Anyone else not like the pool at BLT??

[Uncleromulus]

Not very large. Hardly any shade to be found--I think I counted 8 total umbrellas and those were ALWAYS taken each and every time we went down.
And each and every time we went down, they were having kids games with extremely loud music and a CM blasting away on a microphone that you could probably hear all the way to Downtown Disney---.

Anyway, not our cup of tea.

 

[Norm1]

Not very large. Hardly any shade to be found--I think I counted 8 total umbrellas and those were ALWAYS taken each and every time we went down.
And each and every time we went down, they were having kids games with extremely loud music and a CM blasting away on a microphone that you could probably hear all the way to Downtown Disney---.

Anyway, not our cup of tea.

It is small. It was like being in my above ground pool at home. I can stand up in all the areas of the pool. On the positive side my DGD loved it. She liked the small slide, the fountains, zero entry, music and the CM blasting away on the microphone. Sorry that you were there at the wrong times. I believe the music and CM are only there at certain times. We were there most times when it was quite. I agree it is not as good as some of the other DVC resorts but for us on this vacation it was fine.

 

[Uncleromulus]

I can certainly see kids having fun. They all appeared to be when we were there.
But for a 66 year old looking for a quiet relaxing time (with a bit of shade), it didn't measure up.

Which is one good thing about where we usually stay (OKW)--often one of the "quiet pools" will be free and clear--and actually rather quiet!!

 

[YourEveryDayAdam]

as BLT guests, we are able to use the pools at The Contemporary. Their main pool is bigger and has more shady spots. There is also a quiet pool as well.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

as BLT guests, we are able to use the pools at The Contemporary. Their main pool is bigger and has more shady spots. There is also a quiet pool as well.

Exactly. If you compare it to the other DVC pools (not the main pools at the resort) then BLT's is pretty big and pretty good. For instance, there is usually just a small quiet pool near the villas when DVC is at a Deluxe resort. VWL's is very small. Not even sure if there is a dedicated DVC pool at BWV or BCV because I just use the main pools.
You really have to consider that you can walk along the pool path and use the pool and counter service at the Contemporary too.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Exactly. If you compare it to the other DVC pools (not the main pools at the resort) then BLT's is pretty big and pretty good. For instance, there is usually just a small quiet pool near the villas when DVC is at a Deluxe resort. VWL's is very small. Not even sure if there is a dedicated DVC pool at BWV or BCV because I just use the main pools.
You really have to consider that you can walk along the pool path and use the pool and counter service at the Contemporary too.

Both BWV and BCV have quiet pools that are "quiet"! the newer resorts have not included quiet pools in their layout which I find sad. They truly are gems. WVL definitely has a quiet pool which is our favorite!

 

[GoofyJ]

We are very happy with the BLT pool. We have younger children who are pleased with the slide, pool and activities near the pool. There is a refill station and a bar right there.

VWL's DVC pool has no refill station and you have to go to the main pool for bar service. Also the DVC pool is smaller and doesn't have a slide.

The activities and loud music are only about one hour a day usually around 3:00 - 4:00 approximately.

As stated above you are able to use the Contemporary's pool which is an easy walk and affords more shade.

 

[dizfan]

I think of BLT as a nicer small pool than other WDW hotel/DVC combo resorts. I like the extra activity available, plus they have a pool bar.

I view the CR pool as the resorts main pool.

IMHO (which should not influence any else) the CR pool area is one of the least appealing feature pools so a majority of BLT guests stay at the BLT pool. During our stays at BCV and BWV, the quite pools were rarely busy, so I assumed guests were at the resort feature pool.

I don't expect Disney to improve the CR pool. It's too easy to access (monorail, walk from MK, and from the marina). Imagine what would happen to the GF pool if people could walk from MK to GF.

 

[smidgy]

ITA! we, too thought the pool was too small.

but the main thing is the BLASTING music. we were on the 15th floor, with the balcony door closed, and I could still hear it.

the thing is, they are doing this at every resort in the afternoon now... hubby Nebo and I call them the "yellow jackets". (they all wear the yellow shirts.)

you come back from the park to relax in the afternoon, and suddenly you are blasted with katy perry songs! I guess kids have to be entertained very single second of the day.

sure, the games are fun, but everything doesn't have to be SO loud.

I will tell you that it varies.. at all star music last year, I asked the yellow jacket, and he toned down the volume of the music a bit.

carribean Beach was the worst.. even her voice on the microphone for the games was kinda painful in my ear.

kidani village wasn't too bad. the pool at Jamo house, the music and microphone was way too loud. coronado springs.. they were actually just the right volume. but some days (when it was the guy yellow jacket) he had the reverb on too much on the mike.

we were no fond of BLT as a whole. the location was the only thing we liked (well, I loved the lake view from the 15th floor, watching the water pagaent from it) ok, but again, that's the location.

we really didn't like the decor (think IKEA) and the kitchenette in the studio is a dark narrow galley. much prefer the kitchenettes at the other studios, out in the open. bright and roomy (BCV, BWV, Jambo house studios, vero beach).

 

[bbn1122]

We did not use BLT in the afternoon too crowded...we just went over to CR.

I personally thought the pool area was a little small, but with CR having two pools and I believe 2 hot tubs, plus another kids area, that made BLT area okay...I think BLT is good for little kids.

My boys liked it early one morning and use it one evening too....they enjoyed the slide.

I like the idea of BLT/CR being a complex and it a very big resort to enjoy!

 

[wdw1972]

Not a fan of the BLT pool either - that's why I make the short walk over to the Contemporary. There are 2 MUCH better pools plus the white sand beach over there.

 

[n2mm]

OP, we are like you. While we've stayed at BLT 4 times now, also not fans of the BLT pool. Same reasons and too crowded (too small) for this resort. I've always wished they would put a quiet pool in on the other side where the tennis courts are. We love the BWV quiet pool. However, my granddaughters love the pool at BLT.

 

[Sammie]

Discussing here will not change anything, let DVC know.

Maybe they would tone it down some.

 

[Anal Annie]

Not very large. Hardly any shade to be found--I think I counted 8 total umbrellas and those were ALWAYS taken each and every time we went down.
And each and every time we went down, they were having kids games with extremely loud music and a CM blasting away on a microphone that you could probably hear all the way to Downtown Disney---.

Anyway, not our cup of tea.

I thought the BLT pool was a joke when we stayed there over spring break - but by the time WE went in the late afternoons the whole thing was in the shade of the building - and I was looking for SUN!!

This pool was a lifeguards nightmare. It was very obvious that almost all of the guests staying at BLT had toddler age children. There were very few tweens or teens. It appeared that most parents put a life vest on their young and left them to play on the slide so the lifeguards could watch them. Every day we were there the lifeguards had to shut the slide off a couple of times while some kid that really couldn't swim paddled around at the bottom of the slide in their floaties and couldn't get out of the way fast enough. There were no parents waiting at the bottom to catch them.

We also found that the pool at the Contemporary was MUCH nicer. Much larger, more lounge chairs and you could actually BREATHE between them - and plenty of sunshine to go around since the pool was further from the building!! The loungers at the BLT pool were all literally touching each other and we had to "hawk" for them like scavengers. Too close for me. I want some personal space to set my stuff in and I don't want to hear the next guy's thoughts because they're so close.

Next time we stay at BLT we'll just skip the BLT pool and head straight for the one over at the Contemporary.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

How did you like the resort otherwise? Won't get there till 2014.

I thought the BLT pool was a joke when we stayed there over spring break - but by the time WE went in the late afternoons the whole thing was in the shade of the building - and I was looking for SUN!!

This pool was a lifeguards nightmare. It was very obvious that almost all of the guests staying at BLT had toddler age children. There were very few tweens or teens. It appeared that most parents put a life vest on their young and left them to play on the slide so the lifeguards could watch them. Every day we were there the lifeguards had to shut the slide off a couple of times while some kid that really couldn't swim paddled around at the bottom of the slide in their floaties and couldn't get out of the way fast enough. There were no parents waiting at the bottom to catch them.

We also found that the pool at the Contemporary was MUCH nicer. Much larger, more lounge chairs and you could actually BREATHE between them - and plenty of sunshine to go around since the pool was further from the building!! The loungers at the BLT pool were all literally touching each other and we had to "hawk" for them like scavengers. Too close for me. I want some personal space to set my stuff in and I don't want to hear the next guy's thoughts because they're so close.

Next time we stay at BLT we'll just skip the BLT pool and head straight for the one over at the Contemporary.

 

[crazybones27]

We just did our first week stay at BLT two weeks ago and we were very surprised to find how underwhelmed we were by the pool. I mean a pool is a pool, but from the rooms view it just looked a lot nicer and more open then it really was. The kids play area was a lot smaller then we thought. The lounge chairs were hard to come by and right on top of one another. With that said just as long as they had the little slide for the kids my children were happy. The big slide I'll say hurts the back a little bit . I won't be rushing back for the pool, but it'll do for when we need to swim while there.

 

[AirGoofy]

Well, this is good news. We really liked the pool at BLT in October. The water slide was decent height and speed. It was not very crowded. My dds 10,7 had fun with the pool games with the other children their own age there. I expected to go over to the CR pool, but we enjoyed the BLT one too much. We enjoyed playing shuffleboard as well.

 

[Anal Annie]

How did you like the resort otherwise? Won't get there till 2014.

Hi Hope! Other than the pool we liked it OK...better than AKV Kidani and WAAAY better than OKW. Won't go so far as to say better than VWL or BCV though. Those 2 are still our favs!! It was right in the middle for us along with SSR. It was extremely convenient with the monorail access over spring break - and that's why we sucked it up & splurged on the points. I think when the world is super crowded like over spring break that is a big plus. We took advantage of the monorail to eat at Epcot a few times along with Ohana over at the Poly. We brought take out back from the Contempo Cafe at the Contemporary a couple of times too. We walked home from MK a couple of times...but our feet were screaming at us and calling us murderers the whole walk!! We had a LV studio on the north side with a decent view of the MK so we were able to catch the fireworks from there a couple of times. The kitchenette space was fabulous compared to some of the other studios.

Bottom line - I doubt we will stay there very often because it's so point intensive BUT we WILL stay there again at some point.

 

[Pennyguy23]

We don't care much for the resort. Not the disney feel to us. Pool is very small.

 

[csmommy]

We use the one at the Contemporary. Kids got bored at BLT fast.