Important things to know when staying at the Contemporary ......

[Msslaydbug]

Since the Contemporary doesn't have a FAQ and I hardly see any posts on it. We are staying there for our upcoming trip. We are staying with the Shades of Green rate. I am a control freak so like to know every detail and have never even set foot in this resort before ...........

My mother, father and brother in one room
Myself , DH and DS 6 staying in the second room

Please tell me all ...from room requests, to things not to miss, your experience , ect.

I look forward to seeing everyone's reposnse !!!

 

[Mouseteacher]

I LOVE the CR - it is a sentimental favorite. It was the first resort I stayed at on my first trip and I have stayed many times since. The 4th floor concourse has nice shops and Chef Mickey as well as the escalator to the monorail. Sitting on the 4th floor watching the monorail come and go is a unique Disney experience. The pool area is great. You can rent water mice from the dock and cruise right up ti the MK.

There is a food court and game room on the first floor. All of these are in the Tower. The Garden wings are lovely - they are 3 stories high and are on Bay Lake. You can see the EWP parade from the resort. There is a playground for kids.

And -- the best - you can walk to the MK. Have a great time!

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

We LOVE CR!!! It really does deserve it's own FAQ thread. "When" search is working you can find lots on it. I think the first one below is my review. ENJOY!!!!!

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=385567

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=415318

 

[Kimberle]

We loved staying there.

If your room is in the wings, ask for the North. You can either have a view of the pool or a view of MK. We could see the fireworks from our room.

The rooms are very spacious. 2 Sinks in the b/room w/ lots of room for bathroom junk.

The north side is closer to the bus stop. If you stay in the north side, look for the side door to the food court. We didn't find it till our stay was almost over! *LOL*

There are laundry facilities in both the north & south wings.

We ate most dinners at the Steakhouse. The food was really good. We had a b/fast & dinner at Chef Mickeys.

If you have older kids, there is a large game room. You can rent boats from the marina there. You can take a boat accross the lake to either fort wilderness or wilderness lodge.

 

[diathoney]

We love the CR!

My kids love to feed the ducks and fish down on the dock. There are feeding machines with food pellets.

The electric boat parade. From many of the North Garden wing rooms and half the tower you can see the parade from your room.

The arcade is great.

Be sure to get a picture with the stainless Mickey statue in front of the pool bar. There is purple neon under the statue that lights up at night.

The concourse are is fun to just walk around. The shop are great and you can watch the monorail come and go.

My kids love to just ride the monrail. One complete loop doesn't take long. It's a good way to see the other hotels too. Get off at the Poly and GF to walk around or grab a bite to eat.

Take the boat to Fort Wilderness. There are pony rides and a petting zoo.

Take the boat to Wilderness Lodge to watch the Geyser blow!

Watch the MK fireworks then walk back to the hotel along the brick sidewalk - no crowd problems!

Enjoy a morning walk along the brick sidewalk to the MK. Read the inscriptions.

Take the elevator up to the 10th floor, get out and look down at the concourse. You can watch the antic at Chef Mickeys and watch the monorail.

Eat at Chef Mickeys.

Go down the the beach and play in the sand.

Whew! I'm sure I missed a few, but it's a start!

 

[dg39]

How we love the CR. WE stay there every year except this year, we tried the GF & that was wonderful also. But we did miss the CR. Here's just a few things we love about it:

THe iced coffee's at the coffee bar in the main lobby
THe hidden mickeys on the ground going to the pool
The always empty laundry room in the wings
THe family boat plan at the marina($199.99+tax for length of stay)
The great shops
The arcade and the food court which has yummy chicken fingers for the kids
The view off the balcony in the tower
The monorail
Chef Mickeys and the other great restaurants
The action always going on
Friendly, helpful staff
Large rooms
THe walk to MK and the names on the bricks
THe beach
If your one of the first at the pool in the am. they may pick your child to open it for the day, they put a mickey wizard hat on them and give them a wand, they say a magical word and then the pool is officially opened for the day. They take a picture. My daughter was picked once and still talks about it.
The mickey soaps and bathroom essentials
The cm at the front desk will give you directions to almost anywhere you need to go with a map for off site

And many others I can't think of right now. But you all will love the place. Its our all time favorite & we already have ressies for our next summer trip.

 

[robinb]

I stayed at the CR last summer through SOG and it was great! You will probably get the North Wing as that's where most of te SOG folks are located. In fact, the SOG ticket office is located in the North Tower too.

The best location is probably a first floor water view near the Food N Fun Center. IIRC, the fee structure is higher for first floor and water view rooms, but I don't think it hurts to ask if you are booked into a standard view room. The first floor rooms have patios while the upper floors have sliding doors and a railing with no balcony. My mother was in a handicapped room (at her request) on the first floor and my sister's family and my family were in connecting rooms on the 2nd floor. All rooms were in the first section of the North Wing facing the bay. It was a very easy walk to the food court and we could see the boat parade outside our window. If you end up with a parking lot view, all is not lost! You can enjoy watching the monorail go by . I talked to one man with a parking lot view who said he watched the MK fireworks from his bed!

The pool is front of the South Wing, but it's a quick walk over to it around the back of the Tower. The MK is also an easy walk away along the sidewalk past the guard shack. We always walked to and from the MK. Epcot is easy to get to on the monorail, just change trains at the TTC. Bus service to MGM and AK can be a pain since I believe the busses are shared. We always drove to those parks.

If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help .

 

[Kteacher]

Another CR lover If you haven't made ps for Chef Mickey's do it now the coffee bar on the ground floor level is excellent, get the refillable mugs for the Food 'n fun center, ask to sit up front when you ride the monorail , California Grill is incredible!!!! get something yummy from Main Street Bakery in MK to eat for breakfast the next day , bring Tide detergent tablets and dryer sheets for laundry- washer and dryer are 2.00 each- do the wash mid stay during your afternoon pool break......oh, and take me with you!!!!!!My countdown clock has too many numbers on it!!!!

 

[nasmith]

I've stayed at CR thru SOG 3 times now- and you will definitely get a North Garden wing room. The CMs at the CR are NOT allowed to upgrade you to a tower room because SOG also books CR Tower rooms thru their reservation system (It's in the contract that SOG has with Disney). The Garden rooms are nice, very spacious. I always ask to be placed near the Food court (there is an elevator/stairs at either end of the building) because I like to get my money's worth from my refillable mug- plus it's closest to the CR Tower, and hence the monorail. (although we walk to the MK because it's faster than taking the monorail - 5 minutes vs. 20). I think everything else has already been covered! Have a wonderful trip! Jill

 

[Alice28]

We stayed at the CR for 9 nights in Mar with the SoG rate and loved it. In fact I'm going back soon!

*Get the refillable mugs. Kids love getting the Icees as a refill!

*Listen carefully when you're in your garden wing elevator. You get fun greetings!

*If you don't eat at the Cal Grill, at least go up there for a cocktail or just to peek at the view. Spectacular.

*If you get Iced Tea, or buy a bagel, there is a little fridge by the condiment bar. It has lemons, cream cheese, salad dressing, etc. in it. I had bought some bagels at the store, toasted them at the toaster outside the Food and Fun center, and snagged a cream cheese from the fridge. There is also a microwave if you bring microwave popcorn.