The ALL NEW Disney's Contemporary Resort & Bay Lake Tower FAQ with PICs! (July 2011)

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Disney Parks Blog has an interesting article posted about the history and construction of the CR (and Poly).

Link: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...-disneys-contemporary-and-polynesian-resorts/

Thank you for posting that link.

 

[iluvpluto27]

Hi, we're at the Contemporary now, checking out today. I never got round to posting on this thread but I did lurk while planning my CR stay.

This was my first time staying at a Monorail resort, and I booked MK view, as I'd dreamed for years of watching wishes from the balcony and seeing the castle when we woke up in the morning.

When we checked in on Wednesday just after 3, I was told they had overbooked and had no MK view rooms available. I was given a BLV on the 10th floor, the difference in cost back, and only when I complained did a manager come out and grant us access to club level as compensation.

The Atrium club is lovely (the staff up there are fantastic), and I appreciate the gesture, but we were originally booked at WL Club Level, and only switched to CR because MK view became available.

How often does this happen at the CR? I'm a bit unsure about booking a MK view again at any of the monorail resorts, if when you turn up it's simply not available? Were we just really unlucky?

Overall we both like the CR but I have no real desire to stay here again. I think it would be hard for any hotel to recover from such a bad start, and we both preferred the Beach Club where we spent the first section of our holiday. The location is fantastic though, walking back here last night after MNSSHP when the queues for transport were huge was priceless!
Thanks.

 

[sjs314]

Hi, we're at the Contemporary now, checking out today. I never got round to posting on this thread but I did lurk while planning my CR stay.

This was my first time staying at a Monorail resort, and I booked MK view, as I'd dreamed for years of watching wishes from the balcony and seeing the castle when we woke up in the morning.

When we checked in on Wednesday just after 3, I was told they had overbooked and had no MK view rooms available. I was given a BLV on the 10th floor, the difference in cost back, and only when I complained did a manager come out and grant us access to club level as compensation.

The Atrium club is lovely (the staff up there are fantastic), and I appreciate the gesture, but we were originally booked at WL Club Level, and only switched to CR because MK view became available.

How often does this happen at the CR? I'm a bit unsure about booking a MK view again at any of the monorail resorts, if when you turn up it's simply not available? Were we just really unlucky?

Overall we both like the CR but I have no real desire to stay here again. I think it would be hard for any hotel to recover from such a bad start, and we both preferred the Beach Club where we spent the first section of our holiday. The location is fantastic though, walking back here last night after MNSSHP when the queues for transport were huge was priceless!
Thanks.

So sorry to hear this happened to you.

Just wondering did you check in late in the day?

Wow you are the first one I have head mentioning something like this happening I have to say I would have a fit and a half since I do have my heart set on staying in a room with a TPV and it is one of the major reasons we are willing to shell out $$$. Quite honestly I would not have been happy with the CL if it was not the MK view.

Something else to worry about since I have 3 early nights planned to go back to the room specificly to watch the fireworks from the balcony.

 

[wendyt_ca]

Hi, we're at the Contemporary now, checking out today. I never got round to posting on this thread but I did lurk while planning my CR stay.

This was my first time staying at a Monorail resort, and I booked MK view, as I'd dreamed for years of watching wishes from the balcony and seeing the castle when we woke up in the morning.

When we checked in on Wednesday just after 3, I was told they had overbooked and had no MK view rooms available. I was given a BLV on the 10th floor, the difference in cost back, and only when I complained did a manager come out and grant us access to club level as compensation.

The Atrium club is lovely (the staff up there are fantastic), and I appreciate the gesture, but we were originally booked at WL Club Level, and only switched to CR because MK view became available.

How often does this happen at the CR? I'm a bit unsure about booking a MK view again at any of the monorail resorts, if when you turn up it's simply not available? Were we just really unlucky?

Overall we both like the CR but I have no real desire to stay here again. I think it would be hard for any hotel to recover from such a bad start, and we both preferred the Beach Club where we spent the first section of our holiday. The location is fantastic though, walking back here last night after MNSSHP when the queues for transport were huge was priceless!
Thanks.

So sorry this happened to you....I would be devastated. We have 3 nights booked for the end of our stay at CR with a MKV this month and I hope this doesn't happen. Just like you I have always dreamed of watching the fireworks from my room on the balcony. I will be extremely irate because I could have had a bay lake view and didn't want it and booked Poly until the CR opened with a MKV. So if I switch resorts and get a Bay Lake I will not be at all happy lol. I am usually easy going with whatever happens at Disney but this would not fly for me. I wouldn't pay for Contemporary without the view.

 

[iluvpluto27]

So sorry to hear this happened to you.

Just wondering did you check in late in the day?

Wow you are the first one I have head mentioning something like this happening I have to say I would have a fit and a half since I do have my heart set on staying in a room with a TPV and it is one of the major reasons we are willing to shell out $$$. Quite honestly I would not have been happy with the CL if it was not the MK view.

Something else to worry about since I have 3 early nights planned to go back to the room specificly to watch the fireworks from the balcony.

We checked in just after 3, so I wouldn't have thought we would have been last ones to check in that day.

I'm glad it doesn't seem to be a common occurrence. I wasn't happy but we weren't offered any options other than take the BLV. I would have been happier if it had been a full upgrade to the 12th floor, instead of just access from our room on 10th. I don't like staying CL when the lounge is on another floor anyway, and it just felt a bit awkward to me, as it was clear we weren't staying on 12th to the staff.

My husband was fine, he wasn't really bothered about the view anyway and he likes staying club level. I will be writing to Disney when I get home regarding how disappointed I was, I think over bookings like that would be handled much better with a phone call prior to arrival, rather than getting to check in desk and learning the room you booked isn't available.

So sorry this happened to you....I would be devastated. We have 3 nights booked for the end of our stay at CR with a MKV this month and I hope this doesn't happen. Just like you I have always dreamed of watching the fireworks from my room on the balcony. I will be extremely irate because I could have had a bay lake view and didn't want it and booked Poly until the CR opened with a MKV. So if I switch resorts and get a Bay Lake I will not be at all happy lol. I am usually easy going with whatever happens at Disney but this would not fly for me. I wouldn't pay for Contemporary without the view.

Thank you. We also switched just to get MK view, and I hadn't read any reports of people being bumped from rooms they'd booked so I really wasn't prepared at all when we turned up and were told our room wasn't available. Live and learn I guess, but it really soured my stay here for me, which is a shame as this was supposed to be the highlight of the trip!

 

[Clare Voince]

Checking in late should have no effect on this as rooms are assigned prior to your arrival. But this has me so concerned! I'm paying rack rate for CR MK View in December, because I really want that view! I could get free dining with a different resort or room type, but I decided I wanted the view more. Now if it turns up I gave up free dining and still did not get the room I wanted, I will be very upset.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Hi, we're at the Contemporary now, checking out today. I never got round to posting on this thread but I did lurk while planning my CR stay.

This was my first time staying at a Monorail resort, and I booked MK view, as I'd dreamed for years of watching wishes from the balcony and seeing the castle when we woke up in the morning.

When we checked in on Wednesday just after 3, I was told they had overbooked and had no MK view rooms available. I was given a BLV on the 10th floor, the difference in cost back, and only when I complained did a manager come out and grant us access to club level as compensation.

The Atrium club is lovely (the staff up there are fantastic), and I appreciate the gesture, but we were originally booked at WL Club Level, and only switched to CR because MK view became available.

How often does this happen at the CR? I'm a bit unsure about booking a MK view again at any of the monorail resorts, if when you turn up it's simply not available? Were we just really unlucky?

Overall we both like the CR but I have no real desire to stay here again. I think it would be hard for any hotel to recover from such a bad start, and we both preferred the Beach Club where we spent the first section of our holiday. The location is fantastic though, walking back here last night after MNSSHP when the queues for transport were huge was priceless!
Thanks.

I am also sorry that happened to you. As for how often I heard of this type of thing happening I only ever read about it at the Value Resorts when guests reserved their Perferred Rooms, only to be told at check-in they don't have anymore left. So I never heard of this happening at any of the Deluxe Resort.

I also agree that once you get off to a bad start at a WDW Resort it's hard for them to make up for it like the experience my family and I had at the Beach Club, where it got to the point that the next morning we checked-out after spending 1 night there and returned to the Boardwalk Inn.

 

[wdwnut61]

Just wanted to stop by and say hi. We just switched the last 3 nights of our upcoming stay to CR GV Wing. We will be staying 11/18- 11/25 at POFQ then
11/25-11/28 at CR.

So excited surpisring DD for her birthday. It will be a nice way to end our trip. We have HDDR on the 25 so having the ferry from CR to FW will be convienent. We also have the Dessert Party and MVMCP so being able to walk back after those late nights will be priceless.

We have stayed at CR before MKV in 2002 for our anniversary
Looking forward to giving the wing rooms a try. We have FD with our POFQ stay and I was able to get an AP rate for 2 of the 3 nights so only paying rack rate for one night that's bad enough especially during Thanksgiving week

 

[crazy4wdw]

Hi, we're at the Contemporary now, checking out today. I never got round to posting on this thread but I did lurk while planning my CR stay.

This was my first time staying at a Monorail resort, and I booked MK view, as I'd dreamed for years of watching wishes from the balcony and seeing the castle when we woke up in the morning.

When we checked in on Wednesday just after 3, I was told they had overbooked and had no MK view rooms available. I was given a BLV on the 10th floor, the difference in cost back, and only when I complained did a manager come out and grant us access to club level as compensation.

I certainly would have asked to be moved to a MK view room as soon as one became available. I had something similiar happen to me many years ago at the Beach Club. I had reservation for a lake view room (before they changed to the now "water view") and was given a courtyard view. I wasn't told at check-in and didnt' realize the error until I was in the room and looked out the window. I was told, sorry, all lake view rooms are occupied. I went down to the front desk the next morning and requested to be moved. I was moved immediately.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Just wanted to stop by and say hi. We just switched the last 3 nights of our upcoming stay to CR GV Wing. We will be staying 11/18- 11/25 at POFQ then
11/25-11/28 at CR.

So excited surpisring DD for her birthday. It will be a nice way to end our trip. We have HDDR on the 25 so having the ferry from CR to FW will be convienent. We also have the Dessert Party and MVMCP so being able to walk back after those late nights will be priceless.

We have stayed at CR before MKV in 2002 for our anniversary
Looking forward to giving the wing rooms a try. We have FD with our POFQ stay and I was able to get an AP rate for 2 of the 3 nights so only paying rack rate for one night that's bad enough especially during Thanksgiving week

I hope you have a great time and what a nice surprise that will be for your daugther.

 

[iluvpluto27]

I am also sorry that happened to you. As for how often I heard of this type of thing happening I only ever read about it at the Value Resorts when guests reserved their Perferred Rooms, only to be told at check-in they don't have anymore left. So I never heard of this happening at any of the Deluxe Resort.

I also agree that once you get off to a bad start at a WDW Resort it's hard for them to make up for it like the experience my family and I had at the Beach Club, where it got to the point that the next morning we checked-out after spending 1 night there and returned to the Boardwalk Inn.

I'd only ever heard about it at the values too, where guests were bumped from preferred rooms. I guess we were just really unlucky.

I certainly would have asked to be moved to a MK view room as soon as one became available. I had something similiar happen to me many years ago at the Beach Club. I had reservation for a lake view room (before they changed to the now "water view") and was given a courtyard view. I wasn't told at check-in and didnt' realize the error until I was in the room and looked out the window. I was told, sorry, all lake view rooms are occupied. I went down to the front desk the next morning and requested to be moved. I was moved immediately.

I did think about asking to be moved the next day, they never offered that as an option at check in, and I didn't even think of it until we got up to the room. If we'd been staying longer than 3 nights, I would have gone back down and asked be moved the following day, but by this point we were on our 5th hotel of the trip, and I couldn't face any more unpacking!

What happened to you at the Beach club is even worse, at least they told us at check in, I'd have been livid if we'd got to the room and only found out then it wasn't MK view!

 

[wdwnut61]

I hope you have a great time and what a nice surprise that will be for your daugther.

Thanks so much can't wait to check out the updates to the pool area. I've looked at the pictures in this thread but can't wait to see it in person. Same for the updated rooms they look so pretty.

 

[CleveRocks]

Checking in late should have no effect on this as rooms are assigned prior to your arrival.

In theory you're correct. But in practice it doesn't have to work that way.

Your room is "pre-assigned" at best. That is, they may have pre-assigned a room to you, but it is not yours until you show up at the front desk and check in.

Other than mistakes, there are 3 reasons you might not get what you reserved and paid for:

• some type of maintenance problem that prevents the room from being occupied by guests

• previous guest stays beyond their established reservation but continues to pay for the room (they can't be thrown out as long as they pay)

• another guest who had some sort of inconvenience or problem may be upgraded to a theme park view room as a method of what Disney calls "guest recovery," meaning their way of smoothing things over to make a problem go away

In any of the above situations, your pre-assigned room may not be available for you ... as I said, it isn't yours until you show up, and it can be given away or be rendered unavailable at any point prior to that.

 

[WDWKOOK]

WDW on Twitter has a link to a short video they recently posted on YouTube of some of the original MK construction. I love the part where it shows the monorail cars and MK train being trucked in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnC0CcfQ4wk&feature=share

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

WDW on Twitter has a link to a short video they recently posted on YouTube of some of the original MK construction. I love the part where it shows the monorail cars and MK train being trucked in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnC0CcfQ4wk&feature=share

That's very fun to watch and thanks for posting the link.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Just switched our reservation this afternoon for our fall break trip next Oct to CR. We are booked in a Garden Wing, Garden View. How far is the walk from those rooms to the MK via walkway? And how far is the walk to the monrail so we can go to Epcot?

We were originally planning on trying AoA, but when I looked today and saw it only being a few hundred $ more to switch to CR (and considering we are only going for 2 days in parks...MNSSHP & FW Festival, it just made sense).

So, can someone help w/ my questions above? Thanks so much and really looking forward to our CR stay

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Just switched our reservation this afternoon for our fall break trip next Oct to CR. We are booked in a Garden Wing, Garden View. How far is the walk from those rooms to the MK via walkway? And how far is the walk to the monrail so we can go to Epcot?

We were originally planning on trying AoA, but when I looked today and saw it only being a few hundred $ more to switch to CR (and considering we are only going for 2 days in parks...MNSSHP & FW Festival, it just made sense).

So, can someone help w/ my questions above? Thanks so much and really looking forward to our CR stay

I would say it's about a 5 minute walk from the Garden Wing building to the begining of the Magic Kingdom walkway, since you need to go through the lobby and past the Contemporary bus station.

As for getting to the Monorail station on the 4th floor I would say it's around the same time frame, since you will once again need go into the lobby and then take the elevator or esclators to the 4th floor.

 

[princssdisnygina]

I wanted to answer the question about bringing people into the Club Level Lounge...

I just stayed CL last Friday and my parents stayed in a regular TPV room. The CL Cm's didn't have any problem with me bringing two extra people up to enjoy the lounge. I asked upon arrival and she said it was most definitely ok.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I wanted to answer the question about bringing people into the Club Level Lounge...

I just stayed CL last Friday and my parents stayed in a regular TPV room. The CL Cm's didn't have any problem with me bringing two extra people up to enjoy the lounge. I asked upon arrival and she said it was most definitely ok.

Thanks for letting us know what they said.

 

[debrapagliasotti]

I would say it's about a 5 minute walk from the Garden Wing building to the begining of the Magic Kingdom walkway, since you need to go through the lobby and past the Contemporary bus station.

As for getting to the Monorail station on the 4th floor I would say it's around the same time frame, since you will once again need go into the lobby and then take the elevator or esclators to the 4th floor.

Thank you so much for the quick response