Disney's Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower (Disney Deluxe Resort & Disney Vacation Club) Reviews and Ratings - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
PassPorter.com
Award-winning travel guidebooks
Thank you to our forum sponsor:

   guidebooks   |   news   |   podcasts   |   boards   |   blog   |   worksheets   |   photos   |   articles   |   updates   |   register   |   follow us on


Forums Closed
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.

So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.

Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.

And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.

We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm​. You made it all happen.

There are other changes as well.

Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:

We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.

It's time to move on and move forward.

PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.

But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.

So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.

And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.

That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!

If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.

So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!

Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!

Go Back   PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums > PassPorter's Walt Disney World Resort (Florida) > Staying in Style: The Resorts/Hotels at Walt Disney World > Disney World Resort Hotel Reviews & Ratings
Register


Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.

To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.

If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.

Forum Sponsor: MouseEarVacations.com
Learn Why PassPorter Recommends This Sponsor
 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 12-23-2013, 11:43 PM   #31
Sue M.
Community Rank: Legend
 
Sue M.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Concierge Level: 2
Posts: 15,667

Post Thanks / Like
I was wondering what you thought of CR. Sorry it was disappointing. But glad you enjoyed the convenience. Esp watching the hoards leaving MK and looking at the long bus lines, must have been nice just to walk back.
__________________
My Countdown Counting down to: WDW WL
back to the lodge
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsWDW Aug 2003 LBV Marriott Courtyard, Universal/Sea World/Busch Gardens Aug 2005 Hilton Garden Inn SeaWorld, WDW Aug. 2007 CBR, WDW Jan. 2008 POP & WL, Universal/SeaWorld/Aquatica Aug 2008 Hyatt Place,Sheraton 4 Points, Hard Rock Hotel & Doubletree Universal., St. Pete Beach Aug 2008, WDW Jan 2009 AKL, WDW Aug 2009 POR & WL, WDW Jan 2010 Poly, WDW Jan 2011 POR, WDW Aug 2011 POR & BC CL, WDW Jan 2012 WL, WDW Aug 2012 AKL CL, WDW Jan 2013 POFQ, WDW Aug 2013 Pop, GF, YC: WDW Jan 2014 POR, WDW & Universal August 2014 GF & Portofino Bay, WDW Jan 2015 POR, Aug 2015 Poly, Aug 2016 GF, Sept 2017 DL, Dec 2017 PoP, May 2018 DL, Sept 2018 WL, Nov. 2018 DL And too many trips to count to DL in the 80's.
Sue M. is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 12-24-2013, 12:43 PM   #32
Canada Amy
Community Rank: Trekker
 
Canada Amy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
Posts: 1,686

Post Thanks / Like
Yup that was super nice. We smiled extra wide every time we walked to or from MK! We don't regret staying there and having the experience, especially with the value we got. But it is funny to realize that we still look forward to staying at POR again when everyone says they can never go back after staying deluxe!
__________________
Amy Wear - Passporter News Featured Columnist

Click The Mouse
Disney Vacation Planner
www.clickthemouse.ca/amy-w.html
amy@clickthemouse.ca
My Previous TripsPop Feb. 2012, POR Feb.2013, Contemporary December 2013, CSR and AKL February 2015. Disney Wonder from Galveston Nov. 2015. Disneyland CA April 2016.
Canada Amy is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 12-24-2013, 01:32 PM   #33
Sue M.
Community Rank: Legend
 
Sue M.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Concierge Level: 2
Posts: 15,667

Post Thanks / Like
Quote:
Originally Posted by Canada Amy View Post
Yup that was super nice. We smiled extra wide every time we walked to or from MK! We don't regret staying there and having the experience, especially with the value we got. But it is funny to realize that we still look forward to staying at POR again when everyone says they can never go back after staying deluxe!
Not me, I happily go back & forth between POR & Deluxe stays. We are looking forward to our January POR trip very much. Then August at Poly
__________________
My Countdown Counting down to: WDW WL
back to the lodge
My PassPorter Bookshelf
My Previous TripsWDW Aug 2003 LBV Marriott Courtyard, Universal/Sea World/Busch Gardens Aug 2005 Hilton Garden Inn SeaWorld, WDW Aug. 2007 CBR, WDW Jan. 2008 POP & WL, Universal/SeaWorld/Aquatica Aug 2008 Hyatt Place,Sheraton 4 Points, Hard Rock Hotel & Doubletree Universal., St. Pete Beach Aug 2008, WDW Jan 2009 AKL, WDW Aug 2009 POR & WL, WDW Jan 2010 Poly, WDW Jan 2011 POR, WDW Aug 2011 POR & BC CL, WDW Jan 2012 WL, WDW Aug 2012 AKL CL, WDW Jan 2013 POFQ, WDW Aug 2013 Pop, GF, YC: WDW Jan 2014 POR, WDW & Universal August 2014 GF & Portofino Bay, WDW Jan 2015 POR, Aug 2015 Poly, Aug 2016 GF, Sept 2017 DL, Dec 2017 PoP, May 2018 DL, Sept 2018 WL, Nov. 2018 DL And too many trips to count to DL in the 80's.
Sue M. is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 12-25-2013, 08:14 PM   #34
Canada Amy
Community Rank: Trekker
 
Canada Amy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: New Brunswick, Canada
Posts: 1,686

Post Thanks / Like
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sue M. View Post
Not me, I happily go back & forth between POR & Deluxe stays. We are looking forward to our January POR trip very much. Then August at Poly
so awesome!!
__________________
Amy Wear - Passporter News Featured Columnist

Click The Mouse
Disney Vacation Planner
www.clickthemouse.ca/amy-w.html
amy@clickthemouse.ca
My Previous TripsPop Feb. 2012, POR Feb.2013, Contemporary December 2013, CSR and AKL February 2015. Disney Wonder from Galveston Nov. 2015. Disneyland CA April 2016.
Canada Amy is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2016, 08:17 AM   #35
BriarRose4
Community Rank: Jetsetter
 
BriarRose4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Northern New Jersey
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 2,357

Post Thanks / Like
We stayed at the Contemporary on our first trip to Disney. We had requested a view of the lake, but was pleasantly surprised to have a lagoon view of the Magic Kingdom. It was great watching the fireworks from our balcony. The resort was gorgeous. We loved the monorail running through the resort. And of course there's Chef Mickey's! The convenience of being on the monorail was such a time saver. Hopping back and forth between the resort, MK and the TTC to Epcot was great. It convinced us that staying at a monorail resort was the way to go for us.
BriarRose4 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2016, 12:53 PM   #36
jenifermg0
Community Rank: Navigator
 
jenifermg0's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 6,305

Post Thanks / Like
We just last week returned from a stay at the Contemporary (and POFQ) for a convention that my husband was attending.

We were in the the far end of the Garden Wing building so it was a little ways from the main building, but not terrible in all reality. The room was HUGE!!! We were shocked at the size when we walked in.

We didn't have a real balcony, just a pretend one...there were sliding doors and a railing that mimicked a balcony, but no where to actually step out on to.

The king size bed was great...except I kept losing my DH on the far side of the bed every night!!

We loved the huge bathroom and the separate toilet room was very nice. We also though the addition of the hamper was great...I always forget to pack the pop-up one I have and end up with a pile of clothes in a corner or in an empty suitcase! The shampoo/conditioner etc were AWESOME!!!! Made my hair feel amazing...I just wish they weren't so expensive to buy. We stashed what we could to bring home and will make it last as long as possible. The only thing we didn't like about the bathroom was the lack of counter space. The sinks were HUGE and VERY VERY shallow and didn't seem to drain well (not that they were clogged, just not tilted quite right).

The lobby and the main building were so cool! It was totally neat to have the monorail right there. We used it a lot. It was so much easier to catch it to go over the transportation center and then switch to the other line and head for Epcot and going to MK was easy-peasy too. Didn't have any real problems with the buses...at least nothing that I haven't encountered before.
The only bus issue I didn't like was that the Contemp shares buses with the WL...so getting back at the end of the day seemed to take forever (mostly because we were tired and just wanted to relax).

We ate at the Contempo Cafe (food court) and at The Wave. Both were really good and the service was wonderful!.

DH was there for a convention and the attached convention hall was AWESOME!! We are looking forward to next year's convention that is supposed to be there again!

The carpet in the halls looked to need a good cleaning, but all in all the resort was in wonderful shape. The only major issue we had was with the laundry facilities. We ended up DRENCHED one night at AK. The clothes we were wearing just would not seem to dry and were starting to smell mildewy (is that a word?). So we decided to do a load of laundry. Well, all the machines are paid via credit card and the card reader was out of service. So down we traipse to the lobby (with our laundry in hand) to find out where else we could go. Well, supposedly, there aren't any others...at least that's what the CM told us. Long story short, they ended up doing the laundry for us at no charge. Which was a good thing because that one load would have cost over $78!!!! It was so weird to get DH's t-shirts back...ironed and on hangers!!

All in all we did like the Contemp, but when we moved over to POFQ for the last few days, we were really much happier. The Contemp was very nice, but a little stark and not a lot of Mickey lurking around the corners like we are used to.
__________________
Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!!

OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!!
I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub!

2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
My Countdown Counting down to: Opticon - meaning I get to stay at the Contempo!
My Previous TripsDisneyLand - Nov-Dec 2002 / Caribbean Beach @ WDW - Nov-Dec 2004 / Coronado @ WDW - Nov-Dec 2007 / Wedding in Maui - March 2009 / Animal Kingdom Lodge @ WDW - Nov-Dec 2009
jenifermg0 is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Old 06-11-2018, 06:53 AM   #37
KellyL
Community Rank: Sightseer
 
KellyL's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Concierge Level: 4
Posts: 91

Post Thanks / Like
I stayed at CR for 1 night - May 31. It was on a whim as I was able to extend my vacation for one night. I called Disney directly and asked for a passholder rate at either WL or CR. I told the cast member that CR was on my bucket list as I had stayed at the other MK resorts. She was able to get me a good rate for the night at CR in a garden view room. She apologized that she wasn't able to find a room in the tower. I was driving up to CR as I was finishing up my reservation. I checked in immediately and they offered to hold my bags until my room was ready. I took advantage of this service and explored the resort. 20 minutes later, I had a text that my room was ready. I went to my room (1st floor, #6224), checked everything out, and called bell services. Not 5 minutes later my luggage was delivered. I was so surprised! The room was spacious, clean, and best of all, I had a view of Bay Lake and was close to the pool. The walk from the room to the tower was not long and neither was the walk from the room to MK. My only complaint would be that the AC was set at 65 and I wasn't able to change it, but I turned it off and pulled out another blanket. Had I been there for more than a night, I would have called the desk and asked to have it checked. I really recommend a stay here.
KellyL is offline  
 
Reply With Quote
Reply



Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Thank you to our forum sponsor:













Please login or register to hide these ads -- it's free and easy!

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:38 AM.

-->

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like v3.4.0 Patch Level 1 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
(c) 1998-2017 PassPorter Travel Press/MediaMarx, Inc.
Celebrating 19 Years of Making Dreams Come True
Ad Management plugin by RedTyger