Ok so this is a bit tangential to the topic but thought I would post.
Not a big fan of SWAN / DOLPHIN - however Amex Starwood card is running a promotion. Basically 25,000 pts to start and then a bonus 10,000 if you purchase X within X months. With 35,000 you can get a balcony room for 5 nights for free.
Not that either one is awesome in my humble opinion - but it does provide a very cost effective alternative. So as we are talking about resorts - I thought I would post it
We went ahead and booked AKL with a standard view. I requested an upper floor on either the Kudu or Zebra trails and would love any suggestions you may have for specific room choices. Thanks for your reply!
Thanks for the info- I had considered both resorts but wasnāt at all inspired by the architecture. Like you, I feel there is much more awesomeness anongst the Disney resorts!
I always request 4216-4238 that is one floor up. The lobby level is 3216-3238. There was a report last week that someone did not see the usual animals on a trip last week, so I think we have to all keep an eye on that!
I see several people on here poo-poo the Contemporary, but I actually LOVE it and think itās the best choice with little ones!
Hereās what I love about it:
You can WALK to the Magic Kingdom in 5 minutes! This is a huge plus, especially at the end of a long day. You will walk past the hordes of people walking to the bus stops and be grateful youāre not one of them.
If you get a park view room, you can watch the fireworks at night from your balcony! With little ones, we were able to leave the park when they were tired, get them into pajamas and ready for bed, and then watch the fireworks just before they drifted off to sleep. Heaven!
The monorail goes INTO the hotel. For kids (and nerdy adults like me) this is just plain cool! It is also very convenient.
You can watch the electric water parade (I canāt remember the official name, maybe itās electric boat parade?) from the beach at the Contemporary. This is also true if you stay at Poly, Grand Floridian, or WL, but those are not options you mentioned.
You can take the monorail to EPCOT from the Contemporary (with one transfer at the TTC) and thus only take a bus to HS and AK. I personally donāt like riding the buses so this is another plus for me.
Another option is to rent a DVC studio at Bay Lake Tower, which is part of the Contemporary and may be a good deal if you can find a rental.
Good luck!
Very good points!!
Good for you!!! When you check in - see what the opportunity is to upgrade to savannah just to see what they can do. Sometimes you can get a nice upgrade for little or minimal - it is at least worth asking for!! Enjoy!!!
Congrats on the switch! I think you will be very happy with that choice. Would love to hear a follow up after your trip to see if you had any regrets. Enjoy!
Yeah, you are right. My son is obsessed with the Contemporary. He asked this time if we could stay there.
As a kid I dreamed of staying at the contemporary. I remember when it and the Poly where the only hotels. I remember in the early 70ās (yes I am that old) LOVING going through the hotel on the monorail. It was magical (only way to describe it. Going through in cockpit was MINDBLOWING. I also hate the fact that when you stay on site - you get bused instead of monorail.
The MK was specifically built across the lake so you āleaveā the everyday behind and are transported to it. Taking a bus to the MK seems a bit pedestrian in comparison.
I think the main reason people hate the Contemporary is that itās not as heavily themed. For someone whoās not Disney-obsessed, thatās actually an advantage to have rooms that donāt look like a cartoon. (I know I looked at some rooms and thought āOUCHā as I looked at them.)
Then, add in the awesome location and being able to simply walk back and forth to the Magic Kingdom made it a no brainer for us, especially when we compared prices of a DVC rental versus a suite at Art of Animation.
Interesting - I guess I do agree. I look at the hotels that I really like and they are not like Walt threw up Mickey all over the place. I guess between Contemporary and GF - I love the elegance of GF (although I havenāt actually stayed there)
I was at first wary about Contempo because of the supposed ālack of themingā We stayed there last October and absolutely loved it. We have also stayed at AKL when our kids were young and we enjoyed that too. Itās really hard to go wrong with either
we are also not big Contemporary fans for lack of theming in general and blah pool area BUT we had a theme park view when DS was 6 and DD was 7 and there was absolutely nothing more magical than watching the fireworks in their PJs listening to the music while they sat in our laps. We did this every night and my husband and I still talk about it at least once a week and smile four years later.
When I was a little kid and the Contemporary / Poly were the only choices and it was the early 70ās there was nothing that looked as AWESOME as the Contemporary. SOME DAY SOME DAY. The location is awesome and the view can be spectacular. I donāt necessarily care if there is theming or not - I donāt find places like GF, Yacht / Beach as āthemedā but rather just elegant. But I do agree the pool area is less than spectacular. But it does have some great benefits.