Bay Lake Tower
During my last trip to Walt Disney World I had the chance to stay at Disney’s newest addition to its Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resorts, Bay Lake Tower (BLT) at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. For our readers who aren’t familiar with DVC, it is Disney’s version of a time share program. With it guests may purchase points to use toward stays at resorts built especially for members. You may stay at these resorts without being a member, but they are fairly pricey. Luckily for me several of my friends participate and are willing to let me stay in their rooms through the DVC program even though I am not a member.
Such was the case in October when a friend reserved a two bedroom villa for a group of us. You see, DVC resorts are made up of studios, one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom grand villas. Studio units at BLT accommodate four people with a queen sized bed, a full sized pull out couch, and a kitchenette. One bedroom units may house up to five people with a master bedroom with a king sized bed, two pull outs in the living room, and a full kitchen. Our two bedroom had a master bedroom and bath, a second bedroom and bath, and two pull out options in the living room. We also had a third full bathroom and a kitchen to serve our needs. Three bedroom grand villas sleep up to 12 guests over two levels. There are four bathrooms, four queen beds, a king sized bed, and a queen sized pullout.
As I said we had a two bedroom unit which was greatly appointed and fit nine of us quite well. The kitchen may have been nicer than the one in my condo with a center island, stainless steel appliances, and stone countertops. The three bathrooms were a godsend with so many people in our room! My only issue there was a lack of towel racks. We wound up hanging our towels in the closet. We had a standard view, but it wound up to be quite lovely. We were just steps away from Bay Lake and we had an indirect view of Space Mountain and the Magic Kingdom. Many of the other rooms have views of the Magic Kingdom or Bay Lake as well.
Bay Lake Tower does not offer any of its own eateries, but all of the Contemporary Resort’s restaurants are easily accessible to BLT guests. However, the Top of the World Lounge does offer a unique experience for guests staying here. This bar is reserved only for guests staying on DVC points at Bay Lake Tower. You must be escorted to the elevator serving the area in order to gain admission. Not only is it a great place to have a night cap, but the views are gorgeous. Many families opt to take advantage of this location during the Magic Kingdom fireworks (they pipe in the music at the lounge), but shortly thereafter it usually clears out. I’ve enjoyed many evenings here with friends where we felt like it was our own private party room.
Guests staying here may enjoy their own pool with lovely views of Bay Lake. As with all deluxe and DVC resorts the pool features a fun water slide for kids of all ages. There are plenty of lounge chairs for guests to enjoy as they nap, read, or play pool side. The Cove Pool Bar offers drinks and snacks to swimmers and anyone looking for a mid-day cocktail outside. A few friends and I decided to visit the pool one afternoon so we could relax for a while. Although it wasn’t a terribly warm day we loved our time there complete with a few trips down the slide. We felt refreshed and ready to take on a park after our afternoon pool break.
Transportation options at Bay Lake Tower are the same as those offered at the Contemporary Resort. Guests must make their way over to the Contemporary’s tower in order to use the monorail or the bus system. While this may sound like a chore, it really isn’t with use of the 5th floor walkway providing easy accessibility to transportation and all of the Contemporary’s other amenities. A great feature of your stay here is its proximity to the Magic Kingdom. Your room will be a pleasant walk away from all of the fun the park has to offer!
Services at Bay Lake Tower are also all found at the Contemporary’s main building. For instance, guests must check in at a desk near the main desk in the Contemporary’s A-frame tower. There is a a desk in Bay Lake Tower’s lobby, but there is only a host or hostess there for from about 9-5. When I needed to pick up a package, the host sent me to the business center to retrieve it. Also, if you have a park purchase sent back to the resort you may pick it up at the Bay View Gifts shop on the main concourse in the Tower.
Overall, I really enjoyed my stay here. The room was spacious and peaceful which was great with such a big group with a hectic schedule. It is hard to beat having access to the monorail and being able to walk to the Magic Kingdom. I also really liked the time I spent at the pool as well as evenings at Top of the World Lounge. While I still hold other resorts above this one for various reasons, I would stay here again in a heartbeat.
Have you stayed at Bay Lake Tower? What did you think of it? Let me hear about your experience in the comments!
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Our first stay at BLT is coming up later this year, and it looks AWESOME!
We stayed in a one bedroom June of this year and last. Both years we had a view of Bay Lake, each year a different side. I prefer the straight on view of the Lake from the Contemporary and would probably not pay for the upgrade in the future.
We were disappointed this year in that we found the room to not be very clean. There was a thick covering of dusk on the light fixtures in the bathroom and stains on the sofa. Our safe didn’t work either. We also found the water in the master bathroom not very warm, so much so that we frequently used the kids bathroom. Housekeeping was coming very late in the day at the beginning of our trip, but when we called they kindly made sure they came earlier the rest of the trip.
The kids loved the pool and the location cannot be beat. We walked to Magic Kindgom which is faster than taking the monorail from the Contemporary. We are not DVC members so we did not have access to the Top of the World Lounge, but we watched the fireworks from the bridge. BLT is quieter than the Contemporary and we liked that.
It is really nice to have the extra space, especially with a 2 year old who still needs a nap and 8 and 11 year olds who do not. When we no longer have the nap issue, we will probably go back to the Contempory Tower. BLT is expensive and not maintained as well as we think it should be for the cost.
My family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids — 6 and 2) stayed at BLT this past May. We were in a studio w/a Lake view, but we could still see the MK quite well from where we were. The room itself was fine. Nothing broken, clean, etc. We’d heard it was quite small, and that was certainly true. My youngest was still sleeping in a crib at home so we used the pack’n’play for her, and the pullout for my older daughter. Once the PnP was set up and the sofa bed pulled out, you could barely walk around between the beds. It was fine for us, but next time I think we’ll splurge for the 1 bedroom. That was pretty much the only negative for us, though. We loved it, mostly for the location. We spend most of our time at MK, and the ability to leave when YOU want to, and know you’ll be back in your hotel within 10 minutes is wonderful. We didn’t have much of an issue with the services being in the Contemporary; I think I was the only one who cared at all, since I’m the only soda-drinker in the family and the walk to get a mug refill was rather irritating! The girls loved the pool. The oldest enjoyed the large slide, and the youngest was happy splashing around in the zero-depth entry part. We all enjoyed the outdoor movie as well, though it was a bit too late for them and they tired out before the end. I felt BLT was a bit too “corporate hotel” in decor — not that much different than what you’d find elsewhere — but the location is the killer app here. The room numbering is beyond bizarre, of course. If I recall correctly, you basically have to ignore the 1st number, and then the numbering makes sense. We were in a room with a number something like 4804, which meant it was on the 8th floor. Once you figured that out, it was fine. 🙂 We aren’t DVC members (we rented points) so we didn’t try out the rooftop lounge. My girls are both Very Unhappy About Loud Noises, so the fireworks viewing was out of the question anyway.
At the prices they want I don’t think we’ll stay here too many times, but while my kids are small if we can swing it, this is our preferred Disney destination.
I have stayed at Bay Lake Tower and, although it is nice to stay in a DVC friend’s place, staying as a non-DVC member is pretty terrible. I’m not sure if it is just being a non-member, but I had terrible service from check-in to check-out. Although some of it could have been coincidental. The first room I stayed in (studio unit)had rust in the bathroom, a broken tp rack and terrible acoustics (sound coming from adjacent rooms). Once we moved to an identical room, the safe was locked and it took 45 minutes to get it unlocked. Overall I had to call hospitality 8 times to get lotion (it took over 24 hours). The main thing I would point out are that since all services are located in the contemporary, it takes a lot longer to get them at the tower. I really wanted to enjoy my stay there – but I have to stay I wish I had just gone with my usual, Yacht and Beach club.