Disney's Contemporary Resort is a Disney owned and operated AAA Four Diamond award winning [1]resort hotel located at the Walt Disney World Resort. It began operation on October 1, 1971 as one of the first two hotels[2] within the resort's property boundaries. As the namesake implies, the resort's overall theme lends itself to provide for a modern interpretation of accommodations relative to the company's other resorts, both with its architectural design and interior design. Marketed as a Deluxe resort by Disney[3]
, the resort's physical location is convenient for theme park visitors, as it is located across the street from the Magic Kingdom and has the Walt Disney World Monorail System running through the main tower's atrium.[4]
The resort originally opened with 1,057 rooms; split between the resort's main building, a 15 story A-Frame tower, and two three story annexes.[5] Since its opening, the resort has seen numerous refurbishments and additions, the most significant of which was the demolition of the resort's North Garden Wing and the construction of Bay Lake Tower, a 16 story building as part of the Disney Vacation Club, completed in 2009. Today, the resort has a total of 1,083 rooms in three distinct buildings, comprised of standard hotel rooms, suites and vacation villas, with most areas having been refurbished between 2006 and 2009.
The Contemporary Tower's first floor houses its lobby, with hotel registration and concierge.A section of the large Mary Blair mural "The Pueblo Village" on display in the Tower's atrium.
Disney's Contemporary Resort is nestled between the eastern shores of the man-made Seven Seas Lagoon and the western shores of Bay Lake, across the street east of the Magic Kingdom. The proximity of this park allows resort guests to walk directly via pathways to its main entrance. The resort is also on the Magic Kingdom Resort monorail loop, providing transportation to the Transportation and Ticket Center, Disney's Polynesian Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa and the Magic Kingdom. Epcot is also accessible on the monorail (via transfer) while other Walt Disney World Resort theme parks and attractions are served by Disney Transport buses.[6]
The resort was part of the first phase of construction of Walt Disney's Florida project, Disney World. This plan originally included five resort hotels, a campground, golf courses and the Magic Kingdom park.[7] As the project progressed, the plans for the first phase of construction became more defined and certain elements were shelved for further development; together with Disney's Polynesian Resort, this resort would be the two built initially. During this period, the resort was referred to by associates of the project as the "Contemporary Hotel", a name that wasn't intended as permanent. Instead, Tempo Bay Resort Hotel was to be used for the resort complex, with postcards and other collateral made that bared the name. However, Roy Disney, who headed the Florida project after the death of his brother Walt, stated of the Tempo Bay name that “I just don’t like it. I like Contemporary. I like names that are simple and say what they are. The other name is phony and plastic.” Following these remarks, the resort's temporary working name quickly repurposed as its official name, with all new collateral referencing this name instead.
Originally, the Disney resort hotels were to be owned and operated jointly by US Steel, who constructed and would own the hotel structures, and by Disney, who owned and leased the land to US Steel, and who would operate the hotels. Amidst a period of significant construction delays and set backs that led to one project developer forecasting that the resort would not be ready on opening day, Roy Disney decided that the company should buy out US Steel's interest in the hotels, stating that "...we're not going to be very good partners with them." Disney renegotiated with the company, now owning the resort outright and any remaining costs of construction. Despite assuming complete control of the project, delays still were a challenge leading up to the opening day of the Walt Disney World Resort, with construction cranes temporarily lowered for opening festivities and work continuing later on. The resort opened on October 1, 1971 with Bob Hope officiating a pre-recorded televised dedication of the resort that would air later on October 29, 1971.
The resort is organized around a central building named the Contemporary Tower. This building houses most of the resort's key facilities, including resort registration and concierge in addition to rooms and suites. Today, three other buildings flank this building with additional rooms, villas and convention space; the South Garden Wing, the Convention Center and Bay Lake Tower.
Original Construction: Tower and Garden Wings[edit]
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 between 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. 394 guest rooms and suites line the outer walls of this building.
The fourth floor of the Contemporary Tower acts as a secondary lobby and houses the resort's atrium, named the Grand Canyon Concourse; a name that pays homage to a large, 18,000 square feet (1,700 m2) Mary Blair mosaic mural named The Pueblo Village. This mural features 18,00 hand painted tiles depicting stylized wildlife and native American children. A fifth legged goat is shown on the western facing side of the mural, widely claimed as Blair's way of conveying that no man-made creation is perfect. The Grand Canyon Concourse houses two restaurants, three shops, an arcade and a stop for the Walt Disney World Monorail System that runs directly through the building.
Two named three-story annexes, the South and North Garden Wings were constructed similarly to the Contemporary Tower as part of the resort's initial build-out. These two low-rise buildings housed an additional 663 guest rooms and suites. Nestled between these two buildings and the main Contemporary Tower was the resort's pool and recreational areas, including a marina, offering a variety of watercraft for rent and water sports, such as parasailing. To the immediate north of the North Garden Wing, Disney's Racquet Club offered lighted clay tennis courts, a pro-shop and instruction for resort guests.
Complimenting the resort's original meeting and event space on the Contemporary Tower's second floor, a convention center was added to a former section of the resort's parking lot and opened on November 11, 1991, with more than 90,000 square feet (8,400 m2) of convention space. Unlike the resort's other buildings, this structure was designed by Michael Graves, and is a visually different in its design and color. The convention center houses several ballrooms and breakout rooms in addition to the resort's business center, and is physically attached and connected to the Contemporary Tower's second floor.
Bay Lake Tower is a crescent shaped 16 story tower, connected to the Contemporary Tower via pedestrian bridge seen to the right of this photo.
In November 2006, construction fences were erected around the perimeter of the North Garden Wing, Disney's Racquet Club Tennis Courts and a portion of the surrounding parking lot. All structures within this perimeter were demolished to make way for Bay Lake Tower, a sixteen tower Disney Vacation Club building. Construction began mid 2007, and was completed in mid 2009.
During much of the construction, Disney had not made any official announcement about the development, with fan sites speculating about the building based upon governmental reports. Prior to construction, a report was filed by Disney and the Reedy Creek Improvement District to the South Florida Water Management District that showed conceptual site plans of a "proposed DVC Resort" development entitled "Disney's Contemporary Suites" located at the approximate site of the North Garden Wing. A February 2008 report from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation further added details, as the report noted approval to begin selling 75 Disney Vacation Club units at a newly christened Kingdom Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort. At around the same time, a condominium association was also incorporated in anticipation of sale.
Finally in September of 2008, Disney formally announced the development as Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Construction was completed and the building opened to guests on August 4, 2009, with the building containing 428 units, consisting of studios, one, two and three bedroom villa accommodations. As part of the Disney Vacation Club, a real estate interest can be purchased by individuals that directly corresponds to annual membership points, which can be used in turn to reserve units within the building. Any units not reserved or allocated for use by members can be rented by the general public much like the resort's hotel rooms. The building itself is crescent shaped and shares similar architectural style details to the original Contemporary Tower.
In addition to individual guest units, the building also houses a recreational room named Community Hall and Top of the World Lounge, a bar and lounge on the building's 16th floor. Connected via a pedestrian bridge to the Contemporary Tower, guests are able to walk directly from the fifth floor of the building to the fourth floor Grand Canyon Concourse of the Contemporary Tower. The addition of Bay Lake Tower also included the construction of a new pool for the dedicated use of guests staying in the building, a new pool bar, a barbecue pavilion, new shuffle board and bocce ball courts and new lighted tennis courts.
Most guest rooms located between the Contemporary Tower and South Garden building offer two queen beds.
Rooms and villas primarily make use of muted colors, white linens and minimalistic furnishings[8] relative to Disney's other resorts, to reflect the overall modern theme of the resort. Both the current hotel rooms and villas were designed as a collaboration between KNA Design and Walt Disney Imagineering.[9]
Standard hotel rooms and suites are housed between the Contemporary Tower and South Garden Wing. Standard rooms contain two queen beds, a daybed, a desk with a rolling office chair, a small chest of drawers and a built-in entertainment center with a flat screen television . Bathrooms within these rooms have dual vanities and a bathtub, with a standard western toilet separated from the main portion of the bathroom. Standard rooms sleep up to five. A small number of suites are available that have similar features to the resort's standard guest rooms, with additional bedrooms and areas for entertaining, many with wet bars. Club level services are offered on the Contemporary Tower's 12th and 14th floors, offering dedicated concierge service for guests of these floors and a lounge with food and beverage offerings. Views vary between the two buildings, with standard views (parking lot/constructed) and garden views (landscaped areas) offered in the South Garden Wing (without balconies) and views of Bay Lake and Magic Kingdom offered in Contemporary Tower (with balconies).
One, two and three bedroom villas at Bay Lake Tower offer a separate living room with a full kitchen from the bedrooms.Vacation villas are housed in Bay Lake Tower and have similar design features to the resort's standard rooms. Studios feature one queen bed and a full size pull-out sofa bed, a flat screen television with a DVD player, a sitting area, a bathroom, a wet bar and a balcony sleeping up to four. One, two and three bedroom villas offer a separate living space with a full kitchen and a dining area with booth seating. These living spaces can sleep up to three, with two sofa beds that convert to twin and full size sleeping accommodations, in addition to having a chest of drawers beneath a flat screen television with a DVD player. A bathroom and a stacked washer and dryer is located just off of the living space. The one, two and three bedroom villas feature a master bedroom king size bed in the bedroom, with a desk, a small chest of drawers, a second entrainment center and a balcony. The master bathroom has a whirlpool tub and separate shower stall. Two and three bedroom villas have secondary bedrooms with two queen beds, an additional entertainment center, a sitting area, a full bathroom and a balcony. Three bedroom villas, referred to as Grand Villas by Disney, are two stories high located on the top floors of the building, and feature floor to ceiling windows adjacent to the two story living space. One bedroom villas sleep up to five, two bedroom villas up to nine and three bedroom villas up to 12. Views offered vary between landscaped areas, Bay Lake and the Magic Kingdom.
California Grill is located on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Tower with views of the Magic Kingdom theme park. Open for dinner exclusively, California Grill is considered a signature restaurant by Disney and focuses on American pacific cuisine. The restaurant's menu regularly changes to use available fresh ingredients and menu selections are prepared in a show kitchen in front of patrons to see. California Grill also includes a lounge that serves the restaurant's full menu, a sushi bar and two private rooms for functions.
Chef Mickey's is located on the fourth floor of the Contemporary Tower and offers a buffet with character meet and greets. Typically open for breakfast and dinner, the buffet offers selections of food that cater to both adults and children. Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, greet and interact with each table during service. Prior to seating, Disney Photo Imaging offers patrons the opportunity to take and later purchase a commemorative photo.
The Wave of American Flavors is located on the first floor of the Contemporary Tower. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant offers a casual environment for American-style meals with more of a health conscious view point compared to other restaurants operated by Disney. The Wave also has an attached bar and lounge with specialty cocktails appetizers available.
Top of the World Lounge is a bar and lounge on the 16th floor of Bay Lake Tower. Adopting the name of a restaurant previously operating where California Grill is currently, Top of the World Lounge is open nightly from 5pm until 12am. Currently, the lounge is not open to the public; instead, access is restricted to Disney Vacation Club Members staying at Bay Lake Tower utilizing their membership. Staff members, upon inspection of the guest's key cards (which identify if the guest is registered as a member) provide an escort to the lounge's location. The lounge offers specialty cocktails and other beverages in addition to appetizers. The lounge and large attached outdoor observation deck offer views of the Magic Kingdom and Bay Lake.
Outer Rim is a bar and lounge located just off of Chef Mickey's and Contempo Cafe on the fourth floor of the Contemporary Tower. Outer Rim offers a selection of beverages and overlooks Bay Lake. Outer Rim is typically open during from the late afternoon until late in the evening.
Quick service counters, bars and restaurants[edit]
Contempo Cafe is a quick, casual restaurant located on the fourth floor of the Contemporary Tower, directly beneath the monorail. Contempo Cafe offer a selection of freshly prepared menu items for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ordering is a three step process that originates by creating an initial order on a touch screen kiosk, selecting and picking up any additional items (such as a pastry) from the market/bakery areas and proceeding to check out. A wireless pager is given to guests upon paying for their meal, and the guest is paged when their meal has been prepared and is ready for pick up at the counter.
Contemporary Grounds is a coffee bar located on the first floor of the Contemporary Tower. Operated by Joffrey's Coffee and Tea Company, the counter offers freshly brewed coffee, espresso, drinks, smoothies and pastries from the early morning through late afternoon.
The Sand Bar is a food counter and bar near the main pool. Hours of operation are seasonal, and the location offers quickly prepared foods, such as sandwiches and hot dogs in addition to a full bar offering cocktails and beverages .
Bay Cove Bar is full bar adjacent to Bay Cove Pool at Bay Lake Tower. Bay Cove Bar offers a full assortment of cocktails and beverages, with an abbreviated in-room dining menu available for orders to be delivered poolside.
The northern side of the Contemporary Tower's Grand Canyon Concourse is anchored by the resort's shops, arcade and monorail station.Fantasia is a large gift shop located in the central portion of the northern side of the fourth floor Grand Canyon Concourse. Originally located beneath the monorail station, Fantasia offers a large assortment of character and theme park merchandise. The shop's name references Disney's 1940 theatrical release of the same name, and is themed to the The Sorcerer's Apprentice portion of the film. Whimsical decorations line the top shelves of the store, and the overall structure has overtones of Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice.
Fantasia Market is a sundries shop located on the far north-western corner of the Contemporary Tower's fourth floor. Originally Concourse Sundries and Sprits, the shop was remodeled and renamed shortly after the opening of the current Fantasia gift shop. Fantasia Market carries a small selection of sundries, over the counter medication, and alcohol. After the opening of Bay Lake Tower, a limited selection of grocery items, such as fresh milk, eggs and frozen TV dinners were made available in coolers added during the location's remodel.
BVG (Bay View Gifts) is a gift shop located on the north-eastern side of the Contemporary Tower's fourth floor. BVG offers Contemporary Resort logo items, casual and swim apparel, jewelry and fine art.
The resort's main pool complex is located just behind the Contemporary Tower.Bay Cove Pool was constructed in conjunction with Bay Lake Tower. It is restricted for the exclusive use of guests staying in the building.Contemporary Resort Pool Complexes - The resort offers three pools and three jetted jacuzzi tubs for guests. The main pool complex is located between the Contemporary Tower and the shores of Bay Lake. This complex houses a large freeform pool with a water slide, an interactive splash area, two jacuzzis and a pool deck with lounge chair seating. A circular quiet pool built out on Bay Lake, offers a more sedate setting and four private cabanas available for rental. Bay Cove Pool was added as part of the construction of Bay Lake Tower and is located in the building's inner courtyard. A freeform, zero-entry pool with a pool slide, an interactive splash area, a jacuzzi tub and surrounding pool deck with seating are components of this pool complex. Access to Bay Cove Pool's offerings are limited to guests staying within Bay Lake Tower, as the complex is gated and key controlled.
Marina - The resort's marina offers a variety of recreational watercraft for rent and private cruises of the surrounding two lakes. Sammy Duvall's Watersports Centre is located within the marina pavilion, and offers water-sport activities such as parasailing and tubing on Bay Lake.
The Game Room is the resort's arcade. A collection of cashless arcade games, some with game tickets, are offered for guests to play. Game tickets can be redeemed for prizes shown at the arcade desk just after entering.
Community Hall is a recreational activities room for guests staying in Bay Lake Tower. Arts and crafts and other activities led by the resort's recreational team take place in the room. A collection of DVDs are available for rent, and Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii gaming systems are available for use, free of charge.
Tennis, bocce ball and shuffleboard courts were constructed as part of Bay Lake Tower and are offered for all resort guests to use. Equipment for the courts (such as balls and racquets) are available at either Community Hall (for Bay Lake Tower Guests) or the marina (for all other guests) to borrow. Bocce ball and shuffle board courts are located in Bay Lake Tower's central courtyard while the two lighten tennis courts are to the direct north side of Bay Lake Tower.
