Category — q. Reviews

For the first page of this review of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, click here.

ACCOMMODATIONS AT DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

All Disney deluxe resorts have standard rooms; concierge rooms, which Disney calls “club” rooms; and suites. (See this for more on suites at Walt Disney World.)

At Disney’s Contemporary Resort, standard and club/concierge rooms sleep five, in two queen beds and a fold-down day-bed. See page 2 of this review for a floor plan and photo tour of a standard room.

King rooms that sleep three (the third on the day-bed) are also available.

Tower rooms are sold with “Bay Lake”, and “Theme Park” views. While not essential, Magic Kingdom view rooms are hard to beat if you can afford them. Bay Lake views are also lovely.

Garden Wing rooms have no balconies (first floor rooms do have patios), a similar layout otherwise, varied views of parking, water or the pool area, and are more inconvenient than tower rooms.  They are also much less expensive.

 Club rooms are identical to standard rooms except for the access they grant to Club concierge services. See the image for a lousy shot of the concierge lounge.

They are not worth the extra cost for most first time family visitors. However, they may be well worth it for families intending to spend more time at the Contemporary Resort than implied by this site’s itineraries.

TikimanPages.com has a great discussion of the value of concierge rooms here. Though focused on the Polynesian, it applies to any deluxe resort. Co-author Josh reviews a more recent club stay at the Contemporary Resort on easyWDW.com here.

One and Two-bedroom Suites sleeping 2 to 10 people in two to five bays ( a “bay” is the space a standard room takes) are available for families seeking a particularly comfortable visit, in both the Tower and the Garden Wing–see this for more on suites at Walt Disney World.

The five bay Presidential Suite (above) sleeps 8 in more than 2000 square feet overlooking the Magic Kingdom; the four bay Vice Presidential Suite overlooks Bay Lake. Other two and one bedroom suites are also available. Note that in the Presidential Suite floor plan, as is common in suite design, the fifth bay at left is actually a connecting standard room. This creates flex for Disney in what it sells–a four bay suite and, to someone else,  a room, vs. a five bay suite.

This four bay suite is an extreme example of this design concept–it’s really two standard rooms with a hospitality suite in between.

(To each of the capacity figures above, you can add one more kid under 3 at time of check in who sleeps in a crib.)

THE THEMING OF DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

Disney’s Contemporary Resort opened in October 1971, and its last–very nice–renovation was completed in 2013. It is officially described on Walt Disney World’s website as

“…an ultra-modern Disney Deluxe Resort, made up of a towering A-frame high-rise building—the iconic Contemporary Tower—and complemented by one garden wing annex. This lakeside Resort is the only hotel in Walt Disney World Resort to have the Walt Disney World Monorail System pass through the main lobby.”

The Contemporary Resort was designed collaboratively by the US Steel Corporation, Disney, and the under-rated Welton Becket, friend and neighbor of Walt Disney. (This same group also designed the Polynesian.)

Becket is under-rated not as an architect, but rather because, in a sense, he created Imagineering.

According to John Hench, when Disney was looking for help is designing Disneyland, “Becket said [to Walt Disney] ‘You’ve got to use your own people. We can’t help you. We don’t have any kind of a background for this. Just use your own guys.'”

As a result, Walt Disney started bringing artists and craftspeople over from his and other studios to work on the park, and Imagineering was born.

(Quoted in Jeff Kurtti’s Walt Disney’s Imagineering Legends and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park.)

The original concepts for the Contemporary were that it was to be a high rise, and that the monorail was to run through it.

This led to the internal atrium, and to the length of the building, which was designed to shelter two monorail trains on each track in case of hurricanes.

(Hurricane doors are at either end of the atrium, where the monorail tracks enter.)

At some point the total number of rooms were defined–I’ve seen no source on why the particular number was picked–and the design result was the long, monolithic, and dull facade that we’ve known ever since, livened up a bit inside by Mary Blair’s famous mural.

For more on the background to and construction of the Contemporary Resort, see Jim Korkis’s post here.

Although the building has no comparative kid appeal other than the monorail itself, a family that stayed only there, and never saw one of the value resorts, or the Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, or Animal Kingdom Lodge, could be forgiven for thinking they were staying in the perfect Walt Disney World hotel!

While the Contemporary served as Disney World’s flagship resort until the Grand Floridian opened in 1988, such was not Disney’s original intention.

In its pre-opening master plan, the never-built Venetian Resort (to be built between the Contemporary and the TTC) was to become the resort’s flagship hotel.

Also planned but never built were the Asian Resort, planned for the current site of the Grand Floridian, and the Persian Resort, to have been built on Bay Lake, between the Contemporary and Tomorrowland.

The Venetian site was revisited in the 90s for the Mediterranean Resort, but the site was found to be too expensive to build on at that time.

Disney World’s master planning is influenced (though not shaped, it’s a long story, see this, though there are some lies in it…) by the Reedy Creek Improvement District’s long term plan.

The latest version includes all of these spots as potentially buildable.

Land suitable for further development is marked on the map in red; marginally suitable land is in light yellow-green. (Unsuitable land is in dark green.)

So maybe we’ll see more Magic Kingdom deluxe resorts one of these days…

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

• Overview and summary of Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• A photo-tour of a standard Tower room at the Contemporary Resort
• Details on the South Garden Wing of the Contemporary Resort
• The amenities at the Contemporary Resort
• Dining at the Contemporary Resort
• The pools at the Contemporary Resort, and
• More on theming and accommodations at the Contemporary Resort

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

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Festival of the Lion King has been the favorite Animal Kingdom show of many families for years.

Until January 2014 it played in Camp Minnie Mickey, but the space there has been devoted to what now seems to be named  “Pandora: The Land of Avatar.”

A new performance space was built for it in to the left of Tusker House in Africa, and it reopened there in the beginning of June 2014.

I had a chance to see it in mid-June, and here’s the story: the new building is cool, and what happens inside the building is, so far as I can tell, identical to the old show–which is great, as that was a wonderful show. So is the new one.

The new show building is wonderfully themed on the outside.

It’s a very large building, and thus is reasonably themed as the old fort. See the historical plaque.

Once you are inside, though, everything is pretty much identical to the old show. The show is hosted by a traveling group of African singers, who then introduce, and take part in, all kinds of singing, dancing, and acrobatics.

Above is the review from our book.

The show is inspired by the Lion King, but is not a retelling–rather it energetically entertains to the movie’s themes, and with many of its characters and snippets–and sometimes more–of many of its songs.

Festival of the Lion King is Disney spectacle at its best. There’s something in this show for everyone, and I highly recommend it!

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Frozen’s Anna and Elsa meet, chat and sign autographs at Princess Fairytale Hall at the Magic Kingdom.

The encounter with Anna and Elsa is as chatty and leisurely as you’d like it to be, with lotsa photographs–and the Disney photographers will take pictures with your own cameras as well.

What it isn’t is easy to get into.  Stand-by waits for Anna and Elsa of 3 hours plus have been common.  Use FastPass+, or skip it.

You will see other advice:

• Arrive at the park well before opening and get to the first group to be admitted to the park (on either the far right or left) so that you are first in line
• Do the same, but during morning Extra Magic Hours
• Book an early breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table or Crystal Palace, wolf down your food and head toward the area

–but none of these reliably work. Capacity is so low that the other people with the same idea, who may be ahead of you, can quickly put you into a two hour line.

So to meet Frozen’s Anna and Elsa, get FastPass+ or skip it.

MEETING ANNA AND ELSA

Frozen’s Anna and Elsa meet and Princess Fairytale Hall in the Magic Kingdom from park open through 30 minutes before close. See the review from our book above. Less than a month old, it’s already a little outdated as the “visiting princess” no longer visits.  This has the effect of increasing capacity, but lines are still overwhelming.

Using FastPass+ means you will miss much of the lovely interior queue of Princess Fairytale Hall–other than a brief glimpse–but instead will be brought quickly into the space.

You meet Anna first, as she acts as Mistress of Ceremonies.  Anna is delightful, down to earth and chatty.

For crass awareness-building reasons, I’d brought a copy of our book for them to autograph. (They will autograph anything, but perhaps after my visit, guidebooks will be restricted…)

Anna leafed through the book, found Josh’s cheat sheets, found the one relevant to that moment (just a little before 5p), and read aloud from page 187 that my next step was to ride the Carrousel at 5.07p!  (After I met Elsa and was about to leave, Anna called across the room to remind me about the Carrousel!)

After the autograph, we got the photo above, and I moved on to Elsa.

Elsa was friendly, but much more regal. She gladly signed the book, but was unwilling to use her special powers to cool off the sweltering afternoon at the Magic Kingdom. Snob.

A photo with Elsa…that makes me look fat. Oh well, so does the one with Anna, so I suppose I am…

…and then I was done, with an heirloom copy of the first-ever easy Guide signed by the two of them in hand!

Anna was darling, Elsa charming, and with FastPass+ this was an easy and wonderful experience. Without FastPass+, not so much. You can see Anna and Elsa in the afternoon parade as well, and Disney has just announced a bunch of Frozen-related stuff at the Hollywood Studios for the summer–most of which looks like fun, but none of which includes a meet.

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For the first page of this review of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, click here.

MORE ON DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

Disney’s Contemporary Resort is one of 8 official Disney owned and operated deluxe resorts at Walt Disney World.

In their recommended order for first time family visitors, they are

1. Polynesian
2. Wilderness Lodge
3. Animal Kingdom Lodge
4. Contemporary
5. Grand Floridian
6. Beach Club
7. Yacht Club
8. BoardWalk Inn

(Many of these also offer Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) studios and villas, all for rent to the general public–see this for more on the Disney Vacation Club resorts. The DVC offering here is Bay Lake Tower.)

You enter the Contemporary Resort into its first floor lobby, unless you are coming by monorail.

On the left you’ll find the check-in and concierge area. At Disney World, “concierge” means help with tickets, dining reservations and such.

On the right there’s a small coffee bar…

…and a somewhat abstract kids area.

Also on the first floor is one of the three table service restaurants at the Contemporary, The Wave of American Flavors.

Here’s the review of The Wave from our book.

Outside towards the parking lots and to the right you’ll find the bus stop, with service to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Downtown Disney ands the water parks…

…and also the walkway to the Magic Kingdom, which is 5-10 minutes away depending on your pace.

Head back into the main lobby and out the other door, and you’ll find the main pool…

…a kids water play area…

…pool bar…

…watercraft rental…

…and water sports.

Here’s someone parasailing. I don’t know why.

Also here is a second pool. Neither pool is particularly kid-pleasing, but the second pool tends to see more adults, and the main pool with slide more families.

There’s also a lot of beach here…

…and at night, movies are shown either on the beach of near the main pool.

Also in this area is the boat dock, with service to the other Bay Lake resorts, Fort Wilderness and the Wilderness Lodge.

Back in the main Tower, on the 4th floor–accessible via elevator, or often more quickly on escalators–you’ll find most of the rest of the offerings at the Contemporary, including Chef Mickey’s, a family favorite.

Here’s the review of Chef Mickey’s from our book.

Near Chef Mickey’s you’ll find an adequate counter service offering, the Contempo Cafe…

…a poorly located and weak-looking bar…

…and lots of shops.

At the north end of the fourth floor you’ll find a connector to nearby Disney Vacation Club Bay Lake Tower…

…and a patio from which you can watch Wishes.

Back inside, up a dedicated elevator or escalator you’ll find the Contemporary’s monorail stop. The resort monorail serves the Magic Kingdom and the other two monorail resorts, the Grand Floridian and Polynesian, and also the Ticket and Transportation Center where you change monorails for Epcot.

At the very top of the Contemporary is the storied California Grill. A great place for a family meal, celebration, or to watch Wishes after (or during) dinner, it’s often booked up, but its bar is not reserved, and does serve the main menu.  It may not be open to new guests, though, as the later dinner crowds gather. The podium to check in for your reservation or to see if you can go to the bar is on the second floor.

Here’s the review of the California Grill Mickey’s from our book.

THE THEMING OF DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

This review continues  here.

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For the first page of this review of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, click here.

PHOTO TOUR OF A ROOM AT DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

Note: Rooms here are being refurbed, reportedly to an Incredibles theme.

Rooms at Disney’s Contemporary Resort open from corridors–in all Tower rooms but 14th floor suites, the corridor is open to the A-Frame interior and thus to the child, monorail, or flirting noises from below. Higher rooms give better views and less noise.

Here’s the view into the room from the corridor.

As is common, the bath is on side and the closets on the other.

The closet side has the coffeemaker…

…with a mini-fridge, and some small storage shelves, below.

The closet has two parts, one with a luggage rack…

…and another with a safe, iron and ironing board, and what we will come to see as some sorely needed drawers.

Across the hall is the bath, with two sinks, a tub and shower that are not separated from the rest of the space…

…and a toilet in its own space.

The absence of a fully divided bath–with the sinks in one area and everything else in another–makes these rooms a little less handy for families.

The sinks are a bit of a design mystery as well.

Note the close up–a cool design, but the size and flat bottom means limited area to store toiletries, and also lousy drainage from the sink itself.

There’s some storage space under the sinks.

Deeper in the room you’ll find two queens on one side.

Here’s the beds from the back of the room.

A closer view of one of the queens.

The bedside table between the queens has storage.

Between the beds and the bath is a groovy L-shaped desk. Note that part of it rolls out, and can serve as a little dining or games table.

The part of the “L” that’s closest to the bed is also the dresser. Putting the dresser drawers here, rather than under the TV as is more common, allows for an arty treatment of that under-TV space (see below). But as a result, there’s not much room for these drawers–making the room overall short on drawer space. Moreover, they are inconveniently located.

On the other side of the room you’ll find the TV thingy, a very green hassock, and a couch.

The TV side from the back of the room.

Below the TV is a screen that lights with a switch, creating an interesting interpretation of a fireplace. It’s too big for a night light, and families everywhere wish it were drawers instead.

The couch …

…and flips into a bed. I measured this bed as 72 inches by 30 inches. With no end rails, in a pinch it can sleep a little longer than that. The cushion is 6 inches deep.

At the end of the room is a full-width balcony. Here’s a view from one of our rooms on the Bay Lake side of the Tower…

And here, on a less pretty day, is a balcony from a Magic Kingdom view room.

Some fireworks from the Magic Kingdom view:

Contemporary rooms are spacious, flexible and interesting. But a little too interesting. Design choices limit storage and privacy, making these rooms not quite as family friendly as some others at Disney World.

THE GARDEN WING AT DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

This review continues here.

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

• Overview and summary of Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• A photo-tour of a standard Tower room at the Contemporary Resort
• Details on the South Garden Wing of the Contemporary Resort
• The amenities at the Contemporary Resort
• Dining at the Contemporary Resort
• The pools at the Contemporary Resort, and
• More on theming and accommodations at the Contemporary Resort

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, a combined roller coaster and dark ride, opened at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in late May 2014 and I had a chance to ride it in June. It’s a hoot, and definitely worth a FastPass+!

I visited on a moderately busy mid-June Wednesday afternoon, and waits were 90 minutes the whole time I was in the park.

With this long a wait, much of the queue is in the unprotected sun. The sign below is from a cast member indicating the end of the line, which snaked down the rail past Winnie the Pooh.

There’s some fun stuff to play with later in the line, and if you arrive well before park open and march straight to the ride, it’s worth the shorter wait you’ll find then, but at any other time of the day, use FastPass+, even though you will miss some of this play.

Once you are inside, the queue is more comfortable.

You then enter mine train cars that seat two across, a little tightly for bigger and taller folk.

Up the hill (see the image at the top of the page) and swoop around–more smoothly, and with a higher impression of speed, than I had thought the ride would have…

…then into the Seven Dwarfs’ mine itself, with some of the best audio-animatronics Disney has ever done–overwhelming my photography skills…

…another swoop…

…and then keep your eyes sharp to the right for a two-part suprise ending.

The whole thing goes by pretty quickly–I clocked it a two minutes and 30 seconds.  It seemed quite popular with those I rode with–and I loved it.

But it’ll be interesting to see what happens after the summer crowds and “gotta ride the new ride” crowds are done.  It’s a fun roller coaster, but not much of one, and the animatronic bits are excellently executed, but pretty brief.

It’ll either resonate strongly and become a classic about mid-way between Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain, or it’ll fall between two stools–not enough of a roller coaster for coaster fans, and not enough of a dark ride for Snow White fans. My guess is the former, but we’ll see…

Here’s the details from our book:

Have you ridden it yet? What do you think?

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