Just Back from the Contemporary

[Cathy baby RN]

We just returned from our stay at the Contemporary. We left home Christmas morning (north of Chicago) and drove to WDW so we could make it in time (12/26) to take advantage of the AP rates.We were told nothing would be open but gas stations on Christmas Day and they were right! I told my husband he did get meat and potatoes for Christmas dinner ( a Slim Jim and a bag of potato chips). Luckily we had beautiful weather for our drive and after stopping for the night south of Atlanta, arrived at the Contemporary at 3:30 on 12/26.
I really debated over spending the extra money for a Tower room. When I booked it was all that was available at that resort with an AP rate. I am so glad now that I did keep the reservation!!! We were on the 11th floor with a beautiful panoramic view of the MK,Grand Floridian, Polynesian and the Seven Seas Lagoon. The view was breathtaking. We could actually see the splash of water from Splash Mountain. The view was worth every penny.
We are now in southern Florida for New Years and will return to WDW to check out Pop Century for a few days on our return to Chicago. Disney was as magical as ever and I can't wait to get back! Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[DisneyBill]

Glad to hear you enjoyed CR. It certainly is one of my sentimental favorites, tower rooms can't be beat for views. Hope you equally enjoy Pop Century.

 

[Kimberle]

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

We loved our CR stay, too.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Thanks for taking the time to stop in and post! I'm happy to hear you're having a great trip, hope it continues and you get home safely!

Have fun!

 

[afcgirl]

Cathy,

We are also thinking of driving from Chicago. How long was the drive? Do you go through mountains?

Thanks!

 

[curious16]

I just switched our hotel from Beach Club to Contemporary w/ the new CTH resort rates and am getting a better price. I am excited about staying on the monorail - was it convenient? Can you share some of your transportation tips? This is my first trip to Disney World w/ my husband (honeymoon) and I hope making the decision to switch to Contemporary is a good one...I've always wanted to stay at a Disney hotel on the monorail.

 

[D&R love Disney]

I'm spending 2 nights in the tower in March and I am so excited. I've never stayed there before. I hope to get a MK view.

 

[Del]

What are CTH resort rates? Thanks for info?

Del

 

[dizneycc]

curious16

We have stayed at CR several times. Some things to keep in mind regarding transportation...

You will share a bus with the Grand Flordian and the Poly. The CR is the first stop, but then it stops at the other two resorts before heading to the parks. Keep this in mind when budgeting your time. Good news is, you will be the first one off the bus when returning from the parks.

Same with the monorail. After leaving the CR, you will stop at the TTC, Poly, GF, then MK. If you want to go to Epcot, you need to take the monorail to TTC and transfer to the Epcot monorail. That is no problem.

You can easily walk to the MK. It is about a 10 minute, nice walk.

The only way to get to MGM and AK is via bus.

We have never waited more than 20 minutes for a bus and less than 10 minutes for a monorail.

We love the CR and hope you have a great honeymoon!!!

 

[Cathy baby RN]

Thanks for all the well wishes......we are having a wonderful vacation in Florida.


afcgirl........we drive down to Florida several times a year. Sometimes my husband is with and sometimes I do all the driving by myself with the kids. It really isn't a hard drive, just long. You do go through the mountains around Chattanooga but they're easy to drive through. We always try to go through Atlanta after rush hour. When I drive myself I usually always drive down on the weekend. Make sure you ask for recommendations for a good hotel if you plan on stopping for the night. An excellent one is the Hampton Inn in Dalton, Georgia, which is a little more than half way to Orlando. We also go through Illinois on Route 57. I know some go through Indiana, but I think there's less traffic on Rt.57. Feel free to ask me anymore questions about the drive....I've done it so many times I pretty much know the route by heart

curious16 ........ We always walked to the MK. We just used the monorails for the trips to Epcot. We are waiting to do Animal Kingdom and MGM when we stay at Pop Century next week. We have stayed at Contemporary several times and the only problems we ever had with busses were the ones to Downtown Disney......it took forever!!!!!! It also stopped at Typhoon Lagoon.

Oh.....one thing new we tried this time was the Connection vouchers...the Quick and Casual. They were a great deal at Beaches and Cream. It was nice not having to deal with cash and having the tip included.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

We love the CR too, will be going back for a one nighter in Feb. Picked CR for this quick trip as we will only do MK and Epcot then and wanted the ease of the monorail. We also walked to MK and would walk or monorail back. Monorail to Epcot was quick and easy and the kids enjoyed it. Had a 5 night trip there last June and enjoyed every second of it. We used our own vehicle for the other 2 parks and DTD so I can't comment on the buses.