Why buy at Bay Lake Tower?

[dphie28]

Convince me why I should spend $115 per point for BLT when I can get a SSR resalefor about $40 less per point.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

There are a few reasons why.

BLT ends in 2060 instead of 2054.
You can walk to Magic Kingdom, and take a monorail to Epcot.
You have a view of the Magic Kingdom or Bay Lake.
The 1 bedroom sleeps 5, and the 2 bedroom sleeps 9.
The maintenance fees are less.
BLT is connected to the iconic Contemporary Resort.


Is that worth $30/pt. ~ that is ultimately your decision.

Most importantly though...you can shave and make your pop tart at the same time.

 

[drusba]

"Most importantly though...you can shave and make your pop tart at the same time."

As noted BLT has the lowest per point annual dues and that is likely to continue. In the long run that can make a large difference. Nevertheless, the real reason is to assure you get BLT if that is what you want most of the time by using the 11 month window. BLT will often be available at 7 months but at peak holiday times likely not and at anytime it will likely be difficult to get MK view or lower point cost standard view at 7 months out so if you consistently want either of those then you should definitely buy at BLT.

 

[hopare]

Most importantly though...you can shave and make your pop tart at the same time.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Most importantly though...you can shave and make your pop tart at the same time.

That made me laugh!

OP: We chose BLT for a few reasons, some have already been listed:

*Easy walk to/from MK.

*Monorail to/from Epcot.

*We enjoy spending time at all the monorail resorts.

*Boat to FW.

*I have many happy childhood memories at CR & always loved the location.

*We always stayed at CR since we had our children & are happy there.

*If DVC ever makes a rule that you have to stay at your home resort, we are comfortable at BLT.

*I truly believe you should buy where you want to stay, just in case.....

Good luck with your choice.

 

[Jason@dvcstore]

Convince me why I should spend $115 per point for BLT when I can get a SSR resalefor about $40 less per point.

If you are going to own BLT and make your reservation more than 7 months in advance then you should buy BLT.

If you are going to buy BLT and then make your reservation 7 months in advance or less then I would say you are making a mistake.

If this is the case then you should buy the Saratoga Springs via resale.

Jason

 

[HsvTeacher]

There are a few reasons why.

BLT ends in 2060 instead of 2054.
You can walk to Magic Kingdom, and take a monorail to Epcot.
You have a view of the Magic Kingdom or Bay Lake.
The 1 bedroom sleeps 5, and the 2 bedroom sleeps 9.
The maintenance fees are less.
BLT is connected to the iconic Contemporary Resort.


Is that worth $30/pt. ~ that is ultimately your decision.

Most importantly though...you can shave and make your pop tart at the same time.

 

[littlestar]

"Most importantly though...you can shave and make your pop tart at the same time."

That was great. That brought back memories of when Richyams used to post on the Dis boards!

 

[dphie28]

Thank you for your opinions. I do think that we are going to go resale instead. BLT is in a great location, but the decor and price are not for us.

 

[Sandisw]

We bought BLT because we knew that was where we wanted to stay every time we went to Disney, unless it was our choice to stay somewhere else.

We loved the CR and the ability to walk to/from MK. While we knew it was more money, we didn't want to take a chance at the 7 month window that BLT might now be available. If we had to stay elsewhere because we couldn't get what we wanted at BLT (SV rooms), then we would have been disappointed. Spending an extra $5000 was well worth it--over the course of the contract (50 years), that is really only $100 more per year. And, if I even divide it over only the next 10 years, and sold it for the same that I could SSR, that is only $500 more per year to get what I know would make me happy.

But if you are someone who is okay staying elsewhere, even if it is only on occasion, it is hard to justify buying in at BLT when there are other resorts cheaper.

If you think you like SSR, and will be okay there, then price should be considered. If, however, you would have regrets if you can't get the BLT rooms of choice (for some or part of your stay), and you like the BLT area, then price may need to take a back seat to getting something that makes you happy. DVC is a big investment. IMO, spending $14,000 and being only satisfied vs. spending $18,000 and being thrilled, doesn't make sense.

 

[Chic]

Thank you for your opinions. I do think that we are going to go resale instead. BLT is in a great location, but the decor and price are not for us.

Keep in mind that even if you buy at Saratoga Springs or another DVC resort, you can still stay at BLT. We own five SSR contracts but stay at all the DVC resorts. There is no reason for me to own at one particular resort because we enjoy all of them. I chose SSR for the value of the dollar. Face it, SSR is inexpensive, has low maintenance fees, and one of the longer contracts. The last SSR resale I bought cost me $64 a point which is almost half of the cost at BLT. I'll be 90 years old when my SSR contracts expire so even if I'm still alive, I probably won't feel like going to Disney anyway. If Disney offers a 15 year extension for SSR owners, will I buy? Absolutely!!

 

[disneynutz]

Each resort has it's pluses and minuses. Selecting a resort is a personal decision and where to buy can only be answered after considering a multitude of factors.

Price
Location
Amenities
Theming
Room Size
Resort Size
Transportation

Items like dues can change at any time. Just because a resort has lower dues now, doesn't mean that they will stay the lowest. IMHO BLT will have a dues adjustment after it sells out.

Bill

 

[Crystal_27]

For us, we bought into BLT because of its location on the monorail. Before DVC, we usually stayed at the Poly and loved the convenience of the monorail. However, when we went down in March, 2009 "on the cheap" and stayed at the Pop, we realized how much the convenience of the monorail impacted our trips. We just realized that having to take the bus everywhere made it so that we didn't venture out in the evening to the parks after a mid-day break, which really changed the way that we vacation. When we bought into BLT after taking the tour in March, 2009, I wasn't crazy about BLT's decor, but, after staying there in September, 2009, I ended up really loving every aspect of the resort. The huge differential in the cost is really difficult to reconcile, but you have to decide how important certain things are going to be for you after 10-20-30-40-50 years. For us, it was worth paying several thousands more on the front end to have the option to stay on the monorail every trip. But, the great thing about DVC is that they have options to fit everyone! Good luck!

 

[Tiger926]

We always said that if and when BLT opened we would buy, so when guide called us, we discussed it for quite awhile. DH and I came to the conclusion that although it's in an awesome location, we just couldn't justify the higher costs either. We have added on 2x at AKV through Disney with smaller contracts, so over the long haul, I guess the extra money per point wouldn't be that much, so we realized the bigger issue was point cost. The points used to stay there are quite a bit more - eg. I can stay in a 1bed Value @ AKV for less points than a Studio Standard view @ BLT! For us, we love AKV, and so we have decided the extra days that we can get on our vacations (we go for 2 weeks each July) are worth more than the location of BLT. Despite this, we are staying for 1 night in a studio @ BLT just to check it out.

Now, we also own at SSR, and although we like it, we find it's a bit of a struggle to stay there with kids, so we've had absolutely no problem at 7 months getting all resorts - we've stayed at all of them, except Vero and HHI. But, if we couldn't get other resorts, we'd be perfectly fine at either of our home resorts too!

Good luck with your decision, Tiger

 

[chalee94]

Thank you for your opinions. I do think that we are going to go resale instead. BLT is in a great location, but the decor and price are not for us.

as long as you are happy just being onsite, SSR is a terrific deal.

if you would not be happy unless you were staying at BLT or BCV or whatever, then i would recommend that you buy there and plan to book at 11 months.

 

[bobbiwoz]

BLT was the very first DVC resort that we stayed at that we didn't feel the need to buy points at. (We have stayed at all east coast resorts now, and own at 6 of them). We had a wonderful stay and enjoyed the location, but it's not a location we need to be at. A long time ago, I thought that VWL would always be our favorite MK resort and our BLT stay this past week confirmed that.

Twice some family members were coming back from either signing up for or doing the actual marathon weekend event and took a bus that first stopped at VWL. Both times, the people got off the bus just to walk through the lobby and admire it, and then took a boat back to BLT. The extra time it took didn't bother either of the groups, they both just wanted some VWL time!

Bobbi

 

[Coach81]

Newest resort? Monorail resort? MK view?

 

[WeLoveAriel0505]

LIke previous posters............key is getting in at the 11 month window.........however, my family also likes SSR, so if you're fine staying there, then you can save some money! Just the location is not as accesible to the parks.

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

Most importantly though...you can shave and make your pop tart at the same time.

Great inside joke to those who have stayed there

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

Buy where you want to stay!!!!