Our recent stay at CR

[jimmiej]

I plan to do a full trip report but wanted to give my thoughts on our recent stay at the Contemporary here on the Resort board.

There were five of us- me 44, dw 43, dd#2 18, nephew 11, & niece 8. We were there June 12-19, 2004. I chose CR because of the room size & the fact that we had five people. We also wanted to stay at a monorail resort. The room size was great. We never felt crowded. DD slept on the daybed(?). She said it was fine. DW & I were a little crowded since we have a king bed at home, but it wasn't bad. I believe the two beds were queen? Not really sure.

I had requested 1) non-smoking, 2) North wing, & 3) 1st floor. We got #'s 1 & 3 but in the South wing. I had booked a standard wing. The room itself was fine. Clean, in good repair. Nice garden view with a clean patio. We were near the water but couldn't actually see it due to the dropoff from land to water. Two sinks in the bathroom with a separate room for commode & counter/mirror.

The South wing hallways were at best unkempt & a little dingy. We noticed when we did laundry that the second floor appeared noticeably cleaner. I guess just more traffic on the 1st floor. There was a convention going on during our stay & we noticed there was usually a group outside the 2nd floor stairway smoking. We skipped taking that shortcut (to the monorail) several times so we didn't have to walk through a cloud of smoke. Lots of cigarette butts around the back of the main building & even around the South wing. The outside ash trays were always full. This was a turn-off for me.

The distance from our room (6105) to the Food & Fun Center for mug refills, to the bus stop, & to the Magic Kingdom was a real pain. We started taking turns doing the refillable mugs after returning to our room each time. Five mugs were just too much to carry around all day. As an aside, the refillable mugs are a
great money saver!

We ate at Chef Mickey's & the Food & Fun Center. The characters were great at CM's & the food was decent but not great. The F&FC always appeared a bit dissheveled (sp?). The icee machine ran out of soda several times while we were there. The food was pretty good though. We've eaten at the Concourse Steakhouse on a previous trip & it was good.

The pools were fine without being spectacular. The view from the back of the resort is very nice. Being close to the lake was a real plus. Lots of beach area. We did not do any parasailing or mouseboats, but lots of people did.

I guess I was most disappointed by the monorail travel. Going or coming from Epcot was a pain, especially during the heat of the day after walking around the parks all day. Transferring at the TTC was a pain. Walking out & down, around to the other side & back up to the resort monorail got old quickly. Walking from the room to MK, & then a day at the park was a bit much for my 8 yo niece. We're really not lazy people, but being on a monorail resort was not what we expected. I think the Poly has the best transportation setup because they have direct monorail access to MK & Epcot. The bus transportation was good.

I'm sure if we had stayed in the tower rooms (or even the North wing), I might feel differently. Overall, our stay at the CR was just OK. Some good, some bad. Don't get me wrong. We had a good trip. All the CM's were nice & helpful. The check-in area was ALWAYS busy, even when we came in late.

Would we stay there again? Probably not. It just didn't seem up to Disney standards. After staying at the Boardwalk area (Swan) last trip, DW & I agreed we like that location much better. Of the resorts we've stayed at (see below), Coronado Springs is still our favorite.

If you have a ressie at CR, don't change it. Lots of people love it. If you're considering CR for an upcoming trip, maybe our experience can be of some help to you as you decide.

If you have any questions, please ask or PM.

 

[tiggersmom2]

jimmiej,
That is EXACTLY how I feel!! I stayed at the CR 5/28 -6/04 in room 7181 in the North Wing. It was just OK. I fondly remember the Contemporary of my childhood and my trip just didn't live up to my expectations. I guess staying at the Poly for all these years with DH has absolutely SPOILED me for any other resort!

 

[sotoalf]

Thanks for the review. I'll be at the CR in three days. I'd requested everything you did: first floor, non-smoking, with a patio. On our last trip I fell in love with those first floor rooms with a view of Bay Lake. They seemed quite peaceful. What was your room number?

Glad to know housekeeping was fine, as the CR has been the subject of some intense criticism of late for what sounds like uneven mousekeeping in the garden wings (I never hear complaints about the Tower).

How crowded were the pool, restaurants, and concourse?

A slight correction: no monorail resort has direct access to Epcot. At the Polynesian it's true you can walk to the TTC, at which you can transfer to a monorail, so it seems "direct." The Contemporary makes up for this inconvenience by being the only MK resort with a footpath to the MK.

Thanks again.

 

[jimmiej]

sotoalf,

We were in room 6105.

The main pool was not crowded but busy. The round pool was nearly deserted. Chef Mickey's was pretty crowded. Concourse wasn't bad.

You're right about the Poly. I should have been more specific.

 

[Shells9]

I'm glad so many people have different takes on all of the resorts, otherwise everything would be full all the time when I want to go, lol!

We stayed at CR and loved, loved, loved it! We were in the tower and DD and DH and myself loved the view! We did not think the walk to the bus was that bad. I'm sorry you did not have a better time, at least you did not let it ruin our trip!

Your feelings about CR mirror mine about POFQ. Everybody loves it, but we think we'd prefer a Value resort over POFQ. We just did not care for it Our room was too far from everything, it was not what we expected, and we did not feel like we were at Disney.

Anyway, this just goes to show you that diversity is an awesome thing! Here's wishing you a trip back to Coronado Springs real soon!

 

[wilderness01]

Actually one Thanksgiving when we were there the CR had direct access via the monorail to Epcot. It was very nice. One monorail was going to the MK and the other directly to Epcot with maybe a stop to TTC (?) but you didn't have to get off the monorail. I agree having to get off one monorail and go up and down is a real pain after walking all day. I thought taking the monorail to Epcot was more of a pain than taking the bus. Just my opinion. If you stay in the tower at CR it is more convenient to everything.

 

[Margaret West]

Also, just a reminder, the North Wing is all non-smoking rooms(or so it has been my other trips) and the South Wing has non-smoking rooms but also has the smoking rooms mixed in. I have stayed many times in the NW and loved it(the views, convienience) and have also stayed in the SW and did not like it at all. I the CR and always will, even my teenager loves it. We don't mind the small transfer at the TTC for the monorails, gives us more time to think about what to do first when we hit EPCOT. And I love being able to bounce back and forth to MK with or without family. I love taking pictures and sometimes I go without people just so I can go picture hunting... but not for too long, when your by yourself you can travel fast.

I understand about the smokers though, not nice!!

 

[CuteKatCar]

I prefer changing monorails at TTC to waiting for a crowded bus with standing room only!!

My family loves the CR. Last year we split our stay between the CR and Poly - prefer CR. The only thing better at Poly is the pool, IMO.

It should also be noted that the monorail resorts share buses. The CR is the first to be picked up - a few times at the Poly we waited a loooong time for the bus to come.

If you spend a lot of time at MK, like we do, you can't beat being as close as you are by staying at the CR.

I also prefer the rooms at CR. There's a lot of table space, as well as drawer space and the top of that long dresser can't be beat for storing food and such. No storage space in Poly rooms.

To each his own - that's what's great about these boards.

Cutekatcar