Purchase BWV or BLT

We are in the process of buying points at both an EPCOT and monorail resort. We have a contract in ROFR for 100 points at BWV and plan to get a small contract at Poly or BLT as we are open to split stays if we can walk to 3 parks. We are leaning toward Poly right now because I love the common areas of that resort and it seems like we'd be able to use studios longer than at BLT since they are so small and only have 1 bath.

We stayed in BLT studios in December with our family of 4 and it was tight, but no more so than a standard hotel room and BLT has the benefit of a fairly large kitchen - and we had the sofa pulled out AND a pack in play out. The storage and functionality of the kitchen space in BLT studios is really impressive, especially compared to the WL and AKL experience we'd previously had. The downside is size and there's no sink in the bathroom - it's already a struggle for our 4 year old to remember to wash his hands after using the potty, having the sink in a different room didn't help with this issue. The obvious positive is being able to walk to and from MK - it's priceless in my opinion because I really hate Disney transportation.

We fluctuate between Poly and BLT for our monorail resort because we could more easily fit in a poly studio for longer, which would save us some points. We also think we will be able to book a BLT 1 BR easier at 7 months once we outgrow studios all together than we could book a Poly studio for the next few years while we still fit in them. Though I secretly look forward to being able to justify a 1 BR so I can get a washer/dryer and full size refrigerator!

We've never stayed at BWV, but the pull down bed is something we've experienced at POR and my 4 year old LOVED it. It's a huge perk for our family, especially since our kids don't have to share a bed. But it would be great even for families of 3 to not have to use the pull out sofa.

Some people really hate on BLT for its lack of theming and high rise feel. I agree that it's not as immersive as any of the other resorts we've used, but I'm more than ok with that due to its location. And I like the high rise aspect - it results in a much shorter walk to your room (or at least for us it did - we walked FOREVER to get to our AKL and WL rooms from the elevator and 5 doors for BLT). It's also the only place we've utilized the community room and it was a wonderful place for our kids to play and participate in art activities. We had a lake view room and saw the electric water parade each night (which could also be a downside because it was a bit loud and my kids were already in bed most nights), but my husband and I really enjoyed it from our balcony.
 
We stayed in BLT studios in December with our family of 4 and it was tight, but no more so than a standard hotel room and BLT has the benefit of a fairly large kitchen - and we had the sofa pulled out AND a pack in play out. The storage and functionality of the kitchen space in BLT studios is really impressive, especially compared to the WL and AKL experience we'd previously had. The downside is size and there's no sink in the bathroom - it's already a struggle for our 4 year old to remember to wash his hands after using the potty, having the sink in a different room didn't help with this issue. The obvious positive is being able to walk to and from MK - it's priceless in my opinion because I really hate Disney transportation.
being able to justify a 1 BR so I can get a washer/dryer and full size refrigerator!

It sounds like you got one of the very few BLT studios that wasn’t renovated. Most have a sink in the bathroom now![/QUOTE]
 
We are in the process of buying points at both an EPCOT and monorail resort. We have a contract in ROFR for 100 points at BWV and plan to get a small contract at Poly or BLT as we are open to split stays if we can walk to 3 parks. We are leaning toward Poly right now because I love the common areas of that resort and it seems like we'd be able to use studios longer than at BLT since they are so small and only have 1 bath.

We stayed in BLT studios in December with our family of 4 and it was tight, but no more so than a standard hotel room and BLT has the benefit of a fairly large kitchen - and we had the sofa pulled out AND a pack in play out. The storage and functionality of the kitchen space in BLT studios is really impressive, especially compared to the WL and AKL experience we'd previously had. The downside is size and there's no sink in the bathroom - it's already a struggle for our 4 year old to remember to wash his hands after using the potty, having the sink in a different room didn't help with this issue. The obvious positive is being able to walk to and from MK - it's priceless in my opinion because I really hate Disney transportation.

We fluctuate between Poly and BLT for our monorail resort because we could more easily fit in a poly studio for longer, which would save us some points. We also think we will be able to book a BLT 1 BR easier at 7 months once we outgrow studios all together than we could book a Poly studio for the next few years while we still fit in them. Though I secretly look forward to being able to justify a 1 BR so I can get a washer/dryer and full size refrigerator!

We've never stayed at BWV, but the pull down bed is something we've experienced at POR and my 4 year old LOVED it. It's a huge perk for our family, especially since our kids don't have to share a bed. But it would be great even for families of 3 to not have to use the pull out sofa.

Some people really hate on BLT for its lack of theming and high rise feel. I agree that it's not as immersive as any of the other resorts we've used, but I'm more than ok with that due to its location. And I like the high rise aspect - it results in a much shorter walk to your room (or at least for us it did - we walked FOREVER to get to our AKL and WL rooms from the elevator and 5 doors for BLT). It's also the only place we've utilized the community room and it was a wonderful place for our kids to play and participate in art activities. We had a lake view room and saw the electric water parade each night (which could also be a downside because it was a bit loud and my kids were already in bed most nights), but my husband and I really enjoyed it from our balcony.

Thank you for the informative reply, I appreciate all your info!
 
It sounds like you got one of the very few BLT studios that wasn’t renovated. Most have a sink in the bathroom now!
[/QUOTE]
Wow - I had no idea and wish we’d had one of those rooms. If they’d make the refrigerator a little bigger and add washer/dryer to studios I’d never go bigger (I know, never going to happen)!
 


Wow - I had no idea and wish we’d had one of those rooms. If they’d make the refrigerator a little bigger and add washer/dryer to studios I’d never go bigger (I know, never going to happen)!
If they added the washer and dryer and included a bigger refrigerator, they'd have to take out the bed.
 
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Buy a 1/2 the points you want at BLT and 1/2 at boardwalk. Alternate stays between these two and get 11 month booking advantage at both! (We own at BLT and BCV — like 2 diff vacations)
 
when I was growing up my family of 5 always shared 1 small hotel room, so a studio with only 4 people is a luxury to me :)

ME TOO! My husband, on the other hand, grew up with parents that got two hotel rooms for 4 people LOL I'm the point miser and he gets salty when I don't book 1 bedrooms (We have ONE kid!!)
 
One thing to consider is how long you will own your contract and the fact your kids will grow really quickly and the MK may not be their favorite park anymore. My son is older and he loves BW because he is a sports nut and thinks ESPN is the bees knees . He loves strolling around Epcot at night. He has a 4 year old that enjoys MK but really is happy to go down the clown slide at BW over and over and play in the community hall. If you ever go with a big group , you have a central location to get just about anywhere. The food and wine festival and the Swann and dolphin classic being a short walk away is a wonderful vacation option. I love the MK but for location its BW for us.
 
We own at BWV and love it. But we travel with our older children and do F&W and F&G festivals.
With the age of your child, you will most likely spend more time at MK, BLT is probably a better choice.
Otherwise, I would consider Beach club. They have the best pool and our kids loved paying in it when they were young.
 
I own both,, the main reason being that I can walk to parks for each of the resorts.

I would go with BLT though as you have a young family and BLT has the longer contract and is next to MK were you will probably spend more time to begin with.

Price wise BLT resale is about $130-$135 while BWV is $10-20 cheaper. Also BLT MF are cheaper than BWV.

I agree with this... .we purchased BLT in 2009 and love being close to MK. I only paid $107 per point so I feel like it's actually retained it's value fairly well. I like knowing I can give this to my son and there's still plenty of years left on the contract for his family to enjoy as well. Also, don't forget... just because your home resort is BLT or BWV doesn't mean you can't stay at other resorts. My son and I have been 20+ times and have only stayed at BLT maybe 4 times but I love knowing I have the option of booking there at 11 months out. Good luck! :)
 
We own at BWV and love it. But we travel with our older children and do F&W and F&G festivals.
With the age of your child, you will most likely spend more time at MK, BLT is probably a better choice.
Otherwise, I would consider Beach club. They have the best pool and our kids loved paying in it when they were young.

I read a few weeks ago Beach Club direct is selling for $225 a point! :scared1: With that said it's one of my favorites; we've used most of our BLT points at BCV. :beach:
 
I appreciate all the input. I think we are leaning towards BLT mainly due to the longer contract. We plan on getting enough points for a 1 bedroom for a week, hoping if we want to do BWV or elsewhere the 1 BR will still be available at 7 month window.
 
I would say BLT but that is my home so I am partial. I love the close proximity to MK, ability to take the monorail to MK or Epcot and the other monorail resorts. The studios are small but myself, husband, and two kids fit just fine. We don't really sit around in the hotel room at Walt Disney World. Yes BLT is more expensive per point but the contract is much longer and the maintenance fees are less. My advice would be to rent points and stay at both before you dive in. That way you could judge for yourself. We stayed at a few DVC resorts before deciding on BLT.
 

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