Top of the World Lounge

sbsrocky

sbsrocky

New Member
Original Poster
I read under another thread that non-DVC members renting DVC points to stay at BLT would have access to Top of the World. Is this really accurate?
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
It's a bit of a grey area. Here's the official wording from the DVC member site:

Top of the World Lounge Access
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Top of the World Lounge is located at Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort. Disney Vacation Club Members staying at any Disney-owned-and-operated hotel at Walt Disney World Resort (whether they booked with vacation points or cash) may enjoy access to one of the vacation kingdom's most exclusive spaces: Top of the World Lounge atop Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort through December 29, 2015 (blockout dates apply. Including but not limited to 12/30/14, 12/31/14, 7/3/15, and 7/4/15). Current operating hours are 6 p.m. to midnight.

This perk is available exclusively to Members and those in their traveling party who are staying on that Member's reservation. At least one Member in the traveling party must accompany the group and present his or her current Magic Band or Key to the World card with a Disney Vacation Club Membership notation in order to gain admission to the lounge and observation deck. If the Member's Magic Band or Key to the World card doesn't display a Membership notation, a Disney Vacation Club Membership Card is required in addition to the Key to the World card to verify Membership.

Note that Members traveling from other Resorts must use Walt Disney World Transportation, as parking is unavailable to anyone not staying at Bay Lake Tower or Disney's Contemporary Resort. Upon arrival, Members must walk to the Bay Lake Tower main lobby entrance on the ground floor and check in at the Top of the World Lounge desk in the lobby.

This special Top of the World Lounge access is available on a first-come, first-served basis until the lounge reaches capacity. As the lounge is particularly popular during the Magic Kingdom fireworks, arriving as early as possible will give Members the best chance of gaining admission.
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When you rent points from an owner you are technically a guest of that owner and staying on their reservation. I think the question is will the magic band recognize you as a "guest" of a DVC member.
 
sxeensweet

sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
sbsrocky said:
I read under another thread that non-DVC members renting DVC points to stay at BLT would have access to Top of the World. Is this really accurate?
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No you cannot. You have to show your DVC membership card and your ID to get up there. We just went in November and it was still the same. :)
 
P

Pax

Member
You, as a member, can take non DVC members to the lounge but you or someone in your party has to have their membership card with them to gain access.
 
CMiller1031

CMiller1031

New Member
This may have changed recently. We stayed there last week and when we went to go up, we had our card handy and they said it was unecessary and that the magic bands identified the entire party as eligible to go upstairs (there were 5 of us).
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
CMiller1031 said:
This may have changed recently. We stayed there last week and when we went to go up, we had our card handy and they said it was unecessary and that the magic bands identified the entire party as eligible to go upstairs (there were 5 of us).
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Makes sense. That is what the DVC member site says too:
This perk is available exclusively to Members and those in their traveling party who are staying on that Member's reservation. At least one Member in the traveling party must accompany the group and present his or her current Magic Band or Key to the World card with a Disney Vacation Club Membership notation in order to gain admission to the lounge and observation deck. If the Member's Magic Band or Key to the World card doesn't display a Membership notation, a Disney Vacation Club Membership Card is required in addition to the Key to the World card to verify Membership.​

So it's available to Members and those who are staying on a Member's reservation. The question is will everyone on a Member's reservation automatically have the DVC notation on their magic bands? When you rent points you are technically on a Member's reservation but the question is does the Member need to actually be part of the traveling party.

I guess we need someone who rented points and tried to get in to chime in to know for sure.
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Well there's the answer. Only an owner will have the DVC designation on their membership card.

My personal opinion is they should just open it to anyone staying at BLT. It's usually not that crowded and if there are really crowded times they could restrict access.

The only loophole to get in would be if your room is on the top floor. We had a top floor room my last stay so our magic bands could activate the elevator to take us up there. I'm an owner at BLT anyway, but if I wasn't I would have still been able to get in.
 
38053WDW

38053WDW

Well-Known Member
Just depends on your luck I guess .. Rented points through Davids DVC and we were able to go up multiple times. It showed us members for some reason . We even told them we were not... "Just be nice" they told us ! Great view !
 
loveglobe

loveglobe

Member
I wonder if there's a bit of selective profiling going on too like at a hot club, where the CM/bouncer looks you up and down, quickly calculates how much you're likely to spend, and says yeah you're cool before waving you in.... ; )
 
loveglobe

loveglobe

Member
PS I mean this as no disrespect to geebee721 - with that yummy-looking pineapple drink in your profile photo you definitely seem like the kind of fun person they'd let in past the velvet ropes : )
 
K

kdzgon

New Member
GoofGoof said:
Well there's the answer. Only an owner will have the DVC designation on their membership card.

My personal opinion is they should just open it to anyone staying at BLT. It's usually not that crowded and if there are really crowded times they could restrict access.

The only loophole to get in would be if your room is on the top floor. We had a top floor room my last stay so our magic bands could activate the elevator to take us up there. I'm an owner at BLT anyway, but if I wasn't I would have still been able to get in.
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I suspect the key is whether or not the DVC owner marked the box that says "This guest is not a member" when making the reservation. I suspect if that box is not marked, the bands will show the guest as a DVC member. I just did a reservation for my DD and did not check the box (she has her own contracts but is out of points). They did not ask me for any further info. Last time we did this, her band showed as "member". Oh, and putting one of those stupid DVC Member slides on your MB works lots of times too (though I doubt it would work for TOTW).
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
kdzgon said:
I suspect the key is whether or not the DVC owner marked the box that says "This guest is not a member" when making the reservation. I suspect if that box is not marked, the bands will show the guest as a DVC member. I just did a reservation for my DD and did not check the box (she has her own contracts but is out of points). They did not ask me for any further info. Last time we did this, her band showed as "member". Oh, and putting one of those stupid DVC Member slides on your MB works lots of times too (though I doubt it would work for TOTW).
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The slide thing may work. Last time I was there you still had to get the CM in the lobby to use a card to activate the elevator to get you to the top floor. They hadn't synced the magic bands to the elevator for DVC access. If they see you with one of the slide things that might get you in.
 
Blairnicol

Blairnicol

Well-Known Member
I've gotten up using just the "DVC MEMBER" slider on my Magic Band, but we were SUPER dressed up as we were headed to dinner at Cali Grill. Not sure if that had anything to do with it? Going to try again in May!
 
SMJ0724

SMJ0724

Member
After reading this, it really seems to be hit or miss. We rented points at AKL for our honeymoon last May, and went up multiple times during that trip. Before we tried the first time, I requested a folio of charges at the front desk and noticed that the top of the folio had the "DVC Member Indicator" as "Yes." I figured it was worth a shot, and got upstairs no problem.
 

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