*** Bay Lake Tower Owners Group***

[rescuetink]

I'm joining this group, as our offer on 200 BLT resale points was accepted!!! Hopefully the rest of the process goes well!

We have stayed at BLT once and I loved it. Looking forward to more stays there in the near future!

CONGRATS!!

 

[MrsBlovesDisney]

I put this on another thread but since we're all BLT junkies here lol I thought I'd share....

I saw "resort scented candles" somewhere on a chat and decided to bite the bullet and order one. I actually ordered it prior to Valentine's Day hoping to surprise hubby (ok....so it really was for me but that was my excuse to buy it teehee)! Well it took a while to arrive (thinking they are made to order??) and it finally came this past Friday (way beyond Vday...oops)! I lit it up and was pleasantly surprised to find it does INDEED smell like the lobby! When hubby came home he said the same thing!

I ordered it from Columbia Fragrance. Does anyone else have this candle and love it too? If I'm honest I have to say when the BLT first opened up (or started using that scent) I didn't care for it. But after staying there 2X a year I guess it grew on me lol??? Now it brings us back to our "second home"!

41 days and counting..........can't wait to smell the real thing!!!

 

[DenLo]

Do they still have the valet parking in the small lot in front of BLT? I thought it was a waste of good parking space.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Do they still have the valet parking in the small lot in front of BLT? I thought it was a waste of good parking space.

They did when we were there in Aug. We hope that disappears as well.

 

[genmasjoy]

HI, we are going to BLT in September; a one bedroom lake view

 

[mikeymouse1223]

We are going to BLT in September as well! 1 Bd standard view. Any ideas on what I should request for room location?

 

[rescuetink]

I

I put this on another thread but since we're all BLT junkies here lol I thought I'd share....

I saw "resort scented candles" somewhere on a chat and decided to bite the bullet and order one. I actually ordered it prior to Valentine's Day hoping to surprise hubby (ok....so it really was for me but that was my excuse to buy it teehee)! Well it took a while to arrive (thinking they are made to order??) and it finally came this past Friday (way beyond Vday...oops)! I lit it up and was pleasantly surprised to find it does INDEED smell like the lobby! When hubby came home he said the same thing!

I ordered it from Columbia Fragrance. Does anyone else have this candle and love it too? If I'm honest I have to say when the BLT first opened up (or started using that scent) I didn't care for it. But after staying there 2X a year I guess it grew on me lol??? Now it brings us back to our "second home"!

41 days and counting..........can't wait to smell the real thing!!!

I looked and didn't see it there!! Which one did you get??

 

[charminnie]

Hello Everyone! We are proud owners of Bay lake. We are returning in February and I am torn whether to stay at BLT again or try Grand Floridian or Poly. Has anyone stayed at either one of these? Did you enjoy them or wished you would have stayed at BLT?

 

[kboo]

We are in contract and waiting for the sellers to sign and then to go through ROFR. Literally all done today in a matter of hours! Hope we will be owners by May!

 

[bumbershoot]

I lit it up and was pleasantly surprised to find it does INDEED smell like the lobby!

Pleasantly surprised?

Ugh. That smell does not work for me at all.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Pleasantly surprised?

Ugh. That smell does not work for me at all.

Me either. Too long and I think I'd get a headache. I really like BLT but not the scent in the lobby. I think people say it's the same as used at GF? It seems very different to me though.

 

[Kim Gillihan]

I am thinking of splitting my 300 points I want to buy between bay lake and AKV. I just had a 300 point contract taken by disney that was all for akv, really frustrated to have to start over! I have always liked the idea of bay lake but decided on AKV because I could get lots points for great price and I know I will love AKV as well! but, I do see the value in being so close to MK and monorail etc..... so now that I am shopping again, someone gave me this idea and I am considering.

I am wondering why you all thought it was worth it to buy at bay lake, especially those who are buying recently as the prices are over 100? It takes more points to stay there, it cost more points to buy there .... so I am interested in everyone's thought process or is it just emotional? Kinda like me and AKV.. I just would rather own there than SSR...

Thanks in advance!! KIM

 

[Spork24]

I am thinking of splitting my 300 points I want to buy between bay lake and AKV. I just had a 300 point contract taken by disney that was all for akv, really frustrated to have to start over! I have always liked the idea of bay lake but decided on AKV because I could get lots points for great price and I know I will love AKV as well! but, I do see the value in being so close to MK and monorail etc..... so now that I am shopping again, someone gave me this idea and I am considering.

I am wondering why you all thought it was worth it to buy at bay lake, especially those who are buying recently as the prices are over 100? It takes more points to stay there, it cost more points to buy there .... so I am interested in everyone's thought process or is it just emotional? Kinda like me and AKV.. I just would rather own there than SSR...

Thanks in advance!! KIM

I bought resale BLT in 2013 at $100 pp
We bought 400 points across 2 contracts. We bought there for a few reasons. First and foremost Location location location, a 5 min walk to MK can't be beat. You completely control your arrival and departure to MK without having to rely on any transportation. I personally really like the futuristic theming of the rooms. I think the overall offerings at the contemporary are fantastic, multiple good sit down options, top of the world lounge for fireworks, marina, etc.

Another thing to consider is the annual dues cost. Last time I priced it AKL was over $1pp more for annual dues. To me that removes the advantage to the cheaper purchase price. I have considered adding some points at other resorts, AKV, VGF, BWV, but we would pretty much always pick BLT if it was available, so that's why we haven't added anywhere else.

I'll be glad to answer any more specific questions about why we love BLT if you have them

 

[Nie0214]

I am thinking of splitting my 300 points I want to buy between bay lake and AKV. I just had a 300 point contract taken by disney that was all for akv, really frustrated to have to start over! I have always liked the idea of bay lake but decided on AKV because I could get lots points for great price and I know I will love AKV as well! but, I do see the value in being so close to MK and monorail etc..... so now that I am shopping again, someone gave me this idea and I am considering.

I am wondering why you all thought it was worth it to buy at bay lake, especially those who are buying recently as the prices are over 100? It takes more points to stay there, it cost more points to buy there .... so I am interested in everyone's thought process or is it just emotional? Kinda like me and AKV.. I just would rather own there than SSR...

Thanks in advance!! KIM

We passed ROFR and are waiting on closing on BLT. We've stayed at Kidani twice and liked it but after the second time, the novelty wore off a little and the distance seemed long when MK is where we spend a lot of time. We have a 2.5 year old and walking to BLT for midday breaks? And monorail to Epcot? Yes, please! I also love the modern decor and fireworks viewing.

That said, we are definitely going to stay at Ak again at some point (likely for no-park trips) and it is very available at the 7month mark (when compared to BLT anyway), so we didn't feel like we needed home advantage.

You might want to check out my calculator, too, because the dues at AK adds up fast: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nJzcHrrB7HzZ1kjXFLWvcFcnHZ50PIxkEFvvX8ttRVY/edit?usp=sharing

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

You might want to check out my calculator, too, because the dues at AK adds up fast: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nJzcHrrB7HzZ1kjXFLWvcFcnHZ50PIxkEFvvX8ttRVY/edit?usp=sharing

That spreadsheet doesn't address a few things with it's straightline comparison. With approx a $20/pt difference in purchase price and currently approx a $1 difference in dues it would be 20 years before it would equalize. But BLT has averaged a slightly higher dues increase vs AKV so that may extend even longer. If one likes AKV it's going to be quite awhile before the costs get close to BLT plus AKV has lower point requirements. The standard view at BLT is roughly the equivalent of Savannah view at AKV and it only goes lower for AKV so one could potentially own less points for similar rooms - ie, standard view to standard view.

 

[Nie0214]

That spreadsheet doesn't address a few things with it's straightline comparison. With approx a $20/pt difference in purchase price and currently approx a $1 difference in dues it would be 20 years before it would equalize. But BLT has averaged a slightly higher dues increase vs AKV so that may extend even longer. If one likes AKV it's going to be quite awhile before the costs get close to BLT plus AKV has lower point requirements. The standard view at BLT is roughly the equivalent of Savannah view at AKV and it only goes lower for AKV so one could potentially own less points for similar rooms - ie, standard view to standard view.

Yes, it's a very basic spreadsheet with lots of assumptions (paying cash, every resort has the same dues increase, etc.) because I made it for myself when I started narrowing down which resort we wanted to pursue on resale (BLT, AK, SSR being our three contenders and we chose BLT in the end and it wasn't 100% for financial reasons).

Others wanted to play with it, so I shared it. But for people who aren't spreadsheet-nerds, it might help them see that if they plan to own for 10 years, it may not make a difference (or enough of a difference).

 

[Kim Gillihan]

That spreadsheet doesn't address a few things with it's straightline comparison. With approx a $20/pt difference in purchase price and currently approx a $1 difference in dues it would be 20 years before it would equalize. But BLT has averaged a slightly higher dues increase vs AKV so that may extend even longer. If one likes AKV it's going to be quite awhile before the costs get close to BLT plus AKV has lower point requirements. The standard view at BLT is roughly the equivalent of Savannah view at AKV and it only goes lower for AKV so one could potentially own less points for similar rooms - ie, standard view to standard view.

this is why I chose AKV! I think I would really like bay lake for all the reasons mentioned but your points made is why I chose to buy 300 at AKV originally.... ugh.. I am so upset I am at this again.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yes, it's a very basic spreadsheet with lots of assumptions (paying cash, every resort has the same dues increase, etc.) because I made it for myself when I started narrowing down out which resort we wanted to pursue on resale. Others wanted to play with it, so I shared it. But for people who aren't spreadsheet-nerds, it might help them see that if they plan to own for 10 years, it may not make a difference (or enough of a difference).

Oh I've done similar spreadsheets when purchasing but unless one intends to use the points at 7 months and so is just looking at equally sized contracts it also is very important to compare the points required for rooms at each resort too as with DVC that can make a huge difference if just looking at overall cost. And the % increase doesn't work very well for BLT because the dues were started artificially low IMO. So while the actual $/pt increase is only slightly more than say AKV the percentage has been even higher for comparison purposes. Some resorts you can go more simple but others have a lot of important differences to add to the equation.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

this is why I chose AKV! I think I would really like bay lake for all the reasons mentioned but your points made is why I chose to buy 300 at AKV originally.... ugh.. I am so upset I am at this again.

Where do you really want to stay and I've missed what size villa your average trip will be. Is it studios? 1BR's or 2BR with the odd GV? If I understand correctly you'll be traveling in the summer and at Thanksgiving?

 

[Kim Gillihan]

We passed ROFR and are waiting on closing on BLT. We've stayed at Kidani twice and liked it but after the second time, the novelty wore off a little and the distance seemed long when MK is where we spend a lot of time. We have a 2.5 year old and walking to BLT for midday breaks? And monorail to Epcot? Yes, please! I also love the modern decor and fireworks viewing.

That said, we are definitely going to stay at Ak again at some point (likely for no-park trips) and it is very available at the 7month mark (when compared to BLT anyway), so we didn't feel like we needed home advantage.

You might want to check out my calculator, too, because the dues at AK adds up fast: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nJzcHrrB7HzZ1kjXFLWvcFcnHZ50PIxkEFvvX8ttRVY/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you for your reply! I totally understand those mid day breaks etc. the location is awesome no doubt!! I just have to figure out if it is worth the extra money ... it will take a long time for the extra mait fees to equal the extra cost for buying bay lake!! But, I get that your decsion was't financial... I know bay lake is awesome!