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

[yolie912]

Arcade: FYI go redeem the arcade voucher for a neat souvenir! We got Wreck it Ralph themed card

Panoramic Lobby shot:

Love LOVE the details on their headboards:

Our housekeeper Mimi left a few towel animals but this one just made our day!! We had a good laugh lol definitely didn't expect this.

Room View:

Great pics!

 

[yolie912]

March will be here before you know it - happy rocking!


The Old Faithful Club's daily menus are all posted on the first page HERE along with a photo of the fridge with all the beer HERE. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask away




How was check-in and where are you off to today?


You're so lucky to be going back already - have a great time!


How sweet - maybe it was a vow renewal? Have a great time at WL next month!

Thanks for that information. I was hoping they would have coronas. He loves it. =) We leave on Wednesday...cant wait! =)

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We will be at WL in early February. I requested a room overlooking the lobby on an upper floor. We have paid for a woods view bunk bed room. If you have stayed in a room overlooking the lobby, what did you like or dislike? The lobby is so beautiful and we thought it would be nice to walk out of our room and see it right away.

Thanks!

Thanks to Wood Nymph for posting the link to our mini resort report.

We REALLY enjoyed having a room that opened to the lobby. We had seen the lobby rooms on an earlier visit but enjoyed staying in them more than we expected. The walk to and from the room was just so impressive, and way different than walking down a normal hotel hallway.

The only downside I see to a lobby room is possible noise. Being open to a public space, it just isn't the quietest location. Crowds were very light when we were there, and we could still hear some noise from the lobby in the afternoons but it didn't bother us at all.

Another factor to consider is view from the other end of the room. We love the view of Bay lake and the inner courtyard, and only the relatively few "Bear Face" rooms have this view and open to the lobby. For us this would be the ultimate room location.

Overall you can't go too wrong at WL, and all of the rooms are in an awesome resort. Enjoy your trip!

 

[pld5]

Question for this great thread. I follow along on it daily and I apologize if this question has already been asked and answered along the way.

We will be there in late February and have an 8:05 ADR at H&V at DHS on Monday, February 25. How early would we need to get a bus to go to DHS that morning (and do they run that early)?

 

[bellebookworm9]

We are LOVING the lodge so far! Magical Express stopped at the Poly and GF before it dropped us off here. Megan greeted us at the front door and she was a truly amazing cast member! We booked courtyard view, and I had requested 3rd or 4th floor, center view. For some reason I had also pictured us being in the south wing. Bingo! This room is exactly what I imagined. And not only is the courtyard view gorgeous, we also just discovered we can see the high Wishes fireworks!

Minor complaints were the noise from the pool party this afternoon and really finnicky wi-fi earlier today. Buses have been great, luggage delivery and scooter pickup went smoothly, and Roaring Forks was delicious!

 

[disney newb]

Great pics!

Thanks! Tried to savor every moment there. Won't be back until after we have kids and they're old enough.... WL is THE BEST resort hands down though. It may be like 5 years til we go back but I don't think we could stay elsewhere. This was our last hoorah trip but I'll live vicariously through all you disers

 

[WDWKOOK]

I almost forgot - I think I said I'd report back on the new Test Track & the Fast Pass +. I enjoyed the new TT. I had seen many negative reviews on here so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm not a huge fan of TT to begin with, and I'm still not, but I think the interactive part is great, I know my boys will love it much more now. The old queue is gone- unless it's still there in the stand-by line (we had FP). Everyone goes to a computer screen to create their virtual car. I didn't like the set-up of this - while it only takes 1-2 minutes to do this, there were maybe 10 computers & 40 people fighting to get one. All 6 still ride in a vehicle & everyone's virtual car competes against each other in several road tests. After the ride you can race your virtual cars against each other, right before heading into the Chevrolet showroom. I can't see doing single rider for this, it was a lot of fun to be competing against each other with people we knew - we had 6 family members in one car. Overall I like TT better now than before.

FP+ just didn't work for us. I had chosen 4 things at MK & 3 at DHS - and we weren't in the right park or near the attraction for 6 of them, so we never went. The only one we used was the Wishes Preferred Viewing area in the rose garden. It was nice not to be jam packed body-to-body to watch Wishes, but getting there was difficult. From Main St they were running traffic in one direction only, away from the castle, so we had to go the backtrack by Tomorrowland Terrace into Tomorrowland & then back over the bridge which was mobbed. Nothing unusual though for Wishes!

Great information, Tara. Thanks for posting your opinions of FP+ and the new (and it seems improved) TT.

I have a question for people who have been to WL in the winter months and/or during cold weather. Do they still have the afternoon pool parties if the weather is cold? Do they play loud music at the pool in the afternoon? DH is almost guaranteed to want to take a nap in the afternoon and he wouldn't like it if it was noisy.

The coldest I've personally stayed at WL was Christmas - NYE and at that time the pool party was active everyday. If it helps, the music only plays for about a couple of hours, give or take and depending on what room you're in, isn't that bad with the sliding glass door closed. If you were in a Woods View room in either wing or a Standard View room, you wouldn't really notice it. VWL doesn't have a life guard or pool parties so you also wouldn't hear a PA system from the South Wing rooms that face VWL. You could also bring ear plugs. We like a very quiet room, too so DH frequently brings ear plugs on trips, just in case.

Thanks Tara for your TT and FP reports. I was a bit worried about the possibility of pushing and shoving for kiosks. I think the addition of this whole designing and racing cars sounds like fun, but it pretty much eliminates the single rider option. (do they still have that?) How does the FP work here? Do you go into the preshow area while everyone from the stand by line has to wait or are you all mixed together?
How is the new Fantasyland looking? Did you try Be Our Guest?
Thanks to everyone for photos and trip reports. This place is a refuge, as well as a wonderful source of information.

My DW and DS9 got to do TT. We were there the day it re-opened. Unfortunately they were closing it down at 3:00 for the Media Event and by the time we got there the wait was 2 hours and there were no Fastpasses. I took my DS6 to do the Agent P adventure. DW started chatting up one of the cast members and asked if she could go get some coffee since the wait was going to be so long so she directed my DW to the nearest coffee shop. When she returned the cast member said not to make a scene but she gave my DW two Fastpasses that got them to the front of the line so they didn't have to wait! Clearing our rubbing of Humphrey's nose at the start of our trip was working.

Since I didn't go on it (and we never went on it before) I can't give any more details about it except that of everything we did (including the Star Wars Training Academy) my DS9 said TT was the best thing of the entire trip. He loved it. I wish I had a chance to try it, but as I mentioned they were closing it and all of that part of Future World down at 3:00 so I was out of luck.

We did the Wishes Dessert Party at the Tomorrowland Terrace. The original night I wanted to do this they weren't having it because of the Media Event for the opening of the new Fantasyland. The also closed the monorail to Epcot that day for it so they were really messing up my plans.

Anyway, we found the Dessert Party was awesome. An hour before the fireworks you have an all you can eat dessert bar that was filled with all kinds of goodies. Then you watch the fireworks from the terrace with just the people from the dessert party so it is not crowded at all. You can either sit at your table if you are close to the front like we were or stand up against the wall. I'd definitely recommend it. It gets you away from the crowd, gives you a perfect viewing location, and loads you up with tons of delicious desserts. What could be better?

Thanks for the great information! Humphrey really came through for you

We will be at WL in early February. I requested a room overlooking the lobby on an upper floor. We have paid for a woods view bunk bed room. If you have stayed in a room overlooking the lobby, what did you like or dislike? The lobby is so beautiful and we thought it would be nice to walk out of our room and see it right away.

Thanks!

Welcome and I hope you have a wonderful vacation!

Thanks for that information. I was hoping they would have coronas. He loves it. =) We leave on Wednesday...cant wait! =)

I don't recall seeing or hearing about Corona at any WDW CL. Will you be filing a live TR with us? Have a great stay at WL!

Thanks to Wood Nymph for posting the link to our mini resort report.

We REALLY enjoyed having a room that opened to the lobby. We had seen the lobby rooms on an earlier visit but enjoyed staying in them more than we expected. The walk to and from the room was just so impressive, and way different than walking down a normal hotel hallway.

The only downside I see to a lobby room is possible noise. Being open to a public space, it just isn't the quietest location. Crowds were very light when we were there, and we could still hear some noise from the lobby in the afternoons but it didn't bother us at all.

Another factor to consider is view from the other end of the room. We love the view of Bay lake and the inner courtyard, and only the relatively few "Bear Face" rooms have this view and open to the lobby. For us this would be the ultimate room location.

Overall you can't go too wrong at WL, and all of the rooms are in an awesome resort. Enjoy your trip!

Question for this great thread. I follow along on it daily and I apologize if this question has already been asked and answered along the way.

We will be there in late February and have an 8:05 ADR at H&V at DHS on Monday, February 25. How early would we need to get a bus to go to DHS that morning (and do they run that early)?

Though I've never taken it, there is an early (pre-park opening) bus that will take you to DHS (you'll need to have an ADR to get into the park). I believe it starts running around the time the Blue Flag boat starts running which is around 0645 - 0655. I would be at the bus stop NLT 0700. Hopefully, someone who has actually done this will confirm this

We are LOVING the lodge so far! Magical Express stopped at the Poly and GF before it dropped us off here. Megan greeted us at the front door and she was a truly amazing cast member! We booked courtyard view, and I had requested 3rd or 4th floor, center view. For some reason I had also pictured us being in the south wing. Bingo! This room is exactly what I imagined. And not only is the courtyard view gorgeous, we also just discovered we can see the high Wishes fireworks!

Minor complaints were the noise from the pool party this afternoon and really finnicky wi-fi earlier today. Buses have been great, luggage delivery and scooter pickup went smoothly, and Roaring Forks was delicious!

Thanks for letting us know how your vacation is going so far. Where are you off to today? Any ADRs? Sometimes logging out then back in to the WL WiFi helps get it going again - it's like restarting it.

Thanks! Tried to savor every moment there. Won't be back until after we have kids and they're old enough.... WL is THE BEST resort hands down though. It may be like 5 years til we go back but I don't think we could stay elsewhere. This was our last hoorah trip but I'll live vicariously through all you disers

You can make a ticker out that far - just sayin'

 

[Desnik]

We leave in 2 days and I just switched my reservation to WL!! I can't tell you how happy & excited we are! We are DVC'ers & I've been waiting & hoping for a 1 bedroom to become available & today it did!! It is a dream come true to be staying at the WL for the holidays!

It's been awhile since our last stay here & I'm clueless about everything! Guess I've got a lot of reading to do.

I just have one question. Is there anything "special" that the WL does for the holidays? Anything going on on Xmas eve or Xmas day that I should know about?

Thanks!

 

[rcsilverspring]

Checking out tomorrow after our first stay at WL. We just LOVED it!!! Resort is amazing and we had a magical time! Will post more with photos after we get home. I cannot believe the time went by so quickly.

 

[WDWKOOK]

We leave in 2 days and I just switched my reservation to WL!! I can't tell you how happy & excited we are! We are DVC'ers & I've been waiting & hoping for a 1 bedroom to become available & today it did!! It is a dream come true to be staying at the WL for the holidays!

It's been awhile since our last stay here & I'm clueless about everything! Guess I've got a lot of reading to do.

I just have one question. Is there anything "special" that the WL does for the holidays? Anything going on on Xmas eve or Xmas day that I should know about?

Thanks!

How exciting and congrats on finally getting the villa! All the resorts have special Christmas activities, mostly for the children. There are bell ringers in the lobby who are wonderful and they have hot cocoa and cookies in the evening. Here is the Christmas activity flyer from 2010:

Let us know how you liked VWL/WL

Checking out tomorrow after our first stay at WL. We just LOVED it!!! Resort is amazing and we had a magical time! Will post more with photos after we get home. I cannot believe the time went by so quickly.

Looking forward to your photos and TR when you get a chance

 

[Desnik]

How exciting and congrats on finally getting the villa! All the resorts have special Christmas activities, mostly for the children. There are bell ringers in the lobby who are wonderful and they have hot cocoa and cookies in the evening. Here is the Christmas activity flyer from 2010:

Let us know how you liked VWL/WL


Looking forward to your photos and TR when you get a chance

Thank you so much for this info!!! As if I wasn't excited before!! Now I'm bursting!! This is just perfect! We have 2 kids DD(14) DS (9) and these activities look awesome!

I'll make sure to post back here and tell you all about our time at the WL.

 

[yolie912]

We just checked in! The resort is beautiful!
We are staying CL. But no welcome chocolate. Did
They take that off too?

 

[Mousemommy1]

We just checked in! The resort is beautiful!
We are staying CL. But no welcome chocolate. Did
They take that off too?

Ours actually didn't get brought down until later in the day. And then we got 2! You may still get yours.

Have a magical stay!!!

 

[trailgirl r]

AllEars posted a slide show on YouTube a few days ago of all the Christmas decorations at WL and VWL. It even shows the new lobby furniture!

Thanks Kook for posting this video! I've been dying to see the new lobby furniture! It looks brighter than the old furniture, very nice.

I'm still reading trying to get caught up with this thread.

 

[DetTigsGal]

Ours actually didn't get brought down until later in the day. And then we got 2! You may still get yours.

Have a magical stay!!!

They handed ours to us when they were showing us around the room...

 

[yolie912]

By the way how do you post pics??

 

[WDWKOOK]

Thank you so much for this info!!! As if I wasn't excited before!! Now I'm bursting!! This is just perfect! We have 2 kids DD(14) DS (9) and these activities look awesome!

I'll make sure to post back here and tell you all about our time at the WL.

You're welcome, Desnik

We just checked in! The resort is beautiful!
We are staying CL. But no welcome chocolate. Did
They take that off too?

It seems you can receive it many different ways. The chocolates have always been on the bed at all the resorts we've stayed CL. Did you ever receive it?

Thanks Kook for posting this video! I've been dying to see the new lobby furniture! It looks brighter than the old furniture, very nice.

I'm still reading trying to get caught up with this thread.

You're welcome, trailgirl r

By the way how do you post pics??

You will have to upload your photos to a photo sharing site such as Photobucket. Small accounts are free. Follow the directions there and then copy the IMG code. Paste the IMG code into your post and the photo will appear. If you need more directions feel free to ask.

 

[Miffy]

Does anyone know the web address used to send comments to WDW? I filled out an extensive survey after I got home this week and forgot to mention a couple of things. At the end of the survey, they gave a link for further comments, but, of course, I didn't pay any attention to it.

I'm sure this is listed in about a zillion places on the DIS, but I can't find it this morning.

TIA for help.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Wow, great thread Wdwkook. We love Wilderness Lodge and this has so much great information. Last year, we decided that we would try the Grand Floridian. It was nice, but rather boring. In fact, we had to stop at the Lodge on our way out of Disney to look around. We will be there Club Level on September 8th and we are all excited.
Here is a picture I took last year on our brief visit.

Your image isn't appearing. Thank you for your kind comment, hljoo8 and welcome to the thread!

Does anyone know the web address used to send comments to WDW? I filled out an extensive survey after I got home this week and forgot to mention a couple of things. At the end of the survey, they gave a link for further comments, but, of course, I didn't pay any attention to it.

I'm sure this is listed in about a zillion places on the DIS, but I can't find it this morning.

TIA for help.

No problem - I actually know where the Guest Services/Communications email address is since it's in my sticky on the Resorts Forum page. Disney is very prompt about responding to guests' comments. I usually get a phone call thanking me for my email and all resort comments are seen by each resort's GM.


Walt Disney World Guest Communications
PO Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

 

[Miffy]

No problem - I actually know where the Guest Services/Communications email address is since it's in my sticky on the Resorts Forum page. Disney is very prompt about responding to guests' comments. I usually get a phone call thanking me for my email and all resort comments are seen by each resort's GM.


Walt Disney World Guest Communications
PO Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

WDWKOOK -- You are a genius! And a wonderful person too! Thank you so much.