Contemporary - Tower or wing?

[noopy]

My DD and I stayed in the CR on our very first trip to WDW in April and had a wonderful time. We had a nice room in the south wing, although it was more than halfway down the wing - a long walk. It was quiet and fairly close to the pool. We had a view of the monorail, which my DD loved.
I'm trying to save money for one more trip for the two of us before she gets older. Our trip was truly magical, and we're hooked, but I am a single mom living on a teacher's salary. Realistically, I can't be a regular WDW visitor, even if I do love it.
I know I could save money by staying at a value resort, but after saving for years to stay at the CR (a dream come true), I loved how easy it made the trip for me as a single parent (monorail, walkway to MK, afternoon breaks, great on-site restaurants). Since I don't anticipate going to WDW again for a long time after this next trip, I'm wondering if I should try hard to save for a room in the Tower with a MK view. The MK is our very favorite park, and my DD loved the castle at night and the fireworks. Please tell me honestly if you think it would be worth the expense to stay in the Tower. I'd love to suprise my little one (she wanted to stay in the Tower) if it would make our trip a little more magical.
Thanks for your advice!

 

[juliegirl]

Maybe you could make 2 reservations, stay for however long your trip is in the wing rooms, then 'surprise' DD with an 'extra' night in a tower room. Another advantage, is if you book tickets with your room reservation, and have a UPH, you can book it with the garden room, to expire at midnight the night you are staying in the tower room. Basically, it saves you the expense of a UPH that you (probably) won't use on your checkout/travel day.

Hope that makes sense. I think a tower room would be a great treat!

 

[QueenOfCelts]

I have stayed in a Tower room and we had a MK view. It was amazing! Our favorite trip yet (we are Florida Residents and Passholders so we go alot and that says alot) and we can't wait to stay there again!

DH and I have agreed we will not stay at the Contemporary if we can't stay in a Tower room. We loved our room that much. The room was huge and very well kept. We loved the enormous bathroom and everything was right outside our door. The best part was the view from the room and the balcony! It was amazing. Seriously. One of the nights we were there we watched the fireworks at the MK from our balcony. I would lay in bed (the closest one to the window ) with drapes open all night so I could fall asleep watching the castle change colors. If this is what you want to do, request an odd numbered room so your feet are facing the castle while laying in bed (a little tip I learned from a CM)

I don't know how long your trip would be but I have a suggestion on a way to save a little money. If time would warrant it, maybe you could spilt your trip with the Swan/Dolphin and get their discounted Teachers rate for a large portion of your stay. The rate is $149. The Swan and Dolphin have great transporation (boat or walk to MGM and Epcot) and I think you would get a lot of bang for you buck! The days you are planning on visitng MK stay at the Contemporary and when visiting the other parks stay at the Swan or Dolphin.

Whatever you do though - YES, try the Tower rooms and request a MK view, you won't be dissappointed.

 

[las3888]

That's a tough question, because there is such a big difference in price of the two rooms. Hopefully you are able to take advantage of the discount codes for either type of room and that will help.

I guess me feeling says to 'go for it'....you only live once, and if you aren't planning on going anytime soon, it really might be worth considering.

I think the wing rooms are some of the best values at WDW, but the tower rooms are fabulous. Just keep in mind that you might not get a view of MK.

I also wanted to point out that as a teacher you should qualify for the teacher discount at S/D...should be around $139 or $149 a night. I know this isn't the area you are talking about staying at, but the boardwalk resorts are a great place to stay too.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[jcamacam]

I'm probably not the best person to answer this (I'm a little biased) but I say "go for the tower room!"

There is nothing more magical than watching the fireworks over the castle from your room or (if you're on the lake side), watching the water electric parade.

You also don't have the long walk to the wings.

I think I remember the difference in price being about $100 a night (yes, a big difference) but, in my opinion, it's definitely worth it! Also, be sure to check discounts codes for AAA members, Disney Visa members, etc. You may be surprised that you can actually stay in the tower for less than you think!

Good luck and I'm sure whatever you decide, your DD and you will have a fabulous time!

 

[beattyfamily]

I've stayed in both.

I, of course, prefer the Tower. We had an MK view. It was amazing to go on the balcony and see the Castle any time we wanted and watch the fireworks if we wanted.

It was also pretty nice just to be in the main building when you are tired at the end of the day.

If you can possibly pull it off, GO FOR IT! But you are never guaranteed a MK view...it's only a request.

BUT we also still very much enjoyed the Contemporary when we stayed in the North wing and I'd stay in the North wing again if that was all I could afford in a heart beat! Nothing beats the location of the Contemporary. You can ask for a room near the elevator or closest to the Main building to decrease your walking length but again, it's only a request.

Good luck deciding!

 

[Scrufsmom]

My DH and I have stayed at the CR tower since we were kids. Nothing beats that hotel by our standards! We agree with most of the other posters that by staying in the Tower you have some of the best views of the MK.

I strongly suggest that if you save enough money to spend some nights at the Tower then I recommend going a little bit further to try to get the Conceirge level. Now, there are two levels 1) Conceirge Light and 2) Regular Concierge. If you stay on the Conceirge light floor then you get a light selections of food and drink around the 3 to 5 pm. But if you stay on the regular floor then you got so much more. That is you get a continental breakfast, snacks and drinks for the rest of the day. Sometimes this can make all the difference. Also, you get tremendous personal service like turndown service at night with chocolates on the pillow. Robes and special help from a personal individual who can help you with PS. Even if seating isn't availabe they have a magical way of getting you some.

If you have never been pampered like this before then it is worth a stay.

Our suggestion is to check it out. Enjoy on your future visits!

 

[noopy]

Wow! Thanks so much everyone for the great advice. You guys are good!
Since my DD will be 6 yrs old when we next visit WDW, the MK is our greatest interest. We went there 6 times when we stayed in April and still didn't get our fill. She is interested in Animal Kingdom, but nothing beats the magic she feels at the MK. She didn't even care for Typhoon Lagoon - after an hour there she asked to go to the MK instead!
I'd like to ask one more question. How likely is it that I would get the MK view if I requested it? Has everyone had this request granted in the past?
Thanks again!

 

[QueenOfCelts]

I requested it when I made my ressies, called three days before we got there and reminded them politely when I checked in. I was very polite about the whole thing and so was everyone I spoke with. I got exactly what I asked for! I even had a room number in mind and I was two off, LOL!

 

[iluvtink]

Hmmm.... we stayed in the wing to save $$, and now I wished we had stayed in the Tower!!! I would go for the Tower, and do as QueenOfCelts requested, asking nicely when you book, calling again a few days before to re-confirm that request (be sure and say you are a single mom who has scrimped and saved to get your DD a view of the Castle) and then do the same when you check in. If they give you a non-castle view, don't take it without asking if there's not some way to get a castle view. If they just don't have one for you, I'd consider asking for a wing room instead, and use the money you saved on the room to do something special that you hadn't planned, i.e. more character meals, getting a really special souvenir, etc.

When are you going? If you will be there July 31st, we have extra Cindy Breakfast reservations that we don't need, and will be releasing them, if you want to try and coordinate times!

 

[noopy]

Do you book your room yourself through WDW, or do you use a travel agency? Is one better than the other when trying to get the MK view?
Thanks again!

 

[Eeyore2003]

We really enjoy the Contemporary. It is so convenient in so many ways. Always stayed in the tower with a lagoon view. I had boys, and so they didn't care about the MK part, and I enjoyed the sunrise over the lagoon and watching the Electrical Water Pageant at night.

I would imagine the MK side is just as nice and impressive. I think you have to make up your own mind as to whether it's worth the money. I don't think anyone will disagree that it's much nicer than the garden rooms, but then I've never stayed in them either.

My boys always picked the Contemporary for the large gameroom, but we really came to love it. Now that the boys are in college, DH and I are enjoying other resorts, but I'm sure when the boys decide to join us again we will stay at the Contemporary tower again.

 

[TinkTatoo]

Thanks for this thread guys - we are coming over from Ireland in August for 3 weeks and staying (unfortunatly) off site. Since discovering these boards I realise that even though we have been to WDW 4 times we have missed so much.

DS and DD have autism and WDW is a magical place for all of us, DS loves the monorail, especially when it goes through the Contemporary.

I had planned to book Cheif Mickey's for a character breakfast and after reading this thread I am going to book a night in a tower room (hopefuly with an MK view) on the night before the breakfast.


Thanks again guys

:thewave:

 

[BONZO]

I maybe biased here as we've never stayed in tower room but stayed in both North and South wings.

We stayed in the North Wing for our honeymoon and the South Wing for this trip Room 6117.

Our DDs loved it as: -

1) They could walk out to the beach via the patio doors

2) Walk to the pool / main beach area

3) Great view of EWP

4) Watch the watermice and other boats on Bay Lake.

5) View of Wishes (although slightly restricted)

6) Drink soda etc from patio area freeing up the bedroom.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by noopy
Wow! Thanks so much everyone for the great advice. You guys are good!
Since my DD will be 6 yrs old when we next visit WDW, the MK is our greatest interest. We went there 6 times when we stayed in April and still didn't get our fill. She is interested in Animal Kingdom, but nothing beats the magic she feels at the MK. She didn't even care for Typhoon Lagoon - after an hour there she asked to go to the MK instead!
I'd like to ask one more question. How likely is it that I would get the MK view if I requested it? Has everyone had this request granted in the past?
Thanks again!

I've only stayed in the tower once so far...my only request was non-smoking and MK view. I booked it 11 months out...I got my request!

I'm doing MK tower again in August and I'll have to report back if I get my request again!

 

[Gaiusrex]

I've stayed in the wings once and the tower once. I'd have to say that I didn't really care. I do only 3 things in the room: sleep, dress, and shower. When I want to see the MK, I can go to it or take a walk.

I'd prefer to save my money and eat at fancier restaurants.

 

[cinmell]

The tower is our favorite and definitely worth every penny for us. We spend a lot of time at our resort, epecially since we have our daughter now. We like being close to the MK (the park we spend most of our time at) because it's so easy to get back to the resort to swim or relax. We've stayed at the Contemporary Tower several times and we've always received our request for MK view (we do go off season). We spent so much time sitting on the balcony looking at the castle, space mountain, the boats and ferries in 7 Seas Lagoon, and when we zoomed with our camera, we could see the logs dropping from Splash Mountain. It's also great to be able to watch the castle change colors from your room as well as watch the firewords and EWP.

I must warn you that the children will become spoiled from the wonderful view. Here's an example. We went to a family function in PA this past weekend and stayed in a hotel. Our 3 year old was so excited to get to the hotel. When we got to the room she kept asking us if we were in a real hotel. We told her yes. After she asked 3 or 4 more time we asked her why she thought we weren't in a real hotel. She said, "there's no castle outside the window!"