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Contemporary, Car Rental, Trip Report Kinda, Thoughts

Posted: Jul Sun 28, 2013 10:32 am
by Searlproudbottom
Hello
We have stayed at the Contemporary and at the Bay lake Tower many times in all different views. There are some rooms in the BLT that are coded and priced as lake view rooms but has a view of the Magic Kingdom. We have been fortunate to stay in these rooms for the last couple of years. In my opinion I would not pay extra for a view of the Magic Kingdom especially when the top of the Bay Lake Tower is available with a lounge and piped in music. I would be just as happy to stay in a standard view room but these rooms are in high demand and are rarely available to DVC members that have home resorts other than the BLT. For anyone contemplating on staying at the Contemporary I would highly recommend renting points and staying at BLT. The money that can be saved by staying there is enormous even if you are not DVC members.

Over the years we have been fortunate to visit WDW many times and have been staying at DVC Villas Since 2005. Food up until recently ha s taken up about 33% of our budget. We have always had our breakfast in our room but Just within the last few years we started packing a lunch. Usually it's just a sandwich, chips and some fruit and a bottle of water . We have used Garden Grocer and We Go Shop many times and have had good luck with them.

This year our family decided to rent a car. We used Alamo located at Walt Disney's Car Care Center I looked for weeks trying to find the best deals and coupon codes and finally succeeded. We were able to rent a Cadillac STS for nine days for just under $350. This was the best money I had ever spent. Alamo picked me up from my resort took me over to the Car Care Center to pick up my rental and when it was time to drop it off they brought me back to the resort. The first night we drove to the Wynn Dixie and loaded up with groceries. We saved so much money by not using the online grocery services. The next day we headed over to the Disney Studios and decided to drive over in the Caddy. It was so nice to drive over its beyond explanation. No waiting for a crowded bus, no standing on a bus, no waiting for a bus to take us back to the resort. it was pure delight. We also used the car to drive down to Disney's Vero Beach for a night, What a Highlight that was. Next year we will be renting another car and have decided to eat dinner in our room as well.

Here are a couple of pictures taken from our Balcony june2012, this is a lake view room

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Re: Contemporary, Car Rental, Trip Report Kinda, Thoughts

Posted: Jul Sun 28, 2013 1:00 pm
by boilerbabe
Wow! Nice views!!! Glad the rental car worked out for you as well!

Re: Contemporary, Car Rental, Trip Report Kinda, Thoughts

Posted: Jul Sun 28, 2013 1:51 pm
by Amy
Wow ~ lovely views from your room! Was this in BLT then or the Contemporary?
If you drive yourself in the car to the parks, do you have to pay a parking fee, or do you have a pass since you are staying on property?

Re: Contemporary, Car Rental, Trip Report Kinda, Thoughts

Posted: Jul Sun 28, 2013 3:39 pm
by Sleepy90
Amy wrote:Wow ~ lovely views from your room! Was this in BLT then or the Contemporary?
If you drive yourself in the car to the parks, do you have to pay a parking fee, or do you have a pass since you are staying on property?
If you stay on property you get a car pass. When you go through the payment stations you just show your pass, free parking whoo hoo. :D

Re: Contemporary, Car Rental, Trip Report Kinda, Thoughts

Posted: Jul Sun 28, 2013 3:43 pm
by Searlproudbottom
Hello Amy

This was the view of Bay Lake from the Bay Lake Tower.
We did not pay for parking. We were given a Parking pass upon check in which we kept in the front window of our vehicle.
It is my understanding that any Walt Disney World Resort Guest has Free Parking Privileges on Property.

It was so nice to drive ourselves to the parks. and it saved so much time.
We did still take Magical Express from the airport. Mainly because the car rental was cheaper at the Walt Disney World Care Center.
Next year we might rent from the Airport as I have found this rental car company which has some really great pricing.

Here is the link if you are interested
http://www.sixt.com/php/reservation/hom ... 1374533699

Searl

Re: Contemporary, Car Rental, Trip Report Kinda, Thoughts

Posted: Jul Sun 28, 2013 5:01 pm
by Amy
It has been so long since we rented a car when we went to Disney I couldn't remember about the parking. And we never drove to the parks, I'm sure it is nice to have control of your own coming and going with your car, but it is so nice to just let the CMs do the driving while we are there!

Re: Contemporary, Car Rental, Trip Report Kinda, Thoughts

Posted: Jul Sun 28, 2013 5:23 pm
by Goofyfan
Awesome photos!!! :D :goofy:

Re: Contemporary, Car Rental, Trip Report Kinda, Thoughts

Posted: Jul Mon 29, 2013 9:34 am
by theBIGyowski
Renting DVC involves a little more work and trust in the person you are renting from...but you are so right when you talk about saving incredible amounts of money versus staying in a comparable resort. I also agree about renting a car...and DW and I may end up renting a car whenever we take DS down there. Being able to come and go from parks whenever we want and being able to go to the grocery store to stock up on food would be priceless with a young child in tow. We rented a car for just a day last time we went down there since we were going off property twice and the amount of money saved renting a car versus paying for a cab was great.