Disney's Contemporary Resort

I'm 50 and remember when Disney employees were known for customer service. There were about 5 staff standing around chatting when my son and I went to get on the monorail. The Indian woman working there actually rolled her eyes at me when I asked if she could put a small piece of trash from a candy wrapper in the trash can directly behind her, after she had just searched my purse... I've never had a Disney employee roll their eyes at me.

Being a Disney family, we have stayed at most of the properties - I grew up coming to the contemporary and many of our childless trips have been at the Contemporary- but after riding the monorail so many times and my son begging- I finally gave in to bringing the kids here- I have frequented the parks with strollers and all the gear for 8 full years without the extra perk of rolling right on to the monorail so why start now? My son was beside himself when we pulled up and he would live here if he could. However, he was the only one who was overly impressed. The whole check in from your phone thing is a mess- 3 resorts, all had the same issue- Because I have an annual pass band- apparently I can not just wave my wrist and magically open doors- I have to go stand in long lines and get everything reprogrammed. Not even the biggest deal- Here is where the issue arises- we walked through the doors or the contemporary at 7:15am. We unloaded, valeted, got coffee (incorrectly made my coffee 3 times before I finally just got a tea instead, day 2 was no better) We got our bags checked into the bellhop station and took off exploring after a quick stop at the front desk where they told me to keep checking my app for my room assignment. When we arrived at 1:35 from the parks, our room assignment had still not been on my app so we stopped by the front desk to ask for our assignement - instead we were told there was no room available that was also clean. After my husband looking at me in pure panic, he asked what exactly we were supposed to do at this time of night and was there somewhere else they could put us- They asked us to wait there while they physically went and checked some rooms in the hotel to make sure they were unoccupied and clean- I am not sure what the breakdown was here but us not getting a room until 3am with 2 kids in tow and a 9am Epcot breakfast reservation was not okay- We were all calm, as we were exhausted, but we had to cancel our breakfast with characters and it ruined our entire next day. We ordered room service on night 2 and it probably is a good rule of thumb to not order filet via room service- It was not great- barely good. The pool area was awesome (other than my son being asked to take a 10 minute break on the water slide, even though he was not breaking any rules or causing any issue- the lifeguard just said he was going to get " too tired to swim" if he kept going-) We did not get to enjoy the grounds all that much- We were exhausted and honestly, we were switching hotels after 2 nights there to try a different resort we had not tried. The monorail to the MK was amazing but the monorail to Epcot was not easier than driving my own car- We loved the shops and the entire atmosphere but i will tell you- this is just not worth the extra money- UNLESS you are staying solely for the monorail- which is the only reason we will stay again int he future. I am giving it 4 stars because it is just a cool place you should stay at once or twice if you can afford it- Maybe I am taking for granted that we always stayed here when I was a kid, but I can not justify 700 a night for the only perk being the monorail!

Had a terrific stay at the Contemporary Resort. We were participating in a couple of runDisney races and also visiting the Disney theme parks and the Contemporary proved to be the perfect choice. We had a standard room on the Atrium Club level and it was well appointed and spacious (with a sofa that easily converts to a bed). For a lounge, the Atrium Club offered a nice selection of food and beverages and can't say enough nice things about the cast members who worked there - everyone was so friendly and helpful. The Atrium Club also has a great view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks each night. Jim, one of the concierges located outside of the club, was extremely helpful and patiently guided us a few times through the transportation options for the following day to get to the races or to the theme parks. On the day that we had to check out, we were late arriving back to the hotel from one of the races that took place early in the morning (because the Disney bus got stuck in traffic). When we asked for a late checkout at the desk in the lobby, they said none were available and didn't really seem to care. When we talked to Chelsea, who was the concierge by the Atrium club that morning, she reached out to the head housekeeper and got us an extra hour. An hour may not seem like a long time but it made a huge difference as it meant that we did not to have to scramble to get packed and gave my wife who had run the half marathon that morning some time to get ready. It was much appreciated. The only drawback that we encountered was the elevators. During our stay it seemed that there were generally only three that were serving the rooms which often led to long waits and mad scrambles in the lobby as people and strollers squeezed into each one. Overall though, I would not hesitate to stay at the Contemporary the next time we are at Disney World.

Couples only beware of this hotel. I was sold on the location, the transportation options and the balcony view! These are great features of this hotel however that’s about it. If you don’t have kids I suggest looking elsewhere as this hotel is very noisy! So some research on how the hotel was constructed by U.S Steel back in 1971. All the rooms are modular steel with no real sound barrier between rooms. I had guests above me that were heavy footed and let there kids run a muck like the room was a playground. It started early AM and then Of course after the fireworks. You could clearly hear and feel the heavy stomps from the kids jumping off the bed. We called 3 times to complain and all we get is that there is nothing we can do unless it’s during quiet hours. Quiet hours are from 11pm - 7am and I was outraged! Excessive noise should be addressed regardless of quiet hours and so should bad behavior allowing children to jump off beds as I see this as a liability. The other issue is that if your room is near Chef Mickeys you will hear screams of kids having fun which is not an issue however the wife and I are opposite Disney attendees and go near the evening hours and sleep in. Don’t get a room on the south end of the hotel. One last issue was the rooms on the park view side. Every time a monorail passed through your room, it will shake and is a bit unsettling. I was in the 9th floor. This is also one of the top kid destination resorts when I did some digging after the fact. Hope this helps the adults without children. Thanks

For our daughter’s first trip to Disney, we wanted to do it right. We booked the Contemporary for the monorail and it’s location. Though we booked a ‘lake view’ room, we were delighted to have a beautiful view of Magic Kingdom, the Grand Floridian and Polynesian. The room was large and very comfortable. Beds were great, including the super-convenient pull out sofa bed. Our daughter was delighted to have her own bed and wake to a view of Cinderella’s castle. So exciting! You must visit Chef Mickey’s, located right downstairs. It was the best way to meet a lot of characters in a very short time and the food was fantastic. Parking was convenient. We actually never talked to a single hotel employee during the entirety of our three-night stay. We checked in using the app and just left at the end, as the text advised. Two minor issues. First, the main portion of the hotel is huge and cavernous and, therefore, really loud. Luckily, after miles and miles of walking and excitement every day, we were pooped by the end of the night and would’ve slept through anything. There was a lot of cheering around 10 at night and early morning noise as people filed into Chef Mickey’s. The other annoyance was that the monorail only stops in one direction at the Contemporary. It’s convenient at the end of the day to get back to the hotel but, to get to Magic Kingdom in the morning, you have to travel all the way around the lake with three stops. It just adds about 15 minutes to the morning. That said, we really enjoyed our visit and can’t wait to be back.