Room Review Studio at Bay Lake Tower

Recently, I reviewed the new Mary Poppins-inspired rooms at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

At the time, I noted that all three monorail resorts provide astounding value to DVC members. That’s why deciding where to stay is so challenging.

So, I’m doing a quick mini-series about the rooms at these three resorts, all of which I’ve visited recently.

Today, let’s examine Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.

About Staying at Bay Lake Tower

Disney enthusiasts know this hotel as the place where the monorail drives through the middle of the building.

Imagineers came up with this stunning visual for the resort’s 1971 opening. For more than 50 years, it has remained the centerpiece at the Contemporary.

However, the novelty of the monorail shouldn’t distract you from its significance.

When you stay at the Contemporary, you enjoy the best Magic Kingdom logistics of any resort.

A guest leaving the Contemporary’s hotel lobby can arrive at Magic Kingdom’s entrance in 15 minutes or less.

Remarkably, Bay Lake Tower resides even closer to the front gate. You exit the hotel, walk down the street, and you’re ready to tap your MagicBand within 10 minutes!

That’s only half the advantage here. When you’re ready to leave Magic Kingdom after a hectic park day, you walk up the slope to the monorail station.

The Contemporary will be the monorail’s first stop. It’s a 100-second trip to enter the hotel. I’ve timed it!

When you exit the monorail station, you’re on the Grand Canyon Concourse, which includes a nearby walking bridge to Bay Lake Tower.

So, the convenience of Bay Lake Tower is superior to the other two monorail resorts, albeit only slightly.

Of course, the x-factor is the resort’s litany of amenities. You’ll find Bay View Gifts, Fantasia Market, California Grill, Steakhouse 71, and Contempo Café here.

You can eat and shop to your heart’s content…and I speak from experience here.

About Staying at Bay Lake Tower

Let’s talk about that walking bridge a bit more. For those who have never stayed at Bay Lake Tower, you may struggle to understand the unique dynamic between this building and the Contemporary.

Realistically, if Disney named this place the Contemporary’s West Wing or Park Wing, it would negate the confusion.

For Disney Vacation Club purposes, management couldn’t do that. At the time, DVC needed a distinct property to sell the points.

Still, you shouldn’t worry about the location. A bridge on the fifth floor at Bay Lake Tower connects it to the Grand Canyon Concourse at the Contemporary.

This

resort comes with as direct a connection to the Contemporary as that hotel’s Garden Wing does.

I stayed at one of the new Incredibles Rooms in the Garden Wing in early November.

As a DVC owner, I was kinda shocked that Bay Lake Tower claims a better location than the Garden Wing.

I felt MUCH further away from the Contemporary’s amenities there than I ever had at Bay Lake Tower.

In short, staying at Bay Lake Tower can surpass the experience of staying at the Contemporary itself, and I say that as someone who loooves those Incredibles rooms.

The other thing to keep in mind about monorail resorts is that one equals three here. You’re technically spending your trip at the Contemporary.

However, you’re only a ten-minute monorail trip from the other two resorts, both of which offer high-end amenities as well.

Everything on the monorail is available to you as an amenity, an asset whose value is immeasurable.

You may be staying at the Contemporary, but you can easily dine at ‘Ohana and shop at M. Mouse Mercantile.

About the Studio

Here’s the reality about Bay Lake Tower. I prefer this location to the other monorail options. As a monorail fanatic, I’m also a Contemporary kind of guy.

Still, I like the rooms the least at Bay Lake Tower. I’m not saying they’re bad by any stretch because they’re definitely not.

However, I’m a large man who needs space. Disney has designed Bay Lake Tower to maximize the efficiency of small spaces.

Consider the various options from this perspective. The previous studios at Grand Floridian included 374 square feet of space.

Disney has recently added the Resort Studios, which are substantially bigger at 447 square feet.

Meanwhile, the studios at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort & Spa are similarly sized at 447 square feet.

So, we’re talking about large studios, ones that are throwbacks to the early days of Disney’s Old Key West Resort.

Bay Lake Tower isn’t like that at all. Its studios cover 339 square feet. That’s barely 90 percent of the size of the smaller rooms at Grand Floridian.

The larger rooms at the other two resorts are a full one-third bigger than the standard studios at Bay Lake Tower. You WILL notice that difference.

Despite this unmistakable truth, I like the rooms at Bay Lake Tower.

The bathrooms feature sliding doors, the kitchen hub includes a clever design, and room planners have nicely segmented everything.

You’ll instinctively know when you’re in the living room section or bedroom because of the layout.

Even better, the Lake View rooms, my preferred room type, offer a breathtaking view of the pool and the water.

I love nothing better than spending stormy nights at Bay Lake Tower because I can admire the beauty from my living room couch.

Final Thoughts

Choosing a studio on the monorail comes down to personal vacation preference.

For instance, I mentioned last time that I’m just not a Grand Floridian person. It doesn’t suit my style.

For my money, Bay Lake Tower’s convenience and the Polynesian’s ambiance elevate them over Grand Floridian.

When I say that, my personal preferences come into play. I spend a great deal of time at the resort during my vacation.

So, amenities matter more to me than they may to you. Conversely, I really don’t spend as much time in the hotel room as I know others do.

For this reason, while the tight space in Bay Lake Tower studios isn’t ideal, it also isn’t a dealbreaker for me in the least. I quite like the room design overall.

I’m only vacationing with my wife, though. Traveling parties of four genuinely might get claustrophobic after spending significant time in a Bay Lake Tower studio.

Similarly, the amenities at Grand Floridian combined with the gorgeous Resort Studios may be enough to tip the scale in that resort’s favor for you.

Personally, I highly recommend Bay Lake Tower to all my friends because I strongly feel that theme park proximity matters the most.