BLT questions

[DekrRini]

I'm in the process of planning my 2017 December birthday trip. I'm thinking of staying at BLT and renting DVC points. I've never stayed there before and would like some opinions. I've stayed at BWV preferred view, BCV, and AKV savanna view and I love them all. I have a few questions about BLT.

1) Is the Lake view worth the extra money? What kind of view do you get with the standard view?

2) I know there's an easy walk to the MK, but how is the other transportation? Much different from the other resorts? Is there a bus between BLT and Epcot or only the monorail?

3) On the map I saw, it looks like the only dining and shopping options are in the main Contemporary building. How long of a walk is it to and from BLT to the Contemporary? Are mug refill stations convenient?

4) What are the best room requests to make? Upper level, close to lobby, etc.

I've wanted to stay at the Contemporary since it opened, but couldn't really justify the cost in my head. BLT makes it easier. It's my 65th birthday and I want it to be extra special.

 

[tbholc81]

We stayed at BLT as part of a spilt stay in September (the other half of the stay was at the Poly). We also rented points. I will say we enjoyed the Poly much more, it definitely felt more Disney. BLT felt more like a basic hotel and the room was much smaller.

1) We paid for the Lake view and we actually ended up with a partial theme park view, so we could see fireworks etc from our room. I am guessing that it is only a small portion of rooms that have that view because while we were technically facing the lake, we were on the right side of the building to see the park. If you are facing the pool, you won't be so lucky. The standard view is of the contemporary and parking lot.

2) The best part of staying there was being able to walk to MK. It was not even a 10 minute walk. I don't remember there being a bus to EPCOT (someone else will be able to chime in on that), but the Monorail was very convenient. Transportation to every other resort was normal, you share a bus with the Wilderness Lodge.

3)Walk isn't bad to Contemporary, the amount of time depends on what floor you are on. You need to take the elevator to the 5th floor and then cross the bridge which puts you right on the floor with the Contempo Cafe and the shops.

4) I don't know if you can request rooms if you rent points. If you can the higher the better for the view. Unless you are on the fifth floor you'll have to take the elevator to get to the Contemporary anyway.

Hope that helps

 

[klmall]

You can start with this thread. It has floor maps and room locations, links to different room pictures and their views:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/blt-rooms-and-views-with-picture-links-last-update-of-post-1-10-21-2015.2257082/

This was the thread I used to determine which location to request for our lake view 1 bedroom villa in December 2014. Lake view was perfect for us; quiet and we had the Water Pageant at night along with hearing fireworks booming in the distance.

And you can still make a request when checking in even if you are renting points as we did. When we arrived at BLT the CM offered us a 1 bdr that was ready but also one with a better view if we were willing to wait another hour or so which we did.

Here are some more BLT links:

http://www.disboards.com/threads/blt-mk-view-worth-it.3561274/

And don't forget the different DVC subforums. I learned a great deal about how the different DVC villas etc. are set up. I've been using them to prepare for our spring stay in a Poly studio.

Enjoy your 65th!!!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

A few notes that weren't what you asked, but I think are useful:

• Lake View is the largest category at BLT. Standard can be hard to get during DVC high season. Early December is the highest of DVC high seasons. In fact, the first two weeks of December are the highest demand weeks of the year for DVC.
• Standard View at BLT will book up quickly when the 11-month window for DVC booking opens. Lake View will last longer, but will be gone by 9 months out, and will have serious availability issues by the time the 7 month window opens.
• In general, anyone renting points should budget for Lake View.
• In general, anyone renting points for the start of December should have an owner lined up, who owns at BLT, lined up between 11 months + 3 weeks and the opening of the 11-month booking window, even if they have budgeted for Lake View.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Standard view is low floors on the outer part of the building...nothing above 5th floor, I think. Mostly parking lot and Contemporary views. The monorail pretty much obscures any view you might have of anything else.

 

[Deb & Bill]

A few notes that weren't what you asked, but I think are useful:

• Lake View is the largest category at BLT. Standard can be hard to get during DVC high season. Early December is the highest of DVC high seasons. In fact, the first two weeks of December are the highest demand weeks of the year for DVC.
• Standard View at BLT will book up quickly when the 11-month window for DVC booking opens. Lake View will last longer, but will be gone by 9 months out, and will have serious availability issues by the time the 7 month window opens.
• In general, anyone renting points should budget for Lake View.
• In general, anyone renting points for the start of December should have an owner lined up, who owns at BLT, lined up between 11 months + 3 weeks and the opening of the 11-month booking window, even if they have budgeted for Lake View.

Exactly. Early December is the number one time for DVC members to visit WDW - holiday decoration, low points, low crowds. It sells out very quickly. You need a BLT owner in your pocket before 11 months out so they can book your stay exactly at 11 months out. So hustle to find a BLT owner. Don't try to use a broker. They probably won't have BLT owners on hand.

 

[DekrRini]

I have a DVC owner I've rented from before, and I'm pretty sure he has BLT points. I'm debating between BLT and WLV with a split stay at BWV. Looks like the Lake view is my best option. Thanks everyone!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Boulder Ridge Villas (aka: new name for Wilderness Lodge Villas) and BWV studios also a mandatory "able to book at 8AM at 11 months" for December. At BWV, budget for Pool/Garden, not Standard. Those Standards are even harder to get than BLT Standard.

 

[DekrRini]

Sounds like all the MK and Epcot resorts are harder to get at this time of year. That's something to keep in mind for the future.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Sounds like all the MK and Epcot resorts are harder to get at this time of year. That's something to keep in mind for the future.

To be honest, even Saratoga and Old Key West can be challenging if you wait until 7 months the first two weeks of December. The near-park resorts really are 11-month required for this period. The small categories at the near-park resorts (aka: Standard at BLT/BWV) can be challenging year-round. Budgeting for a larger inventory class is useful.

DVC demand does not align to what people think of as busy season at Disney. This leads to frustration renting points for some. Point charts can also be a little misleading, as they just say how many points a room would require, but speaks nothing of relative availability (season/number of rooms available). I see so many people price point rental based on BWV Standard or, worse, AKV Value, and odds are rotten for both in rental situations much of the year save for 1BRs where it improves somewhat.

 

[DekrRini]

I stayed Standard at AKV once and wasn't thrilled with the view so I now budget for savanna and preferred at BWV. It looks like the lake view is also the way to go.

I had figured it would be harder to get rooms the closer to Christmas it got, I just didn't realize it started quite this early. Fortunately, I can make my vacation plans a year in advance. That helps a lot. Thanks for all the insights you've given me.