Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort

The Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort is the newest Disney Vacation Resort at Walt Disney World and it opened in August 2009.

Rating: 3.5 stars
Rooms: 428 villas
Rates: from $375 to $2,430 Check rates

Address: 4600 North World Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Area: Magic Kingdom Resort
Nearest airport: Orlando International (MCO)
Map: Click to view

Officially announced in 2008, the 15-story crescent shaped Bay Lake Tower sits on the site of the former North Garden Wing of the Contemporary Resort and is within 5 minutes walking distance of the Magic Kingdom (or a short monorail trip). It sits between Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon and you can use the ferry services, buses or monorail to access the rest of the parks.

The Bay Lake Tower is linked to the main Contemporary Resort A-frame tower by the fifth floor Sky Way Bridge and both resorts share many of the facilities.

As a matter of interest, the new villas at the Contemporary Resort are the most expensive Disney Vacation Club units to date with prices starting at $18,000.

Rooms/Suites

Each of the villas has a private balcony or porch where you can look over the resort area (Standard View), the lake (Bay Lake View) or the theme park (Magic Kingdom View) depending upon type of accommodation. There is a premium for the Magic Kingdom view.

All the rooms are decorated in a modern contemporary style with luxurious fittings, clean lines and open spaces.

Rooms are suitable for between 4 and 12 people.

All the villas have kitchens or kitchenettes (Studio villas) with multiple bedroom units from studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom up to three-bedroom grand villas.

Studios are around 339 square feet and will sleep 4. They come with a queen-size bed and a double-size sofa bed. They are available with either Standard views or Magic Kingdom views.

The one-bedroom villas are around 803 square feet and sleep up to 5. The Master Bedroom has a king size bed with its own master bathroom and whirlpool tub. In the living room there is a queen-size sofa bed and a single sleeper chair. They are available with either Standard views, Bay Lake views or Magic Kingdom views.

The two-bedroom villas are a lot bigger with 1,152 square feet and will sleep up to 8/9. The Master Bedroom has a king size bed with its own master bathroom and whirlpool tub. In the second bedroom there are either two queen-size beds or one queen-size bed and a double-size sofa bed. In the living room there is a further queen-size sleeper sofa and a single sleeper chair. They are available with either Standard views, Bay Lake views or Magic Kingdom views.

The two-bedroom villas are also available as a lock-off consisting of a one-bedroom villa and an adjoining studio villa with a connecting door. They still sleep 9.

All villas have flat-screen TVs in the bedrooms and living rooms.

Dining

The Top of the World Lounge is located on the top floor of Bay Lake Tower with an exclusive rooftop lounge and deck area. It is open in the evenings to Disney Vacation Club members staying at the Bay Lake Tower and give magnificent views of the Magic Kingdom Park’s fireworks display.

There are three full table service restaurants at Disney's Contemporary Resort, all serving American style cuisine.

The award winning California Grill is situated on the 15th floor of the main Tower building and as its name suggests, serves Californian-style cuisine (dinner only) from on open kitchen.

The adjoining California Grill Lounge serves cocktails, appetizers and desserts for dinner. The lounge and outer balcony area make excellent locations to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks if you time your reservation right; they even pipe the music into the lounge. From this vantage point you also get good views of the Seven Seas Lagoon, Bay Lake, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort, and Disney's Polynesian Resort.

The newest restaurant is the Wave Restaurant on the lobby level and it offers casual dining for both breakfast, lunch and dinner serving healthy food and original cocktails.

The Wave Lounge is open from midday to midnight and servers wine and cocktails.

The third full service restaurant is called Chef Mickey's, and this is situated on the Grand Canyon Concourse. Chef Mickey's offers character buffet breakfasts and dinners. Here you get the chance to eat with Mickey and friends such as Goofy.

If you are after a quick service option, then there is the Contempo Café also on the Grand Canyon Concourse which offers a chic open dining experience from 6 a.m. to midnight. Menu items include the Concourse Steakhouse salad, hot sandwiches,  pasta, and vegetarian items.

On the first floor lobby level there is the Contemporary Grounds gourmet coffee bar serving various coffees, juices, smoothies, beer and wine, specialty liquors and imported bottle water.

Recreation

The Bay Lake Tower has some facilities of its own and the rest is shared with the Contemporary Resort.

There is the Bay Cove Pool with a water slide, whirlpool spa, and a children’s interactive water play area. Close by is the Cove Bar offering light snacks and drinks. There is also a beach area, tennis and shuffleboard courts, and a barbecue pavilion.

At the Contemporary Resort there are two further heated pools. The main Contemporary Pool is shaped like Mickey's ears and has a 17-foot high water slide with jets and there are also two spas (whirlpools), fountains, and children's water play area.

The nearby Sand Bar and Grill is open seasonally for snacks, burgers, sandwiches, ice cream and drinks.

There is also a second smaller and quieter Bay Lake Pool plus a children's wading pool and playground near the marina.

The Contemporary Resort is a great place for all kinds of water sports or just lazing on the white sandy beaches.

You can hire a Sea Raycer, Pontoon boat, Canopy boat or a sailboat from the marina or you can visit Sammy Duvall's Watersports Center where you learn to water-ski or go wakeboarding, tubing or parasailing.

You can also go fishing on a guided Bass Fishing Excursion or the children can take a Kid's Fishing Around the World trip.

If you prefer your sports on dry land, then why not play tennis on one of the six clay tennis courts (the Contemporary Resort is home to the WDW Racquet Club), basketball or beach volleyball. You can also go around the 1.1 mile jogging path.

The Olympiad Fitness Center has Cybex and cardio equipment plus a dry sauna plus there is a hair salon and Swedish, aromatherapy or deep-tissue massage.

The Mouseketeer Clubhouse closed indefinitely on October 1, 2004 but other deluxe hotels still operate daycare clubs for children aged 4 to 12.

You can watch the Electric Water Pageant that circles the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay; the beach on the Bay Lake side of the resort provides the best view.

There is also a large video games arcade at The Game Station on the Grand Canyon Concourse.

Amenities

The Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort offers a host of amenities including:

• room service
• concierge service
• rooms and facilities for guests with disabilities
• free parking, valet parking (charge applicable)
• minibar, iron and ironing board, wall safe
• coffee maker and microwave (available on request)
• refrigerator (available on request, charge applicable)
• babysitting and childcare services, Pak-n-Play Crib available
• laundry facilities/services (coin operated)
• bath robes and hair dryer
• voice mail, wireless internet access (surcharge for high-speed access)
• health club/spa
• barber and beauty shop
• plus a number of shops; the Fantasia Shop selling Disney merchandise, Bayview Gifts for souvenirs and flowers, Contemporary Man and Contemporary Woman for casual clothing and beachwear, Kingdom Jewels and Concourse Sundries & Spirits

Meeting Facilities

The Contemporary Resort also has a 90,000+ square-foot Convention Center split over two levels with a Business center and meeting planner's office, large pre-function areas, four ballrooms, an executive boardroom and 35 breakout rooms.