*** Bay Lake Tower Owners Group***

[Ramsfan28]

We received our magical express documents, park tickets, AND reservation confirmation in the mail yesterday..that's the kind of mail I want to get every day

Question: how long does it take to walk from BLT to the restaurants/stores in the main tower?

It depends on where you are located in the BLT. My room was about 6 down from the skybridge. We were at tehe shops and restaraunts in under 5 minutes.

 

[Twinprincesses]

Is the only drink stations at the Contemporary?? I wish they would put one at BLT so we did not have to walk so far.

 

[Mommee]

I thought I read that there was one at the pool?

 

[BoardwalkSuzy]

We plan to cook breakfast most mornings in our room when we stay at BLT, not doing the character breakfast every morning. Also, my special needs diet son usually won't eat anything out at the parks, so I have to cook before we leave and when we return from the parks. We are planning to bring our Mickey Mouse waffle maker! How big is the dining table in the BLT dedicated 2 bedroom units, and how many people can it sit comfortably? Is it booth style like I've seen in the 1BR photos or is it free standing like in the grand villas?

How is the cookware - are the pans tephlon coated? What kind of cookware set and utensils are included in the kitchen? Is there a large pot for cooking spaghetti, and perhaps a cast iron skillet? Do the villas come with spatulas, knives, mixing bowls, cookie sheets, etc? If anyone has photos of the dining table -that would be great, and photos of the cookware and utensils in cabinet. Thanks for helping provide info, so I can figure out what kitchen items I need to bring or send in advance.

 

[bord1niowa]

We were at Bay lake in a studio 2 1/2 weeks ago, #8018. The cleaning is day 4 you get new towels, and day 7 they do a full clean. If you want a full cleaning sooner, you will be billed. There were 4 of us in the studio and every day or so, we had to ask for toilet paper and they would give us 1 roll. Thought that was a little on the low side....lol.
The Bay Lake studio is quite a bit smaller than the Animal Kingdom Jamba House. We estimated at least 6 feet longer and maybe a foot or two wider it seemed. The kitchen/bathroom sink area is much larger also in the Animal Kingdom Jamba House. The sofa sleeper is also bigger in the Jamba House. There is much more room to get around at Animal Kingdom studios. IMHO

 

[Nancy F]

dvc member don't get housekeeping.

if you are paying extra for housekeeping you should not have any problems.

the problem is your check out day. as I say the maid cleans the room, thinking (because everything is gone) that the family is gone. they are not - they come back and leave stuff. but they don't think they need to call housekeeping.

it would help it this situation if they told the maid - believe me she/he is not far.

but some people don't think.

they assume the maid will be back. but if she cleaned the room already why would she.

believe me - been in the situation - went to breakfast came back and the room was clean. It was plain that the maid though we had check out - so we did. others do not.

In other words say we have them take our bags out early and leave the room for breakfast. Then Mousekeeping comes in and cleans the room thinking we're gone. We come back to the room because it's still before check out and use the towels and things in the room to freshen up. Then we leave and check out. The maid doesn't know that we messed the room up so dosen't go back in to redo the room. The next people come in and the room looks used. Is that what you meant??? If so.. that makes sense.

Nancy

 

[thelionqueen]

Hmmmm a week goes by with no new BLT postings..perish the thought

 

[cmclaura]

Just found this site.

We bought 220 points in 2009 while on a Disney Cruise, so it didn't matter to us where the points where 'homed'; we plan to use our points just about every year for cruising.

Should that ever change, it's nice to know we have a nice 'home' to go to should we need it.

I used to live in Orlando so BLT is just 15 minutes from my old house, lol.

 

[BEANTOWNDR7]

This is for you "thelionqueen"; I'm so excited and can't wait till Oct., after hearing everyone's reviews. Tick Tock

 

[thelionqueen]

This is for you "thelionqueen"; I'm so excited and can't wait till Oct., after hearing everyone's reviews. Tick Tock

You picked a fabulous time and location to go, you're going to have a BLAST!!!! The countdown can seem like an eternity sometimes

We made our first BLT reservation the very first day (minute actually) BLT owners were allowed to make the very first reservations @ BLT My husband and I had 4 phones dialing MS at once and were lucky enough to get through (others noted over an hour hold time..ught). We booked December 2009 in February or March I believe, and it seemed like an ETERNITY
As much as I LOVE anticipating a Disney vacation, 7-10 months can kill a person
Have a blast!!!

 

[disneygal922]

We leave 2 weeks from tomorrow for our first trip 'home'. Which also happens to be for our Disney wedding and honeymoon! I'm so excited!

 

[chezpixelpixie]

if you don't like blt it would be best to sell it and buy something you love.

What is the benefit of buying points for, say, the Treehouse Villas over BLT? You can use the points to stay at any resort, right? I haven't been to BLT yet, last year I spent my Developer points to go to Disneyland for the first time, and this year we're going on a cruise We're planning a big trip to WDW in 2012, but we might stay at the Animal Kingdom instead of BLT so that we can do the Sunrise Safari.

Basically, I've only been in DVC for a year and a half, and I haven't seen any benefit to owning points at one resort over another. Enlighten me?

 

[work2play]

What is the benefit of buying points for, say, the Treehouse Villas over BLT? You can use the points to stay at any resort, right? I haven't been to BLT yet, last year I spent my Developer points to go to Disneyland for the first time, and this year we're going on a cruise We're planning a big trip to WDW in 2012, but we might stay at the Animal Kingdom instead of BLT so that we can do the Sunrise Safari.

Basically, I've only been in DVC for a year and a half, and I haven't seen any benefit to owning points at one resort over another. Enlighten me?

It's all about the 11 month booking window for home resort vs. 7 month booking window for everyone else. For the busy DVC times, you may not be able to get exactly what you want at the 7 month booking window. (Like early December at a specific DVC resort or BWV or BC during Food and Wine festival...). BLT is getting harder to get at 7 months as it sells out and there are more home resort bookings in the 11-7 month window.

 

[DVCGeek]

the monrail is directly across from the 7th floor right?

I'd say more like 6th floor right by the Contemporary and it goes down and curves away from there. I just looked at our pics from 7728's balcony and the top of the monorail seemed to be just under level, but darn close. Platform is roughly 5th floor Contemporary, and bridge is 5th floor BLT but 4th Contemporary, so monorail beam should be 6th floor BLT, right?

 

[DVCGeek]

Is the only drink stations at the Contemporary?? I wish they would put one at BLT so we did not have to walk so far.

I'd also like one in BLT building itself that includes Iced Tea (DW's fav). I particularly want one for when it's raining- the skybridge gets water blowing in regularly so while it's better than nothing the covering isn't nearly as good as I expected when I purchased...

I thought I read that there was one at the pool?

There is a partial one at the pool (Just soft drinks: No tea, coffee, hot chocolate IIRC) but it seemed to only be open when the snack bar was. So it wasn't especially helpful for us, er, me; unless she heads to the room earlier than I do I have the designated runner for things like that! The things we do for ...

 

[Mommee]

DVCGeek, that's sweet

We leave in 28 days! I'll have DH get the luggage out this weekend so I can informally start "packing".

I remember looking at BLT last summer while on the monorail and wishing we were there ... this time we will be

 

[jundland]

less than 2 months now....we can't wait!

 

[Nancy F]

I'm really looking forward to staying at BLT for the first time. I just hope we like the studio.
Nancy

 

[Acirish11]

My DW and I purchased 160 at BLT when we were staying at the FW Cabins in February. Our first trip to BLT is scheduled for Feb. 2011! I have a couple questions:

For those with kids.....our are DS-4 and DD-2.....is it easier to have them use the bedroom at night in a 1-BR Villa (lake view)....or easier to have them use the living room? Just wondering. We needed a 1-BR b/c they still take afternoon naps....which is why we stayed at the cabins for our last trip.

Have any BLTers ever used Kids Night Out? Just wondering your thoughts on their service and whether or not you can use them at BLT or any DVC.

Was it easier to walk from BLT to Magic Kingdom or take monorail?

Should I have made a room request when I made the reservation.....or can I add the request now?

Any other advice for staying in a hotel setting for the first time with two little ones would be appreciated. The cabins were easy b/c we could step outside and DS could play. My wife and I toured the AK and BLT rooms when we were there in Feb though and decided to buy at BLT. Thanks. AC

 

[DVCGeek]

Was it easier to walk from BLT to Magic Kingdom or take monorail?

Walking to MK is definitely easier and faster; by the time you walk to the monorail stop and then wait for it to go TTC, Poly, GF, MK it takes longer, and the walk isn't bad at all; I saw lots of people with small kids, strollers, etc. doing it when i stayed @ BLT.

I've never made a room request, but you should be able to make one either when you make the ressie initially or anytime thereafter; once you get to 10 days or less you can make (LIMITED!) requests online for at lest some of the resorts, but I'd recommend making it before that.

Don't have kids (human ones anyway; and fill in for us!) so I can't really comment on your other questions. have fun!