Refurbished Rooms At Disney’s Contemporary Resort
One floor at a time the rooms at Disney’s Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World are getting a makeover. They are leaving the reds and yellows color scheme behind and adopting one with more greens and grays. Last week we got a peek at the new rooms and we have side-by-side comparison photos to show the changes. The pictures on the left are the old style rooms and the right ones are the refurbished rooms. What do you think of the new style?
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Love the subtle updates that bring the rooms into current modern decor. Gone are the reds, blues and purples and in are the very current grays and yellows combo. The flowers remind me of Georgia O’Keefe’s paintings. Thank you Disney for offering a modern decor for those of us who are not into the “themed” look. While we didn’t mind staying at the AoA for the kids, our next visit will be more for the location, decor and pool. 🙂
Silvia – I agree with you. I love Grand Floridian because of its subtle theming. We stayed at AoA for 1 night and that was enough for me – it’s too much visual noise – I could not relax. That’s what I love about Disney – there is something for everyone.
I wish someone would do a similar blog with the new room rehab at the Wilderness Lodge. I’d love to see what those rooms look like now and when those will be/are finished.
At least the new rooms come with two wheels of cheese to nosh on. 🙂
Seriously,the only difference I see is a new rug, a pair of curtains and two pillows. Looks almost the same to me.
Any word on when the remodel will be complete? I’m staying here at the end of September and would love to get one of the “new” rooms.
While I agree with many here that the Contemporary lacks the elaborate theming of other Disney resorts, I think that’s OK. Some folks are very hard on the resort, wanting it to be something that it simply isn’t – and never has been. Maybe the resort is a bit “severe” in its interpretation of the admittedly broad theme, but I like that it’s a bit more adult (even the lounges and restaurants, with the exception of CM), and perhaps families need not apply. But now 41+ years in, that’s the great thing about WDW – so much choice in terms of accomodations!
If I may indulge, my ONE criticism of all the Disney resorts is that there are NO truly affordable options nearest to the park that started it all. I would love if Disney would build a Moderate category hotel near the Magic Kingdom, even if it’s not on the Monorail. Perhaps charge a slight premium over the other moderates, but still.. give us a moderate choice, too!
Great idea! I would love to see what great theme they could come up with! Maybe something with the classic Disney movies — Cinderella, Peter Pan, Aristocats, Jungle Book, etc. It would be appropriate for the age of the Magic Kingdom!
Fort wilderness camp sites are affordable. And it’s just a boat ride away.
It’s one of my favorites.
I love riding my bike on vacation.
If you don’t want to camp, the Ft wilderness cabins are considered a “moderate”.
Right now, they cost slightly less than art of animation when you factor in discounts at FTW not offered at AoA. It’s still about $250 per night. But you get a full kitchen and a boat ride to Magic Kingdom.
(The same time dates that ft wilderness cabins are about $250 per night, port orleans is about $160).
That price is pretty much somewhere between the moderate resort prices and the deluxe monorail resort prices (which are usually $300+ depending on view.)
And you get a kitchen and can sleep 6 plus a baby.
A moderate resort with boat access to magic kingdom does exist already and has all along since the 70s.
Fair point, for sure, and obviously the cabins are a good value and lovely in their own right.
That said, they are a bit non-traditional in terms of the “resort” concept/connotation, and I see nothing wrong if Disney were to afford us one more option 🙂
I’m not a huge fan of contemporary style decor anyway, but I do think the newer version looks nicer than the old. I also love elaborately themed Disney resorts, but if I could stay at the Contemporary, I would be able to convince my husband to stay longer! He is a design guy and not into what he considers “cheesy.” So — for this purpose — I’m glad the Contemporary exists as it is. If I could ever save enough money for it, it might be a way for me to squeeze another Disney vacation out of him! LOL!
Is this refurb just at the Contemporary or is Bay Lake Tower included as well? We’re planning to stay at Bay Lake next year, so it would be good to know.
For now it’s just Contemporary. I’ve stayed at Bay Lake Tower and it is lovely!
Nope.
The rooms were so dark before and now it looks worse. There’s nothing “happy” about these rooms. As mentioned already the other themed resorts are cheerier and more interesting.
I think the rooms do look better than they did before, but I agree that they don’t look happy or very interesting.
The “old/new” photo thing is a nice touch.
Thanks!
I don’t care for the decor at all at the Contemporary. It’s not kid-friendly at all and really doesn’t reflect the Disney spirit. And with the close proximity to the MK, you’d think this hotel would be a goldmine to cater to families with kids between the ages of 0-10. Instead it’s like Ikea on steroids. That said…I am staying there this spring because of a conference I’m attending. It’s a great conference room rate!
Ikea on steroids – too funny!
Ha! It does look like an Ikea showroom!
“Ikea on Steroids” made me laugh out loud. I think you hit the nail on the head…this is a perfect location for parents with young children, yet the decor doesn’t speak to that. Even as an adult I don’t find the decor interesting or fun…it seems lacking.
Honestly, I don’t care what the rooms look like – as long as I can go out on my balcony and look out at the castle and walk to the Magic Kingdom, I’m a happy girl!
That’s the beauty of Disney resorts…they can cater to all kinds of different wants. I prefer colorful, fun rooms and don’t care so much about seeing the castle, so the Contemporary is not for me. But, I can definitely see where the ability to sit on your balcony at the end of the day and see the park would be an amazing thing.
Appreciate this entry! It seems the updates are in keeping with the times, and I find them attractive but not garish (as certain periods of time in the Contemporary’s history have been, in my opinion.) Still looking for that holy grail – I’d love for one of the MANY Disney sites to post a periodically updated list of each resort’s last refurb – both major (hard goods) and minor (soft goods). I bet it would help many with their vacation planning. Along with this, I’d like to see scores and text in the Unofficial Guide that review the quality of these upgrades, as some of this feels like it was glossed over in the 2013 edition
It’s so hard to put all of the information pertaining to Disney World in the book every year…that’s part of why we have the site. Seeing the great response on this post definitely makes me want to do more posts like this one. Thanks for the feedback.
I always love to see upgrades being made, even if it is the geneic kind at the Contemporary. Any word on Poly room upgrades?
Agree that updates are always great! I haven’t heard much about the Poly rooms, but Steve over at http://www.tikimanpages.com would be a good person to watch for that info.
Am I the only one who thinks it looks like they’ve scattered fried eggs all over the carpet (some of which appear to be long past their prime)?
I’ve never been a big fan of the Contemporary’s decor, anyway. It has a great location, big rooms, good restaurants, and the Monorail, but if the only deciding factor between deluxes were decor, I’d never go there.
You most certainly are not! I keep calling it the “Green Eggs and Ham” carpet. I am also not a fan of the decor…I would so much rather stay at the Poly.
They look like a Marriott Fairfield Inn now.
I always kind of felt like the Contemporary looked a bit generic. I prefer the themeing of resorts like the Polynesian, or even the bright colors and tackiness of Art of Animation.
Looks like they took out a hidden Mickey from the picture…. I think that designers forget that it all started with a mouse. 🙁
Now that you mention it, I don’t recall seeing any hidden Mickeys. They definitely weren’t as noticeable as in other deluxe resorts if they are there.