - its almost like another ride for the kids and they didn't mind the breaks at all ( I highly recommend them ).

The opinions on this board greatly differ re: tower vs. wing -- It was something I gave alot of thought to also -- I think it all comes down to what does $500 mean to you, for me, the wings worked great - its a very short walk if you're in the front of the wings ( I was in the back and it didn't bother us ), and I booked us for Chef Mickeys, Cindy's, and the Ice Cream Social with the money saved ( ha, ha, but still spent).

Now that I've done the CR in the wings - I would have no problem doing it again - I loved the convenience, the pool, Chef Mickeys, decent pizza from room service ( I'm from Chicago ), the food and fun center. It all depends on $$$ next trip but I'm definitely doing a monorail resort.

Hope this helps.

 

[Diznegrl888]

What the heck is Florida Resident Blackout period??? We are staying at the Cont Sept 3-7. I seen another post that said the main pool had some leaks is this still a problem? Thanks for your help. Only 4 more days!!!!

 

[redbirdgrad]

I guess the Florida residents who have annual passes have a blackout period when they can't use their tickets to avoid monster crowds in the parks. The Main pool was closed for 3 days due to a leak - some lifeguards said it was in the pool but the story I got that is more believable was the leak was in the pipes under the pool in the filtration system - thus the pool was losing water - however it was back open and going strong by the time I left last week.