Living the Life... at the Contemporary: A September 2008 Trip Report (with photos)!

Sometime in the past month or two I found this section of the forums and I’ve been enjoying everyone’s trip reports ever since. So I thought I would add mine to the mix. I want to thank you all for such great reports; they’ve inspired me to write my own.

A little background info to set the wheels in motion: I’m 26 years old and usually visit WDW 3-4 times a year. My first visit was as an adult when the guy I had been dating for about a month (enter: Brett, 27) was filled with shock and awe that I had never experienced his beloved Disney. So he immediately planned our first trip and now… 4 1/2 years later we’ve just returned from our 14th. Needless to say-I’m hooked (on both the mouse and Brett)!

It’s all great, but our favorite things about the world would have to be… the characters, dining, resorts and overall ambience and magic that we feel when we’re there! We are attempting to stay at every resort on property and so far we’ve been able to check off Pop, All-Stars (all three), Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs, Saratoga Springs and the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Now that this trip is complete we can add our very first monorail resort to the list: The Contemporary. Yay!

Our stay at the Contemporary was made possible by my wonderful boss who said yes to my suggestion that we attend a conference at the resort! Shhh… don’t tell anyone, but the room rate for conference attendees was only $157 per night!!! Now, that’s the way to go. We stayed for 4 nights and even though I only spent one day in conference sessions the rate applied to the whole stay. Woo Woo!!

*so now I suggest you all go in search of some kind of conference relevant to your work that will be taking place there, if only to get the room rate for the rest of your stay*

And now... on with the report (and pics)!

 

[happymom52003]

Great report!:wave:

 

[minnie2000]

Great report so far!

 

[Gooch]

that's awesome. i haven't stayed at the contemporary since i was a kid. i hope i get to spend a night or 2 there sometime soon. nothing better than looking out your window and seeing the park.

 

[HollyBelle]

I love Top Chef!!! I would be very excited to see Hung too!! I hope his food was good!

Another Top Chef Fan-Woo Woo!

Still loving the report :wave:

Great report!:wave:

Great report so far!

Thanks everyone for reading and posting comments!

that's awesome. i haven't stayed at the contemporary since i was a kid. i hope i get to spend a night or 2 there sometime soon. nothing better than looking out your window and seeing the park.

Yeah, I believe Brett stayed there as a small child, too (in the garden wing). So we don't count that in our resort tally.

More to come, shortly.

 

[over]

looking forward to more!

 

[HollyBelle]

Ahhh… the Magic Kingdom, the excitement gets me every time!

We knew we wouldn’t have much time in the Kingdom before having to head off to dinner so we took a more leisurely stroll than we are used to, not trying to get on every ride and instead enjoying the ambience of the park and taking in everything around us. We took some pictures in the hub before heading off to Frontierland in search of Davy Donald Duck! We’re huge fans of the characters and act like children in the proverbial candy store every time we meet a new (or newly dressed) one. I had recently read on the boards that he was out and about and it was of utmost importance that we find him… and we did! We just about strolled right past his meet and greet location; he looks great and I love where he’s set up.

Davy Donald Duck:

After precious time with the duck we headed over to Pirates, which was walk-on and my first ride of the trip. The Davy Jones waterfall image wasn’t working, but you know, it felt a little like the original for a second (which I actually preferred).

While standing in a long line for my pineapple/vanilla swirl @ Aloha Isle, Brett took the opportunity to visit with Rafiki and Timon (he doesn’t like the dole whip, he’s a weird one)!

The camera we are using is new to us, and throughout the trip I was noticing how overexposed some of the pictures were looking. The glaring sunlight this time of day was bad, but we couldn’t figure out how to correct it. I’ve adjusted many of them in photoshop (as best as possible), but some of the photos just aren’t salvageable. I'm not sure what's going on, because it is definitely a better camera than my old one :shrug:. Sounds like operator trouble to me!

Once I had my dole whip in hand, we headed over towards Tomorrowland to catch a few rides. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin was practically a walk-on. I think this is such a fun ride, even though I have yet to beat Brett! He always manages to become a Galactic Hero, while I never seem to break out of the Planetary Pilot classification. Except for this one time, when the ride got stuck…but I don’t figure that counts! After Space Ranger Spin we hopped on the Blue Line. You just can’t beat the TTA! Space Mountain had a bit of a wait so we bypassed it to head towards Fantasyland.

In Fantasyland we went in Sir Mickey’s to take a few photos so that I could make a scrapbook layout for the store and when we exited we saw three Dream Squad members hanging around watching both their watches and the carousel with great intent. Now, we know that the Dream Squad must follow very specific rules when providing dreams (being at a certain place and time, which is set by an outside party, and sometimes waiting for something specific to happen). Hmmm… whatever could they be waiting for this time!?! We ask ourselves this every time we come across a lingering dream squad. Today we decided they just might be waiting for someone to attempt pulling the sword out of the stone.

And maybe Brett was the man for the job:

I hate to say that he was as unsuccessful in winning us a dream as he was in removing the sword! Oh well, no castle suite for us tonight… we’re staying at the Contemporary!

From here we headed to Main Street to get Brett a snack, some type of vanilla/turtle fudge from the Confectionary which was delicious! After sharing the snack on that little set of stairs just outside the shop, we headed out of the park so that we could make it to the Polynesian in time to meet my boss and his family for the Luau!!

Some of the choices at the Confectionary:

 

[abbeysmom]

Wow, you make a really great couple. Thanks for the great trip report. Can't wait for more installments. Makes me want to go back and we were just there in June!!

 

[HollyBelle]

Wow, you make a really great couple. Thanks for the great trip report. Can't wait for more installments. Makes me want to go back and we were just there in June!!

Well, thank you abbeysmom, that's really nice to hear!

 

[HollyBelle]

The rest of our evening....

We headed out of the Kingdom and decided to take a boat over to the Polynesian. We rarely use the boats, but it was such a great decision… the weather was perfect and the time of day allowed for a great photo op of the Grand Floridian.

Narcoosee’s from the water (one of our very favorites):

The Grand Floridian:

We arrived early at the Polynesian so we spent some time looking around Boutiki, where I found a hoodie that I really liked. Maybe, I’ll be back for it. I can be so indecisive with purchases, so I decided to think on it and possibly pick it up later on. We met up with the bossman, Marty, and his family (or at least part of it: his wife, 16yo daughter and 22yo daughter in law were the only ones who joined him on the trip). It was very cool because this was his DIL’s first ever visit to WDW. She was loving it.

Back in May when Marty and I decided we wanted to do the Luau, we chose to make reservations for Category 2 seating. When I called Disney Dining, Category 2 wasn’t available so we made the decision to go with Category 1. Brett and I have the DDE card (now, Tables in Wonderland) and we were able to get 20% off for the whole party so it only came to $49 per person. I’m so glad we upgraded to Category 1. We truly had the best seats in the house… front and center!

We really enjoyed the whole thing. We did the 8pm show, which I would recommend because the sun has already started to set and I think that helps with the ambience. The food was great; especially considering it is served en masse. Our server kept the drinks flowing and the performers were amazing. We were mostly impressed with the gentleman who performed the fire dance. I was actually quite shocked that there was no more than a mention that parents should keep a hold of their children during this part of the performance. There was certainly nothing else to hold them back!

Most of the pictures I tried to take didn’t turn out… but here are a few anyhow. The first isn't zoomed in at all-that's how close we were!

Once the luau was over, we hopped a monorail back to the resort and called it a day. We would have preferred to go to a park, but unlike in summer months… they don’t stay open nearly as late this time of year.

 

[castlecake2.0]

Great report so far! I just wanted to say that I noticed my roommate is standing in the background of the Marry Poppins pic. He says hi! haha

 

[disneychic71]

Wow--great report. You two are an adorable couple! I am now considering the Contemporary for a future visit, thanks to your photos and report. BTW, good grammar and spelling (sorry! Ex-English teacher, so poor spelling/grammar/diction really gets my goat! I don't comment when it's bad, but I like to give a compliment when it's good!) I hope there's more to come.

 

[krismom]

Great report- looks like you had an amazing time!

 

[One Lil Spark]

Love your report! You can really tell that you take time in your picture composition and it pays off. Great shots! Seeing Hung from Top Chef would have been awesome too. Thanks so much, and keep 'em coming!

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Fun trip report!! I love all the Luau details because we're hoping to be a part of it next time we go to WDW. I also love all of your pictures, they turned out great! I have never seen the huge beanstalk by Sir Mickey's, I'll be looking for that next time!

 

[yankspy]

Great report so far. I am curious to find out if you tried Chef Hung's food.

 

[Pluto Princess]

Great trip report so far!!! You two make such a great couple!! And all of your pictures make me even more excited for my trip coming up in December! Keep 'em coming :wave:

 

[sleepybear]

Great report and great pictures. I was lucky enough to stay at the Contemporary for one night in late March and was incredibly impressed. I didn't think I'd like it there. But in fact, I loved it there.

 

[HollyBelle]

Great report so far! I just wanted to say that I noticed my roommate is standing in the background of the Marry Poppins pic. He says hi! haha

That's hysterical! I'm really surprised it doesn't happen more often on this site with all the great pictures that are posted.

Wow--great report. You two are an adorable couple! I am now considering the Contemporary for a future visit, thanks to your photos and report. BTW, good grammar and spelling (sorry! Ex-English teacher, so poor spelling/grammar/diction really gets my goat! I don't comment when it's bad, but I like to give a compliment when it's good!) I hope there's more to come.

Thanks! You should definitely plan a stay at the Contemporary... it's amazing. And I appreciate the compliment on my grammar/spelling, as I try to get that right and take the time to edit. It's a pet peeve of mine, too.

Great report- looks like you had an amazing time!

Thanks... we definitely did!

Love your report! You can really tell that you take time in your picture composition and it pays off. Great shots! Seeing Hung from Top Chef would have been awesome too. Thanks so much, and keep 'em coming!

Great report so far. I am curious to find out if you tried Chef Hung's food.

Thank you both. More to come on Hung!

Fun trip report!! I love all the Luau details because we're hoping to be a part of it next time we go to WDW. I also love all of your pictures, they turned out great! I have never seen the huge beanstalk by Sir Mickey's, I'll be looking for that next time!

Thanks. The luau was great...it's not something I would take the time for on every trip but it's certainly worth it when you've never experienced it before!

Great trip report so far!!! You two make such a great couple!! And all of your pictures make me even more excited for my trip coming up in December! Keep 'em coming :wave:

Pluto Princess... I love that name :sohappy: ! Thanks for the compliments... we're looking forward to December, as well.

Great report and great pictures. I was lucky enough to stay at the Contemporary for one night in late March and was incredibly impressed. I didn't think I'd like it there. But in fact, I loved it there.

Thank you. I, too, was wowed by the Contemporary when I wasn't expecting it to be all that spectacular. I think the room design is very tasteful and you just can't beat the view or the convenience this resort offers.

 

[HollyBelle]

Okay... so I spent the last three days managing an interview event with 120ish employers and about 150 students. I didn't have time to do anything but crash when I got home, but here's to hoping I'm back on track now!

Day 3, Friday September 26, 2008: Magic Kingdom/Wide World of Sports/Epcot

Friday morning we headed over to Kona for breakfast, our ADR was for 7:30 am and as you can see from the picture we were pretty much the first table seated. Come to think of it, this is almost always how restaurants look when we show up for breakfast. We’re definitely early risers at Disney. For me, mornings and evenings are the very best times to be in the park so we never sleep in. You can accomplish so much in the mornings. It’s as if the parks reveal an extra layer of magic to those who show up early… it’s invigorating, and I’m always excited to see what the day has in store. I love the feeling anticipation brings!

It was about 8:30 when we finished breakfast and packet pickup for the Expedition Everest Challenge didn’t begin until 10 am so we decided to spend a little time at the Magic Kingdom before heading over to the Wide World of Sports. We arrived at the MK before opening and took a few pictures while waiting for rope drop, which umm… doesn’t actually include a rope these days. A very lucky family had the opportunity to assist Mickey and his friends in opening the park, in which they did a great job. We spent the time contemplating how families get chosen for this esteemed task. We’re guessing they choose families who have early breakfast ADR’s at the Royal Table and/or Crystal Palace and then escort them to Toontown to join the characters on the WDW Railroad. Can anyone enlighten us?!?! That has to be such an amazing and memorable experience.

I love the pumpkins! As well as the vibrant colors the MK exudes during the fall season.

Once in the park we were on the lookout for early morning characters and I directed Brett to what I thought was Pluto’s line (he wasn’t out yet). Rarely, if ever, will I pass up the opportunity to meet with my favorite pup (or any of the other characters for that matter)! And this was a great photo op because he was set up on prime real estate: the center of Town Square with Cinderella Castle in the distance.

The sun washed this one out a bit, but I still love it.

From Main Street we took off towards Frontierland, which was absolutely empty this early in the morning. Splash Mountain was beckoning us and we headed over to our favorite ride. We traveled slowly through the queue, distancing ourselves from the family in front of us (and keeping an eye that no one crept up behind us) in hopes of getting our own log…it worked!

We’ve never indulged ourselves with ride photos, but there’s a first time for everything. When we saw the picture we decided our Splash Mountain scrapbook page would never be complete without it so we bit the bullet and bought our very first one, at $21.95 a pop. Yikes! I’m glad we bought it because it is going to add so much to the page; however, I must say the quality of the photo is certainly lacking. It’s as if the cameras being used haven’t been updated to match the quality of those out today. It’s just a bit grainy and lacks clarity.

By this time it was 9:30 so we decided to get on over to the WWS. We slipped in the Emporium on our way up Main Street and I couldn’t resist taking the following photo. It's a perfectly plush wall... and I adore Disney plush!!

Next up... Packet pickup for the Expedition Everest Challenge and the Food and Wine Festival. Woo Woo!

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Oh I can't wait to hear about Expedition Everest Challenge! I've heard about it, but not heard any reports from people who participated! Loving your pics and trip report!