DISNEY'S CONTEMPORARY RESORT Information Thread!

[minnieandmickeymouse]

I wish this forums had a poll because I would like to see How many people would return to the CR on their next visit?

There is a wide range of good and bad.

I can tell you I will not return next time we go. I would much rather stay at the values then the CR. I think my next trip I will try the Wilderness Lodge or the poly.

 

[triplefigs]

For all those who have had recent bad experiences, what would you do in advance or while there to make it better? Such as order groceries/drinks/snacks from Garden Grocer, rent a car, take a taxi, etc? We're going in Feb, and we will not switch as it is my triplets absolute favorite. We have a Tower MK view room.

thanks!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Like I have said before back in January 2000 when the Food & Fun Center was closed for a minor renovation, the mugs were being sold at the Sand Bar. So maybe they are doing that again for the guests like Denise who have purchased the Deluxe DDP which includes the mugs and for the other guests that stay at the Contemporary who also like to purchase them. However since I am not there I can't prove that they are doing this again and I think we can say that a Cast Member from Guest Relations who e-mails you and says they will have the mugs on the 4th floor, their word is not as a good as a Cast Member who happens to be a manager of the Food & Fun Center and says the opposite. I will also say again I would take their word a lot stonger. So even if someone e-mailed WDW and asked them who knows if they are telling you the truth?

 

[cheerbop]

For all those who have had recent bad experiences, what would you do in advance or while there to make it better? Such as order groceries/drinks/snacks from Garden Grocer, rent a car, take a taxi, etc? We're going in Feb, and we will not switch as it is my triplets absolute favorite. We have a Tower MK view room.

thanks!

HI Denise!!

I know since you have already stayed there that you know what to expect with the room. Your triplets are older than my younger 2, so you don't have to worry as much about it being small child friendly/safe(well, as safe as you can get in a hotel room ). We had a problem with the many sharp edges, etc. We also had a problem (although I have 3 kids also, so this shouldn't be a huge issue, but it is for us) with the lack of space to put everything. If we are going to be somewhere for more than a few days (we were there for 7 nights), we like to unpack most everything. We could not do this here. That was a huge pain, because every morning or night we were constantly ironing or using wrinkle releaser on our clothes.
Another thing we had a problem with was dirty things--our patio door/blacony windows were filthy and we had to ask several days 2 or 3 times each day to have them (or other things)cleaned. The floors were not swept very well at all and there were things that had webs/dust/dirt all over them. I always take Lysol wipes with me to wherever we are going and wipe down the doorknobs, lightswitches, remote, phone,, other easily touched surfaces,e tc. I could NOT believe the filth and dirt that I cleaned off of everything. I took a new, unused Lysol wipes container with 40 wipes. I used all but 5 on the first day as soon as we arrived cleaning everything. They were brown and black--every one of them! Yuck. That should not be happening, I am sorry. The Housekeeping manager just happened to come to our room to look at our filthy windows on our first day and she saw me cleaning and asked why. I told her I always do the common surfaces and when I saw the dirt, I kept cleaning. She saw my pile of dirty Lysol wipes and apologized profusely. We were not rude to her in the least about it, although my skin was crawling thinking of all the dirt I was cleaning for them. This doesn't even take into account the smokers butts that fell on our balcony, even though they are supposed to be non smoking now. Also, the bird/duck problems mentioned before. We could/would not take our children swimming in that.

I felt better after my cleaning of the room, but still felt the room was not cleaned well every day that we were there.
We did order from Garden Grocer becasue we needed lots of baby food, water, etc. That helped somewhat, that I had ordered some snacks and fruit also.
We were disappointed in the Grab n Go's offerings. We just can not feasilby eat every meal in the parks or other resorts, so we felt we were not getting a good value for our dollar (we did have the dining plan) by having to use this as an option. We just don't want to eat cold sandwiches and etc often on a vacation. I would wonder, like you, about the refillable mugs on the Deluxe Dining plan. I would also want to make sure we are able to refill them somewhere on property. It is a Deluxe resort, and I would think they would offer some option for you--hopefully!

We were on the 8th floor, almost in the North corner closest to the MK and we were upset about the noise level. I had heard about this before, so I brought a small fan from home to provide some white noise. The contruction was very loud to us and many around us. I felt like so much construction, etc, was going on in the resort, that is was a pain--a huge inconvenience. I know it needs done, but, when you pay that much money to stay somewhere,.... I don't know...it just didn't sit well with us to be inconvenienced that much.
Don't get me wrong, our kids loved the monorail being there, but the inconveniences for our family outweighed the positive of being in the monorail hotel.
We stayed at the GF last time and found that hotel to not be as bland as the CR in the rooms. Yes, a flat panel tv is cool, but we weren't there to watch the cool tv, ya know?

I can see maybe--maybe-- my hubby and I staying there alone sometime. I think the CR needs to come up with some better storage solutions for sure. I also feel they need more offerings until the new quick serivce place opens. It just doesn't seem right that a Deluxe resort should have less in number and lesser quality offerings than other hotels on property.

We were ok with Magical Express, so I don't think that was a problem for us. I don't like the buses, but my 3yo loved them . I might consider renting a car, but I don't know for sure if that would really be any easier than just getting on the bus. I guess I won't know till we try.

Another thing--we did not fell as much "magic" I guess I would say, as we have other resorts. It just felt like we were staying in any ol' hotel. Well, except that we had a train running through it (that we felt the vibrations of everytime it ran through).

I hope you have a better stay than we did. Some of the construction is supposed to be done by the time you go, so I would think that may help some.

By no means do I think this is a bad hotel, I just was hoping for more.

We still had a nice vacation, because, well, it IS Disney World!!

 

[hedwig]

For your informal poll, I would definately stay there again.

In fact we are leaving next week to stay there again.

We have tried a few other resorts on site, and just keep coming back to the Contemporary. To us, it feels magical. I know when we go down next week, there will be different things to get used to, such as the construction on the 4th floor. But I am excited that it is getting an update. And a little inconvenience now to make it better in the future is okay with me.

Also, I have never seen the pool filthy, not that it hasn't been, just that the pool is not constantly filthy. I have seen at most pools on site(including the Contemporary) that we have been to, there are ducks swimming in the pool. It happens, it even happens at the pools here at home.

I'm sorry if anyone didn't have quite the vacation they wanted or the Contemporary wasn't up to snuff when they visited. But, I am still looking forward to staying there and would recommend it.

 

[minnieandmickeymouse]

Another thing--we did not fell as much "magic" I guess I would say, as we have other resorts. It just felt like we were staying in any ol' hotel. Well, except that we had a train running through it (that we felt the vibrations of everytime it ran through).

BINGO!!! This is exactly how I felt when I was staying there.

 

[cassie714]

As far as the pool goes, I am an early riser and i saw them cleaning it every morning around 6:30. That included cleaning all the pavement around it. My kids got a kick out of the ducks walking around. I guess to each his own. I never actually saw them swimming in the pool though. I would imagine if they did the chemicals in the pool would kill any germs.

As far as staying there again maybe but not the entire trip. We are really more a moderate budget and this was a splurge because of the free dining.
I think because I had wanted to stay there for so long I set myself up for disappoinment going during construction.

 

[thptrek]

I think that mousekeeping has become an issue not just at CR but at other WDW resorts too. They are understaffed and overworked. It seemed during our stay that it is all they can do every morning to turn around rooms for guests to check in. That is why rooms are not getting a good cleaning.

It would help if the resorts had rooms on a rotation and not use them for a day and to have a separate staff deep clean the rooms then. With the occupancy levels I don't think this would work though.

 

[soccer-mom29e]

For those of you who have gotten things for a birthday, how do you do that? Did you ask for them or was this a complimentary service? My daughter is turning "6" while we're there. We have her birthday marked under our reservations. What else do I need to do?

 

[dijid]

Would I stay there again? Probably not. I really liked the feel of the Contemporary with the proximity to the MK. Even though there was construction, it was still neat to look out and see a monorail running through the hotel. Or watch the fireworks from the fire escape. My kids liked the pool a lot, and having Chef Mickey's an elevator ride away is definitely a bonus. Bus service was better than I expected, and the front desk staff was friendly and helpful.

What it comes down to is value. For the money I spent, it was not a good value. The mousekeeping left *a lot* to be desired. This was a deluxe property, and I had to steal washcloths and coffee mugs off the carts because mine were never replenished. My room never was dusted in the week we were there (and it got dusty with all that construction going on). DH was thoroughly mad that they did touch up painting on the inside of our room 2 hours before we checked out. (Imagine trying to pack inside a room with 3 young kids and not being able to touch any walls!)

I had always dreamed of staying at the Contemporary, and I'm glad I did. I definitely don't have regrets about our stay. But I can't imagine us staying there again unless someone else is paying the tab.

 

[graygables]

Have to chime in after our first CR stay. We were there for me to do a convention and got a bay view in the tower, 6th floor. First impressions, the room was "cool", but once we tried to move in, forget it. dreadful. No storage, no locks for the bathroom (for girls who need/want privacy, this was difficult), the sinks, good LORD, whoever designed those should be fired and whoever allowed them to be installed should be fired, too. I had an easier time washing up in a river in Israel. Back to the no storage, there wasn't a single closet that would hold our clothes and the drawers were horrid and inaccessible. We couldn't use our balcony b/c of the birds swarming. Noise was bad, esp from Chef Mickey's in the AM. The A/C had the motion sensor and it would get HOT in our room, which made for miserable nights. There was no over-riding it, either, I tried.

I had been at AKV 2 nights before and bought my mug there which I was able to use with no problems at the F&FC and on Sunday at the new place where they DID have a fountain set up, just outside the Grab n Go area. I did not see mugs for sale and the CMs seemed very demoralized. All of the CMs were kinda flatlined, felt on par with the whole resort, actually. 8yo had an accident and I needed to take her to CentraCare and the concierge was like, oh, here's the brochure. Granted, it wasn't a CR issue (unless you count that there was no storage and DD was trying to move a fully loaded suitcase...), but a little compassion would have been nice.

Elevators were either slow or packed. One evening, our sardine tin suddenly canceled all the floors that had been pushed and rushed us up to the Cali Grill. We were all and re-entered our floor numbers which again, all cancelled and we had to push quickly right before where we guessed our floor was. Scared the little kids to death. Construction noise wasn't horrible, but it was ugly, sorry, if I'd paid full price rather than convention rate, I'd have been POed. Bigtime.

During the convention, the hot water went out in the south wing (oops) and they decided to refurb the women's restrooms in the conv center while the convention was still going on (with 600 WOMEN). Bad form!

DDs enjoyed the pool and didn't mind the ducks, but we're "country girls", so that sort of thing isn't an issue.

I can't imagine why anyone likes the CR (but I know there are people who can't imagine why anyone likes AKL, too! ) and I will not stay there again unless I have to for a convention. The monorail just isn't that enough to outweigh all of the fundamental/permanent issues.

 

[two*little*birds]

We couldn't use our balcony b/c of the birds swarming.

Yeah, what was with all those black birds (crows) on the bay side? DH and I saw them when we took the kids swimming. There were hundreds on them, landing on all the balconies.

 

[DisneyRulz07]

For those of you who have gotten things for a birthday, how do you do that? Did you ask for them or was this a complimentary service? My daughter is turning "6" while we're there. We have her birthday marked under our reservations. What else do I need to do?

tell them at check in and remind them the day of. They will have ballons, a small choc. mickey shaped cake with M&Ms and a card. For special orders let the front desk know, and they can actually make you a 9" cake choc or vanilla with your fav. character on it for around $20.00.

 

[cheerbop]

tell them at check in and remind them the day of. They will have ballons, a small choc. mickey shaped cake with M&Ms and a card. For special orders let the front desk know, and they can actually make you a 9" cake choc or vanilla with your fav. character on it for around $20.00.

We did not get this for our son's bday just a couple of weeks ago. It was on our ressie and we mentioned it during the stay also.

 

[triplefigs]

Thanks for all the advice and tips. I will make sure to take wipes with us to clean. And if it isn't up to snuff, I'll try to speak with a Housekeeping Manager at the beginning of our trip. As far as buses, we've decided to take our chances and if they're bad, get a taxi vs renting a car. We'll place an order with Garden Grocer for beverages and use Room Service if needed. The kids LOVE the CR, so switching isn't really an option. I'm just going to keep an eye out on what's happening there and try to be prepared. Keeping my fingers crossed for a great trip!

Thanks again for all the good and BAD reviews. I think it's important to hear both sides. Oh, and for those who had problems, please email Guest Services or call. Maybe if enough people voice their displeasure, they'll take the time to remedy the situation.

Denise

 

[dijid]

We did not get this for our son's bday just a couple of weeks ago. It was on our ressie and we mentioned it during the stay also.

We got 2 balloons, a card signed by Cinderella and a chocolate puzzle of the castle for DD's 8th b-day. I think we got it because the day before I had asked guest relations at the MK where I could buy a small 6" cake for an in room celebration (the answer: nowhere). The CM took my DD's name and our room #.

While we were having our in room celebration with Mickey Ice Cream bars, someone from housekeeping came by to drop off a requested item. She saw it was DD's b-day and returned a while later with a Happy Anniversary balloon (not a typo) and a stuffed baby Minnie for DD. DD saved that balloon for her scrapbook. We got a big kick out of it.

 

[DisneyRulz07]

We got 2 balloons, a card signed by Cinderella and a chocolate puzzle of the castle for DD's 8th b-day. I think we got it because the day before I had asked guest relations at the MK where I could buy a small 6" cake for an in room celebration (the answer: nowhere). The CM took my DD's name and our room #.

While we were having our in room celebration with Mickey Ice Cream bars, someone from housekeeping came by to drop off a requested item. She saw it was DD's b-day and returned a while later with a Happy Anniversary balloon (not a typo) and a stuffed baby Minnie for DD. DD saved that balloon for her scrapbook. We got a big kick out of it.

Oh yeah I forgot the chocolate puzzle>>>> REMIND the people behind the front desk the day OF!! <<<<< They also give you a pin that says it's your birthday, so everyone knows. It helps if you eat in the parks. We got a real nice treat from the Akershur(spelling) in Epcot Norway. The princess dinner they gave my daughter a cup cake with chocolate, and a card signed by all the princesses.

 

[LoriZH]

you can add me to the "yes i will definitely be returning to the CR" as a matter of fact, Friday!

I spoke with them directly today and they could not have been any kinder! They were so sweet, when I was asking questions about tickets and room requests, etc.

The CR has always been good to us, I am hoping it still holds true, then again we truly love this resort, it's one of our favorites.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I'm in the same boat as triplefigs. My kids/DH have me locked in to our ressie. I would have booked the GF if it were up to me. We're going Thanksgiving and the Poly and GF are booked. We'll have a great trip regardless of the construction. I plan on using room service to supplement. I just hope most of the 4th floor store is done by the time we arrive.

With 5, we live out of our suitcases anyway! I rarely unpack the kids' suitcases. I think Denise once had a brilliant idea. She unpacked and had bell services store her suitcases!

As far as the ducks go, I've seen them at every single resort pool. This problem isn't just unique to the CR.

My kids will be thrilled with the CR, the adults will just have to deal with it.

Lori

 

[lovesdumbo]

Thanks for all the advice and tips. I will make sure to take wipes with us to clean. And if it isn't up to snuff, I'll try to speak with a Housekeeping Manager at the beginning of our trip. As far as buses, we've decided to take our chances and if they're bad, get a taxi vs renting a car. We'll place an order with Garden Grocer for beverages and use Room Service if needed. The kids LOVE the CR, so switching isn't really an option. I'm just going to keep an eye out on what's happening there and try to be prepared. Keeping my fingers crossed for a great trip!

Thanks again for all the good and BAD reviews. I think it's important to hear both sides. Oh, and for those who had problems, please email Guest Services or call. Maybe if enough people voice their displeasure, they'll take the time to remedy the situation.

Denise

Denise-what are your dates? I'll be at WDW for Joe's 7th birthday 1/6 to 1/11 (at Pop).

Have you seen the nasty reports about Garden Grocer lately? I used them in August and had great service from them as did my friend who used them 5 days later.