Was the original game room and food "court" in the Contemporary in the basement?

[extreme8]

Maybe that was why I (and poster above) recalled it as a basement? Makes sense!

It would also feel like the basement because the Grand Canyon Concourse on the 4th floor feels like the main "lobby", where everything's happening. Especially in the foggy memory of childhood.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

It would also feel like the basement because the Grand Canyon Concourse on the 4th floor feels like the main "lobby", where everything's happening. Especially in the foggy memory of childhood.

That certainly seems right, thank you!

 

[Three cats]

Did the Food and Fun Center then become The Wave or was there something else there between them?

 

[dansdad]

Did the Food and Fun Center then become The Wave or was there something else there between them?

In the very, very beginning it was an exhibit space for conventions. Then it became the Fiesta Fun Center which was an Arcade, snack bar and even had an area to show Disney movies. That morphed into The Food and Fun Center until The Wave opened in 2008.

 

[Three cats]

In the very, very beginning it was an exhibit space for conventions. Then it became the Fiesta Fun Center which was an Arcade, snack bar and even had an area to show Disney movies. That morphed into The Food and Fun Center until The Wave opened in 2008.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Figment Mom]

We went to Disney yearly from 1975 to 1983 or so. Always stayed at Poly but frequently went to that game room. I remember getting off the monorail and going to the ground level.

My favorite memories are the hot ham and cheese sandwiches and a 2-player fire truck video game. One person steered the front and the other person steered the back.

I also liked the shooting arcade in the back and the air hockey.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

A lot of walks down memory lane on this thread.

I have teenage memories of the game room, although my memory is it was in a space much larger than the Wave, so that shows how memories fade/become cloudy over time.

I do remember it being just about the coolest place ever. MK memories? Not so much. CR arcade memories, at least a spark remains!

 

[Deb & Bill]

A lot of walks down memory lane on this thread.

I have teenage memories of the game room, although my memory is it was in a space much larger than the Wave, so that shows how memories fade/become cloudy over time.

I do remember it being just about the coolest place ever. MK memories? Not so much. CR arcade memories, at least a spark remains!

I remember it as being larger than the Wave because the kitchen space was probably part of the space, too. It was really huge and the food area was where the waiting area for the Wave is locate. That was a small quick service area.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

I stayed in the Contemporary in 1988 and 1989 as a kid. I recall hanging in the game room and the food "court" being next to it. I feel like it was in the basement or ground level ? Can anyone tell me where it was, if I am remembering right and what the name of the eatery was in those years?

It was originally located on the ground level along with the quick service area that was across from it.

It was located where the Wave is now.

If you came in the back entrance from the Garden Wings you could enter right there. There were two entrances into the arcade. They had air hockey tables as soon as you walked in from the back entrance.

Then they moved the arcade to the upper level and it was much smaller.

We use to spends hours here after coming back from the parks. Can’t begin to tell you how much $$$ we blew on the Colorama machine so the kids could collect tickets and win a 50 cents prize.

 

[Farro]

In the early 80's our parents just dropped me and my older siblings off there while they went out to dinner!

I remember eating spaghetti there one of those nights, and I remember reddish big tiles and booths. Maybe reddish tiled booths. Not sure what restaurant it was.

 

[Tink-osophy]

I don't know how often, but, at least sometimes, there was a caricaturist down there.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I don't know how often, but, at least sometimes, there was a caricaturist down there.

Yes! My parents still have the caricature we got there on my first trip back in 1984. We stayed in one of the Garden wings and spent a good chunk of of evenings after returning from the park in that space.

Another distinctive memory I have of that trip is eating breakfast every morning at a cafeteria style eatery near the Mary Blair mural - I guess near where Chef Mickey's is now?

 

[Farro]

Yes! My parents still have the caricature we got there on my first trip back in 1984. We stayed in one of the Garden wings and spent a good chunk of of evenings after returning from the park in that space.

Another distinctive memory I have of that trip is eating breakfast every morning at a cafeteria style eatery near the Mary Blair mural - I guess near here Chef Mickey's is now?

That's the restaurant I'm talking about where I ate spaghetti and I keep seeing red tiles in my mind! It was where Concourse Steakhouse used to be. Whatever it was before that.

 

[Hopefully]

No way, I really think (and recall) it was in the basement.

It would also feel like the basement because the Grand Canyon Concourse on the 4th floor feels like the main "lobby", where everything's happening. Especially in the foggy memory of childhood.

No. No basements in Florida, as many pp have stated.

 

[Farro]

This could have been it...

 

[KBoopaloo]

YES! That is it! Wow. I have such a clear vision of it in my mind all these years later and that is exactly it. Amazing the things you remember - that trip was 35 years ago. Thank you so much for the photo.

 

[Farro]

YES! That is it! Wow. I have such a clear vision of it in my mind all these years later and that is exactly it. Amazing the things you remember - that trip was 35 years ago. Thank you so much for the photo.

Sure, just found on a retro WDW site. Those are great resources!

It is amazing, why the heck do I remember that spaghetti so well!

 

[si-am]

The old Contemporary arcade (Fiesta Fun Center) was the best! It was huge and even had a shooting gallery at one point and a movie theater in the back. I spent many hours of my childhood in this spot.

Sadly, there’s not an arcade at all at the Contemporary anymore. When we were there a few weeks ago, the small arcade on the 4th floor had been replaced with a childcare center or something. So Sad!

 

[writerguyfl]

Would any WDW building even have an actual basement?

It would be rare for any place in Florida to have an actual basement.

The utilidors are on the ground level and all the "first floors" are really the second floor. Everything is built up one level.

No basements in Florida, mostly. High water table. No true everywhere but certainly in Central Florida. But the bottom floor of the Contemp feels like a basement. Dark, cool, no windows.

Also extremely rare are underground tunnels in Florida. I believe there are only four road tunnels in all of Florida. There are two in South Florida: One is in Downtown Fort Lauderdale going under the New River. The other is the massive tunnel connecting Downtown Miami with the Port of Miami.

The other two road tunnels happen to be at Walt Disney World. One is right by Disney's Contemporary Resort and the other is in the Boardwalk area right next to the International Gateway entrance to Epcot.

That Epcot tunnel might qualify as two tunnels, however. Two non-connected roads both pass under the waterway at the same point. The left side in the image below is the public road (Epcot Resorts Blvd). The right side is Avenue of the Stars, which is the road that runs backstage at Epcot. The International Gateway is the at the top right. The end of Disney's Beach Club Resort is the top left.

Image Source: https://binged.it/2TQ6KFD

Anyway, that's some random tunnel trivia for the first full day of Spring.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

Do I mention that I have the fondest memories of that arcade because we met some cute boys from other states there with their families, that we played ping pong and air hockey with? I have photos we took with them in that arcade and outside by the Mickey head metal sculpture!! We were all teens escaping our families for a bit and it was so exhilarating!! These were some of my first amazing experiences in WDW and the fond memories are what take me back, for different memories to add to the joy in my life. I wonder if they still love Disney and if they are on here? LOL