We arrived home from our stay at the Contemporary Resort on August 1st.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience...quite a huge step up from All Star Music...but not all was ideal.
Pros:
We had no issues with the elevators at all. We were able to get to the food, shops, monorail, or pool quickly and easily via the elevator. It was wonderful to stay in the tower and to not have to walk far to get where we wanted to be.
California Grill: The food was delicious. DD and I shared the Oak fired beef and DH had the Bison. Hands down, watching the fireworks from CG's balcony was worth every penny we spent to eat there. We got to see Hollywood's fireworks right before MK's started! Even though the waitstaff was snooty and rude, I would still eat there in order to view the fireworks from the balcony.
Our room was on the 11th floor, and we were not bothered by any noise. The Bay Lake view was breathtaking. We really enjoyed the Electrical Water Pageant...charming.
The room was spacious and clean. The beds were extremely comfortable...(this statement comes from someone who sleeps on a tempurpedic every night at home.)
The Contempo Café offered many excellent menu choices, and we had no problem finding a seat.
Cons:
The monorail was a sh*t show. It was down the day we had an ADR at Cinderella's Castle. We were forced to walk and arrived a huge sweaty mess at the castle. We were dressed up and wanted to look our best for photos...I needed another shower upon arrival.
We boarded a broken down monorail and had to walk back to CR after several miles of walking in MK.
We couldn't trust the monorail at all, and we constantly had to stress out about how we were getting around.
I paid beaucoup bucks to stay at a monorail resort for it to be an epic fail.
California Grill: Waitress was pissed that DD and I shared our meal and got fresh with me. She behaved like we were being cheap...even though I explained that my appetite is small after dieting for a year. Even though they knew it was our 22nd anniversary and we requested a table where we could view the fireworks, we were put in a small back room with the Bay Lake view...the same one I looked at all week from our room.
Our chambermaid interrupted our afternoon break daily in spite of being told that we nap in the afternoon. We were forced to go without housekeeping a few times. When we called the front desk for toilet paper, they never sent any up. We went without toilet paper for 24 hours and had to use the tissue box.
Our chambermaid never made the towel characters...not even on the day of our arrival. DD was very disappointed because she was accustomed to this on every other WDW vacation.
There were no yellow pillows with Mickey's face and no replacement item or alternative to them. The room was definitely lacking in any sign that we were in a WDW resort except for the Mickey embossed on the shower curtain. This lack of a Disney theme really bothered her.
Both pools were too shallow. I had to float in the middle of the "quiet" circular pool to get any depth. There were no lifeguards at the "quiet" pool, so people ignored all of the posted rules. They ate cheeseburgers sitting in the pool; kids played catch with tennis balls over our heads; complete mayhem went on that should have been going on at the main pool. We only swam 3 times as a result. This was a BIG disappointment after having an amazing experience at Stormalong Bay at BC 4 years ago.
Next trip to WDW:
We will not be returning to the Contemporary Resort. With all of its advantages and amenities, the lack of Disney theming and lackluster pools will keep us from returning.
