Contempoary Pros and Cons???

[disney2008]

I am planning another vacation and was thinking of staying at the Contemporary. Mostly because its the cheapest monorail hotel. I love Poly and love the fact that you can walk easily to the TTC to get to Epcot.
But was wondering peoples opinions on the Contempory.

Does anyone have pics??

Thanks
Becky

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The major pros of the Contemporary the Magic Kingdom view in the Tower, 1st stop on the Monorail when leaving the Magic Kingdom, always going to be the 1st stop when coming back by bus from Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney, walkway to the Magic Kingdom, Chef Mickey's, Concourse Steakhouse, some amazing shops and the arcade on the 4th floor. When going to Epcot it's a very qick 30 second ride on the Monorail to the TTC and easy to walk over to the Epcot Monorail. Personally I think it's faster and better then walking from the Polynesian.

As for the cons some would say the lack of a real theme and the pool. Personally I think being that close to the Magic Kingdom beats any theme it could have and I don't pick a Resort based on how the pool looks.

As for pictures here is the Magic Kingdom view I had in August 2006, when I was in room #4840 which is on the 12th floor.

 

[LowesChevy]

We stayed here quite a few times back in the day-80s-90s. The most recent was about 7 years ago and we stayed in the Garden Wing near the tennis courts. The rooms were really nice and extremely quiet. It is a bit of a hike to the GC, but if you like to take a rest in the afternoon it might be a better choice. The rooms that are higher up in the tower are also pretty quiet.

The TTC is only 1 stop away, which is not bad compared to the Poly's distance of walking-but that walk time depends on which longhouse you are in. If you are way over on the left side of the Poly the walk is much further.

Right at your resort is California Grill and a business center for printing out boarding passes. There is high speed internet available and it may still be free, so you could bring a laptop if you like to keep in touch or run a business like we do.

If the pool does not thrill you-go to Typhoon Lagoon or BB. When we swim at the Poly it is usually the quiet pool anyhow because the volcano pool is crazy sometimes.

CR Resort Fan's room view is really sweet, the Bay Lake views are pretty too. I also thought the Garden View rooms that viewed the grounds, not the parking lot were nice as well.

The rooms have been totally revamped and refurbished with beautiful decorations like dark cherry furniture and luxary linens. The Poly and GF rooms have all been refurbed as well. Just my opionion.

 

[LowesChevy]

I forgot to mention-the price is right for the convenience!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

There is high speed internet available and it may still be free

Good thing you mentioned about the computers in each room which still has the free internet service, which is something no other Walt Disney World Resort has. Of course they don't have a printer if you needed to print a boarding pass or anything else, however there is the business center where all that can be done.

 

[lovedoggies]

The Contemporary has a good location and thats about it. We stayed there for 1 night on our trip and were so unimpressed that we asked to move to another resort. I know people love it and I may be in the minority here but I just felt like it was no where worth the money that we paid for the room.

I'll tell you about our experience at the Contemporary. We will never go back. We went before the renovations so Im sure its better now, but our garden wing room was very old & in desperate need of renovations. It smelled really bad. Like mildew, but mixed with a locker room sort of smell. There was a huge gap under the door to the room, any critter could have easily crawled right in. Because we had a 1st floor room this kind of bugged me. The drawers in the cabinet didnt close properly. Our patio door wouldn't open. There were cracked tiles on the bathroom floor. Besides all that, when we went to inquire about getting a room in better shape they acted like they could care less. The girl at the desk was rolling her eyes when we told her about the condition of the room. I have a preteen daughter, I know what the rolling eyes means! We were not asking for an upgrade or anything just a room worth over $300 per night. We felt like we were in a dive hotel it was really not a good room. We decided to just stay there and maybe things would get better. After a sleepless night (because I was so upset about the room) we went back down to complain again. We finally got to speak to the mgr at the time and the guy really disappointed us. He was rude to us and made us feel like we were asking for something for free. We really just wanted a different room.

Getting nowhere with the mgr, I called the reservation line and explained how unhappy we were and they found us a room at a different resort, Y & Beach Club and wow! What a difference. We were so thrilled! Price was pretty much the same and we got so much better service and our room was beautiful. And to be honest, I liked that location better too. I would never let anyone I cared about stay at the Contemporary. Like I said above I know that many people love it there, it just leaves a bad taste for us! I

 

[joenan88]

I stayed at The Poly last November..it was OK..they refurbished but it needs a lot more work..hallways, elevators and more lighting in the rooms. The location is great and the pool was fun..the kiddies loved it. I am planning a return visit this August and I wanted to try a different resort on the monorail (we spend a lot of time in the MK). The CR was sold out so we booked the GF in a gardenview room...well I kept trying and the CR in a MK view became available...I moved in a second...not to mention it was $100.00 more for the 5 nights total! MMMMMMMMMM GF gardenview or CR MK view?? The choice was easy!

 

[skifast22]

The pros have been laid out pretty well.

Some cons that I have:
While it's a very short trip to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail, coming home takes a while since you have to switch at the TTC then travel the full MK resort loop.
When taking the buses anywhere, you typically stop at one or two other resorts before going to your destination. This can add quite a bit to the travel time. As CR Resort fan mentioned, your usually the first stop when going home though.
Depending on your room location if staying in the tower, you may hear alot of noise from Chef Mickeys. We were on the 9th floor, directly above it. It wasn't that bad, but did get annoying a few times.

Thats about all I can think. I stayed at the CR last September for the first time and it's become my absoulute favorite resort. All the pros listed by previous posters far outweighed the cons I listed. If you can swing it, I'd recommend it 100%

 

[fla4fun]

I have stayed at both, and prefer CR. In addition to the pros that have been listed, I like the fact that even if you are in a wing room, you can get to the tower in the rain without getting soaked, due to the covered walkway. At Poly or GF, even though they are deluxe, you have to go outdoors to get from your room to the lobby/shops/restaurants. I think the location is great. If you don't want to take the time to ride the monorail all the way around after coming back from Epcot, either take the express or ferry to MK and walk back.

The main thing that bugs me about Poly, is that anyone can get to the TTC and walk right in to Poly on the walkways without being questioned or stopped. I know that can happen at other resorts, especially SSR, but since the city bus stops at TTC as well, it makes it super easy for people who shouldn't be at Poly to be at Poly.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

When taking the buses anywhere, you typically stop at one or two other resorts before going to your destination. This can add quite a bit to the travel time.

While that could be considered part of the cons, it could also be a pro and here is why. If the buses stop 1st at the Contemporary to let off guests, chances are if your getting on at the Contemporary the better chance you have of getting a seat if a lot guests were to exit the bus.

 

[of the seas]

I would say one of the cons now would be that there is construction on some of the restaurants. I wanted to stay there on our next trip, but with the restaurants not being done, we changed our minds. I will miss the Concourse Steakhouse.

 

[happymommy]

We stayed there one spring break when SOG was under construction. They were putting all the military in garden wing rooms at CR for the rate of $119. For that rate, it was great. The room was big enough - the daybed actually folded out to a large twin bed for DD.

I actually had to clean the bathroom when we first got there - dried up yellow stuff all behind the toilet - eeew! The place really needed cleaning. After that, it was okay, that was just gross. Actually the housekeeping was very kind and helpful, I think it was just that the room needed a DEEP cleaning!

The size of the room was bigger than any other resort we've stayed at in WDW. So for us and two little kids it was fine.

Oh, and the food court we all agreed was disgusting! Even the kids - we visited once and it was so gross, the food looked rotten. I like a good quick service place, so that is why we like the Epcot areas, as we can slip in through the Int'l Gateway and grab something from a country nearby. We did like Cal Grill though, and I do think that they redid their food court areat at the CR (I hope so!).

I would only stay there again if we got a great rate, but otherwise, I didn't care for it. The kids loved the water spray area at the pool, but DH and I thought the pool area was ugly and not too clean - maybe since it was crowded they had a hard time keeping up. It was the least attractive pool that we've seen at WDW.

Everyone has their most and least favorite resorts. We're going back in June and had a 1br villa booked at the BCV - $500/nt. But we love that area, so it's whatever you like. Of course, I'm hoping for an AP discount to come out!

 

[720L]

I agree with the pool not being very "pretty". My kids liked the slide. We loved the Contemporary, even though the pool wasn't the greatest. The rooms were nice (we had a MK view). Being able to walk to the MK was great. The kids loved the monorail. We never used the buses, we were just there for a quick trip and only went to EPCOT and MK. We were there in October and the food court wasn't done yet so I can't tell you about that.

 

[disney2008]

Thank you so much everyone!! It sure helps when considering all the options. I love the really decorated pools but to be honest, we hardly spend time there. Most of our time we spend at the parks. That might change those as you kids get older!

Thanks again everyone!
Becky