LittleMerman
Well-Known Member
Disney makes it harder and harder to justify the price of a resort
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Contemporary $970 RIPOFF
- Thread starter David M
- Start date
bpiper
Well-Known Member
Was your date a Friday or Saturday night? I am finding that the Marriott properties (all of them) have jacked up the weekend prices for December but the prices during the week are 1/2 the cost. I wonder if demand during the week has sagged but they are still getting long weekenders.
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
Minor update...
I just watched this guy's video on the new ship that DCL bought and he's a total jagweed. He figured out that bashing Disney gets clicks and views so now he's found his revenue stream.
And he says "weary" when he either meant "wary" or "leery" so he definitely can't be trusted.
Contemporary Concierge still sucks tho.
I just watched this guy's video on the new ship that DCL bought and he's a total jagweed. He figured out that bashing Disney gets clicks and views so now he's found his revenue stream.
And he says "weary" when he either meant "wary" or "leery" so he definitely can't be trusted.
Contemporary Concierge still sucks tho.
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Andrew C
You know what's funny?
I really like Jake. I think the stuff on his main channel is great. His Abandoned series. His Bankrupt series. He’s never been a clickbait kinda guy.
jimbojones
Well-Known Member
I stayed at the contemporary this summer and have stayed there several times since the 1980s, the refurb made things new but it was a downgrade in quality. The rooms look like Ikea flatpack furniture outfitted with Home Depot sale tile, carpet and fixtures. The 80s 90s and 2000s contemporary rooms were much higher quality even if they were "old. Same with the poly, each refurb from the original (which I saw as a kid) has been a steady downgrade in quality for the sake of "new". The contemporary rooms are big but otherwise feel like what you get at a value resort in terms of fit finish and quality. I'd put the rooms as on par with a Holiday Inn express.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I assume he meant to say “wary”. It’s a common enough mistake, and one that I have to guard against myself often.
Ayla
Well-Known Member
Better pack warm clothes and a winter jacket!I check into the Contemporary on Friday. I managed to snag a great deal for main tower/theme park view for this weekend. I haven't stayed here since Christmas 1987I'm looking forward to watching the MK fireworks from my balcony while drinking coffee
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
I check into the Contemporary on Friday. I managed to snag a great deal for main tower/theme park view for this weekend. I haven't stayed here since Christmas 1987
Looking forward to your thoughts once you have been able to experience the current offerings.
The Contemp is a VERY different place now compared to what it was back in the 80s.
Let us know what you think!
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Yeah the Four Seasons I think for awhile was underpricing itself until it was established in order to woo guests away from WDW proper. I remember when it was cheaper than the GF, Poly, or CR. Lately I've never seen it cheaper than anything at WDW.
NelleBelle
Well-Known Member
I think they should have done a few rooms themed to the Incrdinles (for kids) and then done. Really good mid-century mod with Mary Blair art as mentioned above. When I was researching rooms for our stay later this year, the rooms were just not what I could stomach from my last stay here (although thankful to see those horrible sinks gone)! The rooms look smaller to me for some reason. We loved the new rooms at YC and even though the rooms at the Poly are Moana-themed, I could stomach the design more so than this. It’s too bad because I’ve always loved the CR but I definitely wouldn’t pay more to stay here when YC is less expensive currently.
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
I find the video's take too cynical. I'll certainly grant, the CR CL is not worth $900+/night, and it is not worthwhile for a solo traveler. It sounds like he doesn't like the Contemporary at all, and that is his prerogative, but much of what he says is over the top. He says he was there during the hurricane. Ugh! CM's were at risk of long their homes and he's upset he only had two beer options? Eww! Just eww!
If someone is ALREADY planning to stay at the Contemporary, and your party consists of 4 people, then the up charge for CL has often trended in the $150 range. If so, that works out to about $38 per person.
At WDW, a simple cookie now costs $4.25-6.35. If you want a soft drink, that's $5.30. (current Casey's price) If you have a cookie and a soft drink every day, that's $10-11.
If you buy beer at a WDW food court you'll pay $8.50-9.25, and glasses of wine run $10. They also tend to have more than 2 options. Again, he was sneering because they only had 2 options during the hurricane.
He also completely skips over the biggest benefit of CL, the breakfast. The latte machine he sneers at puts out a very fine latte. At WDW, if you try to buy a latte at the Starbucks? HA! Expect to wait in line. For 20+ minutes! Seriously, the Epcot Starbucks had a crazy long wait on my most recent visit. On club level, you have your latte with the push of a button and no wait.
At breakfast, CL has a continental buffet that includes unlimited: fresh fruit, breads/pastries, cereals, eggs (usually just hard boiled), oatmeal, juices. To be fair, the offerings are somewhat on par with many offsite places. I was just at a Residence Inn and a Springhill Suites. The CR continental breakfast is decidedly better than the Residence Inn, and WAY better than the Springhill Suites was. Apples to oranges. Actually, the Springhill suites didn't have any fruit at all. For fruit, the Residence Inn had mashed up bananas (brown spots all over them with one end of the peel missing) and sticky little tangerines that looked dry (somewhat old). The Contemporary offers apples oranges all day, plus cups of fresh fruit salad in the morning. (NICE berries, melon, fresh pineapple).
The pictures he took of the lounge are also VERY deceptive. He says he was there during the hurricane. The lounge is normally staffed by attentive staff from 7am to 10pm. During those hours there is someone at the podium, plus staff refreshing the food. They are among the top CM's at WDW. If you have almost any questions, they are usually quick with an answer. I will grant, they are not now able to do as much as they used to be able to do. Back in 2019, if you booked CL in advance, staff were able to book just about any dining, for example.
The CL staff are also generally SUPER if anyone in your party has food allergies. They will often go above and beyond to provide allergen-free food.
In the evening, the CR lounge serves an array of sweets. The assortment varies, but the offerings often resemble what you would be served at Chef Mickey's, though no ice cream. Usually 4-5 choices: Mini-tarts, rice crispy treats, mini cupcakes, etc.
Soft drinks, apple juice boxes, and filtered water are available all day.
We have stayed at some CL's outside of WDW. Some were better than what WDW offered, many were not as good. The evening appetizers offered at WDW probably vary the most from day to day. Again, his stay was during the hurricane, when WDW was emergency staff only.
If someone is ALREADY planning to stay at the Contemporary, and your party consists of 4 people, then the up charge for CL has often trended in the $150 range. If so, that works out to about $38 per person.
At WDW, a simple cookie now costs $4.25-6.35. If you want a soft drink, that's $5.30. (current Casey's price) If you have a cookie and a soft drink every day, that's $10-11.
If you buy beer at a WDW food court you'll pay $8.50-9.25, and glasses of wine run $10. They also tend to have more than 2 options. Again, he was sneering because they only had 2 options during the hurricane.
He also completely skips over the biggest benefit of CL, the breakfast. The latte machine he sneers at puts out a very fine latte. At WDW, if you try to buy a latte at the Starbucks? HA! Expect to wait in line. For 20+ minutes! Seriously, the Epcot Starbucks had a crazy long wait on my most recent visit. On club level, you have your latte with the push of a button and no wait.
At breakfast, CL has a continental buffet that includes unlimited: fresh fruit, breads/pastries, cereals, eggs (usually just hard boiled), oatmeal, juices. To be fair, the offerings are somewhat on par with many offsite places. I was just at a Residence Inn and a Springhill Suites. The CR continental breakfast is decidedly better than the Residence Inn, and WAY better than the Springhill Suites was. Apples to oranges. Actually, the Springhill suites didn't have any fruit at all. For fruit, the Residence Inn had mashed up bananas (brown spots all over them with one end of the peel missing) and sticky little tangerines that looked dry (somewhat old). The Contemporary offers apples oranges all day, plus cups of fresh fruit salad in the morning. (NICE berries, melon, fresh pineapple).
The pictures he took of the lounge are also VERY deceptive. He says he was there during the hurricane. The lounge is normally staffed by attentive staff from 7am to 10pm. During those hours there is someone at the podium, plus staff refreshing the food. They are among the top CM's at WDW. If you have almost any questions, they are usually quick with an answer. I will grant, they are not now able to do as much as they used to be able to do. Back in 2019, if you booked CL in advance, staff were able to book just about any dining, for example.
The CL staff are also generally SUPER if anyone in your party has food allergies. They will often go above and beyond to provide allergen-free food.
In the evening, the CR lounge serves an array of sweets. The assortment varies, but the offerings often resemble what you would be served at Chef Mickey's, though no ice cream. Usually 4-5 choices: Mini-tarts, rice crispy treats, mini cupcakes, etc.
Soft drinks, apple juice boxes, and filtered water are available all day.
We have stayed at some CL's outside of WDW. Some were better than what WDW offered, many were not as good. The evening appetizers offered at WDW probably vary the most from day to day. Again, his stay was during the hurricane, when WDW was emergency staff only.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Are all four of your people contributing to the bill? If not, what does a 'per person' view do for anyone when you aren't paying per-person for the room?
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
I thought I broke it down, but maybe not.
The rate for CL is a flat rate. So one person pays $150, and 4 people pay $150. IMO, one person is not likely to eat $150 worth the food per day in the CL.
And it is possible to 4 people could eat less than $150 worth of groceries, but, if a family of 4 plans to eat breakfast/snacks in the food court, they could EASILY spend over $150/day for the kind of food included with club level. that's why it matters.
I'm not saying CL is a way to save money. I wouldn't go that far, but for that $150/day CL = completely bypassing the mad rush of the food court or the crazy long wait at the Starbucks.
Over winter break, the Epcot Starbucks was a madhouse! I didn't actually wait in the line, but it looked to easily be over 30minutes wait to get a coffee, probably closer to an hour. The CL lounge, on the other hand, is just down the hall from your CL room, and there is no wait to get food.
At WDW, time is $. There is value in the convenience of CL that the guy dismisses. that is his prerogative, but it has value to others.
flynnibus
Premium Member
I think anyone who pays for Club Level based on their estimated food bill is doomed.
spacemt354
Chili's
Our family once thought this way (over a decade ago) and upgraded to club level for the food benefits. We thought like you did that the price per person for food would either be an even split or less (with less hassle)
While the breakfast accommodations were valuable, the thing to keep in mind is would you have spent $30-40 per person on breakfast every day over a 5-7 day trip, or would you have just booked one buffet breakfast as a treat for the trip, and gone down to the resort gift shop for cereal boxes/milk for the rest of the days so you can efficiently get out to the parks?
Plus, any other food/beverage offerings holds you down to the resort if you want the benefits. With the Magic Kingdom Resorts especially, unless you plan on spending most of your trip in Magic Kingdom where you can walk back easily to your Club Level, it will be a hassle to come back for a free latte if you're in Animal Kingdom, let alone Epcot.
So if your family prefers to stay close to the resort for the majority of the morning/day and go to the parks in the evening, then perhaps it might be worth it. But for us, it wasn't worth it and we never did it again. And that was back when it was relatively affordable, and not $700-900 per night. I couldn't even imagine trying it now.
GimpYancIent
Well-Known Member
Disney on property resorts are priced as they are because of the exclusivity of being on property and being Disney! Anywhere else the resorts would not be rated as they are but quite a bit less and command a much lower price. With Disney not being the "Magic", it once was and pricing / costs inflating to ridiculous levels for what is becoming a Meh product there needs to be a moratorium on any potential price increases plus a restructuring of the pricing model.
MickeyLuv'r
Well-Known Member
Yes, there are trade-offs to Club Level for certain. One of them is having to return to the lounge to get the food that is served, and it doesn't work with many people's style of park touring.
We don't usually spend $30 per person per day on breakfast alone, but recently at the Swan, a minimal grab and go breakfast consisting of: bagel, juice, and yogurt = cost nearly $20/per person. (The Swan isn't WDW, but Disney food court prices/QS prices run similar. )
Add just a beer/glass of wine per adult (2), plus a soft drink per child (2) and you've now spent over $100.
It is possible to spend less than that on food at WDW, but it is also possible to spend more than that. (cost/value from Club Level)
To answer your question, I've done WDW just about every which way. Some visits we stick to a very low budget. We've stopped at WDW area grocery stores, packed food in a suitcase, made 2 meals of a pizza from Blaze, eaten many meals offsite. We also have had some splurge visits.
I will also say again, the non-club level rooms are not worth the current asking price. For much of 2023, Pop Century rack is now $280 or more on the weekends (w/the 12.5% tax) for the cheapest room. "Pool view/Preferred location" is a $30-60 upcharge, though that's not factoring the current discount offers.
Weekends at CBR currently run $350 -$400 rack on weekends most of 2023. Pretty crazy!
Contemporary Lake view for Feb 14 rack is $860, Club Level is $1141, so an upcharge of $281. In the spring, with the discount offer, the difference between CL and not CL is March $232. Again, I don't think CL is worth a $200 upcharge.
For that matter, the current WDW food pricing is also absurdly high! 'Ohana is not remotely worth $80 per person (w/ tax and tip).
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