News Contemporary Refurbishment--April to Sept 2021

[Disney Analyst]

OMG the Steakhouse 71 looks dreadfully plain...Reminds me of a cafeteria or modest motel restaurant trying to be a little nicer...Certainly not a steakhouse in a premium resort.
Wow that is bad. Completely misses the mark...unless "better than Denny's" is the mark.

I think it looks better then The Wave by a long shot, so it's an improvement.

Is it the most beautifully designed restaurant I have seen? No.

Did it improve upon the old space? IMO, yes.

I think dimmer lighting would go a long way, Steakhouses to me need to be dimly lit.

 

[vikescaper]

After walking through the Contemporary a couple times on Friday, I really love what they did to the lobby! I could have stared at the old photos for hours! The Grand Canyon Concourse does stick out like a sore thumb, but hopefully they will address that coming up. It did look like they were starting to replace the carpet up at the monorail station by the windows on the other side of the resort line.

 

[UNCgolf]

I think it looks better then The Wave by a long shot, so it's an improvement.

Is it the most beautifully designed restaurant I have seen? No.

Did it improve upon the old space? IMO, yes.

I think dimmer lighting would go a long way, Steakhouses to me need to be dimly lit.

It's always going to be hard to make that room look great because it has no windows. It feels strange to eat in a completely enclosed area with no windows to the outside, unless you're eating in a cellar or something else similar where that meets expectations.

 

[James Alucobond]

It's always going to be hard to make that room look great because it has no windows. It feels strange to eat in a completely enclosed area with no windows to the outside, unless you're eating in a cellar or something else similar where that meets expectations.

Space 220 v.2 with views of Progress City?

 

[UNCgolf]

Space 220 v.2 with views of Progress City?

That would be pretty cool, but they'd never do it since it's a convention restaurant.

It would also be a lot harder to make any simulated windows seem realistic if they were supposed to be looking out on something other than space (or the sky, I guess). You'd need so many things happening all the time to keep it from being obviously fake.

 

[Fox&Hound]

Love the lobby. Rooms are "okay" for me. But I do agree that it is the proximity to MK that make the Contemporary and Bay Lake worth it.

 

[Missing20K]

Was in the lobby last week. It’s perfectly cromulent. Would not look out of place in any city center hotel on earth. I suppose retrofuturism is the “theme” of the Contemporary, unless it’s not. Which apparently was the case since it opened? And the answer to that “theme-less” void is an Incredibles/retrofuturism aesthetic in order to whisk the Guest away to……..walking distance to MK?

Look if it’s gonna be a retrofuturism thing, then steer into the skid at least. Make it undeniable and impactful. Abandon the subtlety required by convention goers fragile sensibilities. Lose nearly all the wood or wood-look finishes. Incorporate some TWA building at JFK or the Theme Building at LAX (which WDI designed lighting for) or Seattle Space Needle vibes by contrasting the simple A-frame with sweeping curves. The stark concrete with bright, bold colors. How about just the pretext of an unknown, exciting future based on ideas of the past…a flying car “prototype” near the elevators, a “fusion” engine in the concourse, a steamship floating in the atrium, literally any item/prop that conveys the idea of futurism through the lens of the mid 20th century.

As an aside, wasn’t the Contemporary originally designed as an extension of TL and a companion building with SM? With it’s own dedicated MK TL entrance? If only there was a cohesive design intent for TL perhaps CR wouldn’t feel so haphazard.

 

[Bocabear]

Was in the lobby last week. It’s perfectly cromulent. Would not look out of place in any city center hotel on earth. I suppose retrofuturism is the “theme” of the Contemporary, unless it’s not. Which apparently was the case since it opened? And the answer to that “theme-less” void is an Incredibles/retrofuturism aesthetic in order to whisk the Guest away to……..walking distance to MK?

Look if it’s gonna be a retrofuturism thing, then steer into the skid at least. Make it undeniable and impactful. Abandon the subtlety required by convention goers fragile sensibilities. Lose nearly all the wood or wood-look finishes. Incorporate some TWA building at JFK or the Theme Building at LAX (which WDI designed lighting for) or Seattle Space Needle vibes by contrasting the simple A-frame with sweeping curves. The stark concrete with bright, bold colors. How about just the pretext of an unknown, exciting future based on ideas of the past…a flying car “prototype” near the elevators, a “fusion” engine in the concourse, a steamship floating in the atrium, literally any item/prop that conveys the idea of futurism through the lens of the mid 20th century.

As an aside, wasn’t the Contemporary originally designed as an extension of TL and a companion building with SM? With it’s own dedicated MK TL entrance? If only there was a cohesive design intent for TL perhaps CR wouldn’t feel so haphazard.

I like where you are going with this... The Contemporary predated Space Mountain by 4 years, but yes it was meant to harmonize with Tomorrowland. If you look at the opening pictures and see the bold exciting color palate in the atrium and elsewhere, it was much more whimsical...not serious contemporary or modern. The lucite trees in the concourse brought color and sparkle out into the vast open spaces without making it feel crowded like the ridiculous center shop that was installed a few years ago...
As in most cases, if you go back to the original design and concepts they can find their way to the future of The Contemporary Resort without making it look plain and usual...
The lack of IP characters actually heightened the sense of being somewhere special...It was the real world, not a cartoon location...and just as colorful and fantastic as the movies... Both the Poly and Contemporary didn't need any characters to convey their stories.

 

[WDWTrojan]

I like where you are going with this... The Contemporary predated Space Mountain by 4 years, but yes it was meant to harmonize with Tomorrowland. If you look at the opening pictures and see the bold exciting color palate in the atrium and elsewhere, it was much more whimsical...not serious contemporary or modern. The lucite trees in the concourse brought color and sparkle out into the vast open spaces without making it feel crowded like the ridiculous center shop that was installed a few years ago...
As in most cases, if you go back to the original design and concepts they can find their way to the future of The Contemporary Resort without making it look plain and usual...
The lack of IP characters actually heightened the sense of being somewhere special...It was the real world, not a cartoon location...and just as colorful and fantastic as the movies... Both the Poly and Contemporary didn't need any characters to convey their stories.

But the whole theme of the concourse at the time was American Southwest. That might be the least contemporary theme there is.

 

[Touchdown]

Has anyone been in the garden wing recently? It escaped the room rehab I believe.

 

[peter11435]

Has anyone been in the garden wing recently? It escaped the room rehab I believe.

It will not escape

 

[DznyRktekt]

That's incredible

 

[Disone]

South Garden Wing is next to close in those days are coming soon. But I'm hearing different things about how extensive this part of the refurbishment will be. Some are saying it will get the same treatment as the tower other her saying it will only be a soft goods refurbishment.

I'm actually hoping for the latter and fingers crossed that the lighter investment is because it's not going to be around much longer.

 

[castlecake2.0]

South Garden Wing is next to close in those days are coming soon. But I'm hearing different things about how extensive this part of the refurbishment will be. Some are saying it will get the same treatment as the tower other her saying it will only be a soft goods refurbishment.

I'm actually hoping for the latter and fingers crossed that the lighter investment is because it's not going to be around much longer.

Now I’m torn. I hate the Incredibles rooms but I’d hate another tower here a million times more

 

[ToTBellHop]

Now I’m torn. I hate the Incredibles rooms but I’d hate another tower here a million times more

You’ll hate a lot, then.

 

[castlecake2.0]

You’ll hate a lot, then.

How many years do I have to prepare myself?

 

[kiddoRN]

South Garden Wing is next to close in those days are coming soon. But I'm hearing different things about how extensive this part of the refurbishment will be. Some are saying it will get the same treatment as the tower other her saying it will only be a soft goods refurbishment.

I'm actually hoping for the latter and fingers crossed that the lighter investment is because it's not going to be around much longer.

Like how soon? Next week soon? I'm staying there starting next Saturday.....

 

[ToTBellHop]

How many years do I have to prepare myself?

They’ll want to finish with The Grand, first. But this is an easy replacement for Reflections.

They better include dining, though. The Main Tower can’t support two DVCs.

 

[castlecake2.0]

They’ll want to finish with The Grand, first. But this is an easy replacement for Reflections.

They better include dining, though. The Main Tower can’t support two DVCs.

That’s what I wonder about, I feel that resort as a whole is at its operational capacity.

 

[nicb88]

Was in the lobby last week. It’s perfectly cromulent. Would not look out of place in any city center hotel on earth. I suppose retrofuturism is the “theme” of the Contemporary, unless it’s not. Which apparently was the case since it opened? And the answer to that “theme-less” void is an Incredibles/retrofuturism aesthetic in order to whisk the Guest away to……..walking distance to MK?

Look if it’s gonna be a retrofuturism thing, then steer into the skid at least. Make it undeniable and impactful. Abandon the subtlety required by convention goers fragile sensibilities. Lose nearly all the wood or wood-look finishes. Incorporate some TWA building at JFK or the Theme Building at LAX (which WDI designed lighting for) or Seattle Space Needle vibes by contrasting the simple A-frame with sweeping curves. The stark concrete with bright, bold colors. How about just the pretext of an unknown, exciting future based on ideas of the past…a flying car “prototype” near the elevators, a “fusion” engine in the concourse, a steamship floating in the atrium, literally any item/prop that conveys the idea of futurism through the lens of the mid 20th century.

As an aside, wasn’t the Contemporary originally designed as an extension of TL and a companion building with SM? With it’s own dedicated MK TL entrance? If only there was a cohesive design intent for TL perhaps CR wouldn’t feel so haphazard.

Cromulent!