Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

Sometime this morning our The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit got its 75th review on Amazon.

This strikes me as a bit of a watershed—a drizzle-shed?—because after all, the Iliad, which has been out a couple of thousand years longer—though not quite that long on Amazon—has in its most-reviewed edition only 520 or so reviews.

Of our 75 reviews, 73 have five stars. That’s 97% for those of you keeping score.

Homer, in contrast, is getting only 66% five stars. Must be enraging…

I can’t tell you how grateful I am (and likely Josh will be, once he gets out of bed) that so many of you have written such kind words about a book that we really put our hearts and souls into!

I have some clear favorites among the reviews you’ve done, but so as to not pick and choose, here’s excerpts from the last ten reviews posted:

• Jilly: “This is an awesome book with tons of information to help not only the first time visitor but the veteran park goer.”
• Paula: “The one and only book you need to plan your Disney World magical vacation!”
• Eric: “I have read a number of WDW Guide books and this may be the best – especially for a first timer.”
• Leann: “Great information even for those of us who have been there multiple times.”
• Jeffrey: “I have read all the guidebooks and this one is the perfect mix of information, traveling tips and reviews. It is a practical and honest guide to a Disney World trip. Nice work Josh and Dave!”
• Holli: “Great guide for those traveling to Walt Disney World.”
• Michelle B: “Great guide to Walt Disney World.”
• C.R.: “We saw every attraction we wanted and were able to get reservations at every eatery on our list–but that, my first-time friends, requires you get (and act on) sound advice well before you land in Orlando. That’s what this book delivers. Read it.”
• Janet: “Great resource.”
• Chloe: “Great guide book. Full of very useful Disney planning advice. Worth every penny.”

But my favorite review still comes from Celebrity SpokesBaby Liam:

The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit: so easy that even Celebrity SpokesBabies give it a thumbs up!

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(For the first page of this review of Bay Lake Tower, see this.)

THE MASTER BEDROOM AND BATH AT BAY LAKE TOWER

Master bedrooms at Bay Lake Tower–on the right in the floor plan–are the same in both One and Two Bedroom Villas.

As you enter, on the side is a closet.

Directly ahead is the bath, with a sink…

…and whirlpool tub.

In their own separate space you’ll find the toilet–mysteriously lit in this image…

…and a shower.

Further back in the room, on one side you’ll find a king bed and easy chair.

Here’s a closer view of the chair.

The other side of the room has a combined TV/dresser/luggage rack and a desk.

The TV/dresser thingy has plenty of storage…

…with even more in the pull-out drawer below the built-in luggage rack.

Here’s a closer view of the somewhat minimalist desk.

You’ll also find a balcony at this end of the room–here’s our view of the pool and Bay Lake in the evening.

PHOTO TOUR OF THE SECOND BEDROOM OF A DEDICATED TWO BEDROOM VILLA AT BAY LAKE TOWER

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(For the first page of this review of Bay Lake Tower, see this.)

THE LIVING/DINING/KITCHEN SPACE AT BAY LAKE TOWER

The living/dining/kitchen space at Bay Lake Tower is identical in both One and Two Bedroom Villas.

As you enter, you’ll find a small closet on one side…

…then in another large closet the laundry.

One the other side of the entry is a small full bath, with a a corner sink…

…toilet, and tub.  Bay Lake Tower offers one of only two DVC Two Bedroom Villas with three baths/One Bedroom Villas with two baths–Kidani Village, designed at about the same time, is the other.

Further on, the living space expands into one of the most livable kitchen/dining/living room options you’ll find among the DVC resorts.

This view, from deep in the space, shows the expansiveness of the kitchen and dining area…

…and this the living area.

The dining table (with some extra chairs pulled in from the second bedroom) can almost seat the nine people this space fits, and easily fits the five people a One Bedroom Villa sleeps.

The kitchen has all modern conveniences, including this pull-out pantry, and more counter space than most other DVC spaces.

As in other DVC kitchens, it includes all the basic you need to prep, cook, and serve meals…

…including these fun, if slightly impractical, plates.

Using the moveable ottoman from the dining area and the ottoman in the living room, the living space seats 6-9, depending on hips and willingness to share.

The living room also has a door to the Master Bedroom balcony, on the TV side of the room.

The large chair converts into a bed which I measured as 30 inches wide by 77 inches long–it sleeps a little shorter than that–with a comfortable 5 inch cushion.

The sofa also convert into a bed, 78 inches long by 60 inches wide, also with a five inch cushion, and more comfortable than most Disney World sofa beds.

The room has plenty of storage for the three people it sleeps.  Besides the closet at the entry, and the space in the large laundry room, there’s also a dresser beneath the TV…

…and the top of the living room room ottoman is hinged, revealing even more space inside. Note the scaling object.

The combination of spaciousness, storage, and an extra bath makes Bay Lake Tower Two Bedroom Villas one of the best options at Walt Disney World for larger groups–and the One Bedroom Villas are positively luxurious…

THE MASTER BEDROOM AND BATH OF ONE AND TWO BEDROOM VILLAS AT BAY LAKE TOWER

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(For the first page of this review of Bay Lake Tower, see this.)

PHOTO TOUR OF THE SECOND BEDROOM OF A DEDICATED TWO BEDROOM VILLA AT BAY LAKE TOWERS

Bay Lake Tower has four room types–Studios, One Bedroom Villas, Two Bedroom Villas, and Grand Villas. Two Bedroom Villas are either combined from a Studio and a One Bedroom Villa (“lock-offs”) or are designed as such from the start (“dedicated”).

In the two types of Two Bedroom Villas, the master bedroom and living/dining/kitchen area is the same, but there’s differences in the second bedrooms of lock-offs vs dedicated Two Bedroom Villas which I’ll cover in this photo tour.

Here’s a Studio floor plan…

…and here’s a dedicated Two Bedroom floor plan…

Compare the Studio to the second bedroom on the left of the floor plan in the dedicated Two Bedroom. Note that the second bedroom in the dedicated villa has no kitchenette, a simpler and larger bath layout, and two queens instead of a queen and a fold-out couch. This makes it more livable for a larger group.

A Studio (there’s a complete photo tour of a Bay Lake Tower here) has a smaller bedroom space, crowding the bed and couch together and making the room feel particularly cramped when the couch is unfolded for use as a bed.

In a dedicated Two Bedroom, you enter from the second bedroom from a small hall at the front of the overall villa.

Once you are in the second bedroom area, there’s a closet where in a lockoff you’d find an entry door to the Studio.

The bath has a sink…

…and a tub and toilet in their own space.

The bed side of the room has two queens.

The TV side has a dresser/TV combo and a table and chairs.

The TV/dresser combo is quite large and has plenty of storage.

Here’s a closer view of the table and chairs.

At the end of every bedroom at Bay Lake Tower is a balcony.

In our dedicated Two Bedroom Villa, we had a Bay Lake View–here’s the view from our balcony:

THE POOLS AT BAY LAKE TOWER

This review continues here.

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Frozen moved into Disney’s Hollywood Studios this summer. The festivities have been extended through September 28, and it’s widely expected that at least parts of the program will continue after then as well.

One element is Anna and Elsa’s Royal Welcome, a bit of a parade and bit of a show that occurs daily (at least through September 28th) at 11a in the Studios. (Other key parts are the Frozen Fireworks, reviewed here and the Frozen Sing-Along. reviewed here.)

The parade starts near the park entrance, heads down Hollywood Boulevard, stops at the Sorcerer’s Hat for a brief bit of business, and then continues to Star Tours where it exits in the Jedi area.

Crowds start lining up at the Sorcerers Hat and along Hollywood Boulevard early, and repeater screens make it possible for people on the boulevard who are close-ish to the hat to see the brief bit of business that happens there before the parade continues towards Star Wars.

Families with huge Frozen fans might wish to start positioning themselves at the stage near the Hat around 10a or so.

It is much easier to the see the parade between the Hat and Star Tours–the route is the area between American Idol and Echo Lake, and you can walk up to this area right around 11.

There’s not a lot to this parade…some ice skaters…

…a float that I have not figured out yet…

…skiers…

…Kristoff…

…again…

…and, in a horse-drawn–not Sven-draw–carriage, Anna and Elsa.

A closer shot of Anna and Elsa.

There’s not much more to this parade, but Frozen fans love it, and it draws crowds away from the other attractions at the Studios.  So see it if you’d like, or skip it and be thankful for the somewhat shorter lines elsewhere!!

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BAY LAKE TOWER AT DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

Most (but not all) room options at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort (a Disney Vacation Club resort) are wonderful places for returning visitors to Walt Disney World to stay.

For typical first-time visitors, I don’t recommend the Disney Vacation Club resorts. That said, these “DVC” resorts can be a great choice for first time visitors with large families, needing extra sleeping spaces, or looking for a more comfortable place to stay.

Among the Disney Vacation Club resorts, Bay Lake Tower ranks fifth overall for first-time visitors, but specifics vary a lot by room type.

Note: for a review of Disney’s Contemporary Resort itself, click here.

THE DISNEY VACATION CLUB RESORTS

You can have a spectacular visit at any Walt Disney World resort. However, this site recommends that typical first time visitors to Walt Disney World avoid the Disney Vacation Club resorts, while noting that these resorts are wonderful for visits after the first. (You can find extensive detail on the DVC resorts here.)

The recommendation comes from the simple fact that the distinguishing feature of these resorts–extra space and full kitchens–will not be of much value to first-time visitors following one of the itineraries on this site, as they won’t be used much.

That said, the Disney Vacation Club resorts represent more than 10% of Walt Disney World’s total rooms, and are very appropriate for first time visitors with large families, needing extra sleeping spaces, or looking for a more comfortable place to stay.

Because of this, I’m providing a series of up-to-date reviews. This review is based on our three stays at Bay Lake Tower, most recently in November 2017. Note that the long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly B., can help you book your Disney World vacation at Bay Lake Tower or anywhere else–contact her at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499.

BAY LAKE TOWER AT DISNEY’S CONTEMPORARY RESORT

Resorts are ranked on this site for first time visitors based first on their kid appeal, and then on their convenience.

On this basis, Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort comes in fifth overall of the Disney Vacation Club resorts. (See this for resort rankings.) However, there’s a little variability here depending on room type and family size.

The top four DVC options are at the Wilderness Lodge (Boulder Ridge Villas and Copper Creek Villas) and Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House Villas and Kidani Village), as these resorts have much higher kid appeal and that’s the key component of my ranking logic.

However, you won’t find a resort more convenient to Magic Kingdom than Bay Lake Tower, and all of its One Bedroom Villas and some of its Two Bedroom Villas are quite livable.

• Studio rooms: not recommended.  The bedroom space of Bay Lake Tower Studios, at about 185 square feet, is less than that at the value resorts. (See this for more on bedroom space at the Walt Disney World resorts.) A tower room at Disney’s Contemporary Resort is comparably priced and much bigger and more livable than a Bay Lake Tower studio room. If you really need the toaster and microwave you’ll find only in a DVC studio, and want to be near Magic Kingdom, try the studios at the Polynesian Villas or the Villas at the Grand Floridian instead
• One-bedroom Villas: Great livability. The layout of One Bedroom Villas at Bay Lake Tower (more on this below) allows for a second bath–found elsewhere in a one bedroom only at Kidani–and a larger than usual living/dining space.
• Two-bedroom Villas.  There are two types of Two-bedroom villas. One, a “lock-off,” combines a studio with a one-bedroom, via a connecting door, and has the same issues as the studio noted above. The other type, which has as its second bedroom a better two queen space, is quite livable
• Grand Villas: Stunning views from the two story living area, but a cramped living room

Kid Appeal. Disney’s Contemporary Resort itself has moderate kid appeal based largely on the monorail running through the main building of the Contemporary Resort.

While the monorail does not run through Bay Lake Tower, families staying there will be in the Contemporary often enough to share in this kid appeal.

Convenience. Bay Lake Tower and the Contemporary are the second-most convenient of the Walt Disney World resort hotels, beaten only by the Polynesian.

This convenience comes from several points:

• It’s the only resort from which one can walk to and from the Magic Kingdom–a godsend on busy days, as this permits avoiding the line for the resort monorail
• On the resort monorail, it’s the first stop when returning from the Magic Kingdom
• The Epcot monorail is the first stop from the Contemporary

OTHER DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF BAY LAKE TOWER

Bay Lake Tower has a number of very strong positives.

It has its own fun pool, nestled inside the footprint of the C-shaped building.

Moreover,

• It is one of only a few Disney Vacation Club resorts that can fit 5 people in a One Bedroom villa, or 9 into a Two Bedroom although, as noted below, fitting 9 is a not-recommended tight fit in lock-off two bedrooms. (See this for more on large families, and this for more on beds and sleeping spaces at Walt Disney World resorts.)
• Changes it reflects to the  layout of the earlier-designed Disney Vacation Club villas makes it among the most livable of DVC one bedroom villas.
  • The kitchen/dining/living room area has been both widened and deepened.
  • This space has been used to add both a second full bath to One-bedroom villas, and enough living space in the living room that it can be used even if the fold-out sleeper sofa is being used.
  • (These kitchen/dining/living room features carry over to two bedroom villas as well.)

Compare the Bay Lake Tower’s One-Bedroom Villa floorplan (above) with that of a similar villa at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa below.

(Click the images to enlarge them.)

Bay Lake Tower also has some distinctive negatives.

Most significant of these is the layout of the studio room.

The larger bedroom of lock-off two-bedroom villa (which uses a studio floorplan for its larger bedrooms) also has issues.

The studio room is small in general.

At about 339 square feet (rooms size vary a bit at Bay Lake Tower), it is smaller than any other deluxe room.

More of an issue, the bedroom component, at about 185 square feet, not only is far smaller than those any comparable resort, but also has so little space along the wall with the beds that it is remarkably cramped if the sofa bed is opened.

The wall with the beds is two to three feet too short for comfort.

• I measured about 12″ between the queen bed and the wall, about 16″ between the queen and the fold-out couch, and about 6″ between the couch and the balcony wall.
• These measurements should be around 15″, 30″, and 15″.  With the narrow spacing, the room is remarkably tight when the fold-out couch is open.

If you are fitting just three in the room, and the third can sleep lengthwise on the couch (4′ 6″ of space is here) this is a great room.

Otherwise, tower rooms at the Contemporary are about the same price, and, at 394 square feet–with two queens and a daybed–much more livable.  All you really lose is a microwave and a toaster.

Because the two bedroom lockoff villas share in their larger bedroom the layout of the Studio, this option has the same issues, ameliorated somewhat by the fact that there are other spaces here to go than the bedrooms.

BEST AND WORST ROOMS AT BAY LAKE TOWER

For those seeking a Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Disney Vacation Club experience, it is best–by far–to reserve a Magic Kingdom view room, and to request a higher floor. The Magic Kingdom view gives much more kid appeal, and avoids noise from the pool. The higher floor improves views and reduces noise even further.

The north elevator is more convenient to most Bay Lake Tower parking, and to the walkway to and from the Magic Kingdom.  The south elevator is more convenient to the skyway bridge between Bay Lake Tower and Disney’s Contemporary Resort.

See the map of Bay Lake Tower and the Contemporary Resort (as always on this site, to enlarge the image click it.)

BEST FOR:

Larger families, families seeking a bit of extra privacy or more beds, families looking for a more comfortable place to stay, families looking for particularly convenient DVC space.

WORST FOR:

Families looking for a DVC studio or two-bedroom villa (with the exceptions noted above), families on a budget, families looking for a particularly kid-appealing place to stay.

PHOTO TOUR OF A TWO BEDROOM VILLA AT BAY LAKE TOWERS

This review continues here.

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