Blt studio!!! The good the bad and the ugly

[roadtripper]

As others have said, it's very crowded for four. We were only there for two nights, which was fine, but with DD 15 and DS 13 it would have been ugly if we stayed there for the week. Pullout is fairly comfortable, queen bed is lovely. Balcony is nice; ours got great sun, which was helpful since it was 38 degrees!

One other con for me was noise from the balcony. The rooms themselves were super quiet, although we could hear the occasional Disney super sucking toilet sound from other rooms, but when sitting on the balcony, we could hear a lot--the MK railroad, fireworks from the daytime shows at MK, ferry boat horns, busses, etc. It's a matter of personal preference, but I like the quiet of OKW. Also, as others have said, it would be nice to have a separate convenience store in BLT. Liked the Top of the World lounge, but would like a more extensive menu. The flatbreads were yummy, though, and they accept the Tables in Wonderland card. Since it was so cold, we were grateful to have a lovely place inside to watch Wishes, and we met some really nice people.

In summary, I'm glad we tried it, and we enjoyed our stay, but will happily return to OKW for next year's trip.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

...but when sitting on the balcony, we could hear a lot--the MK railroad, fireworks from the daytime shows at MK, ferry boat horns, busses, etc. It's a matter of personal preference, but I like the quiet of OKW..

This is the point of living...
but to each there own.

Also, as others have said, it would be nice to have a separate convenience store in BLT. Liked the Top of the World lounge, but would like a more extensive menu. The flatbreads were yummy, though, and they accept the Tables in Wonderland card. Since it was so cold, we were grateful to have a lovely place inside to watch Wishes, and we met some really nice people..

3 weeks we can't wait.

...In summary, I'm glad we tried it, and we enjoyed our stay, but will happily return to OKW for next year's trip.

Thanks for the review.

 

[rock_doctor]

I have a question...does the balcony doors at BLT have a bug screen. If we can hear the boats for Bay Lake/7-seas and train from the MK we probably will keep the door slightly open. Always loved the boat horns in the morning when we use to stay at FW. Thanks

 

[Sandisw]

I have a question...does the balcony doors at BLT have a bug screen. If we can hear the boats for Bay Lake/7-seas and train from the MK we probably will keep the door slightly open. Always loved the boat horns in the morning when we use to stay at FW. Thanks

My BLT studios did not have screens.

 

[went503]

bump

 

[vellamint]

We listed 11:00 at a different resort, and they were still there at 9:02!

I dont recall listing any time for our i night stay at BWV but I DO remember reading here about "phantom" phone calls at 9:00 (basically to wake you up so you get moving).....

Yes, we did have a phantom phone call - at 9:00 ..... next visit I plan on unplugging the phone......

But it was a beautiful room and I had a great time.

 

[skelooch]

I agree with most here that the bathroom door was not to well thoughtout.
I guess because it's the Contemporary they felt they had to do something unique, let's be thankful they didn't think a clear glass door would be cool.

I thought that 4 people in a studio (unless 2 are very small children) would be very crowded.

Kitchenette/vanity area another poor design but based on the size of the room I guess they had to squeeze it in somewhere, and it is "squeezed". 2 people in there is a crowd. Very little counter space on the kitchenette side.

One other small thing that no one else mentioned , there was no ice machine on the floor I was on, it was 1 floor down. Fortunately I ran into a Housekeeping CM who voluntered to get it for me, so it wound up costing me a couple of bucks.

I did like the pictures on the wall and the lake view.

 

[missycj96]

We stayed in a studio and loved it. We have a small family - me, DH and DD4. We didn't notice any problems with the bathroom door. For a studio there was lots of storage and we liked having the "separate" kitchen. For the points, we thought it was a good deal.

 

[DenLo]

We just stayed at BLT in a studio for 7 nights (3/1 - 3/8). Since it's only the two of us I didn't think anything about the complaints on the size of the villa. After having stayed there I would not want to stay there with more than two adults and two small children. We often travel around the country on road trips and stay Holiday Inn Express hotels. The HIE rooms have much more room in the bedroom area than the studio at BLT (enough room for another queen bed in addition to the furniture in a BLT studio).

Except for the closet area (the safe, pack 'n play and ironing board reduced the available storage space, I couldn't figure out where to put our five pairs of shoes) there was lots of storage area. There was plenty of space by the connecting door to the 1 BR to store our suitcases and cooler and there would have been room for a stroller. The kitchenette/bath vanity area is chocked full of drawers, cabinets and shelves. There was a coffee pot and toaster, paper plates, real glasses and coffee cups, can opener, wine cork screw, several coffee packets, paper towels with a spare roll in one of the drawers, a small bottle of dish soap and sponge to clean the glasses and cups and dish towel.

I think too much has been made over the sliding door to the bathroom. You really couldn't hear any noise from one room to another except that if you stood in the hall you could hear the shower running. And for anyone to see into the bathroom via the gap they'd have to stand there with their eye glued to the crack. I would think a reminder about privacy and manners would be in order if that happens. BTW, we only heard neighbors twice both times while on the balcony or the balcony door was open.

The dining table is poorly designed for the space. There's no leg room and the chairs have to be set side ways from the table due to limited space. Actually the dresser/entertainment center is probably too long and doesn't leave enough space to use the table and chairs. And the "night stands" on the bed are miniscule. The I-home took up two thirds of one. I could place a small paperback book or my eyeglasses on the remaining space but not both. I found myself stacking the book on top of the I-home which can't be good for it.

We called maintenance twice, once to reset our safe as it was left in a locked and open position and another time with questions on reseting the time on the I-home and fixing the I-home's night light. I had unplugged the I-home and didn't know it as it continued to keep time but the night light turned off. Embarrassing as the CM had brought us a new I-home and noticed right away that the old one was unplugged. Maintenance came both times with 20 - 30 minutes.

We too didn't know where to find an ice machine until I thought about looking in our Welcome Home packet and the information was listed there.

 

[Muhlenberg]

I was in a studio from 2/25 to 3/2, along with my elderly parents. We made it work, but a different layout would have been much better. Even my 85 yo dad remarked that the room was set up for two people. We analyzed the room a lot.

One of the first things I did when we got there was put the pack 'n' play up on the closet shelf. I know...not the safest maneuver for someone who's 5'2", but I needed that space for my suitcase. My mom took the "natural" spot for hers...in front of the lock-off door. We managed to put a few other things there, too.

I agree with DenLo...the entertainment center is too big...and the chairs are causing chips and marks on the corner of it. I don't see that getting any better til they renovate.

The "nightstands"? One thing caught my attention right away. My DH uses a CPAP, and I stood there wondering HOW he was going to use that nightstand for his machine. We would have to unplug/move/replug either the iHome or phone (putting one of them on the floor) and then I'm still not sure his machine would fit well on the nightstand. And to sit the CPAP on the floor, would cause him to "lose" a few feet of hose length.

Definitely not good planning...but I suppose they were aiming for "non-standard" layout, and "contemporary" and "innovative" furnishings.

 

[dsneygirl]

Just got back from a studio stay. The bathroom door did not bother me but I have a 3 year old so low expectations of privacy overall.

I actually like the bathroom/kitchen set up because of all the storage and keeps the clutter out of the corridor.

Someone mentioned rain on the walkway, it was also really, really windy. Another thing that was annoying, our first night it was probably 35 degrees at night. I was down doing laundry on the first floor and the entire floor was firgid from the door opening and closing to the outside.

As for cushions from the sleeper I put them under the bed when it was pulled out.