DISNEY'S CONTEMPORARY RESORT Information Thread!

[Muhlenberg]

We have stayed in the wings once. It's maybe 5 to 10 min further, but it depends on the room. The tower is MUCH closer. Keep checking back for openings; there are always cancellations. Hope that helps.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Even though my family and I have only stayed in the Tower, we have walked by the South Garden Wing and it did not seem like it was that far a walk to the Tower. When going to the Magic Kingdom I think it's faster to walk it and to take the Monorail when going back to the Contemporary.

 

[wiserabbit]

I have stayed in the garden and tower before - the only thiing about the garden - is be sure to get on the first floor so you can have a little patio outside your door - we really enjoyed it - the walk was not bad and it seemed a little more private - we even saw brown bunnies outside our door one morning!

Ahh Disney magic - were they real?

 

[SRUAlmn]

Even though my family and I have only stayed in the Tower, we have walked by the South Garden Wing and it did not seem like it was that far a walk to the Tower. When going to the Magic Kingdom I think it's faster to walk it and to take the Monorail when going back to the Contemporary.

We actually timed it today. We are in the furthest section of the wing, and walked to the bus area to get on the Yacht and Beach Club bus for a dinner reservation. We passed the tower as the monorail was pulling into the CR. We got to the busses at the MK entrance and the monorail was still at the Poly. It seems to take about 10-15 more minutes to take the monorail.

 

[DRRluvsWDW]

I have stayed in the garden and tower before - the only thiing about the garden - is be sure to get on the first floor so you can have a little patio outside your door - we really enjoyed it - the walk was not bad and it seemed a little more private - we even saw brown bunnies outside our door one morning!

Ahh Disney magic - were they real?

Hello!
I am looking for a recommendation on the garden rooms.
Do the upper floors have a balcony? I read the corner rooms have a "private" patio. Are those the higher rate "deluxe" rooms?
There are "standard", "garden", & "deluxe" listed on the resort info page. Big difference in prices, what is the difference in rooms/view?
Thanks for any info!

 

[momtobrynncess]

Only the first floor rooms have actual patios where you can walk out and sit on the patio chairs. The upper floors do not have balconies. The "corner" rooms are the "junior" suites (maybe they are referring to them as deluxes now). They are a much larger room (thus the price difference), and they do not have a private balcony. Standard means the view could be of the parking lot, garden view means the view would be mostly of the grounds. Hope this helps!

 

[princessesrule4]

Thanks for the rehab info, CR Resort Fan!

Just wondering about the food offerings at the Atrium Club! We are psyched that they have Krispy Kremes! Sad but true that we can get that excited over donuts!
What kind of food do they have for the afternoon,evening and do thet have desserts from 8 - 10 pm like at the GF? I heard that some of the appetizers come from the Cali Grille - true?

Thanks so much!

Oh, and how is the new arcade? I'm assuming it is smaller?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thanks for the rehab info, CR Resort Fan!

Just wondering about the food offerings at the Atrium Club! We are psyched that they have Krispy Kremes! Sad but true that we can get that excited over donuts!
What kind of food do they have for the afternoon,evening and do thet have desserts from 8 - 10 pm like at the GF? I heard that some of the appetizers come from the Cali Grille - true?

Thanks so much!

Oh, and how is the new arcade? I'm assuming it is smaller?

I don't remember the foods they offer at 5:00 PM for everyday of the week, so I am going to post the ones I remember from the days we were up there. Tuesday the 1st hot item was Beef Wellington Puff Pastries, however I forget the 2nd hot item. Thursday the hot items were Chicken Wings and Ribs. Saturday the 1st hot item was mini Spring Rolls, however I forget the 2nd hot item and Sunday the 1st hot item Steamed Shrimp and once again I forget the 2nd hot item. We also asked where the food comes from and we were told it was the Concourse Steakhouse, however there might have been some items from the California Grill. The deserts from 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM were Canolies, mini Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, little cakes and a lot of other items.

I have not been to the Contemporary since the arcade re-opened on the 4th floor, however when you look at my signature you will see that I will be back there in a few weeks. So then I can give my opinion about the new location for the arcade. You are right that it is going to be a bit smaller then the 1st location at the Food & Fun Center.

 

[soccer-mom29e]

How do you get into the Atrium Club? We are going in the middle of August and have read a lot about the Atrium Club but don't know exactly what it is. Can someone give me some info?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

How do you get into the Atrium Club? We are going in the middle of August and have read a lot about the Atrium Club but don't know exactly what it is. Can someone give me some info?

You have to make a reservation with WDW either by calling them or by using their website. Since they are a Club Level floor their rooms will cost about $100 more per night and you don't get to book a Magic Kingdom or Bay Lake view, so those have to be a request.

They also offer a continental breakfast, midday snacks, evening hors d'oeuvres at 5:00 PM, along with cordials and deserts at 8:00 PM.

Besides that you get to check-in up there with the Cast Members who work up there, so no waiting in the lobby and you also get automatic turn down service in the evening.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

soccer-mom29e,
Incase you don't know this I forgot to mention that to access the Atrium Club you will need to insert you're KTTW card in the elevator everytime you go up there. So you can't just press the #12 button in the elevator. Also you can also get a Gold colour KTTW card and not the standard colour they give. If you don't get the Gold one at 1st, just ask them to change it because they should have a lot of them up there.

 

[soccer-mom29e]

We made reservations for a tower room with a magic kingdom view. They never offered the Atrium Club or even mentioned it. I just got off of Disney.com and didn't see that option either. What other benefits does it have? How much more do you think it will cost us to upgrade?

 

[Kteacher]

I'm not sure what the difference will be in what you paid for Tower View and Club level. The benefits of staying Club level are:

service- CL staff will take care of any arrangements you need prior to arrival

Fast check-in- you check in on the 12th floor- no lines


CL lounge- great view of MK, and a nice spot to sit. In the a.m. there are breakfast offerings: juices, teas, coffee, bagels, muffins, pastries, and cereal. In the afternoon there are sodas, lemonade, bottled water, cookies, goldfish crackers, brownies, rice krispie treats, and mini cupcakes. In the evening they put out hot and cold hors d'oevres, crudites, wine, beer, sodas, and then later in the evening they put out cordials and desserts

There is a great thread here on the Resorts Forum that explains Concierge Level service at all the resorts that offer it.

I love the service I get when I stay CL . We've stayed at the CR many times, garden view, tower, and CL, and stay CL whenever we can!

 

[SGB13]

We rent a car and use the valet parking, and to pull up front and have them just take you and your luggage right up to your floor with out going past the front desk is worth a lot. Plus with the lounge offerings, you don't need to stock your room from the grocery store. They have bottles of water or a soda if you want one. And the service for making ADR's is wonderful.

 

[uconn01001]

what would be better, Garden Deluxe room at the Contemporary or a standard at the Polynesian?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We made reservations for a tower room with a magic kingdom view. They never offered the Atrium Club or even mentioned it. I just got off of Disney.com and didn't see that option either. What other benefits does it have? How much more do you think it will cost us to upgrade?

Maybe they did not offer the Atrium Club because you never asked for it, because like I said before you need to tell WDW when making you're reservations if you want to stay up there. Kteacher described it pretty well just like I did and I say again the difference is $100 more per night then a regular Tower room and a Magic Kingdom or Bay Lake view can not be booked, they have to be a request.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Just wanted to let you know that we were back and to let me know if anyone has any CR questions. There are some good and some bad things we experienced, so ask away

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Just wanted to let you know that we were back and to let me know if anyone has any CR questions. There are some good and some bad things we experienced, so ask away

What was the good and what was the bad?

 

[mmtwinmama]

Just wanted to let you know that we were back and to let me know if anyone has any CR questions. There are some good and some bad things we experienced, so ask away

I'd also like to know the good and the bad?
Was there a computer in your room with free internet?

 

[SRUAlmn]

Yes, we were in a garden room and a tower room and both still had the computers and free internet. They say when you log on that you get 24 hours, but once you start getting down to lower numbers, it boots back up to 24 again, so don't worry that you only have a certain number of free hours

The good:
1. The new rooms are AWESOME! They are beautiful, love the flat screen TV, love the computers, beds are very comfy (they could use a full length mirror, though )
2. The staff at the concierge area of the front desk and the management (and Carl who welcomes people at the front entrance!)
3. The convenience to the MK- AWESOME!
4. The pool/beach area
5. The water rentals & water access to the WL




The bad:
1. The food and fun center is SO small right now and the offerings are pitiful. Plus, none of the coolers seemed to be working, so buying milk, water, yogurt, etc... was out of the question because it was warm The refrigerators in the rooms were the same way.
2. The check in/check out staff were AWFUL!!! We are very pleasant people and they were just rude and cold and not helpful at all. So many aspects of our wedding were ruined by their lack of competency.
3. There were a LOT of conventions going on while we were there, so it lacked a little of the 'disney theming' feel and felt a little more like we were on a business trip.
4. The confusing corridors of the garden rooms and the limited number of elevators.

Getting ready to go to bed, so I'll try to think if there was anything else and post tomorrow