peedeejones
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2000
- Messages
- 85
We just got back today from our long drive back from Disney. We stayed 6 nights at the Contemporary North Garden Wing. This was our 6th trip to WDW with my husband and daughter in eight years. This was our second stay at the Contrmporary.
Sunday, July 15
On our reservations we requested a North Garden Wing room on the first floor, non-smoking, as close to the tower as possible. When I checked in on Sunday July 15, we were given room 7178. All me requests were honored. I did not bother to ask for any upgrades since the Cast Member who checked us in did not seem very happy that day. There was alot of misinformation from the Cast Members about E-Ride Night. There were telling guests that they needed to purchase an "Ultimate Park Hopper" to get an E-Night ticket. I questioned this and it was confirmed that all we needed was any type of Park Hopper.
The room was full of bright colors and odd shaped decor. It was loud. The thermostat was sensor controlled which meant when you are not in the room, it turns off. This made for a very unpleasantly warm room upon our return from a hot day at the parks. Sometimes the sensor would think no one was in the room when we took a nap and it turned itself off.
We explored the resort grounds. We noticed some changes since our last stay, such as there was no longer a heat lamp or exhaust fan. We left a tip for housekeepiong every day but we never got the little washcloth animals that we would always find on our beds or washrooms on the previous trips. There was a little piece of the magic missing. We rode the elevator to the 15th floor where we went outside to the observation deck. The view is breathtaking! We could see for mailes. Went to the arcade which is addicting, got our refillable mugs and had dinner at Chef Mickey's. Chef Mickey's serves a great dinner buffet.
We took the monorail to the Polynesian and checked it out. We all agree that we would like to stay there next time. Went back to the room and had a great view of the fireworks at MK..
There was a lot of noise at night. We could hear everything out in the hall way as if it was in our room. We asked to be moved to a quieter location but it would involve us checking out and re-checking in after 3:00 the next day. We decide to deal with the noise.
Monday, July 16
Got up and walked over to the Magic Kingdom at 7:15. Doors opened at 7:30. We rode Space Mountain, TTA, Buzz Lightyear, Snow White, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion and Liberty Belle all in the first 2 and a half hours without any crowds. Park started filling up by 11:00. We rode Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Tiki Room and the new Aladdin Carpets which was kind of cool. We were rather annoyed by some foreign tour group of teenagers that decided to yell out songs at the top of their lungs and clap while we were all enclosed in the line for Pirates of the Carribbean. There was an over abundance of these tour groups exhibiting this behavior during the trip. I am not sure what that was all about.
By 3:00 we were pooped so we had a pineapple whip and went back to the room. Husband and daughter went swimming. We took a nap and went shopping at the Marketplace.
Tuesday July 17
Left for Animal Kingdom at 8:00am. The bus was empty except for us. We arrived and went straight into "It's Tough to Be a Bug". We went to Dinosaur. There was no wait at all. We rode it, loved it and got in line again. No wait for 2nd ride either. Went over to the Safari. Waited for about 10 minutes. Took a walk around and saw the amimals. It was a pretty hot . We headed back to the room at 1:00. We rented a canopy boat at the marina. It was so much fun! We headed back to MK at 4:00 for our wrist bands for E-Night. It was pouring rain. We saw the Legend of the Lion King. We went back to our room and had dinner in the Food and Fun Center. I feel there was a very limited variety and the eating area is lacking in decor. I think the food court at the Carribbean Beach Resort blows this one away. Went back to MK at 9:30 for E-night. I come to find that the printed flyer and the DisneyWorld Information Channel all were incorrect about the E-Ride times. All the information I received said 10:00-1:00am. It actually was 11:00pm-2:00am. There was also a 11:00 parade which was not supposed to be that blocked our way to ssome E-night attractions until after 11:30.
Wednesday July 18
Took a break from WDW by going to Cocoa Beach for most of the day. We came back by 6:30pm. It rained that night so we went to Downtown Disney and saw Jurassic Park 3. The theater there holds 600 people and has 2 balconies. The theater was sold out for 2 showings!! We got back about 1:00 am.
Thurdsay July 19
Left for Epcot at 8:00. We got in line for test track and we got almost to the actual boarding area in 5 minutes but suddenly the ride came to a complete stop for 15 minutes. We finally got on. I think this ride is over rated. We spent a few hours in Future World and proceed to World Showcase by 1:00. We saw Beatle impersonators in England that were wonderful. We toured each country and left by 6:00pm. Our feet were killing us. I had a blister the size of a walnut on my left foot. My baby toe is surrounded in one giant blister. We stay in the room tonight to rest the feet..
Friday July 20.
This is the last full day. It is so sad. We start out with a Chef Mickey breakfast. We get to MGM at 8:15am. The gates open at 8:30 but not one attaction opens until 9:00. I think this is pretty crazy. They a least could open the Great Movie Ride. The giant Sorcerer's hat is right in front of The Chinese Theater and ruins the ambience. I don't know why they felt it had to be put right there. It takes away from the atmosphere greatly. We waited for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It was a lot of fun. My fourteen yeear old daughter got every question right and was posted at 4th place on the scoreboard. Three more spots better and she would have made it to the hot seat! That is a great attraction. We got a fast pass for TOT and got in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. It's fun but it is a very short ride. We got done with that just in time for our TOT fastpass. TOT is a great ride. We did Great Movie Ride and Star Tours. We also saw Hunchback of Notre Dame show. I highly recommend this to everyone. This is one of the best shows in all of WDW. The juggler before the show is hysterical. My daughter was excited to get a picture taken with Chewbacca. We ate at Sci-Fi Dine In. That wa a disappointment. This has always been a tradition for us when we go. They no longer serve popcorn. The prices have gone up tremendously. They no longer offer any vegetarian item except when I asked they said I could have a Boca buger(for $10.95!!!).
We went back to the room to pack. I was crying like a baby at the thought of leaving. We went back to MK at 5:30 for the last time. We rode the monorail taking one last look at the resorts. We rode the Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain. It's A Small World and TTA.
We watched Spectromagic go by from Tomorrowland bridge. We left at 10:00. Feet are killing again. I have to take off my shoes and walk back in stocking feet which by now are soaking wet. I cry a little more about leaving in the morning but I start to think about planning our next trip. Maybe Polynesian..mmmmm? How about Pop Century?????
I appologize for any spelling errors. I have only been back for a few hours and I am wiped out.
Jennifer
Sunday, July 15
On our reservations we requested a North Garden Wing room on the first floor, non-smoking, as close to the tower as possible. When I checked in on Sunday July 15, we were given room 7178. All me requests were honored. I did not bother to ask for any upgrades since the Cast Member who checked us in did not seem very happy that day. There was alot of misinformation from the Cast Members about E-Ride Night. There were telling guests that they needed to purchase an "Ultimate Park Hopper" to get an E-Night ticket. I questioned this and it was confirmed that all we needed was any type of Park Hopper.
The room was full of bright colors and odd shaped decor. It was loud. The thermostat was sensor controlled which meant when you are not in the room, it turns off. This made for a very unpleasantly warm room upon our return from a hot day at the parks. Sometimes the sensor would think no one was in the room when we took a nap and it turned itself off.
We explored the resort grounds. We noticed some changes since our last stay, such as there was no longer a heat lamp or exhaust fan. We left a tip for housekeepiong every day but we never got the little washcloth animals that we would always find on our beds or washrooms on the previous trips. There was a little piece of the magic missing. We rode the elevator to the 15th floor where we went outside to the observation deck. The view is breathtaking! We could see for mailes. Went to the arcade which is addicting, got our refillable mugs and had dinner at Chef Mickey's. Chef Mickey's serves a great dinner buffet.
We took the monorail to the Polynesian and checked it out. We all agree that we would like to stay there next time. Went back to the room and had a great view of the fireworks at MK..
There was a lot of noise at night. We could hear everything out in the hall way as if it was in our room. We asked to be moved to a quieter location but it would involve us checking out and re-checking in after 3:00 the next day. We decide to deal with the noise.
Monday, July 16
Got up and walked over to the Magic Kingdom at 7:15. Doors opened at 7:30. We rode Space Mountain, TTA, Buzz Lightyear, Snow White, Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World, Haunted Mansion and Liberty Belle all in the first 2 and a half hours without any crowds. Park started filling up by 11:00. We rode Thunder Mountain, Pirates, Tiki Room and the new Aladdin Carpets which was kind of cool. We were rather annoyed by some foreign tour group of teenagers that decided to yell out songs at the top of their lungs and clap while we were all enclosed in the line for Pirates of the Carribbean. There was an over abundance of these tour groups exhibiting this behavior during the trip. I am not sure what that was all about.
By 3:00 we were pooped so we had a pineapple whip and went back to the room. Husband and daughter went swimming. We took a nap and went shopping at the Marketplace.
Tuesday July 17
Left for Animal Kingdom at 8:00am. The bus was empty except for us. We arrived and went straight into "It's Tough to Be a Bug". We went to Dinosaur. There was no wait at all. We rode it, loved it and got in line again. No wait for 2nd ride either. Went over to the Safari. Waited for about 10 minutes. Took a walk around and saw the amimals. It was a pretty hot . We headed back to the room at 1:00. We rented a canopy boat at the marina. It was so much fun! We headed back to MK at 4:00 for our wrist bands for E-Night. It was pouring rain. We saw the Legend of the Lion King. We went back to our room and had dinner in the Food and Fun Center. I feel there was a very limited variety and the eating area is lacking in decor. I think the food court at the Carribbean Beach Resort blows this one away. Went back to MK at 9:30 for E-night. I come to find that the printed flyer and the DisneyWorld Information Channel all were incorrect about the E-Ride times. All the information I received said 10:00-1:00am. It actually was 11:00pm-2:00am. There was also a 11:00 parade which was not supposed to be that blocked our way to ssome E-night attractions until after 11:30.
Wednesday July 18
Took a break from WDW by going to Cocoa Beach for most of the day. We came back by 6:30pm. It rained that night so we went to Downtown Disney and saw Jurassic Park 3. The theater there holds 600 people and has 2 balconies. The theater was sold out for 2 showings!! We got back about 1:00 am.
Thurdsay July 19
Left for Epcot at 8:00. We got in line for test track and we got almost to the actual boarding area in 5 minutes but suddenly the ride came to a complete stop for 15 minutes. We finally got on. I think this ride is over rated. We spent a few hours in Future World and proceed to World Showcase by 1:00. We saw Beatle impersonators in England that were wonderful. We toured each country and left by 6:00pm. Our feet were killing us. I had a blister the size of a walnut on my left foot. My baby toe is surrounded in one giant blister. We stay in the room tonight to rest the feet..
Friday July 20.
This is the last full day. It is so sad. We start out with a Chef Mickey breakfast. We get to MGM at 8:15am. The gates open at 8:30 but not one attaction opens until 9:00. I think this is pretty crazy. They a least could open the Great Movie Ride. The giant Sorcerer's hat is right in front of The Chinese Theater and ruins the ambience. I don't know why they felt it had to be put right there. It takes away from the atmosphere greatly. We waited for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It was a lot of fun. My fourteen yeear old daughter got every question right and was posted at 4th place on the scoreboard. Three more spots better and she would have made it to the hot seat! That is a great attraction. We got a fast pass for TOT and got in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. It's fun but it is a very short ride. We got done with that just in time for our TOT fastpass. TOT is a great ride. We did Great Movie Ride and Star Tours. We also saw Hunchback of Notre Dame show. I highly recommend this to everyone. This is one of the best shows in all of WDW. The juggler before the show is hysterical. My daughter was excited to get a picture taken with Chewbacca. We ate at Sci-Fi Dine In. That wa a disappointment. This has always been a tradition for us when we go. They no longer serve popcorn. The prices have gone up tremendously. They no longer offer any vegetarian item except when I asked they said I could have a Boca buger(for $10.95!!!).
We went back to the room to pack. I was crying like a baby at the thought of leaving. We went back to MK at 5:30 for the last time. We rode the monorail taking one last look at the resorts. We rode the Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain. It's A Small World and TTA.
We watched Spectromagic go by from Tomorrowland bridge. We left at 10:00. Feet are killing again. I have to take off my shoes and walk back in stocking feet which by now are soaking wet. I cry a little more about leaving in the morning but I start to think about planning our next trip. Maybe Polynesian..mmmmm? How about Pop Century?????
I appologize for any spelling errors. I have only been back for a few hours and I am wiped out.
Jennifer
