Six Days at Bay Lake Tower......Raves, Rants and Reviews.

[canoe86]

Welcome to our trip report on a 6 day stay at Bay Lake Tower.

What this report will contain:

- Things we loved and enjoyed........rides, eats, etc.
- Things we disliked.......................rides, eats, etc
- Commentary both good and bad

What this report will not contain

- pictures. (sorry)
- a day by day, play by play account of the trip.
- abbreviations of Disney, ie BLT

A bit of explanation, I'm not including pictures for a few reason, chief among them being time. Time at Disney and our situation doesn't lend well to massive amounts of pictures. Also, I want to get this trip report done so the information is fresh in my mind. I will not do a day by day report, but instead try to hit themes with each post. So, I hope to post our restaurant reviews in one, then Magic Kingdom in another, then Bay Lake Tower in another etc.

Finally, there are some things we love about Disney, others we are so-so on and other things we outright dislike. So, if you are the sensitive type, and don't llike reading ANYTHING negative about Walt Disney World, you might want to skip some of this report. If you want to respectfully disagree with anything I say, GREAT! If I feel something was good or bad and you disagree, please add your thoughts, that way, when others read this for information, they will get many opinions. If you want to argue, please resist, we have a 3 year old who gives us all of that on a daily basis.


So, on to to the report!

 

[KatMark]

Love your introduction...I'm in.

 

[SRICE100]

Can't wait!

 

[canoe86]

Before we get to the trip itself, a bit of background information on who we are, where we come from and how we got to Disney.

Disney is about a 23 hour drive from our home in Michigan. Why drive you ask? We have a large family with lots of gear, that just isn't conducive to flying. There is my wife and I, both in our late 30's. Four children, yes four, ages, 12, 7, 3 and 1. With all those kids, and parents, it is better to take a van since it allows us to bring so much more stuff.

If we had just the one and three year old, we would not go to Disney until they were a bit older. but the reality is if we wait for the one year old to be an age where he can remember, the oldest will be out of the house. So, we go even though the youngest is just along for the ride. Another consideration with the kids is the ages are far enough apart, that they have different things they want to do. When we go to different parks, everyone understands that they will have to suffer some waiting or possibly riding rides they are not interested in. Our 3 years old ONLY liked Nemo and Pooh, so we rode those.....FOUR times each. But the older kids had their chances at the big rides, so it worked out well.

We decided to make the drive down over 2 days, staying off site the day we arrived in the Orlando area so that when we did arrive at Walt Disney World the next morning, we would be fresh and ready to go!!!!!!! (The return trip was a straight 22 hours drive.....I made good time! )

A final comment about our family. We are a cool weather bunch. Heat crushes us and everyday we were in Florida, temps were in the upper 80's with the heat index in the 90's. To give perspective, I don't think we had one day over 90 this summer at home, and only about 10 over 80. We picked the end of October to hopefully miss this heat, however, it didn't work out quite that way. As we drove out of Disney at 4 am with the temperature in the lower 80's, on our way home, my 7 year old exclaimed..." I just want to go home to the cold where I belong."

 

[dvc at last !]

I am in...
we were at BLT in October - I will see if I agree with you.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I'm in, and I'll try not to argue with you

 

[honeydiane1953]

Your report was good and straight to the point. I love it so far. You have readers so can't wait for your next entry.

 

[canoe86]

Bay Lake Tower (BLT)

There is a thread on here that the poster added a TON of pictures. They represent exactly what the rooms and area is like.

As everyone knows, BLT is new. And, as new things tend to be, clean and nice. The room was awesome! We had a 1-bedroom suite on the fourth floor. (keep this 4th floor in mind) I actually requested a lower floor since we do have younger children. I hate a high balcony and waiting for elevators and waiting in elevators. The kids are not let on the balcony, but it is just a comfort thing with me. Our view was 'bay view', and we could just see the top of the fireworks at Epcot. If we stay again, I think I might pay a bit extra to have Magic Kingdom side. I imagine the view at night is awesome!

A 1-BR has 2 bathrooms. THIS alone is worth most of the price involved with these rooms. Another great feature is the washer and dryer. (also worth some extra $ imo. ) We are not Disner Vacation Club (DVC) memebers but from here on out, I think we will be staying on those properties and are discussing buying in to DVC. We could consider flying when the kids get a bit older if the room has laundry facilities.

I guess I should explain a bit about us. We only visit Disney every other year. We run our own business and a week vacation is just something we can only do sparingly. We tend to do the long weekend thing instead. but every other year, we do make the trek to Disney in the fall. Because of this, we are willing to spend a bit extra to have a room with some room and where we want it. If we took three trips a year or even every year, we would be a bit more budget conscious.

Beyond the 2 bathrooms and the washer/dryer. The 1-BR has a nice size kitchen area and living room. Has a full pull-out couch and single pull-out chair so at least three people can sleep in the living room area. Also a booth area for a dining table which again is nice with kids. A lot of storage in the kitchen and closets in the whole room which I beleieve is over 700 sq feet. (more than our first home. )

The bedroom had a King bed, and I believe you can get one with a 2 queen option. The bathroom area off the bedroom had a sink/tub area with a shower toilet area seperated by a sliding door. Now I've read some negative comments on here about sliding doors, but I really like them in rooms since they allow for so more space. If I had a complaint about the doors, it would be they are not quite solid. They have a thick white plexi-glass, which is not see through, but shadow see through. Beautifully tiled floors and very nice.

Everything in the rooms are new, including a flat screen in each room, nice as expected in someplace so new. Yet, the tv in the living area was broken and the picture looked like something we used to get using the antenna in the 1970's. They sent a guy up to look at it but it was never fixed.

In our other trip we have stayed concierge level and also have stayed in suites. I felt the 1-BR BLT were as nice as the suites, without the theme. There was no turn down service at BLT and a suite tended to have extras that the BLT rooms did not have, but for the price, BLT is the way to go. What you get with a suite does not account for the difference in price.

I would rate the room an A.

In the next post, I will address the BLT grounds and the Contemporary connection.

 

[canoe86]

I should clarify before I continue, I will not use UNKNOWN abbreviations. If I use abbr. in a post, I will first use the full name so that people unfamiliar with Disney won't be entirely lost. I've read posts before where the majority of the post was in abbr. form and I find it tough to read since I don't know all of them.

Onward with the report.

For those who don't know, Bay Lake Tower is connected to the Contemporary Resort. (CT) Check-in is done at the CT, all on-site food options are at the CT. The buildings are connected by a covered, but NOT indoor walk way. This walk way is on the fifth floor of the BLT and connects into the atrium area of the CT.

Since they are connected at the 5th floor of BLT, I might consider avoiding staying on this floor. A LOT of people are in that area since it is the only connecting area. It may be quite noisy for those staying on that 5th floor. Since we stayed on the 4th floor, we only found a few times the jump to the 5th floor causing problems. For floors BELOW 5, when you try to catch the elevator UP, we found during busy times, those tended to be full since people were coming from the ground floor. We never had a problem going from 5 to 4. I would guess getting from top floors down to 5 would be easy, but possibly run into the same issue going up. Keep in mind, we have 4 kids and a stroller, so we try not to jam into elevators and be inconsiderate of others.

The pool at BLT is awesome. Great area for little kids, walk-in entry on one side which again, great for little ones. Awesome water slide that my older kids loved....and me too. Outside was clean and just like everything in Disney, landscaped perfectly.

For those who drive or rent cars, BLT/CT has a ton of parking. Close, too. (more so than other resorts we visited)

Of course BLT is located walking distance to Magic Kingdom and it is a very short, easy walk. Definite plus that even with young kids, we made a number of times.

One problem I did find, and surprised me a bit, is the card readers that open outside doors, did not work real well. At least 2 didn't work at all. The reader near the restrooms that allowed pool access.....broke. Also one of the back door readers......broke. I had to be let in. I would expect that from a building 10 years old, but if I were Disney, I'd be contacting the company that made those and getting repleacements of better quality.


RANT ALERT :

When walking through double doors, and only one door is open with people coming through said door from the opposite direction, THE OTHER DOOR WILL WORK BY JUST GRASPING THE HANDLE AND PULLING OPEN. Seriously, in my life, I have never seen.....or been behind so many people who will not open a door and go through. Instead, stand a wait for the other door to clear, and then walk through. I'm not sure what is behind this phenomenon, maybe a study has been done but it sure seems the ultimate lazy to me. Also, manners would dictate that if someone held a door for you, a simple 'thank you' is in order. Doesn't seem to be so hard, but the number of rude people we encountered in just these small situations on this trip was mind boggling. It did, however, lend nicely to teach our children how to behave, and gave examples of how NOT to.

I think the whole, try to do everything' mentality that exists at Disney, overcomes peoples sensibilities and logic. Blinders seem to be on. Now everyone who goes to Disney will sooner or later step in front of someone, or bump someone, it is inevitable with so many people in small spaces, a small 'excuse me' or 'i'm sorry' doesn't seem to be that hard to do.

 

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

Hi signing up! I just booked a 1bdrm in BLT for sept. '10. I love all the info so far.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I think the whole, try to do everything' mentality that exists at Disney, overcomes peoples sensibilities and logic. Blinders seem to be on. Now everyone who goes to Disney will sooner or later step in front of someone, or bump someone, it is inevitable with so many people in small spaces, a small 'excuse me' or 'i'm sorry' doesn't seem to be that hard to do.

I have seen some of the rudest people in my life at Disney, but I have also met some of the nicest.
Disney definitely brings out the "dog eat dog" mentality in some.

 

[OhMari]

I didn't know you could stay in Bay Lake Towers, I thought they were all DVC. Are the rooms about the same price as the Contemporary?

You sound like my dh that will drive forever.
I tend to show him the signs on the highway that say, anything afte 11 hours of driving, is not recommended. So, I usually get to drive through boring IL or IN or Georgia.

 

[canoe86]

I didn't know you could stay in Bay Lake Towers, I thought they were all DVC. Are the rooms about the same price as the Contemporary?

You sound like my dh that will drive forever.
I tend to show him the signs on the highway that say, anything afte 11 hours of driving, is not recommended. So, I usually get to drive through boring IL or IN or Georgia.

My wife and I had this discussion on the drive home. I work on the road, so I drive a lot. Its just a zone I get into.

I heard from another person at Bay Lake Tower that only BLT DVC (Disney Vacation club) people could get rooms there. When I told them I had just booked it stright, they were shocked. Maybe it had something to do with the fact we booked our trip LATE. Around 30 days before we arrived, so maybe they opened up some rooms. Just a theory.

 

[mom2shayleeandlogan]

I just booked for Sept'10 and I am not a DVC member. I just called Disney Travel and they booked it for me.

 

[Becx N Gav]

Good report so far, I like how clearly you word things. This is a great trip report (TR) to read on a coffee break

I totally know what you mean about rude people, I'm quite happy to hold doors and don't expect much - even a simple nod to acknowledge my existance
I also get annoyed when people seem to make a B-line in my direction (fair enough if it's a small walk way or corridor) - I often ask my husband if I'm invisible or something as it seems to happen an awful lot (and this is not beacuse I walk down the middle of the area I stick to the edges and often I will move over more and it still happens) These days I just stop, then they can go around if they wish - even then I've had a few that keep walking OPEN YOUR EYES! This doesn't just happen at Disney though I find it in supermarkets and any other place with other people - rant over, thank you!

 

[Me&3]

Good report so far count me in

 

[canoe86]

FOOD

First, a bit of background and explanation. I'm going to categorize our dining experiences by AWESOME, GOOD and OKAY. We've never truly had a BAD meal at Disney or even BAD service. The reality for us is dining at Disney at its worst is decent. The few times over the years that we have felt the meal could have been better, we have determined that OUR menu choice could have made the meal better, ie not getting the special at Morocco.

Also, on this trip, we had the Deluxe Disney dinning plan. This gave us 3 meal credits usable for ANY meal and 2 snacks. Was it worth the money? I dont' know. We tend to eat a number of meals that cost TWO meal credits, ( ie Hoop-Dee-Doo, Artist Point) when we were booking the trip, I mentioned this and the Deluxe dining was offered. I figured for the extra money, it was close to break even. I also really liked the feature of just going where we wanted, not having to get a counter service for lunch, etc etc. That alone was worth a few extra $. Now for the reviews.........

AWESOME DINING

1. Citricos - First time we have eaten here and WOW. Our absolute favorite of the whole trip, surpassing Artist Pointe! It did cost us 2 meal credits and was worth every bit. Staff was great, knowledgable, fast, just wonderful. The food, great, and wonderful, incredible tasting, well presented. My wife had the crab cake and rated it the best she has ever had. I'm not a big crab cake guy, but it was unbelievable. The whole meal was just wonderful, from start to finish. (can you tell we loved it yet?) Also, we were celebrating our 15th anniversary, and Citricos created personalized menus for us, very nice.

2. Artist Point - This is our favorite restaurant in all of Disney......so it surprises even us to come in #2 albeit, just barely. We have eaten here every Disney visit and it never disappoints. In fact, I always say that if I had only ONE day at Disney, I would eat here.....and now Citircos! The staff here again, awesome. Great with the kids, friendly, on top of things, knowledgable. Along with the great service, GREAT food. The mushroom soup is the best soup I've ever had, tied with a cold apple soup I ate one time at The Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island in Michigan. Had a complimentary champagne toast for our anniversary. ( 2 meal credits)

3. Olivia's Cafe - WHAT?!?!?!?!? Yes, its true, the hidden gem of Disney. I almost hesitate to mention it here, scared to give away such a wonderful secret. In Old Key West, Olivias has a distinctive cafe feel, with food that is nothing cafe like. Absolutely a wonderful meal. ONE meal credit, and well worth it. Food was fresh, service fast, nice and personable. I had a shrimp/pasta in a light sauce with sun dried tomatoes that would stand up in even the best establishments. We had lunch here and will eat here again. But lets just keep this gem between all of us, okay?

Honorable Mention Awesome

Hoop-Dee-Doo - I know, I know, this is no seccret. A well loved favorite for many. Well count me in!!! The food isn't gourmet, just good, but it is solid good and there is plenty of it. The service was good (brought us a whole pitcher of beer....now that is great service) , friendly and fun. The atmosphere at dinner and the show are a delight. Our kids just ate this up and we did too. What even made this more enjoyable is our oldest two kids started to 'get' some of the BAD jokes and LOVED it. Watching them enjoy the show and their expressions and joining in singing, that alone made it worth the price of admission. I'm sure there are some out there who find if hokey or boring, but I'm not sure how you don't come out of the Hoop-Dee-Doo without memories that will last forever. For that reason, it will always be awesome.

 

[KatMark]

You are doing an awesome job thus far. Although we will never stay at BLT, I found your reviews were to the point and very good.

And loved your dining reviews. We've often thought of trying Olivia's Cafe and have just never managed it (I promise to keep your secret ).