What do you like/not like about BLT?

[WDWMom]

We stayed there last year for 2 nights after 6 at OKW (our home). I wanted to try it out and see what it was like.

Positives -

Close to MK and monorail if you want to be near the parks. We don't.

TOTWL - loved going up there. Invited my DB, SIL and kids to watch. It was fun. Lounge was great.

Rooms were nice. We didn't notice anything wrong with our villa as others have posted.


Negatives-

High-rise hotelly feeling. DH and I commented that we could have been anywhere. Looking up at the resort from the pool had no Disney feeling whatsoever for us. Same looking out from our villa to the pool. Other than the Mickey ears on the slide, we could have been anywhere. Felt like New York and not WDW. Now some people want that feeling of not being at home. We are not those people.

Our teens had little to do at the resort. No basketball hoops which they do everyday at OKW. No pool table, darts. These are important to us. They do have tennis though.

We didn't think the pool was all that special. Not very big, no real theme.

We wished there was a better counter service at BLT. Just the pool bar or you have to go over to CR. The walk wasn't bad though. We also didn't like the food at the bar. The CR pool had better food.




I think that is it. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Who's your Mickey?]

Love the location... Short walk to MK or you can hop on the monorail... TOTWL for fireworks is great... Get there a little early, have a drink then go outside and watch the show... The view can't be beat either way... You can either see the castle or Bay Lake from just about anywhere in the building. The pool is nice, my kids enjoy the waterslide... Food service at the pool is adequate, but nothing to write home about... My kids also love Community Hall... The walk to CR for shopping and most food services is short and not the big deal some people make it out to be... The 1BR and 2BR units have an extra bathroom... Most other locations do not have this feature... I know AKV-Kidani does and possibly one other (not sure on this one)???

A lot of people dislike the decor... To me, it's still just a hotel... One I have a vested interest in, but a hotel none the less... I will never live at BLT, just visit for a few days at a time, so the flap these boards have seen over people's like and dislike of the decor amuse me...

I am slightly concerned with the signs of wear and tear the units are showing... It appears that the furnishings at BLT are not of a higher quality... Lots of scratches and stains... They are minor flaws, but as they build up over time, they could end up costing some additional maintenance or replacement fees... All of the wood surfaces at BLT are very dark, thus they show sratches very easily...

 

[moericus]

I love seeing all the positive posts about BLT on this thread! The last few BLT threads had lots of haters.

I'm still waiting to take my first trip home to BLT. But, I can tell you already I love the location.

 

[castleri]

I haven't actually stayed there yet and may not but just wanted to share what my daughter and granddaughter said when we went to the presentation at the TOWL. Their reaction to the building was - this is so sterile it feels like a hospital - Even after seeing the rooms they said they would rather not stay there. I for one would like to stay there at least once to be able to get a more complete feel for it. So far I haven't been able to get even one day there but will keep trying for a night or so the next times I call. It just won't be for trips when the above mentioned two are along.

 

[photobob]

I too haven't stayed there. Just from looking at photos etc, I don't like the hotel high rise look without much in the way of surrounding landscaped grounds that are more prevalent other places.

On the plus side, the views from a PP are absolutely awesome! Use of the monorail would be very cool! As far as location we prefer the Epcot resort area, but BLT's location would be my second favorite, followed by my home resort of SSR. I look forward to staying at all the DVC resorts.

 

[monkeyknuckler]

Watching fireworks from your MK facing balcony is pretty nice, if you're the type that doesn't like MK firework crowds, or if you go to bed early. The music for the fireworks can be heard from the tv.
Its great to be able to go to the Contemporary and visit the restaurants, pool, marina, beach, etc., and not allow those who stay at the Contemporary to visit BLT.

 

[UConnJack]

Based on a studio stay only, the only two things I liked about BLT were the location/view (if you have them) and the ample storage space in the kitchen for food and stuff. Pool was OK, but nothing to write home about.

Didn't like the decor, themeing (or lack thereof), size, quality, and just general vibe (or lack thereof again) of the resort. May stay again if I need such close MK access, but probably not.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Positive:

Love the proximity to the MK. If you leave the park after WISHES when the big crowds are emptying out.....you can see the huge line to get on the monorail, then the long lines at the buses, all the while you're taking a nice, pleasant stroll over to BLT.

Love the walkway over to CR. The first time we stayed there.....we arrived just as Wishes was starting as we walked across the skybridge. It really is a nice vantage point to watch the show.

Love the Community Hall.

People say it's a pain to walk over to CR for everything......have they stayed at Kidani? The walk to Jambo house for a counter service meal is a lot farther than the BLT pool bar or the CR.

Love the view of the lake. Even though we were on the inside of the C, and the view was pool / lake, it was great.

Negative:

It would be nice if BLT had it's own check in area / lobby. We like to people watch. Even the small check in lobby over at Kidani is more than what is at BLT proper.

Getting to TOWL is a bit tricky, but I guess that's a good thing.

 

[ready123go]

Based on a studio stay only, the only two things I liked about BLT were the location/view (if you have them) and the ample storage space in the kitchen for food and stuff. Pool was OK, but nothing to write home about.

Didn't like the decor, themeing (or lack thereof), size, quality, and just general vibe (or lack thereof again) of the resort. May stay again if I need such close MK access, but probably not.

I'm interested in another's perspective - how did you find the vibe to be?

 

[JaxDisneyFans]

We love the lake view and the walk to MK. Always enjoy our 1st evening at TOWL. The extra bathroom is great since we travel with two teenage girls. We like the decor, don't want to live with it but like to visit it. We are disappointed with the visable wear in tear though.

 

[cemeb4dk]

We stayed there for the first time last Oct. We did three nights in a lake view 1bedroom. We were on the 8th floor all the way down, so we actually overlooked the tennis courts and had a perfect view of MK and the light parade. We did 3 nights here and then 8 nights at our home resort of Beach Club where we had a 1 bedroom. Honestly we love BCV and prefer to stay there most visits, but we really fell in love with Baylake. Just the room was just much nicer and better laid out in our opinion. The rooftop was not a big deal to us, because of the high wall you need to hold the little ones. and we had an excellent view from our room. It was nice being so close to MK, but that was a trade off to being close to Epcot at the BCV and the boardwalk night life.

My wife thinks I just liked BLT better because our room at the beachclub was in dire need of an update, so she is convinced that is why I liked it more. She maybe right but my daughter and I wished the entire time we were at BCV we would of stayed at BLT.

So not really sure if I helped at all, but we really liked it and would definitley stay there again.

 

[melk]

We liked the size and layout of the room (1-br, lake view), having the sleeper chair as well as the pull out sofa, the second bathroom, walking to the Magic Kingdom, and the lounge upstairs to watch the fireworks.

We didn't like the bus service, the decor, and the sterile feel of the resort.

Bottom line was we were glad we tried it but we don't think we will stay there again. But that's what is nice about DVC, there is something for everyone...if you don't like one resort, try another!

ETA: I wanted to add something else I thought of. BLT by far had the most comfortable bed and bedding of any Disney resort we've stayed in!

 

[starbox]

I like the location for access to MK (not as convenient to other parks) and to the other monorail resorts for dining. Like the Contempo Cafe. Like the big balconies! nice views in all directions.

Dislike - the strange room layout, poor quality materials, lack of privacy sheers.

I did not like the fact that it feels really separate from the CR to me - lack of services in the lobby made it feel a little strange.

Mostly -dislike the insane price per point.


We did not have a hard time booking at 7 montages to try it out.

 

[dsneygirl]

Simple:
Love the location
Don't like the decor

Ditto. I also didn't like the "lockdown" feeling (although some prefer) and I thought the pool area was pretty weak.

I did like the food in Contempo Cafe and liked the Bay Lake view. But overall it left me "cold".

 

[UConnJack]

I'm interested in another's perspective - how did you find the vibe to be?

That was the problem, I really felt no vibe at all. It felt rather cold and sterile. It just didn't make me feel like I was at WDW or anyplace special. Kind of hard to describe I guess.

 

[starbox]

that was the problem, i really felt no vibe at all. It felt rather cold and sterile. It just didn't make me feel like i was at wdw or anyplace special. Kind of hard to describe i guess.

ita.

 

[kritter]

How early do we have to get to TOWL to watch the fireworks? Also, if our friends are visiting us can they join us to watch the fireworks?TIA!!

 

[DenLo]

I guess I'll never understand why people call BLT's colors and decor cold. It's warm and bright. The rooms are bright with natural light. Love all of the Disney artwork. Also I like it being quiet and no hustle and bustle like at BWV and BCV. I can get that kind of noise in the parks.

I've heard that about the BLT showers. Has anyone tried something like loosely tying some plastic mesh like potatoes come in over the shower head to break up the stream?

What problems have you had with service? Will be a cash guest in a 2 BR villa with four generations, 19 months to 80 years.

When we stayed in 1 BR I found that the overhead shower would drip cold water occasionally while I showered. But I got around it by turning on that shower head first with warm water, then turned it off and showered using the regular shower head. It didn't matter if I got an warm drip every so often.

As to the showerhead in the studio bathroom. You can adjust it, after you turn it on, you just move the lever back towards off until you get the water pressure you want. Then it's just like any other shower.

I can't answer the poor service question, because we've had excellent service the two times we stayed at BLT. Including an employee going the extra mile to help us with some car problems.

 

[UConnJack]

I did not like the fact that it feels really separate from the CR to me - lack of services in the lobby made it feel a little strange.

This had a lot to do with it for me as well. All the other hotel-based DVCs feel connected to the main building, feel connected to the resort as a whole. BLT may be readily accesible to the CR, but it doesn't feel like part of the the resort, it's just "nearby". Standing alone, BLT is just kinda bland.

Some will argue that Kidani is so far from Jambo, that VWL and BCV are seperated from the larger resort as well, but their sytle and theme pulls it all togther. BLT does not.

 

[Figment2]

As to the showerhead in the studio bathroom. You can adjust it, after you turn it on, you just move the lever back towards off until you get the water pressure you want. Then it's just like any other shower.

Just so we are clear, my shower complaint was the second bathroom in the 1BR - not the studio. Two of us sharing that bathroom couldn't adjust it.