BLT for the first time - I hope I made the right decision!

[DizneyLizzy]

Thanks! After thinking about it, I'm really not concerned with having to move for that last night. My husband's favorite resort is OKW, and he was a little bummed when I told him I was planning on trying Kidani. I'll talk to him after work about my BLT audible, but I don't think he'll mind the move as much once he finds out that we're ending the trip at OKW. And he will likely love that we can walk to MK. The Epcot situation will be a little tricky, but we'll have a car and can always drive.

Thanks everyone! I'm excited - time to start researching a new (to us) place. I stayed one night at the Contemporary when I was 5 years old...back in the late 80s!

 

[DizneyLizzy]

It's ... fine.

You will need to board the monorail at the contemporary, and the bottleneck is getting on the tiny elevator with a stroller. Then you have to go out and down from the resort monorail and walk to the other side and up to the Epcot monorail. It's pretty much like transferring lines on a subway - I always seem to be seeing the Epcot monorail arrive as I'm walking over and knowing I'm going to get close but not make that one...

If we walk to the Contemporary via the BLT bridge thing, would we avoid the elevator bottleneck?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If we walk to the Contemporary via the BLT bridge thing, would we avoid the elevator bottleneck?

No. There is a separate elevator up to the monorail platform.

 

[DduzDis]

If we walk to the Contemporary via the BLT bridge thing, would we avoid the elevator bottleneck?

No, the bottleneck\elevator is to enter the monorail. The walkway gets you from BLT to the Contemporary (also a cool place to view fireworks if TOWL is not possible in your schedule). We just came back from a trip in Sept at BLT (our home resort). We didn't find the wait too bad for the elevator most times. Since it just moves one floor, time between elevators goes pretty fast. Honestly, the security check was actually where the bottleneck was for us (but still not bad at all). We had a 5 and a 2 yo DD with us on that trip. BLT is easily our favorite for the conveniences it offers.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

No. There is a separate elevator up to the monorail platform.

You're right. I was picturing it incorrectly in my mind. The monorail platform is up from level 4. Will they let us fold and carry the stroller up the escalator?

 

[kboo]

If we walk to the Contemporary via the BLT bridge thing, would we avoid the elevator bottleneck?

Unfortunately, no. There is 1 small elevator that goes from the 4th floor of the Contemporary to the 5th floor, that gets you to the boarding platform for the monorail. There is also an escalator, but you obviously cannot take the stroller on the escalator. The elevator can only fit max 2 strollers - it's always been a tight squeeze with 1 double stroller. Going up to get to the platform isn't so bad, but when the monorail unloads and you want to go DOWN, there can be a long line depending on how many strollers and ECVs have disembarked. On the other hand, if the kids have stayed sleeping (for example) through the walk out of Epcot and onto and off the monorail, I don't mind waiting for the elevator for a few more minutes since we are going home anyway. I'd probably be more frustrated if I were trying to make an ADR.

 

[kboo]

You're right. I was picturing it incorrectly in my mind. The monorail platform is up from level 4. Will they let us fold and carry the stroller up the escalator?

I'm not sure, but I doubt it, especially if it's a double stroller - I could see major safety issues if the person carrying the stroller lost hold of it, or tripped or fell getting on or off. It's a narrow escalator.

Also you have convenience for this:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/pixar-play-zone/

I could see my kids being into this - your youngest is still too young - they need kids to be fully potty trained and at least 4. One more year for us...

 

[DizneyLizzy]

I'm not sure, but I doubt it, especially if it's a double stroller - I could see major safety issues if the person carrying the stroller lost hold of it, or tripped or fell getting on or off. It's a narrow escalator.

Also you have convenience for this:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/pixar-play-zone/

I could see my kids being into this - your youngest is still too young - they need kids to be fully potty trained and at least 4. One more year for us...

My kids would probably love that Pixar play zone place. I’ll have to keep it in mind for my oldest. Good thinking on the stroller. We have two small singles but still might be hard to carry. This is why I ask questions on here! There’s always something that someone else has though of ;-) we’ll just see how it goes. It makes me feel good that we have a car just in case the monorail is tough.

 

[jerseygal]

Stayed at BLT, 3 nights lakeview studio end of October 1st time at this resort after 2 nights Poly. Truly LOVED BLT! Weather was awesome, great swimming weather, used BLT pools and Contemporary pools, enjoyed both. Liked the food at the pool at Contemporary, great for lunch and liked Contempo Cafe as well. Loved the convenience of the monorail and walking distance to Magic Kingdom. Really enjoyed it! Think that you will enjoy it very much!

 

[RachaelA]

We love BLT. It’s the perfect location with 2 young kids. We put one kid on the sleeper sofa and one on the sleeper chair.

 

[Duchie]

We did our first stay at BLT back in March, specifically for the 2nd bathroom. And we all LOVED it! We were all really surprised at how roomy and cofy it was (1bdrm) and even though there were 5 of us we didn't feel at all crowded. We couldn't see the fireworks from our room but went up to the lounge and it was great.

I don't think you'll be disappointed at all!!

 

[Nursejilly]

Just got back from an 8 night stay at BLT. We stayed in a 2 bedroom lake view villa. We loved it! We also own at AKV, which has a very different atmosphere. I will say, I love the theme at AKV, but the location of BLT cannot be beat in my opinion. Our villa at BLT was nice and quiet, and the beds were super comfy. It is a huge perk to be able to walk to Magic Kingdom as we even had a separate security check-point to go through, which helped us get into the park much faster. The kids loved the outdoor game area by the pool and we loved watching the fireworks from the Top of the World lounge. I agree that you will not regret staying there!

 

[kboo]

We just got back from 5 nights in a 2br standard. While we were mostly parking lot and trees view, since it’s winter we could see the castle through the trees and fireworks above the trees. It was pretty great.

Too tired to say much but I was again realizing how great the walk to MK is. We also had dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe twice - once for regular dinner and again for Thanksgiving. The boat is so convenient, and a nice peaceful way to ride. We did end up taking an Uber to get to AK, but that was because there were a ton of people waiting for the bus, no time was posted, and a family waiting there said that the previous bus was already too full.

We spent a few hours at the Community Hall and also enjoyed having so much outdoor space for the kids to run around without bothering anyone.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

We just got back from 5 nights in a 2br standard. While we were mostly parking lot and trees view, since it’s winter we could see the castle through the trees and fireworks above the trees. It was pretty great.

Too tired to say much but I was again realizing how great the walk to MK is. We also had dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe twice - once for regular dinner and again for Thanksgiving. The boat is so convenient, and a nice peaceful way to ride. We did end up taking an Uber to get to AK, but that was because there were a ton of people waiting for the bus, no time was posted, and a family waiting there said that the previous bus was already too full.

We spent a few hours at the Community Hall and also enjoyed having so much outdoor space for the kids to run around without bothering anyone.

I was hoping you'd give a report of how things went I saw on the family board that you guys were there for Thanksgiving. Hope your MIL had a good time.

I am really looking forward to our June stay. I'm glad we'll have a car, just in case we run into a similar AK situation. I completely forgot about the boat to WL. Maybe we'll do dinner at geyser point or something on our arrival afternoon. I hate to make ADRs on arrival day. Never know how fried the kids (and we) will be after arriving via car. So glad to hear about the community hall and open spaces. My kids neeeeeeed that. Ha. Last summer used a community hall for the first time - it was a great place to go during a sudden thunderstorm when we were enjoying the OKW pool. My kids could have spent all afternoon in the community hall.

So glad you had a great trip!! When's the next one??

 

[kboo]

I was hoping you'd give a report of how things went I saw on the family board that you guys were there for Thanksgiving. Hope your MIL had a good time.

I am really looking forward to our June stay. I'm glad we'll have a car, just in case we run into a similar AK situation. I completely forgot about the boat to WL. Maybe we'll do dinner at geyser point or something on our arrival afternoon. I hate to make ADRs on arrival day. Never know how fried the kids (and we) will be after arriving via car. So glad to hear about the community hall and open spaces. My kids neeeeeeed that. Ha. Last summer used a community hall for the first time - it was a great place to go during a sudden thunderstorm when we were enjoying the OKW pool. My kids could have spent all afternoon in the community hall.

So glad you had a great trip!! When's the next one??

We're going over Easter break! (another busy time ... now that our older kid is in school ... but we will be going for a longer trip and will plan to take some resort or water park days. Also, the crowd calendars aren't *as* bad that week)

We almost always make an ADR on arrival day, but make it a low key one at or near our resort. Since we fly, we usually have a better idea not only of our arrival time, but how fried we all will be. Our kids LOVED Whispering Canyon; our 3yo keeps shouting "We need ketchup!" The Wave at the Contemporary usually doesn't need an ADR and is pretty relaxed, so maybe keep that as a backup if you need a comfortable sit down place to eat. We usually go to dinner between 5-6 as that's the only chance we have of getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour.

For your kids, I'd also suggest Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness - but bring ear protection because it can get loud. The food (barbecue buffet) isn't the best, but there's a lot of dancing and character meets for the kids, and a nice boat ride to and from. We took our kids when they were 4.5 and an infant. Our ODD LOVED it. I've also heard good reviews for Hoop de Doo, which we will try when the kids are older, and we are trying Artist Point with the Snow White dinner next trip.

We've also done ADRs at all the monorail resorts when we've been staying in the MK area. 1900 Park Fare is a favorite, as are Kona Grill at Poly and Ohana.

Edited: Also - taking the monorail and the security check was not bad, even with a double stroller. Despite the parks being very crowded, Disney CMs were amazing at helping people get on/off, helping my MIL with a scooter her first day (then she refused to take the scooter on the monorail again, but that was her choice), and generally keeping things moving. The only longish lines for security checks were at the entrance to Epcot (we had to go through security before going up to the monorail platform at the Contemporary, and again after getting off at Epcot and before entering at Future World. In the future, if we weren't trying to rope drop anything in Future World, I'd take a car to the Boardwalk area and enter at World Showcase.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

We're going over Easter break! (another busy time ... now that our older kid is in school ... but we will be going for a longer trip and will plan to take some resort or water park days. Also, the crowd calendars aren't *as* bad that week)

We almost always make an ADR on arrival day, but make it a low key one at or near our resort. Since we fly, we usually have a better idea not only of our arrival time, but how fried we all will be. Our kids LOVED Whispering Canyon; our 3yo keeps shouting "We need ketchup!" The Wave at the Contemporary usually doesn't need an ADR and is pretty relaxed, so maybe keep that as a backup if you need a comfortable sit down place to eat. We usually go to dinner between 5-6 as that's the only chance we have of getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour.

For your kids, I'd also suggest Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness - but bring ear protection because it can get loud. The food (barbecue buffet) isn't the best, but there's a lot of dancing and character meets for the kids, and a nice boat ride to and from. We took our kids when they were 4.5 and an infant. Our ODD LOVED it. I've also heard good reviews for Hoop de Doo, which we will try when the kids are older, and we are trying Artist Point with the Snow White dinner next trip.

We've also done ADRs at all the monorail resorts when we've been staying in the MK area. 1900 Park Fare is a favorite, as are Kona Grill at Poly and Ohana.

We love Easter break! My husband and I are teachers, so we're limited to the busy times. We are always in Sarasota visiting family over Easter break, and we have gone up to WDW many times for a day or two while in the area. The great weather and extended park hours make up for the crowds in my opinion. A few years ago I started working in a different school system so my husband and I don't always have the same spring break. This is why we've started going in late June when school gets out instead. I'll be in Sarasota with my kids, but no husband this Easter break, and I'm not brave enough to do the parks with them by myself yet. I'll probably just take my son to Blizzard Beach for a day, and leave my daughter with my mom, unless she wants to come too. I did that last year and couldn't believe how empty the water parks were even though it was Easter week.

I wonder if my kids would like Whispering Canyon. It's not a bad idea for an arrival ADR since we'll be so close. I had originally planned on Kona, but I'll think it over. I think my kids would like the food at WC. We also do dinner between 5 and 6 bc we try to stick to a pretty normal bedtime schedule, even on vacation. My kids are up by 6 no matter when they go to bed. It's just better for everyone if they are in bed no later than 8:00...

 

[katmittens]

We just returned from a two nite stay at BLT in a 1 bedroom standard view. There were four adults and plenty of room. I mainly did it for the second bath. I was on a wait list And it came through. I did not think I would like it and I loved it. The convenience to MK was great. On our last morning DD and I walked over got our popcorn and took our ride on the train, it is Our tradition to eat popcorn on the train. I hope to stay here again.

 

[MommaBerd]

For your kids, I'd also suggest Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness - but bring ear protection because it can get loud. The food (barbecue buffet) isn't the best, but there's a lot of dancing and character meets for the kids, and a nice boat ride to and from. We took our kids when they were 4.5 and an infant. Our ODD LOVED it. I've also heard good reviews for Hoop de Doo, which we will try when the kids are older, and we are trying Artist Point with the Snow White dinner next trip.

We've also done ADRs at all the monorail resorts when we've been staying in the MK area. 1900 Park Fare is a favorite, as are Kona Grill at Poly and Ohana.

Unfortunately, it is strongly rumored (if not announced?) that Mickey’s Backyard BBQ will be closing by the end of the year or soon after, for construction of the new DVC property.

 

[kboo]

Unfortunately, it is strongly rumored (if not announced?) that Mickey’s Backyard BBQ will be closing by the end of the year or soon after, for construction of the new DVC property.

Oh no. That's right, I had remembered hearing that. I hope they have something else similar somewhere else. It was a fun night (even if the food is only so so.)