Hi, Contemporary Fans!
We are just back from a week's stay at, you guessed it, the Contemporary Resort. We were there from November 21st-November 28th. It was a wonderful, magical vacation and we have lots of memories and pictures.
Valet and bell service was friendly and quick as soon as we pulled up to the resort. We had already checked-in online before we arrived, and one of the concierge folks assisted me with my travel documents since there was a line at online check-in.
The kids hardly had any time to enjoy the Disney cartoons in the lobby before I was done, but don't worry....they watched the same rotation of shows OVER and OVER again in our room throughout the week!
The concierge attendant was very nice and chatty, telling me everything y'all had already told me prior to arriving. But I pretended like I didn't know, because there's always something you can learn from everyone and I didn't want to miss any information!
Our room was on the 8th floor on the Chef Mickey's side. We were not bothered by noise at all during the week. In fact, it was a little spooky how quiet everything was around us.
We went to Chef Mickey's for dinner on our first night. The service was poor, the character interaction was very good, and the food was excellent, especially for a buffet. We have a son with food allergies, and the chef went out of his way to make delicious special food just for him.
We got settled in our room and immediately checked out the view. I was a little skeptical when reading reports of how close everything was, and I could hardly believe it when I saw it for myself. It's true, folks! The view was incredible, and I ended up spending a lot of time sitting on that balcony in the early mornings before leaving for the parks and in mid-afternoon during my pre-schooler's nap time. The castle changes colors during the night, and it was hard to get back to sleep when a show like that is going on outside your window!
The view was one of my favorite parts of the trip.
Before arriving at the hotel, I couldn't understand the need to have an odd-numbered room so that you could watch the Wishes fireworks from bed. But I have to admit that it would've been nice, considered how tired the kids were at the end of each evening. Next time, I'll ask.
Wishes....wow, wishes. It was so, so nice to not have to fight crowds and sit in our room with a glass of wine, listening to the Wishes music on channel 20, and enjoying the show from our balcony. Aaaahhhhhhh.
The room was spacious and modern. We are simple, clean-lines kind of people, so the decor is suited to our tastes perfectly. I know that this is a strange little thing to mention, but I loved the light shining through the glass tiles under the flat screen TV. It's the little touches that I love at Disney. I bought a hanging rack at IKEA to put the kids' clothes in the closet, so we had plenty of storage space. The bathroom drove me a little crazy, though. The sinks, while lovely, did not drain well and I have a 'thing' about toothpaste dried in the sink. Ugh. The towel racks, while lovely, are waaaaay on the other side of the bathroom from the shower. Hmmmm. The pocket door to the toilet didn't close all the way and left an inch or so opening so that there wasn't a lot of privacy unless you closed the other door to the bathroom, too. Back to the positives...my huge 17" MacBook Pro fit perfectly in the safe! Yippee! And the beds are incredibly comfortable. They are the best hotel beds I have ever slept on. And the in-room fridge and coffee maker (which we used to heat water for oatmeal!) were very convenient.
We had dinner at The Wave. It may have been the best meal we have ever had at Disney, but don't tell anybody so that the restaurant won't become as crowded and popular as Le Cellier!
The lump crab meat appetizer, the agave nectar margarita, and the creme brulee are just wonderful. Aziz was our fantastic server.
My husband's birthday was on Thanksgiving Day, and instead of a traditional cake, I ordered a Chocolate Monorail for him that was waiting on us in the room when we returned from dinner. It was very nice and I'm glad that we got it, but we probably won't do it again. It was rather expensive ($40 plus tax and tip.)
We ate at The Contempo Cafe several times. I really enjoyed their Turkey BLT sandwich and the breakfast burrito. I didn't care for the Marinated Beef Flatbread, but I think that was simply a matter of personal taste and not quality of food.
Mousekeeping was efficient and friendly. They were nice about working around our pre-schooler's nap schedule, which was not an easy thing to do. In fact, we never encountered a cast member at the Contemporary that was not polite. Even the crummy server at Chef Mickey's was pleasant, even if she was slow and inattentive!
The kids were able to swim a couple of times during the trip, and they enjoyed the new (I think that it is new) splash area and the pool. The water slide was a big hit.
They liked the arcade even better, and I liked shopping at BVG and Fantasia Gifts! I bought a Contemporary Christmas pin that I wear to school every day on my lanyard to remind me of the trip.
The only big problem that we had with our trip is........we are completely spoiled and will be unable to stay anywhere else on property.
Thank you all for your advice---which was spot on, let me tell you what!
Now please let me live vicariously through all of you who are heading to the World and will be writing trip reports soon!
, but my bet is that the tower is booked solid. And my kids are cute, but this is their first ever vacation and I'm not sure that the CMs will want them in the tower 
Have a super AWESOME time with your family and stay safe.
