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Disney Vacation Planner  >  Walt Disney World  >  Disney Hotels  >  Disney's Contemporary Resort
Last revised Tue, 22-May-2007 23:00
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Sites by Solarius

Disney's Contemporary Resort


At A Glance The 15-story Contemporary Resort opened on 1st October 1971 is the closest hotel complex to The Magic Kingdom theme park, and is sited on the route of the Monorail. Over 1,000 rooms, with facilities including babysitting, barber/beauty shops, beach, business center, express checkout, fitness / spa center, 24h front desk, laundry/valet, free newspaper, free parking, heated pool, outdoor pool, 24h room service, tennis, daily maid service, water skiing, and shopping.

Overview

The 15-story Disney's Contemporary Resort was opened on the 1st of October 1971 to co-incide with the official opening of The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and recently underwent a 100-million dollar refurbishment. It rises majestically above the nearby Magic Kingdom park, housing 1,046 rooms within the large A-Frame tower and two 3-story garden wings (some offering spectacular views over Bay Lake, The Magic Kingdom, and the Seven Seas Lagoon).

The hotel was built in sections with the A-Frame being built on-site, whilst each room was fully assembled away from the construction site, and then slotted into place once complete. The Contemporary is unique in being the only Disney resort where the Monorail actually passes through the main building, passing as it does through the concourse on the 4th floor of the main A-Frame building. The hotel provides an open vista from the 4th floor right up to the top of the building on the 15th floor.

Disney artist Mary Blair designed huge 90ft high mosaic murals to cover the central elevator core.

Either side of the main A-Frame there are two garden wings built offering views over the landscaped gardens of the resort.

Originally designed to be a convention hotel, the large open space on the ground floor was eventually turned over to the popular Fiesta Fun Center when children can spend hours playing video games, or watching Disney movies. The convention center theme being maintained through the construction of a dedicated 90,00 square foot convention center added in the 1990s.


Rooms

There are 972 guest rooms at the Contemporary Resort with either 2 queen sized beds and a day bed or a single King-sized bed. Each room is 422 square feet in size and has a large bathroom. Amenities include balconies / patios, massage shower heads, and in-room safe in the tower rooms. Additionally over half of the rooms feature a view out over either the Seven Seas lagoon, or Bay Lake.

As well as the 972 rooms, there are 25 suites, with either park or lake views. Each suite has one or two bedrooms, with two queen-size beds and sleep-sofas acommodating 6-8 adults depending upon the suite type, plus a child under 3. Suite amenities include two-line speaker telephones, additional telephone in the bathroom, hairdryer, nathrobe, triple sheeting and a turn-down service.

There are 11 concierge suites. Consierge level amenities include continental breakfast, and evening cheese bar with wine and cordials.


Food and Drink

The Contemporary is very well served by a selection of excellent restaurants.

California Grill
Located on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort within the main A-frame building and featuring the best in market-inspired cooking, and Californian wines with an on-stage kitchen and a spectacular view of the MAGIC KINGDOM.
Californian cuisine with Vegetarian, California sushi, and oak-fired meats a speciality
Hours: 5:30 - 10:00 PM, Lounge 5:00 PM - 01:00 AM
Priority Seating Recommended.
Concourse Steakhouse
Featuring a 90ft atrium dining area, through which the monorail travels to and from the MAGIC KINGDOM as you dine.
American steakhouse cuisine, with steaks an obvious speciality.
Hours: 7:00 - 11:00 AM; 11:45 AM - 2:30 PM; 5:30 - 10:00 PM
Priority Seating recommended
Chef Mickey's Buffet
Dine with chef Mickey as he cooks up a bountiful display of food.
American cuisine, with fresh fruit, and pancakes a speciality
Hours: 7:30 - 11:30 AM; 5:00 - 9:30 PM
Priority seating recommended.
Food and Fun Center
American cuisine, with speciality pastries, burgers, salads, pizzas, sandwiches and ice cream
Hours: 6:00 AM - Park closing hours.

Activities

There are a wealth of activities available at the Contemporary Resort, with Volleyball nets set up on the beach, and excursions available for those wishing to partake in Fishing, Parasailing and Waterskiing (Lessons available if required). Sailboats and catamarans, pontoon and canopy boats, Seariders and Water Sprites are all available for rent from the marina near the beach.

The Mousketeer Clubhouse, provides a range of entertainment for children aged from 4 to 12 between the hours of 16:30 PM and midnight.  The cost is $4 per child per hour, with the maximum stay of 4 hours per child.

The Olympiad Health Club has all the equipment you'd expect to find in a top class health club, including Nautilus equipment, stair climbers, rowing machines, static bicycles, a sauna, and even massages available by appointment.  Alternatively, Disney's Raquet Club, WDW's premier tennis center, is located near the north wing of the resort, and features six state of the art hydrogrid tennis courts, where lessons are available by prior arrangement.

There are three pools at the Contemporary.  A toddlers wading pool is located near to the north wing of the hotel,while a larger round pool is relatively quite, mainly as a result of the newer free-form pool which features a 17 foot high curving slide. wtare jets, fountains, and a couple of whirlpools.  It is also possible to swim in the Bay Lake within the roped off area beside the beach.

On the first floor, the food and fun center boasts all forms of arcade ammusements and video games, including Skee Ball, air hockey, pinball, and various electronic games.   A smaller arcade is also located near the main pool.


Shopping

There are a number of top class shops located on the fourth floor concourse at the Contemporary Resort.  Various items of Disney merchandise, including clothing for children and adults, and plush (soft) toys are all sold at The Fantasia Shop.  The Contemporary Woman offers a range of good quality womens clothing, along with plenty of bathing suits in all price ranges, with the adjoining Contemporary Man shop stocks all kinds of casual clothing and beach wear.

The Kingdom Jewels Ltd specialises unsurprisingly in jewelery, including Disney character jewelery, whilst Bayview gifts sells souvenirs, gifts and fresh flowers.   The Concourse Sundries and Spirits has a selection of newspapers, magazines, books, snack foods and alcoholic drinks, whilst located on the third floor of the tower, the Contemporary Resort Salon provides haircuts, facials, manicurs, and other beauty treatments.

There is also a shop at the Raquet Club near the north wing of the hotel, selling tennis equipment, fashions and shoes, and where you can get that tired old raquet restrung if necessary.


Checkin/Checkout


Guest Services


Disney Transportation

The Contemporary Resort is located on the course of the Walt Disney World monorail, with the monorail actually travelling through the concourseof the hotel on the fourth floor.  This means that the Magic Kingdom is immediately accessible via Monorail, and Epcot can be reached by changing at the Transportation and Ticket Center.

Typhoon Lagoon, Pleasure Island and the Downtown Disney area can all be reached by the Disney bus service, while direct buses go to the Disney MGM Studios and Blizzard Beach.   Fort Wilderness can be reached by watercrafttravelling from the marina area.


Directions to the Resort

Disney's Contemporary Resort is located at 4600 North World Drive, Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32820-1000, Telephone: (407) 824-1000, Fax: (407) 824-3539.


 

 

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