Contemporary or a Moderate?

[bigcrit]

Hi,
These boards have been an amazing source of info. We recently booked a 9 day 8 night trip in May to the Caribbean Beach Resort. After talking with people and reading information online I decided to look into moving to a deluxe resort, mainly to get the larger beds and possibly better hotel location. We were able to get into the Contemporary for about $600 more, however, we could only get a garden wing room. I have read that the Contemporary is old and dirty. Is this true? I certainly don't want to stay at a dump. Would we have been better off staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort? I haven't been to disney since 1977 My wife and I have saved for a long time to do this trip with our 8 year old twins and just want to make sure this will be a trip to remember. Any help with getting better rooms or how to get the most from the system would be greatly appreciated.

Freezin in NJ........

 

[rcraw45425]

We have stayed at the CR many times and are going back in April, this time in the tower (1st time). All of our prior trips have been in Garden wing rooms. Believe me, if this was a dump we would NOT go back there all the time! I look at it as what it is, Walt Disney's idea of what a futuristic hotel would look like. Remember, Walt died in the early 1960's so to me the hotel reminds me of The Jetsons. I have always found it clean and friendly, not trashy at all. Our last trip we were in an inside corner room where the hallway turns into a wing, can't find the room number right now. The first floor rooms have full patios, whereas the upper floors have sliding doors with a railing, no balcony, just a space tostep forward maybe 6 inches. The rooms are extremely spacious with large bathrooms. All rooms that do not have a king bed have two queens and a daybed that is quite comfortable. A dump, ROTFL! Hope this helps. Go online and check out the room photos on Debs site, www.allearsnet.com

 

[tammyg]

We will be at the Contemporary on June 5th. It wil be our 5th time to stay there. I find that all the times we have been the grounds have been clean and our room has always been in good shape and spotless. The bathrooms are huge and my kids who are 14 and 9 years old love the daybed. They fight to see who is going to sleep on it. They have an awesome game room. We always request a first floor room for the patio. The ducks come up to the patio door waiting to be fed and there are cute rabbits hopping around outside. This is our favorite resort.

 

[ptrbryant]

I think I've been reading the same Contemporary reviews as you. While rcraw45425 may have always had great experiences there, I personally feel there have been enough reports of problems in the wing rooms to make me a bit wary.

Have you thought of Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge? They tend to be less expensive than anything at the Contemporary, are newer and seem to have consistently favorable reviews. We've stayed at WL 3 times and it was fantastic!!!

You could also check out the allears.net website to see tons of photographs of the resorts for yourself.

Take care!

Karla B.

 

[Buzz2001]

I have stayed at the Contemporary and hands down I would pick CSR as my choice.

 

[swilphil]

Here's a thread on the Contemporary. There are some posts specifically about the garden wing room on the 2nd page:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=7460476#post7460476

I have found that there are negative posts about all the resorts. I read the same bad reviews about the Swan/Dolphin, and we ended up loving it there. I do understand that the CR is going to be rehabbed in the future, so it's going to have worn carpet in the hallways. I can live with that in exchange for the great location. I'm beyond excited thinking about being able to walk to MK.

 

[bigcrit]

Thank you very much to all who responded. I am very excited about the trip. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. I have tried to get in the Wilderness lodge (WL) (I need to get up to speed on the lingo in here....LOL) but they say nothing is available.

Does anyone else have any opinions on WL over CR? ( I hope these acronyms are right....)

thanks again

 

[rcraw45425]

WL is an awesome resort! Truthfully, for the money I feel it's the best thing out there of you have kids and need/want to be close to MK. The rooms are smaller than those at CR and Poly but for the difference in price they are quite nice. Often, during value season you can get them pretty reasonable too. A lot of people tend to dislike the boat to the MK but we found it to be a nice alternative to the bus.

 

[QueenOfCelts]

Have you considered splitting your stay? 4 nights at two resorts?

I have only ever stayed in a tower room at CR and we loved it! One of our favorites trips to WDW. I have also heard complaints about ALL the rooms at CR but keep in mind people are more likely to post when they are upset. How many people have stayed in those rooms and not had a bad experience? You cannot beat CR regarding location for MK and it is on the monorail for Epcot. The rooms are large and there are plenty of dining options. As for the WL, I enjoyed our stay at that resort because the resort itself is so beautiful but I didn't care for the rooms at all. They were dark and smallish. I whacked my legs on those darn beds everytime I walked by one, but that is a whole different thread, LOL. You can take a boat to MK from WL but it's slow loading and slow moving. WL and CR are both great resorts, but for our personal tastes we prefer CR.

Have a great trip!

 

[bigcrit]

Thanks so much! I never thought of splittingmy stay.....hmmmmm. I wonder how many times I can call Disney and make a change before they start ignoring my calls...lol

 

[webray]

The comtemporary is old yes, not dirty, just as clean as any disney resort..lol.
Garden wings are just fine.

The pool and slide are excellent. You will have a much better time at comtemp than at CBR. We aren't thrilled with any of the moderate resorts disney offers. Poor layout..just not worth the money.

 

[Nolcrest]

Well, since someone already mentioned it - I'd consider WL. It is an awesome resort and the one resort my kids said they would consider going back to (they want to try them all). They have bunkbeds at WL that I'm sure the kids would love. It's also great being so close to walk or boat over to the Fort Wilderness campground for activities or relaxation. Sorry to confuse you even more. Since you haven't been to Disney since the 70's I'm sure you'll love any resort you choose. I must say though that so far CBR has been our least favorite. I can'y say why - nothing wrong there - it just wasn't our best.