Disney’s Contemporary Resort is a Deluxe or luxury tier hotel at Walt Disney World, located within walking distance of Magic Kingdom and on the monorail loop, which connects to Epcot. This review features new Incredibles room photos, pool & restaurant info, pros & cons, and more. (Updated February 3, 2024.)
A lot has changed at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in the last few years. This includes new rooms inspired by the Incredibles, a redesigned lobby, changes to California Grill, and the debut of Steakhouse 71 Restaurant. See Photos & Review: Contemporary’s Hit & Miss Makeover for a full look at the changes.
As of 2024, work is now finished on all areas of the resort. At least, for now. Bay Lake Tower will be receiving a major room renovation project late this year and throughout 2025. Additionally, the Grand Canyon Concourse atrium level of the Contemporary’s A-frame building is woefully dated and long overdue for a cohesive update. Keep an eye on our 2024-2025 Walt Disney World Hotel Construction Tracker for updates.
By way of overview, Contemporary Resort is a 600+ room A-frame tower hotel situated in such a manner that west-facing rooms have views of Cinderella Castle and Magic Kingdom, while east-facing rooms have views of Bay Lake. Inside the hotel is a cavernous and cacophonous atrium, which is home to the hotel’s dining and shopping.
Contrary to the name, Contemporary Resort is the oldest hotel at Walt Disney World. The architectural style is best described as modernist or perhaps brutalist, but imbues a sense of utopian optimism thanks to the layout and monorail gliding through. The “pure” design has been diluted over time thanks to visual hodgepodge cluttering the interior. These newer additions (most from the 1990s or early aughts) have ironically aged the hotel more than its more timeless core design.
If you’re unfamiliar with Walt Disney World hotels, most people–even first timers–will probably readily be able to identify the Contemporary as “the hotel with the monorail going through it.” That alone is going to be a big draw for many guests, and is what always drew me to it as a kid.
It’s important to know that many rooms at the Contemporary are not located in the central A-frame building through which the monorail passes. In addition to the main tower, Disney’s Contemporary Resort also features a cheaper Garden Wing as well as the Bay Lake Tower Disney Vacation Club villas.
We have mixed feelings about the Garden Wing. As of 2024, all of the rooms in the Garden Wing have been updated to the Incredibles style, a process that took much longer than the main A-frame rooms. The Garden Wing can much cheaper and quieter, but it just doesn’t pack the same punch, so to speak, as staying in the main A-frame and having the monorail glide through. It’s also a bit of a longer walk to Magic Kingdom or the monorail station, making it less convenient.
The Garden Wing is also a bit more secluded and not as chaotic, which can be nice, and the walk is by no means bad. If you’re doing a bucket list trip and want the quintessential stay at the Magic Kingdom monorail resort, book the main A-frame tower. If you want the location and are on a tighter budget–or want a bit more peace, go for the Garden Wing.
With that background out of the way, let’s take a look at the hotel’s design, rooms, and amenities…
Disney’s Contemporary Resort is a somewhat divisive hotel: as serious architecture and a modern marvel, it’s pretty compelling. Even with the dated aspects, many guests who want Disney perks and a great location are likely to love the Contemporary.
As a themed resort, it’s less compelling. Guests visiting Walt Disney World in part to escape the real world and be transported to another time and place often are underwhelmed by the Contemporary. It has splashes of Disney and gratuitous uses of Mickey Mouse, to be sure, but it’s more about the architecture than themed design.
Recently, this has become even more muddied as the Contemporary debuted an “Incredibles Injection” to guest rooms. These now feature the films via characters, plus mid-century modern stylization, and various nods to the monorail and other design changes.
The end result is…interesting. Nowhere else in the hotel are there any references to the Incredibles, which arguably makes the Contemporary even more of a hodgepodge than it was before. The rooms are lighter and brighter with a crisp look and mid-century modern aesthetic, they also look cheap.
Other new rooms at Walt Disney World have used a variety of textures and higher-end finishings to convey quality alongside the character infusions. That’s not the case here, as the new rooms at the Contemporary are lacking in that regard.
From the flooring to the furniture to the surfaces, these rooms simply feel and look lower end. They’re not Pop Century quality, but they’re also not on par with the Riviera or Polynesian, which thread the character-meets-quality needle far better than the Contemporary.
The rooms at Disney’s Contemporary Resort are sizable at 394 square feet each.
The recent refurbishment makes them feel a tad smaller, but these are still more spacious than Value or Moderate Resort rooms.
On a positive note, the bathrooms at the Contemporary are quite nice. They are split, which is fairly standard for Walt Disney World Deluxe Resort hotel rooms, but unlike most rooms, they place the dual sinks and the shower/bathtub in one area and the toilet in another area.
The sinks are more practical, the visually-busy design has been decluttered, the mirror is fun–even the ceiling looks better.
Contemporary Resort’s Incredibles-inspired rooms have already proven polarizing among Walt Disney World guests.
Personally, I’m not bothered by the character integration in theory, but I do think the execution is sloppy and doesn’t really excel at either of the things it’s presumably trying to do.
As a character-themed room, the new Contemporary rooms look weak and uninspired.
As upscale hotel rooms, they’re over the top and unsophisticated. It’s hard to envision these having a ton of appeal to families with small children or business travelers attending a convention at the Contemporary.
With all of that said, we’ve stayed in the Garden Wing rooms that were redone in the Incredibles style about a year or so after the A-frame rooms, and there are a number of little improvements made in the process. You might not be able to tell by looking at them, but we found the Garden Wing rooms to be noticeably better (Garden Wing photo is the one immediately above; all others are A-frame rooms).
On a related note, Disney cannot compete with the luxury and boutique hotel brands of the world. If you look at something like the Waldorf Astoria or Four Seasons Orlando, they run circles around the Contemporary–and usually at lower nightly rates.
It’s no secret that Walt Disney World prices its on-site hotels at a premium as compared to their real world counterparts, but the difference with a hotel like the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, or BoardWalk Inn is that there are no direct comparisons to those hotels. You can’t point to a real world luxury hotel brand that has a fully-fledged Victorian theme, a South Seas theme, or an Atlantic Boardwalk theme. By contrast, the Contemporary is a modern-luxe hotel, so it’s a direct comparison.
In fairness, there’s one huge “amenity” offered by Disney’s Contemporary Resort that its real world counterparts don’t have: location. In fact, no hotel at Walt Disney World (period) has as good of a location. This is the closest resort to the Magic Kingdom (well, technically Bay Lake Tower is closer, but they’re basically one in the same).
It’s a short monorail ride to and from the park, and an even shorter walk. It’s really awesome to not have to hassle with any transportation in the morning or after a long night as you just walk 5-10 minutes to and from the Magic Kingdom. This convenience cannot be overstated–it’s a huge advantage at the beginning or end of a long day, and is enough to trump all of the downsides of the Contemporary.
Moving along to other advantages, there’s the dining scene. California Grill and Chef Mickey’s are obviously the restaurants with a strong reputation here, but don’t discount Steakhouse 71 and Contempo Cafe. The latter are two overlooked gems that we very much enjoy.
California Grill is expensive and arguably a bit overrated, but we also really like it. In fact, California Grill’s Brunch at the Top is one of our favorite meals in all of Walt Disney World, and we highly recommend doing that if you have the opportunity.
At the other end of the spectrum, Chef Mickey’s is one of the worst restaurants at Walt Disney World when considering value and cuisine. Even accounting for Chef Mickey’s low quality, Contemporary Resort is still a top 5 Walt Disney World hotel for dining.
Add the Top of the World Lounge next door at Bay Lake Tower, and you have a really well-rounded hotel in terms of Walt Disney World dining.
Throughout the year, Disney’s Contemporary Resort offers various entertainment and enhancements. At Christmas, there’s a gingerbread display. Around Easter, decorated eggs appear in the atrium. During “normal” times of year, there are movies and other offerings.
Other amenities include the on-site convention center, laundry facilities, arcades, shopping, childcare, fitness center, and spa. Watercraft Rentals (kayaks, boats, and more) are available for use in Bay Lake.
The pools at Disney’s Contemporary Resort are another downside.
The hotel has two pools, both of which are among the weakest at Walt Disney World. The Feature Pool, sits sits between the A-frame tower and the Garden Wing. This area is mostly unthemed, and offers a hot tub, kiddie pool, and water player area. There’s also a nearby quiet pool.
Overall, Disney’s Contemporary Resort is a hotel about which I’m of two minds. As someone who goes to Walt Disney World to be immersed in a themed design and escape from the real world, Contemporary Resort does next to nothing for me. The core design is cool, but various “improvements” made over the years leave it feeling dated and a bit dreary.
As someone who also values convenience and location, I love Disney’s Contemporary Resort. There are few better feelings at the end of a long night in Magic Kingdom than looking at the long bus and monorail lines…and walking right past that headache to your hotel.
For many people, whether to book Disney’s Contemporary Resort will likely be a matter of convenience v. theme. If you love the whimsical theming of Walt Disney World resort hotels, Disney’s Contemporary Resort may be a disappointment. If you want a hassle-free vacation, it’ll be a great option. For us, it ultimately comes down to what kind of trip we’re taking–if we plan on spending a lot of time at the hotel, Disney’s Contemporary Resort is not the right pick for us. If we’re spending a lot of time at Magic Kingdom, it’s a great choice.
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Your Thoughts
Do you love the Contemporary or is it not your style? If you’re a fan, do you think the monorail, proximity to the Magic Kingdom, and other perks make it worth the premium price? If you’re not a fan, is it because of the “plain” style? Do you agree or disagree with our review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
