Disney's CONTEMPORARY RESORT Information & Questions

[dreamseeker9]

Hi all - I'm modifying our WDW plans for the 2 nights I'll be at the Contemporary with my parents, as my dad will be recovering from unanticipated back surgery, so we will be spending more time at the resort and less time at the parks. What's the best restaurant for lunch? We are eating at The Wave for breakfast one morning, I suppose we could also go there for lunch, or to the Wave Lounge for a different look. How busy does the Contempo Cafe get around lunchtime? Another option is The Sand Bar pool. Also, does the Contemporary have room service? Thanks for the help!

 

[dansdad]

Hi all - I'm modifying our WDW plans for the 2 nights I'll be at the Contemporary with my parents, as my dad will be recovering from unanticipated back surgery, so we will be spending more time at the resort and less time at the parks. What's the best restaurant for lunch? We are eating at The Wave for breakfast one morning, I suppose we could also go there for lunch, or to the Wave Lounge for a different look. How busy does the Contempo Cafe get around lunchtime? Another option is The Sand Bar pool. Also, does the Contemporary have room service? Thanks for the help!

Yes there is room service available. I suggest checking out the Dining Posts, posts #8 and #9 of this Thread, for menus and options.

 

[Disney dreaming2]

Anyone know which page has Bay Lake room views and location trying to see which 1 bedroom lake view is closest to walkway 7546? Anyone know where those pics and maps are? Thanks

 

[HatboxHaint]

A question about room requests at BLT:

I have two Lakeview Studios reserved. I have two things that I am hoping for: co-located rooms and partial theme park view. How should I go about requesting this? Call and do online check-in? How soon should I call before my reservation?

 

[BlueFairy]

I would be surprised if you could hear the monorail standing outside on a balcony.

Haven't stayed there but I'd assume you can hear it from outside on a BLT balcony. We can hear it from balconies when we stay at WL in the north wing. Just a very quiet whoosh, and certainly nothing to disturb your sleep.

Fireworks are a different story at ALL hotels.

 

[BlueFairy]

More details released for Destination D at the Contemporary this fall. This is a ticketed event for D23 members.

https://d23.com/d23-event/destination-d-2016/?share_token=dbe2a72a42

 

[Grand Admiral]

Haven't stayed there but I'd assume you can hear it from outside on a BLT balcony. We can hear it from balconies when we stay at WL in the north wing. Just a very quiet whoosh, and certainly nothing to disturb your sleep.

My comment wasn't meant literally, I was just poking a little fun at the idea that anyone could hear the monorail while sleeping.

 

[Quellman]

Hi all - I'm modifying our WDW plans for the 2 nights I'll be at the Contemporary with my parents, as my dad will be recovering from unanticipated back surgery, so we will be spending more time at the resort and less time at the parks. What's the best restaurant for lunch? We are eating at The Wave for breakfast one morning, I suppose we could also go there for lunch, or to the Wave Lounge for a different look. How busy does the Contempo Cafe get around lunchtime? Another option is The Sand Bar pool. Also, does the Contemporary have room service? Thanks for the help!

I hop ethe recovery goes smoothly. Contempo can get busy at weird times, because well, people are weird while on vacation. I would also suggest taking the monorail to Polynesian or Grand Floridian. Some excellent locations there. And the distance from your room to the monorail is the same as it is to the Contempo cafe as one sits in front of the other. Have a seat on the monorail until the next stop and then enjoy the new dining options!

 

[mistysue]

We have been enjoying a 6 night stay at the Contemporary after 3 days at AKL. We like AKL a lot, but CR has it beat! From complimentary bottle of water, the vanity items, the much much bigger bathroom and closet space, plus complimentary frozen grapes delivered poolside? AKL can't compare! Of course, the walk to the MK has to be the best part. I do hope they upgrade the pool at some point though, it is lacking in comparison to the pools at AKL and other resorts. On the plus side, we easily got seats by the pool at CR but not at AKL

Ok, I can't find anything about this- is this some CL thing, or does somebody just give out grapes by the pool now? I'm so confused.

 

[Treysar]

Can someone tell me about how "worth it" the Contemporary is, and a MK view is? I'm panicked over paying this money for the contemporary in general. It's my first time staying at the parks and my bill is due next month. I'm starting to sweat, lol, and rethink my choices. Tell me, remind me why this resort is so wonderful! Make me feel better!

 

[AaronInWI]

Can someone tell me about how "worth it" the Contemporary is, and a MK view is? I'm panicked over paying this money for the contemporary in general. It's my first time staying at the parks and my bill is due next month. I'm starting to sweat, lol, and rethink my choices. Tell me, remind me why this resort is so wonderful! Make me feel better!

Just like in real estate, for us it's all about "location, location, location". We spend probably 50% of our park time in Magic Kingdom, and the ability to walk there from our resort in 10 minutes, without any sort of Disney transportation or my own vehicle, is pretty great. Also, the rooms at the CR are some of the largest non-DVC-villa rooms on property. That's an extra added bonus.

 

[MinMou]

Can someone tell me about how "worth it" the Contemporary is, and a MK view is? I'm panicked over paying this money for the contemporary in general. It's my first time staying at the parks and my bill is due next month. I'm starting to sweat, lol, and rethink my choices. Tell me, remind me why this resort is so wonderful! Make me feel better!

Being able to access the monorail in your hotel is a big deal. You get to stay in air conditioning until the moment you exit the monorail at the park. You get off the monorail at the hotel, and it's cool and dry, not hot, not rainy, not humid sticky. You have indoor access to the most popular restaurants at WDW - Chef Mickey and California Grill. You get to see the fireworks from your hotel, even if your room faces the other direction, if your kids are are too tired to stay in the park. And then there is the Electrical Water Pageant!

 

[dreamseeker9]

I hop ethe recovery goes smoothly. Contempo can get busy at weird times, because well, people are weird while on vacation. I would also suggest taking the monorail to Polynesian or Grand Floridian. Some excellent locations there. And the distance from your room to the monorail is the same as it is to the Contempo cafe as one sits in front of the other. Have a seat on the monorail until the next stop and then enjoy the new dining options!

Thank you! Good idea on taking the monorail to the Poly or GF. We like Kona Cafe and the Grand Floridian Cafe, or we could even try their counter service restaurants for lunch.

 

[cinderkelly]

Can someone tell me about how "worth it" the Contemporary is, and a MK view is? I'm panicked over paying this money for the contemporary in general. It's my first time staying at the parks and my bill is due next month. I'm starting to sweat, lol, and rethink my choices. Tell me, remind me why this resort is so wonderful! Make me feel better!

I had these same doubts myself when my son and I stayed here for the first time in June. I wasn't sure I'd like it but he picked it so we invested in the tower TPV room and away we went. As soon as we got into our room on the 11th floor we were beyond thrilled. The room is huge, tv is huge, bathroom is awesome, beds are super comfy and the pillows the best I've ever slept on. But the view is something spectacular. Getting to watch Wishes fireworks from your balcony is amazing and the sounds of the train in MK and the boat horns on the lagoon gave me goosebumps. There were times we would just sit outside and take it all in, as a matter of fact my son recorded about 30 minutes of ambient "music" on his camera just so he could take it home and relax to it! I don't think you'll regret your choice at all. Like others have said, proximity to MK and the other monorail resorts is an added bonus. The Contemporary was my first deluxe resort after only staying at AoA once before and I'm afraid I'm spoiled now! Enjoy your trip!

 

[Mom2Elliot]

Ok, I can't find anything about this- is this some CL thing, or does somebody just give out grapes by the pool now? I'm so confused.

Not a CL thing. We were just sitting by the pool and a CM came by with a cart of frozen grapes and asked if we would like some! She dished them into an oblong paper dish.

 

[mistysue]

Not a CL thing. We were just sitting by the pool and a CM came by with a cart of frozen grapes and asked if we would like some! She dished them into an oblong paper dish.

That sounds so amazing. It has to make you feel great about sitting around in the heat, and grapes are seasonally cheap so it's not a huge strain for them to offer some.

 

[futuremrsrowell]

The exterior of Disney's Contemporary Resort is currently undergoing cleaning and painting. Starting Friday, Aug. 5, the 4th floor observation deck will be closed to all Guest traffic for 3 to 4 weeks.
Exterior painting will begin on this side of the building. Guests will still be able to walk to the neighboring Bay Lake Tower. Additionally, the exterior staircase will also be accessible, but only for emergency exiting purposes.

~OTPN​

This is disappointing. One of the reasons we booked the contemporary for our trip next week was to watch the fireworks from the observation deck

 

[HatboxHaint]

This is disappointing. One of the reasons we booked the contemporary for our trip next week was to watch the fireworks from the observation deck

That Stinks!

 

[WDWKOOK]

Hi all - I'm modifying our WDW plans for the 2 nights I'll be at the Contemporary with my parents, as my dad will be recovering from unanticipated back surgery, so we will be spending more time at the resort and less time at the parks. What's the best restaurant for lunch? We are eating at The Wave for breakfast one morning, I suppose we could also go there for lunch, or to the Wave Lounge for a different look. How busy does the Contempo Cafe get around lunchtime? Another option is The Sand Bar pool. Also, does the Contemporary have room service? Thanks for the help!

Just throwing in another answer to your lunch question...The Wave isn't busy at lunch, but the Sand Bar can get busy and I wouldn't recommend it out of all your options nearby - there are better choices.

You said dad won't be in the parks much, but can he ride a boat? If dad is able to get on the Blue Flag boat, I think a little trip over to FW would be fun. Trail's End serves lunch, and though there's construction going on, WL serves lunch at Whispering Canyon Café. The monorail to Poly or GF was also a great suggestion. Just don't want dad to get cabin fever stuck at CR all the time.

Anyone know which page has Bay Lake room views and location trying to see which 1 bedroom lake view is closest to walkway 7546? Anyone know where those pics and maps are? Thanks

I think you're thinking of the BLT Room View/Number thread, @Disney dreaming2. The link is in the first BLT chapter of the thread or just go right to it HERE.

A question about room requests at BLT:

I have two Lakeview Studios reserved. I have two things that I am hoping for: co-located rooms and partial theme park view. How should I go about requesting this? Call and do online check-in? How soon should I call before my reservation?

First, check-out the link above to the BLT Room View/Number thread. Did you book on points or cash? If cash, you can call and add any requests directly to your reservation. If points, and you're the DVC member, you can call MS yourself. If renting points, the owner will have to do this for you.

By co-located, do you mean adjoining or connected? Adjoining rooms are next to each other without a door in between. I don't know if LV Studios even have a connecting door option, but you can make your adjoining room request anytime during or after booking (a cash reservation). Requests need to be made no later than about one week prior to arrival. You can't add comments to an OCI room request, so best to call them in.

This is disappointing. One of the reasons we booked the contemporary for our trip next week was to watch the fireworks from the observation deck

That Stinks!

You can still view Wishes from CA Grill, if you have a same-day ADR. If you are a DVC member, you can watch from BLT's Top of the World Lounge. You might also be able to watch it from the Sky Bridge which is next to the observation deck, however, I don't know if this is allowed.

 

[Gryhndmom]

60 days and counting....60 days to lose the 10lbs I am sure to gain back from drinking and eating around the world at wine and food festival !