Is staying at Disney's Contemporary Resort worth the extra cost?

[mzalicia]

Is staying at Disney's Contemporary Resort worth the extra cost?

What is amazing about staying at Disney's Contemporary Resort? I am asking for your expert help as I need to make a very a quick decision!

Availability was just offered at the convention rate to stay at Disney's Contemporary Resort during my upcoming business trip + solo touring at WDW. Is 8 days at Disney's Contemporary Resort worth an extra $1400+ out of pocket??

I have a convention at WDW the first week of October 2017. I booked offsite because nothing was available onsite at the convention rate for the days I wanted. I just checked the convention site again and they now have availability with an amazing rate at Disney's Contemporary Resort. I am currently booked offsite in a 1-bedroom condo for 9 nights and reserved a rental car. If I change my reservation to Disney's Contemporary Resort, I will need to cover the extra amount out of pocket due to my employers reimbursement guidelines. I am planning to get an AP, so parking costs are not a factor.


Pros:
First time staying at Monorail hotel
First time staying at a hotel with Monorail running through it!
Walking distance to Magic Kingdom
Deluxe Disney Resort!
Convention has bus transportation from Contemporary to event


Cons:
Less budget for 2018 trip
Off-site condo has kitchen - staying at Contemporary means more out of pocket costs for meals
Off-site condo has washer/dryer - I would need to set aside time to wash clothes and/or pack more (extra luggage costs)
Convention parking is at ESPN w/ Bus transportation to event, to help me cover the extra cost I could cancel my rental car


What have I missed?? If you have stayed at Disney's Contemporary Resort before - would you want to go back for a week? Why do you love Disney's Contemporary Resort?

Thank you in advance!
Alicia

 

[Skywise]

That's roughly $175 more per day.

Worth is really speculative and is your personal preference. Could you have more fun with another $1400 towards a 2nd Disney trip?

Are you staying in the garden wing or in the tower?

In addition to your pros add "See the fireworks every night and see the Electrical Water Parade"

Contemporary has laundry facilities on-site (not as convenient as in the room with the condo but you could defray your luggage costs that way)

It's really all subjective but if you've never stayed at the Contemporary before and probably wouldn't ever again... I'd lean towards yes here - especially if you're staying in the tower.
If you plan on staying at the Contemporary in the future - probably not...

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

What we love about the CR is the proximity to MK. We love the ability to walk to and especially from MK when it is late without having to wait for the monorail or boat. Not sure how much park time you will have but it is great for us. I love the size of the rooms at the CR - bigger than most rooms on site. We also love the views from the rooms - we love watching the Electric Water Pageant. The CR has great restaurants including California Grill, The Wave restaurant and a great quick service, Contempo Cafe.

I would pick staying on site every time but because you have a conference I don't know how much that matters to you.

I hope that helps.

 

[CinderellaDream]

Having stayed at the CR before I would jump at the chance to stay there again with a convention rate. I love the location and the ability to walk to MK from the hotel. The dining options there are also great. Staying on the monorail also opens up other dining options on the monorail loop.

Some would argue that there is no real "theme" here like at other Disney resorts but that doesn't not bother me at all.

I also have experience staying at a hotel that was not my convention hotel and I will probably not ever do that again if possible just because it made me feel rushed to get to my class each morning when driving over.

 

[DieHardJoe]

When you mentioned Contemporary and then said covention at WDW, my first thought was absolutely pay the extra and stay right there where the convention is. But later on you mentioned convention parking at ESPN. So is the convention at the Yacht Club? If so, then I might reconsider paying the extra for staying at the Contemporary, but knowing me, I would do it! As stated earlier, it depends on your own valuation of your time, money and preferences.

 

[loves to dive]

As others have said, if it's worth it is all subjective. Are you planning on spending a lot of time at MK, if so it might be. Is your convention at a Disney resort? If so you still might be able to get a room at that resort for less than the $1400 at CR even not paying convention rate. Are you planning on going to F&W at Epcot for more than one day? If you can't get a room at another Disney resort or the resort where the convention is, CR might be a good choice because of the monorail back and forth to Epcot.

Personally, I'm not a fan of CR, that's just personal but I just don't like the look and feel of it and it would most likely not be worth it for me. I would probably look for another resort on Disney property and stay there. I don't spend a lot of time at MK, especially during F&W, maybe 1/2 day at best and I might pop over one night to watch the FWs. So for me, no, it wouldn't be worth it, especially if I was spending all day at the convention and only spending my nights at the resort.

 

[Amelia :)]

It's a lot of money, but you probably won't ever see a rate like that again. If you think you'd like to stay at the contemporary once in your life time, now would be the time to do it!

 

[crazylady]

We loved Contemporary for the distance to MK and the views of the lake and the parks and would definitely stay there again.

If I were in your shoes, I would prob save the money to use on your next trip though. I'd have a hard time justifying the cost of deluxe for just me. But one pro for Contemporary would be the quick access to MK if you won't have alot of time available to go to the parks.

 

[hedberg1661]

I would go with CR for sure especially if that rate is a tower room. One of my favorite resorts on property...you won't regret it.

 

[mzalicia]

Thank you! I really appreciate all the input - I'm feeling very lucky for this community to bounce my ideas off of. I am really torn on this decision for the reasons mentioned. I have always wanted to stay at CR, but the cost has kept me booking only moderate resorts. I am not sure if I should state the rate so I'll just say it is close to a moderate standard rate per night. The only other on-site option is Coronado springs

The conference website does not allow me to choose my CR view so I have no input on where my room will be assigned. The conference is at the Yacht and Beach Club with no onsite parking. The only other on-site option is Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. So far my priorities are Food & Wine at Epcot and experiencing Pandora at AK during both the daytime and at night. I have not yet decided how much time I will spend at MK - since I will not activate my AP until I arrive, I would purchase a MNSSHP on site to use the AP discount.

 

[Skywise]

I have always wanted to stay at CR, but the cost has kept me booking only moderate resorts.

Do it!

 

[Shellyred8]

If the rate is close to a Moderate, I would definitely go for it. You just don't see those kind of rates for the deluxe resorts anymore. Also, if it's somewhere you've always wanted to stay, you might not get a chance like this again.

Have a great trip!

 

[AllieBoo]

I would go for it! We stayed at CR for the first time this past June and absolutely loved it! Walking to MK is the best. We also enjoyed being to watch the Electrical water pageant from the beach.

 

[loves to dive]

If the conference is at YC/BC you can get a room at Swan/Dolphin for less than the $1400, be within walking distance to the conference and to Epcot. Might be a better solution.

 

[conandrob240]

Tossing around my first CR stay also. $323/nt seems like a great value. We usually do Beach Club or Poly but either if those adds $400-500 for a 4 nt trip. Love the CR location but the pool has always turned me off.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

If the conference is at YC/BC you can get a room at Swan/Dolphin for less than the $1400, be within walking distance to the conference and to Epcot. Might be a better solution.

Agreed, this is the way to go.

 

[rlp]

Could you do a split stay?

 

[melissapealo]

Since you say you've always wanted to stay there then that cost is probably worth it. I have a friend that recently stayed at CR at convention rate and he loved it. That being said I was also able to see what a great rate he got on the room. I don't think you're going to be able to get that much of a discounted rate again so I would say definitely go for it.

 

[UnderTheRialto]

I have stayed there before but all convention rate rooms are in Garden Wing. I paid about $260/night which was incredible-- but my convention was at the CR. In your case I would not stay there, or would consider a split stay. I agree the Dolphin would be a great choice.

 

[Nancyg56]

Thank you! I really appreciate all the input - I'm feeling very lucky for this community to bounce my ideas off of. I am really torn on this decision for the reasons mentioned. I have always wanted to stay at CR, but the cost has kept me booking only moderate resorts. I am not sure if I should state the rate so I'll just say it is close to a moderate standard rate per night. The only other on-site option is Coronado springs

The conference website does not allow me to choose my CR view so I have no input on where my room will be assigned. The conference is at the Yacht and Beach Club with no onsite parking. The only other on-site option is Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. So far my priorities are Food & Wine at Epcot and experiencing Pandora at AK during both the daytime and at night. I have not yet decided how much time I will spend at MK - since I will not activate my AP until I arrive, I would purchase a MNSSHP on site to use the AP discount.

If you have always wanted to stay at the CR, and the rate is close to a moderate than I would do so. The only downside I see (transportation to the BC would not be an impact for me) is that you say the additional cost would take away from the next trip, and that would be my concern. I would look at both trips and then decide which one I wanted to compromise on. For instance, if you stay at the CR this time, are you comfortable compromising on the lodging on the next trip? If so, then stay at your dream resort. If you woudl begrudge the compromise then I would look at teh less expensive options this time, and maybe splurge on a special event this time.