Disney's Contemporary Resort

Overall Rating: 78/100 (7.8/10) Class of Room Booked: Main Tower Theme Park View Class of Room Stayed: Main Tower Theme Park View Price per night (with taxes): $800+ (Approx-part of package) The Quick Hits: Would I stay here again? Maybe Value rating based on price paid: Low - as you can see it's not cheap and bluntly not worth the high rate paid other than note below. Note - this room was booked based strictly on the resort location, namely the ability to walk directly to Magic Kingdom on the 50th anniversary when transport was expected to be a nightmare (and was). The Details: Hotel Design Location and Layout: Location (8/10 – Met Expectations) – The hotel has three primary advantages in terms of location. One, you can walk directly to MK entrance in about 12 minutes from the lobby. Two, the resort monorail literally runs through the hotel, giving access to the Poly and Grand Floridian. Three, because of its location and proximity, an entire side of the building has fairly close views of Magic Kingdom fireworks. Hotel Lobby/Common Areas(7.5/10 – Met Expectations) – As with any deluxe resort, the main lobby is spacious, and well maintained. The lobby area has just been renovated. IMPORTANT: Because of hotel design around a central atrium, it can be VERY noisy, especially when Chef Mickey's is at full speed. But the rooms are reasonably well insulated (all room doors face atrium in main tower - garden wing will be quieter) Hotel Amenities(7.5/10 – Met expectations) – The resort has 3 shops, 1 focused mostly on toys and other souveniers, one on clothing. There is also a market kind of tucked into a cormer near a small fireworks viewing area with about 30 seats (open to the public), if allowed, the bridge to bay lake tower would also be a good spot. There is a moderate sized pool area. There are 4 primary dining options: a character buffet, steakhouse, fine dining venue with lounge and quick service/snack option. A small fitness room is sufficient and a small arcade is on the 4th floor with the other offerings. COVID Special Section (7.5/10 - Met Expectations) - All staff properly masked in close contact areas. Surfaces cleaned frequently. Hand sanitizer stations available and full. Room: Design and Layout (8.5/10 – Exceeded expectations) – Having undergone a full renovation, the new rooms are quite nice - they are themed to the Incredibles, but not intrusively so. There's plenty of storage space for 2, for 4 in room drawer space might be limited. The lack of a chair in room is a negative (there is a very large sofa for seating but only an ottoman can be moved around). There is no writing desk in the room. The bathroom is large, with a generous size soaking tub not normally found in hotels nowadays. Comfort(7.5/10 – Met expectations) – Bed was a little firm. The sofa bed looked about as appealing as a rock for sleeping but was fine for a sofa. Condition(10/10 – Met Expectations) – Yes its a 10 but still Met. We were the first people to stay in that particular room so the expectation was everything would be pristine, and it was. Amenities(8.0/10 – Met Expectations) – Body wash and hair products are now in dispensers in shower. Normal Disney fridge and coffee. Staff: Front Desk/Service(8/10 – Met Expectations) – Helpful, friendly and a bit overwhelmed given the hotel had just reopened, especially as it was the main hotel for the 50th. Housekeeping (NA) - Housekeeping is every other day right now, and except for a pet peeve was fine. Disney - it's OK to leave partially used shampoo, soap, etc until empty. Please, stop the waste. Club Staff (NA) - Food Service: Paid Dining: Restaurant/Cafe (6/10 - Did Not Meet Expectations) – Bluntly, the Contempo Cafe is the kind of venue that gives Disney food undeserved bad names. Options limited and the burger was the kind referred to as a 'hockey puck' and the fries were horrible. We also had breakfast at the newly opened Steakhouse 71 which replaced The Wave - the food was slow and a bit inconsistent, but that seemed more attributable to startup pains. Room Service(NA) - Did not use. Complimentary Dining: Breakfast/Reception (NA) - Other Areas: Frequent Traveler Program: None Club/Lounge (NA) - Special Perks(bonus point) - .2 for the fireworks view options but negative .7 for the price. Other: Internet Speed Test Results (from Room via Oookla): Tested several times, all over the place based on other usage. Family Friendly: Yes! It's Disney after all. Pet Friendly: Service dogs only. Notes/Summary: There's nothing 'wrong' with the Contemporary, but bluntly the price, especially for TP View is just too high for what it offers, when you can get club lounge level rooms with all the enhanced offerings at other resorts for less per night. The location premium is excessive. For days where MK park crowds are expected to be epic, the value may be there, but at lower times I can't justify it. About my system - All scores are based on expectations, where 7.5 = met expectations, 10 is highly exceeded, and 1, well, something went horribly wrong. Expectations take into account a number of factors, such as price paid, brand, and location. They will vary greatly from the Waldorf Astoria to a Super 8. All scores are averaged and translated to a score out of 10. 1 Trip Advisor dot applies for each 2 points, so 4 dots is the most likely scenario. SPECIAL NOTE - Obviously the hotel industry has been going thru and continues to experience a very challenging environment due to COVID. Staffing is an obvious concern and my expectations reflect that, however I have also increased expectations on common area cleaning, etc. Read less

This is our third trip to Walt Disney World in just over 12 months. When you check in, the cast member welcomes you home and they really do make you feel at home. We have had the same room number each time we stayed. Our three year old only knows this one room and we are okay with it. Rooms are clean and the cast members were helpful, as always. Ate at California Grill, Contempo and Contemporary Grounds and would eat at these places again without hesitation. Found something at every shop on the Grand Canyon Concourse. Hopping in and out of the Magic Kingdom is another feather in this resorts cap. Now off to the pool before check out. Happy to call this our home resort. Read less

This is our first time at a Disney’s Resort. The staff was great , but other than that not really impressed. The hotel is under renovations. We stayed at a room which was very far away, but appreciated no Renovation sounds. There were 4 elevators at the resort in the main building but some days there were just 2 available, and one day there was just 1. So you can imagine the queues with strollers , kids, parents, etc. What was really a disappointment was the housekeeping policies due to the pandemic. There were supposed to be done “every other day “ Rooms were not done , just trash taken out. We had to ask for bed sheets to be changed and they said they were already done. I do not understand how can you change sheets and not do the bed. Plus bed sheets were full of Cheetos (those were my kids ), the point is , one can be fully aware if bed sheets were changed when you have a Cheetos reference. Specially if you are traveling with kids , you know how messy it can be . We paid a lot of money for beds not to be done (I am not asking to change them every day, but at least the bed can be done ). You are in holidays and the least thing you want to think of is your messy room. It makes the whole experience different, and not exactly in a good way. I understand there are policies , but I don’t understand when these policies are contradictory. For instance, due to pandemic rooms can’t be cleaned BUT Disney parks are full, no distance between people is require, actually in some games they ask you to be as close as posible for more people to get in . In February we got the chance to travel as well to a beach and these policies of not cleaning the rooms did not apply. I think the real reason is that the resort wants to minimize costs, but up to what point. As I said , you are out in the park por 8-12 hours and you come back exhausted, you want to open your door to a made bed and go straight to sleep. Makes you feel cozy , welcomed. And as I also said , the hotel is not a barging , so you at least expect some standards. Read less

I've stayed here twice, and was never dissatisfied. The Contemporary has become a new favorite resort of mine, and I've wanted to stay here for years. The first time I was here was in August of 2020, and I had an excellent stay! Their cast members to me are like family because I visit this resort's restaurants, specifically California Grill & Outer Rim Lounge quite a lot and the people their often times across me. That alone is the reason I love this specific resort hotel. Mousekeeping could be more daily vs every other day, but other than that, this is a very good resort hotel. Plus the convenience of the Monorail to both Magic Kingdom & Epcot make it even better for me. Read less