Tell me about BLT

[andreadoiron]

anyone who has stayed there, could you give me some info on BLT. i am seeing alot of negative about it(long walk, no shopping, pool is small) and i'm not to concerned about the long walk since we don't mind the walk to and from things at AKL,SSR or BCV. also not concerned about food since we will have a 1 bedroom and usually cook in our kitchen or eat at a park.
so give me the scoop on the pool, rooms etc. is the pool slide as good as the one at SSR or AKV? etc. any other tips would be great. we are planning to spend easter at epcot so monorail to epcot tips would be especially helpful.
thanks

 

[jpolak]

We stayed at BLT for the first time a few weeks ago and we loved it. DD loved the pool slide and the kiddie area was nice. Didn't think the pool was small and we all had plenty of space to spash around. As for the long walk to food/shopping it was fine. Take the elevator to the 5th floor and you walk across the bridge and your there. Takes maybe 5 minutes. The resort is not perfect, but the pros out weighed any cons. We would absolutely stay there again.

 

[dbs1228]

Stayed there twice and loved it! I did not find the walk to shops long at all. It took us longer staying at Kidani to get to the shops and pool then it did at BLT. We used the monorail several times to go to Epcot and thought it was very easy and painless. It was nice getting dropped off at the front gate. I have heard it can take awhile when traveling at opening and closing times of the parks but we did not have a problem and we all enjoy the ride itself. Another thing we take advantage of while at BLT is the boat access to the FT and WL. My DD's like to check out all the shops at the different resorts and the boat ride on a nice day is very relaxing. The walk to and from MK is easy and quick. We went with friends last year and they decided to walk back DH and I took monorail (1st stop CR) no wait for monorail and they still beat us back to the room! The pool is nice, a bit small but you also have the pool at the CR which we prefer. Movies outside at night on the beach are fun, TOWL fireworks..... The rooms we have stayed in were very nice, I loved the layout of the 2 bedroom.(3 full baths!!) Hope this helps and enjoy!!!!!

 

[JWG]

anyone who has stayed there, could you give me some info on BLT. i am seeing alot of negative about it(long walk, no shopping, pool is small) and i'm not to concerned about the long walk since we don't mind the walk to and from things at AKL,SSR or BCV. also not concerned about food since we will have a 1 bedroom and usually cook in our kitchen or eat at a park.
so give me the scoop on the pool, rooms etc. is the pool slide as good as the one at SSR or AKV? etc. any other tips would be great. we are planning to spend easter at epcot so monorail to epcot tips would be especially helpful.
thanks

BLT theming is not typical Disney theming, which upsets some people. It is themed like a contemporary, forward looking (which means "historic" looking) style and not to a resort or Disney type theme. Many people find it "sterile" and "boring" or too much like a "condo" because that's what the theme is. We happen to like it.

Some people don't like it because it's not "relaxing" or "resort" like. Which I disagree with. Is it SSR or OKW? No, but it doesn't pretend to be. Is it elaborately themed to some unique experience like AKV? No, but again, it's not supposed to be.

It's a room no different than any other DVC resort. It just so happens that it is uniquely themeed not to an area of the country (OKW, SSR, WLV, BWV) or a type of activity (BCV) or country (AKV). It is themed to a style.

We like it. We like the views and view options. We like that while the studios are a bit smaller, the 1BR/2BR space is actually bigger. We like the proximity to many restaurants both at CR and at Poly/GF. We like that we can walk 5-10 minutes to a bus hub and get anywhere without having to "transfer" at DTD. We like that we can easily watch a main nighttime fireworks show (with audio) from our room (if we spend the points) or from the lounge. We like that we can see fireworks from Epcot from our room (if we pick the right view). We like that there's a marina right there for boat rentals if we want.

It's a great resort, but like the CR, people say why stay there when I can stay at the Poly which is so much better themed? That's not true, they're just themed differently.

Wear and tear may or may not be an issue. Long-term I don't think it will be. First round maybe, but it's mixed by reviewer. And, the lack of dark colors means dirt and scratches show up easier in BLT than at say AKV.

 

[castleri]

Just stayed at BLT a few weeks ago and DH said one of his favorite things was being able to walk over to the CR and have a choice of food options.
We definitely did not miss having a food location other than at the pool and TOTWL. We were in 7804 so just about as long a walk as you can get and it was not a problem at all. For those refilling mugs it may be a problem to walk over just to do that if the refill station at the pool is not available but we only used the mugs at the pool a couple of times and once when we ate at the contempo cafe so for us it was not a problem. The staff doing the games and entertainment at the pool in the afternoon was great. They were even out there in the rain dancing and having a ball with the kids young and old.

 

[Robin"D"]

...location, location, location.....

Robin & Angel "D"

 

[jade1]

The furthest BLT room from the middle of the CR is about 330 yards, furthest room at VWL to the main lodge about 400 yards, BCV and BWV about 250 yards to main lobby/shops/dining, OKW has rooms over 1,000 yards, I think SSR has some long walks, not sure at AKV.

 

[DVCAmy]

we stayed at BLT right after it opened and LOVED it! It is our favorite DVC now. My kids (ages 5 and 10 at that time) loved the slide, the pool was plenty big enough and fun for the kids, the pool area is not as much kid fun as the one around kidani pool or even close but our kids loved the location. The walk to CR and shopping/food was no big deal and the view of the fireworks was incredible!!! All in all we absolutely loved it and will be thrilled to go back sometime. Enjoy!

Amy

 

[spiceycat]

are you sure of your numbers.

both BWV and BCV seems much longer to me to get to the restuarants and snack bar and gift shops.

BLT is shapped like a C - so nothing is far away. the walk to the MK is much shorter for me than the walk to epcot or studios from bwv. now the bcv walk is slightly shorter to Epcot than BLT walk to MK.

you have to go to the 5th floor at BLT - then you walk across the bridge to the gift shop/restuarant/monrail - you are there. you have to go down to get the lobby and one restuarant - but you can either use the elevators (at CR) or escaltor to get there.

if you are say on the 14 or 15 th floors - you will probably spend more time in the elevators getting to the 5th floor than you will walking.

you can if you feel the need also go to the first floor then take the much longer walk to the lobby - but this is only when I need the exercise

 

[DenLo]

I think it's much quicker to walk from the far end of BLT to the shops at CR than to walk to the shops at BVW from a room near the quiet pool. Of course there are short cuts if you take the stairs.

At to BLT itself, I've only stayed in a 1BR and a studio. The 1BR was huge. We had more living room space than we did at Kidani. The kitchen is really nice, a full size refrigerator, not those apartment sized ones like at BVW, BCVs, and VWL. And if you really plan to cook in the villa you'll lots of counter space. The 1 BR also has a pull out pantry which is great to store cereals and chips and other food stuffs.

The windows are big and let in lots of light. Sometimes at the older resorts I feel like the rooms are too dark as windows and doors are smaller. The pull out chair is a great addition to the living room and gives more flexibility in sleeping arrangements.

The studio has lots of storage space in the kitchenette. We recently stayed in a 2BR at Kidani Village and I thought the kitchen didn't have as much storage space as the BLT kitchenette as all of the cabinets were full of dishes and there wasn't any where to put our food. I had to move the dishes around, which probably made more work for housekeeping as they had to straighten it up after left.

The really biggest fault IMO with a BLT studio is the dining area. You can't really use the chairs because the entertainment center is so larger that chairs can't be moved much. That's how all of the damage has ocurred on the entertainment centers. They have remodeled most of the studios so the bathroom sink is no longer in the kitchenette.

I think it's worth staying at BLT. It's still my favorite resort. And like others have said, location, location, location!

 

[Greysword]

anyone who has stayed there, could you give me some info on BLT. i am seeing alot of negative about it(long walk, no shopping, pool is small) and i'm not to concerned about the long walk since we don't mind the walk to and from things at AKL,SSR or BCV. also not concerned about food since we will have a 1 bedroom and usually cook in our kitchen or eat at a park.
so give me the scoop on the pool, rooms etc. is the pool slide as good as the one at SSR or AKV? etc. any other tips would be great. we are planning to spend easter at epcot so monorail to epcot tips would be especially helpful.
thanks

Bottom line, it is the Contemporary Resort. If you like the stuff at CR, you'll like BLT.
- same walk as a garden wing. Long walk? Really?

- uses the CR pools...oh, and an extra BLT pool. Did I mention is is easy on non-blackout days for DVC members to HOP to the Poly or GF on the monorail? Yep, easy peasy...can't do that at Kidani

- The CR has three table restaurants, a monorail ride to the food options at Poly and GF, and a quick stroll to MK for those early character breakfasts. Oh, and there is a small menu at the ToTWL....just in case you are hungry while watching the fireworks...just sayin'

- rooms are standard DVC affair, with the theme of the CR. If you like the CR, you'll like BLT...cause they are the same...and attached. I guess the biggest difference is location, in that you couldn't base jump into the concourse as you could from a CR tower room (ok maybe this isn't allowed, but it is theoretically possible...right? ); however, those staying in the in the Garden Wing couldn't either (guess that's why the rooms are less expensive, no base-jumping option into Chef Mickey's ).

- monorail to EPCOT is easy. The first stop is the TTC from the CR, so transferring doesn't take much time...easy peasy (FYI, peasy isn't in the spell checker, unfortunately ). Getting back is fine, as you have a couple of options. You could take the monorail to the TTC and either transfer to a resort monorail, take the express monorail to the MK and walk to BLT, or take a ferry to MK and walk to BLT. Not sure if there is a bus to/from EPCOT, since there is a MONORAIL!!! ...just sayin'. Plus, the monorail is the BEST (IMO) way to enter EPCOT...given it is futuristic and all.....1970s futuristic.....ok, but it's still fun!

- Oh, and did I mention the monorail connects the other MK resorts? Say it is a rainy day (more likely in November than April, but could happen...right?) What to do? Ride the monorail to the other resorts and shop dine till you drop. Oh, did I mention pool hopping (on non-blackout days) is easy to the Poly and GF? This works great for viewing the fireworks from the Poly beach, too.

- I almost forgot; you'll have the pleasure of seeing the nightly water pageant, too .....at 10 PM.....every night. BCV doesn't have this little package of awesomeness! Of course if you want to see the Illuminations fireworks, you can do so from BLT with a pair of binoculars (the binocs make it easier, as it is on the horizon).

What I'm curious about is who said the walk is long, there is no shopping, and that you are confined to the BLT pool? Yes, the Bay Lake Tower has one pool attached, no shopping, and is a stand alone building, but who would confine themselves to that when CR is a few minutes (like 5?) away, other MK resorts are available for a 15 minute (or less) monorail ride, and Main Street USA is just a 15 minute walk away (with park admission, of course). I guess it is simply nay saying taken to an extreme . Just remember, those poor Garden Wing guests at the CR get the same treatment, only they can't access their own pool nor watch Wishes from the Top of The World! Poor Garden Wing guests

Anyway, I hope this helps. BLT is awesome (you'll likely love it) and is a part of the original WDW Resort hotel.....BCV is soooo Eisner era

 

[jade1]

are you sure of your numbers.

both BWV and BCV seems much longer to me to get to the restuarants and snack bar and gift shops.

BLT is shapped like a C - so nothing is far away. the walk to the MK is much shorter for me than the walk to epcot or studios from bwv. now the bcv walk is slightly shorter to Epcot than BLT walk to MK.

you have to go to the 5th floor at BLT - then you walk across the bridge to the gift shop/restuarant/monrail - you are there. you have to go down to get the lobby and one restuarant - but you can either use the elevators (at CR) or escaltor to get there.

if you are say on the 14 or 15 th floors - you will probably spend more time in the elevators getting to the 5th floor than you will walking.

you can if you feel the need also go to the first floor then take the much longer walk to the lobby - but this is only when I need the exercise

Well the far end of BWV to Screen door is about 280 yards, and the far end of BCV to Marketplace is about 230 yards. The furthest room in BLT to the first store at CR is 250 yards.

 

[spiceycat]

Well the far end of BWV to Screen door is about 280 yards, and the far end of BCV to Marketplace is about 230 yards. The furthest room in BLT to the first store at CR is 250 yards.

okay next time bring something to measure - because to me the walk from the standard view rooms at BWV to the Screen door is a heck of alot more than the walk from BLT to the gift stores. especially if you use the bridge.

how are you going?

 

[jade1]

okay next time bring something to measure - because to me the walk from the standard view rooms at BWV to the Screen door is a heck of alot more than the walk from BLT to the gift stores. especially if you use the bridge.

how are you going?

I have to admit its just on google earth, so you are correct about the turns and shortcuts you may encounter. Try it out though-very fun. Just zoom in, hit tools, ruler, path and in feet or yards etc, then click from one spot to the next.

 

[DenLo]

I just ran gmap-pedometer.com and came up with different figures. I used the far end of each resort.

BLT to the middle of CR 296 yards - I used the skybridge. BTW it would be less to the shops just off of the bridge.

BVW to Screen door 308 yards.

BCV to the Market place 331 yards. But my figures for BCV could be off because I don't know where the marketplace is exactly on google's map.

Kidani Village to lobby shops. 469 yards. I new it was long!

It sounds like we need to do some pedometer readings.

I have a feeling that most of the resorts have similar distances, except maybe Kidani.

 

[NeedMorePoints]

Let's see. You are at the Magic Kingdom and need to get back to your room. A seven minute walk or a 20-40 minute bus ride. Easy choice for me. Of course I am partial to MK. Nothing like being able to leave MK when its crowded and have lunch on the BLT balcony, knowing you can walk back or for something different you can take the MonoRail or even a boat. Dinner time. Have to go.

 

[jade1]

I just ran gmap-pedometer.com and came up with different figures. I used the far end of each resort.

BLT to the middle of CR 296 yards - I used the skybridge. BTW it would be less to the shops just off of the bridge.

BVW to Screen door 308 yards.

BCV to the Market place 331 yards. But my figures for BCV could be off because I don't know where the marketplace is exactly on google's map.

Kidani Village to lobby shops. 469 yards. I new it was long!

It sounds like we need to do some pedometer readings.

I have a feeling that most of the resorts have similar distances, except maybe Kidani.

Not much different really:

For BLT I Had 330 you had 296 (within 90%)-I also had 250 to the first shops.

For BWV I had 280 you had 308 (about 90%)

For BCV I had 230 you had 330-I know where Marketplace is, its right down from the BCV entrance in that courtyard, maybe 250 tops from the furthest room.

To me bottom line is these resorts are quite close to dining and shops and certainly cant see someone saying BLT is "so far" to these locations.

 

[quirty30]

As others have mentioned, BWV, BCV, AKV Jambo & WLV, all have a fairly reasonable walk to shared amenities. Though I have to admit, we stayed all the way in back at BWV last year and it sure felt like a longer walk. On the flip side, at BCV we were right off the elevators and it was a breeze to get to the Marketplace in the morning.

We have stayed in several different rooms at BLT, including one of the farthest from the elevators (I think it ended in "02.") I didn't find it difficult to walk to the CR to get to the monorail. Of course, we loved the proximity to MK, and it's really easy to get to Bay Cove pool from any of the BLT villas (I think it's plenty big - and my kids say its the 2nd best slide at a DVC resort - they think SAB's is better.) And as someone else posted, great pool hopping opportunities from BLT. We made a day of it once. Started at Bay Cove, onto the Poly along with lunch at Capt. Cooks, then to the GF, and finally back to the CR.

Now you want to do some serious walking - get one of the farthest villas at either SSR or Kidani. I actually love both those resorts, but they're also the first ones that come to mind when I think about where to stay for a no parks visit.

 

[jade1]

anyone who has stayed there, could you give me some info on BLT. i am seeing alot of negative about it(long walk, no shopping, pool is small) and i'm not to concerned about the long walk since we don't mind the walk to and from things at AKL,SSR or BCV. also not concerned about food since we will have a 1 bedroom and usually cook in our kitchen or eat at a park.
so give me the scoop on the pool, rooms etc. is the pool slide as good as the one at SSR or AKV? etc. any other tips would be great. we are planning to spend easter at epcot so monorail to epcot tips would be especially helpful.
thanks

Keep in mind the MK outside curve has a wider living room for the sleeper chair and a 6X18 wall of glass. Below is an inside room and the MK side room we had. Also much more privacy on the balcony and the windows.

 

[TreesyB]

- I almost forgot; you'll have the pleasure of seeing the nightly water pageant, too .....at 10 PM.....every night. BCV doesn't have this little package of awesomeness! Of course if you want to see the Illuminations fireworks, you can do so from BLT with a pair of binoculars (the binocs make it easier, as it is on the horizon).

What I'm curious about is who said the walk is long, there is no shopping, and that you are confined to the BLT pool? Yes, the Bay Lake Tower has one pool attached, no shopping, and is a stand alone building, but who would confine themselves to that when CR is a few minutes (like 5?) away, other MK resorts are available for a 15 minute (or less) monorail ride, and Main Street USA is just a 15 minute walk away (with park admission, of course). I guess it is simply nay saying taken to an extreme . Just remember, those poor Garden Wing guests at the CR get the same treatment, only they can't access their own pool nor watch Wishes from the Top of The World! Poor Garden Wing guests

Anyway, I hope this helps. BLT is awesome (you'll likely love it) and is a part of the original WDW Resort hotel.....BCV is soooo Eisner era

What is this water pageant you speak of? I am staying at BLT in January for a couple of nights and am really looking forward to it. I am one of those "poor garden wing guests" that you spoke of. We stayed there one night and it cost $400, as it was a last minute decision after an off-site stay, and I knew that I needed to buy DVC, so that I wouldn't be the poor cousin, taking in other people's laundry so that I could stay in over-priced room anymore!