The ALL NEW Disney's Contemporary Resort & Bay Lake Tower FAQ with PICs! (FEB 2010)

[lissiesmum]

Happy Sunday, CR fans! I was wondering if anyone on here will be staying at the CR over Easter week? I just found out that our Spring vacation next year falls during Easter and this makes me very unhappy There is no way I am not going to WDW, but we are definitely not crowd lovers so I anticipate us spending a few very early hours at the parks and then heading back to the hotel. I was curious how busy the pool gets during the busiest times of year, and if you have breathing room to roam about and relax, or is it wall to wall people everywhere, including at the CR?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Well...I won't pretend to have all of the numbers and comparisons between the different resorts over time. However, from the first time I TRIED (no rooms available) to stay at the contemporary resort in the late 70s through now it seems to me that the place has always had PLENTY of business. Not exactly objective data to study, but just my experience.

-Jimbo

I went back to page one of the thread that you linked to and the thread started out as a joke (and it should probably end that way).

The OP posted a photo of an ME sign that has a typo reading "Bay Lake Towers" (plural) instead of Bay Lake Tower (singular). From that, the OP (jokingly) extrapolated that there must be another Tower coming soon

The rumor of tearing down the SGW to replace it with another DVC Tower has been around since news of BLT being built surfaced. It does reason that if Disney would tear down one GW to build a more profitable resort, then why shouldn't it tear down the SGW, too?

No one can predict what course of action Disney will take in the future in order to increase profits. DVC is very profitable for them and it seems that is the direction that WDW Resorts is taking by only building DVC resorts for many years.

As far as the CR being "more heavily discounted," I just don't believe it. Public and pin code discounts are never only for one resort, they're usually for a broad range of resorts. The CR is a convention resort and frequently the Tower is booked many months in advance and the SGW books quickly because it's the least expensive monorail resort and the rooms are identical to the Tower rooms. When resort rates are raised every year, the CR's rates increase at the same rate as other resorts; they aren't "discounted" more or go up less.

I don't know what the CR's occupancy rates are compared with the other Deluxes (Disney won't make these figures public), but unless you actually know this, you're just guessing that it's "less popular than the other resorts".

I would be interested in reading csaribay's take on all this

Well the more I thought about this last night I realized maybe that specific poster was never a fan of the Contemporary and their design, so they used those comments about Bay Lake Tower making it more popular to justify their comments.

Also WDWKOOK I knew that thread was also a joke just because of the way that sign turned out, however what I said on there makes sense that they can not have a 2nd Bay Lake Tower for these reasons. They can not build another skybridge to the 4th floor because of Chef Mickey's, the Contempo Cafe and the Outer Rim Lounge. Plus it would make it very hard to get a regular Contemporary Tower reservation without the South Garden Wing building.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Happy Sunday, CR fans! I was wondering if anyone on here will be staying at the CR over Easter week? I just found out that our Spring vacation next year falls during Easter and this makes me very unhappy There is no way I am not going to WDW, but we are definitely not crowd lovers so I anticipate us spending a few very early hours at the parks and then heading back to the hotel. I was curious how busy the pool gets during the busiest times of year, and if you have breathing room to roam about and relax, or is it wall to wall people everywhere, including at the CR?

Well when my family and I have stayed there during Christmas and New Years if the weather was ok we never had any problems getting pool chairs. Besides that we never had any problems walking around the 4th floor in the stores, although the only location you might see a huge line is waiting for the Monorail on the 4th floor.

 

[darthtatty]

Hi, just posted loads of pics of the disabled room we stayed in last year.
put them in the thread i started previously.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35833235&posted=1#post35833235

we're planning another trip for next year, as much as we love the other resorts were planning to stay at the CR-its home for us

 

[lissiesmum]

Well when my family and I have stayed there during Christmas and New Years if the weather was ok we never had any problems getting pool chairs. Besides that we never had any problems walking around the 4th floor in the stores, although the only location you might see a huge line is waiting for the Monorail on the 4th floor.

Thanks for responding! That is good news! I know we'll be spending over half our day at our resort, so just wanted to make sure we'd still be able to swim/relax. And the great thing about the CR...if the monorail lines are crazy, we can always walk home!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thanks for responding! That is good news! I know we'll be spending over half our day at our resort, so just wanted to make sure we'd still be able to swim/relax. And the great thing about the CR...if the monorail lines are crazy, we can always walk home!

You're welcome and have a great time.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Hi, just posted loads of pics of the disabled room we stayed in last year.
put them in the thread i started previously.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=35833235&posted=1#post35833235

we're planning another trip for next year, as much as we love the other resorts were planning to stay at the CR-its home for us

Thanks for posting a link to that thread and all those pictures look great.

 

[lissiesmum]

After looking at the prices for 2010 during Easter, it looks like I won't be able to afford an MK view for our 2011 trip. I was looking at mousesavers website at the different rates for the garden wing rooms, and I was wondering what the difference is between standard view and garden wing garden view and deluxe garden view? Is there a specific room you would request to get a better view?

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Standard View looks at the parking lot. There are VERY few of these anymore. Garden View looks at a garden, the pool or Bay Lake/Canal. I had one of these last year, overlooking the canal, and it was nice. The deluxe rooms are like little suites. I am pretty sure there is a link to photos in the 1st page of the thread. I thought they were king rooms with a pull out sofa, but I am not 100% sure. Someone will be along soon to clarify.

The decor and room size is the same in the wings as the tower. But the wing rooms don't have a balcony. Ground floor rooms have a patio, however.

I never felt like we were "away from the action" staying in the wing. In fact, it was nice and quiet! Plus it is just a covered walkway away from the tower anyway. You have little to no wait for the elevator etc. These rooms are the most reasonably priced on the monorail.

 

[lissiesmum]

Standard View looks at the parking lot. There are VERY few of these anymore. Garden View looks at a garden, the pool or Bay Lake/Canal. I had one of these last year, overlooking the canal, and it was nice. The deluxe rooms are like little suites. I am pretty sure there is a link to photos in the 1st page of the thread. I thought they were king rooms with a pull out sofa, but I am not 100% sure. Someone will be along soon to clarify.

The decor and room size is the same in the wings as the tower. But the wing rooms don't have a balcony. Ground floor rooms have a patio, however.

I never felt like we were "away from the action" staying in the wing. In fact, it was nice and quiet! Plus it is just a covered walkway away from the tower anyway. You have little to no wait for the elevator etc. These rooms are the most reasonably priced on the monorail.

Thanks for the clarification! My DD fell in love with the CR a few weeks ago and I would love to try to make it happen for her on our next trip.

 

[rcraw45425]

Thanks for the clarification! My DD fell in love with the CR a few weeks ago and I would love to try to make it happen for her on our next trip.

Wing rooms used to be the best kept secret. They are identical in decor to tower rooms, and convenient to the pool and boat launch. WHen our girls were small they were our favorite because the north wing ground floor rooms had patios and you could request one that was close to the playground, a real lifesaver. Now they're teenagers and we prefer the convenience of the tower rooms, if the price is right

 

[disneyfreak42]

Hey Whitney!

This our first stay in the tower so we are super excited. Don't really know what to expect as far as 12th floor! But looking forward to it! Hope to see you there too!!!

 

[LMO429]

We will be staying at Bay Lake Towers for the first time in Oct

I recently read a trip report where someone mentioned groceries delivery to the resort. Does anyone know more about this (sorry if this is in the beginning of the thread I could not find it)

TIA

 

[Wigit12]

Try wegoshop.com
Love her!

 

[SondraD11]

I was just able to change my Poly reservation to a 1 BDR Bay Lake Tower reservation for April 11 - 17. It is a cash reservation with a discount. I have a question about the view. The cast member that helped me switch said it was a Bay Lake view. The reservation says: Lake View (4O). Can anyone clarify what I should expect as far as view?

I was pretty excited to make this switch. I'm traveling with my 2 adult sons and looking forward to having more space and 2 bathrooms. It was only $104 more than my Poly garden view reservation which seems too good to be true. This will be our first time staying at a monorail resort.

Sondra

 

[WDWKOOK]

I was just able to change my Poly reservation to a 1 BDR Bay Lake Tower reservation for April 11 - 17. It is a cash reservation with a discount. I have a question about the view. The cast member that helped me switch said it was a Bay Lake view. The reservation says: Lake View (4O). Can anyone clarify what I should expect as far as view?

I was pretty excited to make this switch. I'm traveling with my 2 adult sons and looking forward to having more space and 2 bathrooms. It was only $104 more than my Poly garden view reservation which seems too good to be true. This will be our first time staying at a monorail resort.

Sondra

From one former Hoosier (Bloomington) to a current one, congratulations on making the switch! I think you'll be very pleased with all the room and amenities you'll have at BLT. You'll also love the walkway to the MK and having everything in one building at the CR.

Here is a link to the BLT Room View/Location thread that I think will help answer your question and help you to make any room location requests. "4O" is one designation for a Lake View 1-bedroom Villa. There are also many great photos posted there:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2257082&highlight=BLT

Don't forget to post a BLT/CR TR when you get back

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

This our first stay in the tower so we are super excited. Don't really know what to expect as far as 12th floor! But looking forward to it! Hope to see you there too!!!

If you look at the 1st page in the Club Level section there are photos of the 12th floor lounge and everything else you will need to know about it.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I was just able to change my Poly reservation to a 1 BDR Bay Lake Tower reservation for April 11 - 17. It is a cash reservation with a discount. I have a question about the view. The cast member that helped me switch said it was a Bay Lake view. The reservation says: Lake View (4O). Can anyone clarify what I should expect as far as view?

I was pretty excited to make this switch. I'm traveling with my 2 adult sons and looking forward to having more space and 2 bathrooms. It was only $104 more than my Poly garden view reservation which seems too good to be true. This will be our first time staying at a monorail resort.

Sondra

Have a great time.

 

[mamasha]

I am staying garden wing/view room in May w/pin for about 230 and now I see that public general code has MK tower for $300/320....I want to upgrade but it will be 500 for 6 nights.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I am staying garden wing/view room in May w/pin for about 230 and now I see that public general code has MK tower for $300/320....I want to upgrade but it will be 500 for 6 nights.

Well I think the Magic Kingdom View is worth it because of how it looks and because I find staying in the Tower to be very convenient for easy access to the stores, restaurants and for getting back to your room very fast. However if you don't think it's worth the extra cost per night the Garden Wing View is still great to have, so either way you can not make a wrong decision.