Is the Contemporary Garden Wing closing?

[DarthVader]

I tried to book it for April 2016 and no availability. I saw in another thread someone had the same issue for September 2015. I've googled it but have not come up with any hits?

Any news on why I cannot book any vacation to that building?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I tried to book it for April 2016 and no availability. I saw in another thread someone had the same issue for September 2015. I've googled it but have not come up with any hits?

Any news on why I cannot book any vacation to that building?

I saw that too, but there is availability in the garden wing suites for the same dates.

 

[DarthVader]

I saw that too, but there is availability in the garden wing suites for the same dates.

I've not seen any for my week. I booked the resort last April and even then there was no availability.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I've not seen any for my week. I booked the resort last April and even then there was no availability.

Hmmm....

Mayhaps we're seeing the early stages of Bay Lake Tower East?

 

[DarthVader]

You're right, I didn't notice the suites (I didn't even know they had them there). The other rooms, no such luck
Odd, that its largely unavailable yet I tried booking it last April

 

[CaptainAmerica]

You're right, I didn't notice the suites (I didn't even know they had them there). The other rooms, no such luck
Odd, that its largely unavailable yet I tried booking it last April

It still might mean *something*, but it doesn't appear to be a total shutdown.

Maybe @marni1971 or @Lee or @WDW1974 or someone know something.

 

[Electricsoup]

They were doing something on the roof yesterday construction wise. I'd love to see that building get some real TLC at minimum.

 

[Master Yoda]

I am showing them available for a few mid week stays in April 2016. Weekends however appear to be booked solid which it quite common for the Garden Wing.

The garden wing has all of the same perks as the tower and the rooms are actually the same size for a fraction of the cost. When BLT cut the inventory in half, they became near impossible to get.

 

[TomHendricks]

They are closing the last remaining Garden Wing and building the big B. By adding the B building, they can finally finish what was started with Bay Lake Tower, the beginning of the alphabet. The Contemporary being the A and Bay Lake Tower being the C.

 

[shipley731]

Keep in mind, the Contemporary has a good deal of convention space & when a group books a meeting, they get a reduced convention "group rate". The vast majority of those group rate rooms are in the garden wing. The rooms get blocked when the meeting contract is signed, taking them out of inventory. Good sized meetings sign contracts 1-2 years out. That accounts for a good deal of limited availability in the garden wing. I've done meetings for the non-profit organization I work for & I've always sold out my room blocks at the Contemporary.

 

[DarthVader]

Keep in mind, the Contemporary has a good deal of convention space & when a group books a meeting, they get a reduced convention "group rate". The vast majority of those group rate rooms are in the garden wing.

I didn't know that, I thought CSR is their main convention resort and the contemporary is geared towards families.

 

[shipley731]

CSR has the biggest convention space, but CR, GF, & Y&B all have pretty big convention hall spaces with lots of breakout space. BW also has a convention center, but it's fairly small in comparison. Swalphin also has a a convention space that's multi-leveled. I've to a meeting there that was for about 5000 people. That's a fairly decent size meeting. (Way bigger than the meetings I've done.)

 

[DarthVader]

Well that could explain why the garden wing is unavailable for my time frame. I'd not sure if that means an even more crowded contemporary resort for me or not.

 

[LdyApxr]

I hope it is not closing down because my TA is booking us fir a Garden Wing Standard View wing for April(although I might bump that to a woods view of something else. Guess I had better call her. LOL

 

[Master Yoda]

Well that could explain why the garden wing is unavailable for my time frame. I'd not sure if that means an even more crowded contemporary resort for me or not.

Large conventions tend to make the bars feel more crowded, but that is about the limit of their effect. Most of the resorts tend to have pretty high occupancy already so a convention filling out that last 10%-15% is not that big of a deal....at least in my experience.

 

[DarthVader]

hope it is not closing down because my TA is booking us fir a Garden Wing Standard View wing for April(although I might bump that to a woods view of something else. Guess I had better call her. LOL

I was looking for the Garden Wing and there were none really available (decent priced as I mentioned earlier in the thread). That's what got me to start this thread. Yet I think the answers provided are sufficient to alay any fears that it was either sold out for my week, or a convention.

Large conventions tend to make the bars feel more crowded, but that is about the limit of their effect. Most of the resorts tend to have pretty high occupancy already so a convention filling out that last 10%-15% is not that big of a deal....at least in my experience.

Yeah the more I thought about it, the more I figure it won't have much of an impact. The convention will occur during the day, and so the parks won't see much, and we won't be in the bars so that too won't be a problem

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It can be really tough at times to get a room in the Garden Wing. We've never been able to get a standard room since those book up almost instantly. We've also had times where the tower is the only option as everything in the Garden Wing was booked solid. Considering the rooms are identical in size and decor to the tower, but are priced on par with the rooms in the Epcot area resorts...it's no wonder they book up fast...even when a convention isn't as much of an issue.

 

[DarthVader]

It can be really tough at times to get a room in the Garden Wing. We've never been able to get a standard room since those book up almost instantly..

Based on the other posts that does seem to be the case. I wonder if Disney is hosting a convention and only opened a small block of garden wing rooms for the general public and a large block for the convention. That thought ran through my mind as well.

I've researched the contemporary to be honest and the weeks I looked at, all were open, so I was surprised to see it unavailable. I actually called in April when I was first able to book a room only reservation and even then the garden wing was not available.

 

[JasonDeyoung]

A friend who works at contemp has mentioned it was or is closing to make another tower. I thought she was joking though. Maybe not?

 

[Master Yoda]

A friend who works at contemp has mentioned it was or is closing to make another tower. I thought she was joking though. Maybe not?

It has been a rumor since the first wrecking ball hit the north Garden Wing. It is currently on my "I will believe it when I see it" pile.