Tag Archives: Disney World Resorts

Who Would Love Disney’s Contemporary Resort?

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Let’s pretend for a minute that you’ve decided that for your next (or first) Walt Disney World vacation, you want to stay in the Magic Kingdom resort area.  Let’s go a step further and say you want to stay at a monorail resort.  First of all, go YOU!  These are our family’s favorite resorts!  Tough choice though.  All are expensive, all have their pros and cons.  Today, I’m going to try to explain the draw of Disney’s Contemporary Resort.  In future posts, I’ll do the same for the Polynesian Village Resort and the Grand Floridian too, so I’ll be sharing everything I know and have personally experienced.  All three have a lot to offer!

Who Would Love Disney’s Contemporary Resort?

You want to be smack dab in the middle of the Disney action – When you can see Magic Kingdom from your resort, all day and all evening, it feels especially Disney-ish.  You also have (my favorite!) the Electrical Water Pageant cruising by your resort in the evening.  Between the boats, busses and monorail, it feels like every park is just a short ride away.  Resort hopping by boat to Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness is super easy (and relaxing) as is access via monorail to the other Magic Kingdom resorts.

Your family adores Magic Kingdom – From the Contemporary, it’s just a short walk away!  Slightly more than 1/2 mile from door to Park entrance, the Contemporary is the ONLY resort from which you can walk to and from Magic Kingdom.  As an added convenience, the security bag-check/metal detector is right on the walkway, giving your family a straight shot to the entrance!  If you’ve got an early morning ADR (advance dining reservation) in Magic Kingdom, this perk is a plus!

Resort Loop Pub Crawl – Sure, this is a benefit of staying at any of the monorail resorts, but if you’re out for date night or have a party of adults only, this is a fun way to spend an evening.  We love to start at the Contemporary’s Outer Rim and move on to the Poly’s Tambu Lounge (or Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto) and Mizner’s Lounge in the Grand Floridian.  Grab a cocktail and snacks at each stop and make an evening of it.

Amazing Dining Options – Character dining? Check!  Meet the Fab Five at Chef Mickey’s for breakfast or dinner.  Need a quick meal?  Try the Contempo Café (Buffalo Chicken Flatbread is great!).  Fresh, sustainable, and delicious fare is available at The Wave, and if you want one of the best dinners at Walt Disney World, you can’t go wrong with the food, service, and view at the California Grill.

Nostalgia – It’s modern and retro at the same time!  As one of the original Walt Disney World resorts, the Contemporary has maintained that opening-day vibe while boasting updated rooms with a current, modern feel.  The Mary Blair mural (look for the five-legged goat!) and the open atrium where the monorail pulls right on in to the heart of the resort are all classic Walt Disney for geeks like us!  If you love Disney like we do, standing on that monorail platform, watching our ride pull into the station…there’s no feeling in the World exactly like it and fans have been experience that particular thrill since 1971.

 

 

 

 

WDW – Cars Suites at Art of Animation

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Hello Saturdays with Nick!  Today I’ve chosen a picture-heavy review to share with you – and I think you’re gonna like it!  Nick and Barbie had an awesome vacay in 2013 at Disney World’s Art of Animation Resort in a Cars Suite and you have GOT to see the details!  If you’re in the trip-planning stages and you have kids (especially boys), you will want to consider Art of Animation’s Cars area.

WDW – Cars Suites at Art of Animation

By: Nick

On our last trip to Walt Disney World, my wife and I had the great pleasure to stay in a Cars Suite at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.

Some background. I love the movie Cars. When Cars was released in June of 2006, I had just the month before driven a portion of Route 66 from Flagstaff, Arizona to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and had seen many of the sites that are referenced visually in the film, including staying in a Teepee (or cone) Motel (not as cool as you’d expect, by the way). I’d also seen many a lovely small town now abandoned, as Radiator Springs is at the beginning of Cars. In other words, the film really connected with me on an emotional level.

Jump to 2012, and we visited Disneyland, and I was absolutely enthralled with Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, and actually spent a very large portion of our 4 days in “Radiator Springs”.

Now, you can actually STAY in Radiator Springs at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort!

The theming of this section of AoA is extensive.
As you approach, you are greeted by billboards, and the Sheriff, to let you know to keep your speed down.

You then travel up Route 66, to one of 3 themed buildings, or the Cozy Cone pool area.

The building to the left is themed after Luigi’s Tires, where you’ll find the proprietor and Guido.

To the right is Tow Mater’s Towing and Salvage.

At the far end is The Wheel Well Motel, where Sally and Lightning McQueen can be found. This is where we stayed!

The theme extends inside as Red welcomes us.

On to the room. The family suites can easily sleep 6. There is a dining /sleeping area (yes, you read that right, more on that in a bit), small kitchen area, 2 bathrooms, a living room, and a bedroom.

The bathroom to the right is a full bath with a tub.
The bedroom has a queen size bed. The mattress was a bit on the firm side for me.
It has a flat screen TV.

The bath off the bedroom has a shower and no tub. Water pressure was great, and this was easily my favorite shower of all the resorts we’ve stayed in at Walt Disney World.

The cars theme is everywhere in the suites, with cone lamps, a fold out sofa bed that looks like a car seat, a table with a map of Radiator Springs, etc.

The kitchenette has a small refrigerator, sink, coffee maker, and microwave.

Our view was terrific as well, but of course, this is not a guarantee. One evening my wife made the mistake of asking how one family enjoyed the rooms and view, and the father replied in a rather churlish manor “The room’s great, but we’ve got a fantastic view of the parking lot.” Oops.

We were on the 3rd floor, and one evening we were able to see the higher fireworks from Wishes at the Magic Kingdom (left) and Illuminations at Epcot (right) at the same time!

I mentioned the dining/sleeping area earlier. Here we see a table. There are usually 4 chairs around it, we are in the process of moving them here.

Why are we moving the chairs? To pull the murphy bed down of course! We actually found this bed more comfortable than the the one in the bedroom, and slept here a couple of nights!

Overall, the room was fantastic. The one and only complaint I have is that you cannot lower the temperature below 68 degrees. And, you could possibly get a view of the parking lot.

The pool is themed after the Cozy Cone.

The cones, are cabanas, which is first come, first serve. Also, bring towels. We were not aware you needed to do this, and I had to run back to the room on our first swim.

 

It’s well lit at night.

Speaking of night, the place is really magical in the evening.

This is easily the best themed resort on Disney Property.
Don’t forget to get your pictures taken with some of the citizens of Radiator Springs!

Barbie with Flo, owner of one of our favorite eateries at Disney California Adventure.

Me and Mater.

What do you think?  Have you stayed at Art of Animation?  Would you consider a visit?

For more amazing Disney adventures, follow Nick (and Barbie) at Disney Musings Blog / Disney Musings on Twitter / Disney Musings on Instagram / Disney Musings on Facebook