BLT wow factor???

[disneyobessed]

We are considering staying at BLT next April.. Im worried it wont have the wow factor like WLV or AKV or BCV.... Please tell me IM wrong...

 

[SecretPoohLove]

Is being able to walk to MK. When I go into the VWL lobby, I say WOW, at BLT, I say, nice...let's get to the park! Can't go wrong with it...location, location, location.

 

[chalee94]

it doesn't have a grand lobby like AKV/WLV. the studios are pretty smallish.

but you can see the monorail and/or castle from certain rooms. you can hear the train whistle. you can walk to the MK in under 10 minutes.

depends on what it takes to "wow" you...

 

[WDW Points]

If you want to sit in the lobby and be "wowwed" -- great.
A resort is just that, a place to play, to sleep, to eat.
I don't think Disney has any "bad" resorts.
BLT is brand new, has a great location, is designed to be modern.
If you want safari with animals, go to AKV.
If you want boardwalk for entertainment, boats...it's great, but the rooms are kind of small.
Disney has so many choices, you have to find the one that is the best for you.
What could be more WOW than sleeping next to Space Mountain?
Being at WDW is wow enough for me!!!

 

[dizfan]

As others have pointed out, it all depends what "wow" means to you.

To DW and I, BLT has a wow factor (monorail, train whistle, Electric Water Pageant, lake activity, etc). However, we're old enough that we remember when WDW was only MK.

BLT is not going to wow everyone. Some call it blah, because the Contemporary theme can be found in many places around the world. Art with Mickey in it is not for everyone. Many want a different theme.

That's what is great about DVC at WDW. There are many different resorts to choose from. If you don't like one theme, there are several others that may fit your preference.

 

[jade1]

it doesn't have a grand lobby like AKV/WLV. the studios are pretty smallish.

but you can see the monorail and/or castle from certain rooms. you can hear the train whistle. you can walk to the MK in under 10 minutes.

depends on what it takes to "wow" you...

Agreed. Our MK View room was by far more "wow" than any other room we have had after about 30 week long trips-many with multiple moves. We just sat in the LR and the MBR and the balcony much more than usual.

Can't say for SV or LView though.

 

[hakepb]

WOW!!!!!!

 

[DizDays]

The WOW is definitely in the rooms and the views (as demonstrated by that amazing picture taken from probably the most perfectly located room at BLT). DH and I had a lakeview room and enjoyed it very much. I did not think I'd like the decor (not my style), but when you're in the room and it all comes together it's very nice. I especially like the dark woods that were used.

The best WOW is what everyone else has already shared... location, location, location.

 

[VrBchJ]

The Top of the World Lounge is a total wow for us.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

We are considering staying at BLT next April.. Im worried it wont have the wow factor like WLV or AKV or BCV.... Please tell me IM wrong...

I think BLT is a gorgeous resort. In my opinion it is WAY nicer than BCV. AKV Is just so unique and thats why I love it but I was nothing short of impressed with BLT.

 

[papertraveller]

Can't a photo that comes even close to the one above, but we absolutely adore the lake views. They're heaven for us.

 

[disneyfan4u]

Wow! Amazing!

 

[Sandisw]

It's my favorite resort so for me, the WOW factor is just being that close to MK. As others have said, it really depends on what and how you define what will WOW you!!

We've been to both BCV and VWL and they are nice resorts, they can't compare for me to BLT.

 

[disneynutz]

WDW has something for everyone and so do the resorts. We own BLT and it has turned out to be our least favorite resort.

Monorail is nice, location is a plus, pool is on the small side, I wish that the view was better. You can see the top of the castle, the top of Space Mountain and the parking lot, that's about all.

All support services are over at the Contemporary, including Front Desk, Concierge, Bell Services, Food, and shopping.

Bill

 

[disneyobessed]

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE REPSONSES!! The wow for us is the whole first impression you get when you walk in.. like when you walk into the lobby at WL... THe whole location as people have said seems to definatly replace the first impression wow factor... We love the laid back feeling of WL and AKV....and the location at BCV you cant beat... so we are trying to go ourside our comfort zone and try BLT.. We will plan to eat at 1900 Park Fare.. Hoop De Doo or Poly Leau.. Chef Mickey.. and Whispering Canyon

THat lounge on the top floor, can anyone go up there or is just for adults? Do they serve food??

 

[Kidanifan08]

THat lounge on the top floor, can anyone go up there or is just for adults? Do they serve food??

Kids are allowed at TOTWL. Only members staying on points are allowed at TOTWL. We are looking forward to going in June. The WOW factor that we experienced the last time we were there was, "Wow, I thought more people would be up here. Wow, watching Wishes from here is just so-so. Wow, this menu doesn't have much to offer."

With that said, we will do it again because the view of the area around the Seven Seas Lagoon from the lounge is great. The last time we were there we had a lake view in the north tower and we could see the castle, Space Mountain and Astro Orbiter, which was very cool. We could hear the train whistles in the AM. We loved being able to walk to MK. Transportation to the other resorts was hit or miss. Our guests are very excited about staying right outside the entrance of MK in June!

Have fun planning!

 

[Anal Annie]

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE REPSONSES!! The wow for us is the whole first impression you get when you walk in.. like when you walk into the lobby at WL... THe whole location as people have said seems to definatly replace the first impression wow factor... We love the laid back feeling of WL and AKV....and the location at BCV you cant beat... so we are trying to go ourside our comfort zone and try BLT.. We will plan to eat at 1900 Park Fare.. Hoop De Doo or Poly Leau.. Chef Mickey.. and Whispering Canyon

THat lounge on the top floor, can anyone go up there or is just for adults? Do they serve food??

We just spent a week at BLT over spring break...our first stay there. We have tried all of the WDW resorts now except for BWV which we're trying in August so we can compare all of them. I would not really say that BLT has a huge WOW factor though as far as your first impression when you walk in. I mean, overall it fell in the middle of all the resorts for us with VWL and BCV at the top and OKW at the bottom of the list for us. We only use studios and we had a LV. I had requested upper floor, north tower with an even numbered room and got a great location with a view of both the lake and the MK (although we were only on the 8th floor & I think even higher up would've been better as the parking lot & tennis courts are still a big distraction if you're lower).

As far as studios go they are small there BUT the kitchenette is the largest of any of the DVC studios. This is important if you DO use the facilities for any meal preparations at all. The kitchenette at Kidani for example is a joke - it has a bathroom sink rather than a bar sink and the microwave looks like it belongs in a treehouse and there is like NO countertop space. It was THE most annoying kitchenette to try to even toast a bagel in. But at BLT I had plenty of room to spread out to make coffee, clean some strawberries, toast waffles & butter them etc. It was like a real kitchen.

We watched the fireworks on our first night from our balcony (we checked in around 9:00 PM, grabbed some takeout food from the Contempo Cafe around 9:30 and watched while we ate dinner on our balcony). This was really cool. We went up to the TOTWL to watch them 1 other night. It was nice to be higher up but I wouldn't say the view was all that much better. I was disappointed that the lounge didn't offer more food selection and found it underwhelming because of that. We didn't stay up there and hang out very long because we wanted to eat so we went back to the Contempo Cafe. While fireworks from BLT is an awesome experience and really convenient nothing beats being IN the MK to see them.

The BLT lobby is pretty but very sterile and there's nothing really going on since you check in over at the Contemporary. There's a DVC sales desk but there's not really any staff there to welcome you home or anything. The lobby is nothing in comparison to the ones at AKV or VWL. You will not get the same feeling at BLT.

HOWEVER, I will say that during a busy time of year like spring break (March-April) it was a great location and one of the reasons we opted to splurge on using that many points. We were trying to avoid the buses as much as possible with the Easter crowds. We really enjoyed being on the monorail for a change. We walked "home" from MK a couple of evenings when we left the MK at closing and the lines were long for the monorail (took about 10 minutes at our "we're about to die pace"). It was the last thing we FELT like doing after being out in the parks walking all day though. We took advantage of the monorail though to go to the Poly to eat at O'hana for the first time and for going to Epcot for meals a few times.

Here's a few pictures of what a lake view potential can be. My zoom wasn't as high as Jade's was and I am not uploading them in a full screen format so you can get a better sense how far it really is to the MK. (Based on the view from this LV room I would not "spend" the extra points for the MK view.):

And the lake:

Fireworks from our room:

BLT lobby - pretty but not HUGE like VWL or AKV:

TOTWL - very pretty but nothing to hold us there for long:

BLT pool from the lounge:

Fireworks view from TOTWL:

 

[peabody58]

My WOW is walking into any WDW DVC resort (our home being BLT) holding my DW's hand of 30 years and knowing that we are going to have a wonderful vacation this trip, and many more to follow.

 

[gray52]

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE REPSONSES!! The wow for us is the whole first impression you get when you walk in.. like when you walk into the lobby at WL... THe whole location as people have said seems to definatly replace the first impression wow factor... We love the laid back feeling of WL and AKV....and the location at BCV you cant beat... so we are trying to go ourside our comfort zone and try BLT.. We will plan to eat at 1900 Park Fare.. Hoop De Doo or Poly Leau.. Chef Mickey.. and Whispering Canyon

THat lounge on the top floor, can anyone go up there or is just for adults? Do they serve food??

You check into the CR first then walk over to BLT, which for us, kinda loses some of the "welcome home" factor for us. For us, BLT kinda feels like walking into a Holiday Inn without a check-in area.
We have stayed at BLT twice because, at the time, we had two strollers... so the wow factor for us was "wow" we can walk to MK... and "wow" we can take the monorail to EPCOT without folding up the strollers. Outside of that, there wasn't much about BLT that wowed us. If MK still dominates your itinerary, the location alone is enough to wow you. However, enjoying the resorts have become a larger part of our Disney experience, so location is less important for us.
TOTWL was nice to do once. There were lots of kids there when we went. It can get crowded just before wishes but empties out right after it's over.

 

[BLTLDZ]

My WOW is walking into any WDW DVC resort (our home being BLT) holding my DW's hand of 30 years and knowing that we are going to have a wonderful vacation this trip, and many more to follow.

GREAT PERSPECTIVE!!!