Tell me about Bay Lake Tower

[Imamom2]

We just booked November 2021 in BLT. We have stayed in the Epcot resorts our past 4 visits and love BW and BC but both were not available for our dates (we rent DVC points). We were offered BLT and booked it because it seems November 2021 is booking quickly. DH and I have eaten at the Wave and California Grill so I know the dining options are very good. Is there a walking path? How is the pool area? We love Epcot - how long does it take to get to Epcot on the monorail? Thanks so much!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There is a walking path to Magic Kingdom. If you really like walking, you can walk Magic Kingdom > GF > Poly now.

The pool is fine. Kinda boring. Prone to shade.

Getting to Epcot is sort of a pain, IMO. You have to take the resort line to the TTC, disembark, change platforms, then wait for the Epcot monorail. It is not a direct link from Contemporary. You might consider using taxi/rideshare/teleportation instead.

 

[Tom_E_D]

We just booked November 2021 in BLT. We have stayed in the Epcot resorts our past 4 visits and love BW and BC but both were not available for our dates (we rent DVC points). We were offered BLT and booked it because it seems November 2021 is booking quickly. DH and I have eaten at the Wave and California Grill so I know the dining options are very good. Is there a walking path? How is the pool area? We love Epcot - how long does it take to get to Epcot on the monorail? Thanks so much!

The monorail to Epcot is not currently running. Maybe by November it will be.

 

[Afabena]

I was at BLT last Nov and loved it. We went to all 4 parks but we spent more time at MK so being able to walk was awesome. My kids had no issue with the pool, they were happy with the slide and the splash fountains. They were only 6 so they are not hard to please. I actually loved how compact BLT is. It is very close to the CR for dining and shopping, and it is all covered so you won’t get wet if it’s raining. There is a security tent on the walkway before you get to the entrance of MK so you won’t have to go through the main security checkpoint. If the EWP is back they have that every night on the lake and you can watch MK fireworks outside on the bridge that connects BLT and CR.

 

[holden]

We love BLT. It's our home resort for DVC.

The walk to MK is awesome especially at night after the fireworks. No waiting for a monorail/bus/boat.

It's also great to walk to the Contemporary for food/shops/drinks. Very close and several options.

The monorail ride to EP doesn't bother us. It's part of the adventure. If you want to arrive at EP by 9am (for example), I'd leave the room at 8am. It won't take an hour, but you'll be surprised at how long it will take. Time will go by fast though. Monorail rides are fun!

The pool is fine. Nothing super exciting, but not bad. I like that we can walk to the Contemporary to get food from Contempo Cafe to eat at the pool. The pool has a bar with food, but there are more options at CC. You can also use the Contemporary pool.

 

[What-r-ya Goofy?]

The resort monorail from the Contemporary is very convenient if you want to pop over to the Poly or GF for a meal. The cast members at BLT are the best, so friendly. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Imamom2]

We love BLT. It's our home resort for DVC.

The walk to MK is awesome especially at night after the fireworks. No waiting for a monorail/bus/boat.

It's also great to walk to the Contemporary for food/shops/drinks. Very close and several options.

The monorail ride to EP doesn't bother us. It's part of the adventure. If you want to arrive at EP by 9am (for example), I'd leave the room at 8am. It won't take an hour, but you'll be surprised at how long it will take. Time will go by fast though. Monorail rides are fun!

The pool is fine. Nothing super exciting, but not bad. I like that we can walk to the Contemporary to get food from Contempo Cafe to eat at the pool. The pool has a bar with food, but there are more options at CC. You can also use the Contemporary pool.

Thanks - where is the refillable mug station in BLT?

 

[philharmagic fan]

Thanks - where is the refillable mug station in BLT?

You have to walk to Contempo Cafe in the Contemporary. Takes less than 5 minutes; take BLT elevator to 5th floor, walk over the skybridge, past the gift shops, and you're there.

 

[Ronaldo17]

BLT has no dining or shopping facilities, you have to go to CR.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Hopefully, you are just two adults or two adults with two or fewer small children if you are staying in a studio because they are so small. Hopefully, you have a one bedroom villa booked instead of the tiny studio. The studio works well for two adults.

 

[nw6675]

We really liked BLT. Super easy to walk over to CR for the monorail, meals and shopping. The pool was simple, but my daughter loved it. We never walked to MK because the monorail was so fast, but stayed at BLT for that option. Our 1 BR was great and we loved the 4th floor center building location. I am weird and love to do laundry on vCation so appreciated having a washer and dryer

 

[Blondie58]

We just booked November 2021 in BLT. We have stayed in the Epcot resorts our past 4 visits and love BW and BC but both were not available for our dates (we rent DVC points). We were offered BLT and booked it because it seems November 2021 is booking quickly. DH and I have eaten at the Wave and California Grill so I know the dining options are very good. Is there a walking path? How is the pool area? We love Epcot - how long does it take to get to Epcot on the monorail? Thanks so much!

There is a walking path to the Magic Kingdom from Bay Lake. At the most it is about 10 minutes. Within the last two weeks the new path from the Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian has also opened. The Grand Floridian also has several great places to dine if you are staying at Bay Lake. Narcoossee's is wonderful for an upscale dinner as is Citricos. The Grand Floridian Cafe is so nice and Gasparilla's is great for quick service. The Enchanted is also open if you want a nice place to spend a quiet evening for cocktails. The Polynesian is a five minute walk from the Grand Floridian and also has some nice places to eat although some are closed due to renovations. From the Poly you can take a ten minute walk to the transportation center and catch a monorail to EPCOT when it opens. If you are not walkers all of this can be done by taking the resort monorail to the transportation center. We like the pool area at the Bay Lake. There is not a lot of theming though if you have children. When the monorail to EPCOT opens it is less than a half hour to get to EPCOT depending on lines. Just catch the resort monorail at the Contemporary, switch monorails at the transportation center (first stop) and then go on to EPCOT. The return trip takes a bit longer as the resort monorail has to stop at the Poly, The Grand and the Magic Kingdom before returning to the BayLake/Contemporary stop.

 

[Imamom2]

We really liked BLT. Super easy to walk over to CR for the monorail, meals and shopping. The pool was simple, but my daughter loved it. We never walked to MK because the monorail was so fast, but stayed at BLT for that option. Our 1 BR was great and we loved the 4th floor center building location. I am weird and love to do laundry on vCation so appreciated having a washer and dryer

Is there a reason to request specific floor? We have a lake view but I don’t know about floor requests.

 

[Imamom2]

There is a walking path to the Magic Kingdom from Bay Lake. At the most it is about 10 minutes. Within the last two weeks the new path from the Magic Kingdom to the Grand Floridian has also opened. The Grand Floridian also has several great places to dine if you are staying at Bay Lake. Narcoossee's is wonderful for an upscale dinner as is Citricos. The Grand Floridian Cafe is so nice and Gasparilla's is great for quick service. The Enchanted is also open if you want a nice place to spend a quiet evening for cocktails. The Polynesian is a five minute walk from the Grand Floridian and also has some nice places to eat although some are closed due to renovations. From the Poly you can take a ten minute walk to the transportation center and catch a monorail to EPCOT when it opens. If you are not walkers all of this can be done by taking the resort monorail to the transportation center. We like the pool area at the Bay Lake. There is not a lot of theming though if you have children. When the monorail to EPCOT opens it is less than a half hour to get to EPCOT depending on lines. Just catch the resort monorail at the Contemporary, switch monorails at the transportation center (first stop) and then go on to EPCOT. The return trip takes a bit longer as the resort monorail has to stop at the Poly, The Grand and the Magic Kingdom before returning to the BayLake/Contemporary stop.

Thank you! We loved the GF Cafe and I know my DH wants to try dining at Poly. He has played Golf at GF and I’m sure he will again. We are walkers and I guess that’s my biggest question. The Epcot resorts are great for walkers and we often walked to HS. I’m fine with the monorail and we use Lyft instead of renting a car now. I love the casual resort feel of BCV and BWV but this sounds like it will be a great change for us. It’s just us now so I don’t need the amenities for kids but I do love theming

 

[nw6675]

Is there a reason to request specific floor? We have a lake view but I don’t know about floor requests.

I'm sure everyone has their own reasons, but we liked being in the center. Our Lakeview was obscured some by the pool, but that didn't bother us. 5th floor would be great since that is where the sky bridge to CR is located and can eliminate elevator trips.

 

[brockash]

BLT has no dining or shopping facilities, you have to go to CR.

Really blt and cr are much closer than many othe regular moderate or deluxe hotels so it's not far.