Bay Lake Tower At Disney's Contemporary Resort

Excellent stay. So convenient. We stayed in 1 bedroom villa with 4 adults, one 4 yr, and one infant (crib). The room provided plenty of space for our arrangement. The elevators were pretty quick. We rarely had to wait. Our room was on 11th floor, so on way down, the elevator was typically empty when boarding (if on lower floor, sometimes pretty full by the time we got down to a lower floor, but rare). We ate at Contempo cafe a few times; good. Steak 71 is excellent. We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's once since it where were staying at resort, but it was least favorite of any character dining (we have done all character dining except Akershus and Chef Mickey's is clearly last place for character experience from what we have done - but kids may rank differently). I would recommend Disney add a coffee shop in Bay Lake. Having to walk to Contemporary just to grab coffee (at Contemporary Grounds) was a bit inconvenient. They have coffee maker in room, but prefer a better cup. Adding a mobile coffee stand just in morning hours would be enough. Walking to Magic Kingdom was short and easy, and very nice that we had our own security check point for stroller inspection (way faster than checking at front entrance to park on early entry). On the return from MK, we would just the monorail since Contemporary Hotel was first stop on the monorail (last stop on way to MK, so walking to MK then monorail on return was best). Heading to Epcot, the ticket and transportation (where switching to Epcot monorail) is the first stop from Contemporary; so it is fast getting to Epcot. But on return, not so fast since you have to stop at the other resorts and MK on return, and the stops can be very slow. On one trip on return from Epcot, instead of getting on the resort loop at the ticket and transportation center, we boarded the express monorail to MK, then got on the resort loop monorail at MK (then one stop to Contemporary). That saved a little time but was extra work. To other parks and Disney Springs, we used bus transportation which was fine.

We have stayed at BLT on past but this is the first time since the rooms were refreshed. I love the new rooms. Murphy bed much more comfortable than the original pull out. Everything was so clean that my usual pre-stay cleaning routine was not needed. We had a theme park view and you just cannot beat watching the fireworks from your bed in your pjs.

We were thrilled to be staying here due to a Murphy bed and refreshing of the rooms. I was somewhat disappointed. The Murphy bed is a great addition but the sofa is not good quality. The side arms squeak terribly when getting in and out of the bed- and moving around at times. It was so loud and disturbing to both myself and my friend who was in the regular bed. I ended up sitting on the little booth as it was so disturbing and I knew it was disruptive to my friend who was trying to sleep. I don’t know if that was just our room or a design flaw. Regardless, it needs to be rectified asap. The kitchen area is awesome. The bathroom sink area is very small. Very little area to put “stuff”. I ended up putting my stuff in the kitchen area for lack of space. The elevators are not enough to handle the volume of people so be prepared to wait for multiple full elevators to get on. My biggest concern with the Contemporary/Bay Lake area is the monorail set up. There is 1 elevator for carts etc. It is hard to get in and out of from security to the boarding area. Again, long waits are possible and at times exiting the elevator there are many people who came off the escalator and all are trying to merge in- it can be chaotic, unsafe and people don’t always allow you to merge in- walking or cart. So, for those reasons it is a one and done for us. I had always heard the elevators at the Contemporary are not enough but I didn’t realize Bay Lake had the same issue. The walk to MK is a big plus and of course seeing the fireworks!!!