Posted at 9:37 pm by taryngirl, on February 9, 2025
12/14/24
Continuing on with our arrival day, here is a tour of our room! This is a Bay Lake Tower 1 Bedroom Villa (803 sq. ft). This room features 1 king bed (separate bedroom), 1 queen size sleeper sofa, and 1 twin size sleeper chair, as well as 2 full bathrooms, a full kitchen, living room, washer and dryer.
Here is a tour of our room:
One of the bathrooms:
The dining area:
Full kitchen:
Living room:
The couch pulls out into a queen
The chair pulls out into a twin
Washer, dryer, closet:
Bedroom:
View from the bedroom:
Master bathroom:
We loved the room. It was super spacious for the four of us, and in a great location.
After getting settled in, we were tired! We were going to try to go eat at Steakhouse 71, but saw that they had a Mobile Order option. I was so happy about this!
I had eaten here one time for dinner before. It was very good! I knew that I wanted a steak. I opted for the steak from the kid menu. This popped up for my choices:
Fork & Knife Caesar Salad:
This was very good!
Kid’s Grilled Steak (served with two sides and a drink):
This was the perfect size and was delicious!
Kid’s Chicken Breast (served with 2 sides and a drink):
Fish of the Day:
This was also very good!
Overall, 10/10 from everyone! They also packaged silverware for us even though we had some in our villa. I LOVE the convenience of mobile ordering here since we had a villa and could eat in the kitchen!
After dinner, we wanted to go to the Top of the World Lounge to watch the Magic Kingdom’s fireworks show. Disney Vacation Club members have exclusive access to this. They do offer a few paid experiences:
We opted to just chance it and hope there was general space available for us.
The view was amazing! They pipe in the music and dialogue from the show.
Our view:
After the fireworks, we just went back to the room. Here’s the pool at night from our balcony:
Posted at 8:42 am by taryngirl, on January 23, 2025
12/14/24
This trip came about as a birthday celebration for my youngest daughter. We decided to let her pick a friend to join us. The night before we were flying to Florida, her friend suffered an injury in her high school basketball game. She arrived to our house in the morning on crutches and with ice packs! Ackkkkk! Since we were flying Southwest Airlines, I went into her confirmation and added a wheelchair to it. I had NO idea the extent of the injury, but I knew I wanted her to walk the least amount necessary!
Southwest was great! We checked in like normal and then went to a “wheelchair assistance” desk. They scanned her boarding pass and we were off to head through security. We went through a special entrance and there was no line. They also wheeled her to the gate and upon boarding, we all were permitted to preboard with her. Our flight was not full.
Once on the plane, she did have to get up every 20 minutes and take a stroll down the aisle to avoid blood clots. (Her crutches fit in the overhead bin.)
Now, let me do a preview…
We are Disney Vacation Club members. We had 3 day tickets for Universal Studios Orlando. So for our arrival day, we took a Lyft to Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which I booked with our DVC points. My plan was to take the monorail around to the resorts and look at the Christmas decorations and gingerbread houses, wake up the next morning and Lyft to Universal.
Our Lyft from the airport to Bay Lake Tower was $50 plus tip.
We landed around noon and were at our resort by 1:00 p.m. Our room was not ready yet, so we checked our luggage with Bell Services, and went to get something to eat.
It was a beautiful day!
Bay Lake Tower is connected to the main Contemporary Resort by a Skybridge walkway. This is located on the 5th floor of BLT. The gingerbread display was located directly inside the Contemporary once crossing the Skybridge walkway.
I loved seeing this:
It was amazing in person! There also was a little stand set up where they were selling gingerbread goodies.
For lunch we went to Contempo Cafe, which is one of my FAVORITE quick service locations.
We mobile ordered. The menu:
If you do not mobile order, you can order at the cashier and then they will deliver the food to your table.
I ordered the Vegetable Flatbread–Zucchini, Red Onion, Roasted Red Pepper, Roasted Tomato, Asparagus, Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Pistou finished with Balsamic Glaze and Chives $13.29
This was actually amazing! The taste was so good, and it was a good serving size. I could not eat it all.
Chicago Style Italian Beef Sub–shaved Italian Beef, Mozzarella, Giardiniera, and Seasoned Au Jus $13.99
This was also really good! He ate the whole thing.
Kids Chicken Strips–Served with 2 sides and a drink $8.49
Fun fact, anyone can really order a kid’s meal at a quick service location. It’s a good portion size and comes with choice of 2 sides and a drink. Both girls got double fries and a water. They loved these!
Chili-Cheese Fries $6.99
We also ordered a side of the Chili Cheese Fries. These were also really good!
Here are some of the desserts that were available:
Overall, 10/10 meal here! It was super busy and tables were limited.
From here, we hopped on the monorail and headed out to check out the Polynesian and Grand Floridian. We all four had a backpack because we weren’t able to check into our room yet. So I had my laptop, others had ipads, etc. Security was crazy. All 4 of us were flagged and they had to go through our bags at every single checkpoint during this journey.
Our first stop was the Polynesian. This is one of my favorite Disney resorts! I love the vibe here!
This is the view walking in from the monorail:
The decorations were so pretty!
We looked in the shops and then got back on the monorail to go to the Grand Floridian.
This is the view when walking in from the monorail:
It was bustling with activity in here! The gingerbread house was up and there was a longgggg line waiting to buy some gingerbread goodies.
The cast members actually stand INSIDE the gingerbread house to serve the customers. It’s huge!
From here we got back onto the monorail to head to our resort. I had received a text that our room was ready!
Up next…Bay Lake Tour 1 Bedroom Villa, Dinner at Steakhouse 71.
Posted at 1:02 pm by taryngirl, on December 17, 2020
11/14/2020
We are DVC owners at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. When we were first deciding whether or not we wanted to buy in, this is where we toured. We love the location the most, which offers a quick walk to Magic Kingdom, and the monorail to Epcot. The views of Magic Kingdom and the lake are great!
View from the bridge connecting the Contemporary Resort to Bay Lake Tower
Since there were only two of us, I booked a Deluxe Studio, Standard View. The Deluxe Studio offers spacious accommodations including a kitchenette with small fridge, microwave, toaster, sink and a balcony. It features one queen bed and a double size sleeper sofa.
The queen bed and pullout sofaSeating area and dresser/tvThe kitchenette area, right sideThe kitchenette area, left sideAll paper products are now individually wrappedBack to single serve toiletriesSanitized and wrapped remote controlStorage on the dresserCloset with safe and extra bedding for the pull out sofaSupplies in the kitchenView into the kitchenette area with the pantry pulled outEnhanced cleaning protocols
For two people this Villa is perfect. It would also be fine for a family of 3 or 4. There are some other Villas that offer a split bath or 2 bathrooms which is better for a family of 4. Our room was clean, and everything was fine! I’d definitely stay here again.
View from our balconyAnother view from our balcony
We also checked out some of the shops on the Contemporary side. Everything was decorated for Christmas!
Wall in the huge atrium right outside of the quick service location, Contempo CafeEntrance to the monorail
We absolutely love it here and would definitely stay again!
Posted at 8:08 pm by taryngirl, on November 23, 2020
11/14/20
An opportunity arose for me to do a quick trip to Florida to visit both Disney World and Universal Orlando, and I couldn’t resist! Several things fell into place…I had DVC points to use from a canceled trip in May, my Annual Pass was expiring on November 17th, and Universal Orlando offered me an amazing deal that I couldn’t pass up! Throw in the free flight I was able to get with my Southwest points, and that was just the cherry on top. I was excited to check out how things are running post-Covid since I have clients scheduled to travel within the next couple of months.
This post is going to deal with everything specific to Disney World and the protocols in place at the resorts, the parks and the restaurants, as far as my personal trip is concerned. My cousin Alex traveled with me.
We started off with a a 7:00 a.m. flight on Southwest from the Philadelphia Airport. We booked offsite airport parking at Smart Park. Starting there, the attendant at the booth was wearing a mask. The shuttle bus driver was wearing gloves and a mask. There were two other parties on the shuttle with us.
Once at the airport, we did the self-service check in. The workers behind the counters were wearing masks. All security workers were also wearing masks. They still are doing regular security. Shoes off, coats off, and everything goes on the belt through the scanner. Once we got to our gate, people were definitely social distancing and not sitting next to one another. There were constant announcements about mandatory mask wearing, and what types of masks were permitted. They did have some available if needed. Southwest is currently not utilizing the middle seats on their planes, unless there are family members that sit right next to each other. They are seating every row.
As always (pre-Covid I did these things!), I had my Clorox wipes to wipe down my seat, tray, etc., and my hand sanitizer. The only beverage available on the flight was water, and they had prepackaged snacks.
In summary, I felt super safe in the airport and on the flight! Everyone was being respectful, wearing masks and social distancing.
Once in Orlando, we were using Disney’s Magical Express transportation from the airport to our resort. This service has changed! They no longer send you the yellow tags in the mail to attach to your luggage. You are responsible for getting your own luggage from baggage claim and taking it with you to the Magical Express bus!They do not deliver the luggage to your room anymore! Since we flew on Southwest, we arrived on the A side. The Magical Express is located on the B side. This means that we had to go to baggage claim on the A side, then go back up and across the entire airport to the B side and downstairs to the Magical Express location. (They also are not doing airline check in at the resorts. So you also bring your luggage with you when leaving the resort and getting on the Magical Express.)
Here you can see the plexiglass up at the counters, as well as some signage.
The lanes are numbered and the cast member will tell you which lane to enter. There are signs all along the lanes with these social distance markers.
The cast member scanning our bands to enter the bus assigned us specific seat numbers. He had a map of the bus with a dry erase marker, and was marking off the seats he assigned. They are utilizing only every other row and are filling the bus from back to front. We were first in line so got the very last seats! (As a side not, there was a girl next to us who was assigned to another bus. She asked if she could sit near the front, and the cast member told her she could sit on a bench until the bus filled up and then could sit in the front. She didn’t like that answer and proceeded to the bus.)
The Magical Express delivered us to Bay Lake Tower with our luggage. The lobby is small and it was chaotic! This was mostly due to Bell Services and luggage. People who did not have a room ready or were checking out but not yet leaving the resort had to check their luggage with Bell Services. Our room was not ready (as indicated by the text we had received while at the airport). So our plan was to check our luggage with Bell Services and then head to Epcot. A note! The monorail to Epcot was not running at the time so we had to take a bus.
We waited for a bus and once it arrived, the bus driver assigned us seats using a seat number. He was wearing a mask.
There are dividers up between seat numbers.
Standing is not permitted so the handles were zip tied up.
None of our buses were ever even nearly full. I felt very safe on the Disney bus transportation!
Once we arrived at Epcot, signs were everywhere!
Everyone has to pass through a temperature screening.
They used handheld thermometers.
Everyone also has to pass through security which is very different! They no longer go through your bags. You walk through a metal detector with your bag on you.
These signs on the ground are EVERYWHERE! Spaced 6 feet apart! Every ride, every kiosk, every store check out, EVERYWHERE!
Up next are attraction queues. The above signs are all along the ground/floor. Also, they are not using every seat/row! This is Journey Into Imagination with Figment. They did only one row per car. This was the same for Pirates, Mine Train and Small World as well.
You know the fun area once you exit the Figment ride? It’s CLOSED! It was so quiet. Normally it’s chaotic with people everywhere. We found this to be a trend for every interactive attraction. (At the end of Spaceship Earth, all activities closed. Pretty much any interactive piece at any attraction is inaccessible.)
This is the queue for Living with the Land. Barriers are up between the rows of the queue.
On the boats, you can see the dividers up between seats. They also were not seating every row on this ride, but there was no line so they were spacing us out.
Here you can see Soarin’.
These signs are all around the popular photo taking areas. There are also cast members carrying handheld signs that say this same thing. They were approaching people who were removing masks for pictures.
Moving onto dining now…
This is Coral Reef Restaurant, which is a table service location. Everything is one way in, one way out. Every dining location, shopping location, etc. Doors are specifically marked ENTER or EXIT only. They have limited indoor seating and are not using every table. If you want a table service meal, it’s very important that you have a reservation! I saw them turning people away if they didn’t have a reservation.
Another very important note, all quick service locations are MOBILE ORDER ONLY! This includes resorts and parks. Even if you only want a muffin or an orange juice. It’s all on the My Disney Experience app, or you scan a bar code located at the location.
There is no grab and go section that is self-serve at the moment. Drinks are not self-serve either. Once you scan the QR code, it takes you right to the menu for the dining location. Here you choose your pick up time. You do not have to be AT the location to order. You can be in your room, somewhere around the resort, in a ride line, etc.
After that, the menu will pop up and you can scroll through and click on what you would like. You pay right through the app with either you credit card on file or you can add a different card.
Once you arrive at the location you can click that you are here and they will begin preparing your food. Just a note…we found that it took a good 10 minutes or longer for the food to be ready once we clicked we are here. So we began clicking it as we were walking on our way before we got there. Once the food is ready for pick up, the notification changes and it tells you what number table to go to to pick it up. They have multiple stations so people aren’t picking up at the same station at the same time. They are marked with big numbers on the floor.
After you pick up your food, if you ordered a drink, you move to a different station, and someone will get it for you. This is the Contempo Cafe drink station area:
The food is served in bags that are sealed, and packaging that is sealed. I removed my sticker before I remembered to take a picture!
Next up is the resorts. This was in our Villa at Bay Lake Tower.
You will notice that they are back to individual serving sizes of the toiletry items.
The remotes are packaged in plastic stating that they have been sanitized.
One last picture I took was at the monorail located inside the Contemporary Resort.
We did have our temperature screening and security done here on our way to the Magic Kingdom. This allowed us to bypass those things at the Magic Kingdom.
Overall, we felt very safe during our entire stay. There are hand sanitizer stations everywhere for use at your discretion. No one is spraying it on you. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone was complying with the mask mandate and social distancing. The only time you could remove your mask was if you were stationary off to the side eating or drinking. If a cast member saw someone walking and eating or drinking, they did remind them of the rule.
Capacity at the moment is maybe 1/4 of what it is normally. So there were so many less people. Many of the ride queues went way out onto the walkways. Adding to capacity will definitely affect this. What seems like a crowded area really isn’t, because the line is continuously moving. It will be interesting to see what happens once they expand the capacity!
Posted at 2:11 pm by taryngirl, on January 27, 2019
August 15, 2018
We arrived without incident about 4 p.m. using Lyft. I had gotten the text around 11:30 a.m. that our room was ready! So we headed immediately up the elevator to our room. Scan my Magic Band…anddddd, the room was not clean. The sofa bed was unmade, there were dirty towels on the floor in the bathroom, etc. So we headed back down to the front desk. I let them know the situation, and it was almost as if the girl didn’t believe me! She offered us a FastPass. Sure, why not! It had to be for the next day though, which was our Magic Kingdom day. She asked my daughter what she would like to ride, and Kinsey couldn’t decide between Splash Mountain or Space Mountain, so she gave us both! We were so tired and hot and I just wanted to lay down. But we had to sit. And wait. And wait. For them to go clean it. We sat outside for awhile in the back courtyard area:
We were so hot, so we went back into the lobby to wait. My phone rang and it was the front desk. I told them I was sitting right there and could see them! She came over again and apologized for the room not being ready and that they were crediting my account $125 for the trouble. About 15 minutes later, she came back again and said, “It’s ready!” She personally went up with us to our room. Guess what…THEY WERE STILL CLEANING. She was mortified! I told her it was fine and we were just going to sit in the hall until it was ready. It was after 5 p.m. now!
The two housekeepers finally exited. We FINALLY got into the room around 5:30 p.m. At least we knew it was really clean!
We were staying in a Deluxe Studio, Standard View. Here’s our room tour:
You can’t beat the location of this resort! It’s a quick walk to the entrance of Magic Kingdom. The security/bag check is on the walkway from here to the Magic Kingdom. So you can avoid the longer lines at the monorail if you choose to walk. It’s also faster than taking the monorail! Contempt Cafe is one of my favorite resort quick service locations. And the view of the fireworks from this resort is amazing.
Now…we were laying down resting before the DVC Moonlight Magic Event at Epcot, and the phone rings. I answer it and someone asked if we would be in the room because Private Dining had a delivery for us. I told them I didn’t order anything, and they said they knew that. 5 seconds later there was a knock on the door. He brought a tray in with 6 gigantic Mickey shaped chocolate chip cookies and a 12 inch tall (at least) white chocolate Tinker Bell along with a note. I completely forgot to get a picture because I was stunned! They went above and beyond any expectation I had as far as making things right. I NEVER got nasty or complained and begged for things. The Disney magic was just offered!
This is our home DVC resort and I absolutely would book here again!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures 