Bay Lake Tower Summer Respite
We stayed at Bay Lake Tower for three nights beginning on Monday, July 18.
Day 1 - Monday
We were up early and drove directly to Bay Lake Tower. Our room wasn't ready yet so we parked our vehicle and walked over to Contempo Cafe at the Contemporary where we grabbed a latte and something to eat.
After boarding the two monorail lines, we arrived at Epcot. Since we hadn't rushed, we were too late to be part of the early entry program this morning. We did spend some time in the Seas - riding the Nemo ride, visiting with Crush in Turtle Talk, and wandering through the aquarium.
Once back in the hot sunlight, we headed to World Showcase. The food and wine festival is on but I do have to mention how disappointed I was in the displays they put up at the main entrance, at the center aisle to World Showcase and at the intersection in front of the lake. The department in charge of these decorative areas must have had some significant budget cuts to put up those cutout displays!!!
We headed to Mexico to visit with the three caballeros, passed by Frozen where the line was listed as 65 minutes, viewed the movie in China, and wandered through some shops in World Showcase. We arrived in Germany at almost exactly noon and stared at the Glockenspiel but nothing happened. We browsed through the shops on the left and it was close to ten past when we emerged in the courtyard once again. Now the bird popped out its door and chirped. While we heard the sounds of the gong being struck, the doors never opened. The shops on the right are still closed.
After taking in The American Adventure, we hurried past the other countries to get to United Kingdom for our lunch reservation at Rose and Crown. While I usually have fish and chips, on this day, I selected their special of salmon over mashed potatoes with green beans - very yummy. My husband enjoyed the bangers and mash.
While lunching, we received notice that our room was ready so we took the two monorails back, collected our bags, and entered our ninth floor room facing towards the Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge. We unpacked and hung out in the room as thunder showers rolled through.
The Top of the World lounge had opened the week before so we headed there. We were assigned to a table. There weren't any high tops which was a disappointment since they had offered the only view of the Magic Kingdom over the tall exterior wall. The space is re-themed with a Villian's motif with the major changes being some pictures on villian's on the walls, a few capes hanging on one one wall, and a coat rack containing a few boas and capes. I was glad the large monorail was still evident on the windows. I ordered a non-alcoholic drink but they were missing one of the main ingredients to make it so just had sparkling water instead. While there, we shared a flatbread which is named Tomatoes of Terror and the 7-layer cake which has been named the Seven Lair Cake. A nice addition is the exterior tables and chairs though they aren't really useful until after sunset or until fall rolls around. Admittance to the lounge was strictly controlled and there were far fewer people than usual there when the fireworks time approached. Additionally, the entrance door was kept locked so you need to wait to be re-admitted if you left to use the rest room. We watched the 9:20 fireworks from the outside viewing area and then returned to our room.
