We Stayed in Disney’s Contemporary Resort With Our Two Little Tots - Here’s Why We Would Recommend This Hotel to Families
Finding a hotel that is the right fit for your family is the foundation of a successful Walt Disney World vacation. Having a place that feels more like home than a hotel room, with just the right amount of space, sleeping accommodations, amenities and dining options can turn a good vacation into a great one. My husband and I recently stayed at Disney’s Contemporary Resort with our two young children (ages 4 and 1). In this post, I’ll provide an overview of our experience and why we would recommend staying here with your family!
Choosing a Hotel
Disney has such a large portfolio of hotels that finding the best one for your family might seem like a daunting task. Take a few minutes to think about what’s on your “need-to-do list” while visiting Walt Disney World. If it’s spending as much time as possible in the parks, then focus on hotels in close proximity, with a wide variety of transportation options to get you there as quickly as possible. If you have a few non-theme park days planned, then focus on the amenities and have awesome adventures without ever leaving the hotel property.
Below is a list of factors you might consider when selecting a hotel:
Price
Proximity to theme parks
Complimentary transportation options available
Available room types and sizes
Amenities
Dining Options
Theming
Why We Chose Disney’s Contemporary Resort
For this trip, we had purchased tickets to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and were looking for a hotel to stay in for one night. The factors I considered first were proximity to Magic Kingdom and complimentary transportation options available. I knew that this would be a later night for us, past the kids’ bedtime, so being able to get to and from Magic Kingdom as efficiently as possible was the main priority. From there, I recognized that staying in a Disney hotel with access to the Monorail would be our best option. We could travel directly from our hotel to the Magic Kingdom in a matter of minutes, without driving and without needing to take the tots out of their strollers.
There are 3 Disney hotels located on the Monorail line with direct access to Magic Kingdom: Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Once we narrowed it down to these three hotels, the next two factors I considered were pricing and room type/size. These hotels fall into what Disney refers to as, “Deluxe Resort Hotels,” so I knew pricing would be tricky.
However, Disney almost always offers some type of promotional deal for booking specific hotel rooms during various times throughout the year. Be sure to visit the Walt Disney World Resort website, and navigate to their “Special Offers” page under Places to Stay in order to search for a deal that could potentially save you a substantial amount during your stay.
I was able to find an Annual Passholder discount of 35% off select bookings during the time we were looking to visit. Even with such a sizable discount, the suites and villas were still out of our price range. I ultimately found a standard room, with two Queen size beds and a balcony. The bathroom had the tub we would need to give the kids baths, as well as some additional space in the room for them to run around and play. Disney also recently updated these rooms, and added an Incredibles theme, so I was excited to see them in person.
#Tot Tip: Disney offers a number of items to help make your stay with little ones more comfortable. You can request a crib (actual crib or pack n’ play) and bed rails for your older kids. I recommend calling your hotel prior to your stay and asking what steps you will need to take. For our stay, they told us to give Housekeeping a call once we were checked into our room. We asked for an actual crib and 2 sets of bed rails. Within 10 minutes of our arrival, they dropped everything off and set them up in our room.
Arriving at Disney’s Contemporary: Parking, Checking In, Navigating the Hotel
Overnight, self-parking is free to guests staying at the Resort. Valet parking is also offered, at a rate of $39 per night. The parking lot is a little bit of a tight squeeze, but we were able to find a spot fairly close to the resort and chose to self-park for the night. If you have a lot of luggage, you can pull up in front of the hotel first, unload your bags, and then park or valet.
The Front Desk is just a short walk inside the Lobby. There was no line to check in, which is always helpful when traveling with little ones. We had the option of Online check-in and could have gone straight up to our room, but there were a few things we needed for the kids that I wanted to ask the front desk about. See my separate post about online check-in and why it’s great when traveling with tots!
Check-in time is at 3pm. If you arrive beforehand, it’s possible your room might be ready so it’s definitely worth asking at the Front Desk. But fear not, if your room isn’t ready, you can leave your baggage at the front desk and either explore the hotel, get something to eat, or even make a quick trip to Disney Springs!
Navigating the hotel was fairly simple. The restaurants, shops and Monorail access are all located on the fourth floor. The floors above that are where all the rooms can be found. One of the coolest features of the Main Tower in Disney’s Contemporary Resort is that the Monorail travels through it when making the circuit between Magic Kingdom and the other resorts. It was definitely a sight to be seen and my toddler absolutely loved it. The added bonus of never even needing to leave your hotel in order to board the Monorail, makes the entire stay worthwhile in my opinion.
The Room
Upon entering the room, you find yourself in a short hallway with 2 closets on the wall. There is space for a small suitcase, a place to hang clothes, and a number of different size drawers for storage. The bathroom is next, and is much larger than I anticipated. There is a shower/tub combo with sliding glass doors, and inside there is a dispenser on the wall with shampoo, conditioner and shower gel, as well as a small bar of soap.
A fairly long vanity with double sinks takes up one wall with generous countertop space. Additional towels, wash cloths, and complimentary toiletries such as body lotion, a shower cap and a small vanity kit are provided. On the other wall, directly across from the vanity, is a separate toilet closet. Overall, the bathroom worked out really well for our family. The one negative I would say however, is that the door leading to the bathroom is a sliding barn door style. My toddler figured that out pretty quickly, and when the door slid, with shall we say, more emphasis than needed, it was quite loud. Thankfully, he was so excited to be there that he moved on to exploring the rest of the room quickly.
Just past the bathroom is a small counter with a coffee maker on top and a beverage cooler underneath. Notice how I said “beverage cooler” and not mini fridge? It all has to do with the temperature. This beverage cooler had a sticker stating that it cooled to 41 degrees and above. If you have specific medical or dietary needs, and will require a fridge that reaches colder temperatures, I recommend calling and speaking with the hotel prior to booking your stay and just confirming they can accommodate what you need. The coffee machine comes stocked with a few different coffee and tea options, creamers, sugars and several To Go cups.
The room itself is quite spacious. The Incredibles theme is subtle and I actually enjoyed that aspect. It was fun to look around and find all the references to the movie and some of its main characters. Certain decorative elements were easier to spot, such as the Frozone and Edna Mode pillows on the beds. Others were a little more hidden, such as the curtains, accent wallpaper and even the lamp shade.
The view was spectacular. We were hoping for a theme park view, which would have allowed us to see Magic Kingdom’s fireworks at night, but there weren’t any available during our stay. Instead, we overlooked the water and some of the pools. Truth be told, we didn’t go out on the balcony at all, we just weren’t in the room long enough for this particular stay. But it did offer a lot of natural light and make the space feel even larger.
There is a very long couch that actually pulls out into another bed, should you need it, and provides a lot of seating. An oval shaped table that can be moved around finishes the space off and is great for not only having an additional place to set down all your souvenirs, but also provides a convenient space to eat should you order room service.
Additional amenities in the room include a large TV, phone, hair dryer, and a “Hey Disney” which is essentially an Alexa with Disney customizations. There’s an informational card with suggested phrases you can ask the device if you are unfamiliar with how they work. Lastly, you will find plenty of additional storage space for suitcases, or possibly even strollers, under the bed. The additional storage space is definitely a plus because the closets are not big enough to store more than one small/medium size bag.
There was plenty of space to set up the crib we requested, which is more like the size of a mini crib. It does come with sheets, but we usually bring a set from home as well. My toddler’s bed at home has guardrails so being able to request them while staying at the hotel was great! We’ve tried using inflatable bed rails in other hotel stays, and I will say being able to use these is much more convenient and effective. They are available to guests on a first come, first serve basis so I recommend requesting them as soon as possible.
Final Thoughts
Although we didn’t spend a great deal of time in the room on this particular trip, it was fantastic and I would definitely recommend staying in this hotel with your family when visiting Walt Disney World. The convenience of having a Monorail station inside the hotel is amazing. In just a matter of minutes you can leave your room and board the Monorail without ever stepping outside.
The room itself is perfect for families. The set up maximizes the available space, providing more than enough room for not only the kids to be able to move around, but also have the crib set up for the baby. The bathroom is large and the tub worked out great for giving baths.. There’s extra seating, a lot of table/counter space and enough under the bed and closet storage to keep suitcases and strollers stowed away. Don’t forget to ask the hotel staff for additional items like the crib and bed rails to make your stay even easier and more comfortable.
The proximity to the Magic Kingdom was a selling point for us. At the end of the night, when everyone was tired and it happened to be raining, being able to just get on to the Monorail without taking the kids out of the strollers and arriving right inside the hotel a few minutes later is worth every penny you pay for your stay at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Overall, I would call our stay in Disney’s Contemporary Resort a success!