Top of the World Lounge

[beachcat]

What a great lounge. Have a drink, watch the fireworks and no one goes there. I know it is for DVC members who are staying at the BLT but 5 minutes after the fireworks are over, the place is almost empty.

And if you know how to get up there, you can go any time you want. This place needs a little more business before it closes for good. DVC knows how to run nice resorts but not a lounge.

Have a drink or two and give Brucie some business before she goes out of business. I think its a great place. It is though everyone has to run to their rooms after the Wishes show.

What would get people to stay awhile?

 

[sotoalf]

Wait, has there been discussion about closing this bar?

 

[beachcat]

I have heard that it is a possibility if things do not pick up. It is currently a great money loser.

 

[TagsMissy]

We love the lounge and we spent a good 2-4 hours up there a couple nights on our last trip chatting with friends, CMs and other patrons.

It's definitely a place we like to relax in the evenings with a cool bevvie or two!

I know DVD has now declared the lounge area as part of BLT /DVC but that does not 100% guarantee it will remain a lounge; just that DVD has cleared it's part of DVC space now.

This may interest you: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=42303247&postcount=238

 

[beachcat]

Ok BLT owns it. Who picks up the slack for this money pit. It is a great place and as a owner at BLT, I would love to see it remain. I would hate to think that my annual dues have to pay the bar staff's salaries because no one goes there.

 

[TagsMissy]

no lounge is packed at all hours. We spent a few evenings in the lounge at BWV and there was only one other couple there. don't exaggerate things

 

[quirty30]

It seems to me that opening the lounge up to all DVC members might make it a more popular destination. I know when we are staying at BLT, and I have my own food & beverages in the villa, I'm more likely to head back to my room after Wishes. But if I traveled from another resort, I'd be more inclined to stay awhile and enjoy the view and ambience, and have another drink (or 2.)

A more diverse menu could help as well, but it's my understanding that there is no actual kitchen up there. So that may not be an option. But more food choices would certainly be a draw.

 

[beachcat]

The staff told me that on August 29, they opened at 5:00 PM and got their first customer at 8:00 PM. That is not a recipe for success. When I make my Christmas trip in December, I will be sure to watch the fireworks from this great view and have a few.

The staff just wishes they had more customers.

 

[minniebeth]

Well, perhaps they should open it to all staying at BLT, including cash reservations. At over $550/night and up starting with the studios (the rate when I was there), the cash reservation people could possibly drop a nice amount of $ to spend a nice evening there.
I realize they wanted to make it an exclusive DVC perk only, but it just doesn't make sense to exclude cash reservations when they're struggling.

And I disagree about anyone being able to get up there at any time if they really wanted to. The TOTW was tightly monitored and we even asked if we could just go up to see it and were denied multiple times.

 

[JimmyV]

Well, perhaps they should open it to all staying at BLT, including cash reservations. At over $550/night and up starting with the studios (the rate when I was there), the cash reservation people could possibly drop a nice amount of $ to spend a nice evening there.
I realize they wanted to make it an exclusive DVC perk only, but it just doesn't make sense to exclude cash reservations when they're struggling.

And I disagree about anyone being able to get up there at any time if they really wanted to. The TOTW was tightly monitored and we even asked if we could just go up to see it and were denied multiple times.

I agree with all of this. At the rate being charged at BLT for non DVC members, guests of that resort should be let up, even if it is on a "space available" basis. So if the lounge isn't too crowded, there is no good reason to keep people with fat wallets out of the lounge. Their presence can't offend DVC members, since there don't seem to be enough up there to worry about. And their money can help keep the lounge afloat. And I, too, tried to talk my way up without success. So unless you are talking about sneaking in through a fire escape stairwell or something, I would disagree with the notion that anyone can get up there any time they want.

 

[BLTLDZ]

I agree with all of this. At the rate being charged at BLT for non DVC members, guests of that resort should be let up, even if it is on a "space available" basis. So if the lounge isn't too crowded, there is no good reason to keep people with fat wallets out of the lounge. Their presence can't offend DVC members, since there don't seem to be enough up there to worry about. And their money can help keep the lounge afloat. And I, too, tried to talk my way up without success. So unless you are talking about sneaking in through a fire escape stairwell or something, I would disagree with the notion that anyone can get up there any time they want.

I completely agree. We are DVC/BLT "owners", and we have only stayed at BLT once...but we really enjoyed the TOW lounge and would love to bring friends up there for a drink, but we can't as we are not staying there this upcoming trip
I could understand if they were packing the house each night, but, sadly they are not....

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Well, perhaps they should open it to all staying at BLT, including cash reservations. At over $550/night and up starting with the studios (the rate when I was there), the cash reservation people could possibly drop a nice amount of $ to spend a nice evening there.
I realize they wanted to make it an exclusive DVC perk only, but it just doesn't make sense to exclude cash reservations when they're struggling.

And I disagree about anyone being able to get up there at any time if they really wanted to. The TOTW was tightly monitored and we even asked if we could just go up to see it and were denied multiple times.

I still find it weird that those staying ay Bay Lake Tower on a cash reservation are being denied access to an amenity which is located where they are staying.

Their presence can't offend DVC members, since there don't seem to be enough up there to worry about.

Even if they do allow non DVC Members staying at Bay Lake Tower access to the lounge, how would anyone know who is a DVC Member and who is not? So I agree with what you said.

 

[MinnieVanMom]

I would like to see it open to all DVC members. I want to go up but don't own or stay at BLT. DH loves it up there and we went to a DVC function up there. With the price of drinks they would make money off my DH.

 

[si-am]

I am not a DVC owner... but it seems to me that maybe it doesn't get much business because it's "isolated" (away from restaurants/child friendly things). The other resort bars are often busy with people waiting on dinner.

If they opened it up to non DVC owners (the general public in other words), I'd probably be there all the time!

 

[Greysword]

Ok BLT owns it. Who picks up the slack for this money pit. It is a great place and as a owner at BLT, I would love to see it remain. I would hate to think that my annual dues have to pay the bar staff's salaries because no one goes there.

I don't see how it is a money pit for owners.

1) The utilities are likely accounted for within the annual dues already, as it would be difficult to parse them out.

2) Space maintenance is likely paid for with dues already.

3) As for salaries, I figure five CMs at $40,000 per year (fully loaded $54k) would equate to 5.5 cents ($0.055) per point dues increase (using 5M points) to keep the lounge staffed. Would this be too much in annual dues for staffing the lounge?

4) If the food/bar section of the ToTWL closed, the lounge could remain open as a seating area (like the lobby), so it could be enjoyed by members without the increased staff/supply overhead. This would be preferable to closing the space completely.

5) I agree that cash guests staying at BLT should have access, since they are occupying a space likely vacated by a BLT owner to trade out to another collection. This would be easy to enforce, as the KTTW cards have the resort on them (don't they? I forget...must be getting old ).

I would also approve of a measure allowing BLT owners access, regardless of which resort they are staying. The problem here is proving your ownership interest, as it is not listed on the membership cards.

However, I disagree that all DVC owners should have access to the lounge unless they made it "club property". Since each resort is its own entity within a loose confederation and can be split from the club at anytime, such a declaration may cause legal issues. It could be viewed along the lines of pool-hopping restrictions, as the BLT, AKL, and SAB pools are off limits to members if not staying there. Maybe not a popular view, but that is my stance at this time.

 

[monorailmom]

Just a couple of thoughts, as someone who *really* enjoys both BLT and the Top of the World Lounge:

- I do think that anyone staying at BLT, whether on cash or points, should have access.

however:

-I do NOT think that all DVC members staying anywhere onsite should have access. Now, keep in mind, not all of my points are at BLT: I'm staying at OKW in Nov, and I can accept that I won't get to go to TOTW while I'm there...and here's why:

BLT costs a LOT. Whether you're talking points or cash, it isn't cheap. As far as points goes, lets face it, we don't get many perks. For our trip in August, we were in a LV room on the 14th floor. When we wanted to go to TOTW, we had to go down to floor 1, check in, and then be escorted to the elevator up to TOTWL. Big deal? Not really..took about ten minutes. But would I have been upset to go down and find out we can't get in even though we are STAYING at this resort? Of course I would. I feel better about paying more for BLT partly because of the TOTW benefit. Otherwise I'd buy points for cheap at a different resort, and enjoy it anyway. That really isn't fair.

 

[WendyWuWu]

I agree that if this lounge is struggling, it should be open to anyone staying at BLT...even cash customers. I stayed at BLT last year and spent one evening at the lounge, but we left after about 30 mins when no one would wait on us.
It is a terrific space though and they could maybe keep folks there after the fireworks if they'd have something like a band there some nights. Just a thought...