This is one of those articles that exists purely to save someone's afternoon. If you are at Walt Disney World today and have plans to spend time at Disney's Contemporary Resort between 12:30 and 3:30 p.m., this is the information you need before you get there and find out the hard way.
Fire alarm testing is scheduled for the Contemporary Resort today from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. During that three-hour window, guests in the main building can expect strobe light testing and loud ringing tones. Signs have been posted in the building, but not every guest will see them before testing begins. The difference between knowing about it in advance and finding out when the alarms start going off is the difference between a disrupted afternoon and a well-planned one.
Cast Members at the front desk are available to answer questions or provide additional assistance to any guest who has concerns about the testing or needs support during the scheduled window.
Who Needs to Pay Attention
The testing falls in the middle of the afternoon, so most guests spending the day at the parks will be unaffected. If you are at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom between 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. today, the Contemporary's fire alarm testing has zero impact on your day, and you can stop reading here.
The guests this article is written for are the ones who will actually be at the resort during those hours.
Guests who had a resort day planned and were looking forward to a quiet afternoon at the Contemporary. Families with young children who nap in the early to mid-afternoon and whose schedule puts a sleeping toddler at the resort during the testing window. Anyone doing a monorail resort crawl who was planning to spend time at the Contemporary during that specific stretch of the day. And guests who were planning to return to the hotel for a midday break from the parks between 12:30 and 3:30 p.m.
For all of these guests, the testing is worth knowing about and planning around rather than discovering mid-nap or mid-lunch.
The Easy Disney Solutions
The Contemporary's monorail access is genuinely one of the best perks of staying there, and it becomes particularly useful today. The monorail loop connects the Contemporary to Disney's Polynesian Village Resort and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, both of which are a short ride away, and neither of which will be experiencing fire alarm testing this afternoon.
The Polynesian Village Resort has a lobby atmosphere worth spending time in on its own terms, and dining options that range from quick bites to full meals. The Grand Floridian is one of the most beautiful resort lobbies on Walt Disney World property and offers enough dining and lounge options to comfortably fill a three-hour testing window. A monorail resort crawl that covers both properties during the 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. window is a genuinely enjoyable way to spend an afternoon that would be disrupted anyway.
For guests who would rather head back to the parks during the testing window, Cool Kids Summer programming is running across Walt Disney World with limited-time experiences specifically designed for families with younger children. At Magic Kingdom, Jessie's Roundup has taken over The Diamond Horseshoe restaurant with Jessie, Woody, Bullseye, and other Toy Story characters for songs, dancing, and games. At EPCOT, GoofyCore at CommuniCore Hall offers a dance party with music and Goofy himself.
The Short Version
Contemporary Resort. Fire alarm testing. Today. 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Strobe lighting and loud ringing tones in the main building. Most park guests are unaffected. Resort day guests, napping kids, and monorail crawl visitors need to plan around it. Monorail to Polynesian or Grand Floridian is the easiest alternative. Cast Members at the front desk for any questions.
Know about it before 12:30 p.m. arrives, and your afternoon stays intact.
