6 Things We Love About Bay Lake Tower At Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Bay Lake Towers opened in 2009 as part of the Disney Vacation Club. It is a sister resort of the Contemporary Resort, connected to the main building via a sky bridge. The large building is hard to miss. But how much do you really know about it? Here’s six facts and secrets about Bay Lake Towers.

6. No Need To Be DVC

Bay Lake Towers is part of the Disney Vacation Club, and was the seventh such resort added to Walt Disney World. Disney Vacation Club Members can use their points to reserve rooms in Bay Lake Tower. However, Bay Lake Tower is a very popular resort, so if that’s your goal, make your reservations as far out as you can. But, you don’t need to be a Disney Vacation Club member to stay there. The rooms are available to book with cash (or more accurately, credit cards) rather than points. You’ll still need to book fairly far out though to get the room category you want.

5. Top Of The World Lounge

On the highest floor of Bay Lake Tower is the Top of the World Lounge, taking its name from the restaurant that preceded California Grill. It features a full bar and a limited And like California Grill, it has an outdoor viewing deck. The deck is open to everyone until 4:00pm. Starting at 5:00pm, only Disney Vacation Club members using their points for their room reservation can enter the lounge or its deck. So if you want to watch Magic Kingdom’s fireworks, you need to be DVC member. However, you do not always need to be staying in Bay Lake Towers to get up to Top of the World. During peak seasons, that may change.

4. Firework Viewing

Most people know that California Grill, atop the main building of Contemporary Resort, offers amazing views of the Magic Kingdom fireworks. But most guests don’t realize that they can get a unique view from Bay Lake Towers. You don’t even need to have a theme park view room. Simply gather in the elevator bays, heading to the upper half of the building for the best viewing spot. This tip is especially helpful for those nights when the Magic Kingdom is full to bursting– like Christmas or New Years– when guests want to see the firework show, but don’t want to be crammed in the park like sardines.

3. Room Shape

Both the original Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower share the modern theme, there is a striking difference between the buildings. Unlike the main building, known for its straight edges and A-Frame, Bay Lake Tower is a curved building. Therefore, the rooms are a wedge shape, giving them a unique layout. The rooms in the outside of the curve have a different floor plan than those on the inside of the curve. These rooms promise to be unlike any other hotel you’ve stayed in before!

2. Room Views

Bay Lake Towers sits between Magic Kingdom and Bay Lake. Its rooms are split in three categories– standard view, theme park view, or lake view. Standard view is often nothing special, usually it’s a lower level room facing a parking lot or service area. Obviously, theme park or lake views give guests unparalleled sights. For a truly incredible Disney experience, book a theme park view room where you could wake up to see the Magic Kingdom every morning of your vacation. But for a quieter stay, think about reserving a lake view room, where you’re less likely to hear any theme park or transportation noise.

1. Monorail

Many people love staying in a monorail resort for its convenience. And nothing beats staying in a hotel where the monorail actually comes inside! The downside to staying in Bay Lake Towers is that you still have a bit of a walk to the monorail station. Bay Lake Towers is not as conveniently located for the monorail station as the main building. Since the Contemporary Resort is the first stop after the Magic Kingdom, consider simply walking to the Magic Kingdom in the morning and save the monorail ride for the end of the day, when you can hop off on the first stop.