The history of Disney’s Contemporary Resort goes back to the early days of Walt Disney World. It was part of a creation by Walt Disney himself as a resort of his “experimental prototype community.” Sadly, in November of 1966 Walt passed away and his utopia was later created into EPCOT. As for Disney’s Contemporary, the resort would be placed near the Magic Kingdom. It would reflect the theme of Tomorrowland as a “futuristic” hotel. The design firm of Becket Associates came up with the architectural elements for the resort. Marvin Davis of the Walt Disney Company served as a liaison for the project and he worked to minimize the shoebox design of the Contemporary making it more accessible from the outside.

The Disney Design team who put the resort together along with the Becket Firm were John Decuir Jr., Dorothea Redmond, Mary Blair, and other Disney artists. The construction of the hotel was unique for its time, the rooms were prefabricated being built nearby at the United States Steel and Framework Company, and they would be slotted into each floor of the resort through the use of a crane. Becket’s Firm set up an on-site plan to manufacture 1, 450 “utilized” guest rooms; they were self- supporting modules capable of being stacked three stories high with external structure support. The idea of prefabricated design was not new to the WED team; Walt used the idea in Disneyland. The innovation however, was the weight of each room. The designers used a new light weight material for interior walls and fixture. Previous hotel rooms weighted up to 30 tons, Disney’s Contemporary Rooms only weighed 6 tons. The marvel of the resort was how the monorail system glided right through the main concourse. The Contemporary served as a futuristic space portal that became the gateway to a guest’s Walt Disney World Experience.

Since the beginning stages, a 90-foot high floor-to-ceiling tile mural depicting Indian children, stylized flowers, birds, trees, and other scenes from the southwest stands tall in the resort’s main concourse. If you look real closely at the mural you will find numerous hidden Mickeys’ and even a five legged goat! Designer Mary Blair who created art work for the Walt Disney attraction “It’s a Small World” designed this magnificent mural.

The resort also has a spacious convention center that houses many meetings and shows each year, the most notable show is the Disneyana Conference in November. This event brings Disney collectors from all over the world to take part in a series of workshops, auctions, and “meet and greets” with Disney designers. The Contemporary resort has gone through many changes since its opening especially in its restaurant establishments. On opening day the Resort housed restaurants such as the Terrace Buffeteria, a buffet style eatery, The Terrace Café, Pueblo Room, Outer Rim, Gulf Coast Rim, and the Top of World Restaurant that overlooked the Magic Kingdom. In fact, the Contemporary Resort held two shows nightly at their Top of The World Restaurant.

As the years went on, the Terrace Café became know to be the Contemporary Café and we saw the Top of the World Restaurant became known as the Concourse Grill. In the mid ‘90s a major change occurred with the opening of Chef Mickey’s on the Main Concourse. Chef Mickey’s is the highest rated Character breakfast on the Walt Disney World property. The restaurant offers tasty treats like PB&J pizza and Mickey Mouse shaped waffles and pancakes YUM! Also, the California Grill replaced the Concourse Grill on the 15th floor.

The California Grill is an “upscale” gourmet dining facility offering fine food that is a little high in price. However, the Grill offers a great view of the Magic Kingdom and you can request reservations prior to Wishes, the firework spectacular. The firework soundtrack is piped through the restaurant and you don’t have to deal with the crowds that gather on Main Street.

The resort today continues to be an architectural marvel. This A-Frame structure continues to house over 1,000 rooms with an array of restaurants and shops for your convenience. The resort today has tremendously grown in price and on opening day a room would cost you about $30 a night. Now in 2004 this resort will cost you over $300 or more a night. Disney’s Contemporary Resort is located on 4600 North World Drive and the phone number is (401) 824-1000