Bay Lake Towers or Port Orleans Riverside??

[klwdisney]

My mom and I are planning a trip next fall around Halloween with my childhood friend and her almost 8 year old son. None of us really want to share a bed. This will be my 10th trip and my mom's 3rd (our last was May 2012). My friend hasn't been since she was 12 and her son has never been. My mom and I have stayed at POR and POFQ (por most recently) and LOVE them. We would have 2 rooms to spread out in between the 4 of us with each of us having our own beds. But my friend and I are very intrigued by the idea of a 1 BR at the BLT! The idea of being able to afford a monorail resort being split between the 3 of us is so appealing!! BUT, it would mean possibly uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. As I said, none of us are too keen on the idea of sharing a bed with anyone. So it would be my mother in the master with maybe my friend's son on a cot, and my friend and i taking the pull out couch and the pull out chair (can anyone vouch for the comfy-ness of the pull out sofa & chair??)
I see so many pros & cons to both! HELP!!

POR is peaceful, we'd have our own beds, the food court and restaurant are on hand, the boat ride to downtown disney, the ability to share facilities with POFQ. But it's bus transportation everywhere and it would be more expensive for my friend. [POFQ is a consideration but i really dont like the new rehab theming and the food court is so limited and no yeehaw bob!].

BLT would be new for all of us, it's a deluxe, it's walking distance to MK, friend's son would LOVE the monorail, but it looks a little sterile, more cement than grass, when bus service was necessary it would share with many resorts, no onsite food choices so we'd have to walk all the way to the contemporary resort, etc. But it would be less expensive for my friend as we'd be splitting the cost between 3 of us.

Help me decide! It's a year away and I'm completely fixated on this decision!!

 

[tinkermommyof3]

Granted POR is a very nice moderate resort. BLT is an amazing Deluxe Villa resort. Regarding food options, CR is quite close to to BLT. The Contempo Cafe has some of the best counter service options of the Deluxe Resorts I have stayed. If price is not an issue, stay at BLT!

 

[Missytara]

Anytime you have a chance to try something new, go for it.

And my workmate bought into BLT and they love, love, love it.

 

[klwdisney]

What about the appeal for little boys? It seems like POR would be more appealing for a kid with all the activities they have there. It seems like BLT is geared more towards adults and POR has a good mix for both adults and kids.

 

[Magic3forme]

My vote is always BLT! the extra space would be a bonus, plus having a washer/ dryer and full kitchen is another.

my kids love the water slide at the pool.

 

[tinkermommyof3]

What about the appeal for little boys? It seems like POR would be more appealing for a kid with all the activities they have there. It seems like BLT is geared more towards adults and POR has a good mix for both adults and kids.

All of the resorts have movies and scheduled kid friendly activities.

 

[vacationgrl]

BLT owner here- we love it there. Have taken my nephews (ages 6 and 9). They loved the pool, the waterslide, the water attractions, the arts and crafts and game room and the MONORAIL. The walk to the Contemporary is short. I agree with the previous poster about the food at Contempo- it's terrific. Everyone will love the short travel time to MK and Epcot.
I have not personally slept on the chair/bed- but no one - adults included - have ever complained.
We like having the fridge and microwave and have used the laundry every trip...

Good luck deciding!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

If you could afford it - I would stay at BLT for its location/monorail/pool/ect,ect

 

[BebopBaloo]

I'd say if this is a one time opportunity to stay at BLT because of the splitting of the cost- go for it!! POR is really nice and peaceful. But....if BLT is cheaper for your friend and it isn't something you could normally swing for - I would definitely give it a try.

It's my husbands dream resort...oh someday perhaps.

 

[twinboysmom]

BLT is our favorite resort by miles. Love, love, love it. I will add to the comments about it. The walk to the CR is very short, and in my opinion, shorter than most areas of POR to its main area. We were at the end of the north tower, on the 16th floor, and it took us 5 minutes. As far as splitting bus service with so many resorts, we only split with the Poly. No big deal and the CR is the first stop. So that's 2 stops and I know POR has more.

As far as sleeping arrangements, it is my understanding as a long time DVC owner that you cannot get a cot at any DVC resort. You may bring an air mattress though although with the sleepr sofa and chair in use it will be kind of tight unless you put it in the master. I slept (mostly) on the sleeper sofa and sleeper chair during our September stay. They were both very comfortable, although not as comfy as that king sized bed.

I have 2 toddlers and found it and CR to be anything but sterile and very kid friendly. But, I also think POR is a great choice but if BLt is cheaper, why not? Hope this helps.

 

[klwdisney]

Thanks everyone! I ran this by my mom and my friend. My mom does not care for the decor of the room and the theming of the CR but she did agree this may be a good route for us to go. I'm sure there will be a lot of pros & cons weighed before we make our final decision, but I wanted to book as soon as we were sure of something so we'd have a shot at a 1 br. If a good sale or code isn't released for that timeframe next year, we'll just switch our ressies to POR.

 

[puffkin]

LOVE LOVE LOVE BLT! We are DVC owners and have stayed pretty much everywhere on property DVC and not and BLT is probably my absolute favorite tied with Kidani. We always get a 1 bedroom. I too was initally put off by the decor/modern style of BLT, but it really grew on me.

First, walking into the MK is great. BLT is a very small resort so nothing is far while POR is so spread out. The walk to the Contempo Cafe is quick and easy via the sky bridge....5 minutes tops from any point in the resort. And we love the selection there and can't beat the ambience. There is a lot for an 8 year old boy to do between the pools, marina, community hall, shuffle board, bocce, etc.

We always take an air mattress with for my 6 year old. DH and I share the King and we put him on the twin air mattress up against the sliders in the master and there is plenty of room. My mom takes the pull out chair in the living room. She says the DVC pullouts are surprising comfortable. Also LOVE the second bathroom, full kitchen, and washer/dryer. It is so much better than 2 rooms at POR. The beds fold back up in seconds...they are super easy to deal with.

The views are awesome pretty much everywhere in this resort. We usually stay standard because it is cheaper points. Last year we had an MK view on the 4th floor and this year we were on the 3rd with a courtyard/pool/water view. Really nice!

 

[Deb & Bill]

...As far as sleeping arrangements, it is my understanding as a long time DVC owner that you cannot get a cot at any DVC resort. You may bring an air mattress though although with the sleepr sofa and chair in use it will be kind of tight unless you put it in the master. I slept (mostly) on the sleeper sofa and sleeper chair during our September stay. ....

Exactly right. No cots or rollaways will be provided.

 

[klwdisney]

I let the girls know about the lack of a cot but my friend suggested that she'd bring a twin blow up mattress in case we needed it and that since we'd have a washer & dryer we wouldn't need to pack as much and would have the room for the mattress in their luggage.

I've also managed to get my mom on board with this resort. I read her all the reviews and plus she LOVES the proximity to the MK! and since we'd spend the majority of our week between epcot and MK the monorail would be a huge perk for us. YAY!! I was really interested in using that rental points site that's advertised on here but we can't be positive about our week. My gram was just moved to a nursing home and has dementia so who knows what our life will be like next year... and my friends other child is involved in a hockey league and found out that the championships will be held in the spring in California and if that happens she'll have to back out of the trip due to lack of funds. and mom and I definitely would not be able to afford BLT on our own. So we are just going to have to keep our fingers crossed for availability of a 1br and a big sale for next fall!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

My boys fight over the sleeper chair they say it's great!

 

[klwdisney]

My boys fight over the sleeper chair they say it's great!

Oh that's GREAT to know!! Since that may end up being where I sleep!!