BLT suitable for our family?

[quandrea]

We may be heading down either late August or late Sept. Few questions about BLT. Could our family get away without a rental car? We have dd 7 and dd 1 and ds 1. We use a double stroller obviously and usually the rental car lets us be on our way without any trouble. I figure at BLT we can walk to MK (No issue with stroller) and take the monorail to Epcot. (Babies stay in stroller on monorail). We'd have to bus it to HS and AK, but we usually only go there once on a trip of this length. The buses would be a bit difficult, but would they be impossible with our family?

I'd book dining so that we'd minimize resort hopping and commute time.

Also, just how hot is it in August? Could we stand it?

 

[katybug34]

You will be fine. We have a double stroller every trip and BLT is our best bet. Walking to MK with little ones is the BIGGEST value for us as BLT owners. Buses aren't usually crowded if you go early and don't leave at park closing. You will be fine. We drive to the resort and take Disney transportation everywhere.

 

[quandrea]

You will be fine. We have a double stroller every trip and BLT is our best bet. Walking to MK with little ones is the BIGGEST value for us as BLT owners. Buses aren't usually crowded if you go early and don't leave at park closing. You will be fine. We drive to the resort and take Disney transportation everywhere.

Thanks. I'm trying to arrange a cheap trip. No car rental will save between 4 and 6 hundred dollars. We would be flying in and taking Magical Express. Does that work well for families with infant twins?

 

[Havana]

August is not only hot but very Humid. You walk out of the building and the heat hits you immediately. If you plan for the heat, by going to the parks first thing in the morning and taking a break in the afternoon it helps. We take towels and frozen water bottles to help battle the heat at this time of the year.

 

[Mtnman44]

BLT is probably the best resort to stay if you don't have a rental car. Obviously there is the monorail, but you also have quick access to all of the buss stops over at magic kingdom....plus the bay lake water taxis.

 

[HotdogDncrs]

We never rent a car when we travel to WDW. We have stayed at BLT now twice, and have 3 more trips planned before the end of this year. The convenience to get to MK and Epcot can't be beat. We have found that the best way to get to HS for us is to take the monorail to EPCOT, and then either walk through the Boardwalk area to get to HS or take the boat. We enjoy walking so this works for us, and eliminates 1 bus ride.

As far as the buses are concerned - we always have a stroller with us (not a small umbrella one either) - we just make sure that we have it folded up before boarding.

For us having a car takes away some of the magic. Without a car we don't see the "real world" until we are back at the airport on our way home.

 

[quandrea]

We never rent a car when we travel to WDW. We have stayed at BLT now twice, and have 3 more trips planned before the end of this year. The convenience to get to MK and Epcot can't be beat. We have found that the best way to get to HS for us is to take the monorail to EPCOT, and then either walk through the Boardwalk area to get to HS or take the boat. We enjoy walking so this works for us, and eliminates 1 bus ride.

As far as the buses are concerned - we always have a stroller with us (not a small umbrella one either) - we just make sure that we have it folded up before boarding.

For us having a car takes away some of the magic. Without a car we don't see the "real world" until we are back at the airport on our way home.

Thanks for this. One last question; is magical express a pain or is it a good experience?

 

[HotdogDncrs]

Thanks for this. One last question; is magical express a pain or is it a good experience?

We've never had any problems with ME. When you arrive at MCO you head downstairs to the ME counter, they direct you to a line for the bus depending on what resort you are staying at. We've never had to wait too long. We also love that we don't have to wait to pick up our luggage at the airport.

They load the stroller under the bus, and the video they show provides some entertainment for little ones. When going to BLT on ME, the bus typically stops at Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian as well. We've gotten off at Polynesian, grabbed a bite to eat there, and then took the monorail over to BLT (as our little one was very hungry, and we didn't want to wait for all of the resort stops).

When heading back to the airport at the end of the trip you are usually picked up 3 hours before your flight for domestics and 4 hours for international flights. We always use the resort check in for our luggage, and then all we have to do is take the stroller with us and our carry-ons.

I think that ME works so well for us, because we have no desire to leave Disney property once we are there. We prefer not to drive to the parks, as it just doesn't feel the same as walking there or getting off the monorail

 

[khmiller]

You'll be fine without a car. You may want to invest in a double stroller that is lighter and folds up nicely.

 

[quandrea]

Thank you for your help. We are from Canada, so I guess we'd get picked up 4h in advance. I like the idea about lunch at the Poly. Is that the first stop? Does it take long to get your luggage? We have only one large duffle bag could we bring it with us or is that unnecessary. I also assume we can't check in at the hotel because we fly Air Canada.

BTW I just booked BLT LV for six nights in Sept. We decided against August because of the heat. We've been down late Sept and like the weather then. it meant redeeming reward travel for five instead of three (babies can't be lap children anymore as of Sept.), but I think it will be better. Also dd won't miss the first day of school. I love the idea of BLT, but still feel a bit worried about no car rental. I worry my impatient dh will hate waiting for monorails, buses, etc. I've travelled to WDW without a car probably a dozen times, so I know it works out okay.

We usually stay at OKW, but I think BLT without a car versus OKW without a car are two entirely different things. Thoughts?

 

[Sandisw]

We will be staying at BLT again this summer and usually have a rental car. Since my DH may not be coming iwth us and I don't like the buses, what I am going to do is rent a car just for a few days so that I can take it to AK and DTD.

We are starting at BWV so we will plan to do DHS and Epcot while there (so we can walk) and then when we move to BLT, we will have the car for a few days so we will fit in AK and DTD.

We will take ME from the airport to the resorts, rent from the Dolphin and then return it to the Car care center near MK. This way, we don't have to pay for the rental car the whole trip, but don't have to worry about buses for those AK and DTD days.

And, for just a two or three day rental, the price is very reasonable!

 

[dawgs4disney]

I have twins also and would definitely say that I would choose to stay where all of your transportation to the parks is not by bus. Although it is very doable, it is hard to collapse the double stroller (husband does that), and get two 1 year olds on the bus by yourself. I would stay with BLT or maybe BCV or BWV for the friendship ferry boat that takes you to HS and Epcot. We also found out how much more we liked doing TS restaurants over CS when we had the twins. It was so much nicer to be seated and not have to stake out a table and then carry food with small children. It made life so much easier. We even lucked out a few times and was able to have the stroller by our table and they slept while we enjoyed a nice air conditioned meal. I can't give any advice unfortunately about ME or rental cars, as we always drive to Disney! Let me know if you have any other questions! We made our first trip with the twins when they were 18 months, along with their older two siblings.

 

[Terri2007]

We love the Magical Express and the Disney Transportation System in general. One of the new great things with ME is that if you bring your ME brochure with you, it has an area where they scan each of your names and you move right into your appropriate bus lane. No more waiting at the ME desk to be sent to your bus lane.

I agree that you want a double stroller that is light and easy to fold. You can leave it unfolded on the monorail, but you will need to fold it to get on the ME. I would not count on renting one because at near $30 per day, you can buy one for much less. (Actually you can rent a car for less!).

 

[CarolMN]

Thank you for your help. We are from Canada, so I guess we'd get picked up 4h in advance. I like the idea about lunch at the Poly. Is that the first stop? Does it take long to get your luggage? We have only one large duffle bag could we bring it with us or is that unnecessary.

If you get off at the Poly, you will have to take all the luggage you brought on the bus or stored under the bus with you. FWIW, I don't think I would do that. My sister has twins, and those little people need lots of stuff! In addition to your older child, the twins and their diaper bags, etc. do you really want to drag a large duffel bag to lunch? And then around the loop on the monorail to the Contemporary?

It might be better to just ride the ME bus to the Contemporary and check in. If you are lucky, your room will be ready. If not, you can check the duffel and anything else you don't need at the moment with Bell Services. Then you can go to lunch or explore.

I also assume we can't check in at the hotel because we fly Air Canada.

I'm not sure what you mean, but assume you are talking about checking your luggage at the resort for the trip home. Since Air Canada is not a participating airline, you are correct. You would have to take all your luggage on the ME bus with you (it would go under the bus with the stroller, of course) and check everything at the airport.

It doesn't matter what airline you use for coming into Orlando as long as you don't have to clear customs. If you have to do that in Orlando, then you can't use the luggage service for ME, but you can still ride the ME bus to the resort. You just have to collect your own luggage after it & you clear customs and your luggage will ride on the ME bus with you (store d underneath, of course).

 

[Terri2007]

It doesn't matter what airline you use for coming into Orlando as long as you don't have to clear customs. If you have to do that in Orlando, then you can't use the luggage service for ME, but you can still ride the ME bus to the resort. You just have to collect your own luggage after it & you clear customs and your luggage will ride on the ME bus with you (store d underneath, of course).

Hopefully you are flying from a major airport in Canada. You will clear US customs there.

 

[shortfieldno1]

I might have missed it? What size room did you get. Studio is really small. Pop Century Small. Great location though! Pool was also great for the kids.