First stay at Bay Lake Tower this April....

[caitlinhailey]

What do I need to know? Booked a Deluxe Studio (lakeview) at Bay Lake. Any tips you could give me would be appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[Deb & Bill]

What do I need to know? Booked a Deluxe Studio (lakeview) at Bay Lake. Any tips you could give me would be appreciated. Thanks so much!

Your studio will be very small. Hope you only have one other person with you at a max. The connecting bridge to the Contemporary is on the BLT fifth floor and CR fourth floor. You can check in at BLT unless you are arriving on ME.

If you are inside the C, expect a lot of noise from the pool during the day.

Contempo Cafe is a nice place to get snacks and smaller meals.

Always walk to the MK and take the monorail back on the Resort monorail. If you take the monorail to the MK, you'll go to the TTC, Polynesian and Grand Floridian before you hit the MK. Coming back on the monorial, the Contemporary will be the first stop.

 

[gdrj]

You can take a boat ride to Wildnernes Lodge if you want to visit there, shop or eat. Its a short ride and a nice distraction.

 

[MichiganDVC]

I stayed at a studio Bay Lake view two years ago and I loved it!

The VERY best part is the walk to and from the MK. Honestly, it was downright joyful. No mass transit at the end of the night when Wishes lets out...just a brief walk to the left

Top of the World Lounge is a nice place to relax on an evening when you're not going to the parks, or came back early.

Access to Contemporary (restaurants, store, even pool) was seamless. 5 minute walk at best and you have Contempo Cafe for QS, Wave for a very underrated TS dinner option. Plus, you are a brief boat ride or monorail ride away from Wilderness and Poly restaurants.

This is actually making me want to stay here again.....

BLT pool is a bit small, but I like it that way. When its not too crowded, it is quite relaxing. One day when it was overcast, we had the pool to ourselves (hot tub + bar = happy) Plus you're essentially right at the edge of Bay Lake.

I never understand why people dislike having their villa facing the pool. It IS vacation, after all, and it IS Florida. Isn't a pool part of the deal? I personally love the noise from the pool area... it is a gentle roar of laughter, music, splashing, and sunshine. Unless I had a light-sleeper infant, I can't imagine thinking that's a big deal.
I've actually heard people complain about certain rooms in EPCOT resorts being "too loud" because of Illuminations fireworks at the end of the night. Like that 13 minutes is such a deal breaker!

 

[bbn1122]

BLT is our home resort and we will be back for a 2nd visit in June.
We love it....
CR is also your resort...BLT is part of it...
Close to MK ....can watch fireworks from your room or TOWL or your room or the bridge . I like watching the EMP from the bridge . I would hear the music from our balcony and run down to the bridge.

We loved using the CR pools...quick walk when you go out through the pool area and walk down by the marina. speaking of the marina ...rent a mouse boat.

TOWL lounge is great ...very chic...

Wave restaurant is great...and like was said prior..boat to WL...walk to MK....monorail ride to Poly...and ...GF and TTC...

Enjoy your stay....

 

[YankeePrincess]

Your studio will be very small. Hope you only have one other person with you at a max. The connecting bridge to the Contemporary is on the BLT fifth floor and CR fourth floor. You can check in at BLT unless you are arriving on ME.

If you are inside the C, expect a lot of noise from the pool during the day.

Contempo Cafe is a nice place to get snacks and smaller meals.

Always walk to the MK and take the monorail back on the Resort monorail. If you take the monorail to the MK, you'll go to the TTC, Polynesian and Grand Floridian before you hit the MK. Coming back on the monorial, the Contemporary will be the first stop.

You can't check in at all in BLT if you take ME, or just if it is early morning hours?

 

[Deb & Bill]

...I never understand why people dislike having their villa facing the pool. It IS vacation, after all, and it IS Florida. Isn't a pool part of the deal? I personally love the noise from the pool area... it is a gentle roar of laughter, music, splashing, and sunshine. Unless I had a light-sleeper infant, I can't imagine thinking that's a big deal.
I've actually heard people complain about certain rooms in EPCOT resorts being "too loud" because of Illuminations fireworks at the end of the night. Like that 13 minutes is such a deal breaker!

The BLT pool is noisy from around 9 or 10AM until sometime in the evening. We like to spend time in our villa and it was noisy all day long, into the evening. It was difficult to even sit out on the balcony because of the noise. And the noise seems to bounce off the inner walls so it seems even louder than it really is. I tried to nap one afternoon and it was too noisy to do that. That's a lot different than 13 minutes of noise.

 

[floribr1]

You can't check in at all in BLT if you take ME, or just if it is early morning hours?

The DME bus will drop you off close to the CR lobby, regardless of the hour. If you arrive by DME, I think it's probably easiest in every way to simply check-in at the CR.

 

[montrealdisneylovers]

BLT is our home resort and we absolutely LOVE it!! It is not a resort you go to to "get away from it all" rather a resort that allows you to "stay immersed in the Disney magic" noise and all!!

Remember that the bus depot at Magic Kingdom is a short walk away and can take you anywhere else on Disney property that you want to go (like other resorts).

The Wave is a great place to eat (both breakfast and dinner). Little market on the 4th floor of the contemporary has wine, beer and snacks that you might want for your room.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Room requests are important with a lake view, because the different locations offer different experiences. Odd numbered rooms face into the center of the courtyard. Even numbered rooms face out. Even numbers on the North side of the building face somewhat in the direction of the Magic Kingdom. (Of course, the rooms with the best Magic Kingdom views are in the theme park view category.) Even numbered rooms on the South side face the Contemporary tower, docks, and the Wilderness Lodge. This thread has a lot of great information regarding room locations and views.

We personally prefer the odd-numbered, courtyard-facing rooms because we like to look down on the pool while also having a view out onto the lake. I've never found them to be loud, but perhaps we've been lucky. One thing you do need to keep in mind with these rooms, though, is that Disney didn't install sheers on the windows. Unless you have the heavy room-darkening shades closed, others can look right into your room. When you in an odd-numbered room, there are lots of other rooms facing yours. We were very disappointed in the South-facing, even-numbered lake view room we had because it looked at the Contemporary tower more than it did the lake. We've never been on the North side, but understand from many that there are some decent views of the MK from some rooms. (Don't get your hopes up that you'll get one of these, though. It's luck of the draw.)

The bathroom floors are made of very-smoothly-polished stone. They're slippery when wet, and I'm always nervous about stepping out of the tub there.

As others have said, the rooms are oddly shaped and very small.

Unpacking and putting things away in a BLT studio often involves the need to employ some inventive storage strategies. That may just be us, though. We travel with a ton of stuff.

Be sure to visit the Top of the World Lounge. It's a good place to view the fireworks, yes, but it's also a wonderfully relaxing place to go and just have a few drinks in the early evening.

The laundry room is on the 1st floor, across from the community hall.

If you're into pool hopping, BLT is an excellent base from which to do it. In additon to the two Contemporary pools, there are also great pools at the Wilderness Lodge, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian. We had fun hitting every pool in the MK area on one of our non-park days.

Don't forget to head down to the dock or beach one night to see the electric water pageant. If you're in one of the lucky rooms (even-numbered South side or some odd-numbered rooms near the end of the hallway on the North side), you may even be able to see it from your patio. You'll definitely hear it from any room in the building.

Take advantage of the MK-area dining options while you're staying so close. The Wave is a great table service that often gets overlooked. California Grill is spectacular. Hoop-Dee-Doo and Luau are always fun, and very close. 'Ohana and 1900 Park Fare are great character meal locations. And if you're really looking to splurge, head on over to Victoria & Alberts or Citricos.

Contemporary is a monorail resort, but don't be tempted to take the monorail to/from the Magic Kingdom. You're better served by walking -- especially if it's close to opening/closing or just after the fireworks or parade have finished.

If you're someone who's into a daily workout, unfortunately, the Contemporary has one of the worst gym facilities on the property. It has the feeling of being a cave because of a very low drop ceiling.

How's that for some truly random thoughts?

 

[appleorchard]

I love BLT with small kids. Yes, the studios are small, but the walk back and forth to the MK is worth a million dollars at the end of the night. They're small partly because the kitchenette is much larger than in most DVC studios-- it's an actual separate room --narrow, but a separate room with a ton of storage. The main area also has a lot of storage, just not a lot of floor space. The bed is pretty much against the wall with just a small table between the bed and the couch, which is pretty much up against the slider, almost. Plenty of room in the vestibule when you first come in for a stroller--we also had an ECV there our last visit.

We'll be there--my DD, DGD age 5 and me in two weeks! We loved it in August and watching the electrical parade on the lake at night was one of my DGD's favorite parts of the trip-- I still smile when I think of the wonder in her voice when she told me the parade was coming right past our room.

 

[YankeePrincess]

The DME bus will drop you off close to the CR lobby, regardless of the hour. If you arrive by DME, I think it's probably easiest in every way to simply check-in at the CR.

Oh ok I see now. I thought it was because you weren't allowed to if you take ME. It is true that it is closer but I have found CR to be horrible at notifying you for your room. Three times now, I have never been notified that our room was ready. I still love my BLT though.

 

[amypetecar]

I love BLT! By far my favorite resort. Ive stayed in studios twice with 2 adults and 2 kids. It is smaller than other studios, but we were just fine or 8 days last trip.


For lake view, i strongly recommend the outside of the "C"....

Request an even numbered room. Lake view Rooms ending between 02-14 face toward the magic kingdom with an obstructed MK/fireworks view, while rooms ending between 32-44 face toward the contemporary and bay lake. The higher the number, the better the lake view on that side.