BLT - disappointed before we get there?

[mbakun]

I was really excited when we booked our 3 night stay at BLT at the end of September, but now I am not so sure. I had heard about the kitchenette/vanity arrangement on the boards, and just saw the virtual tour on the dvc website. Seriously, what were they thinking????? The thought blowing drying my hair in the direction of the food area just creeps me out. It just seems really, really unsanitary!!! Are all the studios like this? Also, are they really small?Please...someone provide me some reassurance!!! I am ready to trade my resrvation for another resort.....

Thanks!
Michelle ?

 

[Tara]

I was really excited when we booked our 3 night stay at BLT at the end of September, but now I am not so sure. I had heard about the kitchenette/vanity arrangement on the boards, and just saw the virtual tour on the dvc website. Seriously, what were they thinking????? The thought blowing drying my hair in the direction of the food area just creeps me out. It just seems really, really unsanitary!!! Are all the studios like this? Also, are they really small?Please...someone provide me some reassurance!!! I am ready to trade my resrvation for another resort.....

Thanks!
Michelle ?

This is probably an unpopular perspective, but...

The kitchenette setup is one of the most over-blown issues about BLT IMHO (right up there with the bathroom doors). Why? Well, #1 it's a studio kitchen so you are not likely doing serious cooking. It's not like hair is going to blow into a frying pan full of scrambled eggs. #2 Whenever I blow dry my hair, it's *clean* and honestly, it's my hair...it stays on my head, gets stuck to my mouth if I'm wearing sticky lipgloss. AFAIK, no one ever died or even got ill from exposure to their own hair. #3 I don't know about other people, but I don't keep open containers of food sitting around anyway, so it's not like the hair is going to get into anything. At worst, it'll get on the counter top or sink. Not a big deal IMO. Of course, YMMV.

All studios have this configuration except for wheelchair accessible studios. These have a separate vanity area, but a much smaller kitchenette setup.

Yes, the studios are small. They're about 330 sq ft, or 10 sq ft smaller than a regular room at Wilderness Lodge.

Only you can decide if this is a deal-breaker for you. But I'm sure there's someone on a waitlist who would love to have that studio if you don't want it.

 

[PrincessYessenia]

I agree about the vanity/kitchenette combination. When I saw the model at SSR this past trip I saw it and actually liked it. I wondered why people were making a fuss about it, but that's JMHO. If it were a full kitchen then I might feel differently about it.

As far as the room size goes, the only reason I noted a difference was because people on here had pointed it out, so I made a point to notice when I saw the room. Otherwise I honesly wouldn't have thought anything of it. But then again that's just me!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Michelle, I agree 100% with you and a lot of other members do also. I think the studio was poorly designed and they had to fit everything into that small space. The bathroom itself is rather large (larger than the other studio toilet/tub rooms, except for OKW), but the rest of the room is really small.

If it is just two of you, you might want to go ahead and keep that reservation. But if you have more than two, you may want to see if you can book something else. You can almost get a one bedroom at OKW or AKV for the price of that studio.

 

[PrincessYessenia]

To agree with Deb & Bill I would not stay in a studio at BLT if it were more than 2 of us. Definitely would not be comfortable.

I say make the best of it either way you choose and have a MAGICAL trip!

 

[Sandisw]

WE stayed in a a studio for 2 nights. There were 4 of us (me and the kids, who are older).

It is smaller than the other studios we stayed in, but honestly, it was doable for the two nights. While the sink/kitchen set up was a little unique, it wasn't that bad. We didn't really use the kitchen for much, and our schedules worked out in such a way that we didn't have overlap.

I do think, given the size of the bathroom, that they could have designed it differently, but it is what it is. As long as you know going in, you will be fine.

But, I loved the resort and the location. As most know, I am a huge fan of the CR, so any flaws that BLT has do not outdo the location, at least for me. We were LV studio, even #'d room, so we had a great view of Wishes from the balcony. It was well worth the "closeness" we felt for those few days.

I certainly would not stay an extended time in one of these rooms with 4 people, but for a few nights, no big deal.

If it were me, I would certainly try it. If you find you didn't like it, you know its not the DVC resort for you!

 

[bobbiwoz]

For a 3 night stay, I would be happy with the location and keep it this once to try it. After staying, then decide if you'd ever want to do it again. Are you going to a MNSSHP? If so, just think about the quick walk back to your place while everyone else is waiting for Disney Transportation! Think about the fact that you get to view Wishes from a special place! I love the view from Cali Grill's spot and I'm guessing that the DVC place is just as great!!!

Bobbi

 

[DVC_Corrys]

I would consider it more a wing of the Contemporary and a hotel room. You are paying for being accross from MK and being a Monorail Deluxe Resort.

I am going in Sept for 14 days, this might be a bit small for food, etc. But, for a 3 day trip I am sure it wont be a pain.

You may lose 10 square feet or so but you gain a 10 minute walk to the gates of the Magic Kingdom!

 

[beccasmom]

We left BLT yesterday and are now at OKW.

The resort is lovely with great views; we had a lake view studio and were able to see the Epcot fireworks and the water parade. There are multiple places to view the MK fireworks if your room does not have an MK view - on the bridge, out the windows near the elevator, and of course at Top of the World lounge, which we didn't visit.

The studio is small but for 2 nights it was doable. We did not find the bathroom vanity setup to be to our liking; IMHO the design is a poor one. The room was clean and everything was in working order. The balcony is a good size; we were on the 9th floor. The pool looked great, but it rained on/off for much of our stay there and we did not visit it.

The location is unbeatable! There was LOTS of foot traffic on the BLT to the resort bridge this past weekend. However, we didn't bump into too many folks in the hallways or elevator nor was there much noise at all. It was hard to tell how many folks were actually staying at the BLT because the doors to the bridge were almost invariably held open for folks for courtesy reasons and we didn't see many people having to use their room keys for access. We used ours on an early morning breakfast run when there was not much traffic. .

We would stay there again, although we would opt for a 1-bedroom unit. Check-in at the CR was easy; we had already used on-line check-in. We tried the Contempo Cafe and the food - especially the flatbreads - was pretty good.