Reviews of Bay Lake Tower (Disney Vacation Club)
Reviewed by mg0914 Review Date: 01/11/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
Bay Lake is our home resort. Dec 27 - Jan 2 was our fifth time staying here. We absolutely love this resort. Compared with many resorts BLT is relatively small. The walk to the Contemporary or to the pool or anywhere else is under 5 minutes.
The Contempo Cafe has a good selection any time of the day. If you go you must try their cupcakes! We ate there a few times - once for a quick breakfast, once for lunch and once late at night (around 10:00). It's big enough to accommodate larger crowds when it gets busy. You're supposed to order and pay at the register and someone will bring your food to your table. But if you're on the meal plan you should select your drink and desert first and bring them with you to the register when you order your entree. We witnessed many people confused by this process.
We also ate at The Wave once which was excellent and hopefully I will get around to posting a separate review for The Wave.
The resort cast members were all so friendly and helpful. Check in was smooth and our room was ready well before 4:00 but because we had transferred from another resort (Polynesian) our luggage did not arrive until 3:30. So we had a room but no luggage! No problem really.
Every review mentions the easy access to MK and it is as simple and convenient as everyone says. One morning we even had our own entrance line as we arrived at MK. There was a security guard checking bags at the end of the walkway and once we cleared that we bypassed the metal detectors and walked directly to the entrance. That was convenient! It is worth noting that security was very heavy during our trip. Disney security, Homeland Security and local police officers made their presence known before you even reached the gates at all four parks. We visited Epcot multiple times and every guest that entered went through the metal detectors. In addition, every member of my family was randomly selected to go through the metal detectors several times. I have absolutely no problem with this! And in fact I applaud Disney's efforts.
Our room was clean, the bed was extremely comfortable and everything worked well. We had an incredible view of MK from the 11th floor. I love sitting on the balcony and watching the monorails go back and forth or just listening to the sounds from MK.
I mentioned earlier that we had transferred from Polynesian. The two resorts are very different of course. The Polynesian is serene and peaceful (well, the Great Ceremonial House is usually busy and loud) while Bay Lake is not nearly as quiet. But it's okay with us - we will always love BLT!
Pros:
Location, comfort, viewsCons:
noneReviewed by GoldenOakDreaming Review Date: 04/19/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
This is our Home Resort. The rooms are clean, service is great, if there is a problem the desk sends someone ASAP. Walk to the MK, buses are out your front door, and Epcot is just a Monorail hop away. The Top Of The World Lounge is an awesome spot for cocktails and fireworks. This is a fantastic place to vacation.
Pros:
Transportation so closeCons:
Check in at The ContemporaryReviewed by lizzie1974 Review Date: 02/24/2016
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed in a studio on the 14th floor. We had a lake view but also ended up with a view of Space Mountain and the Castle.
It's a quick walk to MK.
The buses were fairly frequent. Wish they offered a bus to Epcot but you must take the monorail. It's not the most convenient sometimes, since you have to transfer at the T&TC.
Although we loved the view from the room we received, it was very far from the Contemporary. The walk to the Contempo Cafe for drinks was silly long.
The room is pretty cool, design-wise. It is small. We did a split stay at BCV and that room was enormous by comparison.
Pros:
location to Magic Kingdom, viewsCons:
large resort, lots of walking, must take monorail to EpcotReviewed by BDev Review Date: 09/15/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
BLT is our home resort and we love it. We were there over the 4th of July and had a Magic Kingdom view. I think just that night made the price worth it. Fireworks were amazing.
Resort is kept spotless and the service is great. We had stayed a couple days prior at Caribbean Beach and the difference was night and day.
Pros:
Location/ServiceCons:
NoneReviewed by Sparrow Review Date: 08/29/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
9 of us spend 3 nights in August 2015 in a villa at BLT. We were in an end unit and could see both the Magic Kingdom fireworks and a lovely view of Bay Lake.
The room was beautiful and everyone was very comfortable as we had plenty of room. The staff was great, the resort was very clean.
The BLT pool is really nice and we used it daily to take a break from the heat.
Would recommend BLT without hesitation.
Pros:
Convenience to parks and cleanlinessCons:
noneReviewed by purpleriz Review Date: 08/06/2015
Rating: (9) Recommended
We went for a short getaway 7/29-7/31 and stayed in a studio lake view on DVC points. Room was quiet and clean, short walk to elevator and then Contemporary main shopping area. Easy access to monorail, average wait time for bus to DHS. Enjoyed getting to see the fireworks from the Top of the World Lounge. Would definitely recommend and will most definitely return again!
Pros:
Great transportation access, quiet room, fireworks viewCons:
None!Reviewed by jclander Review Date: 05/18/2015
Rating: (9) Recommended
My family stayed in a 3-bedroom Grand Villa at Bay Lake Tower (suite 8422) for 9 nights, May 8-17, 2015. The space is spectacular: it's on the 14th floor, with a two-story living room. The view is of the Magic Kingdom. While it's across parking lots, the space is high enough that it doesn't matter. The living room and two of the three bedrooms have great view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks. The space is well appointed, with full kitchen and dishes for 12 people. The Magic Kingdom is a short walk, and other resorts accessible by monorail or bus from the Contemporary. Cast Members were uniformly helpful, and the space was serviced daily (we were on a hotel, not a DVC, basis). Service was done early enough the suite was clean for an early-afternoon break. It was a level of luxury that we do not generally have, and was seductive. I had two small quibbles. Surprisingly for a resort marketed to children, they do not have one-step stools available. (The child in the party is 5, and she uses a small stool to reach the bathroom sink. She's tall enough that she managed without, but it would have been helpful.) And driving away from the Magic Kingdom area is slightly tedious, but do-able.
Pros:
The space, the view, the locationCons:
Long drive to get off property.Reviewed by wattage Review Date: 04/30/2015
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed two nights at BLT starting on 4/19/2015. We transferred from PO-Riverside on the morning of 4/19. We arrived around 12:30pm and checked in – our room was not ready. However, an hour later, as we are walking into the Magic Kingdom, I received the text stating that our room was ready.
Our room was a deluxe studio on the 14th floor of BLT. Officially, our room was a “standard view†room, but we had very good views of the MK while standing on the balcony. We watched the Wishes fireworks show both nights we were there.
When we stayed at BLT in February, we hated our room and the bed – it was hard as a brick. This time the room was very nice and the bed was much more comfortable. I liked the fact the Disney had added a sink to the bathroom and fixed the gap on bathroom door between the door and the frame when it was closed. There used to be a huge gap that allowed everyone to see into the bathroom.
We would stay again based on this most recent stay.
Pros:
Location, Room viewsCons:
No food optionsReviewed by alfy Review Date: 11/30/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
We booked a studio in BLT for a long weekend when nothing else was available at the Contemporary. We found the room rather small, OK for two people but any more and they'll be tripping over one another. Reminded us of a cruise ship cabin. A queen bed was wedged in tightly next to a sleeper sofa, but we can't imagine more than a couple in the studio. The bathroom arrangement is just weird with the basin and mirror in the kitchen alcove and the toilet and tub in a separate alcove. Kinda like shaving in the kitchen. We had a parking lot view room but we could see the MK and fireworks from our balcony, even on a lower floor. No complaints about the cleanliness. Parking lot was never full. Bit of a hike to the Contemporary for amenities but we expected that.
Pros:
Clean, modernCons:
SmallReviewed by Eean Review Date: 10/17/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We recently joined the DVC, and we stayed for the first time in Bay Lake Tower in August 2014. We are a family of five, with three school aged children, so we stayed in a one bedroom room with a lake view. After several trips of staying in a cramped one room hotel room on property, we felt that our stay at bay lake tower was absolutely wonderful! The full-size kitchen and the laundry room made it worth the extra cost. The master bathroom was beautiful too. The resort itself has a very calming atmosphere, which is very important when you're staying at Disney World. we absolutely loved going up to the lounge on the 16th floor, and then viewing the fireworks from there afterwards. It certainly beats having to watch the fireworks amongst all the crowds at the Magic Kingdom. It will be hard for us to stay anywhere else next time especially since it is only a 10 minute walk to the Magic Kingdom. My kids say that they loved staying here, and I would recommend this resort to anyone!
