We had the pleasure of staying at Disney’s Bay Lake Tower resort on our big extended family trip to Disney World in December. This is an extremely popular resort with my clients, with the deluxe amenities, monorail, boat and walking access to Magic Kingdom, monorail to Epcot, and exceptional dining options. Bay Lake Tower is located on Bay Lake, with one side offering serene lake views, and the other facing Magic Kingdom with unsurpassed fireworks viewing. This resort is connected to the Contemporary Resort by a Sky Bridge.
Deluxe Studio
My family loves deluxe studio accommodations across the Walt Disney World Resort. We like that they have one queen and a sleeper sofa to free up floor space during the day. Many also offer a 5th sleeper, so that is always a plus when the kids don’t have to share a bed. They all have a small kitchenette area, and usually offer a larger bathroom than most regular hotel rooms. Here are pictures from our pre-stay before we checked into the 3 bedroom grand villa with the rest of the family. This room had a lake view of the pool and Bay Lake.
3 Bedroom Grand Villa Theme Park View
The 3 Bedroom Grand Villa Theme Park View is the pinnacle of Disney’s villa accommodations, in my opinion. The sweeping windows in the the two-story living room offer the most beautiful views of Magic Kingdom, fireworks and the Seven Seas Lagoon resorts. There are only a few other rooms that rival this one, namely the Bungalows at Polynesian and Cabins at Copper Creek, but both sleep much fewer than this one. There are also 3 Bedroom Grand Villas that have a view of Bay Lake – in fact, I have clients there right this very minute! All 3-bedroom villas are very limited in quantity and availability, and I do recommend contacting me to book early.
The sofa in the living room is a sleeper.
The living room opens on to a fully stocked kitchen, with seating for twelve. One of the villa’s four balconies is located off of the kitchen. I recommend a grocery delivery for drinks when staying in a villa!
The cousins loved our lazy mornings in the living room, while the adults enjoyed coffee on the balconies!
Other common spaces on the main level of the two-story villa are a spacious laundry room and an extra full bathroom (to total four.)
Rounding out the main level is the master suite. This room offers a king bed and en suite bathroom with double sinks, a garden tub, toilet and shower. As you can see, the master has the same stunning views of Magic Kingdom and a private balcony. There is nothing like waking up to this view!
Upstairs you will find two additional mirror-image bedrooms, each with their own full en suite bathrooms and private balconies. These bedrooms each have two queen beds.
Finally, the loft overlooking the main living room has a second sleeper sofa and tv area. This was a favorite for our kids!
The views from the 3 bedroom grand villa on the theme park side are just phenomenal. We made sure to have a great balance of theme park time and resort time to soak it all in.
Coming home to these views was wonderful and memorable! Can you believe Cinderella Castle and Space Mountain are right there?!
Dining
Bay Lake Tower is just steps away from all of the wonderful dining at the Contemporary Resort!
California Grill, one of our favorite restaurants in all of Disney, is located at the top of the Contemporary and is considered signature dining. We have enjoyed this location a few times, and you can read about our most recent visit to celebrate my parents’ 70th birthdays here.
Chef Mickey’s is one of the most sought after character dining experiences in Disney, with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy in attendance!
Contempo Cafe is a great quick serve location. It is enjoyable for every meal, with the monorail soaring through over head, but we particularly love it for breakfast with the giant Mickey waffle and banana caramel sauce!
The Wave is an often overlooked dining experience, but is quite good. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend traveling out of your way to eat here, but if you are staying at the Contemporary it is a solid breakfast option in the morning and has some good cocktails in the evening. I had the avocado toast (eggs scrambled on the side) and it was absolutely delicious.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that Joffrey’s Coffee is now open in the lobby of the Contemporary and I LOVE THIS! I wish all resorts had a great coffee option. (Polynesian does too.) You can even get the character printed lattes here, which are extra magical.
Amenities
Like dining, many amenities are shared with Contemporary.
The marina offers boat rentals and fun excursions like fishing and parasailing. There are two pools, along with a splash area as well over on the Contemporary side. The Bay Lake Tower side has its own pool, and fun activities like giant chess, pool, bocce, ping pong and more!
Since we had a large group, we loved doing a half day cabana rental at the main pool. It comes with covered and sun lounge chairs, towel service, a stocked fridge with non-alcoholic beverages, a fruit tray, television, and a food and beverage service. You can even enjoy a Mickey pretzel! Cabanas are available to guests staying at the Contemporary / Bay Lake Tower and Grand Floridian Resorts.
There are loads of other fabulous amenities and experiences to be had at Bay Lake Tower and the Contemporary Resorts as well. Some of our favorites are the Monorail Dine Around and Pirates & Pals Fireworks Voyage!
I am happy to answer any and all of your questions!
As Premier Level Advisor with Glass Slipper Concierge, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Disney Aulani Hawaii, Universal, Sea World and to over 40 countries on 7 continents through Adventures by Disney® and National Geographic Expeditions.
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