The Many Magical Reasons to Stay at Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort with your Family

My family LOVES Bay Lake Tower. I can't imagine staying at any other resort when we visit Walt Disney World. My four year old son, Gavin, refers to Bay Lake Tower as "Our Building". From the monorail, to Chef Mickeys, to the sound of the engine whistle blowing from the Walt Disney World Railroad, to the side walk leading to the Magic Kingdom's gates, every corner of the Tower leads to adventure. To my family, it's the tower of our own Disney castle nestled next to Cindy's.

In this hub, I'll share the many magical reasons that we stay at Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort. You'll read about the convenience. You'll read about the fun. You'll read about the potential money savings. You'll read about the Magic!

My husband and I have two small children, 4 years old and 7 months old. The Magic Kingdom is our most frequented park during each vacation. Our mornings are as close to stress free as could be possible. There is no rushing to the bus stop in hopes that we don't miss the next bus to the Magic Kingdom. We simply take the elevator downstairs, walk out our door and stroll along our side walk which leads us straight to the Magic Kingdom . Then as the evening comes to a close and our feet are tired of walking, we hop on a monorail and get off the first stop, The Contemporary. We roll our stroller off the monorail, hit the elevator button and we're home.

Chef Mickey's located inside Disney's Contemporary Resort is the most popular character dining experience at Walt Disney World. Each year we kick off our first full day at Walt Disney World by having breakfast with the characters at Chef Mickey's. We leave our room fifteen minutes before our reservation time and moments later we're at the check in desk. If you are not staying at a Magic Kingdom Resort, getting to the early morning breakfast reservations for Chef Mickey's can sometimes be challenging especially if you do not have a vehicle. There are no direct buses to the Contemporary from other Disney Resorts. With small children, mornings are stressful enough without adding the pressure of catching several buses to get to the Contemporary. For example you could take a bus to Downtown Disney then transfer to a bus to the Contemporary, or take a bus to the Magic Kingdom and walk over to the Resort.

Another convenience of Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort is that Epcot is an easy and fun ride to the Transportation and Ticket Center and then a skip over to the Epcot Monorail. Traveling by monorail is massively convenient if you have an infant or a young child. Little ones love riding the monorail. It's my four year old's "favorite ride at Disney". Also, strollers do not have to be collapsed for you to ride this mode of transportation. This is especially important if your child is taking his or her nap at the time.

Most importantly, Bay Lake Tower is a Disney Vacation Club Resort. Since it is part of the DVC family of resorts, all rooms have extra amenities, such as a kitchenette in the studios and a full size kitchen in the one, two and three bedroom grand villas. Although this is a DVC Resort, you do not have to be a Disney Vacation Club member to stay at Bay Lake Tower.

An entire hub could be dedicated to fun adventures to be had while staying on property at any Disney Resort. I'd like to mention the fun adventures that my family enjoys while staying at Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort.

After checking into our resort, the first thing my son wants to do is drop off our carry-on luggage in our room, check out our view of the castle and monorail, and then head to the monorail platform for a ride. Since our first day at WDW is often a half day, due to travel, we try to do some fun things that do not include playing in a park. Although the monorail is used to get to two of Disney's four main theme parks, it also stops at three resorts, The Polynesian Resort, The Grand Floridian Resort and The Contemporary Resort. We enjoy stopping at each Resort and exploring their gift shops, restaurants and entertainment.

Another fun exploration that is always a must do for my family is riding a boat from our boat launch over to the Fort Wilderness Campground where we let loose and explore. Our son loves to play at the beach, then move to the playground, followed by checking out the animals and he's even frequented their arcade. The Fort seems to move at a much slower pace. They have less crowds in the middle of the afternoon, so it makes for a great place to go for a brief escape from the over stimulating environment that children are in while at the parks.

Once we return back to "Our Building" we stop in at Community Hall to check out the week's special events and projects. The Community Hall is usually very quiet when we stop in during the day, so our son has the place to himself, pick out coloring pages, check out their movies and games. One great activity that is preschooler friendly and that they seem to do often, is make your own pillowcase or pirate treasure bag. We also note the movies that will be playing that week at our resort.

Having a preschooler and infant that do not stay up very late, we don't yet take advantage of the following fun adventure, but I thought I would mention it, in case you have an older child that could enjoy the event. During the evenings, outside of Bay Lake Tower and the Contemporary, located in a nice open area, between the two buildings and close to the boat launch area, a Disney movie is shown on a huge screen for families to watch. I look forward to the future when I can take our children to one of those showings. I'm certain they will think it's pretty cool.

Since Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort is a Disney Vacation Club Resort, many of the conveniences of home can be found at the Resort and some even in your room. The resort has four types of rooms, Deluxe Studios, One Bedrooms,Two Bedroom, and Three Bedroom Grand Villas. The Deluxe Studio is the type of accommodation that we have recently chosen, since our family consists of four. In previous years, we have stayed in the Two Bedroom when we stayed with additional members of our extended family. Both types of accommodations at Bay Lake Tower were fantastic. In regards to saving money, the Deluxe Studio and the Two Bedroom saved us a lot of money when it came to purchasing food in the parks.

The Deluxe Studio at Bay Lake Tower has a kitchenette, which we used everyday. It includes a small refrigerator, a kitchen sink, microwave, coffee pot, toaster and a pull out pantry. They also give you some plastic utensils and paper product, including some paper plates and bowls. Other than the morning that we eat at Chef Mickey's, we eat our breakfast in our room before leaving for the parks. It's so nice to sit on the balcony and watch the park come to life in the morning. You can see the Monorails start zipping on their rail, hear the whistle of the steam engine warming up for its day, and watch as the astro-orbiter prepares for approaching passengers, all as you munch on a bagel and sip your tea. With the close proximity to the Magic Kingdom, we would eat one other meal at our resort each day. The short walk or monorail ride back to the resort allowed us to do this without missing too much of our day. On occasion, we would sneak in a quick nap for our four year old too.

The One, Two and Three Bedroom Villas all have full size fully equip kitchens with a small dining area and a spacious living room. It's wonderful to have that extra space if you have a large family or are traveling in a group.

In addition, they have a washer and dryer within the one, two and three bedroom villas. The Deluxe Studios do not have the washer and dryer but there is a laundry facility at Bay Lake Tower and it is free for guests to use. I find that this has saved our family money. We usually travel by plane, so when we do we have to watch how much stuff we pack. Checking luggage can really add up to a large expense with multiple people in your family needing to check bags. We make sure that we take only enough clothing to cover three or four days, then we do laundry on our day off, usually the middle of our week.

As I mentioned many times earlier, Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort is a Disney Vacation Club Resort. Our family members are DVC members. We use our membership to the fullest and know that it has saved us a lot of money. In addition, we would not be able to afford to stay at this magnificient resort without our ownership. If you are a Disney Fan and love to travel to Walt Disney World, take the time to look into the membership. The DVC tours done on site at Walt Disney World are stress free and fun. It could save you thousands too.

The one word to sum up staying at Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort is magical. Each night the resort is in the middle to two special evening events, Wishes and The Electrical Water Pageant. Since there are several types of views at Bay Lake Tower, each room experiences a slightly different view of the events.

The resort rooms are booked under the following "views", Theme Park View, Standard View, and Bay Lake View. I've come to find out that there is another view labeled "obstructed" but this is not an option to book. The resort rooms are broken down into the following percentages, 25% of the rooms are considered Theme Park View, 25% are Standard View, and 50% of the rooms are Bay Lake View. On one occasion, we booked a Bay Lake View and were given an Obstructed View. This view was fantastic for us. We had a view of the Magic Kingdom but also some of Bay Lake. The photo seen to the left was taken from that room's balcony during Wishes.

Most of our stays have been in a Theme Park View room. We enjoy staying in our room and using the balcony to view Wishes. My son's favorite part is seeing Tinkerbell fly. One of my favorite parts to every evening is having a silent moment by myself to take in the sight of Cinderella's beautiful castle as my children and husband are fast asleep. The sight is breath taking and one that I wish I could capture with a camera that would do it justice.

One or two evenings during our stay, my husband or I take our son with us as we walk over the Skyway Bridge to The Contemporary Resort. Since Gavin is taller than most four year olds, he can see over the railing of the bridge to view the Electrical Water Pageant. Of all the parades he has seen, this is is favorite. The only down side is that the pageant stops at the resort a bit late for little ones, so he doesn't get to see it every night.

For those Disney Vacation Club Members not staying in a Theme Park View but wanting to see Wishes at the resort, they are in for an extra magical treat. At the Top of the World Lounge located at the rooftop deck of Bay Lake Tower, DVC members staying at the resort are able to take in the sights of Wishes while listing to the music of Wishes in sync with Magic Kingdom firework display. The view is amazing and one of the most magical on property.

From rooftop to balcony, no matter what room we may stay in at Bay Lake Tower, my family believes "Our Building" is the most magical in the "World". We hope you enjoy your next vacation to Walt Disney World and hope you get the opportunity to discover for yourself the magic at Bay Lake Tower.