Just booked BLT what should we know?

[DisneyHoneymooners]

We will be staying at BLT this Sept. having only stayed at our home resort of AKL is ther anything special we should know about BLT? Anythings you learned from your stay? Thanks.

[tdk316]

If you send a package down before you arrive, it'll cost you $10 to get it from the conference center and they close at 5PM. Other than that, we love it and can't wait to go back.

[DisneyHoneymooners]

thanks that's good to know. We send down a box every year. Does anyone know how early they open.

[tdk316]

I think they open at 8:30A, at least that is when the reps are available to speak with you concerning conference planning. I'm not sure if they're available on weekends to retrieve boxes sent, I would assume so, but you might want to call the conference center or concierge to make sure. This is the only thing I don't like about CR/BLT is the package situation...!

[dlpmikki]

I would certainly suggest asking for a high floor as the view seems to get better the higher you go. We asked for a high floor and ended up on the same floor as the lounge which was an amzing view.

[jenperich]

We just booked BLT too for October - 10 nights!!!

[OogieBoogieMan]

Ok, I may get beat up for saying it, but I am not a big BLT fan. I stayed alone in a studio last September and found the studios to be tight, even alone. I set up my laptop on the table in the room and it consumed the entire space. I just think they short changed the square feet on the studios and I am not alone. I was booking a DVC res recently and the rep on the phone had many similar things to say about the space, it just doesn't seem to be well planned. I also found the set up a bit annoying. Other than sleeping or swimming, you pretty much need to trek over to Contemporary for anything. My brother-in-law thinks it is no big deal, they are right next door, but I think it is a pain in the neck, everything seems to require a hike.

It is great location and I am sure some rooms have a fabulous view but I just don't feel compelled to return any time soon. I am sure you will have a great time, and don't let my opinion discourage you, but for my $$ I will stay elsewhere.

[dlpmikki]

That is a good point about the studios. We stayed in a 1 bed because of what we had heard/seen about the studios.

[mdhiggin]

We noticed that it was actually quicker to walk to MK from BLT than try to use the monorail. This is counting the time to get to the monorail and off.

[DisneyHoneymooners]

Just wanted to let everyone know, I contacted DVC customer service online and they gave me an address to BLT and said I would be given the package upon check-in. That is how it always worked at AKL. Maybe they got too many complaints about having to pick them up. Hopefully I wont have an problems.:(

[jenperich]

This will be our first stay, so I will have some silly questions. What do you usually send down in a package?

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

This will be our first stay, so I will have some silly questions. What do you usually send down in a package?

Many people send items that they don't want to have to pay for at their airline. And the cost of shipping down a box full of stuff is cheaper (and less to worry about) than checking it in.

Some items included are: food, special gifts (like when celebrating b-days, etc), needed equipment (baby gear - diapers/wipes/etc), ponchos, umbrellas, "emergency" clothes - like when it's 40 degrees and you didn't have room in your luggage for it?, etc.

With the cost of checking bags - or even carry ons in some airlines - I've heard more and more people doing this. We drive down so, we don't... but, I would if we flew!

[tdk316]

Diapers, wipes, bottles, little gifts for the kids, crackers, baby food, stroller accessories, etc. Basically I never sent a package until I had kids!

Oh, we also order water from Costco and have it shipped there.

[Mushu11756]

Diapers, wipes, bottles, little gifts for the kids, crackers, baby food, stroller accessories, etc. Basically I never sent a package until I had kids!

Oh, we also order water from Costco and have it shipped there.

What size box do you use for all that? How much do you pay in shipping and how do you get it home. Just curios because I have a 2 yr old that we've taken 3 times already and our next trip is this december and I always have to much stuff

[jenperich]

Diapers, wipes, bottles, little gifts for the kids, crackers, baby food, stroller accessories, etc. Basically I never sent a package until I had kids!

I guess that would be why I don't understand! No kids yet...but hopefully will be "with child" on our next trip.

I would like to order water from somewhere, but I don't think we'll be renting a car, so I'm not sure how I would get it there. We'll see. Thanks again!

[tdk316]

"What size box do you use for all that?"
~ I re-used a Crate & Barrel box that was quite large (think a Costco-sized diaper box).

"How much do you pay in shipping and how do you get it home."
~ I paid around $27 to ship it if I remember correctly and it was worth every penny! I didn't have to take an extra suitcase to the airport and pay for it to fly also. We're thinking about sending all of our luggage UPS this year so we don't have to deal with it and the kids. With what the airlines are charging, I'm trying to figure out if it'll be worth it or not.

As for getting it home, most of the items were consumed (diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, snacks, etc.) and those took up more than half of the box when I shipped it. The rest of the stuff was stuffed into a suitcase or carried by DS2 (like his new Goofy!). It really wasn't that big of a deal to get the stuff home. Any food that was left, and there wasn't much, I packed last and if it didn't fit, I didn't bring it home.

I do know that you can re-pack your box and ship it home from the front desk (some resorts ask you to take it to the gift shop and send it from there). I had printed some return address labels to tape onto the box just in case I needed to do that, but it turned out to not be an issue. The only issue I can see with doing that is if you're leaving on a Sunday UPS and FedEx do not pick up so your package will be there for an extra day without you. I'm sure they'd put it with Bell Services or something, but if you're not comfortable with that you might want to send it on the Saturday before you leave instead.

If you have a Costco membership you can order a case of water online and ship it to your resort for $8 total, and that includes shipping. It was a great deal even when we had to pay $10 to get it from the convention center.

If you have any other questions let me know. :mickey:

[DisneyHoneymooners]

We travel without kids also. We usually send down things like granola bars for breakfast, some of those individual size drink mixes for water (really helps the disney water), emergency ponchos, trial size toiletries, cheap tooth brushes to throw away, extra batteries, coffee filter packs, gum/mints, cigars and even alcohol in those plastic break-proof bottles. Most of it never comes back with us.

[DisneyHoneymooners]

BLT address as given to me by member support:

Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort
4600 N. World Drive
Lake Buena Vista, Fl 32830

You need to include your name and Reservation Number as part of the
shipping label.
Hope this helps everyone!