Bay Lake Tower: Thoughts?

[maxiesmom]

Has anyone stayed at BLT recently and care to share their thoughts? My sister thinks this would be a great place to stay for our next trip. However I can't find a whole lot on it in the way of reviews or trip reports.

We would need a 2 bedroom villa, and I'm wondering if it is worth the high price, or if we would be better of with 2 regular rooms. I've also read that the BLT rooms lack in sound insulation and are very noisy. Anyone found that to be true?

 

[koleta@mickey]

My family loves BLT. We own DVC and that is our home resort and we have stayed there 7 times. We don't think the rooms are noisy...never even heard anything from another room while staying there. We love the 2 bdr villas and love the conveinence of the monorail and also being able to walk to MK.

I would suggest you check into renting points instead of paying cash though, you will save money!

 

[AJKMOM]

Has anyone stayed at BLT recently and care to share their thoughts? My sister thinks this would be a great place to stay for our next trip. However I can't find a whole lot on it in the way of reviews or trip reports.

We would need a 2 bedroom villa, and I'm wondering if it is worth the high price, or if we would be better of with 2 regular rooms. I've also read that the BLT rooms lack in sound insulation and are very noisy. Anyone found that to be true?

We had a one bedroom, and yes, I thought it was noisy. We could hear, loudly, every time the villa above us ran their jetted tub or flushed their commode. The Electric Water Parade could be heard about 10:20 each night.

 

[LJD2143]

We stayed in a 1BR on the 10th floor last October.....loved it!!!!
Did not find it to be noisy at all. The 1BR was plenty of room for my family of 5 and 2 bathrooms was great.
Kids enjoyed the pool, slide, table tennis, and bocce ball.
Adults enjoyed the TOTWL.
But the best part is the bridge to CR and the short walk to MK!

 

[Kelblum]

We stayed there and had a MK theme park view. It was very nice, liked being on the monorail, and didn't have a problem with the noise. What I didn't like, although the view was great and was able to see the fireworks from our room, I really didn't like how you saw the parking lot. Made the view a little less "magical", and wouldn't waste the extra points on it again. Also it was nice and new but for me, I didn't like the super modern decor. Would I stay there again? Sure, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

 

[Deb & Bill]

BLT is said to be sold out now, so getting it at Disney Reservation Center will become more difficult.

Check the DVC boards for discussions on BLT.

 

[ppony]

Has anyone stayed at BLT recently and care to share their thoughts? My sister thinks this would be a great place to stay for our next trip. However I can't find a whole lot on it in the way of reviews or trip reports.

We would need a 2 bedroom villa, and I'm wondering if it is worth the high price, or if we would be better of with 2 regular rooms. I've also read that the BLT rooms lack in sound insulation and are very noisy. Anyone found that to be true?

We've stayed in a 2BR and a studio. We never noticed any sound issues at all.
When you ask about a 2BR as opposed to 2 different rooms. Keep in mind that a 2BR is actually 3 rooms. Not just 2 bedrooms. The 2 bedroom and a huge living and dining area, as well as an additional bathroom to boot. No one is ever tripping over someone else, luggage or a bed to get around. Its GREAT to be able to get up in the morning and go into our living area and do whatever while others still sleep. Or at night, they can go to bed and you can stay up w/o bothering anyone. The space is MASSIVELY worth the cost IMO. In fact, we will take WDW trips a few days shorter just to enjoy that much space with our points.

 

[Ocean]

I have mixed feelings about Bay Lake Tower. We stayed there on DVC points last May. My wife loved it, and the close proximity to Magic Kingdom was great for our 3-year old. I'll give you my version of the Pros and Cons.

PRO
Close to Magic Kingdom - you can literally walk to the park.

Still relatively new, so our 1-bedroom villa was in good repair.

Very nice courtyard and pool area on the Bay Lake side.


CON
We had a Magic Kingdom view. You'd think that would be a pro, but we had a fairly low floor, so we actually had a fantastic view of the parking lot between BLT and MK. For the number of points we used on that stay, I really didn't want to look at a parking lot. A high floor would definitely be better, but you're still going to see the parking lot from a lot of the MK-view rooms. That's one of my pet peeves. I can take water view, garden view, or most other views - just don't give me parking lot view! LOL

Noisy . . . from CAR ALARMS! The concussions from the MK fireworks were so strong that they set off a lot of car alarms in the parking lot. That was definitely a down side to trying to enjoy fireworks from your balcony.

And finally, for me it always felt like something was missing. We had to go over to the Contemporary for the restaurants. (A pool-side snack bar was available at BLT, but it wasn't always open when we wanted to use it.) We had to go to the Contemporary for package pickup. We had to go to the Contemporary for beverage mug refills. We had to go to the Contemporary for the shops. We had to go to the Contemporary for the bus stop. I'll be the first to admit that it didn't take very long to go over to the Contemporary, but we did it A LOT because those services were not available in BLT. If you aren't staying on the floor with the walkway, you wait for the elevator, take it to the walkway floor, cross the bridge, do your shopping, come back, wait for the elevator, and then ride it back to your own floor.

In a way it's similar to places like Saratoga Springs or Old Key West, because you have to go to the main building for most services. But with a brand-new tower, I just expected a shop or two and maybe a restaurant.

We MAY stay there again, but at the very least I'll try for a lake view room.

 

[AshleeH]

We haven't stayed there yet, but we got upgraded to it from Contemporary on our next trip and I am beyond excited!

 

[ppony]

CON
We had a Magic Kingdom view. You'd think that would be a pro, but we had a fairly low floor, so we actually had a fantastic view of the parking lot between BLT and MK. For the number of points we used on that stay, I really didn't want to look at a parking lot.

I AGREE about this, and evidently they heard enough complaints that they are reclassifying some of those rooms. It is just plain WRONG to pay that much or use that many points for what should be a beautiful view but is a glorified view of the lot. I'd be CHEESED w/ a lower room. It's almost not worth the risk. I wouldn't argue w/ anyone saying it wasn't worth it. Above 5th floor or no dice in my eyes.

 

[Sparkie]

We own at BLT and I am happy with it. I do agree with the above poster about the pros and cons. But we knew when we bought in that there wasnt a store or resturant in the building. On our first stay there we were fortunate enough to be on the level that led directly to the crosswalk to the Contemporary.

As for Views. We stayed in a 2 bdr, lake view that was all the way to the end closest to MK. No noticable noise from the other rooms. But the sonic booms from the evening fireworks took us by suprise one night. I thought ... who is banging on that wall???? After we discovered it was from the fireworks it was nice to watch them from our room. It wasnt a perfect view but I got to see fireworks almost everynight. The 2 yo was terrified of the "boom booms" so we had to make a mad dash home every night but once we realized that we could see them from our room and the noise was dulled she was able to enjoy them and so were we.

I liked the convience of MK at my door step and went over for EMH one night after the babies were asleep. My DH stayed with the kids, and I had a couple of hours at MK all too myself.

Travel to Epcot was fine. Resort monorail to the TTC then board the Epcot monorail.

Travel to the other parks is by bus. Now one thing I have noticed about the Deluxe resorts is that bus service seems to be SLOW. BLT shares busses with Poly and GF so once a bus comes for AK or HS you will have to go to Poly and GF for pick up and then to the park.

The 2bdr room was GREAT!!!! We were a party of 8 and had plenty of room. The biggest plus was 3 bathrooms!

 

[scottrc]

For those that own BLT and aren't happy with the idea of no restaurants or shops in the tower...this is why the annual dues for BLT are among the lowest of all DVC properties. The less services the tower has to provide exclusively, the less you have to pay to own it!

 

[kathleendsm]

I am in BLT right now, sitting in the living room while my kiddos settle down to sleep after a busy day. We are in a standard view 2BR, the outside of the curve on the first floor. I was disappointed about the first floor until I got in here, it is actually a fabulous room. The view is of the Contemporary, the marina and Bay Lake. You can see the water pageant in the evening (which I fondly remember from when I was a kid staying in the Contemporary), and there is a nice grassy area in front of the patio that the kids can play on. I love it.

I don't get any noise from any other villa, either above us or to the side. I can vaguely hear the water pageant music, but only if I am listening for it, not loudly enough to wake me (or definitely not loudly enough to wake my kids). I don't hear anything from the hall. The toilet in our second bath makes a slight whining sound, but that is the only irritating noise.

I love the easy MK and Epcot location. That said, the only real disadvantage is the location to other things. For instance, we like to hit Target or eat off property every few days. From AKL it is super easy (where we stayed last). At BLT you are really ensconced in the back of WDW, so although it is obviously possible to get offsite, you have to work for it and it takes you 15 minutes just to get off WDW property. But we may be more unique in wanting to get away.

We own at both BLT and BWV. I do find that we use the walk into Epcot a lot more at BWV than we go to MK at BLT. Epcot we hit just for dinner. MK isn't really an eating park, so we don't tend to go back as much. That said, it is much easier to get into Epcot than MK, so on balance probably better to have the MK walk since it can be a pain to get to MK from other resorts, especially if you like to drive.

The pool is a nice one with zero entry, though I find it nothing very special theming wise. Seems they could have done more. The kids love it of course.

Top of the World Lounge is great if you will be staying on points. A very nice way to see the fireworks!

All in all, I adore staying here and having such easy access to the Contemporary. It is a place that fills me with nostalgia for my childhood though, which I think is a big part of the reason it means so much to stay here. We are very happy with our villa and the space. It is smaller than Kidani, but brighter. And with a boy and a girl I like having both the pull out couch and pull out chair for them to sleep on! Try it, I think you will like it.

 

[goodferry]

We too own at BLT and love it! We have only stayed in two bedroom villas before with a lake view. What everyone has said about the TPV is true. You are really close to the MK, but there is a parking lot between you. We love the lake views.
We love the short walk to the MK, the extremely spacious rooms, the comfortable bedding and mattresses, all the storage space, the awesome bathrooms, the Top of the World Lounge, the pool, the pool bar (love the mango margaritas), the proximity to the monorail, and that parking is so close to the entrance. We have never noticed it being noisy at all.
I have to agree that you are getting a lot more with a two bedroom than you are with two rooms (assuming you mean studios?) You are getting a master bedroom with a king bedroom with balcony and huge bathroom that includes a shower and jacuzzi tub and closet; a second bedroom with two queen beds, its own bathroom and closet and its own balcony; a main living area with a kitchen, a full bath, a pull out couch, a huge flatscreen tv and closet; and a utility room with a full washer and dryer and a ton of storage space. We love it!

 

[jjiillee]

We stayed in a 1 bedrrom in fall of 2010 and loved it. We had a lake view/pool view. It was nice to watch the boat parade from balcony. The boat parade is noisy so if you are in bed by 10pm it may wake you. Loved the fact we could walk to magic kingdom.

 

[YankeePrincess]

I have stayed there several times and I have never thought it to be noisy. We always get a 1 bedroom. Of course I own there so I am partial but I love it.