Game Room at the Contemporary Hotel

**DisneyManiac** · 03-01-2006, 08:32 AM

Does anyone remember the huge arcade on the lobby level of the Contemporary Hotel? It was where the little food court is now. It was monstrous - the far wall was lined in pinball machines, the far left-hand wall was the biggest shooting gallery I'd ever seen (it was a haunted house; I loved making the skeleton in the doorway dance), and about 10 ice-hockey tables in the middle. There were so many cool games - Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Frogger, Dig-Dug...I spent God knows how many quarters in there!

It also housed the first Disney caricature artist - at least there wasn't any at any of the hotels, and if you wanted a caricature, you went to this place. He used to draw just big heads in profile with little bodies, and he did them on transparent slides using a black felt-tip pen. He drew them on an overhead projector, so you didn't have to crowd around and watch; you could just stand back and look at the projected image. I still have my caricature, even though I was only 12 at the time; it shows me playing the piano, and everyone in the audience is sound asleep.

Does anyone else remember this arcade?

**SnwhtNdwrfs** · 03-01-2006, 03:47 PM

We stayed at the Contemporary in 91 and I rememeber my DH wanting to go in but I wanted to go to MK. Guess who won! I do remember that room being huge but we didn't do much more than glance in and walk on by.

**HappyDznyCamper** · 03-01-2006, 04:05 PM

We always went there at least once each trip(with pockets full of change). There was also a movie theater in the back corner. Most of the space is still an arcade(no shooting gallery or steple chase game anymore) and still a great place to get out of the heat of the day at MK.

**ksa1314** · 03-01-2006, 06:08 PM

oh i remember the characture(sp?) person! i was like,5, and got my picture made. i still have it i think. thats my favorite place out of all the hotels!

**Nenny_Mouse** · 03-05-2006, 09:02 PM

I remember it! Are you saying its not there anymore? We were just there in September but never made it down to the Arcade itself. HMMMMMMM

**magickingdom67** · 03-18-2006, 08:59 AM

I think I read somewhere that they were closing it to put a new place to eat there. Might have already started with the refurb they are doing there.

**CAJUNWDWFAN** · 03-20-2006, 09:53 AM

I was just about to post about this topic and noticed this thread.

I fondly remember the arcade at the Contemporary.

I really loved the shooting arcade! It was just like the one in Frontierland but better and bigger.

Does anyone have pictures of this? I was looking for some a few months ago but I never got any responses throught other message boards.

When we went back to WDW in May 2003 I made a special trip to see if the arcade that I loved as a child was still there. We the arcade is still there but it's a ghost of its former self.

**HappyDznyCamper** · 03-20-2006, 09:56 AM

The arcade is still alive and well it is not as big as it used to be but still a fun time.

**pudgethefish** · 03-23-2006, 09:31 PM

I remember this arcade. It was really large (or at least it seemed to be when I was a kid) and I saw Cannonball Run in that movie theater. My favorite part was the shooting gallery.

Thanks for the memory!

Amy

**Passarino6** · 03-23-2006, 10:14 PM

The shooting gallery was so great. there was a wizard and a dragon in it too. It was so much better than the Frontierland one. I got five different caricatures done there too. It was so much fun because my parents would go to the dinner show at the top of the Contemporary and I would just chill out in the arcade. I was really disappointed the last time I was there because it had gotten so small. I think I still have a ticket stub from seeing "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" in the movie theater too. I guess they decided to downsize the arcade because you could just go over to Disneyquest or something. Still can't beat the old days though.

**PastorPooh** · 04-13-2006, 04:36 PM

It was the Fiesta Fun Center and it was great - i was there during the early 80's when arcades where the most popular. I also remember the shooting gallery. Oh for the good ol' days.

**Lou Mongello** · 04-13-2006, 05:41 PM

Oh I remember that VERY well!! The Contemprary was our favorite place to stay, I was a video game junkie, and it was open all night long! I remember the games, the theater... wow you guys just brought back some great old memories of me and my brother down there. Bad 80's clothes and lots of quarters...

If anyone has any old photos, I'd love for you to share them!!

**jmoss1980** · 04-16-2006, 01:16 PM

no quarters anymore... they now use a card with a point system on it to pay for the games.

**MousekeTodd** · 04-21-2006, 01:49 PM

I was going to post on the movie theater at the Contemporary, but since others have mentioned here....

Our family went 3-4 times when I was young... I think beginning in 1973. Though we didn't stay at the Contemporary, we went there to eat and watch a cartoon in the theatre. The only one I think I can remember was "The Jungle Book."

In 1996, a year after my wife and I married, we camped @ Ft. Wilderness with a caravan of some of her family members (Each family had their own campers!), and the two of us made a trip to the Contemporary. I was GREATLY disappointed that the theater was gone!

Before subsequent visits, I've called Disney Reservations to find out what movies were scheduled for the campfire shows at Ft. Wilderness, in case movie titles and our own itineraries allowed us to attend. (I remember the campfire movies were around during my childhood days, too.)