contemporary garden wing rooms

[firemanx]

pros v cons usually stay in main building theme park view, but budget doesn't afford it this trip convince me garden wing stay is worthwhile!

 

[SaludosPenguinos]

I had a south garden wing room in Fall 2019 and it was really lovely, but a bit of a hike to the main building. There was a covered walkway to the closest garden wing building ( we could walk through to get to ours, which I think was the middle). It was on the ground floor facing the pools, so it was really nice to have that walk-out balcony option. I feel like it would be great for folks that spend a lot of time at the pool (if you happen to get a side facing the pool) and maybe don't need to run to the quick serve to refill their mug all the time.
If I was on the ground floor of the first building closest to the walkway, I might be concerned with foot traffic.

 

[Palaura]

We had a 1st floor GW room right by the main building facing the pool. To date it was our fave room! The kids could head to the pool and we would grab food and eat poolside. I would stay in GW again without any hesitation!
The rooms closer to the beach are far. Location is key!

 

[dmband]

Unless you want to watch fireworks from your room, there is zero benefit to the tower IMO

 

[westie55]

We stayed in the garden wing a couple of years ago. It can be a long walk to your room depending on where it is located. Overall we had a good experience. I don't care much for the Contemporary overall, however. I like the theming of the other resorts better and I find that the walk is overrated depending on your circumstances. We were there in the summer with a toddler who refused to get in the stroller a lot of the time. We ended up on the monorail more often than not because it's a long way to carry a child.

 

[puertorican00676]

Unless you have mobility issues, the garden wing is just as good as any room on the tower not looking to the park. Rooms are all the same inside with same amenities except the balconies that are Juliet type. On the first floor is great that you get a patio. We had it and it was good to go out and sit in the patio chair looking the scenery.

 

[_19disnA]

Theme park view vs. lake room is quite a bit more money. We stayed in the main tower with the lake view during our last trip and really enjoyed it. The balcony from your room gives you a great view of the lake, boating and that evening lighted boat show. We enjoyed the view whenever we were in our room. I don't think theme park/parking lot view is worth the extra money compared to the lake view.

 

[mkb3]

It's forever away from the main lobby. I really wish Disney would put drink stations throughout the resorts, especially the larger ones.

 

[1kings1queen]

Avoid Garden Wing Rooms

We stayed at the Contemporary resort and overall it was another good Disney experience (we stayed at the Coronado Springs resort for a week in May). However, there were some misconceptions I had going into it which I wanted to share with those who may not be as familiar with the Contemporary/booking process as I now am. We booked thru a travel agent (my mistake and will NOT be doing again) and paid what I consider to be a considerable price tag to stay at this location; we were not too concerned because of the benefits (it was within walking distance to the Magic Kingdom and had the monorail steps from our hotel room).
That turned out not to be quite the case. We were booked in the Garden Wing which I thought meant we'd have a garden view, as opposed to the Magic Kingdom or pool view which were higher in cost and not in our budget. What I quickly learnt was Garden Wing was a whole OTHER building next to the main building. For those of you considering booking in this wing, I would urge you to reconsider. It would be worth the extra money to stay in the main building. You literally had to go outside and walk to a separate, 3 floor building and then through this very large complex of nothing but rooms to find our hotel room; which ended up having a view of the other side of the building and was shaded so we hardly got any natural sunlight in the room. Very disappointing. Depsite some of the other reviews we found the building to be very clean and free of any odd smells. It was just far, far away from the resort and where we'd imagined staying. We did end up finding a quicker way from our room to the outside thru a back set of stairs, but even with that, we were still a long walk from our room to the main building and even further to get outside where the buses were. Needless to say hiking up and down three flights of stairs every time we left or came back to the room was a guarantee we got plenty of exercise.

 

[Cheburashka]

pros v cons usually stay in main building theme park view, but budget doesn't afford it this trip convince me garden wing stay is worthwhile!

We've stayed at both the garden wing and Tower club level, and the rooms themselves were identical. I liked the garden wing room better because it was quieter: no lobby or monorail noise. It's only a couple minutes' walk to the Tower, so no issue there. I recommend trying to get a ground floor room as close to the lobby as possible. If I didn't want Club Level services, I would absolutely stay at the garden wing again for the lower price for the exact same room, and to have a more quiet experience.

 

[Marthasor]

Love the garden wing. It’s much quieter and you don’t have to contend with the crowded tower elevators to get anywhere

 

[Meglen]

Avoid Garden Wing Rooms

We stayed at the Contemporary resort and overall it was another good Disney experience (we stayed at the Coronado Springs resort for a week in May). However, there were some misconceptions I had going into it which I wanted to share with those who may not be as familiar with the Contemporary/booking process as I now am. We booked thru a travel agent (my mistake and will NOT be doing again) and paid what I consider to be a considerable price tag to stay at this location; we were not too concerned because of the benefits (it was within walking distance to the Magic Kingdom and had the monorail steps from our hotel room).
That turned out not to be quite the case. We were booked in the Garden Wing which I thought meant we'd have a garden view, as opposed to the Magic Kingdom or pool view which were higher in cost and not in our budget. What I quickly learnt was Garden Wing was a whole OTHER building next to the main building. For those of you considering booking in this wing, I would urge you to reconsider. It would be worth the extra money to stay in the main building. You literally had to go outside and walk to a separate, 3 floor building and then through this very large complex of nothing but rooms to find our hotel room; which ended up having a view of the other side of the building and was shaded so we hardly got any natural sunlight in the room. Very disappointing. Depsite some of the other reviews we found the building to be very clean and free of any odd smells. It was just far, far away from the resort and where we'd imagined staying. We did end up finding a quicker way from our room to the outside thru a back set of stairs, but even with that, we were still a long walk from our room to the main building and even further to get outside where the buses were. Needless to say hiking up and down three flights of stairs every time we left or came back to the room was a guarantee we got plenty of exercise.

Im sorry you had a horrible time but it kinda seems like you did little to no research about the room category. If you book the room understanding its a outside building away from the main hub, it is no different than the rooms inside. I wouldn't blame your TA unless they told you it was inside the main building.

 

[Cheburashka]

Avoid Garden Wing Rooms

We stayed at the Contemporary resort and overall it was another good Disney experience (we stayed at the Coronado Springs resort for a week in May). However, there were some misconceptions I had going into it which I wanted to share with those who may not be as familiar with the Contemporary/booking process as I now am. We booked thru a travel agent (my mistake and will NOT be doing again) and paid what I consider to be a considerable price tag to stay at this location; we were not too concerned because of the benefits (it was within walking distance to the Magic Kingdom and had the monorail steps from our hotel room).
That turned out not to be quite the case. We were booked in the Garden Wing which I thought meant we'd have a garden view, as opposed to the Magic Kingdom or pool view which were higher in cost and not in our budget. What I quickly learnt was Garden Wing was a whole OTHER building next to the main building. For those of you considering booking in this wing, I would urge you to reconsider. It would be worth the extra money to stay in the main building. You literally had to go outside and walk to a separate, 3 floor building and then through this very large complex of nothing but rooms to find our hotel room; which ended up having a view of the other side of the building and was shaded so we hardly got any natural sunlight in the room. Very disappointing. Depsite some of the other reviews we found the building to be very clean and free of any odd smells. It was just far, far away from the resort and where we'd imagined staying. We did end up finding a quicker way from our room to the outside thru a back set of stairs, but even with that, we were still a long walk from our room to the main building and even further to get outside where the buses were. Needless to say hiking up and down three flights of stairs every time we left or came back to the room was a guarantee we got plenty of exercise.

The bold lettering and huge print isn't the best way to share your opinion.

 

[RunWI1265]

We have very much enjoyed our stays in the Garden Wing rooms. Rooms are the same as the main building. Spacious and equipped with those annoying sinks If mobility is not a factor for you or your traveling party the walk to the main building is very short. And sometimes probably quicker than waits for the elevator in the main tower. I would not hesitate to book there if you want to stay at the contemporary.

 

[kappyfamily]

Another big fan of the garden wing vs tower. Stayed in both and we just like garden wing much better. People saying it’s a long walk to the main building is just kind of odd to me because it’s not at all. Especially how much you walk at the park, it’s literally nothing, certainly nothing I would cross it off the list over. The only reason I agree with the person that used bold lettering in their headline is maybe it will keep people away from garden wing so it’s easier to book when we want to go.

 

[Cheburashka]

People saying it’s a long walk to the main building is just kind of odd to me because it’s not at all.

Yes, I've always thought that complaint was illogical. If you stay at Polynesian or Grand Floridian, you're very likely to be staying in a building that is a longer walk to the resort's main building than the Garden Wing is from the Tower. Yet no one complains about how far those resorts' rooms are from the main building.

 

[katyjeka]

We enjoyed our room in the garden wing. If you watch you are often able to get them at a decent rate(compared to the tower rooms). CR is not our favorite resort but man I wish I was there now!!!!

 

[SaludosPenguinos]

Oddly enough, I just moved my reservation from the Grand Floridian to a Contemporary Garden room for our Boo Bash trip in September. Saved myself practically the equivalent of a one night stay in the process. It wasn't an option when I first booked and I'm glad it popped up!
It is true that the walk from the Garden Wing to the main building isn't any longer than the some buildings for the Poly or GF. I've stayed at all and had various distances. None off-putting enough that I would not book there again. However, there is something about the scale and outdoor spaces of the Contemporary that feels bigger and further to me. My husband and I were just discussing it the other day as we were walking from MK to the Contemporary for dinner. It's scaled like a Las Vegas casino or one of our monument buildings here in DC. What looks like a far walk in reality is pretty short. As a city mouse, I walk a ton in my daily life but I imagine it might seem daunting to others.

 

[Frozen2014]

Oddly enough, I just moved my reservation from the Grand Floridian to a Contemporary Garden room for our Boo Bash trip in September. Saved myself practically the equivalent of a one night stay in the process. It wasn't an option when I first booked and I'm glad it popped up!
It is true that the walk from the Garden Wing to the main building isn't any longer than the some buildings for the Poly or GF. I've stayed at all and had various distances. None off-putting enough that I would not book there again. However, there is something about the scale and outdoor spaces of the Contemporary that feels bigger and further to me. My husband and I were just discussing it the other day as we were walking from MK to the Contemporary for dinner. It's scaled like a Las Vegas casino or one of our monument buildings here in DC. What looks like a far walk in reality is pretty short. As a city mouse, I walk a ton in my daily life but I imagine it might seem daunting to others.

Thanks for posting. This is our first time staying at a Deluxe resort and we were basically deciding between Contemporary and Grand Floridian. The mark up for tower over Garden View was a lot so we were leaning towards Garden View. So of course i was questioning if it would be an issue not being part of the main building, especially as we are coming in August during heavy rain season. But then, it occurred to me that it would have been the same thing anyways at GF and also at Polynesian. SO seems like a non-issue, or not a reason to pick one over the other.
Enjoy your trip!

 

[SaludosPenguinos]

So of course i was questioning if it would be an issue not being part of the main building, especially as we are coming in August during heavy rain season. But then, it occurred to me that it would have been the same thing anyways at GF and also at Polynesian. SO seems like a non-issue, or not a reason to pick one over the other.
Enjoy your trip!

If I recall correctly, there's a covered walkway the whole way from the main building to the first garden wing building, and from there they are all connected by interior hallways...which is a bonus above GF or Poly. Poly will always have my preferred theming, but the savings for a garden wing room was hard to argue with!
You have a great time, too. I love having that short walk to the Magic Kingdom.