The NEW Disney's Contemporary Resort FAQ with PICTURES! (Feb 2008)

[Blue Skies]

I'm not sure what the success rates of 'requests' are. We'll be doing the same thing, requesting a King bed. Good luck!

When we booked the 4/3 deal in December, the only garden wing room we could reserve was a king room. On our reservation is says: CONTEMPORARY-KING-GARDEN WING.

We actually don't want a king room since there will be three of us in a room (me, DH, and DS (10)). I am crossing my fingers that we can get a 'regular' room when we check in!

 

[BenA81]

When we booked the 4/3 deal in December, the only garden wing room we could reserve was a king room. On our reservation is says: CONTEMPORARY-KING-GARDEN WING.

We actually don't want a king room since there will be three of us in a room (me, DH, and DS (10)). I am crossing my fingers that we can get a 'regular' room when we check in!

ok thanks for letting me know, I'll contact my travel agent. There is a day bed your DS10 could sleep on, its the size of a twin bed.

 

[Bricket]

Bricket: Yes, those rooms are different -- much more spacious than standard rooms -- and $25 more per night in value season for 2009. There are only 3 of them. We stayed in the ground floor room in 2003 (before the rehab) and loved it. It was great having the 2 patios and all the extra interior space. The bathroom was huge.

They used to be called junior suites and are now called Garden Wing-Deluxe Rooms (according to the official Disney website). The rate given on the Disney website came up as $355 in value season. They are a separate category so if you really want one be sure your travel agent specifically reserves it for you. It has a king bed and a sleeper sofa (sleeps 4). The other king rooms only sleep 3.

tyvm for your reply...I am emailing my agent now.

 

[Bricket]

When we booked the 4/3 deal in December, the only garden wing room we could reserve was a king room. On our reservation is says: CONTEMPORARY-KING-GARDEN WING.

We actually don't want a king room since there will be three of us in a room (me, DH, and DS (10)). I am crossing my fingers that we can get a 'regular' room when we check in!

What are your dates? Maybe we can trade rooms, lol.

 

[VirginiaMom]

I am currently booked for a garden wing / garden view room. With the 4/3 deal, I can upgrade to the tower room for just a little more money. I was going to do this, but I've read a lot of posts regarding the noise in the tower.

Questions:
Is the tower really that loud? My daughter and I are both pretty light sleepers.

I have 5 and 7 year old kids. Do you think there's a difference to them staying in the wing versus tower?

We plan to walk to the MK 4 different days, so I am also thinking about how tired they'll be walking back.

I'll never stay on a monorail hotel again, so I want to have the best overall experience possible. I would love your thoughts. Thanks!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I am currently booked for a garden wing / garden view room. With the 4/3 deal, I can upgrade to the tower room for just a little more money. I was going to do this, but I've read a lot of posts regarding the noise in the tower.

Questions:
Is the tower really that loud? My daughter and I are both pretty light sleepers.

I have 5 and 7 year old kids. Do you think there's a difference to them staying in the wing versus tower?

We plan to walk to the MK 4 different days, so I am also thinking about how tired they'll be walking back.

I'll never stay on a monorail hotel again, so I want to have the best overall experience possible. I would love your thoughts. Thanks!!

If you got a room over Chef Mickey's no matter the view you might hear some of the music coming from there while in your room, although a few times my family and I have had our room in that area and we did not find it bad at all. Of course others might not feel that way, so it depends on the person. However if you got a room on the opposite side over the Fantasia store then there is no noise at all from the 4th floor or Chef Mickey's.

I would say the difference to your kids would be the view in the Tower if you selected the Magic Kingdom one as an example.

Finally when leaving the Magic Kingdom the Contemporary is the next stop on the Resort Monorail, so your kids are tired you don't need to walk back and it's no more then a 30 - 45 second ride back to the Contemporary.

 

[VirginiaMom]

I can't read the map I found on-line. Does anyone know the room numbers for the South Wing rooms which are closest to the Tower?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I can't read the map I found on-line. Does anyone know the room numbers for the South Wing rooms which are closest to the Tower?

For the 1st floor those rooms would be 5101-5172, the 2nd floor is 5201-5272 and the 3rd floor is 5301-5372.

 

[crazy4wdw]

I can't read the map I found on-line. Does anyone know the room numbers for the South Wing rooms which are closest to the Tower?

Try this map: http://www.willcad.org/maps/wdw/resorts/resort_contemp.jpg

 

[Bricket]

Is there a hot tub?

 

[Nickb23]

I have fond memories of the old arcade and fun center. I even remember when they had a small movie theater there! What is the arcade like these days? Is it still around even?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Is there a hot tub?

Yes it's located in the middle of the main pool so you can't miss it.

I have fond memories of the old arcade and fun center. I even remember when they had a small movie theater there! What is the arcade like these days? Is it still around even?

That movie theater was taken out years ago and right now the arcade is located on the 4th floor where the old Fantasia store use to be.

 

[s&k'smom]

With all the construction going on I just had a couple of quick questions. We exactly are the wing rooms now, I thought they tore those down to make room for DVC? And the pool is under construction? Do we have any idea when it will be done, I'm thinking of switching to CR as it has always been a dream of mine to stay there. Thanks guys!

 

[ms.ojo]

I’m a little late posting as our trip was just after Thanksgiving… but here goes:

Background: Family of 4. Self, dh, ds9 and dd turning 6. We spent the 1st 3 nights of our 8 night stay at CR. We’ve traveled to Disney many times but never stayed at CR. We sprung for a Tower- Theme Park view room!

Room: Outstanding! The beds were so comfy, everything was bright and clean. And the view?! Unbelievable! We arrived just before sunset and were captivated as it went down looking at the pretty hues in the sky. How spectacular to see MK, GF, and the Poly! We were on the 9th floor at the Chef Mickey end. Noise was not a problem. It was fun to step out and see the activity in CMs!! I don’t know if all the rooms are like this, but the beds were set so that clearly from the bed closest to the balcony sliders, and even from 1 of the pos’ns on the other bed, you could lie there and watch the castle turn colors at night as you dosed off to sleep. Is there ANYthing more magical???


*PROS*
As others have said, having everything in one building is really convenient. It was nice to get off the monorail and your room was only a quick elevator ride away. It was also nice to be able to run down to shop, refill our mugs or get a bite to eat without going outside.

CM's were very nice.

Shopping. GREAT selection!

Views were BEAUTIFUL! Especially at night with everything lit up.

Swimming pool slide was a lot of fun! Also enjoyed playing ping pong outside and watching a movie from the pool.

Monorail! Sooooo cool.

Housekeeping was fine.

Beds were VERY comfortable….and the duvets/pillows so fresh. I really prefer a queen size bed to the doubles at the mods.


*CONS*

Who designed those sinks??? They just don’t drain well at all. Having a separate toilet area was great and came in handy for extra changing room.

Monorail. Yes, it’s a con too! We couldn’t believe how crowded it was. Several times we had to wait for another monorail (or 2) to come through before we could get on board and still we were squeezed tightly together! I can’t imagine how it will handle the increased traffic from the new Vacation Club!! Note: we always were up and out around 8:10am for 9am park openings. On our arrival night MK was open until midnight, the FW ended at 9:30 and we decided to hop on the monorail about 10:30 just to “jump start” our vaca. It was PACKED!!! Oh, getting TO Epcot was so easy…but coming back, it took a long time to loop around the lake and back to CR. Something to consider when you’re ret’g for an afternoon break.

The cost of food. We ordered a hotdog for dd. It was a nice large hot dog and delicious. It was $5. Nothing else. At the foodcourt at ASMo we ordered her a hot dog…it came w/ 2 sides and a drink for $5.


* COUPLE MORE OBSERVATIONS*

Fireworks: Our day of arrival we weren’t visiting a park and this was something we were really looking forward to see from the comfort of our room. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. They were distant, less than 15mins and just not that exciting from the balcony even w/ the piped in music. We were lucky MVMCP was a diff’t night during our stay. Those fireworks were MUCH better!

Water Parade: We were told it would only be visible from the Bay Tower side .... but we could clearly see it going around the lagoon past MK before the lights went out and it headed over to WL.

Bus Svc: Sharing buses w/ the other monorail resorts means several stops and a long ride to HS or AK.

Elevators: Often we found people in the elevator arriving at our floor (the 9th) who had boarded on the 6th or 7th floor going UP just so they COULD go down. They got tired of seeing the doors open on their floors from DOWN elevators again and again completely full. This was not a problem for us.

Didn’t mean to have so many negatives. We had a GREAT trip and really enjoyed the CR. It was SO magical! Our biggest concern is how the monorail will handle the increased crowds from the new bldg. Waiting for a 2nd or 3rd monorail is just not very enjoyable. At ASMo (or any of the mods) we have never had a 2nd bus arrive and been packed!

I guess bottom line for our family…we love the convenience of the CR, the views were great and the rooms nicely decorated and spacious, but for the price, it’s really a one time experience for us we’ll cherish, and now we’ll go back to enjoying the mods again.

If you have any questions I’m happy to answer…..

 

[sotoalf]

Did you walk to the MK at all? I wouldn't have bothered taking the monorail.

 

[brergnat]

Sounds like you enjoyed your stay overall.

I tend to agree that going TO the MK, walking is the easiest and fastest option.

You have to remember, the monorail arrives at the Contemporary from the MK fresh full of guests leaving the park, ESPECIALLY at closing time. It's bound to be packed with resort guests returning, and since it stops at the TTC, a lot of people have caught on and use it to return to the parking lot as well. I sort of wish the RESORT EXPRESS monorail didn't stop at the TTC...although I know it has to so the resort guests can get to Epcot. It's a problem.

On the other hand, the walk to the MK from the front lobby of the Contemporary is a brisk 5 min, a leisurely 10. If that. No need to fight the crowded monorail, especially late at night, it's just faster to walk back to the Contemporary after park closing than ride the monorail.

Thank you for your observations, though! I really appreciate your feedback!

 

[ms.ojo]

Did you walk to the MK at all? I wouldn't have bothered taking the monorail.

We planned to do just that, but I injured my foot shortly before the trip so we were using a wheelchair in the parks and relied on the monorail. Coming back at the end of the evening it was 1 quick stop away. very nice.

FYI - We noticed sometimes at MK certain car doors would NOT open on the side to load (presumably so those cars would then arrive at CR or Poly w/ space in them). How frustrating to be waiting at one of those gates and not be allowed onto the monorail. People were scurrying to get around to a diff't open gate and board. It was just the luck of the draw they were standing at the wrong place.

 

[ms.ojo]

Sounds like you enjoyed your stay overall.

I tend to agree that going TO the MK, walking is the easiest and fastest option.

You have to remember, the monorail arrives at the Contemporary from the MK fresh full of guests leaving the park, ESPECIALLY at closing time. It's bound to be packed with resort guests returning, and since it stops at the TTC, a lot of people have caught on and use it to return to the parking lot as well. I sort of wish the RESORT EXPRESS monorail didn't stop at the TTC...although I know it has to so the resort guests can get to Epcot. It's a problem.

On the other hand, the walk to the MK from the front lobby of the Contemporary is a brisk 5 min, a leisurely 10. If that. No need to fight the crowded monorail, especially late at night, it's just faster to walk back to the Contemporary after park closing than ride the monorail.

Thank you for your observations, though! I really appreciate your feedback!

Oh we did. It was a really nice trip!!

Back to the monorail: it was amazing to me the monorail had a lot of people on it in the morning. I guess guests take the boat/bus to MK, then board the monorail to eat at those resorts. They make those ressies early before park opening so it's very crowded. I knew it would take us more time to ride the monorail around vs. walk, but we built that into our schedule. What I wasn't expecting was the crowds at that hour of the morning. kwim?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

ms.ojo,
Thanks for posting your reivew, I enjoyed reading it and I liked how it was very detailed.

Also last month when my family and I were there a few times we also had to wait for a 2nd Monorail to arrive when wanting to visit the Polynesian and Grand Floridian, however it's still better then waiting 20 minutes for a bus if you just missed it.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

With all the construction going on I just had a couple of quick questions. We exactly are the wing rooms now, I thought they tore those down to make room for DVC? And the pool is under construction? Do we have any idea when it will be done, I'm thinking of switching to CR as it has always been a dream of mine to stay there. Thanks guys!

It was just the North Garden Wing building that was torn down to make room for the Bay Lake Tower. However they kept the South Garden Wing building, so that's where the only set of Garden Wing rooms are located. Also according to the rehab schedule on wdwinfo.com the pool renovations started on Janurary 5th and are scheduled to end on March 15th.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/rehab.htm