For many, a stay at a Disney World deluxe resort is the ultimate dream vacation, but is it perfect?
Contemporary Resort!
We’ll be the first to tell you that these hotels boast stunning theming, luxurious amenities, and their locations are just prime, but is it all sunshine and rainbows? Well, we know about one “perk” of being associated with some of these rooms that’s causing quite a stir among Disney fans. Let’s talk about it!
If you weren’t able to guess it earlier, we’re talking about an unintended consequence of staying in some of the rooms at any of the Magic Kingdom Monorail Resorts — Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The issue we’ve been hinting at is a lack of privacy.
Contemporary Resort
Let’s imagine this scenario: You’ve splurged on a room with a balcony at the Polynesian Village Resort. You step outside to enjoy the view, only to be greeted by the curious stares of monorail passengers gliding by.
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Or perhaps you’ve booked a Grand Floridian room only to find out that it’s overlooking the monorail track.
Grand Floridian and Monorail
We haven’t even yet mentioned the Contemporary Resort where the monorail cuts right through the middle!
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
While you can’t argue the convenience, the constant traffic might not be your idea of tranquility. This clashes directly with perhaps the biggest perk of staying in one of these resorts — the close proximity to Magic Kingdom. So, on the one hand, you have the pleasure of staying in a deluxe resort only a stone’s throw from Main Street, U.S.A., and on the other hand, you have a constant stream of traffic flowing by your room. Speaking of “flowing,” we’ve yet to mention the ferryboats that pass by constantly.
Ferryboat
As you can imagine, the guests paying the premium for staying at these resorts are divided on if the intrusiveness justifies the high cost. Another thing to note is that you’re prone to feeling the Fishbowl Effect when people can just look right into your room from the monorail or ferryboat.
Ferryboat, anyone?
Now if you’re truly going to be bothered by being in a room within the sightlines of the monorail or ferrboat, we suggest making a room request in advance. You can do this in a couple of ways: The simplest way is to go through the online check-in process on the My Disney Experience app up to 60 days before check-in. If you would rather speak with someone in person about your request, we suggest calling the Disney Resort Hotel Reservations Hotline — (407) 934-7639. Again, doing this in advance will give Disney a better chance at accommodating your request.
Overall, is staying in one of these resorts a perk or pitfall? Well, it depends on your priorities — convenience vs seclusion. We’ll let you decide. Until then, stay tuned to DFB for more Disney hotel tips.
Kiss, Marry, Kill: Magic Kingdom Monorail Hotels
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We have stayed at the grand twice with a room that was right next to the monorail. The noise was basically non existent from our room. We loved going out on the balcony and waving at everyone on the monorail as it came by. For us it was a fun perk, not a negative.
Or you can stay at port Orleans.
I total agree.Staying on the Monorail line is so much fun. I love to wave and smile and think “so where are you staying”.
We once had a balcony overlooking the driveway of The Boardwalk. We enjoyed sitting in the evening and watching the comings and goings. Disney World is a community. It’s not perfect! But we love it all the same.
This isn’t new! The monorail has gone through the Contemporary since forever. The other 2 hotels have been on the monorail line also. And you wiz by very fast and can hardly see anything. Right now people are more interested in seeing the building at Polynesian!
We stayed once at the Grand Californian at Disneyland and our room was right by the Monorail track. We loved it! When we were in our room with the balcony door closed, never heard or felt it and when we were on our balcony, we loved seeing it go by.
We have stayed at all three of those resorts and not once has privacy been an issue. Even staying at the GF Villas in the front where the monorail goes right by there are no issues.
I think if my biggest concern while staying at a Disney resort, is having the privilege of watching the monorail ride by from the comfort of my room, then I’m doing OK!
But I guess I understand why some may not enjoy that
I, however, would much have a Skyliner view than a monorail one. But that’s just my preference 😊
I have stayed at all of these resorts. I love them all . So much fun very convenient too. No negatives at all.
I have stayed at many of these Resorts besides the ones mentioned. Enjoyed all of them and I am very very fussy too
During our stay at the Grand Floridian last December, we took a short rest break one afternoon with our balcony door open. We were staying in a VGF Resort Studio in Big Pine Key, facing the pool, and while we didn’t have a monorail going past our room, we could hear the sounds of birds and boat horns from Seven Seas Lagoon. And it was so RELAXING! If you find yourself at one of the monorail hotels and need a break, I highly recommend just sitting on your balcony or lying on your bed with the balcony door open and listening to the soothing sounds of the activity at the resort and out on the water.
We stayed at AoA once and all we had was a view of the parking lot from the Cars suite. I’d rather have a monorail going by than looking out at a parking lot. Then we stayed at the Contemporary, garden view room. We were in the back of the building which overlooked the water to Fort Wilderness. We’d stand on the balcony and wave at the people going by.
One of my very first Disney World memories as a kid is riding the monorail through what I now know was the Contemporary, watching the people have breakfast down below with the character topiaries right outside. And yes, one of them did wave up, and I waved back, not that they could see but it was great! That was in 1976.
I agree with most guests.we stayed at the contempory hotel and it was so so peaceful but also so exciting to see the monorail. Also so convenient
It’s Disney World! And that’s why we love it: the monorail, the water the boats and the horns. All worth the money that we invested in incredible memories to be right there in the middle of the magic.