Day 1 Part 2 Sunday, March 13: AKA “Your room is ready”
So I headed up to the fourth floor of the Contemporary for the walkway to BLT. Javier told me I had a nice room on the 12th floor and the other CM that told me my room was ready confirmed it.
Nice looking sign. Can’t hear or see “Welcome Home” enough.
The elevators for the South Tower where I was staying are right across the walkway entrance. A quick trip to the 12th floor and a short walk to my abode for the next three days. I always get excited as I enter a room for the first time especially the first visit to a resort.
Room 8235. Man these doors were heavy. Opening them felt like trying to move a bank vault door.
The living room area. Good sized flat screen TV. Still haven’t gotten one for the house. Soon though.
This is near the window. The chair converts to a bed which I didn’t need. From what I understand, BLT 1 Br. sleeps five. It did make a real comfy chair.
A new way to do the dining table. Like the way they did this.
The kitchen and countertop. I also liked this layout.
The view of the courtyard from the room.
The pool
Part of the C
The second part of the C. If you look at the rooms the layout from left to right is 1 BR., Studio, Studio, 1 BR. It allows the maximum flexibility for room types. Just put a 1BR. and a Studio together, you have a 2 BR. Not sure if they have any dedicated 2 BRs.
The Top of the World Lounge
Laundry room. Yes I did do laundry the first day because I packed some dirty clothes when I threw everything into the suitcase. Don’t judge me you uberpackers at least I actually did do the laundry. Besides, the important part of packing, the snacks, were done with time and loving care.
The shower
The whirlpool tub. I didn’t do a whirlpool bath this trip because I was a little concerned about getting out. Did not want to embarrass myself calling the front desk to have someone come up to pull me out with me just wearing a towel. Thought about doing a trial run with clothes on but that would only be slightly less embarrassing.
The Master bedroom. I slept like a log.
The TV and desk in the master bedroom.
Master bath sink.
The second bathroom. An added convenience in BLT 1Bedrooms.
The room was clean and had all the amenities except laundry detergent and a cable for the computer. Bags were quickly delivered. I called the front desk about the missing items. At first she insisted the cable was in the room. I strongly suggested that it was not. I also asked her where the connection is for the internet and she asked me what room I was in. After checking something, she said, “It is in the living room area near the couch.” I told her I didn’t think so but again she insisted. Since she might have been right here, I did not strongly suggest otherwise. I looked around the room again and found this jack that was labeled HSIC on the desk in the Master Bedroom. It took me a while but I figured it out that it meant High Speed Internet Connection. At least I hoped. For all I know it could have meant Hey Stupid this Isn’t a Connection.
It was over an hour and still no cable or detergent. This was the one and only time that BLT let me down a bit. I called back again and they had it to me in about 15 minutes. They even tried to deliver a second cable later that night.
While I was waiting, clothes and snacks were unpacked, picked up some tasty munchies and relaxed on the couch. After the cable came I even took a short nap. Between that I sat out on my balcony to read and enjoy the view. It was about 6:00 and I decided to head to the Top of the World Lounge for a quick look see.
The TOWL is in the North Tower. Took the elevator to the first floor and crossed the lobby. There was a sign directing you to the elevator where a CM will assist you. No one was there and despite my efforts, the elevator was not going anywhere. Back to the front desk, they said someone will assist me shortly. While I was there another group showed up. The CM came and I showed him my ID. The others did not and were not asked. TOWL is supposed to only be for
DVC members staying at BLT. I have read conflicting reports on how serious they take this.
The lounge itself is spacious and upscale. There is an outside open area that circles the lounge giving spectacular views. It is a much larger area than the walkway (or whatever you want to call it) at California Grill. I was pretty beat so I ordered a Mozzarella/Tomato Flatbread to go and a club soda. While waiting for the food, I people watched for a while. There were about 10+ kids there and 20 or so adults. Some of the kids were a little noisy but most were well behaved. This is a quick overview. More details tomorrow when I revisit for Wishes viewing.
Took the food back to the room. Here is a picture of the flat bread. It was fairly tasty with lots of flavor. The only complaint was it could have been crisper.
After finishing dinner it was time to hit the bed. Played channel flip with the remote and after looking through the limited choices a few times I headed to beauty sleep land.
All in all a good day. Can’t believe I screwed up when I was supposed to arrive. It worked out well for me because I added a day to the trip. I really like the new place. The room was well laid out with some neat twists. The extra bathroom will come in handy for larger groups. I also thought the layout of the dining table is the best of any DVC 1 BR. It would facilitate family meals along with late night card games. The view is pretty good. I could only see part of the lake but a full view of the pool area and courtyard. I spent a lot of time on the balcony.
A good start to my little getaway. I wanted to relax and take a few deep breaths and today foot the bill. Have to love DVC where you don’t feel guilty when you don’t spend all day in a park.
Up Next: Downtown Disney and TOTWL for real