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

[Pjimmeyer]

Guess I will have to cross my fingers. Would you happen to know if Christmas/New Years busier than the week after Easter? I don't think trip insurance will cover things because it is a preexisting condition. I so hope it doesn't get sold out!!! We really, really need this trip...it has been an awful few months.

Something you might want to think about is a room-only reservation through the Central Reservations Office (CRO). Their policy on last minute changes seem to be more flexible than packages through WDTC. Some differences outlined in this link:

http://allears.net/acc/resort.htm

As far as busy goes...I would expect the week after Easter this year to be pretty busy, but not park-closing busy like Christmas/New Years.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

http://www.wdwmagic.com/Resorts/Wal...ble-TV-lineup---view-the-rollout-schedule.htm

The cable TV selection is about to be vastly improved across all of the Walt Disney World resorts on a staggered rollout, beginning March 13 2012, and completed by May 8 2012. New channels include Fox News, Bravo, AMC, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Discovery, HGTV, TLC, History Channel, Food Network, TV Land, SyFy and National Geographic. The rollout schedule is listed below, and you can view the full channel list on channel 17 on the in-room TV.

March 13: Disney's Port Orleans Resorts
March 15: Disney's Old Key West Resort
March 20: Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
March 22: Disney's Pop Century Resort
April 3: Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
April 5: Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
April 10: Disney's All-Star Resorts
April 12: Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
April 17: Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts
April 19: Disney's BoardWalk Inn
April 24: Disney's Contemporary Resort
April 26: Disney's Polynesian Resort
May 1: Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
May 3: Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort
May 8: Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

 

[Carrie772]

I have had a Magic Kingdom View as low as the 6th floor, which is where they start from and as high as the 14th floor. Personally I didn't notice a difference in the view no matter what floor I have previously stayed on.

This is very nice to hear. Thanks for that.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/Resorts/Wal...ble-TV-lineup---view-the-rollout-schedule.htm

The cable TV selection is about to be vastly improved across all of the Walt Disney World resorts on a staggered rollout, beginning March 13 2012, and completed by May 8 2012. New channels include Fox News, Bravo, AMC, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Discovery, HGTV, TLC, History Channel, Food Network, TV Land, SyFy and National Geographic. The rollout schedule is listed below, and you can view the full channel list on channel 17 on the in-room TV.

Cool! Now if they could just make a station that played the old Stacy's Top 7 Must Sees!

 

[CoachBagFanatic]

...

 

[AirGoofy]

Long overdue post. We are DVC members and bought an addon at BLT. We made our first trip there and it was terrific. While it isn't the CR, I see why you are a fan for life. Waking up to see my favorite park and the 5 minute walk there are just amazing. Then, there is all that CR has to offer. It is great to know I will stay at BLT each year for the next 50 years or so. Thanks for the thread and all the great info.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

This is very nice to hear. Thanks for that.

You're welcome.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Long overdue post. We are DVC members and bought an addon at BLT. We made our first trip there and it was terrific. While it isn't the CR, I see why you are a fan for life. Waking up to see my favorite park and the 5 minute walk there are just amazing. Then, there is all that CR has to offer. It is great to know I will stay at BLT each year for the next 50 years or so. Thanks for the thread and all the great info.

I hope you enjoy all your future stays at Bay Lake Tower and welcome to the thread.

 

[amsafko]

Do the quoted prices tend to change leading up the date of arrival? I have been considering booking now (previous post explains that we won't know for sure if we can go until right before) just to secure the resort we want. From last night to today, the amount went up almost $500...looking at the dates, yesterday was 3/9 and our arrival date is 4/9. So I am wondering if the one day jump is related to the fact that we are now (3/10) less than one month before arrival. We really want to stay at the COntemporary but hate booking if the price is going to change frequently.

Also can anyone tell me if I book through the CRO if I can get a AAA discount?

 

[mickeynut1]

Do the quoted prices tend to change leading up the date of arrival? I have been considering booking now (previous post explains that we won't know for sure if we can go until right before) just to secure the resort we want. From last night to today, the amount went up almost $500...looking at the dates, yesterday was 3/9 and our arrival date is 4/9. So I am wondering if the one day jump is related to the fact that we are now (3/10) less than one month before arrival. We really want to stay at the COntemporary but hate booking if the price is going to change frequently.

Also can anyone tell me if I book through the CRO if I can get a AAA discount?

The rates will stay the same regardless of when you get a quote/book. Check to make sure you are pricing the same room category as the room type you got a quote for yesterday might not be available today, so you might have automatically been quoted a higher room category. I can't answer your question regarding AAA as we've never booked with that discount, but hopefully someone will else will be able to answer that for you .

 

[Greysword]

I don't think trip insurance will cover things because it is a preexisting condition.

Travel insurance from Travel Insured will cover pre-existing medical conditions as long as you buy the plan within 30 days of booking the travel. I think Travel Guard does as well.

ETA: Travel Guard does as well, but needs to be purchased within 15 days of booking the package.

 

[Pjimmeyer]

Long overdue post. We are DVC members and bought an addon at BLT. We made our first trip there and it was terrific. While it isn't the CR, I see why you are a fan for life. Waking up to see my favorite park and the 5 minute walk there are just amazing. Then, there is all that CR has to offer. It is great to know I will stay at BLT each year for the next 50 years or so. Thanks for the thread and all the great info.

 

[AirGoofy]

Hey. Are you a CR/ BLT frequent flyer?

 

[Pjimmeyer]

Hey. Are you a CR/ BLT frequent flyer?

Oh yeah!

CR is the only place we stay when we visit WDW. We usually take our anniversary trips there in early December each year. Rest of the year is usually at Disneyland.

 

[AirGoofy]

Oh yeah!

CR is the only place we stay when we visit WDW. We usually take our anniversary trips there in early December each year. Rest of the year is usually at Disneyland.

Never been to DL. One year I want to do a road trip out there, but that is a long drive. We loved BLT last year and are there again this year. To this point, we have enjoyed staying at the different resorts. But, we loved the Boardwalk area and BLT. So, that's where we will try to stay from here forward.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Also can anyone tell me if I book through the CRO if I can get a AAA discount?

Yes you can get CAA/AAA discounts when making a reservation through the Disney Reservation Center. However they range from 10% - 20%, where as WDW discounts with the Deluxe Resorts can go from 30% - 40%. So I would use the AAA discount rate as a last resort if there are no discounts available from WDW.

 

[psac]

The last time we stayed with a theme park view was in December 2009. We have another booking for this year CR tower theme park view for our anniversary. Here is a picture from our balcony during that stay:

I love that you got the train in that picture.

 

[psac]

http://www.wdwmagic.com/Resorts/Wal...ble-TV-lineup---view-the-rollout-schedule.htm

The cable TV selection is about to be vastly improved across all of the Walt Disney World resorts on a staggered rollout, beginning March 13 2012, and completed by May 8 2012. New channels include Fox News, Bravo, AMC, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Discovery, HGTV, TLC, History Channel, Food Network, TV Land, SyFy and National Geographic. The rollout schedule is listed below, and you can view the full channel list on channel 17 on the in-room TV.

March 13: Disney's Port Orleans Resorts
March 15: Disney's Old Key West Resort
March 20: Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort
March 22: Disney's Pop Century Resort
April 3: Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
April 5: Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
April 10: Disney's All-Star Resorts
April 12: Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
April 17: Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts
April 19: Disney's BoardWalk Inn
April 24: Disney's Contemporary Resort
April 26: Disney's Polynesian Resort
May 1: Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
May 3: Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort
May 8: Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground

Of course they'll do CR/BLT right AFTER we check out. At least we'll have it for our BW trip in Nov...

 

[Pjimmeyer]

I love that you got the train in that picture.

I kept trying to get one with the train and the monorail...but could never get the timing right

 

[happymamma]

Hi all! Thanks for such a helpful thread! I am posting b/c we are supposed to arrive in early May, staying at the Contemporary for the first time, but now we need to change our dates to late April instead - We had planned to stay in a theme park view room but that type of room is not available (or anything in the tower) for the new dates. There was last night when I checked but this morning, when we knew for sure that the new dates would work, there isn't anymore. I just wondered what you think the odds might be for a cancellation for that type of room so short notice? I'm sure it's like impossible to say.. just wondering others' experiences trying to get a certain type of room at short notice.. thanks for any info!

 

[Pjimmeyer]

Hi all! Thanks for such a helpful thread! I am posting b/c we are supposed to arrive in early May, staying at the Contemporary for the first time, but now we need to change our dates to late April instead - We had planned to stay in a theme park view room but that type of room is not available (or anything in the tower) for the new dates. There was last night when I checked but this morning, when we knew for sure that the new dates would work, there isn't anymore. I just wondered what you think the odds might be for a cancellation for that type of room so short notice? I'm sure it's like impossible to say.. just wondering others' experiences trying to get a certain type of room at short notice.. thanks for any info!

I would try back every day...cancellations happen all the time. The biggest rush of cancellations is near the 45 day mark when folks are not able to finish payments on a package they have reserved but they really do happen at other times as well. Keep trying!