BLT - what has been your experience?

[MtMinnie2]

My family(8 adults and 2 small children} stayed in a Grand Villa MK view BLT the beginning of Jan. We had a wonderful time. My great nephew almost three looked out the window and said Wow. My brother who informed me that this would be his last trip as we were arriving, looked at the castle changing colors and said" When we come next time can we have this same villa?" As we were leaving I asked where the family would like to stay next time---the majority voted for BLT. Only my sister in law and myself still think that OKW has a slight edge. I think that no matter where you stay in Disney you will like it. Our next trip will be just my sister, my niece and ,myself. We will be staying at the Boardwalk and OKW. I know that we are going to love it!

 

[juncker]

Another thing - at BLT (and AKV Kidani) the 1br units have 2 full bathrooms, and the 2br units have 3 full baths. You won't find this at any other DVC property at WDW.

We haven't had the opportunity to stay there yet, but the 2 bedrooms at AKV (maybe just Kidani) also have 3 full baths. The majority of the DVC 2 bedrooms only have 2.

Is anyone aware of other 2 bedrooms that have 3 full baths? Coming back from the parks with the whole family, this can be a big plus.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We haven't had the opportunity to stay there yet, but the 2 bedrooms at AKV (maybe just Kidani) also have 3 full baths. The majority of the DVC 2 bedrooms only have 2.

Is anyone aware of other 2 bedrooms that have 3 full baths? Coming back from the parks with the whole family, this can be a big plus.

Kidani and BLT are the ones with the 3 full baths in the 2 bedrooms.

Even the THV's just have the 2 baths.

 

[pinipig523]

I've walked through the Studio and 1BR versions of BLT at my local DVC office... it is very nice. Totally my style since it reminds me of the condos I'm familiar with in Chicago.

 

[Caren]

We own there, and this has been my experience:

Pros:
Convenient location, not just for the monorail and proximity to the Magic Kingdom, but also for the facilities at the contemporary.

Soothing decor. My husband thinks it's cold, but I like it.

Comfortable beds.

Extra bath in 1- and 2-bedroom villas.

Great views.

Top of the World--a great place to hang out for a drink and maybe watch some fireworks.

Very friendly community hall.

Cons:

Noisy. If you're in an inside room and go to bed early, the water pageant will knock you out of bed at 10:10.

Uncomfortable furniture--the cushions don't want to stay on the sleeper sofa and there is no way to sit comfortably on it. Ditto for the sleeper chair.

Incomplete kitchen--not only is the kitchen inventory more limited than at other resorts we've stayed at, but half of it is always missing. We're always calling housekeeping for mugs, pots, etc. On our last stay we couldn't get a paring knife--they were just out.

Drippy shower in main bath in 1- and 2-bedroom units--the overhead "rain" showerhead randomly drips ice-cold water.

Small pool--this hasn't been that much of an issue for us, but if you enjoy pool time, this isn't the resort for you.

Views. BLT has great views but we never seem to be able to get them. Our "Magic Kingdom" view was on the fourth floor facing the Contemporary. Never been higher than the sixth floor.

 

[castleri]

Did not think we would like BLT as much as we did. Stayed in a 1 BR LV north side on 8th floor and had good view of MK from LR and balcony as well as the tennis courts and lake. I do agree with those who say you should try a stay there before buying in. My favorite resort is still OKW but I have moved BLT up my list to number 2 or 3. It was really nice having the extra bathroom and the kitchen was plenty big for the amount of cooking we do (mostly breakfast). My DH surprised me by really liking it and his reasons were the convenience of the Contempo Cafe at the Contemporary and the fact that the grandsons really liked the pool. We will never have points there but will probably go back if there is availability at BLT.

 

[Snurk71]

With regards to the pool, I agree that BLT's is undersized, cold in the shade in the afternoon (fall/winter months), and the seams on the slide hurt like heck. We'd get by with it.

But the last couple of times we have just gone right over to the CT's pool and not even tried BLT's. It's not that far of a walk, their slide is better, and the pool feels larger.

 

[Debrn]

Love BLT. My kids favorite resort. I had to sell my DVC with my recent divorce . Heading to the Poly in 12days, and kids have already asked can we stay at BLT next visit.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

We haven't had the opportunity to stay there yet, but the 2 bedrooms at AKV (maybe just Kidani) also have 3 full baths. The majority of the DVC 2 bedrooms only have 2.

Is anyone aware of other 2 bedrooms that have 3 full baths? Coming back from the parks with the whole family, this can be a big plus.

The Villas at Grand Californian do, and while it is a DVC property, it isn't a WDW location, so I am not sure if you cared about that when you asked your question or not. And we love it when we stay there, because DH has his bathroom and I have the nice big one.

 

[gmi3804]

It's not that the studios, at 339 square feet, are small overall, but so much of that space is hallway, bathroom, and kitchenette. The sleeping area is only 180 square feet, which is just big enough to hold the queen bed and the sofa along one wall. I think this room is only comfortable for up to two people. You can get a sense of the distribution of space from the floor plan:

http://**************.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Bay-Lake-Tower-Studio-Floorplan.jpg

The one- and two-bedroom units, however, are among the most spacious of the DVC units. The large windows and sliders further heighten this sense of space.

I love the BLT decor. The faux-seashore schemes of the Crescent Lake properties do nothing for me, and BLT is 180 degrees from that.

For the record, I also love the lodge feeling of VWL and AKV. SSR is a bit bland, the THV are fabulous, and OKW laid-back and vacation-y.

Forgive me for rambling. I'm 25 days into ROFR on my first DVC contract, 410 points at BLT!

 

[bigAWL]

Housekeeping (not daily for members staying on points) was really good. The very few times we had to call for something (toilet paper and a different wifi cable) it was brought to us very quickly.

wifi cable? what's a wifi cable?

 

[bigAWL]

It's not that the studios, at 339 square feet, are small overall, but so much of that space is hallway, bathroom, and kitchenette. The sleeping area is only 180 square feet, which is just big enough to hold the queen bed and the sofa along one wall. I think this room is only comfortable for up to two people. You can get a sense of the distribution of space from the floor plan:

http://**************.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Bay-Lake-Tower-Studio-Floorplan.jpg

The one- and two-bedroom units, however, are among the most spacious of the DVC units. The large windows and sliders further heighten this sense of space.

I love the BLT decor. The faux-seashore schemes of the Crescent Lake properties do nothing for me, and BLT is 180 degrees from that.

For the record, I also love the lodge feeling of VWL and AKV. SSR is a bit bland, the THV are fabulous, and OKW laid-back and vacation-y.

Forgive me for rambling. I'm 25 days into ROFR on my first DVC contract, 410 points at BLT!

I'm wondering, because of the curve of the building, are the 1BR and 2BR units larger on the outside of the curve, than on the inside. This floorplan is showing a 1BR on the outside curve, and so it opens up closer to the window. Are the inside-curve villas straight, and so less roomy?

 

[gmi3804]

I'm wondering, because of the curve of the building, are the 1BR and 2BR units larger on the outside of the curve, than on the inside. This floorplan is showing a 1BR on the outside curve, and so it opens up closer to the window. Are the inside-curve villas straight, and so less roomy?

Not really. Remember, those computer-generated images are approximations, and naturally they're going to make them look "roomier." They're pretty accurate for the outside-facing units. But if you look at an actual blueprint of the floorplan of BLT, you'll see that there are "spaces" between the units facing inside that compensate for the "lost" space due to the curve. The outside units do have a bit of a "flare," and the inside units are more squared.

Here's a map of an entire floor.

 

[Caren90]

wifi cable? what's a wifi cable?

It's an invisible internet connection cable, every room has to have one. The problem with them is, I trip over them all the time since I can't see them.

 

[laura-k]

It's not that the studios, at 339 square feet, are small overall, The one- and two-bedroom units, however, are among the most spacious of the DVC units. The large windows and sliders further heighten this sense of space.
I love the BLT decor. The faux-seashore schemes of the Crescent Lake properties do nothing for me, and BLT is 180 degrees from that.
Forgive me for rambling. I'm 25 days into ROFR on my first DVC contract, 410 points at BLT!

I have traveled with my two teen-age boys and we have only stayed in 1 bedrooms but I love BLT rooms ,plenty of space ,large laundry closet for storage ,the extra bathroom is great -Sometimes we travel with family that stays at other resorts and the monerail and MK bus stop is fabulous for visiting back and forth -
I also like the Beach club for the pool and the great location to Epcot & the studios but the room set up and decore not so much (I have never been anywhere with so many doors) -Ps I live in the woods so WLV isn't my first pick but it is truly a beautiful building -
Cogratulations George on your purchase !
Hello Nieghbor

 

[bigAWL]

Not really. Remember, those computer-generated images are approximations, and naturally they're going to make them look "roomier." They're pretty accurate for the outside-facing units. But if you look at an actual blueprint of the floorplan of BLT, you'll see that there are "spaces" between the units facing inside that compensate for the "lost" space due to the curve. The outside units do have a bit of a "flare," and the inside units are more squared.

Here's a map of an entire floor.

Yeah I could see that the inside rooms were straight in that sense. I found these portions of some blue-print-type floor plans that I'm assuming are pretty much to scale. These are both 2BR dedicated villas with an outside facing room on top and an inside facing room on the bottom. Don't worry about the narrow hall, I've just mashed up two rooms together for comparison sake.

The first thing I noticed is that the laundry and coat closet in the outside room are separated (blue areas), while in the inside room they are combined. Is this accurate?

Then I tried to compare the main living areas (red areas), and to me the flare of the outside rooms appear to have a bit more room than the inside rooms. This may probably not be noticeable when looking at them in real life - I haven't seen any of the actual rooms myself.

 

[Demadorejr]

We love BLT. We really love being that close to MK. We have had lake view the last two trips and requested the north side of the building even numbers and were lucky enough to have the request granted(we actually ended up being in the same room both times we requested) every night we watched the fireworks from our room which was so magical. We like the feel of the place. We have also had a lake view room that was facing the pool which was also a nice feel and energy. We just love everything about BLT, some might not like it but to us it is great, we love all the decore.(infact our house has a lot of the same finishes so it makes us feel like home when we are there)

We also love the food there. This past trip we special ordered two cakes and they were amazing. We are so happy with our BLT purchase.

I would tour some resorts before buying or renting points to make sure it is worth it to buy though.

 

[LJD2143]

We purchased at BLT 2 years ago. We absolutely love it and here's why.....

-Location, Location, Location!
-Newest DVC Resort
-Transportation options (incl. walking, monorail, boat and bus)
-Dining options (not only CR, but easy access to Poly and GF restaurants too)
-Top Of The World Lounge (nothing else like it on the entire property!)
-Decor (not my style at home, but I'm on VACATION so I enjoy that its different)
-Shopping options (not only CR, but easy access to Poly and GF stores too)
-Marina Activities
-Resort Activities such as Commuinity Hall, Bocce Ball, Ping Pong, Shuffleboard
-Great Pool with Slide and access to CR pool too
-Movies on the Beach and Campfires
-Hot Tub
-View of Wishes from Resort
-View of Electrical Water Pageant from Resort
-Sound of Train Whistle and other sounds from MK
-And last but not least - the FEELING of being right in the heart of DISNEY!

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I love BLT Using the monorail is great, but we also got stuck at Grand Floridian when the monorail went down, since there is no bus from GF to Magic Kingdom and had to wait FOREVER.

The rooms are new, which I like, and we always get a 1BR so they have a lot of space, more so than other 1BR like at SSR or BCV.

THe food choices are good (Chef Mickey's, The Wave, California Grill, Contempo Cafe), plus you can ride the monorail to the Polynesian to eat and GF as well.

My kids loved the pool at BLT as well and the slide there, plus they have all the activities like at other resorts like pool games, community hall which has ceramics, T-shirt making etc.

I don't really have any negatives I can think of! Yes, there is some wear and tear as others have reported but nothing that I care that much about or that affected our trip.

 

[Kelblum]

Only stayed at BLT for one night, after a cruise and it was nice. Did I love it, not really, but I did like it. We used the extra points to get a Magic Kingdom view, which was great, but I overlooking the parking lot to see it was a little bit of a turn off for me. I just kept thinking this is a lot of points to be looking at a parking lot. Watching the fireworks from there was great, being on the monorail was super and there is nothing like staying in a newer place, but it definately would not be my first choice.