Disney's Contemporary Resort

Disney's Contemporary Resort Information: Rooms, Pools, Dining, and More

On this page is information on Disney's Contemporary Resort, including pictures of the view from every hotel room, pictures and video from inside Contemporary rooms, a list of amenities, restaurant reviews and dining menus with prices, pool photos and reviews, reader comments, childcare options, and more. Last updated: May 17, 2024

Use our exclusive Room Finder to see a resort map and find a great room!

Disney's Contemporary Resort Overview

This 655-room Deluxe Resort on Bay Lake is unique in that its A-frame design permits the Magic Kingdom monorail to pass through the structure’s cavernous atrium. A 90-foot mosaic depicts American Indian children and nature. The off-white central tower is augmented by a three-story Garden Wing fronting Bay Lake to the south and by Bay Lake Tower, a 295-room, 15-story Disney Deluxe Villa development, to the north.

Standard rooms in the A-frame afford fantastic views of Bay Lake or the Magic Kingdom, and all have balconies. At 394 square feet each, they’re only slightly smaller than equivalent rooms at the Grand Floridian Resort.

Rooms in the Contemporary’s main building were refurbished in the summer of 2021, adding characters from Pixar’s The Incredibles films. Off-white walls, bedspreads, and flooring are joined by carpets and couches in bold reds and other accent colors. Bathrooms have been remodeled as well, with a continuous countertop featuring two sinks and plenty of storage. The shower–tub combination remains standard, and it’s all enclosed by glass sliders. References to The Incredibles are found on soft goods and posters and in hidden spots around the room.

Our main criticism of the Contemporary’s refurbishment is that it’s devoid of style, taste, and imagination. It’s no secret that Disney tries to shoehorn characters into every available space around the World, whether they’re needed or not. It’s also not a secret that Disney cuts corners by standardizing everything, from the same white bedspreads in every room in every resort to common bathroom designs. In some cases, like the new rooms at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, those two forces can still produce interesting rooms whose design melds with the resort’s overall look and feel.

In the case of the Contemporary, Disney had a chance to make this into one of America’s great midcentury-themed hotels, and they didn’t—even though there are plenty of places they could have drawn inspiration from. Take the TWA Hotel at New York City’s JFK International Airport, for instance: Its rooms are miniature masterpieces of midcentury modern design in small spaces. And a 2-hour drive from Disney’s headquarters in Burbank puts you in Palm Springs, the spiritual home of the midcentury modern aesthetic, where you can’t walk a block without running into fabulous retro architecture and furniture.

What Disney has “designed” for the Contemporary is just lazy— it’s the same generic ideas they’ve been putting into every recent hotel. Compare the look of the Contemporary’s restyled rooms with those of the TWA Hotel (twahotel.com) or even the Motel 6 Anaheim Maingate, near Disneyland (tinyurl.com/anaheimmotel6), and ask yourself if the Contemporary is $400–$600 better per night. If you ask us, it’s not. What Disney’s really selling these days at the Contemporary is just walking-distance access to the Magic Kingdom.

Dining options abound at the Contemporary. On the first floor is Steakhouse 71, a new restaurant specializing in grilled meats. Contempo Cafe, a counter-service restaurant on the fourth floor’s Grand Canyon Concourse, serves upscale sandwiches, salads, and flatbread pizzas. Chef Mickey’s, also on the fourth floor, hosts a popular character buffet at breakfast. On the 15th floor, the award-winning California Grill serves contemporary American cuisine.

The pool has slides for kids and cabanas for rent. The resort also has a few shops. The Contemporary is within easy walking distance of the Magic Kingdom; monorail transportation is available to both the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. Other destinations can be accessed by bus or boat. Walking time to transportation loading areas from the most remote rooms is 6–9 minutes.

How Disney's Contemporary Resort Compares to Other Disney Deluxe Resorts

The major advantage of Contemporary is that is a short walk to Walt Disney World's flagship theme park, Magic Kingdom. If you don't want to make the 10 minute walk you can also take a Monorail, which has a station in the Contemporary's lobby. The same Monorail can be also be used to ride to the Transportation And Ticket Center, here guests can tranfer to another Monorail and ride to the front gate of Epcot. In terms of room size, Contemporary's rooms are in the upper end of Disney's other deluxe resorts. At 394 square feet they are smaller than Grand Floridian's 440 sf, and Polynesian's 415 sf, but larger than rooms in every other resort. These factors come at the cost of a high nightly price. Rooms at Contemporary fall in to the upper end of all the other WDW deluxe resorts.

Where To Check-In, Get Theme Park Tickets, and Make Dining Reservations

A security gate guards the entrance to Contemporary's grounds. If you arrive by car, you'll need to provide photo ID at the gate; it's not necessary to provide your reservation number or paperwork. A dedicated parking lot across from the lobby serves as temporary parking for those who need it while checking in.

Guests keeping a car at the hotel overnight will be charged $25 per day.

Check-in time at Contemporary is 3:00 PM, and check-out time is 11:00 AM. Contemporary participates in Disney's Online Check-In program, which allows you to you provide name, address, and credit card information up to 60 days before your arrival. If you've checked-in online and provided a mobile phone number or email address, you will receive your room number electronically. Then you can go straight to the room and use your smart phone or MagicBand to open the door, skipping the lobby altogether. Contemporary's gift shops will sell you MagicBands for your stay, if you don't already have them.

If you've not registered online, look for signs pointing you to the Registration/Check-In area. You'll need to provide a government-issued photo ID and credit/debit card when you register. While parents are completing the paperwork, kids can unwind in a nearby play area decorated with child-sized furniture, and a television showing classic Disney animated films.

Get theme park tickets and dining reservations at the Concierge Desk, to the right of the Registration Desk. If you need to check in and obtain theme park tickets, you can save some time in line if one adult gets in line for tickets just after another adult starts the registration process. The Concierge Desk can also make Disney dining reservations, and you can avoid a wait there by making them online prior to arrival.

Disney's Contemporary Resort's Rooms

The Contemporary’s rooms are, in our opinion, among the nicest of any Disney resort. Rooms were refurbished in 2021 and now are lightly themed to the Pixar film The Incredibles. While we were a little dubious about the change, the touches are light and the mid-century look fits the Contemporary nicely. Amenities include flat-panel LCD TVs, built-in closets, stylish soft goods, and comfortable beds. Wood accents in warm tones are a welcome relief from the bland beige that dominates so many hotel palettes.

The old work desk has been replaced by a very large sofa, part of which converts to a daybed in case of a 5th person in the room. Lighting is superb, with top scores in the bathroom grooming, reading, and work areas. Small, stylish overhead lights are more than ample for reading in bed.

The Contemporary’s beds are topped with 250-thread-count sheets and down-filled pillows. The air-conditioning system is a little louder than most. If you like to sleep with a bit of white noise in the background, however, you’ll be in heaven.

Most of the Contemporary rooms are 394 square feet, which makes them some of the largest standard rooms in Walt Disney World.

Each Disney's Contemporary Resort room is furnished with the following:

• Two queen beds
• Dresser with medium-size drawers
• Table with 2 chairs
• Nightstand digital alarm clock
• Full-length mirror (on bath door)
• WiFi wireless Internet access
• Flat-panel TV
• Mini fridge
• Coffee Maker
• Ironing board and iron
• Hair dryer
• Digital thermostat
• In-room safe
• Shower-mounted shampoo, conditioner, and body wash; bar soap

The mini-fridge is a dorm-style unit that sits under a counter or desk. It's more like a beverage chiller than a refrigerator in that it'll keep drinks cool, but you're not going to freeze popsicles or make ice cubes in it.

A lot of thought went into the bathroom design, too. You enter the bath through a sliding pocket door instead of a traditional hinged model. The pocket door provides plenty of room and makes it easy to move around inside. (It’s such a great idea that Len has adopted it in his own home.) The rectangular, extremely inefficient sinks are gone, replaced with still modern, yet very usable oval versions.

Water pressure in the shower is average - probably less than what you get at home, but still enough to get your hair clean. Eventually.

A separate dressing area next to the bathroom includes two sinks, and enough counter space to fit most of the toiletries you would need. There are also two shelves under the sink that provide a small amount of storage. A 1500-watt, wall-mounted hair dryer is provided, but it's not very powerful; bring your own if you've got lots of hair. The dressing area includes a sliding door that separates it from the sleeping area. Combined with the bathroom, this means that 3 people can get dressed at the same time.

Contemporary Concierge Level Rooms

The concierge level of a deluxe resort can also be referred to as club level. Each one throughout the property has a name for their concierge level. At the Contemporary it is called the Atrium Club and it’s located on the twelfth floor. Here guests willing to pay a premium are treated to special services including a lounge, complimentary food and drink, and personalized service. There are about 60 Atrium Club rooms most of which are similar to regular rooms throughout the resort, but there are also suites available. Club level prices can be over $100 more than standard rooms at the Contemporary

Upon arriving to Contemporary, concierge guests are taken to an exclusive area to be checked in and taken care of. Once guests are brought to the club level they will be introduced to the cast members on hand at two desks set up to be the resource for any special services they may need. These CMs are there to help folks with whatever they might need including ADRs, park tickets, and transportation options.

Another special service provided to concierge level guests is a nightly turn down. Housekeeping cast members come to your room in the evening to prepare your bed for you to fall into it after a long day in the parks and leave chocolates.

A more exciting benefit to staying in the Atrium Club is access to free food for most of the day. The breakfast offerings are relatively light so don’t expect to fuel up for a full day here. Later in the day snacks are available along with an assortment of drinks including soda, hot drinks like coffee, and beer. In the late afternoon/early evening the menu changes but appetizers are put out for guests to enjoy before they begin their evening. Wine and liqueurs along with desserts area served throughout the evening as well.

The selection of food and drink is laid out in the lounge only accessible to club level guests. There are several tables and chairs set up for folks to you use throughout the day. The area is busy a breakfast time, but can be a quiet place to relax and maybe even get some work done if guests happen to be business travelers. There are also a few couches in the mix where friends can gather to chat. Kids have their own area here with child sized table and chairs and a TV running cartoons and other Disney favorites.

Handicap-Accessible Room Options

Disney's Contemporary Resort have around 31 handicap-accessible rooms. Some feature roll-in showers, while others include assistive hearing devices. A subset of these rooms have been converted to comply with Florida's Accessibility Code, with changes to everything from bed, counter-top, and dresser drawer height, to door widths, wheelchair ramps, and more.

Some accessible rooms have the standard setup of 2 queen beds; all rooms with roll-in showers have 1 king bed, and a small number of roll-in shower rooms have both 1 king bed. Use our hotel room finder to see which rooms have which feature

Bay Lake Views and Theme Park Views

Disney knows that some hotel rooms are better than others. Most people want something pretty to look at from their hotel room window. To capitalize on this, Disney categorizes all of Contemporary's hotel rooms based on what you see from inside the room. Luckily both sides of the main Contemporary tower offer great views.

Here's the system Disney uses:

• Theme Park View: The view from your window for the most part includes spectacular views of Magic Kingdom. But some rooms look on to the the top of the hotel's convention center.
  
  
• Bay Lake View: At the Contemporary, any rooms facing the Bay Lake are tagged with the Bay Lake View. Most rooms have a great view of the lake. Some rooms face the Bay Lake Tower section of the resort.
  
  
• Garden Wing: The Garden Wing section of the Contemporary Resort doesn't have the great views of the main tower, but it still offers some nice scenery. Most rooms have view of landscaping. Rooms facing West look on to Bay Lake. Some rooms face a parking lot.
  
  

Contemporary Pools

The Contemporary has two pools. The largest, The Feature Pool, sits sits in the middle of the Contemporary tower and the Garden Wing. There is also a hot tub, kiddie pool and water player area.

The other smaller pool, the Bay Pool is located near the Feature. This pool is considered a "quiet pool," meaning that loud play and splashing around are discouraged.

Contemporary's pools range in depth from around 3 feet 6 inches/1.1m to 4 feet 9 inches/1.4m. Pool are open every day, including during winter. The pools are heated to 82°F/28°C throughout the year. Contemporary also has a hot tub located near Silver Creek Springs Pool.

Feature Pool has one water slide that all ages are free to use. Guests can find showers, storage lockers, and restrooms. Pool hours are at least 9 AM to 8 PM, extending to as much as 7 AM to 11 PM during busy times. Feature Pool will have lifeguards during the pools' operating hours.

For more information on the pools at WDW resorts, including towels, entertainment programming, handicap access, kiddie pools, life vests, and much more, see our Walt Disney World Resort Pool Fact Sheet FAQ.

Restaurants and Dining

Dining options abound. On the first floor is Steakhouse 71, a restaurant with Floridian flares and throwbacks to Disney history. The Contempo Cafe, a counter-service restaurant on the fourth floor’s Grand Canyon Concourse, serves upscale sandwiches, salads, and flatbread pizzas. Chef Mickey’s, also on the fourth floor, hosts a popular character buffet at breakfast, brunch, and dinner. On the 15th floor, the award-winning California Grill serves contemporary American cuisine.

California Grill

California Grill Dinner Menu - California Grill Kids Menu

High atop the Contemporary Resort, the award-winning California Grill sets the standard for Disney dining. But expect a boisterous crowd-the noise level makes quiet conversation difficult. Still, the view from the 15th floor is stellar, one of the best spots for watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks. It's so popular that the Grill no longer allows just anyone on the elevator for a ride to the top - you must have a dinner reservation. A show kitchen is the centerpiece of the airy dining room.

The California Grill still is one of Disney's top dining experiences, more like a hot spot in L.A. or New York City than Disney World. We like the seats at the bar in front of the kitchen, or a coveted window seat. Though it's a sophisticated dining experience, be warned that you'll see plenty of kids in the dining room.

Chef Mickey's

Fun Time Buffet Breakfast - Chef Mickey's Fun Time Buffet Dinner

Chef Mickey's is a all-you-can-eat restaurant with that features a colorful, open dining room with the monorail running overhead, this is one of the most popular Disney-character restaurants-mostly because you're guaranteed an audience with Mickey Mouse, who dons a chef's toque and poses for socially-distant photos. (Goofy, Minnie, Donald, and Pluto are on hand, too.) It's loud, crowded, busy, and fun for families. We rarely see anyone here without kids in tow.

Go hungry, and this all-you-can-eat setting is a good value for families; there's plenty for picky eaters, and you can start or end the day with a full tummy and photos of the top Disney characters already checked off your to-do list.

Steakhouse 71

Steakhouse 71 Breakfast Menu - Steakhouse 71 Lunch Menu - Steakhouse 71 Dinner Menu

On the first floor of the Contemporary just past the front desk, Steakhouse 71 puts a spin on some of Walt Disney's favorite meals in a modern setting.