We are booking a trip for our family of 4, kids will be ages 3 and 18 months for Dec 2020. We will be renting DVC points and want to be on the monorail and because of this it’s looking like we will have to be at Bay Lake Towers. I was REALLY hoping to stay at the Grand Floridian but there doesn’t appear to be any availability for the dates we can go. That being said, id love to hear from people who have stayed there! What is the pool like for young kids? What is the dining situation? How difficult is it to get back and forth from the contemporary to pick up food to take back to the room? I’d love any and all opinions! Thank you!
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Bay lake tower
- Thread starter lizlovesdisney87
- Start date
There's a walkway on the 4th floor between Bay Lake Tower and the Contemporary Tower, and the 4th floor has shops, Chef Mickey, and the Contempo Cafe (quick service), it is fairly easy to get between the two.
You can walk to the Magic Kingdom, we love those resorts for that reason.
We haven't used their pool, so I cannot speak to that.
You can walk to the Magic Kingdom, we love those resorts for that reason.
We haven't used their pool, so I cannot speak to that.
nickys
Premium Member
Well I can tell you about Bay Lake.
However first off, have you actually booked? I don’t know when in December you plan to go but early December is the busiest time for DVC, due to low points-cost. And by busiest what it really means is that already studios at many resorts are already gone, right at the 11 month mark.
I got the impression from your post that you haven’t actually booked yet. I’m not sure where you are checking availability; the availability for points booking by members is not the same as the availability on the WDW site.
There is no dining in BLT itself, but there is easy access to the Contemporary, as @DisneyJoe said.
The pool is small, but has a decent slide and a splash zone. Zero level entry, plus a kiddie slide. There is shade at one end, a pool bar and grills down near the beach.
There’s also a community hall where they do craft activities and have games, and I think you can rent DVDs (members can, I think others can too for a small charge). There’s shuffleboard as you head out to the pool.
correcaminos
Well-Known Member
What type of room are you looking to do? So far lake views are pretty open, but I'll be honest, if you plan to do a studio, I'd look elsewhere. Polynesian is looking okay except for the weekend of the 5th. But the studios in BLT are tiny and with 4 (even 2 kids) I wouldn't do it. Polynesian is nicely located for the monorail and the kids.
BLT has food by the pool. People always forget that. Though honestly with the walkway and how good Contempo Cafe is, it's not a big win to have that. We've brought food back and forth rather easily.
We like being able to boat to WL for a visit.
The pool is small and not much sun in the afternoon so it might feel cool in December.
We like BLT well enough, but we don't love it TBH. For kids it's an okay place to stay but I do prefer Polynesian or GF for kids.
BLT has food by the pool. People always forget that. Though honestly with the walkway and how good Contempo Cafe is, it's not a big win to have that. We've brought food back and forth rather easily.
We like being able to boat to WL for a visit.
The pool is small and not much sun in the afternoon so it might feel cool in December.
We like BLT well enough, but we don't love it TBH. For kids it's an okay place to stay but I do prefer Polynesian or GF for kids.
our first choice was a one bedroom standard view at the grand Floridian which apparently is all booked. Not interested in the lake view because I don’t think it’s worth the extra cost. So therefore we are left with one bedrooms at bay lake due to wanting to be on the monorail.
JustAFan
Well-Known Member
Sorry if I repeat some of what's been said. Bay Lake Tower is nice primarily because of its location. To get to the monorail, you walk to the Contemporary. There is a skybridge between the buildings. There are nice restaurants in the Contemporary. I highly recommend Chef Mickey's! The pool is nice. There is a slide. I've yet to find a pool in WDW not suitable for young children. While the decor is not to my personal taste, the 5-10 minute walk to Magic Kingdom make this resort a personal favorite.
Have fun!
Have fun!
JTT
Well-Known Member
The BLT has one advantage. You can walk to Magic Kingdom. That is a huge advantage but that's it. The themeing throughout the resort is nonexistent. You have to walk to the contemporary for everything. Which is not terrible, you just feel like your resort (the BLT) is missing something. The Contemporary has good food offerings but not great.
Club Cooloholic
Well-Known Member
Storm Along at Beach Club is ok with small kids, but not great as the "lazy" river is downright dangerous for younger swimmers...in my opinion due to the current and depth.
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nickys
Premium Member
The themeing is subtle, definitely. And the resort itself isn’t inspiring.
But I found more hidden Mickeys and other touches there than at other resorts. I like the pool, it just isn’t big enough. And I like the grills down on the “beach”. And TOTWL is one of my two favourite lounges on property, the other being Victoria Falls.
It’s my home resort and I love it’s location. My heart is elsewhere though!
I'mwatchinguWizowski
Active Member
If you really want to be on the monorail I’d do the Poly in a studio. There is plenty of room for 4 people and the extra shower is nice. The pool would be the other win for me at the poly. The splash pad is a great area and there is even a small slide for the little ones and the pool is also zero entry. If you have your heart set on a 1BR I’d honestly see if I could get BLT or pay the extra and do the lake view at VGF. If you basing your decision on the pool though I’d say hands down the GF because of the splash pad again. It’s great for your 3yo. Another thing is I believe the walkway fro GF to MK is supposed to be open by then as well.
As to BC/YC this has become one of my favorite resorts but my children are older now and have some freedom at the pool. The pool at this resort is HUGE. There is a zero entry area and the sand to play in Is fun but the kiddie pool and slide are actually outside of the pool area. Even now that part still drives me crazy as you can’t see the kids when they go to walk up to the slide.
Let me know if you have any other questions! Hope this helps a little!
Disneyexpertwannabe
Member
If you are spending the majority of your time at MK, go with BLT . It's great to be able to walk to the park. Also, you can see the fireworks from the skybridge between BLT and the Contemporary. You feel as though you are in the action. Boardwalk and BC are great also. The boardwalk activities and entertainment at night are a lot of fun. However, these resorts are better for Epcot and HS. If you have park hoppers it's nice to eat in Epcot at night! Have you thought about the Wilderness Lodge area (Boulder Ridge or Copper Creek)? You can take a boat over to MK. It's not a monorail resort, but you can always boat over to the Contemporary and hop on the monorail from there.
Disneyexpertwannabe
Member
Also forgot to mention . . . with young children, it's so beneficial to able to walk back to the resort and take a rest!!!!
RememberWhen
Well-Known Member
With two very small kids BLT would be great. Walking back from MK at night (or for naps) is so convenient.
correcaminos
Well-Known Member
Both of those have bad pools for little ones IMO. Bus service to MK isn't always great. Honestly BLT or WL would be my pick. I did not see your reply earlier but lake view is worth it. There are many lake views that have views on MK from the side.
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
We stayed at BLT's once but we always do 1 or 2 bedrooms which I guess because of the points always seem to have availability. So have to tell you every time we've gone in December we did not use the pool, I guess we always got a "cold" snap. lol but for us 50's-60's is definitely not swimming time.
I guess I'm in the minority, we liked the theming of the resort, lol it's "modern". as others have said the walkway to MK can't be beat. I can't remember if we had issues with getting food back to our room, so I'm going to say no we didn't. We did eat at Chefs mickey's twice which my kids loved.
tons of videos on line to check out.
I guess I'm in the minority, we liked the theming of the resort, lol it's "modern". as others have said the walkway to MK can't be beat. I can't remember if we had issues with getting food back to our room, so I'm going to say no we didn't. We did eat at Chefs mickey's twice which my kids loved.
tons of videos on line to check out.
nickys
Premium Member
I assume you mean the Contemporary restaurants?