I wasn’t going to do an actual trip report, and this really won’t be in the traditional sense. Honestly, the trip happened so last minute and I didn’t take many pictures because I was too busy having fun! But I would like to review a few of the things we did, a few of them new to us, and definitely want to talk about the Contemporary.
My travel companion for this trip was one of my off spring but he’s my oldest and prefers to stay off Social Media all together. He’s actually quite smart that way, I think. Not at all like his idiot mother who shares every detail of her personal life for all to consume. So I won’t post pictures of him or say much about him except to say this: I am blessed with a wonderful son who I truly enjoy being with and Jack, thank you for still wanting to travel with your crazy mother.
On to the reviews!
I had received an incredible Annual Passholder discount for a garden wing, garden view room at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. We ADORE the Contemporary and have stayed there many times through the years. I love the history, that it opened with Disney World, and the proximity to Magic Kingdom.
Although I adore the Magic Kingdom Park, getting there from almost anywhere is an ordeal. Only at the Contemporary can you just walk. It’s great in the mornings but it’s even better when the park closes. No jammed monorails or ferries or busses that are packed. Just a nice stroll back to your room.
I actually don’t mind the garden wing at all and we’ve stayed there at least 3 times and always been very pleased with the location and the rooms. Closer to the pools and really just a short walk to the main building. HAVING SAID THAT, we were thrilled when we checked in and found out we’d been upgraded to a water view tower room! Woohoo! I am weird in that I actually prefer the Bay Lake View to the Theme Park View because I love looking out at the water in any location, and Disney is no exception.
Our room was huge (the Contemporary has the largest standard rooms on property) and very well equipped. And yes, what you hear about the sinks being odd and not draining is true. It’s a small price to pay. If you want great pictures of the rooms themselves, check out this link – I took a few pictures but they weren’t great and All Ears does a great job with room pictures.
Oh, and ya’ll, there was a small addition in the toilet part of the bathroom that made my day. A HAMPER! An actual wicker hamper lined with a plastic bag. If you’ve ever been to Florida in July you get how sweaty your are at the end of the day, and having a spot to throw that stinky laundry was such a small but wonderful touch.
As always, we enjoyed the Contempo Cafe (because who doesn’t want to eat kettle chips and watch the monorail at the same time?) and the shops and services were lovely. I never did get in the pool because during our afternoon breaks it was always either raining or boiling (typical July), but looking out at it from the balcony was divine.
A note on breaks: other times of the year I really think you can do without them if your kids are older but in the summer, I don’t see how anybody goes all day. I just can’t. By about 2pm the parks are packed, the people are sweaty, and it’s just misery. For this reason, being able to get back and forth quickly is lovely. It’s also very convenient to get to Epcot although not super fast: you monorail to the TTC and the board another monorail to Epcot and the journey can take up to 30 minutes depending on how long you wait for each monorail. But it’s not a stressful journey and I really enjoy the monorail ride to Epcot. 
We can’t stay in the regular Contemporary Resort rooms when we’re all together anymore – 5 adults is just too many for one room – but on a trip with just one kid this was a lovely splurge. A standard room will sleep 5 with the day bed so if you have 3 young kids, this is a great option and why we were there several times when the boys were younger. And technically you could put 5 adults in this room, but that seems crazy to me with only one bathroom.
We used bus transportation several times as well, to Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios and they were always on time (we had amazing bus karma). My one pet peeve is at the end of a long park day when the busses are PACKED. I mean, standing room only and even then packed in like sardines. It feels very unmagical and I hate it. For our November trip I have already decided we will be trying Minnie Vans or driving to every park if we will be there for closing. Because I just can’t. Yuck.
Oh, and one little bit of extra magic – we had this lovely plate of chocolate goodies in the room upon our arrival. Awww . . they remembered me! So sweet and wonderful and the type of magical extra that always makes our Disney trips wonderful.
Up next: the food we ate and why can i not eat like I used to because I’m getting too full and I haven’t even had my cronut . . .