Top 10 Tips for Staying at Bay Lake Tower at Disney World

First and foremost, make sure you book your stay at Bay Lake Tower through David’s Vacation Club rentals.  Bay Lake Tower is actually a Disney Vacation Club building but you do not have to be a Disney Vacation Club member to stay there.  You can book it through Disney’s website, but if you did that, you would pay so much money.  You can save yourself a lot of money – like, hundreds a night – by booking your stay through David’s Vacation Rentals. 

In fact, just last week, I was able to stay at Bay Lake Tower and I saved hundreds of dollars than if I had booked through Disney’s website.  I even saved money versus booking a room at a moderate Disney hotel! 

So, you might be wondering how this works.  I go into more details about booking a DVC room here.

Bay Lake Tower is the closest accommodation on Walt Disney World Resort property to the Magic Kingdom.  It is actually a shorter walk to the Magic Kingdom than the Contemporary building. It’s a straightforward walk, too, without any steep hills (unlike the walk from Disney’s Beach Club to Epcot). 

I also have to tell you, it is a really neat feeling to walk to the Magic Kingdom.  It’s also a neat feeling to walk back from the Magic Kingdom.  If you’ve ever had to wait in line for a bus at the end of the night, you’ll really appreciate the ability to just walk back to your room.  You walk right past the buses, too, so I’ll look over and be glad that I am also at my room!

Another added bonus is you get your own baggage check area along the walk.  The wait is way less than the main baggage check area.  In fact, you generally just walk right through the metal detector.  It saves you so much time. 

So make sure you walk to the Magic Kingdom at least once.  It’s a really neat feeling for Disney World fans.

Since Bay Lake Tower is a Disney Vacation Club building, each room has a full-size kitchen with everything you’d need to have a meal in your room – refrigerator, microwave, plates, silverware, etc.  If you’re driving, you can save money on your stay by bringing food and having a few meals at your room.  Even if you fly, you could consider having food delivered to your room through Amazon.

The Electrical Water Pageant has been going on at Walt Disney World Resort since 1971, but it might be something you’ve never seen before.  It’s a floating parade with sea creatures and even a patriotic section.  It takes place nightly and can be seen from Bay Lake Tower around 10:00.  If you have a water view from your room, then at least one night go out to your balcony and watch the show.  You will love it!  

And if you don’t have a view from your room, you could consider walking out to the skywalk bridge from Bay Lake Tower to Contemporary.  I was able to watch the pageant from there during my stay last week.

Now, this really is dependent on your room.  I’ve only been able to do this once.

But I got a preferred room last time, and we had a wonderful Magic Kingdom view.  I was able to watch both the Happily Ever After fireworks at Magic Kingdom and the fireworks from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!  I could even hear the music.  It was one of the best views of fireworks I’ve ever gotten.  And it was so nice to watch the fireworks and then just walk back to my room and sit down on the couch! So if your room has a Magic Kingdom view, definitely watch the fireworks from your room!

Take advantage of the convenient pool complex.  Relaxing in the hot tub while looking out at Bay Lake is incredibly relaxing.  And try going down the slide. Even as an adult, it is a lot of fun. Trust me on that.

In addition to walking to the Magic Kingdom, you can also take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.  You just take the covered walkway from Bay Lake Tower to the main building and then you can take the monorail. The monorail is a really neat experience, and I suggest using at least once during your stay at the Contemporary.  

If you wanted to walk to Magic Kingdom, you can at least take the monorail to the Ticket & Transportation Center and then take the monorail to EPCOT.

Bay Lake Tower is close to a lot of other amazing Disney hotels, and you can take advantage of that during your stay. Take the monorail to Polynesian or Grand Floridian or take the boat to Wilderness Lodge or Fort Wilderness (after 3:00 PM).  This can actually be cheaper than eating in the parks because you can take advantage of Disney’s Refillable Mug Option.  Speaking of cheap, you can consider one of the family meals at Trail’s End Restaurant; you could feed a family for under $30, which is a steal for Disney World (that is why it is included in our Cheap Eats at Disney World Guide).

Even if you like to bring food and take advantage of the kitchen space of Disney Vacation Club villas, you should have a meal at least once at the Contempo Cafe.  You just have to take the covered walkway to the main Contemporary building.  I like the Contempo Cafe for a lot of reasons: 1) It is quick service so the pricing is affordable 2) It has a nice variety of food options 3) You get wonderful views of the monorail running through while you eat.

Save money on your trip by buying stuff for the parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, etc.) before you go to the park.  Here is our list of things you can buy before your trip that saves you money.

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