The ALL NEW Disney's Contemporary Resort FAQ with PICTURES! (APR 2009)

[WDWKOOK]

How cramped do you think 5 of us will be in one room? Its DH, myself and 3 DDs age 12, 11 and 7. We are doing a split stay between CR and CBR(2 rooms), trying to figure out how many nights at each place. Its a space vs. money issue, CR is significantly cheaper than 2 rooms at a moderate, but I don't know how long we'd be able to survive with one bathroom. Now I realize we could do cheaper with 2 rooms in a value, but we don't want to. It will be our last trip for awhile with them and we they like cool pools with slides and theming. None of the values are appealing to us.

So, how cramped do you think we'll be and how many nights do you think we could deal with it? Our total trip will be a total of 8 nights. Thanks!

Since I'm on the subject of BLT...

Have you considered a BLT 1-bedroom suite? You'd have 2 full bathrooms and a king in the MB and a queen sleeper and sleeper chair in the LR.

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

Well, dh looked pretty happy once I showed him that we could have our own king bedroom at BLT! I tried to show him the other rooms but he said "I've already seen the nice,king bedroom, there's nothing else I need to see"

I think this may be just what we need, if it is available. My only issue is needing to block the balcony doors, but someone on the dvc thread has already told me that it is possible to use some of the furniture to do that. Does anyone else have any experience with smaller children and the balconies?

 

[f15robyn]

My only issue is needing to block the balcony doors, but someone on the dvc thread has already told me that it is possible to use some of the furniture to do that. Does anyone else have any experience with smaller children and the balconies?

I've never stayed at BLT, but we just stayed at CR in December. If the locks are similar (which I'm sure someone will be along soon to say), I'm 5'3" and almost couldn't reach the top lock

OK, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but if I were a parent, I'd be happy about the fact that there are 2 locks. One at "normal" height, where the handle is, and another one quite a bit higher.

 

[kamikazecat]

Someone in the BLT thread stated that a cm told her there was a balcony lock but she couldn't find it...she was in a handicapped accessible room so that might be why?

I am anxious about this as well as we are traveling with a very curious 4 year old.

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

I've never stayed at BLT, but we just stayed at CR in December. If the locks are similar (which I'm sure someone will be along soon to say), I'm 5'3" and almost couldn't reach the top lock

OK, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but if I were a parent, I'd be happy about the fact that there are 2 locks. One at "normal" height, where the handle is, and another one quite a bit higher.

I have never stayed at either resort so I didn't know anything about the door locks! Although some people on the dvc board said that the doors were a worry for them and that many people had even written to Disney about it! So, I'm not so sure about the BLT doors/balcony?!

 

[BetsyRNBSN]

There are actually 2 different sets of doors that open out to the balcony. The first one is a sliding door from the master bedroom, that is the one that has the 2 different locks, low and high... and they were a bit... um... complicated to figure out sometimes, my husband had to help me with them, lol.
The other door is from the living room to the side of the balcony. That one looked like it would be more of a problem as it had a lock on the door handle and one that was a dead bolt just above the door handle. That one is a little foggy, as I didn't use that door very often, just the one right off the main bedroom.
I don't know if anyone else has any more info on that other door.

 

[crcurton]

Congragulations and yes that is an amazing deal you got, so have a great time staying there.

Thanks!

The only question now is....should I call back and try to get BLT for that great price? My problem is wanting to be close to the monorail and food court.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thanks!

The only question now is....should I call back and try to get BLT for that great price? My problem is wanting to be close to the monorail and food court.

I would call.

I would estimate the time difference between the Tower and BLT to get to the Concourse is probably only a 5 minute difference.

 

[crcurton]

Thanks! I need to get DH's opinion. He's in Iraq now, but I should be hearing from him today or tomorrow.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Here is the link to the post by Baby Einstein's Mom regarding the sliding glass door locks:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2375411

 

[tlenzendorf]

Since I'm on the subject of BLT...

Have you considered a BLT 1-bedroom suite? You'd have 2 full bathrooms and a king in the MB and a queen sleeper and sleeper chair in the LR.

I would consider it, but I'm wondering about the cost, I don't think we could afford it. We are trying to keep the cost for lodging, park tickets and meal plan for 4 Disney "Adults" and 1 child under $5,500 for 8 or 9 nights. DDs would be 12, 11 and 7 at that time. Would that be doable? We are looking at going October 21-29 or 30, 2011. I know its a far ways out, but DH and I are going in 46 days and want to book a bounceback while we're there to keep the kids from being ticked at us when they found out where we went without them....

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

I would consider it, but I'm wondering about the cost, I don't think we could afford it. We are trying to keep the cost for lodging, park tickets and meal plan for 4 Disney "Adults" and 1 child under $5,500 for 8 or 9 nights. DDs would be 12, 11 and 7 at that time. Would that be doable? We are looking at going October 21-29 or 30, 2011. I know its a far ways out, but DH and I are going in 46 days and want to book a bounceback while we're there to keep the kids from being ticked at us when they found out where we went without them....

We also have a family of 4 Disney "adults" and 1 child. We are booked CR mk view right now(with 40% off pin) with park hoppers/and regular ddp for $5100(7 nights). I just checked on the wdw site and it looks like getting a 1br at BLT will only raise our entire cost by about $63! HTH!

Sorry, I just noticed you were asking about 2011!

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thanks! I need to get DH's opinion. He's in Iraq now, but I should be hearing from him today or tomorrow.

I would consider it, but I'm wondering about the cost, I don't think we could afford it. We are trying to keep the cost for lodging, park tickets and meal plan for 4 Disney "Adults" and 1 child under $5,500 for 8 or 9 nights. DDs would be 12, 11 and 7 at that time. Would that be doable? We are looking at going October 21-29 or 30, 2011. I know its a far ways out, but DH and I are going in 46 days and want to book a bounceback while we're there to keep the kids from being ticked at us when they found out where we went without them....

That's a tough question to answer since you're looking at '11 and pin codes/general public codes haven't been released yet.

Based on past years' promos:

With -40% off the rack room-only rate, which during '10 Value Season for a 1-bedroom at BLT is $288/NT. With tax 8 nights comes to 3,518.82.

8-day Park Hoppers added-on are about $308/per adult. So that would be $1,232 + one child is about half the adult so $154.

The reg. DP is $42/day/per adult. That would be about $1,344 and around half for the child is $168.

I come up with almost $1,000 over your $5,500 budget. If you dropped the DP you'd make it under budget or if you did the QS you'd just be a little over.

 

[tlenzendorf]

That's a tough question to answer since you're looking at '11 and pin codes/general public codes haven't been released yet.

Based on past years' promos:

With -40% off the rack room-only rate, which during '10 Value Season for a 1-bedroom at BLT is $288/NT. With tax 8 nights comes to 3,518.82.

8-day Park Hoppers added-on are about $308/per adult. So that would be $1,232 + one child is about half the adult so $154.

The reg. DP is $42/day/per adult. That would be about $1,344 and around half for the child is $168.

I come up with almost $1,000 over your $5,500 budget. If you dropped the DP you'd make it under budget or if you did the QS you'd just be a little over.

Thanks for the math help! It would have taken me foooorever to figure it out, lol. I'm thinking we are going to skip hoppers just due to cost. I know we could eat cheaper, but I really like the DP and not having to worry or think about food costs while we're there. We are going to go resort hopping on our trip coming up and check out rooms if they'll let us in to see them.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thanks for the math help! It would have taken me foooorever to figure it out, lol. I'm thinking we are going to skip hoppers just due to cost. I know we could eat cheaper, but I really like the DP and not having to worry or think about food costs while we're there. We are going to go resort hopping on our trip coming up and check out rooms if they'll let us in to see them.

You're welcome.

We asked one year to see a GF room. We walked up to the front desk and told them that we were considering staying on a future visit and would like to see a GV room. Someone immediately took us to a room and showed us all around. She even narrated the "tour" a little!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thanks!

The only question now is....should I call back and try to get BLT for that great price? My problem is wanting to be close to the monorail and food court.

Well at least with Bay Lake Tower all you do is use the skybridge when going to the Contemporary, however if you already have a Contemporary Tower reservation then everything is located right there.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

Does CR have laundry facilities? We are booked 10 days in August and may be in need of a washing machine.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Does CR have laundry facilities? We are booked 10 days in August and may be in need of a washing machine.

Yes they do and it's located on the 2nd floor of their Garden Wing building.

 

[WDWKOOK]

For those who were inquiring about safety locks on sliding glass doors at BLT and also a while back asked about what the castle construction looked like, here is a link to a BLT page that has both safety lock info. (Posts 611 & 612) and a picture taken on 1-13-10 of the castle construction as seen from BLT (Post 613):

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2257082&page=41

 

[WDWKOOK]

Does CR have laundry facilities? We are booked 10 days in August and may be in need of a washing machine.

Also, they do accept your room card as payment (if you have charging privileges). There is a TV on the wall and a soap vending machine. Frequently, however, the soap machine is either broken or nearly empty. I'd recommend bringing those Purex all-in-one sheets in a zip-lock bag.

The dryers take FOREVER (Read: You'll need to add more time to every load.) If you don't put much in them they're fine, especially with "delicates". But once you put some t-shirts/pants/shorts - heavier items - be prepared to hang around and add more time to them.