Live from BLT with first impressions

[pinnocchiosdad]

Checkin was a disaster, I will report on that later. I had heard many negative comments on BLT. It has been said to have no theming and a cold and sterile feeling. After walking into my room I fell in love with this resort. The layout is great (we are in a lake view 1 BR) the decor is impressive, the bed is comfortable (8 pillows plus a body bolster. The 2 flat panel LG tv's look great even turned off. As I type my wife is in the bathroom cursing the lighting, but I have not had a problem.

We watched the Superbowl at the top of the world lounge. It is much smaller than I imagined. The layout is a miss, there is 1 TV and only a few seats have a clear view. The bar menu only has about 6 items and none were to our liking. However they have an extensive specialty drink menu and they were delicious. Most folks stepped outside to watch the wishes fireworks. Security came out just before the show to keep kids away from the edge. A girl in the lobby checked my room key and escorted us to the TOTWL elevator, she never looked at my wifes room key. They have a special key that they insert to get the elevator to stop at the TOTWL 16th floor.


As for our view we reserved a standard view but received a free upgrade to lake view. We have a 3rd floor room overlooking the lake, marina and part of the pool. I would prefer to be higher up. Last night we were able to see the epcot fireworks from our bed and living room couch. There was a water boat parade that was so so. My complaint was that it started at 10:10pm and the music was very load.


My tip for anyone looking to make a room request at BLT. Stay in the south wing and ask to be near the sky bridge to CR. There are no facilities at BLT (besides the pool). There is absolutely no food, no souvenir store. It is important to be tnear the skybridge because the foodmart is in the Fantasia market just foot steps from the CR side of the bridge. Also even number rooms seem to face the lake and odd numbers face MK (not all have MK view).

I will write later with an update. EPCOT with dinner at Lecelier today and possibly the parade for the NO Saints.

 

[dizfan]

Thanks for your review. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

My tip for anyone looking to make a room request at BLT. Stay in the south wing and ask to be near the sky bridge to CR. There are no facilities at BLT (besides the pool). There is absolutely no food, no souvenir store. It is important to be tnear the skybridge because the foodmart is in the Fantasia market just foot steps from the CR side of the bridge. Also even number rooms seem to face the lake and odd numbers face MK (not all have MK view).

We really enjoyed being in the same area (but a few floors higher). It was very convenient for access to CR.

I will write later with an update. EPCOT with dinner at Lecelier today and possibly the parade for the NO Saints.

I hope Disney is still having the extra parade for Princess and the Frog (New Orleans jazz and river boat) at MK. That would tie in perfectly with the parade for Brees (celebrating the Saints Super Bowl win). Kind of funny that Disney releases a New Orleans themed Princess movie months before the Saints pull off the Cinderella story.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Kind of funny that Disney releases a New Orleans themed Princess movie months before the Saints pull off the Cinderella story.

Not funny at all. We all knew it was going to happen.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Also even number rooms seem to face the lake and odd numbers face MK (not all have MK view).

Even-numbered rooms are on the outside of the "C," so all MK view rooms are even numbered.

Odd-numbered rooms are on the inside of the "C."

Glad that you're enjoying BLT! besides your check-in experience

 

[dzney2001]

I did an online check in and when I checked in early my room was ready.
DH and I were in the lounge most of Super bowl and also watched the fireworks. I have bay lake on the 8th floor south. Not only do I see Bay Lake I can see the castle from my balcony! For a bonus watched the night shuttle launch from the balcony
Life couldn't be better!!
Today saw a DVC guide showing prospective members rooms. He said he couldn't say which room is one of the best for the castle view, but the room he was showing was south elevator 7522.

 

[culli]

We liked the easy walk to the CR pool and beach. Movies were at night were great for the kids, nice having two resorts and options so close. I agree the TW lounge..........looks like they missed the boat on the potential there. Enjoy your stay and think of me shoveling 9-12 inches of snow tomorrow while you lounge at the pool

 

[Sandisw]

Checkin was a disaster, I will report on that later. I had heard many negative comments on BLT. It has been said to have no theming and a cold and sterile feeling. After walking into my room I fell in love with this resort. The layout is great (we are in a lake view 1 BR) the decor is impressive, the bed is comfortable (8 pillows plus a body bolster. The 2 flat panel LG tv's look great even turned off. As I type my wife is in the bathroom cursing the lighting, but I have not had a problem.

We watched the Superbowl at the top of the world lounge. It is much smaller than I imagined. The layout is a miss, there is 1 TV and only a few seats have a clear view. The bar menu only has about 6 items and none were to our liking. However they have an extensive specialty drink menu and they were delicious. Most folks stepped outside to watch the wishes fireworks. Security came out just before the show to keep kids away from the edge. A girl in the lobby checked my room key and escorted us to the TOTWL elevator, she never looked at my wifes room key. They have a special key that they insert to get the elevator to stop at the TOTWL 16th floor.


As for our view we reserved a standard view but received a free upgrade to lake view. We have a 3rd floor room overlooking the lake, marina and part of the pool. I would prefer to be higher up. Last night we were able to see the epcot fireworks from our bed and living room couch. There was a water boat parade that was so so. My complaint was that it started at 10:10pm and the music was very load.


My tip for anyone looking to make a room request at BLT. Stay in the south wing and ask to be near the sky bridge to CR. There are no facilities at BLT (besides the pool). There is absolutely no food, no souvenir store. It is important to be tnear the skybridge because the foodmart is in the Fantasia market just foot steps from the CR side of the bridge. Also even number rooms seem to face the lake and odd numbers face MK (not all have MK view).

I will write later with an update. EPCOT with dinner at Lecelier today and possibly the parade for the NO Saints.

Thanks for the post. Just curious about the change in view. Did they tell you they were giving you a LV room? We stayed in a studio on the 3rd floor in December, facing the lake. We were also on SV points and were told the room (#7337) was indeed a SV room.

I wonder if they are reclassifying rooms already.

 

[DISNEY FIX]

Did I miss the Check in disaster part?
Thanks for the TR.

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

Thanks for the post. Just curious about the change in view. Did they tell you they were giving you a LV room? We stayed in a studio on the 3rd floor in December, facing the lake. We were also on SV points and were told the room (#7337) was indeed a SV room.

I wonder if they are reclassifying rooms already.

We are in #7342. We were told at checkin that they were giving us an upgrade to a lake view. We reserved a standard view. We are having a great time exept for the fact that it is freezing here. 55 degrees is the high for today.

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

sorry that I havn't been updating my trip report but we have been busy. In adding to my first immpressions here is more of what I think of BLT. This resort is a homerun. We spent the last 3 nights finishing our day in the hot tub with other members. everynight our conversation has revolved around how much me love BLT and how we all want more points. I will say, and this is just my opinion. I will never stay with a Mk view. I don't see how it justifies the required points. You can see the castle from all over BLT. We viewed it and wishes from the TOTWl, you can see it from large glass windows that surround the elevator lobbys on all floors (not ground floor). You can see it from the sky bridge to the CR, and there is a viewing area on the CR side of the bridge. As for the checkin nightmare:

We checked in at 11:15am on 2/7 (SUN) Our room was not ready. We left a cel number to be paged when the room was ready. The CM asked for a credit card to attatch to the reservation. I handed him my AMEX and he ran it. He printed a receipt and told me that I had a $1400 balance. this made my head spin ( remember this is checkin not checkout). i questioned the charge and told him that I was a DVC member and that we were staying on points. He asked if that meant that I did not have to pay. My wife and I looked at eachother and then I actualy began explaining DVC. I gave up and asked for the desk manager. They went in the back for a few minutes and then came out and told me that my CC would be credited the $1400. I am scared to see my bill when I checkout tomorrow (2/11). I will post what happened.

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

On Sunday for lunch we ate at Wofgang Puck Express. $36 bill for two and it was only CS, great value, delicious food. We eat there at least once a trip. Sunday night dinner was at KONA at the Poly. We both ordered the strip steak, way to much fat for either of us to enjoy. We will not return. Did enjoy a hawaiian beer called Longboard. Seating was prompt, hostesses all seemed mad at the world. Monday night was dinner at Lecelier. I have never had a bad meal here. We always order the same thing, the fillet. The steak melted in our mouths. Not to be a whinner but we both thought the portions have become smaller. Yuesday night we ate at Tonys at the MK. I have read many negative reviews about Tony's and i must say that i am leaning in that direction. I must say that this was just about the only restraunt on the dinning plan that had seating available if you didn't have a ressie. I had the chicken parm. It was tasty but loaded with pepper. It was served on spagehtti (sp.) that was overcooked. My wife had the seafood diablo and it was a small portion, mostly spaghetti. DW just woke up and its time for breakfast. I will update latter. Big snow storm back home today, we may try to stay another day.

 

[Crystal_27]

He printed a receipt and told me that I had a $1400 balance. this made my head spin ( remember this is checkin not checkout). i questioned the charge and told him that I was a DVC member and that we were staying on points. He asked if that meant that I did not have to pay. My wife and I looked at eachother and then I actualy began explaining DVC. I gave up and asked for the desk manager. They went in the back for a few minutes and then came out and told me that my CC would be credited the $1400. I am scared to see my bill when I checkout tomorrow (2/11). I will post what happened.

- no joke that your head was probably spinning. Holy crap! Other than that, it sounds like you are definitely enjoying your stay. I agree with you about Tony's - - it wasn't as bad as we thought, but we won't make it a point to eat there again. However, I hate to hear that the steaks at Kona weren't up to par - - Kona is one of our "must dos" for every trip. I'm hoping it was just a fluke, but I guess we'll find out in December.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

On Sunday for lunch we ate at Wofgang Puck Express. $36 bill for two and it was only CS, great value, delicious food. We eat there at least once a trip. Sunday night dinner was at KONA at the Poly. We both ordered the strip steak, way to much fat for either of us to enjoy. We will not return. Did enjoy a hawaiian beer called Longboard. Seating was prompt, hostesses all seemed mad at the world. Monday night was dinner at Lecelier. I have never had a bad meal here. We always order the same thing, the fillet. The steak melted in our mouths. Not to be a whinner but we both thought the portions have become smaller. Yuesday night we ate at Tonys at the MK. I have read many negative reviews about Tony's and i must say that i am leaning in that direction. I must say that this was just about the only restraunt on the dinning plan that had seating available if you didn't have a ressie. I had the chicken parm. It was tasty but loaded with pepper. It was served on spagehtti (sp.) that was overcooked. My wife had the seafood diablo and it was a small portion, mostly spaghetti. DW just woke up and its time for breakfast. I will update latter. Big snow storm back home today, we may try to stay another day.

yep lots of snow here......if you can stay another day...go for it

 

[Ella's Mom]

We just got back from BLT. I was just like your wife, cursing at the lighting in the bathroom. It is terrible. I couldn't see what I was putting on for makeup...good thing I'm not too into makeup. Actually, I think the lighting was very poor in the bedrooms also.

We also thought the boat parade was VERY LOUD. We were on the end (room 7844) close to the lake, overlooking CR pool/marina. We couldn't put our kids to bed before it ended. If they were sleeping, the music woke them and then they never went to bed.

I was pretty surprised to see how worn our room looked already. The stainless steel on the side of the dishwasher was mangled...the sofa had a lot of stains...the bench seating at table was dirty...other furniture was dented...tall lamp was tippy. It's pretty sad to think how much damage has been done already.

Overall, we really liked BLT and would definitely return. Location and monorail transportation can't be beat. We loved the lake view.

 

[Cleocat]

We're staying at Blt week of thanksgiving we can't wait. Reserved a 1 br lake view. Agree waste of points on a mk view. You talked about the snow storm hitting today. Snow total so far is roughly between 12 and 14 inches hope you don't paln on coming home for a couple of days. Continental cancelled every flight out of Newark. Although I'm sure you use Laguardia. Just thought I let you know how lucky you are to be in the world and not home. Have fun enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We just got back from BLT. I was just like your wife, cursing at the lighting in the bathroom. It is terrible. I couldn't see what I was putting on for makeup...good thing I'm not too into makeup. Actually, I think the lighting was very poor in the bedrooms also.

We also thought the boat parade was VERY LOUD. We were on the end (room 7844) close to the lake, overlooking CR pool/marina. We couldn't put our kids to bed before it ended. If they were sleeping, the music woke them and then they never went to bed.

I was pretty surprised to see how worn our room looked already. The stainless steel on the side of the dishwasher was mangled...the sofa had a lot of stains...the bench seating at table was dirty...other furniture was dented...tall lamp was tippy. It's pretty sad to think how much damage has been done already.

Overall, we really liked BLT and would definitely return. Location and monorail transportation can't be beat. We loved the lake view.

Well, with all the guests wanting to move the sleeper chair into the bedroom from the living room, I'm not surprised that some of the rooms are looking bad already.

 

[culli]

We just got back from BLT. I was just like your wife, cursing at the lighting in the bathroom. It is terrible. I couldn't see what I was putting on for makeup...good thing I'm not too into makeup. Actually, I think the lighting was very poor in the bedrooms also.

We also thought the boat parade was VERY LOUD. We were on the end (room 7844) close to the lake, overlooking CR pool/marina. We couldn't put our kids to bed before it ended. If they were sleeping, the music woke them and then they never went to bed.

I was pretty surprised to see how worn our room looked already. The stainless steel on the side of the dishwasher was mangled...the sofa had a lot of stains...the bench seating at table was dirty...other furniture was dented...tall lamp was tippy. It's pretty sad to think how much damage has been done already.

Overall, we really liked BLT and would definitely return. Location and monorail transportation can't be beat. We loved the lake view.

I was there Oct 1st - 10th and was also surprised at the amount of wear and tear, but luck of the draw I'm sure. Just being open for a few months and saw the damage was really a shocker.

I just don't get that couch, the material and especially the color just lends itself to show stains and look dirty.

Here is a link to my first thoughts on BLT if anyone interested or has an upcoming trip and wants a quick bullet list of observations: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2306148

 

[Micca]

we were at BLT 2/4-2/8 and LOVED it. We've only been in DVC just over a year and this was our second trip home(first ws BWV). No complaints at all(other than we could have stayed longer).

 

[Sorceress_Minnie]

We are headed to BLT in June and can't wait! Thanks for the trip reports they are keeping me sane!

 

[d-r]

we liked it a lot also. We stayed there over the christmas holidays.

I liked the pool a lot. I liked the small little community room, we played video games there a little.

I really like the picnic area where the grills are. The view there is beautiful.

We had a meal at chef mickey's and at ca. grill and it was nice to walk over.

The monorail is almost over-rated. It is easier to just walk to MK. There are other resorts that are easier to get to epcot. For the fun factor though, the monorail is great.

We enjoyed the top of the world lounge, but the two times we went the tab piles up really quickly there.

The one thing I didn't like. There were constantly people coming in for tours. It was hard to take an elevator without overhearing a sales spiel. It got sort of annoying. I have to think that will change eventually.

I also thought all the key carded doors was a little on the annoying side.