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

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Bats?? Seriously? I didn't see any last trip (Sept), but now I will be looking!! Eewww. hahaha.

On a side note, I little girl screamed as I was reading the post about bats, and DBF called me a drama queen. hahaha
 
I've booked a one bedroom villa at VWL for 3/29 - 4/6....Easter and week after for my family of four. I stayed at WL in 1996 but other than a couple walk throughs I have not been back since. We usually stay at the Coronado. However we decided we wanted to go deluxe this trip and that we wanted a vacation where the grown-ups had more privacy in the room with a closing bedroom door plus the option of a kids club for our youngest on one or two nights. We have planned a Victoria and Alberts dinner. :)

My mom was hit by a car while out on a walk in November, spent nearly a month in the ICU, and died in December near the 5th anniversary of my day's death. It has been a horrible few months. We decided to splurge on the spring break plans with the hopes that it would give us something to look forward to during this rough transition. I am looking forward to it but also feeling guilty about the extravagance.

I am a little nervous about a resort switch because we really love the Coronado....but it also reminds me of my folks who often vacationed with us there. I hope the WLV will be a good choice for us.

My worries are about the cleanliness of the villa rooms since I have seen several complaints, the bats (above), possible remodeling in the villas while we are there, te
He size of the pool in comparison to the Coronado.

But I am looking forward to the recreation options, the larger room with kitchen and laundry, new restaurant experiences, use of the trail to Fort Wilderness, and the boat ride over the bus to MK. We will have park tickets but do not plan to spend too much time in the parks. I just got back last week from a trip with my students who performed in DTD and we got kind of parked out. We are keeping our tickets to enjoy a few hours here and there but otherwise we will stay away from the crowded parks and just relax.

I have been lurking for some time on this thread and just wanted to say hello.
 
Bats are cool, excepting the vampirebats of course :rotfl2: weel even they are cool just not too close ;)

I would love to get an close look at them!

I agree, bats are very cool and great animals to have around. Integral. But, not so great to be around. The negative with bats is you can't feel them if they bite you. If you are ever around a moving bat that is trapped inside most recommend treatment for rabies. Not fun. Now, a sleeping bat isn't going to be an issue at all. But a flying bat, especially inside somewhere, a different story. From what I'm understanding by those who have seen them, these are sleeping and outside so no a danger. That said, I can see why Disney wouldn't really want them bedding down for the day around the resort.
 
OK, so after carefull consideration we decided to extend our stay at the lodge. We'll now be arriving saturday the 4th and leave the 18th.

We still have tickets for ten days so room for a few days away. Like a daytrip to Nasa, some shopping....
I guess we'll mostly do that on the busier weekends.

Only three months to go :goodvibes
I shall get out my Lodgers' Log eraser...

Has anyone here done online check in? Are you able to make any room requests with the online check in? My daughter is doing online check in later today and she has a standard view. We have a woods view and are hoping that we can be close enough to be convenient to each other. If there are options on the online check in, would any of them increase her chances of being close to a woods view room?

I'm not planning on doing online check in. She is arriving one day ahead of us, so I need her room number before we check in so that we can try to get close to her room. I would love to be near Otter Pond, so I hope it all works out.

TIA
I know your OCI question was answered, but I just wanted you to also know that you really can't make any room location requests with OCI. OCI is mostly to provide a contact number if your room isn't ready when you check-in and a credit card number for charging. Some resorts do have a limited pre-set choice of locations like a loop choice for FWC and "top floor," "near elevator" and a section where you can leave a comment, but, it's always best to augment OCI with having all your requests noted in your reservation with the WDTC. OCI won't hurt anything, just make sure requests are also noted in your reservation.

]It is so exciting to read all the announcements of upcoming trips! So many of us are in planning mode and many of us have our ADR date quickly approaching. (some of us are in planning mode even when we don't have a scheduled trip) :)

WDWKOOK: I am looking forward to reading your review of dinner at BOG. I have read some rather mixed reviews in allears rate and review. It won't keep me from trying to make an ADR, but it does make me wonder if it will be worth the effort!
Well, a BoG ADR is no more. I've read those same reviews and I've read better ones for lunch and it's so hard to get an ADR with their limited hours that right after we check-in at FW, we're heading to the MK for lunch at BoG. I'll post about our experience.

We booked this morning! We got a 1 bedroom at VWL on RCI points for 6/9 to 6/16. I'm so happy to be going back to the lodge and have never stayed at the Villas. I'll have to start looking into making room requests. :cool1:

Then start looking at ADRs.

Brian
:yay: Congratulations!

4 weeks from today, weather and airlines permitting, we will be enjoying a warm welcome back home to the Wilderness Lodge and an introduction to the Old Faithful Club. :cloud9:

I don't know how I am going to get anything done at work in the next few weeks. I have a business trip to Hershey Lodge the week before our vacation so at least I'll have two days away from the computer and will have to obsess the old fashioned way - by making lists on paper.

Or my wearing out my iphone and Disboards app. :hyper:

A question for those who have stayed Club Level before, I see the daily menus listed on the first page of this thread. What time are these appetizers typically available? Thanks in advance!
Yippee! It won't be long now!

Hello


Just wondering does WL have a problem with bats either inside or outside of the lodge?? I thought I read that somewhere and just wanted to verify if it was true:confused3
The last time I recall seeing bats was back in 2010. They were in the rafters and you could see them easily from the 7th floor lounge. I was told they were getting in from the roof access and I believe this has since been remedied. I haven't seen any indoor bats in 2011 or 2012.

Can't wait to get back to WL on 6/24. Last year was the first time we stayed at the lodge and we loved it. We're staying in a deluxe club level room. We decided to split our stay since our friends are staying at the Yacht Club and we thought it would be more convinienient if we were at the same resort. Has anyone ever stayed in the deluxe club level rooms at the Yacht Club? I saw on the Beach & Yacht thread that there is a daybed in the sitting area but when I called to reserve I was told noday bed just chairs and they don't have roll away beds.:confused3
I haven't stayed in a YC Jr. Suite (now called a Deluxe room), but I did consider it at one time and did some research on them. They should both (there are two) have a daybed, but I recall a DISer posting that the daybed was like a loveseat and not suitable for sleeping so maybe it's not a true daybed with a mattress. Here's the layout from another DISer:

ycdeluxe.gif



And, an older photo of the sitting area. I believe it's a sofa bed:confused3

ycdeluxesitting2.jpg


OMG you just touched on my only bad experience at VWL. Bats were housing themselves on the walkway to the villas. Holy crap, bats are so my enemy. In my head I get the goodness of bats... my heart not so much. However, Disney, has done what they can to com"bat" the problem. My other issue, a cast member was laughing his silly *** off as I ran... way too funny, in hind sight. If you haven't gotten it, as a long haired child, my fear was bats would catch in my hair. Silly but no less a fear. Good think no one knows who I am. I'm rooting for not so many bats is NH... NY has a bunch of them.
:rotfl2:

Is it difficult to "get in" to be the flag family :confused3

I think my kids - DD13 & DS 10 would love to do this!
The longer your stay, the more likely there will be an opening. Make sure you ask as soon as you check-in. Good luck!

I've booked a one bedroom villa at VWL for 3/29 - 4/6....Easter and week after for my family of four. I stayed at WL in 1996 but other than a couple walk throughs I have not been back since. We usually stay at the Coronado. However we decided we wanted to go deluxe this trip and that we wanted a vacation where the grown-ups had more privacy in the room with a closing bedroom door plus the option of a kids club for our youngest on one or two nights. We have planned a Victoria and Alberts dinner. :)

My mom was hit by a car while out on a walk in November, spent nearly a month in the ICU, and died in December near the 5th anniversary of my day's death. It has been a horrible few months. We decided to splurge on the spring break plans with the hopes that it would give us something to look forward to during this rough transition. I am looking forward to it but also feeling guilty about the extravagance.

I am a little nervous about a resort switch because we really love the Coronado....but it also reminds me of my folks who often vacationed with us there. I hope the WLV will be a good choice for us.

My worries are about the cleanliness of the villa rooms since I have seen several complaints, the bats (above), possible remodeling in the villas while we are there, te
He size of the pool in comparison to the Coronado.

But I am looking forward to the recreation options, the larger room with kitchen and laundry, new restaurant experiences, use of the trail to Fort Wilderness, and the boat ride over the bus to MK. We will have park tickets but do not plan to spend too much time in the parks. I just got back last week from a trip with my students who performed in DTD and we got kind of parked out. We are keeping our tickets to enjoy a few hours here and there but otherwise we will stay away from the crowded parks and just relax.

I have been lurking for some time on this thread and just wanted to say hello.
:welcome:

So sorry about your mom:hug:. This trip should be in her honor:goodvibes

Change can be both exciting and anxiety producing. My memory of staying at CSR back in '98 is that there was a lot of walking compared with WL. Everything is under one roof at WL and there isn't a surcharge at the QS;).

I consider the bats a non-issue, just as I do the snakes. It's FL, there are lizards and snakes and they aren't sleeping in your bed or showering with you so don't worry about that. Cleanliness at WDW is a crap shoot, even within the same resort. Rehabs have to take place so everything is fresh. In the case of WL, they blocked off two floors at a time, so guests were not staying on the same floor as the rehab, nor underneath. Common area rehabs can certainly impact all guests, but you wouldn't want them making noise at night, and most guests are away during the day when they are rehabbing lobbies, etc..., so they try their best not to cause much disruption to guests, but it does happen. But again, it's not something I would be overly concerned with.

You can also use the WL pool and don't feel guilty about the upgrade. When you arrive and take it all in in person, you'll be in awe. Make sure you tour the grounds and walk or boat over to FW, too. You're going to love WL!
 


I was skimming thru the boards and noticed someone say that there is a thread about the Villas at WL. Can anyone direct me where to find that. I get lost on these boards, I will admit.
 


Congratulations! You found it!:thumbsup2
:laughing:

Maybe you're thinking of the DVC resorts thread?
Yes, that was what I was thinking of and I finally found it. I swear I could get lost in my own house if I didn't have a map. But, I did get to see some pics on the board of some reno going on.

Just added you to the Lodgers' Log and noticed that you and nyrebecca have the exact same dates:)

It is a wonderful week to go!!
 
Can you add us to the Lodgers Log please. We will be staying 11/16 - 11/23. So excited to be going back to Disney after taking a year off!!
 
Hi All!:wave2:

I had a ? Re: utilizing ME to Wilderness Lodge....

We usually rent a town car for transportation from MCO to Wilderness Lodge. This time we are considering Magical Express.

We will be arriving at MCO at 9:30 am. Has anyone had experience using ME this early in the morning? Will the trip to WL be any faster since perhaps there won't be too many visitors arriving that early?

Thanks!

:mickey:
 
Hi All!:wave2:

I had a ? Re: utilizing ME to Wilderness Lodge....

We usually rent a town car for transportation from MCO to Wilderness Lodge. This time we are considering Magical Express.

We will be arriving at MCO at 9:30 am. Has anyone had experience using ME this early in the morning? Will the trip to WL be any faster since perhaps there won't be too many visitors arriving that early?

Thanks!

:mickey:

We usually try to arrive at MCO early. In fact, our arrival time is 9:45am one week from today. :cool1: Our experience at the airport is that there are plenty of people there that time of the morning. It isn't packed but it won't be empty, either. I've heard that the ME to WL will stop at the Poly and GF first. It probably isn't as fast as getting a town car, but it is cheaper and more convenient. :)
 
^^. :cool1: on your upcoming trip?

Hmmmm sounds like you don't use ME.... Do you typically go the rental car route? We've never done that before either. If so, cam you recommend a place?

Thanks and :banana: again!!
 
^^. :cool1: on your upcoming trip?

Hmmmm sounds like you don't use ME.... Do you typically go the rental car route? We've never done that before either. If so, cam you recommend a place?

Thanks and :banana: again!!
Thanks. :) We've used ME exclusively for the last ten years or so. It is very convenient. Since we never leave the WDW area, a rental car isn't necessary.
 
Hi All!:wave2:

I had a ? Re: utilizing ME to Wilderness Lodge....

We usually rent a town car for transportation from MCO to Wilderness Lodge. This time we are considering Magical Express.

We will be arriving at MCO at 9:30 am. Has anyone had experience using ME this early in the morning? Will the trip to WL be any faster since perhaps there won't be too many visitors arriving that early?

Thanks!

:mickey:

We arrived at 10 am this past July to go to WL, and there were enough people to fill most of the bus. It stopped at Poly, GF and CR first before stopping at WL. I love ME!! That's when my vacation truly begins! :love:
 
We (me, dw, dds 7 & 2) are thinking about staying at WL in September of this year, but did not know what areas are best to request. Are the woods views rooms truly an upgrade from standard? also what category are the rooms (i know there are not many) that you can see the castle? Our only other dw trip was at POR this past Oct. and WL seems like a nice upgrade from por. I can only assume the bus transportation is better than POR. Thanks in advance to everyone for their help.
 
Had a tough day so relaxing with some DIS time dreaming about our spring break trip. A few questions if anyone would like to tackle them I would appreciate it.

My DS is 5 (he would say 5 and 1/2). We booked Cub's Den for him for three occasions during our 8 night trip. Our thoughts were that he would likely prefer a casual meal and play time over some of the fancier dinners. Do any of you have experience with the Cub's Den? We visited and took a quick trip when we were at the world for a work thing earlier this month and it seemed really small and not near as exciting as we hoped. Do you think three nights is too much? We do not want to get ride of him. We love spending time with him. We just want him to have fun and hoped he would get to play with kids his age. The only dinner we can't take him to is Victoria and Alberts so we might switch to just one night.

If anyone is at the lodge right now, I am wondering if you know if they are doing a lot of work on the villas. We have booked a one bedroom there. I am thinking about asking for a renovated room if they have them by the end of March. Wondering if my chance might be good at a good room or renovated room since we did a cash reservation. (I know this was not super bright, we could have rented points. But we used a Disney Visa promotion and kind of like the daily housekeeping while on vacation. ) we were considering buying DVC and we could have applied our cash res. to do so.....but we decided against it.

I am also looking for hints on things to do other than the parks. We have a 13 year old and a 5 year old so the age difference can be rough when looking for something all will enjoy. None of us like crowds so we just do the parks super early and then head back to the resort when it gets too busy for us. I am thinking lots of pool time but maybe a boat rental, bike rental, or something else. What does Fort Wilderness offer?

Counting the days....wanting to escape from reality.
 
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