Trying out BLT but not sure...

[JenSop]

Okay, so we booked a five night stay at the end of July at BLT. (lake view.) We thought it would be cool to try out the new DVC and stay at a monorail resort (never did the monorail resorts before.)

Our home resort is AKV and we LOVE it. I can't stress that enough. AKV really does feel like a second home to us.

Even though I'm super excited about trying out BLT, part of me is worried that I'll regret not being at AKV. We love how Jambo has all that lush greenery around the pool area and it feels very "natural." (For lack of a better word.)

I don't know, I feel like I always looked at the Contemporary as this big old slab of concrete. Again, that was always my impression, and I'm really hoping to be proven wrong, hence trying it on this trip.

I'll be staying at Jambo in October for a girls-only trip, so it's not like it'll be long before I'm there again.

Help me out folks! Convince me that I'll love BLT! I've been looking at the pics on allears and am feeling okay, but not in love...

 

[toniosmom]

I am also an AKV owner -- making our first trip to Kidani in March -- but definitely want to try all of the others too. So far, we've only experienced SSR. I love the idea of being on the monorail at BLT and hope to get there one of these days, especially since my son is only 5 and MK is currently our favorite park. I worry that he'll miss the animals at AKV when at another resort.

Regardless, I think it's great that you are giving BLT a try. Keep yourself open -- you may love it.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm an AKV owner and lover and I stayed at BLT for 5 nights over the Marathon weekend earlier this month. We were in a 2 bedroom, it was dedicated and there were 5 adults and 3 children. We all loved the accomodations. DSis slept in the sleeper chair, and someone did sleep in the pull out sofa each night, so we used all of the available bedding.

It was during the cold spell, so the pool was used, but just barely. Our DGC just did not believe that it was too cold to swim! They loved the community center, and as adults who never used a Wii before, we are happy to have had the opportunity playing that version of Toy Story Midway Mania, it was fun! The DGS really enjoyed playing bocci and ping pong. He wasn't as affected by the cold as his DM was!!!

DDiL, DGS and I did go over to AKV. We did miss the animals, and the CM's there were very very nice to DGS. We spent a lovely 2-3 hours there and got our AKV fix!

What surprised me the most was how much we did use the monorail. We were able to make breakfast reservations for the 8 of us at Kona at the Poly, and then we just went by the two monorails over to Epcot. We enjoyed using it, it's not something our DGC have ever done regularly.

Since we were near the Contemporary, we did the Pirates and Pals Wishes cruise. It was cold on the lagoon, but they provided blankets, and the view was magnificent that night. The sky/air all very crisp and clear, just amazing. I don't know what we would have done had it been the night that the sky was so overcast, but maybe at ground level the fireworks were visible. We considered ourselves very luck. It was so convenient and fun!

We walked over to the MK any number of times.

It was honestly, just too cold to really enjoy watching Wishes from the deck ouside the lounge at the Top of the World, but we did and we froze, and then another night, DDiL and DS went up again, and the sky was so overcast that they couldn't see Wishes, they heard them, but the clouds were in the way of viewing them.

We picked staying at BLT because the marathon goes past it, but in the end it was just too cold to stay and watch the runners and we went up to Blue Springs State park that Sunday and saw over 100 manatees in the spring there. It was the first time my DS and DDC saw them in the "wild."

I don't think I love BLT, but we did love our stay. The dining area is a lot nicer/bigger than the VWL which is my favorite resort. More of us fit around the table to eat. The kitchen arrangement was fine for us. We all agree that it was a great stay, not any of us thought, "if only we stayed at _____."

Enjoy your BLT trip and all of your next ones too!!!

Bobbi

 

[corpcomp]

Why don't you try for 2 nights at BLT and the other three at AKV if there is a concern. That way you get to try out BLT and stil stay at AKV. Sure its a pain to transfer but why not?

 

[DenLo]

Since you like to try out the other DVC resorts, do you usually worry so much about them? If not, is it just the modern looks, the concrete? Can the location: 10 minute walk from MK (do your DCs love MK?); a 3 minute walk to CR and Chef Mickey's, California Grille or the Wave; or take the monorail to Epcot, Poly and GF; a boat ride to WL, or Ft. Wilderness and do you consider all of the amenties at each of the nearby resorts and does that make you think any better about BLT? And BLT itself: the Community House (for the kids) is in the same building (not a 10-15 minute walk to Jambo House from Kidani), the pool has two great slides, the resort is near the Contemporary marina where you can rent those little speed boats which have a DVC member perk discount. Or you can take night time cruises right from the CR's dock. You can see the fireworks from TOTW, the crosswalk from BLT to CR, or if you have a LV room on the north end of the crescent you can still see the MK fireworks from your balcony.

That's all I can think of for now. Keep in mind you are only trying out another resort. Your home resort will always be AKV.

P.S. I just noticed that you always mention Jambo House as the AKV resort for you. Sorry I didn't notice that before I wrote my post.

 

[disneynutz]

You have 50 years of WDW vacations ahead of you. Be adventurous and give the other resorts a try.

We have met many members who bought at a particular resort thinking that it was their favorite, only to change their mind after staying at a different resort.

We have our favorites based upon the season.

Bill

 

[bwvBound]

Stick with your plans and try BLT! Embrace the option of trying a new place knowing that you can always return to your "home" for future visits. You have lots of years ahead -- go, explore and I wish you plenty of fun.

 

[JenSop]

Thanks everyone! I know I'm just being kind of silly. I know we loved our stay at BCV (still love AKV better, though.) It's good to try new things...

And we don't have kids. Although we're kids at heart!

How late do the monorails run between the resorts? I have a feeling that on some of the evenings when we're not doing EMH, that we'll probably want to walk around the grounds at the Poly. (If Poly had DVC, this would not even be an issue. We love how Poly is lush and tropical, just like AKV.)

 

[PKWallaby]

JenSop, I can totally relate: we have a split stay planned (in less than a month) between BLT and AKV, 2 resorts we have not yet tried. BW is our home and while we love staying there, I thought I would surprise my family with a stay somewhere else. They still don't know, and I'll admit I got a little worried when my husband started talking about being excited that we are staying so close to ESPN Club and HS during ESPN weekend.
Oopps, I forgot about that when I did the switch at 7. Oh well, I know we have many opportunities ahead to return to BW, or stay elsewhere. I'm also looking at pictures and imaging what our experiences will be like at 2 very different resorts. I really don't see how we are not going to love every minute.

 

[PinkTink63]

We are in the same boat! Although we don't own at AKV, we have stayed there for part of our trip for the last two years and it has become a favorite of ours. We all fell in LOVE with that resort, especially our son! It was a hard decision and I am receiving some flak over it, but I also booked five nights at BLT in early August.

I am really looking forward to staying at a monorail resort! I am also looking forward to trying out some different restaurants in that area that we don't usually go to. I think it will be fun to be able to hop on the monorail, take the boat, or walk to the MK!

I did tell my son that we could take a trip over to AKV and eat at Boma's and hang out a bit! He was okay with that!