Contemporary - Garden Wing Room vs Bay Lake Tower?

[wdwstateofmind]

Ignore it all since the Contemporary is small in comparison to most Disney resorts so a walk from BLT to the main building is literally walking across the street in a skyway...plus, how many people on property are a 5 minute walk away from MK entrance? Not too many! WHichever you pick, GL!

 

[Jessica Meier]

If you do decide to go with the garden wing, you may want to consider putting in a room request or two. When we stayed, my #1 request was a ground floor room so that I could have a patio. #2 was a water view, but they didn't have any open on the ground, so they opted to honor my first choice request. A number of people put in requests for a room closer to the tower b/c of all those reviews saying it's a long walk, but again...really don't think it's all that bad.

How do you go about putting in the requests? Can you do it online or do you have to call?

 

[Jessica Meier]

Hi everyone,
We are visiting Disney for the first time in September. Our children will be age 2 and age 5 when we go. We booked a Garden Wing Deluxe Room at the Contemporary but I am now looking at some online reviews that state that it's not the most convenient location and far from the main building. Am I better to switch to Bay Lake Tower (it's about $500 more which I'm ok with) or is the Garden Wing not as bad as I'm reading?

Thanks so much!!

We will be staying there as well in September (15th-19th) and are staying in a Garden Wing Deluxe Room too. I want to try to request a beach ground floor room. Wishing you luck!

 

[MackZ]

We stayed at the BLT one bdrm with our 2 yr old and 3 yr old and it was perfect! Having two bathrooms, a place to put them to sleep separately, and a balcony for my husband and I to hang out in after they were sleeping was priceless. Not to mention being able to walk to the MK and bypass the crowds after Wishes was awesome. We also had groceries delivered from Garden Grocer so we were able to make meals in our room in the FULL kitchen!

 

[MackZ]

Oh and washer and dryer, my kids are messy so we used it a lot!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

How do you go about putting in the requests? Can you do it online or do you have to call?

You have to call, but it's worth it if they can honor that request.

 

[dvcnut]

You can definitely book BLT through WDW...you do not need to rent points from a DVC owner.

I have never stayed in the Garden Wing, but I can vouch for BLT being incredible! We prefer the Lake view over the Park view as it is not only cheaper but is more scenic imo. The kitchenette in the studio is a nice bonus, but the 1 bedroom includes a seperate living room/kitchen, washer/ dryer, and a 2nd bathroom. BLT also has private access to guests only and has a separate pool area (you can still use the Contemporary's as well). Studios are roughly 359 sq. ft.

http://allears.net/acc/faq_baylaketower.htm

 

[bethymouse]

Welcome from a fellow "bethy".
I believe you just can't go wrong either way. I have always wanted to stay @ both resorts. I guess I'd go w/ the cheaper and do a garden wing.

 

[dvcnut]

Welcome from a fellow "bethy".

I'm a "bethy" too

 

[007mickey]

We've stayed in the garden wing and loved it. We have two boys and the access to the pool and main tower were great (we had a ground floor unit). The size of the room was really nice for us. We have not stayed at BLT (would like to) but noticed the studio room pictures definitely make it look smaller due to the kitchenette. We eat out so the extra space outweighs the need for food prep. Now if you are talking a one bedroom at BLT...that looks awesome. Either way, you can't beat that morning walk to the Magic Kingdom and that monorail ride "home" in the evening. Have fun!

 

[DDPGambit]

We just stayed in the Garden Wing last week and it was great! There is a short walk to the main building, but it's covered, and didn't take long at all, just a minute or 2. BLT is slightly further away from the A-frame, but not by much. The GW is also nice because it was very recently renovated...you can still smell the new carpeting in the building!

 

[disney206313]

We have stayed at both. We definitely prefer BLT. It is a lot closer to the bus stops, and a shorter walk to MK. Also the view from BLT is outstanding, mainly towards MK, but also out towards bay lake. You can't go wrong with the garden wing, but between the room size/quality, view, and walking distance we prefer the BLT.

 

[Epicpilot]

BLT has a quicker walk time to MK is nicer because it is still brand new, though is it worth the extra cost is up to you. I would personally pick BLT because the skyway is a short walk and BLT is much nicer than the garden wing.

 

[puntagordabob]

Concerning the walk... the BLT is built on top of the location of the northern Garden Wing...which puts the BLT essentially at roughly the same distance to the Contemporary Tower as the south Garden Wing in most cases (of course some rooms in the Garden Wing are closer and some along the eastern shore of Bay Lake are likely further) ..... if distance is important to you then please take into account that all BLT has a nice bridge over from the BLT tower directly to the Grand Canyon Concourse.

In conclusion, the distances are not really a concern..... take more weight upon which room type your family would be better served with along with $costs$ and youll be happy.

For the record, our family prefers the BLT.... but in the end it is all about what You and Your family likes... Either way you will have fun at The Contemporary Resort as not only is the resort awesome but also so are the Cast Members who work there!