BLT questions

[wendow]

We are renting DVC points through a broker (David). Does anyone know how we make a room request and when we can do so?

Also, we are staying at BLT. Grandparents are going with us to WDW. One set chose to stay with us at BLT, other set chose to stay off-site. Can the off-site grandparents come to the pool at BLT? I don't think they'd swim but I'm sure would like to hang out with us and see their grandchildren swim. I already told them answer is probably "no" and I understand that but just wondering if anyone knew for sure. What about coming to our room?

And last question, is there a stationary fan in the room? I'm wanting to create some white noise so my kids maybe will sleep better

Thanks in advance!

 

[DVCismyhappyplace]

We are renting DVC points through a broker (David). Does anyone know how we make a room request and when we can do so?

Also, we are staying at BLT. Grandparents are going with us to WDW. One set chose to stay with us at BLT, other set chose to stay off-site. Can the off-site grandparents come to the pool at BLT? I don't think they'd swim but I'm sure would like to hang out with us and see their grandchildren swim. I already told them answer is probably "no" and I understand that but just wondering if anyone knew for sure. What about coming to our room?

And last question, is there a stationary fan in the room? I'm wanting to create some white noise so my kids maybe will sleep better

Thanks in advance!

The pool at BLT is for guests staying on BLT property only. Room requests should be made when you made your reservation (have the owner/broker) add the request to your ressie now. There are no stationary fans in the room.

 

[disney55]

What size room did you get??? If you are not at max, just add them to room when you check in they will get their own key for pool.

 

[BrerNashville]

You're going in September? I would be shocked if your party showed up and one set of grandparents was turned away from the pool. Yes, you need a key card to get in, but I would not think they will "card" every member of your party, if they card anyone.

Is the DVC room you've booked at capacity? You could add one or both of their names to the reservation and they would have their own KTTW card. Unlike the resort rooms, there is no cost difference between having 6 or 9 people listed on a 2BR reservation. As long as you are not on the dining plan, there should be no difference. Even if you are on the dining plan, they may want that too if they are not staying for a shorter time than you are. If you are buying park tickets (without the dining plan) through the reservation, I'm not sure how that would work, but I don't think with staying at DVC on points there are the same restrictions, though I could be wrong. It may not matter if they are buying the same kind of ticket the rest of your party is anyway.

 

[wendow]

We are at capacity b/c we are in a 1-bedroom (our youngest is 16 mos). And yes, we will be there in 2 weeks. Thank you all for answering my questions!

 

[BrerNashville]

GULP!

dd2, dd1, ds1, ds2??? That sounds, um, challenging.

The good news is, I'm assuming that you guys are in a 2 2BR with your family and one set of grandparents. You actually have a capacity of at least 10 since you have an infant . . . or four.

 

[wendow]

GULP!

dd2, dd1, ds1, ds2??? That sounds, um, challenging.

The good news is, I'm assuming that you guys are in a 2 2BR with your family and one set of grandparents. You actually have a capacity of at least 10 since you have an infant . . . or four.

Oh no Not all babies!! Just first dd, second dd, first ds, second ds...they range in age from 12-1 Other set of grandparents are in their own 1 bedroom. I might could get them to add other grandparents to their ressie but they are all jealous of each other so we'll see

 

[BrerNashville]

Oh no Not all babies!! Just first dd, second dd, first ds, second ds...they range in age from 12-1 Other set of grandparents are in their own 1 bedroom. I might could get them to add other grandparents to their ressie but they are all jealous of each other so we'll see

Whew!

Or you could tell the BLT grandparents "wouldn't it be cool to put DD1 and DD2 on your reservation" and then put the grandparents on yours.

I understand the jealous grandparent routine.

 

[wendow]

Whew!

Or you could tell the BLT grandparents "wouldn't it be cool to put DD1 and DD2 on your reservation" and then put the grandparents on yours.

I understand the jealous grandparent routine.

True, that would go over much better! Thanks for the idea!

 

[wendow]

Another question...how busy should we expect BLT to be? We are doing a split stay at POR and know that due to free dining, it'll be packed. Was BLT included in that promo? We were really looking forward to our 7 nights there thinking it would be a bit less busy. But what should we be prepared for?

 

[drusba]

Though Sep is a fairly slow time, free Dining packages are sold for many hotels and free dining can result in restaurants being booked and if you have not yet made restaurant reservations you better try to do that immediately becuase when there is free dining you could easily find yourself unable to even get in a restaurant, particularly any in the parks, at a decent time without advance ressies (and you may already be too late). Ones at resort won't be that bad but park restrauirants could be.

As far as how full BLT itself will be, DVC resorts are usually quite full year round.

Granparents staying off site, if that remains the case, could use the pool with you. They don't mind your having a family guest. However, the more serious problem is their being able to get to you. The Contemporary/BLT resort has parking restrictions and outsiders cannot get in with a car unless they have a restaurant reservation and then they have a 3 hour parking limit. I believe you may be able to get them in with a car for a visit by informing the hotel that they are coming but even that may be subject to the time limitation.

 

[BrerNashville]

The middle of September is one of the deadest times of the year, so the parks themselves should be pretty quiet crowd-wise (relatively speaking, of course -- there will still be a lot of people). Staying at a DVC property on points (whether your own or renting) does not entitle you to free dining.

One thing to keep in mind about DVC properties is that they tend to stay booked every night of the year. Thus, the resort itself shouldn't feel any different in September than in July. I just checked for a 1BR lakeview for a week in the middle of September, and there was only one night that showed any availability. That being said, the kid-centric areas, like the pool and community hall, should feel less crowded as I would assume there will be fewer school aged children there. Moreover, the contemporary pool should be much less crowded, and you do have privileges there.

BLT is our home resort and we spent a week there at the beginning of the summer. We absolutely loved it. Here are a couple of unsolicited tips:

1. Walk to and from the MK. It's a pleasant walk and it will be faster than the monorail 9.5 times out of 10 to your room.

2. If you have a car and are going to grocery shop, ask the CM downstairs for directions to the publix. There's one out the back gate (turn right when you leave the BLT parking lot that takes you behind the MK -- make another right at the stop sign, then follow the road around a big circle) that takes literally 5 minutes to get to. My Google app was going to route me on a 30 minute drive to get to a grocery store.

3. Look at the movie schedule and pick one or two that your kids want to see out on the patio b/t the Contemporary and BLT. They start at 8, I think, and are a great way to wind down your day. Take a glass of wine.

4. Marshmellow roasting on the beach

 

[BrerNashville]

However, the more serious problem is their being able to get to you. The Contemporary/BLT resort has parking restrictions

Very good point and reason to get their names on the reservation so they can get a parking pass, though I'm not sure how many passes you get per room.

 

[wendow]

We have made our dining ressies though most of our meals will be QS. Our 3yo ds has some mild special needs and sitting in an eating place for too long can be hard for him and of course, for the baby. So, we are only eating a few TS meals. I knew we didn't get free dining. I was just wondering if BLT had been included in the FD promo. Sounds like it'll be pretty full either way but yes, I bet less kids. We homeschool so our children are not missing school

Yikes, sounds like them getting to the hotel to visit will be an issue. We don't have a car. We are flying and taking ME. I saw a list of the food items in the CR store a few weeks ago. But I haven't been able to find it again. Does anyone have that? I was planning to just get a few things from there rather than having a grocery delivery.

Thank you for all the tips! I truly appreciate any info you can share that makes our trip better

 

[BrerNashville]

How were the other grandparental types going to get around? If they have a car, then you can let them have your parking pass (and have them take you to the grocery). If they are taking shuttles from their off-site place, that may be challenging getting them to BLT in a timely manner. Cabs will work, but may get expensive.

I'd check into wegoshop or garden grocer if none of you have a car -- both online grocery delivery services seem to get consistently good ratings. You will be there long enough to make a delivery order worthwhile.

In particular, I'd buy a lot of breakfast items and plan to eat breakfast in your room every morning. That way, (1) you are not paying for $8.00 cafeteria eggs and slimy bacon and (2) you can get a jump on your day. Snacks and bottled water are another good thing to have them deliver.

I *would* save one morning to go to the Wave (table service at the contemporary) and get their sweet potato pancakes -- they are delicious. They have a buffet, but ordering the pancakes instead means you know they haven't been sitting under the heat lamp for twenty minutes.

 

[wendow]

How were the other grandparental types going to get around? If they have a car, then you can let them have your parking pass (and have them take you to the grocery). If they are taking shuttles from their off-site place, that may be challenging getting them to BLT in a timely manner. Cabs will work, but may get expensive.

I'd check into wegoshop or garden grocer if none of you have a car -- both online grocery delivery services seem to get consistently good ratings. You will be there long enough to make a delivery order worthwhile.

In particular, I'd buy a lot of breakfast items and plan to eat breakfast in your room every morning. That way, (1) you are not paying for $8.00 cafeteria eggs and slimy bacon and (2) you can get a jump on your day. Snacks and bottled water are another good thing to have them deliver.

I *would* save one morning to go to the Wave (table service at the contemporary) and get their sweet potato pancakes -- they are delicious. They have a buffet, but ordering the pancakes instead means you know they haven't been sitting under the heat lamp for twenty minutes.

My family and the grands staying at BLT (in their own room) are using ME. The other grands are staying at Bonnet Creek and they will have a car but they won't come in as early as us. I think they arrive 3 days later.

I guess I can look at doing the grocery delivery. Here is the deal. Garden Grocer carries hardly any of the foods my milk allergic child needs so I have to bring most of his food anyways. Disney doesn't have them either. I could do wegoshop but I felt for their $18 delivery fee plus tip, I could probably just get a few things for breakfast at the store. Really just eggs and bagels. I am having water delivered to our first resort from Walmart or Costco.

One of our only ADR's is at The Wave for breakfast!!!! It's on a day we are not going to the parks. Sweet potato pancakes sound delicious!

 

[rlovew]

My family and the grands staying at BLT (in their own room) are using ME. The other grands are staying at Bonnet Creek and they will have a car but they won't come in as early as us. I think they arrive 3 days later.

I guess I can look at doing the grocery delivery. Here is the deal. Garden Grocer carries hardly any of the foods my milk allergic child needs so I have to bring most of his food anyways. Disney doesn't have them either. I could do wegoshop but I felt for their $18 delivery fee plus tip, I could probably just get a few things for breakfast at the store. Really just eggs and bagels. I am having water delivered to our first resort from Walmart or Costco.

One of our only ADR's is at The Wave for breakfast!!!! It's on a day we are not going to the parks. Sweet potato pancakes sound delicious!

Just know that BLT/Contemporary resort are a convention resort and their will be a fee of 5-10 for the delivery of your water. You may want to look at that and see if that fee might be able to help you afford the wegoshop. Also you may contact Garden Grocer and see about their ability to handle special orders- I have never used either service so I don't know what they do as far as personalized service on those issues.

 

[wendow]

Just know that BLT/Contemporary resort are a convention resort and their will be a fee of 5-10 for the delivery of your water. You may want to look at that and see if that fee might be able to help you afford the wegoshop. Also you may contact Garden Grocer and see about their ability to handle special orders- I have never used either service so I don't know what they do as far as personalized service on those issues.

We are staying at another resort first so I was going to have the water delivered to that one (POR) and then moved over when we change resorts. Do you think that would be a problem? That would be the only thing I was going to order to have delivered.