Bay Lake Tower of Wilderness Lodge?

[riogirl]

Every year we visit at the end of August and stay at the Lodge..we love it there, but since my family of 3 have been going with my sister's family of 3 we are thinking about trying Bay Lake Tower-a 2 bedroom suite so we can stay together. We usually get adjoining rooms, but wanted to try the suite in the Towers since it has more place to sit, eat, etc than a regular hotel room. I would love some feedback on the Towers since I have only stayed at the Contemporary many times, but many years ago. The distance to the parks is not an issue since we have 9 and 12 year old children. What is an important part of our decision is the pool, since we spend nearly every afternoon at our resort, the quick service restaurants, and the overall appearance/comfort of the place. I would love to hear from you all! Thanks!!

 

[GoofGoof]

We just got back from a week at BLT with 2 families (8 total people). Here's a few things to consider. With the 2 bedroom villa you have a full kitchen, living room, 2 balconies plus 3 full bathrooms. The extra bathroom comes in handy with a big group. You also have a washer and dryer which came in handy even just to dry shoes or sweatshirts if you get caught out in the rain. There are 2 different types of 2 bedrooms at BLT, dedicated and lockoff. A lockoff 2 bedroom is actually a 1BR villa with a studio villa attached with a connecting door. The lockoff's second bedroom which is the studio has a queen bed and a pullout couch plus a kitchenette and has a door to the hall. In the dedicated 2 bedroom there is a second bedroom off of the foyer area that does not have a door to the hall. It has 2 queen beds and a chair but no couch. In both cases the master bedroom has a king sized bed plus the large bathroom with oversized tub. The balcony off of the MBR also has a door to the living room. The living room has a pullout couch plus a sleeper chair. The kitchen has standard appliances plus a booth type dining table. There is a 3rd full bathroom off of the kitchen/entry foyer. If you search online there are tons of pictures of what the inside of the rooms look like. Most people seem to either love or hate the decor and theme.

BLT has a dedicated pool with a pool snack bar, kids fountain area, water slide and beach chairs in the sand. It also has additional DVC amenities like ping pong, shuffle board and daily pool activities plus an indoor kids club with games and indoor activities for kids. You also have access to the main CR pool. Outside of the pool snack bar and the Top of the World Lounge (DVC members only) all other food options are over at CR. On the 5th floor of BLT is a covered walkway taking you to the main concourse of CR. The quick service restaurant is Contempo Cafe. They have a decent menu and are open until midnight most nights. There is also a small lounge/bar next to Contempo Cafe and Chef Mickeys as well as some shopping and a big arcade. The monorail is 1 floor up. If you get refillable drink mugs they can be filled at either Contempo Cafe or at the pool.

IMHO the 2 bedroom villa was a much better setup than 2 standard hotel rooms. We were traveling with much younger kids (four between 3 and 6) so it was really nice to put the kids to bed in the bedrooms and have the common space to still relax and unwind. As far as sleeping arrangements we ended up pulling the sleep chair into the master and letting our 6 year old sleep on that with the 3 year old in the king bed with us. The other family of 4 shard the 2 queen beds. It worked out pretty well. I personally like the layout and decor of the rooms, but a lot of people don't. The overall theming at WL is only rivaled by AKL IMHO. BLT and CR can't stack up.

 

[Skibum1970]

Plus, you could do the Villas at Wilderness Lodge if you wanted suites. I prefer WL over CR due to the theming. Even when I don't stay there, I make time to visit and walk around the beautiful resort.

 

[Courtneylee212121]

Our family loves bay lake towers! We have been 3 times since they opened! It is so easy to get everywhere and the rooms are awesome! The contempo cafe has awesome food.. Better then most of the other resorts in my opinion... Plus you have chef mickeys yumm and Cali grill! We use to stay in contemporary tower but now bay lake! Also everything about the contemporary is amazing! You can see the light show on the lake at night and the wishes fireworks! You can also get a room with a theme park room which is very exciting! ( this February we will be staying in contemp tower bc bay lake was booked up... So if you have the chance id pick bay lake!

 

[riogirl]

Thank you for the great feedback...the décor, layout and space-not to mention 3 bathrooms! is a huge draw...I was really just worried about the food choices and pool! Thanks again!

 

[Disneykidder]

Everything said above is 100% accurate. I'd also love to add that since you are on the mono line, you are a few minutes ride to the Poly, should you decide to grab a quick bite at Captain Cook's, their QS. We did that one night when we turned in early and it was great. Plus they have a dole whip machine there. hehe.

My kids loved the pool at BLT and also CR...we hopped a few times because the kids wanted to play on each slide. It's nice to be able to go to two main pools.

HAVE FUN!!!!

 

[GoofGoof]

Everything said above is 100% accurate. I'd also love to add that since you are on the mono line, you are a few minutes ride to the Poly, should you decide to grab a quick bite at Captain Cook's, their QS. We did that one night when we turned in early and it was great. Plus they have a dole whip machine there. hehe.

My kids loved the pool at BLT and also CR...we hopped a few times because the kids wanted to play on each slide. It's nice to be able to go to two main pools.

HAVE FUN!!!!

Dole whip

If you are a coffee drinker I would also highly recommend a morning monorail stop at the little coffee bar next to Kona Cafe. They serve the real 100% Kona coffee that blows away anything Starbucks has to offer.

 

[WDWoptmist]

Every year we visit at the end of August and stay at the Lodge..we love it there, but since my family of 3 have been going with my sister's family of 3 we are thinking about trying Bay Lake Tower-a 2 bedroom suite so we can stay together. We usually get adjoining rooms, but wanted to try the suite in the Towers since it has more place to sit, eat, etc than a regular hotel room. I would love some feedback on the Towers since I have only stayed at the Contemporary many times, but many years ago. The distance to the parks is not an issue since we have 9 and 12 year old children. What is an important part of our decision is the pool, since we spend nearly every afternoon at our resort, the quick service restaurants, and the overall appearance/comfort of the place. I would love to hear from you all! Thanks!!

I stayed at BLT for 2 nights a few months ago and the rooms are unbelievable, literally feels like you are home at a nice condo. The bar at the top of the tower was incredible (especially the views at night of fireworks). Hotel was great for food because you are connected to the Contemporary. The only thing I did not like was the pool, if you are paying the money for a hotel like this I would stay else where IF the pool is that important to you. Not very big and was very crowed when I was there, also not much theming compared to other deluxe resorts. If the pool is important to you, you should try BC or YC Stormalong Bay is like a small waterpark!

 

[KCheatle]

Is there any way to increase your odds of getting a true 2-bedroom as opposed to a lockoff? I LOVE the BLT and would LOVE to stay there. But, I really don't want to be paying that much for my kids to have sleep on a pull out couch... We'd just choose to stay elsewhere for the money we would spend. Can you make a certain request for the true 2-bedroom?

 

[luv]

Is there any way to increase your odds of getting a true 2-bedroom as opposed to a lockoff? I LOVE the BLT and would LOVE to stay there. But, I really don't want to be paying that much for my kids to have sleep on a pull out couch... We'd just choose to stay elsewhere for the money we would spend. Can you make a certain request for the true 2-bedroom?

You van request anything you want. However, if you don't pay for it, you can almost bank on the fact that you won't get it.

If you want a two bedroom suite, you can pay Disney the ridiculous amount of money they want or you can pay about the cost of a Value/Moderate and get it offsite. Most of the offsite ones are bigger and nicer than Disney's, but they're a lot cheaper. And it might add five or ten minutes to your drive.

 

[GoofGoof]

Is there any way to increase your odds of getting a true 2-bedroom as opposed to a lockoff? I LOVE the BLT and would LOVE to stay there. But, I really don't want to be paying that much for my kids to have sleep on a pull out couch... We'd just choose to stay elsewhere for the money we would spend. Can you make a certain request for the true 2-bedroom?

Yes. When you book the room there are 2 different classes: 2 bedroom dedicated and 2 bedroom lockoff. If you reserve a dedicated 2 bedroom you are guaranteed to get a 2nd bedroom with 2 queen beds.

 

[GoofGoof]

Is there any way to increase your odds of getting a true 2-bedroom as opposed to a lockoff? I LOVE the BLT and would LOVE to stay there. But, I really don't want to be paying that much for my kids to have sleep on a pull out couch... We'd just choose to stay elsewhere for the money we would spend. Can you make a certain request for the true 2-bedroom?

If you want to try it out consider renting points from a DVC owner. It's much cheaper than paying Disney direct.

 

[bethymouse]

We had a wonderful stay at Wilderness Lodge! Small pool area, but the geyser, and the grounds are gorgeous! Little touches everywhere. We had a bunk bed room, and our boys loved it! The quiet pool was just across from our 1st floor patio. Access to MK by boat is a nice convenience. I have never stayed at BLT, but would like to some day. It's all in what you're looking for. Quiet/woodsy of course WL. A bit more "contempo" and new, then BLT. Sure wish I could splurge for a theme park view!