Contemporary or Beach/Yacht Club

[Guest]

We stayed at The Contemporary on our first visit in 2014 for two weeks. We had originally booked Wilderness Lodge but were upgraded to the CR as the pool at WL was closed for the duration of our stay. At first I was extremely disappointed as the theming of CR had never appealed to me but after two weeks I had grown to love the place. We also stayed in the garden wing and it was great to sit on our patio in the morning drinking coffee and overlooking Bay Lake. Also in the evening you can see the electric water pageant (if it's still on?) which I adored. The food choices are great and don't forget you have California Grill to go to which is fantastic - the view is incredible!

Also, as others have said the ability to walk to MK and being on the monorail is so convenient. A couple of times we visited the Grand Floridian and Polynesian resorts for lunch or a drink and it was so quick and easy being on that monorail loop.

We are returning for a second time this August and are doing a split stay with a week at Yacht Club. The reason we are staying here this time is that I wanted a completely different experience and wanted the ability to walk to Epcot, HS and the Boardwalk.

I wouldn't hesitate to stay at the CR again and am hoping the YC is as good, if not better. Whatever you decide, I'm sure you will have an amazing time!

[Moleymole]

I’ve only stayed at the Contemporary and it was amazing. Nipping in and out of MK was just perfect, especially after the firework crowds. Even staying in the Garden Wing, it felt like we were just steps away from the main concourse, the shops, the restaurants etc. Also the pools were so close and the loveliest thing I will always cherish is being able to watch Happily Ever After fireworks from the quiet pool...which there was never anyone in and felt like our own private pool.

[moosha]

I love both the Yacht Club and the Contemporary and have very happy memories of staying at both.

This year we are having our ‘proper’ Disney stay at the Yacht Club (10 nights) with a couple of nights afterwards in a Garden Wing room at the Contemporary.

The Yacht Club feels like our Disney ‘home’ and being in the Boardwalk area is fantastic. Just such a lovely atmosphere, lots of restaurants and bars, and being able to walk to two parks is brilliant. I’m also really excited about the recent refurbishment.

Having said that, we were adamant that we would also stay at the Contemporary this year as it’s absolutely the most convenient hotel for Magic Kingdom. Parking at the TTC, waiting for Disney buses or the resort hotels’ monorail can be so frustrating, so for us that little stroll down to MK from the hotel is well worth it. MK is the only park we’re planning to visit during our couple of days there.

[welshmum]

I dont think you could go wrong with either but just wanted to add a side note.

There is currently an offer of for free nights which is why the BC and Contemporary would be coming up cheaper. If you are waiting for the free dining to be released the room rates will go back up to full price.

If it is just the 2 of you the free nights room offer might work out cheaper than having free dining.

Just a thought

Loves2plan is very good at giving advise about this

[xmelaniee]

Thank you so much everyone - can always count on this website to help! We're probably going to have to flip a coin at this rate as there seems to be , though as we're only onsite for 5 nights I'm learning toward bc/yc as we realistically only go to MK for one full day.

Welshmum thanks for the tip and whilst I agree we could probably get it cheaper, the way my future husband eats I appreciate the dining plan and would pay extra for not having to worry about budgeting for food properly for the 5 nights we will be there

When we looked at pricing there was no offer on our dates (I think) and I stalked Disney's pricing in free dining late last year, even with 10% or whatever added on it luckily still fits our budget so should hopefully be ok

[Guest]

Originally Posted by xmelaniee

Hi everyone!

We're currently getting the spreadsheet prepped ready for our honeymoon next year, with a view to booking when free dining is (hopefully) released.

Based on the hotel-only pricing from VH, the two options we're currently considering within our budget for the Disney portion of our trip are;

The Contemporary (Garden Wing)
or
The Beach / Yacht Club (Standard)

Does anyone have any preference between the two or tips if you do have a favourite?

Initially my boyfriend loved the idea of the contemporary for the close proximity to Magic Kingdom, but our budget only stretches as far as the garden wing so we wouldn't be in the main building anyway which puts me off a little.

At the moment I think we're leaning towards Beach/Yacht but would love thoughts and opinions

See more...

I will be choosing between those for 2019 trip. We have stayed at Contemporary before but not the Beach / Yacht Club.

We booked garden view room but were upgraded to the main building. The room was lovely but we didn’t find anything particularly appealing about the theming, certainly not compared to other deluxe properties.

But the huge advantage is the location and even if you only do one full day there, we popped back many evenings and didn’t need to worry about the scramble for the buses back to somewhere else at end of night. My DH for this reason wants to go to Contemporary again.

Me, I would like to go to Beach Club. Originally I wanted Yacht Club but I have read too much about the noise levels now. I want to go there because I like the theming and I want to try something different. However as we are not particularly bothered about Epcot, I am having a tough time making the case.

I have previously priced out free nights versus dining plan, for us as a couple it made slightly more sense to get free dining, about £100 in it.

[Toff Princess]

It all depends on what park you will spend the majority of your time at.

C is closer to Magic Kingdom.. a mere walk away! There is something magical about being on the monorail resort line and you have access to a lot of great dining mere minutes away due to that. You can watch fireworks in the park and then no queuing needed for monorails/boats/busses you just walk home!

BC which is a beautiful resort is closer to Epcot and has the super amazing pool. I would say if you will do less parks and more resort days then it may be the better location for chilling and swimming.

My personal choice would be Contemporary for a honeymoon as I have heard that the rooms are so very nice and I am a Magic Kingdom girl. However if I was going with my son I would chose BC for the pool!

[xmelaniee]

Ah thank you. This threads been so helpful for us in really weighing up what will be better. We won’t go in the pool at all so maybe contemporary will be better. As were only onsite for 5 nights we just go to the parks and back to our rooms.

It’s just such a shame that the cost between the garden wing and main tower is so big, according to virgins 2019 pricing it will be over £100 more per night to stay in the main tower (not bay lake) as opposed to the garden wing and that’s without a theme park view which is more again. 😭 though I may just be overthinking and the garden wing be perfectly fine.

[Bozza]

Originally Posted by xmelaniee

Ah thank you. This threads been so helpful for us in really weighing up what will be better. We won’t go in the pool at all so maybe contemporary will be better. As were only onsite for 5 nights we just go to the parks and back to our rooms.

See more...

Surely it's better to be a walk to two theme parks rather than the one then?

[xmelaniee]

Originally Posted by Bozza

Surely it's better to be a walk to two theme parks rather than the one then?

See more...

We did think that but did find the buses back from HS / Epcot to not be as stressful as from MK after fireworks which are always unbearable!