(CLOSED) Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE and VILLAS Information Thread ~2012~

[LovinPooh]

I love this thread
We are planning for end of Feb. We just stayed at AKL this past Feb. But when we ate at whispering canyon i fell in love with wl location. We are magic kingdom people.
I looked around the lobby a little. Looked cool. Dd loves the mercantile. We still regret not buying the sasquatch soap lol!
If i want to be close to roaring forks, close to boat launch, and see bay lake with an open balcony....what would u all recommend for a room request?
And now as usual i impatiently wait for the next year to open up...ugh...

 

[Wood Nymph]

I love this thread
We are planning for end of Feb. We just stayed at AKL this past Feb. But when we ate at whispering canyon i fell in love with wl location. We are magic kingdom people.
I looked around the lobby a little. Looked cool. Dd loves the mercantile. We still regret not buying the sasquatch soap lol!
If i want to be close to roaring forks, close to boat launch, and see bay lake with an open balcony....what would u all recommend for a room request?
And now as usual i impatiently wait for the next year to open up...ugh...

We were there last February for the first time and loved it. If you ask for woods view overlooking Otter Pond, north wing, 5th floor or lower (6th floor has the closed balconies), you'll have a view of Bay Lake through the trees and be close to the elevators that are closest to Roaring Forks. You might be able to see some fireworks from the higher floors. We had a 6th floor and could see fireworks, the castle and the monorail, but it had the dormer balcony which I didn't care for.

ETA: the courtyard view, inner courtyard, north wing will put you close to Roaring Forks and the boat dock

 

[mommy2twingles]

Got a pin code for free dinning in November. On the phone now seeing if we can apply it to our reservations.

 

[princessesintraining]

With free dining, I was able to upgrade to courtyard view Sept 14-21. Hoping for a bear face room, as I think my girls would love it! Can't wait to for the girls only/birthdays trip!

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

Good Morning WL fans!!
I just wanted to share with you guys that I am officially booked at the WL for September 14-21 with the FD promotion!!
So excited I could burst!

It's my first time at the WL this summer so I feel your excitement!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Kook!

You can add me to the list.

WL July 14-20 DH and I ALONE!

well, i'll see you both there! we'll be checking in 16-23rd for our honeymoon! yay!

Party at the Lodge in July!!!!

 

[cmdg]

In 30 minutes it will only be one month until our trip! Making our packing list now

 

[Z28KatCar]

In 30 minutes it will only be one month until our trip! Making our packing list now

It will fly by! You are going to have a blast!

 

[psac]

rdsx28:

Here are some WL roof photos, but I don't think I see any solar panels in these, but that doesn't mean they aren't somewhere else on property.

Awesome pic! How did you get that?

Thanks for the RF info!

 

[Anna114]

Has anyone done the Wishes cruise from the WL. The feedback I've gotten about the Wishes cruise all seem to be good but the cost is probative. I was wondering what time it leaves the dock. We have a 6:20 add for Artist Point on Aug. 20th. I was hoping to do it after dinner. TIA.

 

[nikki7680]

well, i'll see you both there! we'll be checking in 16-23rd for our honeymoon! yay!

We got married September 15, 2001 and also honeymooned in Disney! We almost always come back in September to celebrate our anniversary. This year is our 12 year anniversary!! Good luck with the wedding and I will be looking for you - you better have your Mickey Bridal ears on! LOL!!

 

[WDWKOOK]

I love this thread
We are planning for end of Feb. We just stayed at AKL this past Feb. But when we ate at whispering canyon i fell in love with wl location. We are magic kingdom people.
I looked around the lobby a little. Looked cool. Dd loves the mercantile. We still regret not buying the sasquatch soap lol!
If i want to be close to roaring forks, close to boat launch, and see bay lake with an open balcony....what would u all recommend for a room request?
And now as usual i impatiently wait for the next year to open up...ugh...

Happy planning and welcome!

We were there last February for the first time and loved it. If you ask for woods view overlooking Otter Pond, north wing, 5th floor or lower (6th floor has the closed balconies), you'll have a view of Bay Lake through the trees and be close to the elevators that are closest to Roaring Forks. You might be able to see some fireworks from the higher floors. We had a 6th floor and could see fireworks, the castle and the monorail, but it had the dormer balcony which I didn't care for.

ETA: the courtyard view, inner courtyard, north wing will put you close to Roaring Forks and the boat dock

Got a pin code for free dinning in November. On the phone now seeing if we can apply it to our reservations.

Were you able to apply it?

With free dining, I was able to upgrade to courtyard view Sept 14-21. Hoping for a bear face room, as I think my girls would love it! Can't wait to for the girls only/birthdays trip!

~INNER COURTYARD VIEW ROOMS OFF THE LOBBY (known by DISers as Bear Face Rooms), are centered in the middle of the inner courtyard and they overlook the entire courtyard area from the balcony with the lobby outside the front door. They are located on the 4th and 5th floors and are odd numbered from 4067-4079 and 5067-5069.

Hope you get one!

Party at the Lodge in July!!!!

Just don't get the Reedy Creek PD called

In 30 minutes it will only be one month until our trip! Making our packing list now

Are you done with your list? It's almost time to start crossing things off

Awesome pic! How did you get that?

Thanks for the RF info!

You're welcome and thank you (from DD). DD took that from our 7th floor WL CV balcony which faces directly out to Bay Lake. DH and I stepped out to get a drink from the lounge and came back to the beautiful double rainbow just starting to fade.

We got married September 15, 2001 and also honeymooned in Disney! We almost always come back in September to celebrate our anniversary. This year is our 12 year anniversary!! Good luck with the wedding and I will be looking for you - you better have your Mickey Bridal ears on! LOL!!

ITA with those so-cute ears! It makes me smile when I see couples wearing them - they look so happy!

 

[WDWKOOK]

floridafam and anyone else wondering about the rehab of the two suites, I just received this from the IPO:


Howdy!

The Yosemite suite is undergoing its rehab now and the Yellowstone suite will undergo its rehab right after that. Both suites will be completed by the end of June.




I will see if I might be allowed to take photos of the newly rehabbed suites in August, if someone else doesn't post any before then

 

[princessesintraining]

Thanks WDWKook! I have that put in through the TA for our room request. Girls are just excited to go back to the Lodge and of course Disney. Since this will be their second trip, maybe we will have more time to explore WL.

 

[Tinkerbelljean]

Haha! I wish!! We stayed there for our first night in 2011 and DH isn't a big fan. Hoping to one day talk him in to giving BLT a try though!

We own points at BLT. It is not my favorite resort, but my husband loves it. I LIKE BLT but not my favorite. We are booked for the Fourth of July at BLT. Hope to watch fireworks from the Top of the World Club. It is a unique experience to be on the same level with the fireworks. Awesome and no crowds to fight.

 

[CTJKLAB]

Spent May 3-8 at the lodge villas...loved it as usual!!! We were in a 1 bedroom on the 5th floor looking out on the lake and could see the quiet pool too. Awesome room!! The only little bit of magic lost was the one afternoon walking on the walkway toward the villas pool a very large water snake went across the sidewalk about 50 feet in front of us! I freaked!! Was looking everywhere the rest of the trip!!!!

 

[Minnie]

We are trying to decide between our two fave resorts - WL and YC - both CL level. We've only stayed CL at the YC - can anyone compare the two?

Thanks!

 

[WDWKOOK]

Spent May 3-8 at the lodge villas...loved it as usual!!! We were in a 1 bedroom on the 5th floor looking out on the lake and could see the quiet pool too. Awesome room!! The only little bit of magic lost was the one afternoon walking on the walkway toward the villas pool a very large water snake went across the sidewalk about 50 feet in front of us! I freaked!! Was looking everywhere the rest of the trip!!!!

Thank you for posting about your recent VWL stay. Sounds like a perfect VWL view. So funny about the snakes and how you kind of forget about them until they cross your path, then you "see" them everywhere.

We are trying to decide between our two fave resorts - WL and YC - both CL level. We've only stayed CL at the YC - can anyone compare the two?

Thanks!

Welcome! I've stayed at both and we prefer The Old Faithful Club. Here are the main differences:

The Regatta Club lounge has no view from inside. You'd have to go out on the tiny balcony to see outside. The OFC has a huge window that looks out to the WL courtyard, Bay Lake, pool and geyser. It also has a wrap-around balcony with a view to the beautiful lobby below. This may sound silly, but WL has a set of trash cans in the lounge area so you can bus your own table, if you choose to. YC doesn't have this option so dirty dishes often remain on tables until bussed.

There is more seating at the OFC and the lounge area is larger. However, OFC doesn't have hard boiled eggs like the RC and oatmeal is only available seasonally. There are more QS options in/near WL: Roaring Fork, and all the monorail resorts offer a QS.

While you can't walk to a park like you can from YC, there are many transportation options. You can get to MK both by boat and a direct bus. You can walk to FW and boat and bus. You can also boat to CR where you can take the monorail to Epcot or you can take a bus to all parks.

The staff at the OFC are warm and friendly and we've never had a problem getting a seat at any time at the OFC. The rooms are smaller at WL, but so is the price and all the rooms received a soft rehab just one year ago.

If you have any more questions, feel free to post!

 

[TheLodgeLady]

floridafam and anyone else wondering about the rehab of the two suites, I just received this from the IPO:


Howdy!

The Yosemite suite is undergoing its rehab now and the Yellowstone suite will undergo its rehab right after that. Both suites will be completed by the end of June.




I will see if I might be allowed to take photos of the newly rehabbed suites in August, if someone else doesn't post any before then

Thanks for the info. I knew that they wouldn't be done with the main rehab but I wasn't sure when.

If they aren't occupied when you are there you should have no problem seeing them.

 

[Minnie]

WDWKOOK - Thank you for the info info on the differences for club level. One question can you see Wishes from the club balcony?

Oh sorry a second one... do you happen to know how WL club handles food allergies? We had an issue last year with the YC.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thanks for the info. I knew that they wouldn't be done with the main rehab but I wasn't sure when.

If they aren't occupied when you are there you should have no problem seeing them.

WDWKOOK - Thank you for the info info on the differences for club level. One question can you see Wishes from the club balcony?

Oh sorry a second one... do you happen to know how WL club handles food allergies? We had an issue last year with the YC.

No, you can't see Wishes and there isn't a lounge balcony, but you can see the Electrical Water Pageant from the huge lounge window. Also, unlike YC, you won't have to pay for your view. With a WL CL room, you can request your view which can be a Woods View or a Courtyard View. You can see some of Wishes from both the North Wing Woods View and from the South Wing Inner/WL courtyard View. You can also request bunk beds, at no additional charge.

Just email or call the IPO after you book with any food allergy issues and they will note them in your reservations and mention your concerns again in person at check-in.