BLT standard, high floor?

[pixieprincess925]

I have a dilemma.
I've booked BLT standard (1-bedroom), but I really really don't want a first floor room. Am I better off just booking a lake view? Statistically it would be less likely to get a first floor room with lake view.

WWYD?

 

[LoveToDisney]

Standard are the low rooms with blocked views. I don’t think we were always on the first floor. Lake view is MUCH better if you have plenty of points and I have never been on the first floor with that view.

 

[drusba]

See room map here (in post more than halfway down the page) that show where room types are (bottom two maps on the post): www.disboards.com/threads/blt-rooms-and-views-with-picture-links-last-update-of-post-1-10-21-2015.2257082/page-144. The highest that standards get is a small number on the fifth floor.

 

[CraigInPA]

There aren't that many rooms on the first floor, and many are HA. It's much more likely you'll be on the second, third, or fourth floor. Some of the third floor even numbered rooms have an excellent view of the magic kingdom.

 

[pixieprincess925]

IDK - I've had TPV on the 4th floor and this map shows it as standard. When I asked the cast members about it, they responded with - well - you can see the theme park, right? so I'm not sure if those higher floors are really considered standard or not.

 

[peabody58]

We had a Standard Studio on the 1st floor facing the CR/Monorail. It was such a great view, quiet and a quick stroll to everything. I have become a1st floor fanatic and will be requesting the same on our Jan '25 trip.

 

[pixieprincess925]

We had a Standard Studio on the 1st floor facing the CR/Monorail. It was such a great view, quiet and a quick stroll to everything. I have become a1st floor fanatic and will be requesting the same on our Jan '25

Did you feel like everyone passing by was watching in your window? That's a big part of what I don't like about 1st floor - that and I'm worried wildlife (frogs, lizard, snakes (!)) might come in the patio door.... We like to sit outside on the balcony and worry we wouldn't have privacy in a 1st floor room

 

[houseofduck]

We book BLT 1 bedroom standards often. We have never been assigned a room on the first floor. Of course, that doesn't mean it won't happen to you!

 

[pixieprincess925]

We book BLT 1 bedroom standards often. We have never been assigned a room on the first floor. Of course, that doesn't mean it won't happen to you!

do you put in any requests for higher floors? or do you just go with whatever is assigned?

 

[drusba]

IDK - I've had TPV on the 4th floor and this map shows it as standard. When I asked the cast members about it, they responded with - well - you can see the theme park, right? so I'm not sure if those higher floors are really considered standard or not.

If that occurred anytime recently, you were provided wrong information. Before Jan 2012, the third and fourth floor rooms above the front entrance were theme park view. That is when Disney issued new point charts noting that at least the ten TP rooms (2BR lock-offs count as 1) on floors three and four were being changed to standard view. Since just lowering the points for those had to be met by an equal raise of points elsewhere, lake view and theme park view rooms were raised in point cost a little (very little because there are a lot more lake and theme park view rooms than standard).

If DVC is now claiming any fourth floor rooms are again theme park, it would need to reverse some of the point changes made to make sure the total points applicable to reserving all rooms do not exceed those applicable to reserving all rooms in a year. My guess is the person or persons who told you your fourth floor room was theme park view did not actually know which rooms were theme park or possibly was still relying on the original make-up of the rooms.

 

[pixieprincess925]

If that occurred anytime recently, you were provided wrong information. Before Jan 2012, the third and fourth rooms above the front entrance were theme park view. That is when Disney issued new point charts noting that at least the ten TP rooms (2BR lock-offs count as 1) on floors two and three were being changed to standard view. Since just lowering the points for those had to be met by an equal raise of points elsewhere, lake view and theme park view rooms were raised in point cost a little (very little because there are a lot more lake and theme park view rooms than standard).

If DVC is now claiming any fourth floor rooms are again theme park, it would need to reverse some of the point changes made to make sure the total points applicable to reserving all rooms do not exceed those applicable to reserving all rooms in a year. My guess is the person or persons who told you your fourth floor room was theme park view did not actually know which rooms were theme park or possibly was still relying on the original make-up of the rooms.

This was last spring (2023)!

Think it's worth an email/phone call to member services to get my points back?
EDIT: I had already tried to get them back and was given this response:

 

[tom1944]

What floor is the bridge to the Contemporary? Is it the 4th or 5th?

 

[pixieprincess925]

What floor is the bridge to the Contemporary? Is it the 4th or 5th?

5th floor

 

[Sammie]

Did you feel like everyone passing by was watching in your window? That's a big part of what I don't like about 1st floor - that and I'm worried wildlife (frogs, lizard, snakes (!)) might come in the patio door.... We like to sit outside on the balcony and worry we wouldn't have privacy in a 1st floor room

Keep the door closed and they won't come in. As to privacy, didn't bother me and at night we close the drape or when dressing. Surely people don't leave their doors open on higher floors, snakes and lizards can climb and bugs fly. As to privacy, monarail can see in if curtains are open.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

There aren't that many rooms on the first floor, and many are HA. It's much more likely you'll be on the second, third, or fourth floor. Some of the third floor even numbered rooms have an excellent view of the magic kingdom.

At BLT all the fully accessible rooms are supposed to be in the lakeview category. Some FL and hearing accessible are in all the room views. You've had fully accessible in the standard view rooms?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If that occurred anytime recently, you were provided wrong information. Before Jan 2012, the third and fourth rooms above the front entrance were theme park view. That is when Disney issued new point charts noting that at least the ten TP rooms (2BR lock-offs count as 1) on floors two and three were being changed to standard view. Since just lowering the points for those had to be met by an equal raise of points elsewhere, lake view and theme park view rooms were raised in point cost a little (very little because there are a lot more lake and theme park view rooms than standard).

If DVC is now claiming any fourth floor rooms are again theme park, it would need to reverse some of the point changes made to make sure the total points applicable to reserving all rooms do not exceed those applicable to reserving all rooms in a year. My guess is the person or persons who told you your fourth floor room was theme park view did not actually know which rooms were theme park or possibly was still relying on the original make-up of the rooms.

Reports have seemingly never stopped with the rooms that should now be standard view being assigned as TPV. And when asked nobody at DVC will provide the info of what is and isn't TPV. As you mentioned, those who remember the announcement know that the only way the reassignment of points worked was to move those 3rd and 4th floor rooms into standard.

 

[houseofduck]

do you put in any requests for higher floors? or do you just go with whatever is assigned?

We usually request highest floor possible as one of our requests.

 

[pixieprincess925]

Reports have seemingly never stopped with the rooms that should now be standard view being assigned as TPV. And when asked nobody at DVC will provide the info of what is and isn't TPV. As you mentioned, those who remember the announcement know that the only way the reassignment of points worked was to move those 3rd and 4th floor rooms into standard.

I'm thinking I should reopen the case - I hate wasting extra points on a room that should have been categorized as standard when I was charge TPV. Unfortunately, I didn't have any of the BLT history of point reallocation (I'm a 2017 member)

 

[kboo]

We usually request highest floor possible as one of our requests.

We do too - one time we got a 2br (edit: on the second floor) but it was centered over the lobby and since it was Thanksgiving, we had a glorious view through the trees of the ice castle and fireworks. This was when my kids were obsessed with Frozen, and young enough that we wanted to be in the room for fireworks. It was great. (edit: the kids loved walking on that walkway over the lobby - which means, I guess, that year we weren't exactly centered over the lobby - maybe that was the year we were on the 3rd floor)

We've always gotten floors 2-4 with an almost centered view of the park. We did get a 1st floor at VGF std once when requesting a high floor; it was certainly a bit darker in the room but it was a great bonus not waiting for an elevator with a stroller. It was also much faster to get to the pool.

 

[monorailmom]

Did you feel like everyone passing by was watching in your window? That's a big part of what I don't like about 1st floor - that and I'm worried wildlife (frogs, lizard, snakes (!)) might come in the patio door.... We like to sit outside on the balcony and worry we wouldn't have privacy in a 1st floor room

So we had had pretty good luck getting great standard view rooms, then a couple of years ago our luck ran out! We got a room on the first floor. I am not typically super picky, but that stay rather scarred me lol!!! Yes, there were people walking/jogging by all day long. The patios are not that big, it felt like there were strangers just outside our windows constantly. Keeping in mind also that not all people obey the smoking rules, and they'd go strolling by just puffing away. Typically we enjoy time on a balcony but we didn't sit on that patio once. We ended keeping our curtains closed pretty much all the time which is not what I have in mind when enjoying my beautiful Disney resort, even if it's a parking lot view! We hate spending the extra points but we only book lake view now, I can't handle the stress of worrying about getting first floor again. Obviously other folks book first floor and love it, so you never know, you might be fine. This is just our experience.