DisLaw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2008
Just got back from a short stay at the Contemporary which I had booked because DD who loves the modern style had been asking to stay there despite the rest of the fam's preference for the more traditional theming of the BC and GF. First great surprise, we were upgraded to a tower room from my standard view garden wing! Got the text before we got on our plane and I was literally jumping for joy in the airport and embarrassing my kids! I'll say it again, it pays to ask for what you'd like. I was warned that it would be next to impossible to be upgraded from the garden wing to the tower but I still called and had them add it as a request and I also requested a balcony and high floor as my online requests at check in. Of course I know it was pure luck of the draw and probably because it was a short stay so you can't count on it but it was such a great surprise
Our room was a bay lake view which looking back I can say I think is the best view, even if you can't see the fireworks or the castle. We got so much use out of our balcony, sitting out there frequently even though it was so warm but in the evenings and afternoons it was very pleasant and looking at the water was super relaxing. The theme park side also has the parking lot in sight which to me sort of spoils the effect. We all agreed that the water view was just the absolute best. I had to laugh, my family looked down at the garden wing and asked "is that where we were supposed to stay??" and they all thought it looked like photos of old Soviet-era public housing
Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration but from our lofty free upgraded room we were feeling very posh and privileged
The room was huge and very functional. I pulled out the rolling table from under the desk and we used that for eating in the room at times and also unfortunately for my laptop for some work I had to get done on vacation. The only thing I could have asked for was maybe another chair since we were using the couch as a bed for one of my kids. I was worried about the bathroom since the sinks were not separate but having the toilet with a door worked out well and we are a pretty close family
so we managed fine taking showers and getting ready. I agree with the reviews that mentioned the lack of shelf space in the bathroom but we made use of the shelves under the sink so it was not a big deal. Everything was clean and working well. I agree that there is very little Disney theming beyond the Mickey on the shower curtain. We had no yellow pillows, no bed scarfs just the crisp white beds which were very comfy. AC was fabulous!!!
This was one of my main worries but the air ran continuously keeping the room nice and chilly and even if we opened the balcony door it would not shut off. It also made a very pleasant humming sound which made for great white noise for sleeping. I kept the fan set on run not auto so it would not shut off when the temperature was reached I should add. I found the room very quiet and peaceful. Elevators were never an issue, but I work in a very busy elevator building so maybe I am just used to waiting for the elevator??
The first day, despite the great upgrade, we were still saying we weren't loving the resort...too modern, not Disney enough...ugly outside...but fast forward to our last day and we couldn't say enough about how much we loved it there! Having the quick service, fabulous stores and the monorail just short elevator ride away was priceless! Being able to walk to MK in under 10 minutes when the line for the monorail was off the ramps? Priceless!....Great games out by the pool like ping pong, baggo, connect four, that were never busy? Awesome!
I can't say enough about how much we loved our stay there! The only issue as my DH reminded me is that we need to book a tower room from now on, because I would not want to chance not getting the view we had guaranteed. I think a close second for me would be the BC just because the pool is so awesome there and you can also walk to the parks. GF, despite being my first love
since I first visited in my 20s did not live up to my expectations after finally staying there last year. Hated not being under one roof, especially in the rain, and while the theme just screams classic Disney to me, I could not justify the $$ sadly.
So for anyone on the fence about the Contemporary I say just give it a try! We moved to an offsite vacation home for a bigger family get together after we checked out and I found myself driving back to the contemporary several times to fill my mug, shop in the stores and just soak in the atmosphere again which I never expected to love as much as I did! Thanks Disney for another wonderful trip!!!
Our room was a bay lake view which looking back I can say I think is the best view, even if you can't see the fireworks or the castle. We got so much use out of our balcony, sitting out there frequently even though it was so warm but in the evenings and afternoons it was very pleasant and looking at the water was super relaxing. The theme park side also has the parking lot in sight which to me sort of spoils the effect. We all agreed that the water view was just the absolute best. I had to laugh, my family looked down at the garden wing and asked "is that where we were supposed to stay??" and they all thought it looked like photos of old Soviet-era public housing
Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration but from our lofty free upgraded room we were feeling very posh and privilegedThe room was huge and very functional. I pulled out the rolling table from under the desk and we used that for eating in the room at times and also unfortunately for my laptop for some work I had to get done on vacation. The only thing I could have asked for was maybe another chair since we were using the couch as a bed for one of my kids. I was worried about the bathroom since the sinks were not separate but having the toilet with a door worked out well and we are a pretty close family
so we managed fine taking showers and getting ready. I agree with the reviews that mentioned the lack of shelf space in the bathroom but we made use of the shelves under the sink so it was not a big deal. Everything was clean and working well. I agree that there is very little Disney theming beyond the Mickey on the shower curtain. We had no yellow pillows, no bed scarfs just the crisp white beds which were very comfy. AC was fabulous!!! This was one of my main worries but the air ran continuously keeping the room nice and chilly and even if we opened the balcony door it would not shut off. It also made a very pleasant humming sound which made for great white noise for sleeping. I kept the fan set on run not auto so it would not shut off when the temperature was reached I should add. I found the room very quiet and peaceful. Elevators were never an issue, but I work in a very busy elevator building so maybe I am just used to waiting for the elevator??The first day, despite the great upgrade, we were still saying we weren't loving the resort...too modern, not Disney enough...ugly outside...but fast forward to our last day and we couldn't say enough about how much we loved it there! Having the quick service, fabulous stores and the monorail just short elevator ride away was priceless! Being able to walk to MK in under 10 minutes when the line for the monorail was off the ramps? Priceless!....Great games out by the pool like ping pong, baggo, connect four, that were never busy? Awesome!
I can't say enough about how much we loved our stay there! The only issue as my DH reminded me is that we need to book a tower room from now on, because I would not want to chance not getting the view we had guaranteed. I think a close second for me would be the BC just because the pool is so awesome there and you can also walk to the parks. GF, despite being my first love
since I first visited in my 20s did not live up to my expectations after finally staying there last year. Hated not being under one roof, especially in the rain, and while the theme just screams classic Disney to me, I could not justify the $$ sadly.So for anyone on the fence about the Contemporary I say just give it a try! We moved to an offsite vacation home for a bigger family get together after we checked out and I found myself driving back to the contemporary several times to fill my mug, shop in the stores and just soak in the atmosphere again which I never expected to love as much as I did! Thanks Disney for another wonderful trip!!!
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