BLT-just some thoughts about my week

[tara98]

We checked into BLT on Oct 10th and I know check in is a 4:00, but we literly got the "text" at 4:00 that our room was finally ready. We had arrived at 12:00 so we waited 4 hours (with an 18 month old). We did online check in- which was "quicker" at the desk, but we did not get our request of room location, and I can't help but wonder that if we did not do online checkin that we might have been able to choose the room....I had to explain to the lady at check in WHY I REQUESTED what I had.. only she didn't care, she only cared about going on her break. I was very frustrated with her because she made me feel in no way "welcome" and had absolutel know knowledge about BLT. I really feel that the service continues to go downhill overthere.. Anyway, my DH kept on walking up to the room 15th floor- LV (could see the pool and lake, and Epcot and DTD) and witnessed the mousekeepers cleaning the dirtiest room he had ever seen! He said it was completely trashed! WHO DOES THIS!? So apparently, because it was so bad, and it was on a higher floor, it took all that time to clean.. We could have walked over to MK, but were afraid if we did we would get the text at that time and I really wanted to get in and get organized.. Which leads me to another problem.. We got into our room at 4:00, and didn't receive our luggage until around 7:00!!!! And if that ws not enough, we also had an owners locker that we were waiting for, two boxes that we had mailed ourselves, and groceries that we had ordered. WE HAD TO WAIT HOURS FOR ALL OF THESE!!! After several calls down to Bell services, and them telling us that they could not find our boxes, we finally received everything! I got the impression that the front desk area had no training or knowledge of anything BAY LAKE..

Other than this, I thought BLT was OK. It is not my favorite, although you can't beat the location. As others have said, 5-10 minute walk to MK. I found that bus service was very slow to other locations. The room itself was nice, but again, it did lack that "hominess" that you feel when you stay at the other DVC resorts. It is more like a "hotel" than a "time-share-resort". I also agree that the rooms are smaller than the others, but again, this goes with the "hotel" feel. They were nice, and I loved being able to just take the elevator down to go to the pool instead of a long walk or a little bus trip. Didn't think the bathroom doors were too much of a big deal.. but they really should try to do something with them.. Any time I needed privacy, I had to make sure the bedroom door was locked.. it was a pain..

We made it up to the Observation deck only to watch Hallowwishes, didn't get to go to Top of the World Lounge thanks to my FIL who became extremely selfish throughout the whole week, but that is another thread altogether!

Our room # was 8505 and was a Bay Lake view. We could see the lake, the pool, Epcot, and DTD. It was on the north creasant and was on the 15th floor. If we do get the oppertunity to stay here again, we will probably request south creasant near the walkway to Contemp(5th floor). It was nice being so high for the view, but the convenience of being right near the walkway would have been easier for us..

I guess I could say this was an experience and I know what to do, and look for and request next time.. (and we leave the inlaws at home!!!! most importantly)!

 

[mrsswat]

we were there in August for a few nights, then transferred to BWV. When bell services arrived to take our luggage, the gentleman had no idea how to transfer the bags to BWV!! He took them and said he would find out what to do. Needless to say, on our way out we made sure to stop at the bell services desk to make sure our bags were going where we were! We also chalked it up to just opening, but also thought CMs should have been better trained! Now it's October/November and it sounds like some things still haven't been ironed out.

 

[jade1]

Sounds like that first day was pretty "trying". We always head right to MK after we check in if the room is not ready right then. Everything is always there when we get back-always a great way to start for us.

 

[Sandisw]

we were there in August for a few nights, then transferred to BWV. When bell services arrived to take our luggage, the gentleman had no idea how to transfer the bags to BWV!! He took them and said he would find out what to do. Needless to say, on our way out we made sure to stop at the bell services desk to make sure our bags were going where we were! We also chalked it up to just opening, but also thought CMs should have been better trained! Now it's October/November and it sounds like some things still haven't been ironed out.

That is so funny as we were there in August and went from BWV to BLT and they also didn't know how to get things transferred.

The sheet they had only had CR listed and because of that, they never put me on the list, since they put "BLT" on my bags.

At 4:00 pm, when my bags still didn't arrive, bell services at BWV told CR that I didn't have any!

Of course, I had my ticket and they finally found them in the back, labeled BLT and realized that they "forgot" to put them on the van to go to the CR. Very stressful and not something I will use again. We rent a car so from now on we will lug them to/from resorts if we split stay ourselves.

 

[disneynutz]

We got into our room at 4:00, and didn't receive our luggage until around 7:00!!!! And if that ws not enough, we also had an owners locker that we were waiting for, two boxes that we had mailed ourselves, and groceries that we had ordered. WE HAD TO WAIT HOURS FOR ALL OF THESE!!! After several calls down to Bell services, and them telling us that they could not find our boxes, we finally received everything! I got the impression that the front desk area had no training or knowledge of anything BAY LAKE..

Did you have to pay for the mailed boxes? BLT is one of the resorts where the inbound packages are processed by IKON, a outside vendor.

Maybe that's why they couldn't find them.

Bill

 

[tara98]

We shipped them USPS, so yes, paid that postage... Assumed it wouldn't have been a problem, even called ahead of time to inform them when they would be receiving them...

 

[tjkraz]

We shipped them USPS, so yes, paid that postage... Assumed it wouldn't have been a problem, even called ahead of time to inform them when they would be receiving them...

All USPS mail inbound to Walt Disney World goes to a centralized delivery center--basically Disney's mail room. Packages sent via FedEx or UPS are delivered directly to the destination resort by the courier service. Next time use FedEx or UPS. Your packages probably were truly lost somewhere between the mail room and your resort.

Just be warned that as disneynutz inferred, guests at many resorts are now charged for the delivery of inbound packages. These fees are in addition to whatever you paid to ship the item. The fee is based upon weight but you could easily be looking at an extra $5-10 per package.

Calling ahead accomplishes nothing. Disney has too many guests to keep track of that sort of thing.

Also note that if you ever use your resort phone to call the "front desk", you are actually getting an off-site call center. Not sure if you ever did this in your struggles but for future reference, if you have a problem that needs to be cleared up, go to the front desk in person. Calls to housekeeping, maintenance and bell services should go directly to those departments.

And just to comment on something in your original post, even with an 18 month old you really do need to plan on not getting into your room until at least 4pm. Consider anything prior to that a bonus. Some people will go so far as to reserve a room the day before they need it to guarantee early access or to stay at a (cheaper) non-DVC resort the night before. The entire concept behind DVC is near 100% occupancy year-round. Most days the housekeeping staff is struggling to clean rooms from newly-departed guests to make them ready for the new arrivals. It just isn't possible to get everyone into a room a 10am or noon or 2pm.

Those are just a few tips to file away for your future stays. Sorry to hear you experienced some mediocre CMs during your stay.

 

[Pig Pen]

This is just the opposite of our experience. We arrived before noon and our room was ready. I didn't make any special requests, but we had 7709 (lake view). We freshened up, then went to MK for lunch. When we returned mid-afternoon, our luggage had already arrived. We even had time for a nap before heading out again!

I agree that the north end of the cresent is a LONG walk from the skybridge. If I stay again, I would request lakeview, south end, near elevators (don't really care about the floor number). I wouldn't spend extra for MK view as you can always go up to the TOWL for fireworks!

 

[DenLo]

....
I also agree that the rooms are smaller than the others, but again, this goes with the "hotel" feel. They were nice, and I loved being able to just take the elevator down to go to the pool instead of a long walk or a little bus trip. Didn't think the bathroom doors were too much of a big deal.. but they really should try to do something with them.. Any time I needed privacy, I had to make sure the bedroom door was locked.. it was a pain..

Our room # was 8505 and was a Bay Lake view. We could see the lake, the pool, Epcot, and DTD. It was on the north creasant and was on the 15th floor.....

It looks like you had a dedicated 2 BR based on you room number. I checked the information we were given by the DVC with our points purchase and found that your 2 BR's size is 1152 sq. ft. And from the DVC News found out there are only two other resorts that have larger 2 BR's--OKW (243 sq. ft larger) and AKV, Kidani (20 sq. ft. larger). The rest were smaller by 69 to 79 sq. ft.. So maybe you are just used to staying at OKW, those 2 BR's are really big. The threads that have mentioned small rooms at BLT were referring only to the studios since the one and two bedrooms at BLT are little larger than most of the other resorts.

Here's the square footage for each resort's 2 BR villa:

AKV Kidani - 1173
Jambo - 1075
BCV - 1083
BLT - 1152
BWV - 1073
OKW - 1395
SSR - 1075
VWL - 1080

The one bedroom villas have similar rankings where OKW is number 1, Kidani #2 and BLT #3. Since I have the figures here they are:

AKV Kidani - 807
Jamba - 710
BCV - 726
BLT - 803
BWV - 712
OKW - 942
SSR - 714
VWL - 727

I have to admit the idea of staying a resort with a hotel feel, just makes BLT more unique. And if I want a more homie feel there are several resorts to choose from.

Thank your for your report. It's always good to read from someone else's perspective about a resort.

Hopefully if you do stay at BLT again you'll find it to more enjoyable especially if it's only your family.

 

[jworkkul]

Sorry your stay was not all that you expected it to be.

We checked into BLT on Oct 10th and I know check in is a 4:00, but we literly got the "text" at 4:00 that our room was finally ready. We had arrived at 12:00 so we waited 4 hours (with an 18 month old).

If you noticed in your confirmation letter it probably stated that check-in was after 4 p.m. (not before). If anyone gets in their villa before that it is a benefit. You should have made plans for that wait and taken a nice stroll over to the MK and had lunch/dinner and catch the parade. Even if the room was ready before 4 p.m. you still could have had a nice time at MK and came back a little later to get into your room and your bags and everything would have been waiting for you.

 

[spiceycat]

at any DVC or WDW resort if you ask for a specific room you will be disappointed.

some DVC members stay for a month or even longer. If that happened to your request - then sorry - they won't move a guest for you.

you need to start requesting an area - so north side high floor, or lake side higher floor. then you might get what you want.

never try to even request a certain room - it just won't happen.

sorry your first stay was not what you were expecting.

as far as hotel - so is BWV, BCV, VWL and AKV at Jambo House. Kidani is different.

though that only OKW was bigger - but looks like Kidani is also for the 1 and 2 bedroom. thanks for the information.

now the studio at BLT is smaller. the design is very different.

no offense but it sounds like you decided to hate BLT before you even arrived.

 

[rkwier]

It appears that perhaps you may not have had realistic expectations regarding your stay.

As others have stated, check in is AFTER 4:00, so anything before that is pixie dust. Being able to access your room on time or upon arrival are two different things. You were given access in line with the standards. Unfortunately, it was several hours after your arrival. It would be a good idea to either make plans to occupy your time between arrival and check in, or schedule a later flight if it is a problem to wait until the 4:00 check in time.

The CM rudeness is unacceptable, but realize that a room request is simply that, a request. There is no guarantee that those requests will be met. On-line or in-person check in should not affect this. I have checked in both ways. In three stays, I have only had my room requests met one time.

If you used ME (just guessing), their guidelines state that the luggage will arrive in your room within 3 hours after your check in. Not specific if this is regarding arrival or actual room access, but if it is referring to room access, then the arrival of your luggage is also within guidelines. They specifically state that if you need anything like medication or other must have items, keep them in your carry on bags.

Although it did take a while for your groceries, OL, etc to arrive, bear in mind that BLT and the CR share staff members. When we were there in September, it took a while to have maintenance to arrive to check our microwave. When the poor guy finally arrived, he looked like he had been run over by a truck. He said that there were two maintenace men to handle both resorts. Clearly staffing needs to be adjusted, but keep in mind that most of the CM are working their tails off and have mercy on them.

I think that if you just make a few adjustments in your planning, your arrival will be a much more pleasant experience.

 

[thefirebuilds]

but realize that a room request is simply that, a request. There is no guarantee that those requests will be met. O

whoah, wait a minute. Specific room views at BLT "cost" extra in points than others do. How is that simply a "request?"

to the OP, were you refunded the difference in points on your failed request?

 

[Tara]

I don't get the "I agree the rooms are smaller" - the 2br units at BLT are very large! Only OKW and AKV has bigger 2br units, and the difference in size between AKV and BLT is negligible.

What I agree with is that your stay was a bit bumpier than need be due to a combination of unrealistic expectations (check-in time, room request) and unfortunate circumstances (rude? CM, hard-to-locate? Lockers/boxes). Hopefully next time will be better.

 

[thefirebuilds]

I don't get the "I agree the rooms are smaller" - the 2br units at BLT are very large! Only OKW and AKV has bigger 2br units, and the difference in size between AKV and BLT is negligible.

What I agree with is that your stay was a bit bumpier than need be due to a combination of unrealistic expectations (check-in time, room request) and unfortunate circumstances (rude? CM, hard-to-locate? Lockers/boxes). Hopefully next time will be better.

Funny how wall paint and layout can leave that sort of impression on someone. I don't doubt the rooms feel smaller if a couple people said they do... but yet we've got black and white proof that they're bigger

 

[Tara]

Funny how wall paint and layout can leave that sort of impression on someone. I don't doubt the rooms feel smaller if a couple people said they do... but yet we've got black and white proof that they're bigger

Funny - we spent the first half of our stay in a dedicated 2br at SSR - everyone in our group (except the kids ) commented on how much bigger the BLT room was!

 

[thefirebuilds]

Funny - we spent the first half of our stay in a dedicated 2br at SSR - everyone in our group (except the kids ) commented on how much bigger the BLT room was!

I wonder if people in the city have a different perception of that type of format than those of us that are in a more suburban lifestyle? I live in a pretty large metropolitan area, SSR seemed like a 20 minute walk everywhere

 

[Tara]

I wonder if people in the city have a different perception of that type of format than those of us that are in a more suburban lifestyle? I live in a pretty large metropolitan area, SSR seemed like a 20 minute walk everywhere

Not sure what this had to do with the size of rooms?

But I will say that at SSR we've always stayed in Springs an it's a close walk o everything.

 

[thefirebuilds]

Not sure what this had to do with the size of rooms?

But I will say that at SSR we've always stayed in Springs an it's a close walk o everything.

spacial relationships are intrepative. Looking out from 10 stories up means something different than looking out over 100-200' of lawn. As someone scared to death of large indoor places let me attest that perception is a lot of it.

anyway, im curious still if the OP was reimbursed for their view let-down

 

[Tara]

spacial relationships are intrepative. Looking out from 10 stories up means something different than looking out over 100-200' of lawn. As someone scared to death of large indoor places let me attest that perception is a lot of it.

anyway, im curious still if the OP was reimbursed for their view let-down

Ok, but I still don't see the connection you are making between resort layout and walking distance and room size. Whether destinations require a long walk still has nothing to do IMO with how one compares the interior space of two units.

What is there in the OP's situation that suggests reimbursement is even appropriate?