Hi everyone!
Staying at the Contemporary for the first time this August (hope we made the right choice!) in the Garden Wing. I am beginning to stress that maybe we wont like it. We were drawn because the walk to MK and thought this would be perfect because we are there the most and because we plan on doing MNSSHP (location, location, location! lol). And we have been to contemporary MANY times for meals and is this weird to say, but every bathroom I have ever been in there has always been extremely clean!! LoL So I thought maybe that was a reflection of the hotel as a whole. However I just watched a youtube video of someone complaining how dirty their room, specifically bathroom was upon check in.
Is the walk from the Garden wing long to the Contempo Cafe and the gift shops?
Is it really far to MK from Garden Wing?
Can we use the pool by BLT or is that just for DVC members?
How long is boat ride to WL? Thinking of trying to get storybook dining reservations.
How were the eats at Contempo Cafe? (we usually do BC and the menu there is slim pickings!)
We did Cali Grill for dinner last year and loved it, anyone ever do brunch? Your thoughts?
Pros and Cons of contemporary overall?
Thanks!! Any tips greatly appreciated!
We have stayed in the main tower, but not in the Garden wing, so keep that in mind when I give my opinion
The way I have always looked at the CR is that I would much prefer to be in the main tower, but if it was a garden wing or having to stay in a moderate resort, etc then I would most definitely take the garden wing. From the basic theming and ambience of the CR it is far from my favorite resort, but when you take into account the ability to walk to the MK and the amazing views it jumps up tons. We have stayed at all of the Deluxes, and it still isn't my favorite but our 2 stays there have been wonderful, and I would stay again no problem. Walking to the MK makes up for a lot of shortcomings on atmosphere IMHO.
The walk from the garden wing isn't bad, it should be just a few minutes, and it depends on where in the GW your room is, but it isn't huge so we're not talking major time differences here. It just isn't as convenient as being in the tower. Again, all in perspective. It's a lot closer than pretty much all of the rooms in the value and moderate resorts.
The walk to the MK is just a little bit further from the GW than from the tower, but you can avoid the tower elevators, so I wouldn't worry about that at all. Still very walkable.
You cannot use the BLT pool. Not sure why they did that here, all of the other resorts that i can think of that have DVC and hotel sides allow both sides to use both pools, but not here.
We really like the contempo cafe, we have eaten here even when staying at other resorts.
Overall, the major pro is walkability to the MK, and that counts for a lot when you are leaving after fireworks, or attending special events like EMM, MNSSHP,
MVMCP, etc It's a huge plus then. I also think it's pretty cool to swim in the pool and be able to look up and see the iconic building towering over you, and to see bay lake just beyond the pools. Being in the lobby and seeing the monorail go through never gets old. I think the gift shops there are better than average, and they do have some non disney stuff as well. Staying in the tower, the views are also amazing. I find the bay lake view better in some ways than the MK view (except for no fireworks). The best way to do it is stay CL and see Bay Lake from your room and the MK from the lounge. It also never gets old to be able to see down into the Grand Canyon Concourse from the halls outside the rooms. While the decor isn't my cup of tea, it works there and fits. Same with the rooms. I would never decorate my house with the modern decor they use, but I love it in the CR. Like I said, the theming isn't the best or my favorite, but it just all comes together well and the other perks make up for it. The whole thing is iconic and classic Disney.
The cons I would say are all of the concrete, and less of the lush theming and grounds most of the other resorts have. It's just different. I feel it has less of a resort feel and more of a hotel feel. Maybe it's just me. The pool area is nothing special. It's big and wet, but less themed than most other resorts except the values IMO. It is not zero entry. It does have a slide, and I have never had any problem finding loungers, etc there which is a plus. But the view from the pool is nice. I think this area is very overdue for a renovation, but for whatever reason I have never even read a rumor about that happening, so who knows.
Hope that helped, just a few things off the top of my head.
Edited for an unfortunate spelling error!
