CR ?'s

[antkim]

I have never stayed at this resort and to be honest I never really thought I would want to! We usually go during the Christmas season and compared to the other resorts the decorations can't compare.JMO ANYWAYS, we will be going to WDW for 4 nights in March with ds's 6 and 1 1/2. We are only planning on doing 1 park day and maybe a water park-we have this left over from last trip. MK is a must as is Chef Mickey's which is why I'm considering this resort now. Ds also loves the monorail, watermice and electric water parade. He loves pools but it not a big slide person-kind of a whimp! LOL So are the pools nice there? Is there a pool bar for drinks and snacks? I'm leaning towards a tower room so is there a floor that is better than another? Balconies? Can you see MK from a standard room or is that an upgraded room? I'm not convinced that this is the resort we will stay in but any info would be appreciated!

Kim

 

[antkim]

Anyone?

 

[Micca]

bump

 

[antkim]

HELP PLEASE!!!
LOL

 

[sotoalf]

The Contemporary is a wonderful resort. It has the largest standard rooms on Disney property. What distinguishes the CR from other deluxe resorts is the feeling that you're in the middle of the action - like you're staying in the capitol of Disney World, if that makes sense. Very urban, sprawling, nervous, jittery.

Rooms are either Tower rooms or Garden views. The Tower rooms all have balconies and face either the MK or Bay Lake (guess which one is most popular...). Tower rooms are the most expensive. The North Garden wing is closest to the MK, the South closest to the pool. The least desirable view in either wing faces the parking lot, although some guests like it because you can see a big of the MK.

In my opinion, the best Garden view in either wing faces Bay Lake. These are the quietest rooms. It's a farther walk to the Tower (three or four minutes) but the tranquility these rooms offer is worth the extra footwork. If you're lucky to score a first-floor patio, you'll have a bit of sandy beach and guests in the morning (ducks). I love sitting out there drinking my coffee in the morning and watching the fog on the lake; or if it's at night, enjoying a cigarette or drink, as the lights from the Ft Wilderness/Wilderness Lodge ferries skim past. Awesome!

There are two pools: one rather large kiddy pool with slides and a smaller, circular pool lakeside that's shallow along the edge and deep in the middle (how deep I can't say). The pools were actually the most disappointing part of our stay. Before the new pool was added three years ago, the CR had the largest Olympic pool on property - dull to little kids and parents who prefer that their pools look like playgrounds, but fine for the rest of us who like to swim - and now the two pools are no deeper than five feet.

The Sand Bar offers drinks and snacks poolside. Be sure to order the Monorail Yellow, a rather potent concoction

The CR has some of the best restaurants on property. The California Grill, in particular, is outstanding. Even if we dont' stay at the CR we always make it a p oint to have dinner here. I'm sure you know all about Chef Mickey's. The Concourse Steakhouse offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner; its a good place for a no-fuss meal when you want to get away from the MK for a couple of hours.

I hope this answers some of your questions. Let me know if you need more help.

 

[Micca]

I thought you'd hear from more CR aficionados Antkim, but I'll go ahead and throw in my .02. In our many WDW trips, we stayed at CR one time. It's probably close to 15 years ago. I always wanted to stay there because of the original WDW vibe of the place. It was fine, but my group wasn't blown away by it. By comparison, we all love WL, GF, and AKL, I'm a big Poly fan, and for a moderate, CSR is very nice. That said, room size , view, and pool theme have never been a big priority for us. We just like the magic of the theming and staying on site. However, we visit the CR on every trip to tour the shops, and we usually manage a meal at the Concourse Steakhouse.

 

[sotoalf]

Micca is right. If you've stayed at the Poly, GF, or WL, the decor can be somewhat underwhelming. There's no lobby per se; there's a first floor check-in area, with a fast-food joint and gameroom, while the restaurants, lounge, and shops are on the fourth floor (Grand Canyon Concourse). It reminds me a lot of the Marriott Marquis in New York City, built around the same time. The blocks of concrete, colorlessness, and open atriums were very trendy in the early '70s.

The GF, Poly, and WL are definitely "warmer" and more appealing. That said, there's something about the gray vulgarity of the Contemporary which tickles all sorts of nostalgia nerves in me. Like Micca said, it was one of the two original resorts, and it's definitely perserved the original Disney World vibe better than the Michael Eisner-era hotels and innovations have.

 

[Kimberle]

We really loved our CR stay in the north wing. We are looking forward to our next stay in Sept.

The rooms are large & bright. The grounds pretty.

 

[FINFAN]

If the monorail is going to be an important part, the CR is perfect for that. We sayed Nwing 1st floor satndard view...looking at the castle, fireworks and monorail. The pool slide is fun, nothing huge, just enough for the thrill. There are ground fountains that squirt up whenyou walk over them and the main pool and quiet pools are both quite large. We liked the food at the pool side greill. Ther s not a ton of shade around the pool area tho, I mean, you can find shade, but there's just not a ton. We rented a watermouse which was a blast. You can see the FW from MK and then walk to the dock and the water pageant goes by 5 minutes after the fireworks end. Chef Mickeys....can yo top not having to travel to get to your Character meal? slurpee machine for refillable mugs...I agree the holiday decorations are not as over the top at the CR, but just hop on that monorail and visit the Poly and GF to view their, boat over to WL for dinner and enjoy that atmosphere. You cannot beat the 10 minute walk to MK. The rooms are HUGE and the daybed is great. The twinking "Tinkerbell" lights in the trees out front of the resort, the sandy beach for castle building, the arcade....if you do choose CR buy your milk etc. on the 4th floor gift shop...it is cheapest there. I did think that the food court was kind of a let down, I like a lot of light and sun, and ther are no windows in the eating area, but you can just step outside for that. It plays in with the themeing I guess. I also have to say, we have stayed at ASMU, CR, CBR and the Dolphin, and CR was by far our cleanest and most pleasing room. Colors are crazy, but the Queen beds are very nice and plenty of room to spread out in . The Heavenly beds at the Dolphin were the most comfortable, but the seperate toilet room from the bath was huge for us, and the double sinks. My kids loved the CR because of the monorail....and being right there they were able to ride in the front car 2 times. That is something DS still talks about as they have not been so lucky since then.
I am hoping to pull off a split CR/Dolphin or BC stay in a coupla years.
Have a great time wherever you choose...but it is nice to walk back to the CR when the ramp is jammed w/people waiting for the monorail!

Pam

 

[tiggersmom2]

I love the CR!
The rooms are so spacious and the restaurants are to die for!
We personally LOVE the pools. They have TWO huge hot tubs and my 10 year old DS says the slide here rules (I know your son isn't too big into slides, just thought I would sneak that in )

My 10 year old is also somewhat of an arcade connoisseur and says this is the best arcade at WDW

All in all, we love the CR and I think you will too if you give it a chance!