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

[WDWKOOK]

I will admit - I'm a little bit nervous about our upcoming stay at the CR. I've stayed a handful of places, and was very nervous about staying at AKL last time, but it was absolutely wonderful. We were originally booked for AKL 12/5/09-12/12/09 (for my birthday), but had to change the trip to 12/18-12/24 because of my BF's new job... I'm hoping this trip will be a pleasant suprise as well, and am trying to think positively.
We have reservations for a Garden Wing, Garden View, King room...any comments to help reassure me that this is the right choice would be great! Thanks!

You've made a great choice! The transportation options are so much better than the AKL. You will love walking to the MK and hopping on the monorail to the TTC to go to Epcot or walking from there to the Poly and the GF for a meal.

The Garden Wing is a great value. The rooms are identical to the Tower and the laundry is in the same bldg. on the 2nd floor. Make sure you request a ground floor room facing Bay Lake. You'll be just steps from the beach and you'll have a lovely patio and view.

Make sure you post a CR-TR when you return.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

You've made a great choice! The transportation options are so much better than the AKL. You will love walking to the MK and hopping on the monorail to the TTC to go to Epcot or walking from there to the Poly and the GF for a meal.

The Garden Wing is a great value. The rooms are identical to the Tower and the laundry is in the same bldg. on the 2nd floor. Make sure you request a ground floor room facing Bay Lake. You'll be just steps from the beach and you'll have a lovely patio and view.

Make sure you post a CR-TR when you return.

I agree with everything you said and I couldn't have said it any better.

 

[Pjimmeyer]

You've made a great choice! The transportation options are so much better than the AKL. You will love walking to the MK and hopping on the monorail to the TTC to go to Epcot or walking from there to the Poly and the GF for a meal.

The Garden Wing is a great value. The rooms are identical to the Tower and the laundry is in the same bldg. on the 2nd floor. Make sure you request a ground floor room facing Bay Lake. You'll be just steps from the beach and you'll have a lovely patio and view.

Make sure you post a CR-TR when you return.

WDWKOOK is absolutely right. Those are great rooms in a superb location. You can't beat being on the main monorail line for convenience and Disney magic! The beach and pool area is wonderful so if you can, try to get a room facing Bay Lake just like he suggests. I would not hesitate to stay in a CR garden wing room.

-Jimbo

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Only 30 more days until I am back at the Contemporary and I can not wait.

 

[Leafsgirl36]

Only 30 more days until I am back at the Contemporary and I can not wait.

I hope you have a blast!!! I can't wait until our first trip there....I am looking forward to your trip report when you get back!!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I hope you have a blast!!! I can't wait until our first trip there....I am looking forward to your trip report when you get back!!!

Thank you and I will be writting my full trip report from Clearwater Beach, because that's where my family and I will be until New Years Eve.

 

[TaraPA]

Only 30 more days until I am back at the Contemporary and I can not wait.

Only 1 day for me - I've never stayed at CR before so I'm EXCITED!!!!! This thread has been great to keep me informed as I planned.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Only 1 day for me - I've never stayed at CR before so I'm EXCITED!!!!! This thread has been great to keep me informed as I planned.

I hope you have a great time.

 

[JanetMom]

Have a great trip Tara, and I'll be counting down the days for you CR Fan.

I can't wait to hear all about your trips, as a way to keep my mind busy while I continue to countdown my days.

 

[Pjimmeyer]

Have a great trip Tara, and I'll be counting down the days for you CR Fan.

I can't wait to hear all about your trips, as a way to keep my mind busy while I continue to countdown my days.

I love reading the trip reports to pass the time too. I also love to get mousemail...so whenever I can I order things like the free dvd planners and the maps. A cheap trip onto ebay for my haunted mansion passion helps too. Hey, 120 days will pass before you know it!

TaraPA and CR Resort Fan...I hope you have a GREAT time...and keep the place warm for me...I'll be there in 32 days!

-Jimbo

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

TaraPA and CR Resort Fan...I hope you have a GREAT time...and keep the place warm for me...I'll be there in 32 days!

Thank you.

 

[taibant]

such an awesome hotel...

 

[Carrie in AZ]

We just returned from our first ever stay at the CR, and we LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!!! Let me say it again, we LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!!! Just DH and I went to celebrate our 20 year wedding anniversary. On past trips, we've stayed at POR and BC. DH really wanted to try CR and I really wanted to try the Poly, so we did a split stay. I, too, have always been intrigued with the CR, but I honestly went into it with a bit of hesitancy, thinking it was going to be too plain, too much concrete, not romantic, etc. Well, let me tell ya!!

Since we arrived in the evening it was already dark when we pulled up. The CR looks beautiful at night with all the exterior lights. We had requested a higher floor, odd numbered room to compliment our MK View room. We were on the 10th floor, right in the middle of the tower. We walked in and when I opened the drapes to see the castle for the first time.....OH MY!!! STUNNING!!! And, the next best thing after going to sleep watching the castle change colors is to wake up and look out over the Poly and a straight on view of the gorgeous GF. DH and I honestly can't see ourselves staying anywhere else from now on. That CR MK View is the absolute BEST!!

We loved our room -- the size and decor really suited our tastes. There are some really neat lighting fixtures and lighting options in the room that made it TOTALLY romantic. I have never read about the "faux fireplace" underneath the TV console. It's a rectangular-shaped area with small tiles on the facing that is lit from behind (turn on/off with a wall switch). Anyway, that is the only light you can choose to have on if you want and it just sends out a beautiful glow over the whole room. We LOVED it! I am going to post a separate post about my stay at the CR because I want to share with others that our room there was't at all what I expected -- it completely exceeded all of my expectations.

LOVED LOVED LOVED the blue glowing lounge area within the Wave. We really enjoyed having a drink in there while waiting for our tablee. I didn't know anything about the Wave until we walked in there for dinner -- now it's one of my favorite places to dine! GREAT service and delicious food.

I could go on and on about the CR. I can highly recommend it to any type of group going there: couples alone, families, larger parties. It has it all. Even though it was very romantic for just the two of us, I can totally see our family of four enjoying it -- our two princesses would also love the room and all the resort amenitites.

And, I haven't even started writing anything about the CONVENIENCE of the CR!! That walk to the MK cannot be beat! As you can tell, I am flying high from our stay at the CR!!

If you have any questions, I'd love to answer them for you!! I'm excited for everyone who has an upcoming trip right around the corner. You will LOVE it!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We just returned from our first ever stay at the CR, and we LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!!! Let me say it again, we LOVED LOVED LOVED it!!!! Just DH and I went to celebrate our 20 year wedding anniversary. On past trips, we've stayed at POR and BC. DH really wanted to try CR and I really wanted to try the Poly, so we did a split stay. I, too, have always been intrigued with the CR, but I honestly went into it with a bit of hesitancy, thinking it was going to be too plain, too much concrete, not romantic, etc. Well, let me tell ya!!

Since we arrived in the evening it was already dark when we pulled up. The CR looks beautiful at night with all the exterior lights. We had requested a higher floor, odd numbered room to compliment our MK View room. We were on the 10th floor, right in the middle of the tower. We walked in and when I opened the drapes to see the castle for the first time.....OH MY!!! STUNNING!!! And, the next best thing after going to sleep watching the castle change colors is to wake up and look out over the Poly and a straight on view of the gorgeous GF. DH and I honestly can't see ourselves staying anywhere else from now on. That CR MK View is the absolute BEST!!

We loved our room -- the size and decor really suited our tastes. There are some really neat lighting fixtures and lighting options in the room that made it TOTALLY romantic. I have never read about the "faux fireplace" underneath the TV console. It's a rectangular-shaped area with small tiles on the facing that is lit from behind (turn on/off with a wall switch). Anyway, that is the only light you can choose to have on if you want and it just sends out a beautiful glow over the whole room. We LOVED it! I am going to post a separate post about my stay at the CR because I want to share with others that our room there was't at all what I expected -- it completely exceeded all of my expectations.

LOVED LOVED LOVED the blue glowing lounge area within the Wave. We really enjoyed having a drink in there while waiting for our tablee. I didn't know anything about the Wave until we walked in there for dinner -- now it's one of my favorite places to dine! GREAT service and delicious food.

I could go on and on about the CR. I can highly recommend it to any type of group going there: couples alone, families, larger parties. It has it all. Even though it was very romantic for just the two of us, I can totally see our family of four enjoying it -- our two princesses would also love the room and all the resort amenitites.

And, I haven't even started writing anything about the CONVENIENCE of the CR!! That walk to the MK cannot be beat! As you can tell, I am flying high from our stay at the CR!!

If you have any questions, I'd love to answer them for you!! I'm excited for everyone who has an upcoming trip right around the corner. You will LOVE it!!

Thanks for posting that amazing review and it's great you enjoyed the Contemporary.

 

[suebedo]

My CR trip is coming up in 29 days!! Woot Woot!

We have a Garden view room booked via the 4/3 deal. There were no other room types offered when we booked but I would really like a MK view room. When I look online, there are still rooms available MK view in the tower (this is booking via rack rates with no special deals). What do you think our chances will be to pay for an upgrade when we check in? ( if thjose rooms are still avail) I'm not expecting it for free, I will pay but it just wasn't offered under he 4/3 deal.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

It sure looks like a lot of us will be at the Contemporary next month around the same dates.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

I really hope you can get that MK view room!! I would start calling, talk to a live CM and see what you might be able to do. If you don't have any luck now, I would call again right before your trip and try again. If still no luck, I would definitely inquire when you check in. I found the CMs to be very nice, but if you don't hear what you want to hear from them, you may even ask to speak with the front desk manager on duty.

Trust me when I say that putting in some effort to get that MK view room will be well worth it! Let us know, ok? Good luck. I'll be thinking about you and hope it works out.

Having said all of that.....I think you will still enjoy your garden view room. I can definitely see the benefits of staying in the garden wing...some of those rooms are sooo close to the pool and the beach is right there, too! And, prior to seeing it all in person, I would have thought the garden rooms are pretty far away from the main elevators to get up to the monorail floor, etc. but after being there, I don't think the walk is very far at all.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

We have a Garden view room booked via the 4/3 deal. There were no other room types offered when we booked but I would really like a MK view room. When I look online, there are still rooms available MK view in the tower (this is booking via rack rates with no special deals). What do you think our chances will be to pay for an upgrade when we check in? ( if thjose rooms are still avail) I'm not expecting it for free, I will pay but it just wasn't offered under he 4/3 deal.

Incase you can not change your reservation before you leave, I would then try asking when you check-in to see if you can pay for the upgrade. However I am not sure how the process would work since your on the 4/3 deal.

 

[2manypets]

Thanks Carrie for the wonderful review. We're still up in the air about where to stay next year. We usually stay at the Poly, but I'd like to try the Grand Floridian, DH wants the CR. After your review, I'm now leaning more toward the CR. I'm so glad you were unexpectedly pleased with it.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

2manypets, I would highly suggest a split stay! I, too, would like to try the GF at some point (we actually had it booked until the Poly opened up -- it's sooo hard to decide, isn't it?) so I understand what you're feeling. If you are going to be there long enough, I would recommend a split stay. I packed accordingly, one suitcase specifically for the CR so that we didn't need to open/unpack the second suitcase, and it worked out well. Since it was just DH and I, it was doable, even with a 2/3 split. If we had been there with our young princesses, I think repacking would have been more work, taken more time, etc. As it was, it didn't take much effort, and I'm very glad we were able to try two new resorts. Making the move to experience two new resorts was worth it.

I think a CR/GF split would be DEVINE!! Good luck with what you decide. There is LOTS of romance to be found in your CR room -- for sure!!