Just back from 1 night stay at BLT

Crystal_27

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Just wanted to do a quick post regarding my impressions of our first stay at BLT. We booked a lake view studio for one night (September 25th) just so we could check out our new DVC home before we went on a cruise. I completed the online check-in a week before our stay, although I never was able to get the room request section to work properly. However, I wasn't really concerned about any particular section in that I haven't really seen a bad view at BLT yet.

We checked in at the Contemporary right at 4:00 p.m. and our room was already assigned and ready (and, after being on the road since 6:00 a.m., that news was certainly welcome). We were assigned room 7932 (9th floor). Check-in was easy as pie and in only about 10 minutes we were parked at BLT and getting ready for our first look at our room.

Our room location was right off the elevators on the 9th floor, so it was very convenient. I thought the room was fine. It felt like a typical studio room, and, although it certainly felt smaller than, say, a studio at the Poly, we didn't find it at all cramped (although keep in mind our DD is 5, so maybe with older children or more children that wouldn't be the case).

The bed was comfy, and our DD didn't have any complaints about the sofa sleeper. I actually didn't even have any issues with the sliding door to the bathroom either. Although there is a gap there, the door seemed to close flush with the wall. However, about the (infamous) kitchenette design, I agree that the sink in the kitchenette is just odd. Literally, if you turn one way you have your kitchen appliances, and if you do an "about face," your bathroom sink and mirror are right there. I don't need a lot of prep time in the mornings and I don't use products or hair dryers or anything, but for those who do, your kitchenette is going to get gunked up pretty quickly. I actually ended up brushing my and DD's hair in the hallway just so I didn't get any hair in the kitchen area. It's not a "deal-breaker" but, as has been said many times, what in the world were the architects thinking?? :confused3

Also, even though we didn't use our kitchenette, I investigated all the cabinets and found that we were provided paper plates and bowls instead of real ones (although there were real glasses in the cabinets). I thought that all villas had real plates, etc. so I thought that was worth noting (but, not a big deal for us since we don't plan on eating meals in our rooms; paper would suffice for anything we would need).

Finally, the view.... I have seen a lot of beautiful views, even from the "standard" view villas, so I was expecting to be WOW-ed by the lake view. We had booked a lake view simply because our waitlist came through for the lake view first, not because we really cared either way. Let me also state that we are standard-view-type people. Stated another way, we don't plan on ever paying more for lake or (God forbid) MK view. Still, because I had seen such great views, even from those with standard views, I really was expecting a beautiful view of Bay Lake. Basically, our view should have been categorized as a Contemporary view, in that the Contemporary was what we saw, and we had to lean waaayyyy to the left to see any portion of Bay Lake (although, in fairness, we could actually lean waaayyyy to the right and see a portion of MK too). Had I intentionally used the extra points to book a lake view, I would have been disappointed. Maybe not disappointed enough to truck back to the Contemporary to complain and demand a room change, but disappointed enough that I'm already convinced that we'll never book another lake view again. I was expecting a nice, peaceful view, and what I got was just pure hecticness. Once I get my pictures downloaded, I'll post the pictures of my view, for those who care.

Wrapping up, after staying at BLT, I'm glad that we bought there. The decor was beautiful, we loved having the monorail, and I think that we'll be happy staying there for many, many trips to come. For our next trip, we'll be staying at BLT for 2 weeks at Christmas, 2010, and DH and I are debating on whether or not to book the studio or spring for the one bedroom. I honestly think that we'll be happy with the studio, though. Also, if anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to respond.

Thanks for reading (this got a lot longer than I initially thought - LOL).

p.s. DH did have one other issue...no BLT pins in sight. Kind of a bummer since DH wanted to display our DVC home proudly on his lanyard, but I'm sure we'll have plenty to chose from in 2010. :rolleyes: Thanks again for reading. :goodvibes
 
Thank you for your report. We are pretty addicted to our 2 home resorts, and probably won't stay anywhere else, but it's fun to read about the others. Thanks for taking the time to share!:goodvibes
 
Thanks for reporting! and I agree on almost everything you said. We had a standard view this past Aug and just loved it!:lovestruc If we are going to book here again I think my first choice would always be a standard view!
 
Thanks for posting! Excited to read your report since DH and I will be at BLT for a one night stay (at the end of a business trip) - our first Disney visit without the kids (and I'm already feeling guilty!) Can't wait to stay at BLT though and you added to my anticiption. We'll have Bay Lake view also since that was all that was available when I booked last week. Can't wait to see what we'll be seeing out the window. I'll just be glad to be there though.
 


Thanks for the report! If you get a chance, please post a photo on the view thread. I'll update the map with your info!
 
Thanks for the review! DVC studios do have just the paper plates/bowls and plastic silverware. One bedroom units and larger have real plates/bowls/silverware. You should, however, have had real glasses and mugs.
 
our first Disney visit without the kids (and I'm already feeling guilty!)

Don't feel guilty...you paid for it, you have taken them and will take them again, you need a break!

We will be taking our second trip this year without the kids. WDW without kids (and ours are late teens & early 20s now) is a whole new experience. The pace is different, the focus is different. ENJOY!!!
 


All right, guys. As promised, here are our views.

Looking straight ahead:

P9262944.jpg


Looking to the left (leaning a bit to see this):

P9262945.jpg


Looking to the right:

P9262947.jpg


Hope that helps!!
 
If we are going to book here again I think my first choice would always be a standard view!

Yup - - I totally agree! I'm actually banking on a standard view for our December, 2010 trip...otherwise, I might have to borrow points from 2011 - LOL.

Thanks for posting! Excited to read your report since DH and I will be at BLT for a one night stay (at the end of a business trip) - our first Disney visit without the kids (and I'm already feeling guilty!) Can't wait to stay at BLT though and you added to my anticiption. We'll have Bay Lake view also since that was all that was available when I booked last week. Can't wait to see what we'll be seeing out the window. I'll just be glad to be there though.

Awwwww, have a wonderful time!! :woohoo:

DVC studios do have just the paper plates/bowls and plastic silverware.

Oh, that's good to know! Thank you! :goodvibes

The post is informative but you can share your best and worst experience with all of us here.

Well, since we only stayed for one night, and since we actually went to MNSSHP soon after we checked in (and stayed at the party until 11:00 p.m.), it's difficult to even pinpoint a best and worst experience surrounding BLT. We had a very easy check-in, BLT was more beautiful than I expected, I didn't encounter any problems, and I was just generally happy to be there. We ate at the Contemporary counter service before we went to MNSSHP, and the food was good (although the cupcake we got didn't taste anywhere near as good as it looked - LOL). It was great being on the monorail, both for access to MK for the party and for breakfast at Kona the next morning. Definitely a lot of good things to pick from.

If I had to say something negative, I was a bit annoyed when Mousekeeping came around at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday to clean our room (although that was probably more my fault than theirs in that I listed my check-out time as 9:00 a.m. when I did online check-in). Still, we just yelled through the door that we would be out of the room in about 10 minutes, and they said okay...no big deal. All in all, everything met or exceeded my expectations. :thumbsup2
 
p.s. DH did have one other issue...no BLT pins in sight. Kind of a bummer since DH wanted to display our DVC home proudly on his lanyard, but I'm sure we'll have plenty to chose from in 2010. :rolleyes: Thanks again for reading. :goodvibes

We were told by a CM that they only made 300 pins and they were sold out the first day. I was bummed because I was really looking forward to purchasing one. I saw one for sale on E-bay for $99.99 - yikes! :scared1: Thanks for sharing your experience.
 
Enjoyed your trip report and photos!! Thank you!

Heading back this weekend to BLT:lmao: After my solo trip last month in a standard view, I have been calling every day to see if we can downgrade our MK View to standard view. We have Saturday night in a Stan View and then 3 nights in a MK View. Im tempted to ask for them to leave us in the Stan view and upgrade somebody else to our Mk view!:lmao:

Definitely will not book it again in the future. I like the interior views of the courtyard, pool and lake.

Agree with you on those Contempo Cafe cupcakes. Stay Away!!

How did you like the Wave? My new Fave! Cant wait to go back!:wizard:
 
Enjoyed your trip report and photos!! Thank you!

Heading back this weekend to BLT:lmao: After my solo trip last month in a standard view, I have been calling every day to see if we can downgrade our MK View to standard view. We have Saturday night in a Stan View and then 3 nights in a MK View. Im tempted to ask for them to leave us in the Stan view and upgrade somebody else to our Mk view!:lmao:

Definitely will not book it again in the future. I like the interior views of the courtyard, pool and lake.

Agree with you on those Contempo Cafe cupcakes. Stay Away!!

How did you like the Wave? My new Fave! Cant wait to go back!:wizard:
This is really funny!!! Calling back to downgrade!!!:lmao:
 
I saw one for sale on E-bay for $99.99 - yikes! :scared1:

:scared1: is right!!! Holy cow!!

Heading back this weekend to BLT:lmao: After my solo trip last month in a standard view, I have been calling every day to see if we can downgrade our MK View to standard view.

How did you like the Wave? My new Fave! Cant wait to go back!:wizard:

Niiiiicccceeeee! Good for you!!! :cloud9:

I hate that we missed the Wave this trip - - we were very tempted to do the Wave instead of Kona for breakfast, but DH has to have his Tonga Toast fix - LOL. We'll definitely be hitting the Wave a couple times in December, 2010. Have a wonderful trip, and here's hoping for your downgrade - LOL. :lmao:
 
LIFERBABE;!

I sent you a PM, I am trying to get someone to take a ride up to the 14th floor and verify if 8417 is on the same side as the elevator, or across the hall. If you could check and PM me that would be great!
 
FWIW, I just checked availability for the first week of June (May 30 - June 3) and there are NO standard studios available for the Sun-Fri consecutively (only 2 out of 5 nights). Seven months has not opened up yet!!!! Gives you an idea how fast standard is going to go.
 
FWIW, I just checked availability for the first week of June (May 30 - June 3) and there are NO standard studios available for the Sun-Fri consecutively (only 2 out of 5 nights). Seven months has not opened up yet!!!! Gives you an idea how fast standard is going to go.

Uh-oh!!!! I'm going to try to use my AKV points to get a 1BR MK view June 1- June 6. My 7-month window doesn't open up until November 1 so I'm going to be on pins and needles until then. Hopefully the MK view will be less popular than the standard view since MK view takes so many points............fingers crossed.........
 
LIFERBABE;!

I sent you a PM, I am trying to get someone to take a ride up to the 14th floor and verify if 8417 is on the same side as the elevator, or across the hall. If you could check and PM me that would be great!


Sure, No problem:goodvibes
 

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