Bay Lake Tower quest/Switching hotels

[Teddi]

So I am just now beggining to sift thru the mountains of stuff to plan a family trip to WDW. Our first ever, I am hoping my parents and possibly sisters will join us.

It seems like the Contemporary Hotel has alot of pluses I but I am not quite clear about the "Bay Lake Tower" - is the pool area there for use ONLY for BKT guests, or for the CH also?

Also- I am thinking we need to plan long stay, as we really want to hit both water park and Disney quest and the other 4 parks. I'm wondering if staying half in one hotel and then changing to another might be a fun option.

From others who have swapped from place to place, how much of a hassle is it?
Does disney offer to help with baggage? What/how does that affect package pricing?

Top places looking at staying:
All Star Resort Music (family suite)
Contemporary
Fort Wilderness
Treehouse Villas (probably a pipe dream, but hey, maybe we can split part of the stay w/grandrents if they go)

We need accomodations for family of 5

[Drince88]

I don't know about the pool.

Switching hotels is easy.
Disney Bell services will move your luggage for you. When I've done it, I just brought my bag to Bell Services and had them tag then move it. I suppose you could call them to your room, too.

So you 'check out' of one hotel, give your luggage to Bell Services at the first hotel, go play in a park for the day, and when you're ready to leave, just go to the new hotel, check in there, and ask about your luggage.

For a package, it generally includes the hotel room, and whatever admission tickets you want, and a dining plan, if you want. Because the admission tickets are 'front loaded', it's cheaper to buy 1 10-day ticket rather than 2 5-day tickets, so if you can do a package on the first hotel, and room-only on the second, you'll come out ahead on pricing. BUT, you generally can't do a dining plan if you're on a room-only reservation, so if you planned that for the second hotel, you're either going to have to bite the bullet with the 2 5-day tickets or get a 1 day ticket that you 'save' for your next visit (if you don't use it at all, you don't have to get 'no expiring' option).

The 1 day ticket plan may not work with certain discounted packages, though, so you may not have that option.

If you can do the Treehouse with the Grandparents, I think that'd be the most fun. I was impressed with the family suites, but all three kids will be on fold-out furniture, so if they're bigger kids (mid teen+) that might be a problem for them.

[Teddi]

Thanks... I am thinking that we will probably just plunk down the $ for the 2 resort passes WDW/DL (it makes more sense that way, so we can still do at least 2 short trips to disneyland, plus get the discounts during our trip). Though, not sure if it makes that much of a difference if you end up with a meal plan?

How are packages handled for AP holders?

[Drince88]

I'm not 100% sure, since I never get a package - I just get a room-only reservation, either with a AAA or AP discount. I THINK there's a way you can add the dining plan on with an AP, but I'm not 100% sure if that's all the time. You would NOT get free dining in that situation, though (if that were a promo being offered).

[mom22gls]

There are only 60 Treehouse villas, so demand is high, between DVC owners and cash guests. Saratoga Springs is my home resort, so I already have one booked for next June. We stayed in one last month, and it's very spacious. There are three bedrooms, two have queen size beds and one has bunk beds. There are two full bathrooms, one part of the master suite, a full kitchen, and washer/dryer. The deck is quite big. Although it would be pricey as a cash stay, consider that you would probably, at least, have breakfast in your villa. We even had two burger meals during our stay, because the grill was right there. If you do decide to get a Treehouse, request one near the South bus stop. The park buses don't go to the Treehouse area, and the bus stops are only served by an internal bus. The buses go to the Springs bus stop, which is the last one on the Saratoga Springs bus loop (all the park buses start at the Grandstand and end at the Springs; Downtown Disney buses go the opposite way). However, right near the South bus stop there is a little walkway that goes right to the Grandstand, and it's a quick walk to that bus stop. We walked to that bus more often than waiting for a bus. It was also close to the boat dock to Downtown Disney. There was a small, quiet pool in that area, or you could take a bus to the Springs stop, which is right across from the main pool and carriage house (lobby, restaurant, counter service, gift shop, etc).