Disney’s Contemporary Resort Review
Disney’s Contemporary Resort is a Deluxe or luxury tier hotel at Walt Disney World, located within walking distance of Magic Kingdom and on the monorail loop, which connects to Epcot. This review features new Incredibles room photos, pool & restaurant info, pros & cons, and more. (Updated February 3, 2024.)
A lot has changed at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in the last few years. This includes new rooms inspired by the Incredibles, a redesigned lobby, changes to California Grill, and the debut of Steakhouse 71 Restaurant. See Photos & Review: Contemporary’s Hit & Miss Makeover for a full look at the changes.
As of 2024, work is now finished on all areas of the resort. At least, for now. Bay Lake Tower will be receiving a major room renovation project late this year and throughout 2025. Additionally, the Grand Canyon Concourse atrium level of the Contemporary’s A-frame building is woefully dated and long overdue for a cohesive update. Keep an eye on our 2024-2025 Walt Disney World Hotel Construction Tracker for updates.
By way of overview, Contemporary Resort is a 600+ room A-frame tower hotel situated in such a manner that west-facing rooms have views of Cinderella Castle and Magic Kingdom, while east-facing rooms have views of Bay Lake. Inside the hotel is a cavernous and cacophonous atrium, which is home to the hotel’s dining and shopping.
Contrary to the name, Contemporary Resort is the oldest hotel at Walt Disney World. The architectural style is best described as modernist or perhaps brutalist, but imbues a sense of utopian optimism thanks to the layout and monorail gliding through. The “pure” design has been diluted over time thanks to visual hodgepodge cluttering the interior. These newer additions (most from the 1990s or early aughts) have ironically aged the hotel more than its more timeless core design.
If you’re unfamiliar with Walt Disney World hotels, most people–even first timers–will probably readily be able to identify the Contemporary as “the hotel with the monorail going through it.” That alone is going to be a big draw for many guests, and is what always drew me to it as a kid.
It’s important to know that many rooms at the Contemporary are not located in the central A-frame building through which the monorail passes. In addition to the main tower, Disney’s Contemporary Resort also features a cheaper Garden Wing as well as the Bay Lake Tower Disney Vacation Club villas.
We have mixed feelings about the Garden Wing. As of 2024, all of the rooms in the Garden Wing have been updated to the Incredibles style, a process that took much longer than the main A-frame rooms. The Garden Wing can much cheaper and quieter, but it just doesn’t pack the same punch, so to speak, as staying in the main A-frame and having the monorail glide through. It’s also a bit of a longer walk to Magic Kingdom or the monorail station, making it less convenient.
The Garden Wing is also a bit more secluded and not as chaotic, which can be nice, and the walk is by no means bad. If you’re doing a bucket list trip and want the quintessential stay at the Magic Kingdom monorail resort, book the main A-frame tower. If you want the location and are on a tighter budget–or want a bit more peace, go for the Garden Wing.
With that background out of the way, let’s take a look at the hotel’s design, rooms, and amenities…
Disney’s Contemporary Resort is a somewhat divisive hotel: as serious architecture and a modern marvel, it’s pretty compelling. Even with the dated aspects, many guests who want Disney perks and a great location are likely to love the Contemporary.
As a themed resort, it’s less compelling. Guests visiting Walt Disney World in part to escape the real world and be transported to another time and place often are underwhelmed by the Contemporary. It has splashes of Disney and gratuitous uses of Mickey Mouse, to be sure, but it’s more about the architecture than themed design.
Recently, this has become even more muddied as the Contemporary debuted an “Incredibles Injection” to guest rooms. These now feature the films via characters, plus mid-century modern stylization, and various nods to the monorail and other design changes.
The end result is…interesting. Nowhere else in the hotel are there any references to the Incredibles, which arguably makes the Contemporary even more of a hodgepodge than it was before. The rooms are lighter and brighter with a crisp look and mid-century modern aesthetic, they also look cheap.
Other new rooms at Walt Disney World have used a variety of textures and higher-end finishings to convey quality alongside the character infusions. That’s not the case here, as the new rooms at the Contemporary are lacking in that regard.
From the flooring to the furniture to the surfaces, these rooms simply feel and look lower end. They’re not Pop Century quality, but they’re also not on par with the Riviera or Polynesian, which thread the character-meets-quality needle far better than the Contemporary.
The rooms at Disney’s Contemporary Resort are sizable at 394 square feet each.
The recent refurbishment makes them feel a tad smaller, but these are still more spacious than Value or Moderate Resort rooms.
On a positive note, the bathrooms at the Contemporary are quite nice. They are split, which is fairly standard for Walt Disney World Deluxe Resort hotel rooms, but unlike most rooms, they place the dual sinks and the shower/bathtub in one area and the toilet in another area.
The sinks are more practical, the visually-busy design has been decluttered, the mirror is fun–even the ceiling looks better.
Contemporary Resort’s Incredibles-inspired rooms have already proven polarizing among Walt Disney World guests.
Personally, I’m not bothered by the character integration in theory, but I do think the execution is sloppy and doesn’t really excel at either of the things it’s presumably trying to do.
As a character-themed room, the new Contemporary rooms look weak and uninspired.
As upscale hotel rooms, they’re over the top and unsophisticated. It’s hard to envision these having a ton of appeal to families with small children or business travelers attending a convention at the Contemporary.
With all of that said, we’ve stayed in the Garden Wing rooms that were redone in the Incredibles style about a year or so after the A-frame rooms, and there are a number of little improvements made in the process. You might not be able to tell by looking at them, but we found the Garden Wing rooms to be noticeably better (Garden Wing photo is the one immediately above; all others are A-frame rooms).
On a related note, Disney cannot compete with the luxury and boutique hotel brands of the world. If you look at something like the Waldorf Astoria or Four Seasons Orlando, they run circles around the Contemporary–and usually at lower nightly rates.
It’s no secret that Walt Disney World prices its on-site hotels at a premium as compared to their real world counterparts, but the difference with a hotel like the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, or BoardWalk Inn is that there are no direct comparisons to those hotels. You can’t point to a real world luxury hotel brand that has a fully-fledged Victorian theme, a South Seas theme, or an Atlantic Boardwalk theme. By contrast, the Contemporary is a modern-luxe hotel, so it’s a direct comparison.
In fairness, there’s one huge “amenity” offered by Disney’s Contemporary Resort that its real world counterparts don’t have: location. In fact, no hotel at Walt Disney World (period) has as good of a location. This is the closest resort to the Magic Kingdom (well, technically Bay Lake Tower is closer, but they’re basically one in the same).
It’s a short monorail ride to and from the park, and an even shorter walk. It’s really awesome to not have to hassle with any transportation in the morning or after a long night as you just walk 5-10 minutes to and from the Magic Kingdom. This convenience cannot be overstated–it’s a huge advantage at the beginning or end of a long day, and is enough to trump all of the downsides of the Contemporary.
Moving along to other advantages, there’s the dining scene. California Grill and Chef Mickey’s are obviously the restaurants with a strong reputation here, but don’t discount Steakhouse 71 and Contempo Cafe. The latter are two overlooked gems that we very much enjoy.
California Grill is expensive and arguably a bit overrated, but we also really like it. In fact, California Grill’s Brunch at the Top is one of our favorite meals in all of Walt Disney World, and we highly recommend doing that if you have the opportunity.
At the other end of the spectrum, Chef Mickey’s is one of the worst restaurants at Walt Disney World when considering value and cuisine. Even accounting for Chef Mickey’s low quality, Contemporary Resort is still a top 5 Walt Disney World hotel for dining.
Add the Top of the World Lounge next door at Bay Lake Tower, and you have a really well-rounded hotel in terms of Walt Disney World dining.
Throughout the year, Disney’s Contemporary Resort offers various entertainment and enhancements. At Christmas, there’s a gingerbread display. Around Easter, decorated eggs appear in the atrium. During “normal” times of year, there are movies and other offerings.
Other amenities include the on-site convention center, laundry facilities, arcades, shopping, childcare, fitness center, and spa. Watercraft Rentals (kayaks, boats, and more) are available for use in Bay Lake.
The pools at Disney’s Contemporary Resort are another downside.
The hotel has two pools, both of which are among the weakest at Walt Disney World. The Feature Pool, sits sits between the A-frame tower and the Garden Wing. This area is mostly unthemed, and offers a hot tub, kiddie pool, and water player area. There’s also a nearby quiet pool.
Overall, Disney’s Contemporary Resort is a hotel about which I’m of two minds. As someone who goes to Walt Disney World to be immersed in a themed design and escape from the real world, Contemporary Resort does next to nothing for me. The core design is cool, but various “improvements” made over the years leave it feeling dated and a bit dreary.
As someone who also values convenience and location, I love Disney’s Contemporary Resort. There are few better feelings at the end of a long night in Magic Kingdom than looking at the long bus and monorail lines…and walking right past that headache to your hotel.
For many people, whether to book Disney’s Contemporary Resort will likely be a matter of convenience v. theme. If you love the whimsical theming of Walt Disney World resort hotels, Disney’s Contemporary Resort may be a disappointment. If you want a hassle-free vacation, it’ll be a great option. For us, it ultimately comes down to what kind of trip we’re taking–if we plan on spending a lot of time at the hotel, Disney’s Contemporary Resort is not the right pick for us. If we’re spending a lot of time at Magic Kingdom, it’s a great choice.
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Your Thoughts
Do you love the Contemporary or is it not your style? If you’re a fan, do you think the monorail, proximity to the Magic Kingdom, and other perks make it worth the premium price? If you’re not a fan, is it because of the “plain” style? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
My family loves the Contemporary. We like that we can walk back to the hotel from Magic Kingdom.
I love this hotel. The feel and walking distance to MK is fantastic.
When you are tired and leaving the park late at night, a quick 10 minute walk back to your room is fabulous.
The Wave restaurant for breakfast is delicious. Not crowded with an awesome buffet.
The rooms are clean and styled just to my taste, “without a theme.”
Having quick access to the monorail is fantastic.
Hotels that rely only on buses can be such a pain and so much of your time is spent on traveling to the parks. Your only need a bus from the Contemporary for Animal Kingdom.
To get to Hollywood Studios, take the monorail to Epcot and take the secret back entrance out of Epcot and either walk or take the boat to Hollywood Studios.
The Contemporary is 5 STARS.
Long time lurker…. first time posting.😉 Your review is spot on. However, you missed one very important element. The Mary Blair mural in the Grand Canyon Concourse screams Disney to me. I know many people think it is now tacky and somewhat old fashioned. To me it is quintessential Disney. Blair’s use of color and texture is brilliant. Please think about adding a picture of it to this review. I would love to see how you would go about photographing it.
YES! The Mary Blair murals are awesome. They are also a nice touch of Disney that make the Contemporary more of a Disney resort and less of a generic resort, like I complained of in this post. I need to rethink my position on the Contemporary a bit, I think…
We recently stayed at the Orlando Waldorf and no Disney hotel can compete — including Grand Floridian main building at which we have stayed several times. Disney’s expertise is in running theme parks, not in running hotels.
Still, we loved our stay at the Contemporary. Why? Convenience. For me, that trumps everything else, especially with young children. I don’t care about theming. I care about location. (And if one wants theming, Portofino Bay Hotel and Royal Pacific Resort at Universal both surpass Disney hotels for theming.)
We would stay at the Contemporary again for any vacation where Magic Kingdom is the focus. Being able to walk with kids in strollers is perfect for tired parents. We love a stay at Yacht Club, for example. But a bus ride to Magic Kingdom in the morning, with kids and strollers, is a special kind of torture. We always take a taxi just to avoid the bus ride.
So, who cares about theming? We love Contemporary for its convenience. We also enjoy the very large rooms and the fact that the sinks are in the bathroom where they belong. We hate the Disney hotel rooms with sinks in the bedroom. It seems so cheap and déclassé.
We would choose the Contemporary anytime we travel with children and plan to focus on the Magic Kingdom.
“So, who cares about theming?” A lot of people. 😉
However, a lot of people don’t. You definitely fit in the category of people who don’t, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You make some great points.
As for sinks outside the bathroom: I don’t think it’s necessarily cheaper to do that, but I see how it can be viewed as tacky. However, from a practical perspective, I think it makes a great degree of sense. I think going forward you will see many luxe hotels that find ways to modify their design to have separated bathrooms that utilize this type of design.
A very cool hotel but not one I will stay at again, unless nothing else is available, its only a little closer than the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian, which IMO are much nicer. I have stayed at nearly every Disney hotel and have also stayed at the Waldorf. The Waldorf is nice but is definitely not Disney. I would rather stay at Coronado Springs (which is much less expensive) than a non resort hotel. However, I’ve never stayed at a value resort.
We stayed at CR earlier this year and loved location, liked monorail and will likely do a DVC add on at bay lake. I’m trying Waldorf Astoria bonnet creek for the first time this weekend. I hope to be blown away, as I loved hilton bonnet creek I our first stay there.
But there’s just no beating a quick walk back to a. CR (or BLT) room from MK.
We stayed at the Contemporary when we were there last month. We chose it primarily for the location. We were in the main tower and we loved having a view of the lake. I didn’t mind that it wasn’t overly themed even though I love Disney. I was expecting the bathroom room to be really small after reading some reviews, but I didn’t find it to be that way at all. It was bigger than ours at home:) I do agree that it can be noisy in the main tower. We happened to be on the end where Chef Mickey’s was at but on the 11th floor. Next time I would request to stay at the other end. However, it didn’t really bother us that much. I think since we slept at the far end of the room, we didn’t hear it as much. One thing that I really loved at the Contemporary was how small it felt. Some of the other resorts are very spread out and the Contemporary isn’t. I never felt like there were tons of people there either. It probably helps with the DVC having a lot of it’s own stuff, but we really did love it there. It would be at the top of our list to stay at in the future.
We just stayed in a Tower Theme Park view room for a week last December and absolutely loved it!! In my opinion, it was VERY Disney!! There were neat touches in our room,
but what says “Disney” more than a monorail right under your room door? Or Chef Mickey’s just downstairs? Or best yet, looking at Magic Kingdom from your balcony and watching Wishes every night from the balcony?? Our room was very comfortable and spacious. My husband and I feel like we may now be spoiled and only want to stay there! We are hesitant to try another resort but are willing to give others a try!
We just stayed in a Tower Theme Park view room for a week last December and absolutely loved it!! In my opinion, it was VERY Disney!! There were neat touches in our room,
but what says “Disney” more than a monorail right under your room door? Or Chef Mickey’s just downstairs? Or best yet, looking at Magic Kingdom from your balcony and watching Wishes every night from the balcony?? Our room was very comfortable and spacious. My husband and I feel like we may now be spoiled and only want to stay there! We are hesitant to try another resort but are willing to give others a try!
amazing pictures!!!
I’m not going to lie… I find the contemporary rooms to be quite fug. The brown motif above reminds me of an austin powers “bachelor pad” asthetic from the sixties/seventies. I think they could do better with these rooms, but most disney deluxe rooms could use an update. I love the easy monorail accessibility though, and the dining.
The funny thing is that these rooms HAVE been recently updated (and Disney is in the process of updating almost all Deluxe Rooms). The intent on the design seems to be ‘retro futuristic’ with a 1970s-inspired aesthetic. It looks like something you’d find in a chic Mid-Century Modern home of the era, except with a current twist. That right there is something that’s going to be love-it or hate-it.
I love it. I can see how people wouldn’t like the color scheme, but I generally think it works. What I probably liked most was the little A-frames (meant to mimic the Contemporary building/logo) in the current.
Jeez, the more I think about it, the more I actually like the Contemporary!
My family stayed in the Contemporary garden wing during our first-ever trip to WDW in August 2012. We loved being super close to the main building, but not actually *in* it due to the noise/chaos factor. As a side note, the separate toilet was a godsend for a family of five staying in one room together for a week. 😉
We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside when we returned in September 2013 – we really enjoyed POR, but for both room size and proximity to the MK, the Contemporary would be my first choice if money was not a factor.
I just want to say that this is the best place to stay when travelling with a toddler! Being able to walk back from MK for naps and bedtime is amazing. MK is the place that we go to the most with our child and is the one place we like to stay a little past bedtime. The theming leaves a bit to be desired but until my daughter gets a little older – all of our stays will be here.
Absolutely–great point. If you have small children, like to nap, or are just interested in saving time, it’s tough to beat the Contemporary!
Plus the lack of theme helps with overstimulated little ones and adults.
Based on your photos the Contemporary is my kind of hotel. I don’t want a room that screams cartoon theming. The Contemporary looks like an upscale 4 star property to me.
Personally, I think there are plenty of upscale Walt Disney World hotels that do theming without it looking even remotely cartoonish. The only ones that I find to be cartoonish are the Value Resorts, and those aren’t in the same tier–or price point–as the Contemporary.
Still, I think many people will agree with you about wanting a hotel that just looks like an ordinary, modern upscale hotel.
What about the pools and other resort amenities? We visited the Contemporary while staying at WL and enjoyed the boat ride over. We ate at Contempo Cafe and agreed it was yummy. It was fun to take in the ambiance but we didn’t think we’d want to stay there in the future.
But, walking to MK? REALLY COOL.
I’d say the pool at the Contemporary is average or even below average as compared to other Deluxes, but the marina is nice.
Walking to the MK is a huge draw. It’s the main reason we’d probably stay there again…
My family and I stayed at the Contemporary the week after Thanksgiving in 2012. We loved it. We had breakfast at Chef Mickey’s one morning and the kids just went down in their pajamas (they were 8 and 4 1/2 at the time). They loved doing that. Also, I really liked being able to hop on the monorail, go one stop, get on another one and ride over to EPCOT. It was nice not having to wait for a bus. After going to Magic Kingdom for the day, it was fantastic to walk back to the hotel and avoid the mad crush of people leaving the park on the monorail, bus, and boat. The walk was very short and the kids really liked watching the monorail go over our heads.
What’s most interesting to me is that there are a lot of perks about the Contemporary for parents with small kids (like location, dining, and the ‘cool factor’ of the monorail), but the theming seems like it would be the most unappealing for kids.
I’m sort of surprised they haven’t shifted it to have the theme (or decor, rather) showcase contemporary art of Mickey Mouse or the Fab Five. Bay Lake Tower does this with its decor to a degree, but you don’t see it so much in the Contemporary itself.
I imagine a kind of retro-futuristic look would be amazing, especially since it already has the monorail running through it. That would make it a must visit location for me.
As for Calf. Grill, my wife and I are planning on going when we visit in Dec since we’re on the meal plan but had an extra table service as it was and being able to view the fireworks made it pretty tempting.
The contemporary actually has, or at least *had* a more elaborate theme, which is the American Southwest. The mural is the last real vestige of that, but the interior of the tower was called “Grand Canyon Concourse” and used to have each floor painted like a layer of rock in the grand canyon. As a kid the monorail going through the building was enough to make it my favourite Disney hotel and I think many folks overestimate the importance of the louder themeing at some of the moderates and value hotels for keeping kids happy. My preferred resort is the Polynesian but my wife loves the feeling of being “in the middle of the action” that you get at the Contemporary.
I appreciate your honest review. We are taking our first trip (for the kids AND the grownups) and have chosen the Contemporary as our hotel. While I totally get what you are saying, the lack of theme is one of the reasons we chose it (behind location and convenience). Our girls are 3 and 5, and I actually want them to have a break from the stimulation that I know is everywhere. I want our time in the room to be calm and “sterile” (for lack of a better word) to allow their minds to rest and unwind. Just wanted to throw that out there as another view point from a parent of small kids. Love the blog, btw!
We have stayed at The Contemporary several times over our Disney lives. We like the location, the rooms are nice, and the monorail really is the best perk. Last fall, though, we were disappointed with the counter service breakfast. We would stay here again, but had a hard time finding something to eat! Most mornings we actually took the monorail over to the Poly to eat Tonga Toast. Wish they would have a few “original” items like that at all the Deluxe
I agree that would be nice, but for some reason Walt Disney World seems to put zero effort into counter service breakfast. I think it’s awful at 90% of Disney restaurants. No clue why, but something should really be done about it.
I plan on staying a night or two at the Contemp for the novelty of it. I prefer better themed hotels myself
I love the Contemporary! We will be staying there in November for the D23 event. I would actually prefer to be in one of the garden rooms because as cool as being near the monorail is, that part of the hotel is very noisy. The noise of people getting on the monorail in the morning and the all of the carrying on at Chef Mickey’s at 8:00 AM is disruptive for people who are not early risers. I love Bay Lake Tower more than the main hotel, and my absolute favorite place to stay is Yacht Club.
Ah, I had not thought of that with regard to the main building. Thanks for the heads up!
We just got back from our stay over Memorial Day week. Loved the hotel. Perfect location. I agree that the theming could have been nicer but it came down to Location, Location, Location and Monorail.
In regards to the noise, you cannot hear it when in your room. I don’t know what Disney does in terms of soundproofing that other hotels don’t do but in the few Disney hotels and cruise rooms we have been in, the noise from outside your door never comes through.
We just stayed at the Garden Wing in June. Totally 100% agreement with your review!
Hi There!
My husband and I will be visiting DW in August for our anniversary. (My first Disney visit was last year for our honeymoon and I found many of your posts helpful 🙂 ) My question is regarding Chef Mickey’s in the Contemporary. We made a breakfast reservation and I am curious as to how long it takes to walk from the MK. We just want to make sure we are not late for our 8:30 am reservation. Thank you!!!
Britani it will take 10 minutes — 15 at the absolute longest! its really close 🙂
Thank you!!