Let’s pretend for a minute that you’ve decided that for your next (or first) Walt Disney World vacation, you want to stay in the Magic Kingdom resort area. Let’s go a step further and say you want to stay at a monorail resort. First of all, go YOU! These are our family’s favorite resorts! Tough choice though. All are expensive, all have their pros and cons. Today, I’m going to try to explain the draw of Disney’s Contemporary Resort. In future posts, I’ll do the same for the Polynesian Village Resort and the Grand Floridian too, so I’ll be sharing everything I know and have personally experienced. All three have a lot to offer!

Who Would Love Disney’s Contemporary Resort?

You want to be smack dab in the middle of the Disney action – When you can see Magic Kingdom from your resort, all day and all evening, it feels especially Disney-ish. You also have (my favorite!) the Electrical Water Pageant cruising by your resort in the evening. Between the boats, busses and monorail, it feels like every park is just a short ride away. Resort hopping by boat to Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness is super easy (and relaxing) as is access via monorail to the other Magic Kingdom resorts.

Your family adores Magic Kingdom – From the Contemporary, it’s just a short walk away! Slightly more than 1/2 mile from door to Park entrance, the Contemporary is the ONLY resort from which you can walk to and from Magic Kingdom. As an added convenience, the security bag-check/metal detector is right on the walkway, giving your family a straight shot to the entrance! If you’ve got an early morning ADR (advance dining reservation) in Magic Kingdom, this perk is a plus!

Resort Loop Pub Crawl – Sure, this is a benefit of staying at any of the monorail resorts, but if you’re out for date night or have a party of adults only, this is a fun way to spend an evening. We love to start at the Contemporary’s Outer Rim and move on to the Poly’s Tambu Lounge (or Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto) and Mizner’s Lounge in the Grand Floridian. Grab a cocktail and snacks at each stop and make an evening of it.

Amazing Dining Options – Character dining? Check! Meet the Fab Five at Chef Mickey’s for breakfast or dinner. Need a quick meal? Try the Contempo Café (Buffalo Chicken Flatbread is great!). Fresh, sustainable, and delicious fare is available at The Wave, and if you want one of the best dinners at Walt Disney World, you can’t go wrong with the food, service, and view at the California Grill.

Nostalgia – It’s modern and retro at the same time! As one of the original Walt Disney World resorts, the Contemporary has maintained that opening-day vibe while boasting updated rooms with a current, modern feel. The Mary Blair mural (look for the five-legged goat!) and the open atrium where the monorail pulls right on in to the heart of the resort are all classic Walt Disney for geeks like us! If you love Disney like we do, standing on that monorail platform, watching our ride pull into the station…there’s no feeling in the World exactly like it and fans have been experience that particular thrill since 1971.

Disney’s Bay Lake Tower – All About Shapes!

I grew up with a fairly strong dislike for all things math-related (a polite way of saying I loathed arithmetic!). English was my favorite subject and science was fine, I simply didn’t get the lure of numbers…until 10th grade geometry. I’d finally found a form of math I loved! Oh, the fun of arcs, lines, angles and shapes and all the measurements within! Maybe that explains why while others find Bay Lake Tower lacking in theme, I find it wonderful.

From the lobby through the halls and elevators, even along the walkway that connects Bay Lake Tower to Disney’s Contemporary Resort, I find the use of shapes amazing and like everywhere else at Disney World, I always find something I’ve never noticed before.

I’ll admit, It may not have the Contemporary’s Mary Blair mural or the Grand Floridian’s Victorian charm. There’s no tropical Polynesian foliage and certainly no majestic, soaring lobby. But that doesn’t mean Bay Lake Tower is boring, it means the place has a quality and ambiance all its own.

From the majestic, curving edifice to the tiniest interior details, Bay Lake Tower is a feast for the shape-loving eye. Enhanced by soothing neutrals and splashes of bright color, our favorite home-away-from-home is to us, a fun and cheerful corner of the World. Those imaginative design elements and Bay Lake Tower’s location right next door to Magic Kingdom make it practically perfect in every way. If you every get the chance to stay in this particular Disney Vacation Club resort, prepare to be amazed by the creative use of all things geometric!

Have you stayed at Bay Lake Tower? What did you think?