Bay Lake Tower Owners Thread

BLT is underrated--the lowest points chart and price per point along the monorail loop, great views (even partial theme park views among the resort view and preferred view rooms), and the shortest walk to MK! I bought a BLT contract before ever staying there, but I have no regrets. I think I actually appreciate the walk to MK and views more as a parent of a toddler. On my last trip there, I was able to catch Happily Ever After from our balcony as my son slept--it was a nice way to end the day!

Yes while I agree with Derek on MOST things DVC, I disagree about BLT. It does look kind of generic on the outside but I love the rooms, especially since the refurb! We go to the the big round pool, love it, and we love Steakhouse 71 lounge and Top of The World!

Forgot about the Magic Kingdom path, also great and the monorail!

See Kelly! That's what makes DVC great there's something for everyone and BLT owners love me cause they know I won't be using MY points there ;) - I do love Steakhouse 71...and Contemp has easily the best arcade on property!

BLT is our home resort. It's not our favorite, but I don't mind staying there at all. Location, location, location. I stayed on my last trip to check out the much needed refurb and I can say I'm happy with it.

Ryan my family and I felt the same way! We rented points there before our first Saratoga resale contract was finalized and fell in love. We just added on 75 points there so that we can cap off our trips staying where we can hear people scream on Tron from our balcony! Haha. It’s absolutely magical to be that close to MK.

BLT is our first and favorite DVC resort! We love the short walk to MK and the fantastic food options at the Contemporary. We’ve since added four more small contracts at other resorts, but BLT will always have my heart 💖

BLT was our first Add On. We bought sight unseen. Must admit we were a little disappointed when we first walked in. It was a bit underwhelming. Our first resort was BWV and BLT was not that! HOWEVER, when we first entered our 2 bedroom villa with the grandkids and family that all changed. Great Space, 3 bathrooms, Great food options. and the location cannot be beat. And after the recent refurb, it just got better. BLT is the hidden Gem in DVC.

I absolutely love Bay Lake Tower. It’s my favorite place to stay at Christmas time so I can walk to MK and walk back especially after MVMCP! Anytime I can avoid waiting for transportation and just use my own two feet is a huge plus.

Bought into BLT w/o ever having stayed there and just after the refurb was announced. My wife and I took both sides of our family (so 7 in total) and stayed in a TP View GV for a week. Could not have been more happier with the room/view and could not be more happy to be owners there!

Hello everyone! Want to add a major plus for BLT is that in this season of us having lots of small kids, BLT allows us to get to (and from) two parks without having to fold our side-by-side double stroller! Walk to MK or Monorail to Epcot! My husband is a champ at handling the stroller on the busses but it would not be our first choice most of the time. While it was not the only reason we purchased BLT, it didn't hurt!

We have our first stay in BLT in a few weeks! Very excited!

BLT was our first home resort - purchased resale from DVC Resale Market! We bought without seeing it - I chose it for the walking distance to MK, which I still LOVE. I love the lake view from the balconies too, and the ability to see the MK fireworks and the view of MK. Love that you get more bathrooms and love that the maintenance costs are lower too.

I have considered selling though since it's not that hard to secure a reservation here for the view/type I want... in favor of more points at Saratoga (which I actually really love too) - @DVCDerek was trying to convince me this was a good idea! Hahaha

We’ve a week at BLT starting THIS weekend. I need me some Disney in a serious way. Cannot wait to be home again.

Have stayed in the Contemporary and eaten there various times but not even dropped in to BLT.

Hints and tips requested, please, for those little known hidey holes and other BLT secrets—the things that make BLT unlike any other DVC resort.

We’re excited to finally stay at our first home resort (BLT) in July! The refurb looks fantastic and I know we’ll love the pools, lake views, and proximity to everything. Also - Steakhouse 71 is a favorite of ours and I can’t wait to have the stack burger again!!

I bought BLT in 2011 but sadly had to sell due to a divorce. Last year we bought in at Poly but had our welcome home stay 2 months ago at BLT and last week we went under contract and are now waiting for ROFR to be done and then hopefully we will own at BLT too! It is my favorite resort because of the close proximity to MK, the fireworks in your pjs, the monorail…I just love it all! So yes Derek, feel free to never use your points there ! lol! 🫶

This blog is a little old, but a lot of it still rings true! If you haven't been to BLT before, just remember that for the Skybridge, the Contemporary side is the fourth floor, but at BLT it's on the fifth floor. If you like stopping by the community halls at all, this one was just refurbed.

I became a DVC member in early 2025. I had been watching DVC Fan on Youtube for quite a while because I was on the fence about buying. I bought BLT site unseen. We stayed 8 nights in January of this year in a 2-bedroom villa on the 11th floor with a theme park view. Absolutely fantastic. Steakhouse 71 was great. I just wish it had been warmer outside. The highs were in the 20s and 30s the first 3 days. Insane. I'm looking to add more points in the near future. The question is...should I get more points at BLT or add a second resort? If I added a second resort, which one should I pick?

I know it's totally subjective, but I think it's fun to pair BLT with an EPCOT/HS resort since BLT already makes it so easy to visit MK. With BWV and BCV being 2042 resorts, Riviera is sometimes viewed as the better option if a longer contract is your main objective (and restrictions aren't a concern for you), but I personally went with BWV because of the location. Or another way to go would be to go for a more economical resort, and in that case, CCV can be a surprisingly good option.

This was our first DVC stay and got us on path to own there. We love it has been our kids favorite. Has anyone taje. Advantage of the popup sale at BLT was hearing it’s not a huge discount till you get up in points.

Closest walk to Magic Kingdom and by far the best view of the fireworks from your room. The refurbished rooms are great. Best kitchen for a studio. Derek needs to give it another chance!

We became members at BLT w/o ever having stayed there. I was so nervous on our first trip since it was all my idea but we loved it! Walk to MK, monorail to EPCOT, fireworks views, water pageant, extra bathroom, we loved it all. For those who say it looks boring I always say, I get to look at GF and Poly from my window, but they have to look at us so I like my view better and I think BLT is beautiful, at night, all lit up!

BLT Home Sweet Home.

I purchased BLT in late 2023. We haven't stayed there yet, but taking our kids and grandkids (one almost 6 and one 1 year old), there next May for a week. It will be the first trip for the 6-year old granddaughter. Planning on a 2 Bdrm Villa and a 1 Bdrm unit.

I've already saved all our 2026 points and will borrow some from 2028. We also own at VGF, which we will use for a couple of nights at Animal Kingdom before we move to BLT.

Any and all pointers are welcome.

Fellow BLT owner here making our first post on this board. Solidly in the we love BLT camp. Coming up, we have a celebration gathering for our daughter graduating university with a weeks stay in a grand 3br with theme park view! This will be the second time staying in the grand villa. Love the views, easy walk to MK, Contemporary close by, both monorails. Even love the theming as it feels more adult like and sophisticated.

I know others out there don’t feel the same way and that’s ok. More 7 month availability for the rest of us!

Hi all! Another BLT owner here. Anyone have any details on the updates to the pool? I’m curious what the extent of the refurb on it is. Is it just a cosmetic touch up or a full refurb?

BLT is my favorite DVC resort. Our first DVC contract was BLT (bought via the DVC Resale Market!) and its got a lot going for it. Shortest walk to MK, monorail, great food and shopping at the Contemporary, etc. One thing we especially love- the pool at BLT is often criticized as being nothing special... the plus side of that is it's always pretty empty/quiet! We can have that, and easy access to the Contemporary pools and often have little to no one else there.

We also bought BLT sight unseen. @DVCDerek would be proud though - we've never stayed there. We make most big decisions with spreadsheets, and it said BLT was the best option for us. We actually are very excited to try BLT, but we found availability at BWV, VGF, RIV, BCV, and Poly, and all of those were ahead on our wish list.

This was part of why we wanted BLT! It's so close to MK, and we can still use our points at Crescent Lake resorts too. We snagged a full week at Beach Club this summer, with our BLT points.

Side note - I think BLT is going to become MUCH more popular in 2028 and beyond after Cars Land and Villians Land open. I fully believe you could buy a BLT contract now, use it for 2-3 years, and then resell it at a profit.

We were there about a month ago and from the looks of it, it appeard to be somewhat significant!

Same! We do split stays 1 week at BLT and 1 week at BWV. Walk to all parks but AK! We sometimes change it up a bit with AKV.

We bought at BLT so we could do split stays between BWV and BLT. We didn’t know much about the resort, but knew we wanted that location. Since then I’ve been pleasantly surprised with all of the places in that resort area where you can watch the MK fireworks from!

BLT was my first Disney property. I have added points in the resale market to increase our portfolio so we can do the 3 bdr grand villa park view with family and friends. It is a spectacular way to take in the firework show

Hello all,

We are new to DVC: just purchased our first contract at BLT in Feb. 2025!

I'm old enough to remember when MK opened it's doors at WDW (ahem...I was an INFANT, of course ;) and the Contemporary/BLT is all nostalgia for me. I'm giddy every time we walk to the MK.

Excited for this forum.

My wife and I bought at BLT 2 years ago now. We have only stayed there once in a 2 bedroom. I really can't understand why it gets such a bad reputation as far as DVC properties go. We very much enjoyed our stay and I would stay here any time. That walk to Magic Kingdom is unbeatable. We didn't get to stay in a refurbished room but I hope to do so in the near future.

Proud owner at BLT, we first bought in for 200pts, well over the 160 our guide recommended. During our third visit we added on another 50pts. I'm a big fan of all the monorail resorts but especially BLT!

Just one reason why BLT is so awesome!

BLT member since ‘11. Bought sight unseen and pre-kids. Stayed there only twice. First visit was when our 1st was under 2. Second visit was when we went for Christmas when kids were 2 and 5. Perfect location when they’re young. Chef Mickey’s was our farewell breakfast before our flight home. How can you not encourage your kids to load up on all the sweets for their see-you-real-soon meal? Kiddos love the monorail and it’s become a must-do even as we’ve enjoyed going to other villas. I’m all about experiencing all of the resorts, but am glad to be a BLT!

Honestly considering it. So far strictly resale contracts here (yes from our good friend Resale Derek and we do own some BLT without ever seeing it yet). We were considering adding more BLT resale points to be able to host some family, but with that added incentive are now reconsidering the leap to direct. Just not sure we would get the value of direct perks when we live clear up in Washington state. Cross country trips are big deals! Any words of wisdom from veterans at this would be welcome!

Checking in tomorrow for 2 days. Our first stay at BLT. My first stay at WDW using DVC points. This thread is getting me even more excited, can't wait!

You are going to love it! Trust me, that walk to Magic Kingdom is so great. On our last trip my family and I were at Animal Kingdom. Thunder storms rolled in so we decided to leave AK and go back to BLT. By the time we got to BLT the sun started poking out again. I saw that TRON was only a 30 min way and I said "come on kids lets get in there and ride TRON!" Within 10-15 min we walked over there and were on the line. I can't wait to stay there again.

It's so subjective whether the direct perks are worth it or not (I'm a hybrid member myself), but the price difference is still huge, even with the flash sale on BLT points.

I own resale at BLT. I do get the occasional feelings of FOMO for not owning direct, but then I see the price difference and it usually curbs the feeling. For some people who want the Sorcerer pass, the math could work in their favor, but for me it doesn’t. And I still enjoy my membership. I would say it’s different for everyone.

We bought BLT the year it opened, we already had BWV and my kids were still small so it was a no-brainer. I really like the rooms especially the extra bathroom, if I'm short on points and get a 1br it's perfect, sleeping space for all and extra bathroom. I have wanted to add on there forever but we never did, we just alternate years and use banking.

This is simply a great resort. We just finished a weeklong stay in a Resort/Standard view. Our room had both a view of the lake and fireworks. Best point chart on the monorail loop, and an easy walk to Magic Kingdom, and a Monorail ride to Epcot. Having a second bathroom in a one bedroom was fabulous. We just added on 150 points, as we wanted the ability to book there for the first week of December. These are beautiful rooms, and the resort deserves more love than it gets.

Love to hear it! What room # if you don’t mind me asking. I love having a few resort view rooms to ask for that have above average views.

Wait....can you get paid for borrowing points?!

It was room 5212. You dont see the castle, but have a perfect view of space mountain, and the big fireworks were very clear to see The lake is to the right, space mountain to the left. Straight ahead were tennis courts. We were on the second floor, the 4th floor would have been even better and still standard

BLT was our first DVC resort. We purchased resale in 2013. Less then a month later, VGF went on sale and we got in there as well. We actually closed at VGF before BLT closed, so not sure what to say was our first resort, I'm going with BLT. We love the rooms, even the smaller studios are great. I do wish they'd make a more impressive pool area though. Recently we have been using BLT as our sleep around points because we got in before restrictions. I will always remember staying at the BLT in October of 2016 in a 2 bedroom on the first floor. We went to the top of world lounge to watch the Cubs win game 6 and then game 7 we watched most of it from our room, running outside to celebrate because rest of my family was sleeping.

Bay Lake Tower owner here! Bought our resale contract last summer. Still haven't used it, but have a 2 bedroom Resort view booked for January 14-19 2027. Can't wait!

Once upon a time, we started going to Disney and gradually fell in love with it. We always stayed offsite in a spacious 3 bdrm unit with full kitchen and laundry and thought it was amazing. I saw the masses waiting for the Disney buses and thought to myself, why would anyone want to stay in a tiny hotel room and have to wait in those lines to get back.

The ferry to MK was a novelty at first, but gradually grew tiresome.

One day, I discovered you could walk to MK! Whoa!! Then I looked at the prices for the Contemporary. Double whoa!! Then I found out about DVC. What a game changer. Within 2 months, I had purchased 3 BLT contracts, without ever having seen BLT, or even having stayed anywhere on Disney property for that matter. Since then, we have never looked back. Love BLT, especially the 2 bathrooms in the 1 bdrm villa.