We returned last week Wednesday from another great stay at CR/BLT. It was our second stay at BLT, after four previous stays in the CR tower. Last trip we booked a cash reservation directly through Disney, for a Lake View Studio. This time around we rented points for a Lake View 1br. I hate to say it, but I think we spoiled ourselves this trip! I was afraid the 1br would seem like overkill for two people, but it was perfect! We loved having the separate living room to relax in and watch TV at night, especially since the parks close so early this time of year and we always had time to kill at night before bedtime.
We arrived at BLT around 8:30 am. I did the online check in, and was hesitant to go to the front desk to check in again because last time I did that so early, I think they wanted to get us a room ASAP and completely ignored our requests. The only reason I did this time around was because we drove, and the guy at the gatehouse called in that we were checking in, and I didn't want them expecting us only for us to not show up. (I know, that sounds silly!) Well, good thing we did that, because they again ignored our request of "inside the C, higher floor". They got the high floor right, but didn't honor our inside the C request. I know those requests aren't guaranteed, but it was almost like they didn't even have the request on file because he seemed really surprised that we wanted inside the C. He said "really? Nobody ever requests inside the C". Well anyway, he gave us three choices of rooms - 11th floor outside the C, north side; 6th floor inside the C, south side; 4th floor inside the C, in the middle. I liked that we were given options. We went with the 6th floor, inside, south side (7635). I didn't think we'd like the view from the 11th floor, and the 4th floor wasn't high enough for my wife. Just to verify, after checking in, we walked around the north side of the BLT to get a general idea of our view because I figured we'd be able to switch quickly if we changed our minds at that moment; we didn't.
The view we got wasn't the greatest, and maybe we would have been happier with the 4th floor middle C. Last time we got 14th floor, inside, on the north side (8409 to be exact). We LOVED this view, because we could still see the Electric Water Pageant from our balcony at night. We couldn't from our room this trip. I think next time we'll check in early again, and hope to either get inside the C, north side; or outside the C, south side. Both requesting a higher floor.
Our biggest disappointment involved a balloon. I was celebrating my 40th birthday on Feb 11. On that Friday, Feb 10, my wife snuck away to the BLT front desk to request to have a balloon sent to our room on my birthday. She was told "we can't do that here -- you have to go the Contemporary". She thought that was weird, but did as told. When she told the CR desk this, they apparently seemed annoyed and said "they can do that for you over there -- who told you they couldn't?" Of course, my wife didn't get a name so she didn't know. But the person at the CR put the order in anyway. Or so we thought. Feb 11 came and went, and no balloon. When my wife realized that night that I wasn't getting a balloon, she told me about this whole ordeal; she was pretty upset about it. So she called the BLT front desk Sunday morning and told them how she requested a balloon at the CR because the person at BLT said she couldn't do it there, but the balloon never came. The person on the phone was very apologetic, and said they'd send a balloon up right away. Well, Sunday came and went, still no balloon. We checked out on Monday, and my wife told the person at BLT about never receiving a balloon. This person seemed very surprised by the whole situation. She looked up our account, and there was a note to order a balloon, but it was apparently never ordered. She didn't know why it never came, because all they have to do is go get a balloon and take it up to the room; she even indicated that she enjoys doing this. She offered to go get me a balloon right away, but I turned that down. If I had gotten a balloon in my room on my birthday, I could suspend disbelief and pretend that Mickey and Minnie remembered my birthday and got me a balloon. (Suspending disbelief is what Disney World is all about!) If the BLT concierge desk lady had gotten me a balloon, it would be like the lady at the concierge desk was giving me a balloon because she felt sorry for me; much less magical than getting one from Mickey and Minnie. And not to sound harsh, but I honestly couldn't care less about getting a balloon. I'm 40 years old, not 4. It was the fact that my wife wanted to do this simple, but thoughtful thing, for me on my birthday, and the people at the CR/BLT complexly dropped the ball and this upset her. I obviously didn't let this little thing ruin my vacation or my birthday, but it did put a damper on it a little bit. (End of the venting portion...)
To end on a positive note -- one of my favorite movies of all time (not just Disney movies, all movies) is The Lion King. Well, the Movie Under the Stars at the CR on my birthday was The Lion King! Of course I changed my plans for the night so I could see that!
(Holy cow, I wrote way more than I was expecting!)
(Go habs go)
