Contemporary or somewhere else?

[DisneyMom2000000]

We have plans to stay at the Contemporary in a Garden Wing room in a few weeks... I've just checked reviews, and I'm nervous.

If you've stayed recently - what did you think?

Debating on if we should switch to another resort, although we've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary!

 

[shoegal9]

Here now. It’s totally under construction. The Wave is closed (although it may be reopened by then) and the lobby is non-existent. I’ve never been a fan of the Contemporary (except California Grill) but right now with construction it’s a mess.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Here now. It’s totally under construction. The Wave is closed (although it may be reopened by then) and the lobby is non-existent. I’ve never been a fan of the Contemporary (except California Grill) but right now with construction it’s a mess.

Such a bummer.

I could switch to Grand Floridian or AKL - there's a club level room available at AKL but I don't know what that includes now.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Such a bummer.

I could switch to Grand Floridian or AKL - there's a club level room available at AKL but I don't know what that includes now.

I also see a room at the Poly available. Any thoughts?

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I also see a room at the Poly available. Any thoughts?

The location of AKL is far more secluded and quiet than the Contemporary.

I love the vibe of the Polynesian! The cash (non-DVC) side recently got room renovations. I believe there is still some construction ongoing, but at this point I don't think it's terribly disruptive.

I think if you have always wanted to stay at the Contemporary, I might wait until the construction is done there. Last month, all the floors in the tower were hidden with scrims and the construction noise in the concourse was very loud.
Edit: Alternatively, stay at the Contemporary while the common areas are less crowded!

 

[shoegal9]

I also see a room at the Poly available. Any thoughts?

We are at the Polynesian now. Construction wraps up there this week. I would pick any of the 3 you mentioned over the Contemporary at the moment. Unless walking to Magic Kingdom is important to you- then I would scratch AKL. As mentioned above, AKL is a little secluded.

I believe club level now is as it used to be with all food and drinks available.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

We are at the Polynesian now. Construction wraps up there this week. I would pick any of the 3 you mentioned over the Contemporary at the moment. Unless walking to Magic Kingdom is important to you- then I would scratch AKL. As mentioned above, AKL is a little secluded.

I believe club level now is as it used to be with all food and drinks available.

I’d definitely pick AKL if there were any convenient transportation options. We like having at least some parks available via anything other than a bus. We love WL and Yacht Club for this reason. But we want to stay somewhere new.

 

[DJFan88]

AKL CL is awesome, and recent trip reports on the CL thread show that they haven’t missed a beat since reopening. Although some people say it is more remote, I will agree that that some resorts are within walking distance or have other transportation options, but when thinking back on busses at different resorts, that is not one where I have negative rememberances and would definitely stay there CL again sometime in the future. With CL you will get a Savannah view as well

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

AKL CL is awesome, and recent trip reports on the CL thread show that they haven’t missed a beat since reopening. Although some people say it is more remote, I will agree that that some resorts are within walking distance or have other transportation options, but when thinking back on busses at different resorts, that is not one where I have negative rememberances and would definitely stay there CL again sometime in the future. With CL you will get a Savannah view as well

Thank you so much. I'm seriously considering switching.

Since we are booked for Garden Wing, I'm not super concerned with the noise in the main building. What mostly concerns me is a dirty, worn room. I worry about cleanliness in hotels.

Top picks are:
AKL (drawback... buses)
Polynesian (drawback... cost... we can get other rooms on sale being FL residents..)
Beach Club (we've stayed at the Yacht Club before though... loved it... and I realize how similar this will be)

 

[PixieDust&MickeyPretzels]

We have plans to stay at the Contemporary in a Garden Wing room in a few weeks... I've just checked reviews, and I'm nervous.

If you've stayed recently - what did you think?

Debating on if we should switch to another resort, although we've always wanted to stay at the Contemporary!

Although I’ve never stayed at the contemporary, I’ve visited it many times and it’s on my Disney bucket list. However, whenever it comes down to actually booking it we always end up choosing something else.

If you take location away, I would say AKL all the way. The ambiance is beautiful and you can’t beat the animals. Plus all of the restaurants are really good!

We stayed at poly two years ago and it was very nice. No one in our party of four cared for any of the food we ate at the quick service Captin Hooks (which was so disappointing bc we were looking forward to it). The pool area and view of castle/fireworks are amazing. With the popularity of trader sams and ohana at night the resort can get very busy. One of the other big draw backs IMO is the monorail. I have to say I much prefer the buses. The lines were so long for it in the morning and having to switch at TTC for Epcot and second monorail ride can take a really long time.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Although I’ve never stayed at the contemporary, I’ve visited it many times and it’s on my Disney bucket list. However, whenever it comes down to actually booking it we always end up choosing something else.

If you take location away, I would say AKL all the way. The ambiance is beautiful and you can’t beat the animals. Plus all of the restaurants are really good!

We stayed at poly two years ago and it was very nice. No one in our party of four cared for any of the food we ate at the quick service Captin Hooks (which was so disappointing bc we were looking forward to it). The pool area and view of castle/fireworks are amazing. With the popularity of trader sams and ohana at night the resort can get very busy. One of the other big draw backs IMO is the monorail. I have to say I much prefer the buses. The lines were so long for it in the morning and having to switch at TTC for Epcot and second monorail ride can take a really long time.

I agree, the AKL sounds great minus the location. My main interest in the contemporary is the ability to walk to MK. We like hopping to MK in the evening and this option just makes it too easy to do that...

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

We also could switch to the GF.

 

[NicoleLarson]

We also could switch to the GF.

What is the cost difference between the different options? We stayed at a CR garden wing room this past Jan. along with our friends. The only complaint that we had was we asked for a pack n play and they kept bringing cribs (4 to be exact!). We didn't notice anything super worn out about the room. Could that have changed in the past 8 months, possibly? AKL CL will include breakfast, snacks in the afternoon and heavy appetizers and desserts in the evening (which we have no issue in making dinner out of). Also beer, wine and cordials are available all day long, along with coffee, expresso, water, juice, tea, soda and milk. If you think you will use the lounge then go for it, if you will be in the parks all day then either stay at CR or move to GF. Poly is fine but there's still construction going on and I wouldn't choose it over getting a discount at a different monorail resort. You may also want to check out hotwire/priceline espress deals, there's an updated thread on here that will help you know what hotel you will be getting but YC has been showing up frequently for Sept dates for under $300/night which is a great deal.

 

[Marthasor]

Of you choices, I would pick between GF and BC. We love YC/BC - the location just can't be beat in terms of getting to EP/DHS and the number of convenient dining locations within walking distance. In the MK area, I would pick GF for the same reason - you have the walking path to MK plus the ability to easily utilize the dining locations at both GF and Poly. Can't go wrong with either choice.

 

[lynnfitz]

We were at Bay Lake mid August, they said the construction was 24/7. At night they did work inside the resort, during the day if you were on your balcony, you heard the jack hammering. I didn't even think of the construction when I requested a marina view! Lesson learned I guess. Bay Lake did offer to move us to the other side, but we declined, just didn't feel like packing everything up. Going forward I think if a resort has construction going on, I'd pass.

 

[2vets]

Although I’ve never stayed at the contemporary, I’ve visited it many times and it’s on my Disney bucket list. However, whenever it comes down to actually booking it we always end up choosing something else.

If you take location away, I would say AKL all the way. The ambiance is beautiful and you can’t beat the animals. Plus all of the restaurants are really good!

We stayed at poly two years ago and it was very nice. No one in our party of four cared for any of the food we ate at the quick service Captin Hooks (which was so disappointing bc we were looking forward to it). The pool area and view of castle/fireworks are amazing. With the popularity of trader sams and ohana at night the resort can get very busy. One of the other big draw backs IMO is the monorail. I have to say I much prefer the buses. The lines were so long for it in the morning and having to switch at TTC for Epcot and second monorail ride can take a really long time.

The TTC is considered by many to be within walking distance of the Poly. I dislike the crowds that visit the resort so tend to stay elsewhere, but in the past, being able to walk to the MK loop monorail OR the TTC/Epcot monorail was a major bonus.

ETS - check out the club level thread - AKL reports from reopening look pretty fantastic. So remote, but between buses and ridesharing (if that’s an option for you), it’s a solid choice. The resort itself is phenomenal.

 

[MissSha]

Just came back from VGF, and visited The Contemporary for a Wave breakfast. I hate to say it, but the Contemporary is a hot mess right now. No way I'd pay to stay there during the rush to finish construction by 10/1 unless Disney severely discounted the room rates. It's literally a maze of construction barriers, tarps, signs, and a lot of noise. Not to mention the occasional cursing heard in the halls by construction workers (no big deal to me, but those of you with little ones might not like hearing the f-bombs flying around).

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Just came back from VGF, and visited The Contemporary for a Wave breakfast. I hate to say it, but the Contemporary is a hot mess right now. No way I'd pay to stay there during the rush to finish construction by 10/1 unless Disney severely discounted the room rates. It's literally a maze of construction barriers, tarps, signs, and a lot of noise. Not to mention the occasional cursing heard in the halls by construction workers (no big deal to me, but those of you with little ones might not like hearing the f-bombs flying around).

We have a Garden Wing room for $450 per night.

 

[MissSha]

We have a Garden Wing room for $450 per night.

well.....maybe those rooms will be less effected by the mess????

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

well.....maybe those rooms will be less effected by the mess????

I'm thinking they're less affected by the mess but outdated themselves, haha! I don't mind outdated but clean and functional is important to me.

We can do

Contemporary Garden Wing... $450 per night
Grand Floridian outer building... $550 per night
or Poly... $678 per night


I'm still open to Beach Club because I know I would love it but we've stayed Yacht recently and would love something new!