Disney's Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower (Disney Deluxe Resort & Disney Vacation Club) Reviews and Ratings - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Disney's Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower (Disney Deluxe Resort & Disney Vacation Club) Reviews and Ratings
The Contemporary Resort is one of the original and quintessential Walt Disney World hotels, surrounded on three sides by Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon and located within walking distance of the Magic Kingdom. Bay Lake Tower is a Disney Vacation Club property at the resort.
Official Guidebook Review: Our official review of Disney's Contemporary Resort (including Bay Lake Tower) can be read in PassPorter's Walt Disney World guidebook (chapter 3).
Personal Review: Contemporary is not high on our list of hotels due mainly to what we feel is a lack of theming. If this is less important to you than other aspects, this hotels offers some real benefits, like very easy access to parks and great views. The new construction at this resort is likely to increase our opinions when finished.
Article Reviews: See PassPorter's feature article on Contemporary Resort by Jacque Boyle.
Your Review: What do YOU think of this resort? We want to know! To leave a review AND numerical rating, click the Review button below. Please avoid commenting on previously posted reviews. Tip: Include your pros and cons! Click here for more review posting tips.
Results from these ratings and reviews will be factored into the ratings that appear in our guidebooks, too!
We first stayed in the Contemporary resort in 2002, in a garden view room. We went in preparing to hate it, and boy, were we surprised! We fell in love with it! Our room was spacious, comfortable and easily slept the four of us (myself, DH, DS and my DNephew). I loved getting up in the morning and walking out our patio doors to Bay Lake. Our bathroom was huge and the beds comfortable. We enjoyed the retro-70's theme, although that has since been updated.
Our next adventure at the Contemporary was in a Tower Room. We opted for a room with a Magic Kingdom view. I can not say enough about this room. The view was spectacular, the room was modern and comfortable with a flat screen TV and a computer work station. My only complaint was the bathroom sinks, which were square and flat and had little to no storage room. They need to put a shelp above the sinks. We ended up using one sink for water and storing things in the other sink!
I love the amenities that the CR has to offer. The monorail running through it gives it a sense of magic that no other resort possesses. We often relax at the Outer Rim with a cocktail, and we will be very sad to see The Concourse Steakhouse go. The grounds of the CR are nice, we love to walk out the the marina and just relax.
We loved the Contemporary this December. The monorail makes it easy to get to either the Magic Kingdom or Epcot as well as the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. Our room was a great size for us and the linens including the towels are top notch. We enjoyed free internet access with a computer in the room. Mousekeeping was great and very friendly whenever we encountered them in the hallways. The rooms were quiet (we were in the South Wing).
The only negatives were naturally, cost, and the lack of an adequate counter service type restaurant for grabbing a quick bite. And, although very elegant and stylish, there's nothing in the hotel that screams, "this is Disney!"
I'd definitely return to this hotel. We had a wonderful time here.
Although I haven't stayed here since I was in my teens, I do go to the resort on every trip. I view the grounds while heading for parasailing and eat in the Concourse or Chef Mickey's. I've also viewed the rooms during various Travel Agent Trips.
The quality, while still at Disney-levels has suffered over the years, sure everything is clean and up to snuff, but it no longer seems fresh to me
Acessability ? the monorail goes right through it for Pete's sake !!! 10 !!!
Affordability ? 8 this resort in my mind should be priced lower than it is.
Theme...just a 6 and that's mainly because I don't quite get the theme at all.
Amenities...the lobby, the monorail and the watercraft / watersports area, and the services are all great, but I knocked it down to an 8 because of the pool, nothing special here compared to the other luxury resorts in WDW
As for the Magic.. the Monorail goes right through it for Pete's sake !!! 10 !!!
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AUGUST 1974--CONTEMPORARY
NOVEMBER 2001--ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE
JUNE 2002--ALL STAR MOVIES
JUNE 2003--ALL STAR MOVIES
AUGUST 2004-PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE GRAND GATHERING
My son and I stayed there in August 2006 shortly after it's refurbishment.
We were in the tower with a MK view. What a view too! Looking over Seven Seas Lagoon was fantastic, watching the boats and the water pageant going around was pretty neat!
The resort is just fabulous. I used to think it left me cold, but it grew on me, and now I am glad that I stayed there!
The transportation was pretty reliable and you cannot beat being able to WALK to Magic Kingdom!! Then after a tiring day in the park, hop the monorail!
Of the very few things I remember about my first trip to WDW, seeing the monorail going through the Contemporary is the number 1 memory!
We had a wonderful time at the Contemporary. The rooms were nice, we had a first floor room with patio and a view of Bay Lake. It was particularly lovely in the early morning and evening. The service was excellent on check in. I was a little nervous about all the demolition going on(we stayed in April of '07 and they were demolishingone of the Garden Wings), but I can't say that we even noticed.
Our favorite part, though, was the proximity to the Magic Kingdom. Our DS (3y.o.) loved the monorail!
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The Contemporary is great for quick commute times to The Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The monorail through the lobby adds tons to the overall magic. And the views of the nightly fireworks from the tower rooms (Bay Lake side) are awesome. Overall, I love this resort!
We loved this one! I always wanted to stay there one day and so eventually we did. The proximity to the Magic Kingdom is the biggest plus of all, the personnel were very friendly and very helpful, the food choices were great too.
Not as themed as some other resorts but still great. Of course cost is a factor but you do get what you pay for and this is no exception...it was a deluxe resort by all standards. One thing though...those thin square sinksUGH. Everything else good.
We stayed in a tower room last year. We loved this hotel. We were "family of the day" and won the upgrade to a castle view. So yes that may make us biased.lol
Yes the hotel is not very "Disney" but really it is kind of a relief after being in the parks all day. Chef Mickeys was a plus also. The room size is more generous then the others that we had stayed at. 5 of us slept very comfortable.
The downside was that the housekeeping slid a bit the first couple of days. but was "fixed" with a quick call.
We LOVED having the Monorail . But if you had to take a bus, it was a long wait and a long ride.
There are a lot of things to do in this resort also.
We were a bit disapointed that it was not an option for our land sea cruise package that we bought.
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My husband and I have stayed at the Contemporary in the past, but it's been 11 years since our last stay and since this was our son's first trip, I splurged and went for the concierge Atrium Club Level (12th floor). Was it expensive? Yes. Was it worth it? YES!
We checked in mid-day on Saturday, September 13th. While my husband and son shopped for new shirts (due to protein spill issues) I checked us in. Nicole came down and escorted us up to the 12th floor. Upon arrival, she took my toddler by the hand, brought him to the lounge, tuned the television to Disney cartoons and offered him a cookie. While I continued to check in with Holly at the concierge desk, she kept an eye on my son and let me know that there was no way he could leave the area without my seeing.
Thankfully our room was ready. And it was beautiful! I thought I wanted a MK view, but was even more pleased with our Bay Lake view. Very relaxing to sit out on the balcony during the week and read while my son napped.
Speaking of my son, he LOVED the room. He loved turning on the lights (there are 4 lights on dimmers over the beds which he loved sliding up and down). He also loved the "fireplace" (the tiled area below the flat screen tv). He loved the sliding doors. My husband and I loved the room too. Definitely has a "contemporary" feel and the in room computer was wonderful.
We did partake of many of the offerings that the lounge had. I was especially lucky because the staff made sure that my food allergies were addressed and that I had a special dessert in the evening and muffins in the morning. (YUM!).
There were a couple of people who worked in the lounge who were not that friendly, but then there were others (I'm talking about Nicole, Holly, Al and ESPECIALLY Dorothy) who more than made up for it. They always asked how we were and what they could do for us.
When my son took a 4 hour nap one afternoon they were able to cancel our ADRs at Le Cellier (somebody got to be a lucky walk in that night) and book us into Chef Mickeys (food not so hot there, but the character interaction is really what it is all about).
The location of the Contemporary is always a plus. We could walk to MK and then take the monorail back (when we were exhausted).
I did spend a little time at the pool and it was very nice and quiet.
There was some noise from Chef Mickey's, but I felt that it was because of the construction going on. Everything is very open on the concourse which makes the sound carry. Once this is completed I don't think it will be a problem.
The construction going on "next door" at the new DVC was never an issue.
The staff at the Contemporary is top notch. So much so that we will be going back next year. Sadly, we could not afford the 12th floor again and after being spoiled by the staff there it's going to be hard.
I stayed at the Contemporary many times in my youth and recently stayed for an impromptu trip as it was the only hotel available.
The monorail is an invaluable transportation resource, and this is coming from someone who now stays at the Boardwalk for the annual trip- it really gets you to 2 of the 4 parks the quickest and most efficient way. Not only that, but you can get to virtually any hotel and location from the transportation and ticket center on the monorail line. This of course can be said for all the MK resorts on the monorail line, though.
That being said, the rooms are not nearly as nice and thematic as the Grand Floridian or other Deluxe resorts. The Boardwalk is much nicer and arguably has a better location (but location is WDW is arbitrary- everyone has their preferences. EPCOT resorts enjoy close proximity to everything but the MK, while MK resorts are farther but have the monorail, and the other WDW nut of my family, definitely prefers EPCOT resorts over MK).
I am not sure if this is a perk of all MK resorts, but they recently added a computer system that allows you to do a lot of concierge related services online. You can check the weather, photopass, order room service, send a request for luggage services, and more. You end up using it a lot more than you think, and it's really quite useful!! Also the California Grill is a wonderful restaurant and having it in close proximity is useful if you want a great place to view the fireworks- they even play the music inside the restaurant! If you can't get dinner reservations, you can get bar area seating pretty quickly, and the entire restaurant has great views.
The one thing that bothered me about the Contemporary was the loud music coming from Chef Mickey's everyone morning as the Character breakfasts begin. It woke me up everyone morning quite early, and I am a pretty heavy sleeper. My room was very close to Chef Mickeys and were not on a high floor, so I can imagine its not as loud as you get further away.
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Uh theming.......10 it is so "futuristic" as far as I am concerned. Magic...How can it not be, there is that great monorail running right through it (and how very convenient..not to metion mmmm Magic!). I love this place, and as for affordability, well yes it is expensive, so it can't be quite a 10, but it is one of the least expensive deluxe and I just love love love love it!!! Can't wait for it's buddy BLT to open up this yeaqr to make my dream come true of staying at Contemp (ok next door) every trip come true.
I just got back from a 5 night stay at The Contemporary and I have very mixed feelings about the resort. We checked in at 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning and were met by a very nice CM. She took our names and made a heavy sigh. We thought oh great something's wrong. She told us they messed up our reservation and had UPGRADED us to the 9th floor of the main tower, with a MK view!! . I was so excited I giggled like I was 8 years old. We could not believe it. The room wasn't ready yet, but we didn't care. We got back to the room around 3:00 p.m. and we loved it. Very big room with an amazing view. And that's where the excitement ended at the hotel. My sister had spilled a little coffee on the counter on Sunday morning. She cleaned most of it up, but there were a couple spots she missed. They were still there when we left on Thursday. There were huge dust bunnies under the bathroom counter. I won't even discuss the lack of toilet cleaning. They never vacuumed our room. I know this because my socks were black on the bottom one night from walking around the room. We ended up washing our own coffee cups every day and then hiding them so housekeeping wouldn't go near them. Having the monorail there was great, when it was running. Everyday there was at least three breakdowns on the monorail system. But the CM's at the front desk, bell services and the monorail station were outstanding. They were very pleasant and helpful. I don't think I would recommend this hotel to anyone, and I won't stay here again because of the cost for what you get, but overall we did have a great stay.
My family and I visit nearly every year and try to always stay at the Contemporary.
My mother needs to use a mobility scooter most of the time and needs handicapped accessible rooms.
The Contemporary has been our prefered resort due to it's close proximity to MK. That is Mom's favorite park, and she hates trying to get on the monorail on her scooter (and it's too big for the buses).
We've stayed in the tower, we've stayed in the tower concierge, and we've stayed in the wings. We prefer the wings because of the horribly small size and numbers of elevators in the tower.
We've stayed at other of the resorts, but none of them suited US as good as the Contemporary.
We miss the old quick service (food & fun center) but the Contempo has good food and very helpful staff. We also miss the Concourse Steakhouse and find the Wave staff to be unfriendly and unhelpful.
This year, though, we are trying the Bay Lake Tower, we've got a two bedroom villa reserved (actually, since it's a handicapped, it's already assigned to us). It will be the first time we can all be in the same 'room' since we're too big a group for the 5 person Contemporary rooms. We're really excited and I can't wait to post a review of the new resort.
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