When choosing which resort in Walt Disney World to stay at with young children, many parents take into consideration how “kid-friendly” the resort appears to be. Does it have bright colors? Whimsy? Giant cartoon icons? Does it have that “Disney feel?”
Having taken multiple trips to Disney with very young children and having stayed in each resort category, my favorite resort for vacationing with young children does not at first glance seem to have any of those things. My pick is Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
When approaching the resort, the facade may remind you of a sleek corporate office, or even a building in a modern medical complex. This resort’s appearance is a big reason why some people dismiss considering it for their family vacation.
However, what this resort offers to families, particularly those with babies or toddlers, is something that is key to an enjoyable family vacation: less stress.
Granted, you may not get those vacation photos of your kids standing in front of giant icons (Art of Animation or Pop Century), or African-inspired savannas (Animal Kingdom Lodge), but a Disney vacation where the adults are less stressed ultimately makes for the most positive family vacation memories for everyone. It means less of mom and dad snapping at the kids and at each other, fewer meltdowns and less exhaustion. And that allows more room for smiles, laughs, and that silly, goofy, Disney fun. And aren’t those memories why we all go to Disney anyway?
Bay Lake Tower is a Disney Vacation Club property, and is available for booking both by members using their vacation club points and by non-members paying cash. There are several ways to make your stay at Bay Lake Tower more affordable which will be discussed later.
The Most Magical Location
The primary reason this resort offers one of the least stressful Disney experiences you can have with young children is due to its location. For most younger kids, the Magic Kingdom will be their favorite theme park. Yet, it only takes one visit to Walt Disney World to realize that getting from one place to another is not always easy or fast. However, from your room at Bay Lake Tower you can simply walk to the Magic Kingdom.
If you’ll have a car and therefore think location won’t matter as much, realize that isn’t the case when it comes to visiting the Magic Kingdom. While a car will save you a great deal of time when visiting the other Disney theme parks, using a car to get to the Magic Kingdom is the most difficult way to arrive. The parking lot for the Magic Kingdom is not actually located at the theme park. You must drive to the Magic Kingdom parking lot, park, and then wait for a tram to pick you up. You then board the tram and ride it to the Ticket and Transportation Center. From there, you must board either the ferry or the monorail which takes you to the front gate area of the Magic Kingdom. When it’s time to leave the park you do the same steps in reverse.
Personally, I find all of those transportation requirements very stressful when traveling with young children. There are often large crowds involved, so you must hold your child’s hand while standing and waiting for the tram or monorail to arrive. Will you have a stroller with you? While one hand is holding your child, your other hand must fold up the stroller and lift it onto the tram. Of course, folding it up means you have to empty the storage bin of the stroller and carry all of those things with you as well (diaper bag, sippy cups, favorite toy, all those souvenirs). And for those of us who travel during the summer school break, you experience all of this in extreme heat, humidity and possibly in the rain. A slightly better option for getting to the Magic Kingdom is taking a Disney Transport bus. This will take you from your resort’s bus stop to the front gates. However, taking a bus still involves the waiting, the crowds and the emptying and folding of the stroller. While either of these options may not be prohibitively difficult for adults or families with older kids, it can be a very taxing experience when traveling with little ones and all of the gear that accompanies them.
In my experience the very best way to get to the Magic Kingdom is to be able to walk from your hotel room to the front gates of the park. Bay Lake Tower gives you this glorious option. You can put your child in their stroller while in your hotel room, load up the stroller with anything else you’ll need for the day and simply walk to the park. It is a shorter walk than I had imagined before staying at this resort. It takes approximately ten minutes. You cross one two-lane street that is equipped with a crosswalk and stoplights with walk signals. This is by far the least stressful start to a Magic Kingdom experience that you can have, and the benefits of the convenient location will be appreciated at all hours of your day.
Many families with small children discover another key to happy Disney vacations is taking a midday break. This can allow for nap time in the room and some afternoon fun in the pool. Knowing that your room is a mere ten minute walk away makes these breaks much more feasible, and saves you precious time in your vacation itinerary. Do you want to enjoy Wishes, the nighttime fireworks show in the Magic Kingdom? Thousands of your fellow park guests will too. After the fireworks show has ended, a massive throng of people slowly make their way to the Magic Kingdom exit. Some head to the buses, where they may have to wait for several buses to come before there is enough room to get on, all the while trying to manage their overtired children who have been taken out of their stroller so it can be folded up. Another group of guests who are heading to the parking lot or the Polynesian and Grand Floridian resorts will line the ramp leading up to the monorail platform in another mass of humanity. When staying in Bay Lake Tower, you can simply smile at them while you stroll, unhurried and uncrowded, back to your hotel. You don’t have to disturb your (possibly) sleeping child resting comfortably in their stroller until you are back in your room. A stress free end to your day at the Magic Kingdom will leave everyone happier, less exhausted and eager to repeat the adventure.
Deluxe Amenities
Bay Lake Tower is connected to Disney’s Contemporary Resort, so you have access to all of the amenities a deluxe Disney resort offers. The two buildings are connected by the covered, open-air Sky Way Bridge that provides an enjoyable and quick means to go between the two buildings.
And for those hoping for a resort to have that “Disney” feel, the sky bridge is where it really hits me. The walkway is elevated, affording great views on both sides and everything you can see is Disney. You have wonderful views of Bay Lake, Space Mountain and Cinderella Castle in the distance and even the monorail gliding by. The feeling it gives is that you are right in the middle of “Disney City.”
For recreation, Bay Lake Tower has its own zero entry pool with a slide, used only by guests who are staying there. For the little tykes there is a splash pad area that is right next to the lake with comfortable loungers for parents to enjoy while watching the kids. Organized games for the kids take place by the pool in the afternoon. In the evenings an inflatable screen is set up in a grassy area and shows Disney movies. Even later in the evenings the Electrical Water Pageant takes place on the lake.
When taking the Sky Way Bridge from Bay Lake Tower to the Contemporary, you arrive on the fourth floor Grand Canyon Concourse where the restaurants, shops and monorail station are located. This concourse area is a bright and open carpeted space with plenty of room to let your toddlers walk on their own without too much worry of losing them in a crowd. And it’s hard to think of anything better to keep young ones occupied during mealtime than watching the monorail drive through the building every few minutes while dining at the resort’s quick service restaurant, Contempo Cafe. Chef Mickey’s, a character meal featuring the “fab five,” (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto) is also conveniently located here. It’s a good idea to make reservations for this popular meal far in advance.
The monorail not only passes through the concourse of the Contemporary, but it also stops here. So on a rainy day or when your feet are just too tired, you can simply hop on the monorail from the indoor station and ride to the Magic Kingdom’s front gates. This will take longer than walking to the park, but will allow you the option of sitting down for the journey. For those like me whose favorite park is Epcot, this too has a fairly simple commute. You can board the monorail inside the Contemporary, ride to the Ticket and Transportation Center and switch to the Epcot monorail. It is an extra step to have to switch monorails, but it still affords the priceless option of not having to unpack and fold up the stroller as you would on a bus.
A Leg Up on the Contemporary
You may wonder why I recommend Bay Lake Tower as the best resort for traveling with small children over its connected neighbor, the Contemporary. While the Contemporary is certainly my runner-up due to possessing the same superior location, I pick Bay Lake Tower because it offers a few more conveniences of home that contribute to that easy vacation with children that we’re all trying to achieve. Certainly staying in a one bedroom or larger villa at Bay Lake Tower is ideal because you will have a fully equipped kitchen and private washer/dryer. However, to save on money we’ve always stayed in a studio villa. These are the least costly units in Bay Lake Tower, yet they still have perks for families to appreciate. The studios here feature a kitchenette area that is designed like its own separate room. It does not have a door and is quite narrow, but the area is loaded with extra storage and counter space and has a kitchen sink. Additionally, you will find that glasses, paper plates, utensils and dish soap are supplied.
This area gets a surprising amount of use when we vacation. There are outlets here, so we use one area of counter space just for charging our electronics. Good lighting and a mirror on the wall allow me to apply makeup in this area, and we also keep our toothbrushes at the kitchen sink. All of this frees up space in the bathroom and saves time when everyone is getting ready. The provided dish soap and scrubber pad are beneficial when you travel with your own sippy cups, spoons or plates for your toddler. Washing them in the kitchen sink is much more pleasant and convenient than having to use the bathroom sink.
With a family of four who attempts to pack simply and minimally, we always wind up doing laundry while on vacation. During our first stay at Bay Lake Tower, I went to scout out the laundry room to find out if it had a machine to make change. I was delighted to find that it did not have a change machine because the machines are not coin-operated. They are completely free! Note that you will still need to either bring detergent or purchase it from the dispenser located in the laundry room, and you must use your MagicBand or room key to enter this room.
The Drawbacks of Bay Lake Tower
If you decide to stay in a studio villa, know that they are smaller in size at about 339 square feet. That is still larger than a standard room at Pop Century which measures about 260 square feet, but it is small by Disney Vacation Club standards. Also in the studio, which sleeps four, you will find one queen size bed and a pull-out sleeper sofa. The pull-out sofa is not terrible to sleep on, but you will compromise on comfort compared to an actual bed.
If you pay cash for a room at Bay Lake Tower you will receive daily housekeeping. However, if you rent points from a member you do not receive daily housekeeping. If you stay seven nights or less, they will empty the trash bins and replace the towels and toiletries on your fourth day. For stays that are eight nights or longer, you will receive a full housekeeping on your fourth day and the “trash and towel” service on your eighth day. For me, this is actually a positive as I’m prone to clean our room before housekeeping comes so I’m happy to have them come less often. You can request more frequent housekeeping but you will be charged for the extra service.
Also, the Top of the World Lounge on the upper level of Bay Lake Tower is only for use by actual Disney Vacation club members so this area will be restricted. In terms of noise, your proximity to the Magic Kingdom means you will hear the nightly fireworks as well as the music from the Electrical Water Pageant. The noise is noticeable, but has never been enough to wake my sleeping two year old. And this being a tower where every unit has a balcony, with young kids it’s important to keep the sliding door locked at all times, watch little ones closely and remove the balcony furniture so they can’t climb onto it and risk being above the railing. If you prefer a lower floor, you can request this on your reservation. It won’t be guaranteed, but many people like the views from the higher floors, so there’s a decent chance you’ll get it.
Finally, we’ve found the bus service to the other theme parks and especially to Downtown Disney to be very slow. The Contemporary/Bay Lake Tower bus service is often shared with other deluxe resorts, requiring multiple stops on your journey. Walking to the Magic Kingdom, taking the monorail to Epcot and having a car to drive to any other places will save you the most time getting around.
Ways to make Bay Lake Tower more Affordable
Bay Lake Tower, or any Disney Vacation Club property, is not an inexpensive option. However, there are some ways to save money on your stay and still enjoy that less stressful Disney vacation we all covet.
You can try to reserve a standard view unit as opposed to the more costly lake or Magic Kingdom view villas. You can enjoy those views from other areas of the building without having to pay for that view from your room.
As mentioned earlier, you can save a substantial amount of money on your stay if you rent Disney Vacation Club points from a member. There are a few websites that specialize in facilitating this, as well as message boards on fan sites where people rent out their points. Renting points from a member does involve some risk. Spend some time doing research online about the process and read the fine print. You need to trust the person or website you rent from as they need to make all of your reservations for you. Also, stays where you have rented points are normally not able to be cancelled or changed and your money is non-refundable. You may decide to purchase trip insurance; but again, do your homework to find out what is and isn’t covered.
At certain times of the year Disney will offer substantial percentage-off savings on Disney Vacation Club properties (referred to in advertisements as “home away from home” accommodations). With a cash reservation through Disney you will enjoy daily housekeeping and a more lenient cancellation policy than you would staying on rented points.
The way I make our stays more affordable is by doing a split stay for our vacations. This past summer we rented vacation points for a four night stay at Bay Lake Tower and then moved to a standard Little Mermaid room at Art of Animation for the next four nights. When planning our itinerary, we put all of our Magic Kingdom park days at the beginning of our vacation, thereby making the most of the prime location we were spending so much for. After we moved to Art of Animation we concentrated on the other theme parks. We feel like we got to experience the best of both worlds and making the most of our location afforded us a more relaxing experience.
A Walt Disney World vacation can be both the most stressful and most magical trip your family will take. Careful planning and research ahead of time can provide you with more of the magic, less of the stress and an abundance of happy family memories.
