Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary Resort Info...

[DiSnEyF@n]

I am looking into renting a 1 bedroom villa February 2016 for my daughters 2nd birthday. It will be myself, hubby, DS 16, DD 14 and DD 2. Any information you have at all on DVC and renting villas, including what to expect or and recommendation would be super helpful.

Will we all have enough room and be comfortable?
I was originally going to get the DDP (quickservice), but with the kitchen in the villa it seems silly to spend the extra money on that if we will be using the kitchen.

You're thoughts?

Thanks

 

[GoofGoof]

You should have plenty of space. The 1BR villa at BLT has 2 full bathrooms (1 in the MBR and 1 in the foyer) plus a bedroom, kitchen and living room. The bedroom has a king size bed. The living room has a pull out couch that can sleep 2 plus there is a sleeper chair in the living room. Each room has a pack n play portable crib so if your 2 year old is still in a crib you could set that up either in the MBR or with the other kids in the living room.

Here's a link to the point charts:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/BLT-Points.htm
If you figure out which room view you want and the dates you can determine how many points you need. The reputable rental sites rent the points from between $13 and $16 a point. Here's one of the more popular sites, but there are others too if you do a google search for renting DVC points.
http://www.dvcrequest.com
You will usually save some money over paying the cash rate to Disney for the rooms unless they are running a good special.

Even if you rent a DVC room from an owner you can still get DDP if you want it. With the full kitchen you may not need it. If you have a car you can stop at a local grocery store and stock up. If not you can get them delivered right to your room. When we go we usually order groceries from garden grocer: https://www.gardengrocer.com. If you don't want to wait around the room for the delivery you can have them deliver your groceries direct to the hotel and Bell services will hold the order for you until you call down to have it brought up to your room. They even have a walk in fridge to store perishables for you.

BLT is a great place to stay. Lots of dining options via monorail or boat to WL/Fort Wilderness. You can walk to and from MK too which is a nice time saver if you stay for Wishes. The MK view rooms have a direct view of the castle and depending on how high up you are a lot of the park. The Lake View rooms are pretty nice too. The lake is very peaceful and the balcony is a great place to have a morning cup of coffee or an adult beverage at night (garden grocer also delivers beer and wine). The MK view rooms are more points. Even if you decide on the lake view you still have access to Top of the World lounge (lounge and outdoor fireworks viewing area on the top floor) if you rent from an owner. It's a good place to watch wishes (they even play the music from Main Street).

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

You should have plenty of space. The 1BR villa at BLT has 2 full bathrooms (1 in the MBR and 1 in the foyer) plus a bedroom, kitchen and living room. The bedroom has a king size bed. The living room has a pull out couch that can sleep 2 plus there is a sleeper chair in the living room. Each room has a pack n play portable crib so if your 2 year old is still in a crib you could set that up either in the MBR or with the other kids in the living room.

Here's a link to the point charts:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/BLT-Points.htm
If you figure out which room view you want and the dates you can determine how many points you need. The reputable rental sites rent the points from between $13 and $16 a point. Here's one of the more popular sites, but there are others too if you do a google search for renting DVC points.
http://www.dvcrequest.com
You will usually save some money over paying the cash rate to Disney for the rooms unless they are running a good special.

Even if you rent a DVC room from an owner you can still get DDP if you want it. With the full kitchen you may not need it. If you have a car you can stop at a local grocery store and stock up. If not you can get them delivered right to your room. When we go we usually order groceries from garden grocer: https://www.gardengrocer.com. If you don't want to wait around the room for the delivery you can have them deliver your groceries direct to the hotel and Bell services will hold the order for you until you call down to have it brought up to your room. They even have a walk in fridge to store perishables for you.

BLT is a great place to stay. Lots of dining options via monorail or boat to WL/Fort Wilderness. You can walk to and from MK too which is a nice time saver if you stay for Wishes. The MK view rooms have a direct view of the castle and depending on how high up you are a lot of the park. The Lake View rooms are pretty nice too. The lake is very peaceful and the balcony is a great place to have a morning cup of coffee or an adult beverage at night (garden grocer also delivers beer and wine). The MK view rooms are more points. Even if you decide on the lake view you still have access to Top of the World lounge (lounge and outdoor fireworks viewing area on the top floor) if you rent from an owner. It's a good place to watch wishes (they even play the music from Main Street).

Wow thank you so much for your advice!!! I am going to look into garden grocer as we will definitely need food for the room. Thanks again!!!

 

[JohnWD]

I agree with everything @GoofGoof says. We have stayed there a few times. My only addition is that with my family, it always worked out better to have a 2 bedroom in order to separate the boys from the girls!

 

[JAG107]

BLT is our favorite, and we are lucky enough to own some pts there. You will love the access to MK, and the bus system has always been good to us (not very crowded).
Our last trip we stayed on the 5th floor in a standard room, and it was great! 5th floor has the walkway to the Contemporary, meaning no elevators to get you to the Contempo Cafe, Chef Mickey, sundry shop, etc.
We have only used We Go Shop for our groceries, and Amy does a fantastic job shopping and delivering our groceries.

 

[slappy magoo]

Here's a link to the point charts:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/BLT-Points.htm
If you figure out which room view you want and the dates you can determine how many points you need. The reputable rental sites rent the points from between $13 and $16 a point. Here's one of the more popular sites, but there are others too if you do a google search for renting DVC points.
http://www.dvcrequest.com
You will usually save some money over paying the cash rate to Disney for the rooms unless they are running a good special.

If you're talking about a studio villa, maybe, probably, renting points is a better deal. But surprisingly, renting points for a 1BR villa (at BLT anyway) isn't necessarily that good a deal, and if WDW is running a special, renting points is not a good deal at all.

I looked at the rack rates (caveat, RACK rates) for a 1BR standard view villa for a solid week in the first half of February 2015 (I know the OP is planning next year, but this is just for comparison's sake). It would take 250 points. If you rented points for $15 per, that's $3750, all costs included. Reserving the room via WDW at rack rate? $3808. Granted there's tax on top of that. What is it, 8 percent? So it brings it to around $4112. So about $365 difference, nothing to sneeze at, but it's only about a 10% difference. But what are the odds that WDW offered a discount greater than 10% for that timeframe? It was probably a 20-30% discount.


BTW, The renting vs rack rate savings are even less for a lake view, about 2 bills.

So it takes some research.

 

[GoofGoof]

If you're talking about a studio villa, maybe, probably, renting points is a better deal. But surprisingly, renting points for a 1BR villa (at BLT anyway) isn't necessarily that good a deal, and if WDW is running a special, renting points is not a good deal at all.

I looked at the rack rates (caveat, RACK rates) for a 1BR standard view villa for a solid week in the first half of February 2015 (I know the OP is planning next year, but this is just for comparison's sake). It would take 250 points. If you rented points for $15 per, that's $3750, all costs included. Reserving the room via WDW at rack rate? $3808. Granted there's tax on top of that. What is it, 8 percent? So it brings it to around $4112. So about $365 difference, nothing to sneeze at, but it's only about a 10% difference. But what are the odds that WDW offered a discount greater than 10% for that timeframe? It was probably a 20-30% discount.


BTW, The renting vs rack rate savings are even less for a lake view, about 2 bills.

So it takes some research.

The tax is actually 12.5%, but yes it's not as big a savings as the studios are. If you rent direct from an owner you can probably get the points for less than $15 but it's more work and there's a certain amount of additional risk. If you can get at least 20% off rack from Disney it's going to be cheaper than renting points in most cases.

 

[MaryJaneP]

Also by "paying cash" for the room through Disney (rather than renting points), doesn't the room get daily (rather than ever 4th day) mousekeeping? Is this even important to OP?

 

[dreamfinder]

Also by "paying cash" for the room through Disney (rather than renting points), doesn't the room get daily (rather than ever 4th day) mousekeeping? Is this even important to OP?

Yes, but you can request and pay for daily mousekeeping. The daily rate may still be cheaper than paying rack rates. Snippet from David's Vacation Club Rentals here -> http://www.dvcrequest.com/faq.asp#housekeeping

Trash and Towel service is included in all stays of more than four days. If your stay is for less than eight nights, you will receive Trash & Towel service on day four. If your stay is for eight nights or longer, you will receive a full cleaning service on day four, and Trash & Towel service on day eight. After that, the cycle begins again on day twelve. Day one is check-in day. Daily housekeeping can be arranged and paid for at time of check-in. The following rates are subject to change:

Additional Full Cleaning Rates:
Studio - $30.00 for each day requested
One-Bedroom - $45.00 for each day requested
Two-Bedroom - $60.00 for each day requested
Three-Bedroom - $75.00 for each day requested
Additional Trash & Towel Rates:
Studio - $15.00 for each day requested
One-Bedroom - $20.00 for each day requested
Two-Bedroom - $25.00 for each day requested
Three-Bedroom - $35.00 for each day requested

The OP would need to run the numbers and see.

 

[38053WDW]

Yes, but you can request and pay for daily mousekeeping. The daily rate may still be cheaper than paying rack rates. Snippet from David's Vacation Club Rentals here -> http://www.dvcrequest.com/faq.asp#housekeeping


The OP would need to run the numbers and see.

We went the David route and it was cheaper then rack rates for sure. Also if you just clean up after yourselves you really do not need extra service. Our floor had a "trash room" door so I made the kids do their chores and take out the trash. (walk down the hall) We just put some towels in the washer before we left and threw them in the dryer when we got home. All worked out well...

 

[patch553]

Hi we have just rented a one bedroom Magic Kingdom view room in bay lake tower for 2 nights in feb 16 worked out 75% cheaper for us doing it through David's vacation points than booking direct with Disney. My question is do all the Rooms have washer dryers in. Also do you get the deluxe tolittries in the rooms you get if you stay in the normal hotel rooms. Sorry to crash the thread

 

[GoofGoof]

Hi we have just rented a one bedroom Magic Kingdom view room in bay lake tower for 2 nights in feb 16 worked out 75% cheaper for us doing it through David's vacation points than booking direct with Disney. My question is do all the Rooms have washer dryers in. Also do you get the deluxe tolittries in the rooms you get if you stay in the normal hotel rooms. Sorry to crash the thread

The 1 bedroom has a washer and dryer. You also get shampoo and soap and stuff in the room. I don't know if it's the same stuff you get in the CR hotel rooms.

 

[dreamfinder]

Hi we have just rented a one bedroom Magic Kingdom view room in bay lake tower for 2 nights in feb 16 worked out 75% cheaper for us doing it through David's vacation points than booking direct with Disney. My question is do all the Rooms have washer dryers in. Also do you get the deluxe tolittries in the rooms you get if you stay in the normal hotel rooms. Sorry to crash the thread

All DVC units except for studios have built in washer/dryer. DVC owners staying in a studio do have access to a free laundry area they can use. You do get the full set of toiletries, however you only get the one set when you check in. Depending on your mousekeeper they may refresh/replace them when you get your 1 trash/towel service, and they should be replaced if you are staying for 8 days or longer when you get your full cleaning.

 

[patch553]

All DVC units except for studios have built in washer/dryer. DVC owners staying in a studio do have access to a free laundry area they can use. You do get the full set of toiletries, however you only get the one set when you check in. Depending on your mousekeeper they may refresh/replace them when you get your 1 trash/towel service, and they should be replaced if you are staying for 8 days or longer when you get your full cleaning.

thankyou foryour help