Bay Lake Tower Questions

[Mackflava99]

We will be at BLT in a few weeks,
We have a nice room, with MK view, so that will be cool. But i have never stayed here before, I have done BC and WL so many times, i know the ins and outs. Does anyone have experience with BLT.

1.) How is the pool?
2.)I assume the walk to MK is short, did you do it?
3.) Is there a snack or gift shop or do we have to go all the way to Contemporary (over bridge)
4.) How is the club at the top, can you visit it all day or only at night? ( we are DVC)
5.) do you check in at contemporary or at BLT?

anything will be helpful !! Thanks!

[SleepyKeith]

1.) How is the pool?

Nice pool with a slide, average by Disney standards.

2.)I assume the walk to MK is short, did you do it?

Very short, shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes.

3.) Is there a snack or gift shop or do we have to go all the way to Contemporary (over bridge)

There is a snack bar down by the pool, other than that you have to go to the Contemporary.

4.) How is the club at the top, can you visit it all day or only at night? ( we are DVC)

When we were there (over a year ago) there wasn't much at the top. Looks like they were using it for special parties only. We were able to go up there and watch the fireworks which was great!

5.) do you check in at contemporary or at BLT?

Checked in at the Comtemorary desk>

I hope this helps and enjoy your stay.

[Basket Mommy]

About #4 - you have to be escorted to the lounge. Show your keycard at the desk in the BLT lobby and someone will take you up there.

[grumpy78]

Regarding the TOP of THE WORLD lounge, it was a complete disappointment to us. When sitting in the lounge, all you can see is a tall cement wall past the big windows. No view at all from inside.

[VWL Mom]

When we were there last June the lounge opened at 5P. I enjoyed having a nightcap there while the boys watched the fireworks. There was another table having some drinks, finger foods and playing cards. Just a nice place to relax IMO.

[faline]

Be aware that there isn't much shade at the pool and there's a real scarcity of tables with umbrellas. There are some tables under cover to the left of the pool bar.

The walk to the Magic Kingdom is a real convenience - especially at park closing time when you don't need to stand in line for a bus, boat, or monorail! The walk took me about 15 minutes in February and I walked at a fairly good clip.

Except for the pool bar, all shops and services are located in the Main Building. There is no place to check in at BLT - you need to do that at the Conemporary front desk.

I, too, found the lounge to be a bit of a disappointment. You only have a view if you go outside to a cement deck area and look over a tall wall. Inside the lounge, there is no view at all. They do have some appetizers available. Had a really good flatbread there.

[antnyh]

Be aware that there isn't much shade at the pool

I have to disagree with that statement. The BLT pool is almost surrounded by the tower and trees. There is really only early to mid morning sun. Once the sun goes over the tower, bye bye warmth. I think it is great though. not too hot especially in the evenings. We too are BLT DVC owners. We loved our first trip this past March. We are going again this Christmas!! I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did!!!

[jenperich]

Our home resort is BLT and we stayed there for the first time in October. We loved it! To answer your questions from MHO...

1.) How is the pool? I thought the pool was great! The slide was a lot of fun and the pool was big enough that you didn't feel crowded.
2.)I assume the walk to MK is short, did you do it? We did do the walk to MK. We actually did the walk there and the walk back. Honestly, as much fun as it is to ride the monorail, it's just quicker sometimes to walk back. It's very short and safe.
3.) Is there a snack or gift shop or do we have to go all the way to Contemporary (over bridge)? There really isn't a snack bar, except for at the pool bar. You're probably better off going back to the Contemporary. One of the only drawbacks of BLT.
4.) How is the club at the top, can you visit it all day or only at night? ( we are DVC) We actually thought the Top of the World lounge was wonderful. The bar and lounge itself is beautiful! The views from atop BLT are awesome. Behind the bar you can see as far as Universal and Sea World, and on the other side you can see all of WDW.
5.) do you check in at contemporary or at BLT? You have to check in at the Contemporary.

I certainly hope you have a great time. We were VERY happy with our stay at BLT.

[ThanxForNoticin]

We had a chance to stay at BLT for the first time a few months ago. Just responding to some of your questions, we found the pool to be pretty mediocre, especially when compared to other DVC pools (actually, when compared to other Disney pools). The walk from BLT/CR to MK is very convenient, and a big plus. Finally, we really like to TOTW lounge, especially for the Wishes fireworks. I agree the view out the windows of the lounge is a lot of concrete. But the view of the fireworks from the outside deck might be one of the best at Disney outside of standing on Main Street.

Hope you enjoy your trip....

[tdk316]

The best thing about BLT is its location. The lounge is ok, the pool is ok (not great by Disney standards), walking to the Contemporary for all things food and drink is ok (it does help work off those Mickey ice cream bars!), everything is just ok. Being able to get out of the MK with a tired and cranky toddler and back to the room in 10 minutes flat, without taking a bus or monorail is PRICELESS which is why we keep going back.

We do prefer BC or BW for adult-only trips and you may be a little disappointed with a general lack of things to do or places to walk if you're used to BC. There is none of the atmosphere that is over at BW/BC at BLT. But when we take the kids, BLT can't be beat!

[Mackflava99]

Thank you all so much, I appreciate all the insight,
Like every trip, its cool to experience new things, this will be a little different for us, because we definitely have been going back and forth from BC to WL every other year, both are almost like 'home' to us. I want to know how to manage our expectations.

More questions- are there balconies?
do the windows open?
How is noise level in the rooms?
is there bike riding available anywhere near there?

thanks,
Bryan