It deserves 5 stars on the building's overall design, and the location, but the check-in lobby needs to not look like any hotel and more like a Disney hotel. I knocked off 1 star for its need of room overhauls, and updates to everything in the entire hotel. It feels like the '70s still, which is only a bad thing for somethings. All in all it is worth staying here in the off season when it is cheaper, but not exactly for peak season. Love this hotel still, all the restaurants are fantastic, and the monorail running through is a nice touch, but again not a 5 star resort like the GF, and pretty much because of lack of updates, which I would assume it'll get in the upcoming years like the Polynesian just got.
Stayed in a Magic Kingdom view room. Stepping out onto the balcony overlooking the lagoon, the Poly, the Grand Floridian and the MK; was well...magical. During the day you could watch the bustle of the park, the people and the monorail. At night it was Celebrate the Magic, the Fireworks and the Electric Water Parade. Taking a bus to any park is torture for my kids, so being able walk to the MK in less than 10 minutes was priceless. Our room was comfortable and large, and we never noticed any noise once we were inside our room. The pool is OK, reminds me of a public pool, nothing special. Elevators could be slow to come and were sometimes filled up when they arrived. The Contemporary is classic Disney.
We stayed this weekend for our 4th anniversary, and we have stayed in several other WDW resorts. I had high hopes from reading other reviews, but I found a few sore pots amongst the great qualities. First the GOOD: Great views of fireworks (we were on the Bay Lake side overlooking the pool, which is lovely) and the wonderful nightly Electric Water Pageant. Comfortable beds with pristine white linens. More spacious than rooms in some other deluxe hotels. Monorail access and the ease of walking to MK. The bathroom came stocked with wonderful fluffy towels and I loved the small light that came on when you walked into the water closet in the bathroom at night. The staff was overall very courteous and it was really clean in all the public areas & our room. The BAD: If anyone from WDW should happen to read this, please take note- a couple in their 50's who tell you that they are staying at your hotel for their anniversary does NOT want to wake up to LOUD screaming/piped in music at SEVEN am daily thanks to the hellfest of screeching that emanates from damn Chef Mickey's. The noise was very loud in my room (10th floor , on the side closest to the window near the restaurants). The screaming and clapping wasn't even drowned out all the way by the white noise app I have in my phone for such situations when we travel. Also, I think whoever designed the bathrooms without a counter deserves a permanent wedgie.
This is a fantastic resort, with very spacious rooms (by WDW standards) and fabulous atmosphere. On one side of "the toaster", Theme Park Views will wow you; on the other side, Bay Lake views will delight - serene and the lake is beautiful (Electrical Water Pageant every night around 10pm, right from your balcony!). We loved the modern bathroom (although people tend to complain about the shallow sinks and lack of storage space). Also loved being on the MK end of the tower, which allowed us to see Space Mtn every time we left our front door (and even see fireworks at night). Great quick service at Contempo Cafe, too. The kids got huge cupcakes every day. Still love Chef Mickey's for first-timers but no longer go to California Grill - too expensive and we don't like to spend a lot of time dining. Garden Wing will save $$. Same rooms, more quiet, and a close walk to Tower. We walk to MK (5-10 min) and take monorail back. The best!
We finally had the chance to stay the week of November 1, 2015. And I have to say we will be back. Thankfully we were allowed an early check in 11am! Now this is a BIG hotel so it did take a day to get our bearings but anyways we were in the garden wing and near the very end and I'm thinking wow this is a long walk however when I opened the curtains there was Bay Lake! Pool is a lot of fun, well maintained by life guards and they had activities which my son loved. We ate at the sand bar a couple of times and it's a busy place. Hotel itself was spotlessly clean, I had two minor issues with the room (I used to run a small hotel, I'm very picky) but it had nothing to do with it being clean. Housekeeper tried her hardest and kept the room very nice. We used the pull out bed for my son and he said it was comfortable. Plenty of room for 2 adults and two teens, actually I found it much roomier than the GF. It's a busy hotel so if your looking for a laid back place this is not it, but the convenience of walking to MK is a tremendous bonus especially if you want to go to other resorts you can catch there bus from there. They did provide buses to Epcot which honestly was convenient as you didn't have to switch at the monorail station. We enjoyed the coffee shop and we met some of the nicest CM's there, well maintained with supervisor pitching in to keep things running smoothly. Front desk staff again, proving Disney customer service is top notch. I found them friendly and very helpful. Really enjoyed meeting CM's. The Contemporary really has something for everyone I will definitely stay again.
We stayed in the garden wing facing the main building for 14 nights. The only drawback was the long walk from the lobby to the room but this was a small price to pay as we were adjacent to the pool and stepped out of the room to see the electrical water pageant .there were 5 of us and we felt there was enough room , the bathroom was huge with 2 sinks and a separate wc . Although not cheap, to be with in walking distance of the Magic Kingdom was worth its weight in gold .
We are a family of Disney veterans and this was our first stay at a deluxe. We chose the Contemporary with a Theme Park View purely for its location, however, it turned out to be so much more than that. We were greeted as we exited the DME and they had our information ready to go. Check in was very smooth and we were able to check our bags and head to the MK. We got our room and were able to watch wishes from the room, in fact our 11 year old was able to watch it from her bed. Since we are a MK family, this was the perfect spot for us. There was one evening that the monorail line was way too long after a long day at MK, so we decided to walk back. It took only 9 minutes as opposed to waiting from the Monorail. Truly a no-brainer. All in all, this was our best trip yet, and we look forward to many more at CR in the future.
Ok, so if you are reading this trying to figure out whether you should stay here, you need to take 2 different things into consideration. The hotel experience itself and the location. I will cut these into 2, and tell the pros and cons of each, and then you can make your own mind up...The hotel itself...it really is nothing spectacular. It does not look nice from the outside, and the inside really has nothing to do with Disney at all, except on the 4th floor. It is just like any other bland building. The problem with this is the amount of money you are spending to stay here. The place should be amazing and immaculate. Well not only is it not impressive visually, but the cleanliness of the place is deplorable for the price. The rooms are not cleaned well, the balconies have tons of bird droppings and cobwebs everywhere, and they are not taken care of in any way. I will say that the rooms themselves are nice and the layout is excellent. But from a cleanliness standpoint, it is really really bad. And if you complain, nothing changes. I have stayed here 3 times and had the same problems each time. Now after all of that is said, keep in mind, I have stayed here 3 times for a reason...The location is beyond perfect. It is the only place you can walk to the Magic Kingdom in like 7 minutes. And when you arent going there, the monorail goes firectly through your hotel and takes you right to where you want to go. It is so convenient that I overlook the downfalls everytime. There is a reason for this though. We as a family leave the hotel at 7am and do not return until at least 10pm every night. So we are never in the room. If we spent time in the room, we would never stay here. But since we only care about location, this is our place every time. A few other notes...this hotel has Chef Mickeys which is an amazing character meal. It also has the Wave, which is great for a breakfast buffet, and the California Grill, which is a top notch restaurant where you could watch the fireworks from at night. Those are all huge bonuses. So if you care about 5 stay hotels, stay away from here and stay at the GF. If you want location, this is your place!
Stay there in 2010. The rooms are great, restaurants are really good, walking distance to the MK, chef Micke's in house, monorail inside the building; what can you ask for.
A stay at the Contemporary Resort is just one of those Disney Must Do's. THIS is where it all began folks!!! We used to stay at the Contemporary when our son was younger. It is a convention hotel, and does have somewhat of a covention hotel *feel* it... IF you look for it. From Chef Mickey's to the gorgeous views and close proximity (walking distance!!) to the Magic Kingdom, it is just magical to ANY child (of ANY age ;) ) I still get a kick out of eating at Chef Mickey's with the Fab 5, and being able to see the Monorail come thru the Contemporary overhead. The Outer Rim bar is a nice place for adults to relax, with gorgeous views of Bay Lake. The arcade is alot of fun and large too! Contemporary Resort IS Disney!!!!
We could look out over the Magic Kingdom and it was just great! (as was evrything else!!!!!) The restraunts were awesome and the rom was really nice! So was the staff!
I expected the Comtemorary Resort to be the complete disney expeirence. But it wasn't it's main concourse building reminded me of the Orlando airport with the monorails running through it. The main benefit was the quick walk to Magic Kingdom
We have been visiting Disney for 25 years and decided on our usual visit at Christmas time (December 18th to 21st) to celebrate our 31st Wedding Anniversary. Our reservations were made early in July for this visit. We always call and request a Kingsize bed at the time of the reservation and check right up until arrival time and as usual we were told not a problem by Disney. Upon arrival to our 1st time stay at the Contemporary Resort, you guessed it we were told we had (2) beds and not a Kingsize as requested. We were basically told too bad by the cast member at the front desk. This is the last Deluxe Resort on our list to stay while visiting Disney and experienced several other items that we have not encountered on prior visits. 1. Very unfriendly cast members especially for the amount of money charged. 2. Zero storage for your clothes and bathroom articles. 3. One of our sinks were also broken. 4. Can be noisy due to open concourse and monorial traffic. 5. The only reason to stay at the resort is that you can walk to Magic Kingdom versus riding the bus which are always crowded due to sharing with other resorts. This is my first time for giving a bad review for Disney but our trip this time did not go as well as previous visits. We do not recommend the Contemporary Resort as it is to commercial and not Disney like.
I can't wait to stay in the Contemporary on Dec 10, 2010! It's my favorite resort! I love Chef Mickey's and the shops and the lobby as well this is awesome place to take the monorail to magic Kingdom and Epcot! This is my excellent resort!
We were very please with our recent stay. We were in the tower on the 9th floor theme park view. The room was very nice, the pictures do not do it justice. I was also very impressed with the overall resort upgrade. Food options were very good and I really enjoyed the coffee bar in the lobby. I think the theme park view is a little overrated but nice to do once. I think next time I will stay in the tower with the lake view and save some money. The room was very quiet we couldn't here any resort noise. In the morning we could here the ferry horns and at night of course the fireworks. The beds did shake a little when the monorail went through but I really didn't notice it until my husband said something. We didn't have any problems with the bathroom sinks that others have noted but we did have a slow bath drain. Normally we are beach club/yatch club/boardwalk people but this resort has changed our mind. We will be staying again.
I have stayed at the Contemporary many times before and have always had a nice visit. Visited there late last month for a brief two night stay. Used the online check-in and everything was ready for me, but was suprised that I had to carry my bags all the way out to the entrance to leave them with the bell hop to take to my room later. Returned at 3PM to see if my room was ready and it wasn't. Then I waited in the lobby for 15 minutes for housekeeping manager to call back. By 3:30 they gave me my room number, but when I entered the room it was totally stripped and the beds weren't made. So I picked up the phone to call down to the concierge who helped me to let her know the room wasn't ready, but the operator said he wasn't allowed to direct my call to a specific person (sounded like he was at some call center since he asked me what hotel I was calling from... something is wrong there.) Out of frustration I told him I would go back down to the front desk. On my way out I ran into housekeeping coming to finish my room. Then the bellhop arrived. So we both waited until the room was done, but they were quick. Finally got into my room. High floor with great view of bay lake and near the end of the hallway as requested. So the frustration of the check-in was all but forgotten until I went to the bathroom... no toilet paper! After learning a lesson not to call, I spotted a housekeeping cart on the opposite side and moved in for the kill. The woman gave me two rolls. Finally the vacation started. Oh, last complaint, sorry, the had this huge screen set up out by the pools showing a movie. The sound really traveled even up to my 10F room unless I closed my sliding door. It was very annoying that I just could not sit on the balcony and enjoy a quiet evening. Of course the music of my favorite electric water parade was marred with sounds of machine gun fire and screaming from the movie... Anyway, I will stay again and the comtemporary is still disney's best hotel.
I've stayed at the poly, gf, and wilderness lodge on club level and thought they were all better than the contemporary. stayed at contemporary last week of july 2009. the woman working the concierge desk all 3 days we were there was clueless. the snack offerings were (in my opinion) sparse at best compared to the other resorts. i loved the proximity to the mk and loved being able to just walk in and to watch fireworks from balcony (we were only a few floors from the top) but would not do club level there again. room service is supposed to be 24 hours but was terrible. the room was VERY quiet and nice and dark. good cold air and lots of room in the room. gf and poly have been by far the best we've stayed at. oh and whoever thought a square sink was a good idea must have been a designer not a real human being who actually had to use it.
We stayed here from 7/30/09 - 8/3/09 in a tower room on the Bay Lake side. Our room was ready when we checked in (10:30 am!), and we were so pleased. We were in room 4611, which is the 10th floor. Our view was beautiful! DH loved the sleekness and modern design of the room. I liked the sliding doors in the bathroom, and we really liked the private toilet area. I fell in love with the square sinks - they drain better than you think that they would! Our room was very quiet - we never heard Chef Mickey's. Mousekeeping was fine. Our room was clean, and I was surprised to see that we were given more than enough toiletries for our stay. No character towels, though! The staff was very friendly. My DD fell in the lobby and busted her lip. A greeter saw what happened, and she ran and got an ice pack. She even offered to get the paramedics. We definitely didn't need that, but her concern was real and appreciated.
MY MOM AND I LOVE THE CONTEMPORARY! IT IS AWESOME!
I love the Contemporary for a number of reasons, the pool area is great, the views of Magic Kingdom are breathtaking, the rooms are very nice, there are some good restaurants and gift shops and it is so convenient with a monorail station right at the resort and a short walk to Magic Kingdom. The Contemporary is truly one of my favorite resorts.
This is probably my favorite Disney resort, depending on the view. If you are in the tower and have a MK view, this is the place to stay. There's something about waking up, opening the curtains, and seeing the MK. It's also on the Monorail line, which shouldn't ever be discounted (especially after you take buses for a few days). The upgraded rooms are nicer than most of the other resorts, which is important to me for the price. I can't think of anything negative!
staral but nice.................worth it for the monorail and chef mickeys
This was our 1st time staying here, and I honestly won't think of staying anywhere else. The convenience of the monorail is more than worth the cost of the rooms to me. We did the tower MK view, and it was just stunning. A perfect start to our vacation when we dropped off our luggage and there was the castle right out our window. The new refurbed room are gorgeous and modern, with just a few odd little quirks. Beds are comfy, but bring your own pillows if you can. These were like sleeping on marshmallows. Could use a little more counter space in the bathroom, and there really is no place to put your clothes down except for the back of the toilet or the floor. Lots of room to stretch out, good closets, and the safe is big enought to put a laptop in.
After the recent renovation, this is my favorite resort at WDW. The rooms are pretty nice-- nicer than many others IMHO, and the size is okay, too. But what makes this my favorite is the proximity to MK, the convenient access to the monorail, and the historical magic this hotel has. Think about it...THE MONORAIL goes right through the middle of the hotel! How can you top that?!?
The convenience that the CR offers is the main reason we love it. Right on the monorail line, it offers easy access to the MK and Epcot, as well as Grand Floridian and Poly for meals. The newly remodeled rooms have been given a very classy feel, as opposed to the old \\\"tacky\\\" and \\\"futuristic\\\" feel. We stay there every time my family goes to WDW. Check in took very little time and the service was good. Housekeeping did a fine job as well. The pool area, while not themed, is good for my children, particularly the water slide. Suites at CR offer excellent ameneties and AMPLE room. We love it!
Had to save up to stay here! The room was $300+ - and we could only justify a one night stay since we live 2-1/2 hours away. Looking over the railing inside the hotel and watching the monorails travel through was special. We had a MK view and I took wonderful pictures of MK castle and Space Mountain. We watched Wishes from our room - nothing can beat watching the fireworks with a cooler of beer! When we left MK we got on the Ferry and watched the Light Parade from the ferry. It actually stopped our trip and we idled there with the Parade going past. Also the room was fantastic - the beds were more comfortable than what we have at home! There was construction on my floor by the elevators (June 2006) but we couldn\'t hear it in the room. The construction workers were polite and obviously trying to be respectful. The hotel bar was a little small and it was packed, but the servers were able to get us our drinks very quickly, and the view from the bar is really nice. I got a kick out of having our own private monorail take us to the parks. Yeah it was a lot of money and my friends were really shocked that we paid all that for just one night, but what a night it was!
Hi, I stayed in a 14th floor concierge room facing the magic kingdom, it was excellent!! The service was superior the theming was elegant and the whole experience was pure Disney magic! As we approached the resort we told the security guard we was staying in on the 14th floor and we were then welcomed to the resort. We then went up to the front of the hotel and was welcomed personally by one of the bellmen and we were given free valet parking for one night. We were then taken up to the 14th floor and had a speedy check in and eat and drunk some of the free refreshments. We went to the roo and found we had a mk view! WOW! This was excellent. I would recommend the Contemporary to anyone regardless of what room you sleep in. Hey you are going to be in the parks most of the time so who cares about the room?
I will admit I was a little leery of this resort before I stayed here, but boy was I wrong! Our room was HUGE, easilly the largest we have ever stayed at on property. The best, most magical part of all was the view from our room. I could lie in bed and watch Wishes, and see cinderella's castle change colors. We could also watch the train pull into the Main Street Station, and could see all of Space Mountain. This was THE perfect room. An added bonus was the monorail, which there was never a line for. The only down side of this resort was the Food and Fun Center. It always looked dirty , and did not have many different food offerings, but it was a great place to refill your mug. I would stay here in a Tower room again in a heartbeat!
If you are going to be close to the Magic Kingdom, the Contemporary can't be beat. The views alone are outstanding. I must say after a 6 night stay there, I felt it lacked something. Maybe it was the airline pilots convention going on, or all the people in business suits. But i felt I could have been in any hotel in any city. (Again, except for the view of course). I found the Tower rooms to be very noisy, from the 7th floor you could still hear the busses down on the road. In general we enjoyed our stay, but with such high hopes on our arrival, I think next time we will stay at the Polynesian.
I stayed my first time at the Contemporary this June and loved. I have stayed at many of the other disney deluxe resorts, but I had never stayed at the Contemporary. We were supposed to have a regular wing room but were upgraded to a tower room for free by just asking. The view was awesome. Every night we watched Wishes while lying in bed. The only bad thing about the hotel that I can think of is the themeing. Some of the contemporary art work and decorations just didn't seem to fit the Disney experience.
This hotel is the best! Just the right amount of theming, and perfect location... Recommend to All!
We had a wonderful time. We loved the easy access to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The kids loved the playground. They need a bigger food court. But we had a wonderful time. Definitely would stay there again.
The Contemporary is the best resort on Disney property. The view of the Magic Kingdom from the tower rooms is breathtaking. The resort is walking distance from the Magic Kingdom, and just a short monorail ride away from the Polynesian & Grand Floridian resorts and Epcot. The arcade and food center are excellent. The rooms are spacious and very nicely themed. To me, staying at the Contemporary is staying right in the middle of the Disney magic.
This is a fantastic Resort. The location is the numberone reason. The best view is towards the Magic Kigndom...but no matter what view you have....its all good. Rooms are a good size and the decor is pretty. The lobby is beautiful. Pool is great and service is A-plus!!!! I enjoyed this resort more because it is old. Its one of the original resort Walt wanted. When I was 6 and we were on the monorail to the MK, i would look at this resort and wanted to stop to see it. Well ir brings back alot of memories. A must!
Call it outdated, call it old, call it ugly, call it whatever you want. It will always be one of the best resorts for two reasons: 1) convenience (you can walk to MK!) and 2) nostaligia (it was one of the original resort hotels). The Contemporary actually has a lot to offer. Who can argue being able to monorail to MK and Epcot, having a monorail running through the hotel building, being on the lagoon (you can watch the electrical water pageant), having boat service to MK? Did I forget to mention the huge arcade (passsed time during more than one afternoon thunderstorm here) and the fact that the contemporary houses Chef Mickey's (one of the best character meals) and the Councourse Steakhouse (a great full-service restuarant)? So, gripe all you want about it...don't stay there...fine by me, just increases my chances of getting a ressie!
... Location. The Contemporary is walking(!) distance from the Magic Kingdom. That alone makes this resort worth a look. The room we were in easily slept/fit 5 and had a fantastic view of the castle and the monorail. Amenities include great restaurants and the best arcade on property. My kids loved earning tickets throughout the week. At the end of our stay, they cashed them in for toys they could play with on the plane ride home. Did I mention that the Contemporary is within walking distance to the Magic Kingdom?
Since I was a kid, I've always wanted to stay at the hotel where the monorail runs through its middle. I've still yet to actually stay there, but I have been in there and walked around enough to know it's a very nice-looking hotel. It has some nice rooms, inviting restaurants and giftshops, and has the great convenience of being on the monorail line directly to the Magic Kingdom. Maybe my next visit to WDW will include a stay at this still contemporary-looking resort.
I honestly don't like the theming of this resort...it's nice having the monorail, and the service is amazing, but it is very dry-looking...
The Contemporary was always a sentimental favorite. I would always enjoy going through on the monorail as a kid. I would always look up and say, "I want to stay in one of those rooms." Well I did last August, an 11th floor Contemporary Tower room with a bay lake view. I paid about $230 a night, it was a discounted price. First off, the elevator is very quick, so it cuts down time it takes for guests to get around. You get off the elevator and you walk down the hallway with a fantastic view of the grand concourse. I get to the room, open the door, and you go in, close the door, and it's like super sound proof, you can't hear anything outside. The rooms are very nice, and also the best resort bathrooms on property. The view is spectacular, could see epcot, tot, a great view. I did get a bay lake view, so next time I can enjoy a MK view! My expectations were very high, and the Contemporary lived up to all of them and more! It was worth every penny! I think the Garden Wing rooms are almost the same as the tower rooms, you just don't get the view. I haven't stayed in one, but that's gonna be my next stay, if I can't afford a tower room. The Contemporary is my favorite WDW resort!