There are many DVC perks that require a blue membership card, but one perk that is open to all members is access to Top of the World Lounge at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Recently, the lounge has been used for paid events during holidays, but on a regular night, the lounge is open to DVC members staying at a Disney resort. On our most recent visit to Walt Disney World, Timothy and I decided to check out the lounge for the first time.
When you enter the lobby of Bay Lake Tower, you’ll need to check in with a cast member to gain access to the lounge. He or she will scan your magic band to verify your resort stay and check for your DVC membership card.

Once granted access, you take the north elevators to the 16th floor. A short walk from the elevators, you’ll find your way to the double doors leading to Top of the World Lounge. The lounge is circular with a bar on one side, large glass windows, and couches and tables. We had arrived around half an hour before Happily Ever After was supposed to start, so the lounge was busy but not packed, and we were able to get a table.

Since I don’t really drink that much, I was happy to see that there were plenty of appetizers to try from light offerings like vegetable crudites to heavier options like pulled pork sliders.

The seven-layer cake immediately caught my eye, and Timothy chose the soft Bavarian pretzel and a beer. However, we didn’t quite anticipate how large both food items would be. I would call the serving size a wedge of cake rather than a slice–not a complaint by any means! As some of you may have seen from the DVC Fan Facebook Group, that cake became quite a scrumptious breakfast the next day. I loved the layers of chocolate and yellow cake and the texture of the toffee-like layer. I would certainly order it again!

Timothy’s pretzel was fresh and soft, and he really enjoyed it with the beer cheese fondue. Though this pretzel was also huge, we somehow managed to polish that off even though we had come straight from dinner.

At Top of the World Lounge, you can either watch the fireworks from inside the lounge since the lights are dimmed and the music is piped in, or you can do what we did, which was to walk outside to the balcony where the music was also piped in. Our server even placed a sign on our table to reserve it while we stepped out for the fireworks. While you can’t see the castle projections all that well, you still get an amazing view of the fireworks. It is very similar to the view that you would get from California Grill.

Overall, the visit to Top of the World Lounge was a perfect way to end our evening. We will be back for sure!