Disney's Contemporary Resort
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Disney's Contemporary Resort is a resort hotel located at the Walt Disney World Resort. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company, the hotel first opened on October 1, 1971 as one of the first two hotels in the resort complex. It is categorized as a 'Deluxe' Disney resort. In October 2007, the resort received designation in the Florida Green Lodging Program[1].
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[edit] Design
The most prominent of the hotel's four stand-alone buildings is the Contemporary Tower, built as an A-frame with outer walls which slope inwards around an inner atrium. This design was a collaboration by Disney, the United States Steel Corporation, and Los Angeles architect Welton Becket. To construct it, steel frames were erected on site and modular pre-constructed rooms, designed by California architect Donald Wexler, were lifted into place by crane. Approximately 500 guest rooms line the outer walls of this building. Most of Disney's Polynesian Resort was built this way also.
The Contemporary Tower houses most of the resort's key facilities, including resort registration and the guest service concierge. The main hall, named the Grand Canyon Concourse, is also located in the main Tower, and houses two restaurants and a variety of shops. The Walt Disney World Monorail System runs through the inside of this building, providing a monorail station here for resort guests. Also adorning the concourse walls is a mosaic designed by Mary Blair.
One three-story wing flanks the south side of the Tower and offers an additional 250 rooms. A convention center was added to the resort and opened on November 11, 1991, with more than 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) of convention space.
[edit] Bay Lake Tower
In November 2006, Disney filed plans for a project on the site of the Contemporary Resort's North Garden Wing, and a construction fence was erected, encompassing the wing and part of its parking lot.[2] On the North Wing site, Disney's Racquet Club was demolished by January 30, 2007[3]. The North Wing itself was demolished between January 31, 2007 and April 6, 2007[4]. Construction on the new building continued through 2007, with Disney never making an official announcement as to what was actually being built.
In February 2008, Disney won approval from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to begin selling Disney Vacation Club units at a property called "Kingdom Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort." Approval was granted for an initial sale of 75 units, with the Kingdom Tower ultimately containing 281 time-share units. The approval does not, however, state when Disney Vacation Club will actually begin selling units; it says only that they can do so. In preparation for the future sale, Disney incorporated a condominium association for the property on January 9, 2008 that will manage the units.[5]
The project was finally unveiled in September 2008 with its official name, Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort.[6] The units will be the most expensive yet offered by Disney Vacation Club.[6] Some of the resort's features will include full-length windows with views into the Magic Kingdom or onto Bay Lake; some bathrooms on the Magic Kingdom side will include movable partitions to permit watching the park's fireworks displays from the bathtub.[6] The Bay Lake Tower is expected to open to guests and members on August 4, 2009.[7]
The tower will have a pedestrian bridge connecting to the original A-frame tower, and will include amenities of its own, such as a swimming pool with a water slide, tennis and shuffleboard courts, and a cookout pavilion.
[edit] Guest rooms
Standard tower guest rooms contain two queen beds (or one king bed), a day bed/couch, a sitting table, a credenza with a TV and a coffee maker, a small refrigerator, and a closet. Bathrooms for standard rooms at the Contemporary usually have dual sinks and vanity, a standard western toilet, and a bathtub. The guest rooms make use of muted browns, reds, purples and greens as a part of their theming, partially inspired from current Asian interior design trends. Rooms previously made use of vivid primary colors red, yellow, and blue, to match the theming of the hotel, which was said to be influenced by contemporary art from the 1960s and 1970s. As one of the original resorts on property, the Contemporary Resort has some of the largest rooms on Disney property, matched only by Disney's Polynesian Resort which also opened in 1971.
The Contemporary Resort also offers suites, as well as two levels of concierge (sometimes referred to as "club") service on the 12th and 14th floors.
Tower rooms are located in the original A-frame building through which the monorail runs. The Garden View rooms are detached from the A-frame.
[edit] Restaurants
There are several restaurants in the Contemporary Resort's main building.
- The California Grill provides is a full-service dining restaurant. Located at the top (15th floor) of the Contemporary Resort's tower, the California Grill offers views of the Magic Kingdom, the Seven Seas Lagoon, Bay Lake, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort, and Disney's Polynesian Resort. In addition, it offers a view of the Magic Kingdom's fireworks shows.
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The Wave, on the main lobby level, is the resort's newest dining facility. It offers casual table-service dining featuring American cuisine. It replaces the Concourse Steakhouse, which was originally located on the Grand Canyon Concourse.
The Wave Restaurant
- Chef Mickey's, on the Grand Canyon Concourse, is a buffet that features appearances from Disney characters. Open for breakfast and dinner, Chef Mickey's offers a view of the monorail entering the resort and character appearances. There are children's items including Goofy's pizza, Mickeyroni and cheese, and other novelties. There is also an adult buffet which includes pot roast, steak, potatoes etc. Dessert bars are available to all.
- Contempo Cafe, on the Grand Canyon Concourse, is a quick-service eatery serving lighter fare and snacks. It is the permanent replacement for the Food & Fun Center,[citation needed] previously located on the main lobby level. Contempo Cafe is often open late into the evening, and is situated in the location once occupied by the Concourse Steakhouse.
- The Sand Bar, located alongside the main pool, offers a variety of outdoor treats from burgers to ice cream sandwiches. There is also a cocktail bar that serves alcoholic beverages.
[edit] Long-term refurbishments
During 2005-06, Disney completed a renovation of all guest rooms and many public areas throughout the resort. The decor changed little through the resort's history and has been replaced with more modern decor and furnishings.
[edit] New guest rooms
Using muted colors, updated furnishings and linens, guest rooms of the resort received a more modern appearance consistent with the resort's theme.[when?] New beds were installed with white duvets and sheets, and a suede headboard that runs the height of the room. A clear glass desk workspace was added to rooms, along with a light-green futon-style day bed/couch. Carpet and wall colors now incorporate a soft chocolate brown color, while the new entertainment center is framed by dark wood. This entertainment center includes a 32" high-definition LCD television, however the rooms still receive analog video signals, so HD video is unavailable to these televisions. Bathrooms have new "flat sinks", new mirrors and new wallpaper, and white and brown marble tile floors. A computer with unlimited Internet access is located on the glass desk. Although this may be the case in some rooms, the majority of the rooms no longer contain a computer and internet access is billed at $15 for one day. All rooms have mini-refrigerators, and they are stocked daily for suites & rooms on the 14th floor (concierge level with mostly suites and four regular size rooms). View photo above.
[edit] The Fantasia Gift Shop
The open space between the shopping areas of the Grand Canyon Concourse has a gift shop which opened on November 21, 2007. This is the previous "Fantasia Gift Shop" that used to be located under the Monorail station (where the new game room is currently located). The carpet and tile on the Concourse level have also been replaced.
[edit] New lobby
In the lobby of the Contemporary Resort, the front desk has been upgraded, and lobby area updated to complement the new guest rooms. This transition began sometime in September 2007, and was finished approximately October 27th, 2007.
[edit] Resort photos
 Among the stylized denizens of the mosaic is a five-legged goat. It is located on the monorail side of the mosaic and is best viewed from the seventh and eighth floors. Disney cast members report that the extra limb was an intentional addition, meant to express the belief that no man-made creation is perfect.[citation needed] |
 The Resort Monorail stops here; the Express Monorail goes through without stopping. |
 The landscaping leading up to the main entrance is arranged to look like a Mickey Mouse wristwatch. This view can only be seen from the resort monorail or from rooms on the west-facing side of the building. (Trees have now been removed) |
[edit] References
- ^ "Walt Disney World News for the week of Oct. 21". http://www.disneyworldtrivia.com/articleViewer.php?aid=654. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ The engineering plans
- ^ Walt Disney World > Resorts > Disney's Contemporary Resort > Construction where the old tennis courts used to be.
- ^ Contemporary Construction
- ^ Orlando Sentinel February 26, 2008
- ^ a b c Jason Garcia (2008-09-16). "Disney's time-share kingdom grows". Orlando Sentinel. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/orl-disney1608sep16,0,1966015.story. Retrieved on 2008-09-16.
- ^ Jason Garcia (2009-02-03). "Disney to open Contemporary addition on August 4". Orlando Sentinel. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/business_tourism_aviation/2009/02/disney-to-open-contemporary-addition-on-aug-4.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-09.
[edit] External links
- Disney's Contemporary Resort
- Contemporary Resort Pictures
- AllEarsNet's photos of the Contemporary Resort (includes photos of the newly refurbished rooms)
- Contemporary references by BigFloridaCountry.com
- Construction video of Contemporary
- Construction video of Bay Lake tower
- Coordinates: 28°24′53″N 81°34′26″W / 28.414794°N 81.574015°W
