Tag Archives: WDW

Five Great Things about Disney’s Contemporary Resort

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CR InstagramDisney’s Contemporary Resort!  A Magic Kingdom resort on the monorail loop – fans are true blue, loyal to the soul – and The Fam and I are certainly among the Contemporary’s most adoring fans.  Some folks, though, have a difficult time understanding its charm – it is a strange-looking building, with very little theming (relatively speaking) and a pretty steep price tag – so what’s so great about it?  Well, I’m glad you asked!

Five Great Things about Disney’s Contemporary Resort:

1.  It’s Classic and Original – Yes, indeed.  For kickin’ it old school, nothing beats the Contemporary.  This hotel originally opened with Walt Disney World in 1971 and remains an iconic part of the landscape.  From its A-frame-shaped Tower to the Mary Blair mural in the lobby – everything about the Contemporary is unique.  Rooms are available in the main building (tower) or in the one remaining garden wing (the other wing was razed to make room for Bay Lake Tower).  Standard rooms are among the largest on property at 422 square feet (accommodate up to five people) and are decorated in a tasteful, modern style.

2.  Location, Location, Location – You cannot beat the Contemporary for making you feel like IMG_2676you’re right in the middle of all the Disney action.  From the Contemporary you can walk to the Magic Kingdom.  Yes – walk.  In the time it takes to wait for a bus, you can be at Magic Kingdom’s entrance (about 10 minutes).  You can’t do this from any other resort hotel at Disney World.  Located between Bay Lake and The Seven Seas Lagoon – the Contemporary is perfectly situated for enjoying all Walt Disney World has to offer.  Busses leave regularly for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.  Shoot – you can even catch a boat and visit either the Wilderness Lodge ( for some great dining there!) or Fort Wilderness (to catch the Hoop Dee Doo Review!)

IMG_26683.  Character Dining – There are many delicious restaurant choices at the Contemporary.  You can enjoy sushi and innovative entrees (currently featuring delicious items like Oak Fired Filet of Beef, Atlantic Swordfish, and Pork Two Ways) in the newly renovated California Grille at the top of the tower.  Down in the lobby, grab a darned tasty burger at The Wave.  There’s something for everyone to enjoy in the Contemporary’s table and counter service restaurants, buffets, coffee shops and lounges.  By far, though, character dining at Chef Mickey’s is hard to beat for families (breakfast and dinner).  As I mentioned in great detail here, you can meet the Fab Five and enjoy a decent buffet with choice enough to please even the pickiest eaters.  AND – if you need more restaurant variety, many other fantastic dining choices can be found at both the Polynesian or the Grand Floridian – each just a short monorail ride away.

4.  The Views –  If you pay to stay in the tower, you’re going to love the view.  Rooms overlook either Bay Lake or the Seven Seas Lagoon (and the Magic Kingdom!).  We’ve been lucky enough to enjoy both of the tower’s views – the misty morning view of Bay Lake was peaceful and amazing.  Views from the Seven Seas Lagoon side are unbelievable (and the most expensive).  One of the most charming aspects of staying anywhere in the Contemporary’s tower is the Electrical Water Pageant – a really adorable nighttime show on the water (circles Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon) which makes a perfect ending to a day at Disney World – like a bedtime story!

IMG_10085.  The Monorail – Right in the very center of the Contemporary’s tower is a monorail stop.  To me, that is the most unbelievably cool feature of this resort!  Imagine – get up in the morning, have breakfast with Mickey and the gang, then head for the monorail to whisk you off to the Magic Kingdom or the TTC (Ticket and Transportation Center) where a quick monorail change will get you to Epcot!  The monorail is so DISNEY!  It’s such a fun and special way to get around, even if you aren’t staying at a monorail resort, you can take it for a ride around – to explore or experience one of the great restaurants along the way.

What’s your favorite Disney World resort hotel?

 

Disney Cupcake Cravings

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DSCN2521For many of us (okay, probably mostly me) this is always the time of year when we feel the need to…well….work on lightening up, you could say.  Don’t know about you, but I’m fluffy.  I’m well-insulated for the winter and paying the price for eating, drinking and making merry during the holiday season.  You’d think by now at the ripe old age of…uhmmmm.  Lets just say I should know better.  I’m down to three pairs of pants, two skirts and a dress that still fit from my work wardrobe.  I refuse to buy bigger clothes.  So I started this 21-day quick start diet thing.  This is not a post about dieting.  I’m just going to say that after four days of eating according to the “plan”, I do feel lighter.  I’ve also taken to chewing on my sleeves a little at my desk when no one is looking.  Yesterday I may or may not have eaten a sticky note.  And, if anyone asks, you have no idea what may be wrong with the bamboo plant on my desk.

I am a little hungrier than usual.  I’m sure I’ll get used to this – I’m consuming a big bunch of fruits and veggies and that’s good, right?  It’s only 21 days, right?  All I can say is that It’s a super good thing I’m not at Disney World right now.  You may have heard – I don’t have a sweet tooth – and it’s really true.  I don’t ordinarily crave sweets – if I have a craving, it’s for pasta, rice, or potatoes.  Until this week.  Must be the new “pDSCN2520rogram” – suddenly I NEED (with a soul wrenching desire) a Disney Butterfinger Cupcake.

Close your eyes (figuratively or you won’t be able to read this) and imagine the texture, the sweetness, the dessert nirvana of that perfect combination of cupcake and candy bar.  Whoever invented this food-for-the-gods should be anointed with top baker honors!  Back in the Unfair and Unbalanced review of counter service restaurants at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, I mentioned Starring Rolls Café and the Butterfinger Cupcake, but I did not have the opportunity in that post to wax poetic about its virtues.  Probably because I was still eating macaroni and cheese back then.  Today I’m here to tell you that you have got to try one of these culinary miracles.

I’m begging you…if you are at Disney World right now and you purchase a Butterfinger Cupcake…please, oh, please send me a shout out!  If I have to be here at home subsisting on spinach, kale and broccoli, at least I could live vicariously through your snack choice of the day and, come to think of it, still be sticking to the “plan”…unless you send me a picture and I eat it.

Disney’s Mission: SPACE – Which Color’s for You?

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IMG_0969Way back in 2005, I rode Mission: SPACE in Epcot.  It was, to me, the Disney equivalent of a double-dog dare.  I had to do it.  I had to prove to myself and The Fam that I had the right stuff, so to speak.  No backing down, no backing out – I stood in line, reading the dire and serious health warnings, and reminded myself that I was one tough cookie who had never, in her adult life, tossed a single cookie due to motion sickness.  There was only one version of the ride (now called Orange) and I was getting in that cockpit and performing my crew-member duties perfectly, regardless of any challenges I faced as we blasted off to Mars.

Mission SPACE

Photo Credit: Christina Lawrence

Front of the line.  The time came for The Fam and I to take our seats – the four of us became a crew of astronauts (pilot, navigator, commander, and engineer).  There was no way to ignore how small a space we were climbing into – four seats, side-by-side, facing control panels, seats separated by partitions.  I knew what not to do – I would heed the warnings.  Do NOT move your head.  Do not look to the side. Do not close your eyes.  Stare straight ahead at the control panel’s screen and wait for your turn to perform your duties.  I’m not going to lie – I was scared!  I remember chanting in my head – do not move, do not look away, do not move, do not look away.  The g-force was strong enough that I had a hard time reaching out to the control panel to do whatever it was I was responsible for, but I did it.

The ride ended and we crawled out of our vehicle.  Megan and Joseph were pretty stoked!  They were feeling proud and I heard them discuss riding Mission: SPACE again.  Raymond turned and looked at me – at the exact same time we both said, “I’m good.”  As in good for life – never need to ride it again.  We proved we were tough enough to ride Mission: SPACE and emerge unscathed, but Raymond and I each felt we had taken a terrible risk – what if?  What if we had gotten sick?  At the least – what if we’d gotten queasy and felt horrible for the rest of the day?  That would have been tragic!  To be at our most favorite vacation place in the whole wide world and waste even part of a day with self-imposed nausea!

I don’t care if you are passionate about Rock’n’ Roller Coaster, The Mad Tea Party, or the IMG_2338Primeval Whirl – Mission: SPACE Orange is fraught with PERIL, I tell you – BEWARE!  Seriously, people, ride at your own risk.  There are extremely valid reasons this ride comes with a dozen posted health warnings and a handy barf bag when you find your seat (nope, not kidding).  If you have even the slightest case of claustrophobia, you’ll be miserable even before the chance of illness and health issues strikes.

Here’s the deal:  This ride is an excellent example of a simulated rocket launch – actual NASA scientists and astronauts were involved in creating Mission: SPACE.  It’s good.  It’s very realistic.  To achieve that perfect reproduction of how it feels to blast off into space, your ride vehicle must create g-force by spinning in a giant circle – imagine you are attached to the outside of a wheel as it spins.  Add other simulator effects that bounce you around – bouncing, spinning, very tiny space – you get the idea.  Green, the milder version of the ride, is reportedly very realistic without the spinning.  Choose wisely, my friends.

There’s a great article here at Touring Plans.com with tips for mitigating the risks of riding Mission: SPACE Orange.

So?  Which color’s for you?

What-If Wednesday: Disney’s Avatar Land in Animal Kingdom

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General Dis Pics 02.04 015This week’s What-If Wednesday is all about Avatar!  Land, that is.  After two years of anticipation and a January 10th groundbreaking ceremony, construction is finally underway.  Personally (and I believe many of you feel the same) – because I absolutely love Animal Kingdom, I am thrilled that the construction of Avatar Land means Disney imagineers are making substantial additions, creating new attractions, and adding nighttime experiences to a great park.

Just in case you missed it, here’s a link to the D23 Tokyo video of James Cameron and Joe Rohde discussing some Avatar Land details:  http://youtu.be/j3fkuaQNGHI

Many thanks to those of you who played this week!  Now on to the What-If part….

What if you were in charge at Disney’s Animal Kingdom?  Would you go ahead with Avatar Land as planned or would you go a different direction – What would you like to see?

I asked – you Tweeted out your answers.  Here are a few of my favorite ones:

@1MinDisneyDream:  “Not a lover of the film, I did enjoy it.  I’m looking forward to the night experience.” – I’m totally in agreement with this!  As many before me have pointed out, Avatar (the movie) is basically “Dances With Wolves” on another planet.  Soldier assigned to fight a territory’s natives for land and resources, learns the natives’ ways, understands their culture, becomes sympathetic, falls in love – no longer wants to fight to takeover the territory, but rather fights to help the natives protect their home.  Nothing new there but, what Avatar may mean to Disney’s Animal Kingdom park in terms of extended hours and new attractions could be huge!  This is where Avatar brings a lot to the table in terms of extraterrestrial special effects, alien beings, incredible landscapes, flora and fauna…you get the idea.  All of it glows in the dark!

Sophie @DisneysBeauty and Alexander @alex_wdw both thought tributes to Disney’s The Lion IMG_2069King would enhance Animal Kingdom more than Avatar Land.  Sophie wants “a tribute to either The Jungle Book or The Lion King – Alexander took it one further suggesting a Lion King roller coaster.  I think both of these have great potential.  The Festival of The Lion King is a fantastic show (temporarily closed, scheduled to reopen this summer) – attractions to go along with it would make a logical expansion to the Africa section of the park.  Adding elements from The Jungle Book to the Asian section would also make sense.  Solid ideas, guys.

Safari Mike (@JamboEveryone) is an excellent authority on the Animal Kingdom, being one of the hosts of an awesome podcast, Radio Harambe (“the unofficial podcast of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Walt Disney World.”).  I was pretty stoked when Safari Mike took the time to jump into this discussion via twitter.  If not Avatar Land?  Mike made the following suggestions for other Lands:  Australia, Mystic Point, Amazon, Middle Earth, North America, and Beastly Kingdom.

Let’s take a look at these one at a time…

IMG_3395Australia – this was also a suggestion made by Disney Princess83 (@OzGoofyPrincess) as she is from Australia (she also mentioned that she’s not really an Avatar fan but is “excited about Animal Kingdom becoming a nighttime park”).  Australia would be a fantastic focus for a new Land – the array of extraordinary animals alone is mind boggling.  Then there are the reefs, the caves, the outback, the desert….

Mystic Point – This Land can already be found in Hong Kong Disneyland and would work extremely well duplicated in Animal Kingdom.  Mystic Point’s highlight is Mystic Manor – the home of world explorer Lord Henry Mystic and his traveling companion – a monkey named Albert.

IMG_5334_face0Amazon – For me, just bringing awareness to the animals, plants, and conservation needs of the Amazon rainforest would be worth a Land in Animal Kingdom alone.  That being said, dark rides (under the trees’ canopy or cruising down the Amazon River) and roller coasters (through the treetops) are just a couple of cool ideas that spring to mind!  Cue the anacondas!

Middle Earth – Just think for a second how ridiculously popular a Land based on the location of J. R. R. Tolkien’s books would be!  Ents and Dragons and Trolls, oh, my!

North America – As a Land, this has very broad options.  A live animal section (bison, wolves, bobcats, alligators, armadillos, etc.) and attractions based on everything from the Alaskan wilderness to the Florida Everglades and everything in between – could even include the Yeti’s cousin Bigfoot!

IMG_3194Beastly Kingdom – This suggesion was also popular with @JaynePhipps and @ISIParksBlog.  It is indeed a shame that such a perfect original concept for Animal Kingdom has never been made a reality.  Unicorns, dragons, perhaps a phoenix rising from the ashes – as the basis for incredible rides, shows, and attractions.  Who wouldn’t love that?

Thanks again for playing along!  Shout out if you have any suggestions for next week’s game!