BLT Questions

[sammi6]

Ok, I want to be clear, sorry if this sounds like a stupid question. We are new members to the vacation club, our first stay will be next December.... I hope. Our home property is BLT, and I am trying to decide if it is worth it to spend the points to upgrade to Lake view or Magic Kingdom view from the standard view? We are going to stay in a one bedroom for sure, is Standard view offered on all the floors or just one or two? And if I should upgrade should I do Lake view or Magic Kingdom view? Also I is correct that I can't reserve my vacation until 11 months out? Sorry about all the questions but I know that you guys are experts

 

[Crystal_27]

Hopefully, I can answer most of your questions. Whether or not to upgrade to a lake or MK view is really a personally preference. I've seen a lot of great standard views, just as I've seen a couple disappointing lake and MK views. I would say that if you have the points, it might be worth the splurge, and both options certainly have their perks (relaxing lake view or awesome MK view with fireworks). There is a great thread in the DVC Misc. board that lists the views for each specific room and, although you will find that most standard views are on the lower floors, I've seen standard views on some of the higher floors as well. And, yes, you will need to call MS exactly 11 months to the day to make your December, 2010 reservation. For example, if you are traveling December 20-26, you will need to call January 20, 2010. Good luck!

 

[andijean]

I can give you our feelings. We splurged for the MK view for our big trip. All of our thoughts were that we would never do it again and that it was probably overrated. Well, let me tell you that we were very surprised! We LOVED the MK view and loved watching the action on the lake, monorail and people coming back from parks. Plus, to be able to watch the fireworks every night from our room while the kids were sleeping was great! We just loved it and think we will splurge again. Also, we were not super high up. We were on the 7th floor and felt like we were seeing the fireworks right at our eye level. We liked to watch them from our room better than the top of the world.

 

[spiceycat]

you can get a view of the MK with standard view - that say only a few units on the nothern end

floors 1-5th - are standard on that end.

here a link - he descriptives each side and lists where the rooms are located.

now if you higher floors then definitely go with LV.

but if you don't mind a lower view (or actually like a lower view) - then go with standard

 

[wdrl]

We are also BLT owners and will be making our first stay in March. Since its our first visit, we opted for an MK view. In September, we have a second trip planned for BLT, and we are doing a standard view for that stay. Perhaps for our third trip we'll try a Lake View room. The way I look at it, we'll be DVC members for many years to come, so we want to try out all of the BLT views (and AKV views, too, which is our second home resort). Be sure to check out work2play's thread on BLT views and rooms on the Planning Board (see http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2257082). Good luck on making your decision.

And yes, you can book at your home resort exactly 11 months before the day you would check in.

 

[katied]

If you care about your view - best to call at exactly 11 months out, and book day by day for each day of your trip.

I booked Dec. this year calling when they first allowed reservations for BLT and booked standard view (wanted to save my points).

I called 10 months out to book May 2010, and standard view was gone - only options were Lake or MK view. I booked Lake (again, I'm cheap w/ my points).

Someday, I may be willing to splurge for a MK view (maybe after that next add-on) - but I always seem to end up with some cash nights each year because I just run out of points.

 

[erionm]

Standard View rooms at BLT will probably be the first ones to go. SV makes up only about 10% of the total rooms. MK View makes up about 20%. The rest are Lake View.

 

[Sandisw]

We stayed in a LV room this summer and had a great view of the MK to our left and could see the fireworks from the balcony. The only reason we would ever consider MK view is for the fireworks and since there is a chance to get this with LV, we would never splurge on points.

Our next two trips to BLT will be SV rooms as we are okay with the lower floors and just requested an even #'d room in the hopes that we get a partial view of MK. We figure that, at least some of the time, we will get our requests. If not, not a big deal and figure the saving of points will make up for it in the long run.