oogieboogie
<font color=darkgreen>If all else fails... reboot!
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2003
- Messages
- 7,259
Well, we got back today after our flight was delayed last night, but that's another story for another time.
We split stay our trip this time. The first 4 days we stayed at the Dolphin, and the last 4 days at the Contemporary.
Dolphin:
I was never a big fan of the look and feel of S/D in general and I resisted staying there for the longest time. But DH wanted to try it out, so I agreed. I actually thought it was quite nice - it didn't have the Disney feel to it and there were a lot of conventioneers, but the room itself was very nice.
The beds are definitely heavenly, although I thought the comforter was a tad hot at night. Our A/C wasn't very cold even when I had the thermostat set to 68F and a couple times I woke up sweating. I didn't really like the pillows that much, it was a bit to soft for my taste. I need a firmer pillow, but they did give plenty of pillows. We were in the East side of the hotel, in room 11051, 11th floor overlooking the boat dock. From the room window we had a view of the tops of World Showcase on the left side and a view of ToT and the Sorcerer's Hat on the right side. In the distance I could see Gaylord Palms and the DTD resorts. Straight ahead, I could see the BWI and the river that the boats travel on and the Swan.
I like the fact that Tubbi's was open 24 hours and my son really liked that they served Krispy Kremes. We bought a refillable mug here and it really wasn't a hassle to fill up. It was a bit of a walk to the pool area, but my kids really liked the pool and sandy beach. They spent a lot of time just playing with the sand. They really liked Camp Dolphin. We put them in there when we ate at Shula's one night. They got to do crafts, got dinner at Dolphin Fountain, and they each got several tokens to use at the arcade. Best of all, it was complimentary because we were dining at Shula's.
Transportation was excellent. The only thing I hated was that the buses (which we shared with BW and Swan) would stop at BW first then go to S/D, but that's just a minor inconvenience. Otherwise we never had to wait long for a bus or boat. Being in the middle of Epcot and MGM was really nice. It was so much easier to go to with the boat transportation.
Overall, I would have to give this resort an A. Although it's very nice, I don't know if I want to stay here again just because I miss the Disney touches. It just didn't feel Disney to me.
Contemporary:
We checked in at 7:45am and got our rooms immediately. We didn't put in any request, but asked at check-in if we could get a room closest to the main building. We were put in room 7183 in the North Garden Wing 1st floor. The room had a view of the parking lot and in the distance Cinderella's Castle. It was located right on the bend of the wing, so we only had one neighbor on one side of the room. It was about 2 minutes walk to the Fun & Food Center.
The room itself was very nice and spacious. It was really nice having a separate room for the toilet. I like that there was a lot of room between the beds and the daybed and that there was room for a big table which I could spread out the laptop and we could eat dinner/snacks on. The beds were comfortable, again I was not happy with the pillows, too soft. I liked the bathroom except for the vanity. I thought it was a bit to short and I'm a short person to begin with, but I had to stoop to brush my teeth.
There was a refrigerator that was hidden in the dresser, which was nice. It was dorm sized, but we really didn't use it except for keeping juice boxes cold. I didn't really like the way the closet was laid out, but that was again a minor inconvenience.
What really made me like the CR was the proximity to MK. It was so nice to be able to just walk to MK if we wanted to. For EMH day, we were able to walk to MK around 7:45am and make it there with time to spare before 8:00am opening time. It was also nice that it was the first stop of the monorail on the way back from MK so if you were tired and didn't feel like walking back, you could just have a short monorail ride. Likewise, if the monorail was crowded, then walking back to CR was a great alternative.
I also like that the monorail to Epcot was nearby.
The pool was really nothing to talk about because it was so plain, but CR makes it up by having a great game room. My kids (7, 4, and DH) totally loved this place. They would stop there after coming back from the park and just spend an hour or 2 in there.
Overall, I give the CR an A+. I would definitely consider staying here again.
We split stay our trip this time. The first 4 days we stayed at the Dolphin, and the last 4 days at the Contemporary.
Dolphin:
I was never a big fan of the look and feel of S/D in general and I resisted staying there for the longest time. But DH wanted to try it out, so I agreed. I actually thought it was quite nice - it didn't have the Disney feel to it and there were a lot of conventioneers, but the room itself was very nice.
The beds are definitely heavenly, although I thought the comforter was a tad hot at night. Our A/C wasn't very cold even when I had the thermostat set to 68F and a couple times I woke up sweating. I didn't really like the pillows that much, it was a bit to soft for my taste. I need a firmer pillow, but they did give plenty of pillows. We were in the East side of the hotel, in room 11051, 11th floor overlooking the boat dock. From the room window we had a view of the tops of World Showcase on the left side and a view of ToT and the Sorcerer's Hat on the right side. In the distance I could see Gaylord Palms and the DTD resorts. Straight ahead, I could see the BWI and the river that the boats travel on and the Swan.
I like the fact that Tubbi's was open 24 hours and my son really liked that they served Krispy Kremes. We bought a refillable mug here and it really wasn't a hassle to fill up. It was a bit of a walk to the pool area, but my kids really liked the pool and sandy beach. They spent a lot of time just playing with the sand. They really liked Camp Dolphin. We put them in there when we ate at Shula's one night. They got to do crafts, got dinner at Dolphin Fountain, and they each got several tokens to use at the arcade. Best of all, it was complimentary because we were dining at Shula's.
Transportation was excellent. The only thing I hated was that the buses (which we shared with BW and Swan) would stop at BW first then go to S/D, but that's just a minor inconvenience. Otherwise we never had to wait long for a bus or boat. Being in the middle of Epcot and MGM was really nice. It was so much easier to go to with the boat transportation.
Overall, I would have to give this resort an A. Although it's very nice, I don't know if I want to stay here again just because I miss the Disney touches. It just didn't feel Disney to me.
Contemporary:
We checked in at 7:45am and got our rooms immediately. We didn't put in any request, but asked at check-in if we could get a room closest to the main building. We were put in room 7183 in the North Garden Wing 1st floor. The room had a view of the parking lot and in the distance Cinderella's Castle. It was located right on the bend of the wing, so we only had one neighbor on one side of the room. It was about 2 minutes walk to the Fun & Food Center.
The room itself was very nice and spacious. It was really nice having a separate room for the toilet. I like that there was a lot of room between the beds and the daybed and that there was room for a big table which I could spread out the laptop and we could eat dinner/snacks on. The beds were comfortable, again I was not happy with the pillows, too soft. I liked the bathroom except for the vanity. I thought it was a bit to short and I'm a short person to begin with, but I had to stoop to brush my teeth.
There was a refrigerator that was hidden in the dresser, which was nice. It was dorm sized, but we really didn't use it except for keeping juice boxes cold. I didn't really like the way the closet was laid out, but that was again a minor inconvenience.
What really made me like the CR was the proximity to MK. It was so nice to be able to just walk to MK if we wanted to. For EMH day, we were able to walk to MK around 7:45am and make it there with time to spare before 8:00am opening time. It was also nice that it was the first stop of the monorail on the way back from MK so if you were tired and didn't feel like walking back, you could just have a short monorail ride. Likewise, if the monorail was crowded, then walking back to CR was a great alternative.
I also like that the monorail to Epcot was nearby.
The pool was really nothing to talk about because it was so plain, but CR makes it up by having a great game room. My kids (7, 4, and DH) totally loved this place. They would stop there after coming back from the park and just spend an hour or 2 in there.
Overall, I give the CR an A+. I would definitely consider staying here again.
