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

[pixie921]

As I'm about to head off to the Contemporary in just a few weeks, I've been wondering about this pool thing. How exactly are they aware that somebody is pool hopping?

They'll ask to see your room key.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

As I'm about to head off to the Contemporary in just a few weeks, I've been wondering about this pool thing. How exactly are they aware that somebody is pool hopping?

My family and I are always asked to show our KTTW cards either when getting towels or when the lifeguards come up to each guest while they are sitting in the lounge charis at the pool.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Don't know if this has been brought up already but I recently returned from the Contemporary - Atrium Club - and I was surprised to learn that the computers are no longer in the rooms. Just thought I'd pass it along in case someone wasn't aware.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Don't know if this has been brought up already but I recently returned from the Contemporary - Atrium Club - and I was surprised to learn that the computers are no longer in the rooms. Just thought I'd pass it along in case someone wasn't aware.

OMG I can not believe that. I thought they were there to stay because of the Online Concierge program and it was great having the free high speed internet. Were you able to find out why they got rid of them?

 

[saffymom]

Don't know if this has been brought up already but I recently returned from the Contemporary - Atrium Club - and I was surprised to learn that the computers are no longer in the rooms. Just thought I'd pass it along in case someone wasn't aware.

I can confirm this. I was there Jan. 19-26 and there was no computer in our room. When I asked about it at the front desk, I was told they were removed the week before. I was so stunned, I didn't think to ask why.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I can confirm this. I was there Jan. 19-26 and there was no computer in our room. When I asked about it at the front desk, I was told they were removed the week before. I was so stunned, I didn't think to ask why.

Well when my family and I are there this August I plan to ask why they got rid of them, unless someone is able to find the answer before then.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Well when my family and I are there this August I plan to ask why they got rid of them, unless someone is able to find the answer before then.

I asked why as I was a bit upset about it (my trip was my trip from hell and everything was going wrong).....I was only told (a bit rudely btw) that it was just a temporary thing that they were testing and they had decided to take them out. She informed me that they were "slowly" taking them out of all the rooms. Wish I would have known - I would have taken my laptop

 

[brergnat]

I asked why as I was a bit upset about it (my trip was my trip from hell and everything was going wrong).....I was only told (a bit rudely btw) that it was just a temporary thing that they were testing and they had decided to take them out. She informed me that they were "slowly" taking them out of all the rooms. Wish I would have known - I would have taken my laptop

That stinks! I mean, that you had the trip from hell and everything went wrong.

I'm sorry...can you elaborate? Was the Contemporary the reason your trip was "the trip from hell?" I have an upcoming stay there, and I'd like to hear of anything that might have made your stay less than great...

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I asked why as I was a bit upset about it (my trip was my trip from hell and everything was going wrong).....I was only told (a bit rudely btw) that it was just a temporary thing that they were testing and they had decided to take them out. She informed me that they were "slowly" taking them out of all the rooms. Wish I would have known - I would have taken my laptop

Thanks for that information and I am sorry your trip did not go so well.

 

[hematite153]

Don't know if this has been brought up already but I recently returned from the Contemporary - Atrium Club - and I was surprised to learn that the computers are no longer in the rooms. Just thought I'd pass it along in case someone wasn't aware.

Wow! Those computers were, in my opinion, the biggest reason to book those rooms.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

That stinks! I mean, that you had the trip from hell and everything went wrong.

I'm sorry...can you elaborate? Was the Contemporary the reason your trip was "the trip from hell?" I have an upcoming stay there, and I'd like to hear of anything that might have made your stay less than great...

Actually we just had a lot of drama...it was my husband's ""dream" trip that I thought I had planned for him but we ended up with a large emotional roller coaster ride......it started with over 15 DVDs getting stolen from his luggage and then his grandmother passing the day we got there. But anyway.....

As far as the Contemporary, the resort was nice. We are used to staying at Mods and Values and well I learned that you really can't beat the value of those resorts. Anyway, we stayed on the Atrium Club and I was just expecting a little more...I guess for what we paid, I expected the world.

Check-in was smooth - we waited for about 5 minutes and the process started. We learned we didn't get a MK view (I was really crossing my fingers - I had requested it and it was our anniversary trip so I was hoping for some pixie dust) and then we got escorted up to the 12th floor. The lady introduced us to the concierge staff upstairs and took us to our room.

The room was nice, big and very comfy beds. The view was of the lake so it was nice and peaceful. The rooms have a flatscreen and a DVD players. Bathroom was huge and I loved it!

The letter in the room made mention of using the computers so I was sure to point it out to Concierge that they should really get that fixed if they are taking comps away (It makes them look minor league in my book)

We visited the lounge for breakfast, snack and drinks at night. Breakfast was good but snacks and drinks left much to be desired (in my opinion)

Noise level in the morning was a bit much - Chef Mickey's woke me up at 8:30 like clockwork but I was thankful we were so high up (12th floor) as I would hate to be on a lower floor on that side of the building (if you are an early riser this shouldn't really matter but if you like to sleep in this may be good to note)

The nicest thing to us was being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom - it took us maybe 5 minutes and it was a nice relaxing walk to do. Getting to Epcot took us over 30 minutes and coming back took us almost an hour on the monorail. Getting to DHS took us maybe 15-20 minutes.

We never used the food court (Except to go buy a bottle of water) but it seemed really small and with a limited selection of stuff. This may be normal in deluxe hotels, I'm not sure.

The new restaurant downstairs looks really nice and has a really nice bar and well California Grill is always amazing. Chef Mickey's for breakfast was ok - the best part was seeing the characters.

We didn't use the pool but it was open, heated and nice to look at from our room. We wish we could have visited it during our short stay but maybe next time.

During the day you can hear some construction going on (we noticed it the day we got there as we hung out for about an hour in our room before going to dinner)

We were celebrating our anniversary and we didn't get a thing - I was thinking maybe a card or balloons or buttons at check in but nothing. Guess you shouldn't expect anything but it would have been nice.

That's all I can think of at the moment - oh - magical express was good but a loooong ride. With Pop we are used to getting dropped off first, at the Contemp we were dropped off last so it took a while. It was nice to be picked up first on the way out though as the bus was overbooked and at the end a guest from the Poly had to stand the whole ride. Airline check in and bag drop off was good - probably the nicest people we encountered at the resort excluding the bartender at the restaurant downstairs.

Anyway, that's all I can think of at the moment but if you have any questions I will do my best to answer.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Check-in was smooth - we waited for about 5 minutes and the process started. We learned we didn't get a MK view (I was really crossing my fingers - I had requested it and it was our anniversary trip so I was hoping for some pixie dust) and then we got escorted up to the 12th floor. The lady introduced us to the concierge staff upstairs and took us to our room.

I am not sure if you did not know this but effective this month when staying on the Atrium Club floor you can now make a reservaion for the Magic Kingdom View or Bay Lake View, so you did not need to request it.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

I am not sure if you did not know this but effective this month when staying on the Atrium Club floor you can now make a reservaion for the Magic Kingdom View or Bay Lake View, so you did not need to request it.

I heard but when I booked I wasn't given the choice of either MK or Lake view - just Standard Club Level.....

 

[brergnat]

Thank you for your detailed reply. I'm sorry that you had so much drama! It seems like you had really high expectations, and you were sort of let down. That happens sometimes, so I'm sorry that was the case. I've learned not to expect TOO much from Disney anymore. Sad but true. Although, there is NEVER an excuse for something to be stolen from your room. That's just horrible.

We have a Tower MK View room booked, and I've already requested as high a floor (and away from Chef Mickey's) as possible, so thanks for the feedback about the noise! I will come prepared with earplugs, though, since I'm a light sleeper and I do NOT wake up early on vacation.

And, yes, small food courts/CS are normal for Deluxe hotels. From what I have heard, the Contempo Cafe is larger than most and offers a wider variety of options than most of the other deluxe resorts, which is one of the reasons we booked there. We will be doing a lot of CS this time around, and wanted a good CS option at our hotel (and within "monorailing" distance to the others). We are all "healthy" eaters, so the offerings at Contempo Cafe sound right up our alley.

Thanks also for the feedback about DME. Good to know it might be a long trip from the airport. I'll be prepared for that. We have a long flight from California...

Again, thanks for your response!

 

[brergnat]

I heard but when I booked I wasn't given the choice of either MK or Lake view - just Standard Club Level.....

Yes, the new booking option didn't go into effect until 1/1/09. Now, when you book Atrium Club, you get the option of Standard View or Theme Park View.

If you booked prior to 1/1/09, you only got the Standard Club Level option, and it was up to them to assign a view.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I heard but when I booked I wasn't given the choice of either MK or Lake view - just Standard Club Level.....

On the WDW website Standard Club Level is the Bay Lake View, so I am not sure why they don't just call it the Bay Lake View when making the reservations?

However even if you made your reservations before Janurary 1, 2009 you should have been given the choice of either view if your trip was happening in Janurary 2009, since that's was the month when the new booking policy for the Atrium Club went into effect.

 

[Ana~n~Joseph]

Yes, the new booking option didn't go into effect until 1/1/09. Now, when you book Atrium Club, you get the option of Standard View or Theme Park View.

If you booked prior to 1/1/09, you only got the Standard Club Level option, and it was up to them to assign a view.

Yeah...we offered to pay for it at check-in but were told there were no rooms left - oh well, maybe some other time.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Well when my family and I are there this August I plan to ask why they got rid of them, unless someone is able to find the answer before then.

I can confirm this. I was there Jan. 19-26 and there was no computer in our room. When I asked about it at the front desk, I was told they were removed the week before. I was so stunned, I didn't think to ask why.

I wonder if this is cost saving measure? By taking out the computers, there's no longer any free internet service. You have to either bring your own and pay the daily internet fee or go down to the business center and pay to use the computers there.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I wonder if this is cost saving measure? By taking out the computers, there's no longer any free internet service. You have to either bring your own and pay the daily internet fee or go down to the business center and pay to use the computers there.

Those are some very good points.

As for using the business center I guess if we need to use the internet we would go there and we use to before they added the computers in the rooms.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Yeah...we offered to pay for it at check-in but were told there were no rooms left - oh well, maybe some other time.

That's the best way to at it.