Here we are on our ELEVENTH Disney World Hotel post! For our 4th of July trip we snagged an evening at Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort for only $289. Had we booked through Disney's website instead of renting Disney Vacation Club points we would have paid $762.75, whoa!
For those that are new to this series, I've been recapping my stays at the various Disney World resorts. There are different levels of resorts - Value, Moderate, Deluxe, Deluxe Villas (DVC) and Campgrounds. In my lists below I didn't separate out the Deluxe vs DVC resorts because they are technically at the same resort even though Disney groups them differently. My current list, in alphabetical order:
- All-Star Movies Resort - Value
- Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas (Jambo House) - Deluxe/DVC
- Art of Animation Resort - Value
- BoardWalk Inn/Villas - Deluxe/DVC
- Contemporary Resort/Bay Lake Tower - Deluxe/DVC
- Grand Floridian Resort & Spa - Deluxe/DVC
- Old Key West Resort - Deluxe/DVC
- Polynesian Villas & Bungalows - Deluxe/DVC
- Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter - Moderate
- Port Orleans Resort - Riverside - Moderate
- Pop Century Resort - Value
- Riviera Resort - Deluxe/DVC
- Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa - Deluxe/DVC
I still have to stay at the following resorts - minus the 2 All-Stars. If you've stayed at one, you've stayed at them all, ha ha!
- All-Star Music Resort - Value
- All-Star Movies Resort - Value
- Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas (Kidani Village) - Deluxe/DVC
- Beach Club Resort - Deluxe/DVC
- The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort - DVC
- The Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort - Campgrounds
- Caribbean Beach Resort - Moderate
- Coronado Springs Resort - Moderate (stay tuned! 😉)
- Wilderness Lodge: non DVC, Copper Creek or Boulder Ridge - Deluxe/DVC
- Yacht Club Resort - Deluxe/DVC
I don't necessarily have to stay at Kidani Village because it's just a separate building at Animal Kingdom Lodge. The same with Yacht Club, I count this with Beach Club since they are basically the same location, but technically they are separate. So I could stay at either and I wouldn't feel the need to stay at the other just to "check it off." There are also a couple things like the Treehouses at Saratoga Springs and the Bungalows at Polynesian that I would LOVE to stay at, but those are big group/bucket list stays because
they are very expensive. The Cabins at Fort Wilderness can also fall into this category.
Now back to the Contemporary Resort!
Our stay was on July 3rd which is a very popular day to be at Magic Kingdom because they do one of their two Fourth of July fireworks shows. Magic Kingdom does 4th fireworks on the 3rd and 4th while EPCOT does their special fireworks only on the 4th. This makes most people choose to see Magic Kingdom's fireworks on the 3rd and EPCOT on the 4th, which was our game plan as well.
We were extra excited to stay at Bay Lake Tower for a couple reasons. First because they had Extended Evening Theme Park Hours at Magic Kingdom that night so we were able to enjoy shorter lines for 2 hours after official park close and another opportunity to join the Virtual Queue and ride TRON Lightcycle / Run. The second was the fact that you can walk to and from Magic Kingdom from the Contemporary Resort. This meant we didn't have to wait in crazy lines for a bus (if we were at a different resort) or the monorail. We did use the monorail once on the way back to the hotel for lunch because there was no line.
I don't usually go to Disney in the Summer becasue it is so hot and sticky but since we were already going to be down in Florida for a family trip with Christian's Mom we HAD to tack on a Disney trip, ha ha. Our plan was to spend the hotter hours of the day back at our hotel or in air conditioning. So for July 3rd we spent a lot of our day at the Contemporary Resort, but not as much as we planned because of the way Virtual Queues worked out for us.
Transportation
Monorail
Many guests stay at the Contemporary Resort because of the convenience of the Monorail. It is the quickest way to get to Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. You can also visit any of the other Monorail Resorts (Disney's Polynesian Resort and Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa) this way.
If you're heading to EPCOT and want to start your monorail journey at the Contemporary stop you'll have to switch monorails at the Ticket and Transportation Center.
Buses
Buses
are the only way (besides rideshare or driving) to get to Hollywood
Studios and Animal Kingdom. There are no buses to EPCOT or Magic Kingdom because you can use the monorail. However, if the monorail goes down they will provide buses as an alternative.
Walking
Disney's Contemporary Resort is the perfect place to stay if you'll be going to Magic Kingdom. You can walk to the park from the hotel in about 5 minutes (at our pace) and take advantage of your own small security checkpoint. It's so handy to avoid the big long lines at the general security area and going straight to the ticket scanners. It also makes it easy to stop back at your room for a mid-day break.
Dining
Steakhouse 71
Steakhouse 71 is one of my favorite spots, mostly because they have one of the best appetizers - Sea Salt-dusted Potato Brioche.... YUM! They also have what many call the best burger on property: The Stack Burger. I must agree it is delicious and is currently Christian's favorite burger. I have dined here for lunch and dinner multiple times and always have a great time. I even went by myself solely for the brioche. I sat by myself and enjoyed both rolls with a nice cold Coca Cola. One day we'll try breakfast, just haven't found the perfect time yet, planning park days and restaurants is like a puzzle.
The theming of this restaurant is really fun becasue it shows some of the history of the Walt Disney World Resort. There are old photos of Walt during the construction along the walls and some pretty murals. Be sure to walk around and check it all out! The 71 in the name is to celebrate the opening of Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Contemporary Resort in 1971.
California Grill
Christian and I had one of our favorite restaurant experiences here in March 2023. It was during the 50th anniversary celebration so they had a special menu. We will have to go again to try the new menu! At $89 a person it’s pricey, but the experience, fireworks and food made it feel worth it. It is a Disney Signature Dining experience so you will be expected to dress the part - try not to wear your "park clothes."
California Grill is located on the 15th floor of the Contemporary Resort with panoramic views of the lagoon, Magic Kingdom and even EPCOT from some tables. If you are dining during fireworks they dim the lights in the restaurant and play the music so you can watch the fireworks while you eat. If you don't have a window seat you can get up from your table and go out to the observation deck to watch the fireworks and go back in to complete your meal after.
Currently they are only open for dinner, but in the past you could have a breakfast or lunch reservation and head back up to the restaurant to view the nightly Magic Kingdom fireworks as long as you had your receipt as proof. We'll see if they bring back other meal times as an option.
Chef Mickey's
One of the more popular restaurants on Disney property because it is a great way to meet Mickey Mouse and friends without having a theme park ticket! This is a character dining buffet so you can eat your heart out while meeting your favorite characters. They are currently open for breakfast and dinner. We have not dined here yet because Christian isn't big on character meals and I'd rather try others first.
Contempo Cafe
This is the hotel's quick service location where you can grab easy breakfasts, lunches and dinners. We did not eat here on this trip, but on a solo "resort hopping" day last year I grabbed a fruit cup as a snack.
Bars/Snacks
The resort also has a few bars and snack locations: Contemporary Grounds for coffee/pastry/smoothies, Cove Bar private pool bar/lounge at Bay Lake Tower, The Sand Bar pool bar for drinks and snacks and Outer Rim cocktail bar within the main building. Since we only stayed one night we didn't partake in any of these lounges (we also don't drink so we would have just tried snacks.)
Recreation
Pools
We are not pool people on our Disney trips but the Contemporary has a Feature Pool and then a quieter Bay Lake Pool where loud noises and splashing are discouraged. The feature pool has a 17-foot-high, curving waterslide!
Activities
The Contemporary also has a lot of other recreation activities for those who want to spend more time at the hotel. There's an arcade, community hall for crafting and other activities, playgrounds and running trails. You can also play volleyball or tennis and even rent bikes! Take part in evening campfires and make some s'mores. Don't forget about Movies Under the Stars where they will show a Disney movie outside.
Main Building
The main building of the Contemporary Resort is iconic. It opened along with Magic Kingdom in 1971 and contains all the amazing restaurants, some gift shops and even a convention center! To make it even cooler, the monorail drives right through it!
Another iconic part of the hotel is the Mary Blair Grand Canyon mural. Mary is a Disney legend responsible for many beautiful pieces of Disney concept art as well as the It's a Small World ride theming. Make sure to look for the 5 legged goat which symbolized the idea that nothing man-made is perfect.
At Christmas-time this resort is one of the few that get a Gingerbread creation! I had the pleasure of meeting the chef in charge of the 2019 display.
Bay Lake Tower
We stayed at Bay Lake Tower on this trip which is the DVC building connected by a sky walkway. Our room was on the first floor and we have a view of the water as well as the main building. The main building rooms are themed with The Incredibles but these DVC rooms are Mickey themed.
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| View from room |
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| View from Room |
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| Walkway from Bay Lake Tower to the main building of the Contemporary Resort |
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