Saratoga Springs vs Bay Lake Towers

[meloneyb21]

We're trying to decide between the two, and have never stayed at either. We're thinking of going sometime in late August or September. We love DTD which is why we chose Saratoga Springs..and we just added BLT because it is yet another resort we haven't visited. We will be taking our 7 and 2 year old. Any opinions?

I have no idea where to start with either resort.

 

[addiln]

we stayed at both and really loved both of them for different reasons. blt looks and feels like a hotel. it is great have just a 5 min walk to mk and if you are dvc members watching the wishes from the room top bar. there is only one pool at blr but you can use the cr pool it is crowded there. ss is more like a resort. nice grounds to walk on with more things to do there. the walk to dtd is nice as long as you are staying in congress park. also they have more pools at ss then blt as well. each group has their own little pool area. the bus system at ss is also better then at blt. here they have their own buses where blt shares a bus with other resorts. I think it really depends on where you are spending most of you time which resort to go with. if you like being on the monorail and staying close to mk then blt is your choice and if you want more of a resort type feel close to dtd then ss is your choice.

 

[chalee94]

BLT is right next to the MK. less than a 10 minute walk.

1BRs at the BLT have 2 bathrooms and a sleeper chair to go along with the pullout sofa if the kids want to sleep in separate beds.

BLT is a smaller resort and it will probably be more difficult to get a room - timeshares tend to book up earlier than hotels.

 

[the6lees]

We've stayed at both and loved both for their uniqueness. It'll depend on what your personal taste. Perhaps you will end up trying both. We stayed in the 2BR and the BLT gives you an additional bathroom which was handy for the 6 of us. The one thing I did not like about the SSR is that although it has it own dedicated buses, I had to wait over 40 minutes in the rain after Hollywood Studios closed for the evening (but I must have counter over 20 buses for the All Star Resorts).

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Bay Lake Tower has the advantage of being the only DVC Resort only the Resort Monorail line since you can get it from the Contemporary. Plus they are the only one with a walkway to and from the Magic Kingdom.

 

[meloneyb21]

We're also just now considering AKL Villas @ Jambo. What is the convenience from AKL to DTD? We really enjoy DTD most of the time which is the main reason SSR was an option....however we have always wanted to stay at AKL.

 

[gtpooh]

Stayed at both the BLT and STs and found the BLT to be much nicer. It's newer and being on the monorail to us was worth being in a more compact physical space.

 

[kkmauch]

AKL isn't terrible for getting to DTD. But honestly, it would be like going from SSR to AK, so regardless, if you're going to be going both areas, you'll have the bus ride either way.

We've stayed at all as well and hands down we pick SSR. AKL is fantastic for small kids, but further from everything else in the world. BLT is not our "style" and feels very hotel like and not very disney like to us. SSR is, imho, the perfect spot. Large rooms, right on the water, 5 minutes WALK to DTD and large enough that you don't feel like you're in a hotel, but rather a resort. Plenty of ammenities, great food and the buses have always been great for us.

This time around we're staying at another favorite just down the road, OKW. A GV for the first time and we can't wait!

Plenty of good choices out there.

 

[LovetheMouse12302]

We have stayed at Saratoga Springs, Bay Lake Tower, and Animal Kingdom Villas (Kidani not Jambo). I say either BLT or AKV. Bay Lake has an amazing location and we love the animals and the overall theme of Animal Kingdom. You can't go wrong with either! SSR is a nice resort too, it is just our least favorite out of the resorts we have stayed at.

 

[cvjw]

With young kids, I would prefer BLT - just for the ease of walking to MK.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

*respectfully snipped*

the bus system at ss is also better then at blt. here they have their own buses where blt shares a bus with other resorts. I think it really depends on where you are spending most of you time which resort to go with. if you like being on the monorail and staying close to mk then blt is your choice and if you want more of a resort type feel close to dtd then ss is your choice.

This was not our experience at all. We've been to Disney a dozen times and have stayed at both SSR and BLT. I would go back to BLT in a heartbeat with the main reason being the transportation perks. And I will most likely never stay at SSR again because of the transportation.

SSR, in our experience, had the worst bus transportation during our stay. While we didn't wait long for buses, 95% of the time, all buses were standing room only. And what I liked the least was that SSR is the most remote resort from all the theme parks. It took so long to get to the theme parks. It was a drag knowing there was never a short trip and that we'd have to, most likely, stand.

Walking to MK from BLT and monorailing it to Epcot from BLT was awesome. I had no complaints at all about the bus service from BLT to AKL, MGM, BB, and DTD.

Like others said, each resort has it's own good points and bad points. SSR is a very pretty resort. I found it to be a more relaxing atmosphere than BLT. I also felt SSR's food court was wonderful, (excellent flat breads!) while I didn't enjoy the Contempo Cafe at CR at all. I found it dark and dated. I guess transportation is very important to me, so based on that, BLT is a winner for me. Have fun choosing!

 

[hannahdrewmom]

We like BLT not just for the walk to MK which is awesome with kids your age and MK. But it's one stop transfer to Epcot, and you can pretty much go resort to resort from there as you only have to walk 5 minutes to any resort bus. Therefore you can eat at any hotel and not have to worry about super long transpo one way or another.