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

[sjs314]

I have been lurking on this thread for sometime now, longing to stay at one of the monorail resorts has always been a dream of mine but I wanted to stay with a MK view, after much research between the Poly, GF and CR I booked a Tower TPV room this morning

I am so excited !!!

 

[WDWKOOK]

I have been lurking on this thread for sometime now, longing to stay at one of the monorail resorts has always been a dream of mine but I wanted to stay with a MK view, after much research between the Poly, GF and CR I booked a Tower TPV room this morning

I am so excited !!!

How exciting - let the planning begin!

Glad you converted from lurker to poster

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thank you for this informative thread! I finally took the plunge and booked a MK Tower room! We've stayed at many resorts and wanted to try the Contemporary, but the price tag on the Theme Park view has always made me uneasy. I'm still hyperventilating a little from the price tag (even with 40% off), but then again we keep adding more kids, so our vacations aren't going to get any cheaper I am so excited to walk to the MK with my 2 strollers and not have to fold those suckers on the buses! And no more trying to get down Main Street with 2 strollers after Wishes! No sir, I'm watching Wishes from my room

The great transportation options are addictive. The Wishes music should be on channel 20. Enjoy!

 

[tinkerbell 766]

Does anybody know what time the TOTWL opens for business please?

 

[WDWKOOK]

Does anybody know what time the TOTWL opens for business please?

According to www.wdwmagic.com:

The regular operating hours for the lounge and deck are from 5:00 pm to midnight daily.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I have been lurking on this thread for sometime now, longing to stay at one of the monorail resorts has always been a dream of mine but I wanted to stay with a MK view, after much research between the Poly, GF and CR I booked a Tower TPV room this morning

I am so excited !!!

I hope you have a great time.

 

[f15robyn]

Ahhh - Just 4 short days until we check back into the CR.

As you can see in my signature block, hubby and I have been on a mission the last 12 months.

Really, it was just making the most of an annual pass that we might not purchase again (oh - and JetBlue points with a direct flight from way up north straight to Orlando). Checked out all of those "special" events that Disney offers that we'd never done before (MVMCP last December, Flower and Garden, Fourth of July fireworks and Summer Nightastic, MNSSHP).

Since this all started last December at CR, it will be nice to finish the year that way as well. We really can't wait. Our first time to check out Epcot's Food and Wine Festival and a second chance to check out some of the holiday sights and activities.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Ahhh - Just 4 short days until we check back into the CR.

As you can see in my signature block, hubby and I have been on a mission the last 12 months.

Really, it was just making the most of an annual pass that we might not purchase again (oh - and JetBlue points with a direct flight from way up north straight to Orlando). Checked out all of those "special" events that Disney offers that we'd never done before (MVMCP last December, Flower and Garden, Fourth of July fireworks and Summer Nightastic, MNSSHP).

Since this all started last December at CR, it will be nice to finish the year that way as well. We really can't wait. Our first time to check out Epcot's Food and Wine Festival and a second chance to check out some of the holiday sights and activities.

I hope you have a great time staying there and when you return be sure to post a trip report, along with a lot of pictures.

 

[scot@dvcstore]

Love the photos, keep them coming for all DVC Resorts.

 

[sjs314]

How exciting - let the planning begin!

Glad you converted from lurker to poster

Yes indeed as soon as I booked I started to re-read this thread and making some notes for future reference..thanks for the encourageing words

I hope you have a great time.

Thank You, I know we will

 

[sto6917]

I have been lurking on this thread for sometime now, longing to stay at one of the monorail resorts has always been a dream of mine but I wanted to stay with a MK view, after much research between the Poly, GF and CR I booked a Tower TPV room this morning

I am so excited !!!

Congrats! We just got back Wednesday from our week stay at CR. The MK view was amazing! I loved seeing Wishes and Hallowishes from our room. We could also see the water pageant on Bay Lake. Enjoy!

 

[cjsull]

This is a reply I made in another thread a few days ago...

I have done a ton of research and worked some numbers. That's just the way I work. And after looking at everything, my H and I had an idea.
The points are ok, but with the big discount for military right now, it is way worth it to go with the resort (instead of renting VC points). But what part of the resort. I am a money person, but DH has ALWAYS wanted to stay in the CR. And this is the first time every bringing our kids to Disney, and they are HUGE Disney fans. So I will bite my tongue and not worry about spending a little more this vacation, since it's the first time. Besides, I've been saving already for a year, have almost a year to go, and will be paying for this with cash. Almost there already.

Sorry, I wandered! Anyway, we are now seriously considering, if the discount still works, staying in the tower on the Atrium level. There is a reason for this. When my H and I were able to go years ago alone, we stayed at the Poly at the concierge level. It was fantastic!! We saved sooooo much money on food! Breakfast every morning, sandwiches and snacks during the day (so we can save some in room fridge from day before and bring as a pack lunch to the parks), and drinks/food at night. Lounge to sit in while we let the kids get to sleep in the room. Higher up in tower. No noise. But still in Contemporary!
Again, the discount has to work for that level, but we figured that for trying to make it a great first ever trip, the food savings and discount and ticket savings may actually make this work.

So now I am not sure what I'm doing. But it is very tempting.

With the way the points work, it's only a few hundred more dollars for a week to stay Atrium level, MK view in the tower. Wow.
I love these military discounts! Only way we could do this. We've been dreaming of this for years.

We are still not set on this, and are wavering back and forth about what to do.
Someone suggested coming to this thread, saying that we should get some good ideas/comments here.
Thanks for the help.

 

[WDWKOOK]

This is a reply I made in another thread a few days ago...


We are still not set on this, and are wavering back and forth about what to do.
Someone suggested coming to this thread, saying that we should get some good ideas/comments here.
Thanks for the help.

That would have been me. Here is what I replied to you here:

I think the CR is a great idea for your kids' first trip. They will love having the monorail running through the resort and being able to walk to the MK and enjoy Bay Lake. You can also easily take the boat over to WL and FWL.

Keep in mind that the Atrium Club does not serve sandwiches during the day. The only thing even close to a sandwich they offer at any time are small, do-it-yourself PBJs during evening h'ors d'oeuvres after 5. (I have a photo of them in the CL thread linked below.)

There are a couple of hot appetizers they serve after 5pm. During the day, they only offer gummy bears and chocolate covered pretzels, those types of snacks. Sometimes they will have left the bananas or apples out.

Club level isn't an adequate substitution for any meal, except possibly breakfast. But we find that after a few days, we're craving a hot breakfast or something other than cereal, pastries and bread. I do like the fruit they offer, but the Atrium Club doesn't even serve prepared oatmeal like the YC/CL does.

Here is a link to the CL thread where I and CR Resort Fan 4 Life have posted some Atrium Club photos:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2582311

The CR FAQ thread is also a great resource for your planning:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2397445

Personally, if money is a consideration, I would not stay CL. Save your money and stay non-CL with either a Tower or Garden Wing/ground floor Bay Lake view. Use the money saved toward a QS breakfast and QS lunch or even compare your room savings to the cost of adding the DDP.

The highest non-CL floor is the 11th. If you are on the 12th (Atrium Club) and you are near Chef Mickey's (as I was in August) you can still hear the "celebration song." Being on the 12th floor is not any quieter than being on a non-CL high floor, especially if you're away from CM.

Feel free to post any questions you might have about the CR to the CR FAQ thread, we're all very friendly over there or you're welcome to PM me.

 

[sjs314]

Congrats! We just got back Wednesday from our week stay at CR. The MK view was amazing! I loved seeing Wishes and Hallowishes from our room. We could also see the water pageant on Bay Lake. Enjoy!

I expect this vacation to be the best ever, for all the things you mentioned and then with the monorail and all the nearby restaurants at GF and the Poly, I just can not wait.

Reading what you said , I know for sure we made the right choice in picking CR TPV

 

[Pjimmeyer]

"...I am a money person, but DH has ALWAYS wanted to stay in the CR. And this is the first time every bringing our kids to Disney, and they are HUGE Disney fans. So I will bite my tongue and not worry about spending a little more this vacation, since it's the first time..."

Holy cow does this sound familiar. On our first visit as a family with the kids when they were little I had also ALWAYS wanted to stay in the CR. My wife gave in and to make a long story short we haven't stayed anywhere else since 1994.

 

[DISdreamin']

Holy cow does this sound familiar. On our first visit as a family with the kids when they were little I had also ALWAYS wanted to stay in the CR. My wife gave in and to make a long story short we haven't stayed anywhere else since 1994.

I'm a little scared that staying at BLT will ruin me for staying elsewhere. I still remember riding the monorail through the CR when I was a child and wondering who in the world could afford to stay there! It's wonderful to be able to do this not just for my kids, but for my mom who ALWAYS wanted to stay at the CR too. We're doing TPV 2BR coming up in just under 60 days.

 

[cjsull]

DWDKOOK- Thanks!

So, we are looking at other options now. I'm going to crunch numbers, but one option is to do tower MK view, and if we can, get a dining option. The only thing with this is, we are only getting the room because we are getting the military discount, so I don't even know if we are eligible for a dining plan. If we are, it looked to us like we could save some money by doing that. Maybe even a dining plan and a garden view in the garden wing.
So, next step, find out if we can get dining plan. Then, crunch numbers.
Either way, it's the CR for us!!!!

Thank you everyone.

 

[WDWKOOK]

DWDKOOK- Thanks!

So, we are looking at other options now. I'm going to crunch numbers, but one option is to do tower MK view, and if we can, get a dining option. The only thing with this is, we are only getting the room because we are getting the military discount, so I don't even know if we are eligible for a dining plan. If we are, it looked to us like we could save some money by doing that. Maybe even a dining plan and a garden view in the garden wing.
So, next step, find out if we can get dining plan. Then, crunch numbers.
Either way, it's the CR for us!!!!

Thank you everyone.

You're welcome and yes, you can add the DDP, but it is not discounted.

Happy planning!

 

[cjsull]

Ah, that's great! Now, I'm personally wondering if the "going all out" part of our trip can look more like this...
garden wing garden/lake view and get the deluxe dining plan so that we can have more choices with our dining every day. Also, we want to eat at Cinderellas Castle once, and go see the Hoop-dee-doo (sp?) Review. I know they aren't on discount, but do you all think the dining plans are really worth it? It sounded like a great deal, but I'm not 100% sure.
As far as the tower is concerned... we can still go to the 4th floor some night to watch the fireworks, right? And we are still at a resort where we can easily walk to the monorail and MK. I wish there were a way to get a MK or monorail view from the wing without getting a standard view. I'll have to research now which rooms in the wing to possibly look at.

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[SydneyFalco]

Ah, that's great! Now, I'm personally wondering if the "going all out" part of our trip can look more like this...
garden wing garden/lake view and get the deluxe dining plan so that we can have more choices with our dining every day. Also, we want to eat at Cinderellas Castle once, and go see the Hoop-dee-doo (sp?) Review. I know they aren't on discount, but do you all think the dining plans are really worth it? It sounded like a great deal, but I'm not 100% sure.

For foodies like me and the wife, the deluxe dining plan is (just) worth it. I don't think there's all that much in savings--probably less than fifty bucks total for a whole vacation versus what we would've spent anyway--but we like not having to think about the bill. (Although I still fret the tip.) With kids, though, I can't imagine deluxe is the way to go. Unless you've got adventurous eaters or don't like giving them junk food at any time. Mind you, character meals and things like hoop dee doo rack up the credits pretty fast I know.

IF you're planning on eating only on site anyway, and IF you weren't planning on bringing stuff to eat (like cereal in the room etc) than the regular dining plan will work. Again, I wouldn't say it'd save you much money, but it'll keep you to budget.

If it's a matter of not being able to make the credits work with a couple of 2 TS meals you have in mind, I'd juggle the numbers with a regular dining plan and make the difference up in cash.