Disneys Contemporary : Newly Renovated and Contemporary Once Again
Written: Mar 17 '07 (Updated Jul 20 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Location, Location, Location
Cons: Those odd bathroom sinks
The Bottom Line: Beautiful, clean and new. Can't get any closer to the Magic Kingdom....
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| nollequeen's Full Review: Disneys Contemporary Std |
I just returned from a 4 day, 3 night stay at Disney’s Contemporary and I can not wait to go back. Newly renovated this year (and not completely finished) it actually looks contemporary in a modern 21st Century way.
We had booked two adjoining rooms in the South Garden Wing (they still refer to it as the South Wing, even though the North Wing is almost completely demolished). One room for us (me, husband and six year old son) and the other for my in-laws. The in-laws arrived first and were happily surprised to find that we had been upgraded to 10th floor in the Main Building.
My in-laws checked in for us so I can’t comment on that other than the good news of the upgrade. Our room was on the atrium, looking across at the Monorail (which was virtually silent in its movement, the passengers were nosier than the train itself) and down on top of Chef Mickey’s and the Concourse Steak House. Looking 10 stories down into the lobby required a little getting used to for me. My 6 year old son was too short to look over the railing and his first instinct was to jump up. EEEK. LECTURE #1 on “Safety At the Contemporary” was given.”
Our room was stunning. We had a view of the Bay and if you looked down at the pool as well. The pool is according to the hotel’s literature, the largest one at Disney. Mickey head shaped, with a two story twisty slide (that kept my kid endlessly entertained – we could have skipped the parks, no kidding), a separately gated big round kiddy pool, with a fairly large white sand beach, snack bar (the Sand Bar) and a long, long dock with boats coming and going from different resorts (from above, they all resembled the African Queen). Slightly alarming however, was the fact that once again, the railing was at just the wrong height for a six year old to look over. Once again, his first instinct was to pull over the wicker hassock so as to get a better view. Time for LECTURE #2 “Safety on the Patio.” Luckily, the patio door had two locks; one at handle height and one that only an adult could reach (or maybe a 6 year old with a hassock??).
Our room had two queen sized beds had soft velour headboards which extended all the way up to the ceiling in tones of brown and tan. The bedspreads were white and fluffy with a grayish-tan carpet. The beds themselves were very comfortable with tons of pillows on each. The color scheme was very relaxing (particularly when contrasted to the views of the pre-renovation Jetson-esque décor I had seen on the internet and was prepared for). On the wall opposite from the beds was a fold down coach and a 42 inch LCD Flat Panel TV. The TV had a mantel above it (the perfect place to stow smaller items) and a lighted tile area under the television. The mosaic of yellow and orange tiles when turned on seemed to represent a modern hearth. I hated it (way too modern for me) and husband loved it, so we took turns turning it on and off when each other wasn’t looking.
The bathroom which appeared to be surgically clean was done in the same tan and brown colors as the bedroom, only this time in marble. The sinks reminded me of my high school science class. With a depth of only an inch and half or so, they extended out rectangle-ey about a foot and a half. Turn the water on too hard or fast and you were already soaked. If you didn’t lean way over the drain and spit the tooth paste straight down, it was impossible to wash away later. Our six year old wasn’t tall enough to do it. I felt sorry for Mousekeeping. Speaking of mousekeeping, they did a great job and delighted us with a very cute towel creature that managed to hold on to all of our toothbrushes one night. The toilet was in a little room separated from the sink and shower by a frosted glass pocket door which to me was an odd sort of alienating experience. The bathroom fan seemed to operate on a motion sensor that was on the ceiling opposite the toilet. Odd, because there was no motion in that part of the room. The only way to sit and get the fan to operate was to wildly waive the U.S. Today (provided gratis every morning) every couple of seconds to keep it going.
The shower, although not up to my water pressure standards (I had to rinse out my long hair under the tub spigot) was almost an artistic experience with a variety of dark and light marble tiles and a rounded shower curtain rod to make the little marble room larger. I enjoyed it, despite having to make extra efforts to get the shampoo out of my hair.
We ate in 3 of the hotels restaurants. I really had wanted to eat in the California Grill on the top floor of the building, but apparently reservations must be made months ahead to get in. The first night we had dinner at the Concourse Steak House with the monorail coming and going overhead and a view of the madness of a character meal next door at Chef Mickey’s. The food was great (excellent lobster bisque, salmon, steak and crème Brule) and the activity was enough to help a 6 year old make it though a lengthy dinner with good behavior.
Breakfast in the basement counter-service restaurant “The Food and Fun Center” was not quite as posh. Adjacent to the arcade and not yet renovated, the décor was brightly colored and somewhat Jetsonian. With no windows, to the outside, I felt like I was eating in the arcade itself. The food however was ok (Kids Pancake Breakfast with applesauce, grapes and bacon or sausage, Very Good Oatmeal, Fruit and lousy coffee…). The staff in the Food and Fun Center was very helpful and accommodating. Husband thought the “to- go chicken Caesar was one of the best he had ever had.
We also enjoyed a character breakfast at Chef Mickey’s at the ungodly hour of 7:00 am (the only reservation we could get). The characters (Mickey, Pluto, Goofy and Minnie in Chef’s attire) went out of their way to spend time with the kids and not scare them. Every twenty minutes or so, the restaurant would break out in song and napkin waiving, which was really quite fun (once you had had a little coffee…). The food was wonderful. Honestly, any breakfast food you could imagine was there. The spirit of the thing however was just joyful. Enough that we decided to get up at 7:00 am the following morning to do it all again.
If Location is everything, than the Contemporary is the place to be. With a monorail stop right in the lobby and boats (to the Magic Kingdom and Wilderness Lodge and the Wilderness Campground) right outside our back door, we were in transportation heaven. One night we took the boat (running every 20 minutes) over to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner. The boat was much larger in person than it had appeared from our balcony and the Captain was quite entertaining and helpful. The Bay Lake was beautiful and completely undeveloped but for the Disney resorts which were tucked in opposite corners, so you could never see more than one at a time.
I know I am raving, but the newly renovated Contemporary was a wonderful experience (but for that weird bathroom and my fear of children and the balcony…). I am already scheming to find a way back as soon as possible….
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
nollequeen
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Location: Deepest Darkest New England
Reviews written: 93
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Public Defender To The Stars
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