Disney’s Contemporary Resort Review: Three Stays In, Here’s My Honest Take

I’ve stayed at Disney’s Contemporary Resort three times now, most recently this past January, and my feelings about it haven’t changed much from stay to stay. This Disney’s Contemporary Resort review is going to sound like two different opinions stitched together, because that’s how it feels to stay here: a couple of things are so good they justify the room rate on their own, and the rest of the resort is just… fine. Not bad. Not exciting either.

If you’re trying to decide whether the Contemporary is worth it for your trip, here’s the version of this review I wish someone had written for me before my first stay.

Before I get into the specifics, it’s worth understanding why this resort looks the way it does. Disney’s Contemporary Resort opened alongside Magic Kingdom in 1971, and the A-frame design was genuinely futuristic for its era. The monorail glides directly through the building’s Grand Canyon Concourse, which is still one of the more novel arrival experiences at Walt Disney World. You step off the monorail and you’re already inside the hotel. That kind of architectural ambition is part of why the Contemporary still has a loyal following decades later, even though (as you’ll see below) the day-to-day guest experience hasn’t always kept pace with that original vision.

The Location: Why the Contemporary’s Reputation Is Earned

Let’s start with the obvious, because it really is the whole reason to book this resort. Disney’s Contemporary Resort is the easiest walk to Magic Kingdom’s front gates. Not a “technically walkable” situation like Polynesian, but an actual, pleasant, ten-to-fifteen-minute stroll along the water. If you want to sleep in and still make rope drop, or duck back for a midday break without touching a bus or boat, the Contemporary delivers on this in a way almost nothing else at Walt Disney World does. Only the Grand Floridian and Polynesian are in the same conversation, and this walk after a few hours in the park and in the Florida sun can feel like a real hike.

The monorail is the other half of the location story, and this is where I want to manage expectations a bit. The Contemporary sits directly on the resort monorail loop, which means getting to Magic Kingdom or back to the resort from the park is fast and easy.

But if you’re headed to Epcot, you’re not on a direct line. You’ll ride one stop to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC) and transfer to the Epcot monorail there. That first leg is quick, so it’s not a big deal heading out for the day. Where it gets mildly annoying is the return trip: because of how the loop runs, the Contemporary is the last stop when you’re coming back from Epcot in the evening. After a long day, that extra ten minutes on the monorail hits differently than it does in the morning. It’s not a dealbreaker, just something to know going in.

There’s also a boat launch at the Contemporary that connects to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Resort, which is a nice option if you want to hop over for a meal or just want a slower, scenic way to move around the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake area instead of the monorail.

Compared to the other two monorail-loop Deluxe resorts, the Contemporary is generally positioned as the most attainably priced of the three, with the Polynesian usually landing in the middle and the Grand Floridian commanding the highest rates. If your priority is simply being close to Magic Kingdom without paying Grand Floridian prices, that positioning matters.

That ten-minute walk is the single best reason to book here, and it is the thing I would tell a first-timer to weigh above almost everything else. The only shorter park walk on property belongs to the Beach Club, which sits about five minutes from Epcot’s International Gateway. That comparison only matters if your trip is Epcot-centered rather than Magic Kingdom-centered, and I covered both Epcot-area resorts in my Yacht & Beach Club review.

Getting to the Other Three Parks

The Magic Kingdom walk and the monorail get all the attention in any Disney’s Contemporary Resort review, but three of the four parks are not on that monorail loop. Here is the full picture.

Magic Kingdom. Walk it in ten to fifteen minutes, or take the resort monorail one stop. Having two independent options matters more than it sounds like it should. When the monorail goes down, and it does, you are not stranded waiting on a bus with everyone else.

Epcot. Resort monorail one stop to the Transportation and Ticket Center, then transfer to the Epcot monorail. Quick in the morning. Slower coming home, because the Contemporary is the last stop on the resort loop when you are heading back from the TTC.

Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Bus, and only bus. There is no monorail, Skyliner, or boat connection to either park from the Contemporary. The buses are reliable and run on the standard resort schedule, but if you were picturing the monorail carrying your whole trip, half your park days will look like every other resort’s park days.

Between resorts. The boat launch connects to Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness, which is the pleasant way to get to Whispering Canyon Cafe or Geyser Point without a bus. The monorail loop puts the Polynesian and Grand Floridian a few minutes away, which makes resort-hopping for dinner unusually easy from here.

If you want to see how any resort’s transportation actually stacks up before you book, I built a Resort Transportation Finder that maps every connection by property, and the full Disney World Transportation Guide covers how the whole system fits together.

Dining at Disney’s Contemporary Resort: Two Wins, One Skip

The dining lineup at the Contemporary is where the resort’s split personality really shows up. A couple of these restaurants are worth planning your trip around. One is worth skipping entirely.

California Grill: The Best Reason to Eat Here

California Grill is, without exaggeration, one of the best meals you can have at Walt Disney World. It’s on the 15th floor with panoramic views of the Magic Kingdom and Seven Seas Lagoon, and if you can time a reservation to overlap with fireworks, the whole restaurant pauses, the lights dim, and you watch the show through floor-to-ceiling windows with a soundtrack piped in. The food backs up the view, too; this isn’t a case of Disney charging premium prices for a view alone. If you only eat one signature meal on your entire trip, this is a strong contender for where it should be.

Steakhouse 71: The Reliable Workhorse

Steakhouse 71 is the resort’s other table-service option, and it’s a solid, dependable choice without the ceremony of California Grill. It doesn’t have the view or the occasion factor, but it’s a consistently good meal, and it’s a lot easier to get a same-week reservation for. If California Grill is your splurge night, Steakhouse 71 is your reliable Tuesday.

Chef Mickey’s: Skip It

I’m not a fan of Chef Mickey’s, and I don’t think the price justifies what you get. It’s a character buffet, and buffets already come with an inherent hygiene risk that I try not to think too hard about — except I can’t not think about it, because I once watched a fellow guest chew her fingernails immediately before picking up a serving utensil at this exact buffet.

Character interaction is fun, sure, but you can get quality character dining elsewhere at Walt Disney World without the overpriced, mediocre buffet food attached. Additionally, since this is one of the busier character dining experiences, the characters often feel rushed instead of spending quality time at your table. This is the one meal at the Contemporary I’d actively steer you away from.

Contempo Cafe and Contemporary Grounds: The Quick Service MVPs

For counter service, Contempo Cafe is a solid, no-fuss option; nothing revolutionary, but reliably decent food when you don’t want to sit down for a full meal. The real hidden gem, though, is Contemporary Grounds. This little coffee counter is one of the only places in all of Walt Disney World where you can get the Shaken Jamaican Cold Brew outside of the actual theme parks. If you’ve had it before and love it, that alone might be worth factoring into where you stay.

On price, the resort’s quick-service spots like The Sand Bar and Contempo Cafe run under $15 per adult, while Steakhouse 71 sits in the $15 to $35 per adult range; reasonable for a Deluxe resort table-service restaurant, and noticeably friendlier on the wallet than California Grill’s signature-dining pricing.

The Rooms: Clean, Spacious, and Kind of Boring

The rooms at the Contemporary do what they need to do. They’re a good size by Disney standards, and they’re clean; I’ve never had a complaint on that front across three stays. But the theming is boring, and the Incredibles refresh a few years back didn’t fix that. It dressed the rooms up with some family-friendly graphics, but underneath it, the bones are still a fairly generic hotel room. If you’re the type of Disney guest who wants your room itself to feel like part of the magic (the way it does at, say, the Polynesian or Animal Kingdom Lodge) you’re not going to get that here. You’re paying for the location and the building, not the room design.

Room Categories to Know

When you’re booking, you’ll generally see a handful of view categories at the Contemporary: Theme Park View rooms (the ones that face Magic Kingdom and let you watch fireworks from your balcony), Bay Lake View rooms (calmer, water-facing, and typically less expensive), Garden Wing rooms (covered in detail below), and standard rooms that don’t fall into a premium view category.

If watching fireworks from your room is the whole point of your stay, you’ll want to book Theme Park View specifically and confirm that with a Cast Member; don’t assume a Main Tower room automatically comes with that view. SOME of the Water View rooms overlooking Bay Lake will have partial views of Epcot’s fireworks, but it will be at a sharp angle, and a lot of the show is lost to the trees. You will, however, have a nice view of the Electrical Water Pageant.

Outer Rim: A Forgettable Bar on the Monorail Loop

Outer Rim is the resort’s lounge bar, tucked just off the Grand Canyon Concourse. It’s fine for a quick drink between park days, but it doesn’t come close to what you’ll find at the other two monorail resorts. The Polynesian has Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto, and the Grand Floridian has the Enchanted Rose — both lean hard into theming, and the space itself is part of the draw. Outer Rim is just a bar. If a great themed bar is part of what you want out of your stay, this isn’t it.

Pools and Recreation

The Contemporary’s main feature pool, the Bay Lake Pool, sits along the water with views back toward the A-frame, and it’s a solid spot to spend an afternoon between park days. There’s a dedicated pool bar, the Cove Bar, right nearby if you want a drink without leaving the pool deck. Bay Lake Tower guests have their own separate pool area as well. None of this is going to out-theme something like the volcano pool at the Polynesian, but it’s clean, well-maintained, and does the job. Which, if you’ve noticed a theme by now, is a fair summary of most of the Contemporary’s amenities that aren’t the location or California Grill.

The Gift Shop Is Worth a Detour

This is a small thing, but worth mentioning: the gift shop at the Contemporary is solid, even if you’re not staying there. It’s worth a walk-through if you’re passing by on the monorail or walking over from Magic Kingdom, whether or not merchandise is on your agenda for the day.

Currently Under Construction: What to Know Before You Book

If you’re booking a stay at the Contemporary any time soon, know that the resort is in the middle of a long-running refurbishment. The project started in September 2024 and now runs through late 2027. The Bay Lake Tower phase has wrapped, and the active work has shifted to the Main Tower exterior and the Grand Canyon Concourse atrium. Exterior maintenance on the Main Tower began March 23, 2026 and may affect views from parts of the resort, along with occasionally requiring alternate walking paths.

The good news is that the iconic A-frame silhouette itself isn’t going anywhere, and the construction hasn’t been a dealbreaker for guests staying there during the work. If you’ve booked a theme park–view room specifically to watch fireworks from your balcony, though, it’s worth reaching out to Guest Services ahead of your check-in to confirm your room won’t face any active scaffolding, or to request a Bay Lake–view room instead; which, for what it’s worth, offers a calmer, more peaceful view anyway.

The Garden Wing: My Budget Pick at the Contemporary

If you love what the Contemporary offers but don’t want to pay Main Tower prices, the Garden Wing is worth serious consideration. You’re trading away the direct monorail-through-the-building experience and the theme park view, but you’re keeping the Deluxe resort amenities, the dining lineup, and (most importantly) that same easy walk to Magic Kingdom. For budget-conscious travelers who still want Deluxe-level perks without paying for the view or the A-frame address, this is one of the better values in the Deluxe resort category at Walt Disney World.

The Garden Wing also keeps you eligible for Extended Evening Hours, the two-hour after-close window restricted to Deluxe and Deluxe Villa guests. It is not the cheapest route to that perk overall, since the Swan, Dolphin, and Shades of Green all qualify at lower rates. But if you want Extended Evening Hours and the Magic Kingdom walk in the same booking, the Garden Wing is the least expensive way to get both.

Bay Lake Tower: The Short Version

Bay Lake Tower is the DVC building connected to the Contemporary by an elevated walkway. It is technically a separate resort with its own pool, its own front desk, and its own room inventory, but it shares the Contemporary’s dining, the monorail station, and the Magic Kingdom walk.

The short version for planning purposes: the rooms are better than the Main Tower’s. The Bay Lake Tower refurbishment left the Incredibles theming out entirely in favor of nods to Walt Disney World history and Mary Blair, and the result is a room that feels considered in a way the Main Tower rooms do not. Studios have kitchenettes, and the one and two bedroom villas have full kitchens and laundry, which changes the math for longer stays and larger parties.

You can book Bay Lake Tower as a cash reservation without owning DVC, and you can rent points for it. Either way you get the same Magic Kingdom walk and the same restaurant list covered above.

It deserves its own full review and it will get one. If you are choosing between the two buildings right now, the Main Tower gives you the monorail-through-the-atrium arrival and theme park view rooms; Bay Lake Tower gives you better rooms and kitchen space.

Frequently Asked Questions About Disney’s Contemporary Resort

My Verdict on This Disney’s Contemporary Resort Review

After three stays, here’s where I land: book the Contemporary for the location, not the resort experience. If getting to and from Magic Kingdom quickly and easily is your top priority, and you’re planning to eat at California Grill at least once, this resort earns its price tag. If you’re looking for a hotel that feels like an experience in itself — incredible theming, a can’t-miss lounge, a room that feels magical on its own. The Contemporary isn’t going to be your favorite. It’s a resort of a few outstanding features surrounded by a lot of “it’s fine,” and whether that trade-off works for you depends entirely on what you’re optimizing for.

My practical advice, after three stays: book Theme Park View only if watching fireworks from your balcony is a priority for you, since you’re paying a premium for it. Otherwise, put that money toward a California Grill reservation and consider the Garden Wing instead. You’ll still get the walk to Magic Kingdom, you’ll still get access to every restaurant on this list, and you’ll have more budget left over for the parts of the resort that actually make the Contemporary worth choosing in the first place.

If you haven’t quite decided on whether or not booking a Deluxe Resort is worth it, I’d recommend reading this post.

You may also be trying to decide how many days you need for your Walt Disney World vacation. We can help with that too.

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