(CLOSED) Disney's WILDERNESS LODGE and VILLAS INFORMATION THREAD ~2013~

[CanadianPaco]

I just changed our March ressie to WL from CBR! Now to learn all about this beautiful resort!

 

[WDWKOOK]

Even with only 20 days left to touchdown in the most magical place on earth, my DH's grandfather was suddenly taken ill on Friday and will be passing within a day or so (undiagnosed, stage 4 cancer). Disney thoughts are actually helping our kiddos and reading comments on here let's me be grateful for the time that is coming for our family. My best friend and her hubby surprised me by changing their plans from DL to WDW to be with us and it'll be a fun surprise for my girls.

20 days and my girls are already fighting over who will get the aisle seat.

I hope that his passing was peaceful and it's great that your family is so excited and your best friend will be joining you.

Thanks Kook! I'll look forward to tasting that wrap for myself perhaps as early as tomorrow evening.

And we have an ADR for Trail's End this Saturday following our day in AK. That quinoa salad will go well with the fried chicken. At home I only eat baked or grilled chicken but, like most, I do indulge at WDW!

I can't wait to hear how your trip is going…hint, hint...

And just like that our plans have changed.

Unfortunately, we will not be staying at the Wilderness Lodge in August. Although I would prefer to stay there, a travel agent I worked with previously had an offer allowing us to stay in the Polynesian for the same time period for a couple hundred dollars less, plus giving us one free entry to a water park or Disney Quest. My son is desperate to stay in a monorail resort (he loves them so) and I will practically do just about anything to make his little self happy. So, its the Poly for us this time.

Hopefully we will stay at the Wilderness someday...perhaps sans kids?

Makes a lot of sense to spend less money AND make your DS so happy to be staying on the monorail. WL will be there for a future visit.

I am so excited! My dad and I will be checking in at the Lodge Saturday morning.

Tomorrow is the BIG day! If you get a chance, check-in with us

I'm missing the WL right now! We may have a chance to go to WDW for a day in January, but we won't be able to stay OP, so no WL for a while.

Anyone have any trip reports from WL recently or at xmas? I would love to read to get a vicarious WL fix. Christmas at WL is always so breathtakingly gorgeous.

In post #1, I have links to my TRs and GrandCalifornian has links to his in his signature. I apologize if I've left out other poster's WL TRs.

Hi all! We arrive at WL on Friday and VWL on Saturday for the week!!!

How exciting! Hope you're having a great time!

Hrm...what to do this weekend? Oh that's right! We are going to Disney World! It has been a rough year so we can't wait to get to the Lodge this weekend and just be able to relax!

Yippee! Check-in with us if you get a free moment and ENJOY!

We leave in 2 days for WL !! Woo Hooo !!!

Can you also add me to the list? We check in on Nov 30. 16 days and counting,can not wait to get back to the WL. Staying CL for the first time. Kids are so excited

You're going to love the OFC! I'll add you to the Log.

Quick hello from the Lodge! Our lenghty recap so far.

We arrived on Monday afternoon--Magical Express experience was less than magical. If we stay on property for our next trip (in a few years) I think we'll rent a car. Hopefully the return trip will be less stressful for my 4-year-old.

Monday night: Downtown Disney. Ugh. The buses from WL to DD are few and far between (as I was told). We *may* go back tomorrow... but if we do, we're paying for a cab. lol Dinner at Rainforest Cafe was fun. My son loved the animals but not the thunder. And he hit the Potato Head jackpot at Once Upon a Toy.

Tuesday was MK in the AM/HS in the PM. My son LOVED the characters. Had a pre-park opening ADR at Crystal Palace. So great being there with an empty park. He loved the characters. But was wiped by noon. So we hit the pool (it was warm on Tues) and then went to HS for the evening. All plans hit snafus. We did TSMM and saw Disney Jr. show. Wasted FP+ for Fantasmic because my son had a meltdown from exhaustion. Instead ate at ABC Commissary (meh) and then met Mickey and Minnie. That was good.

Wed was AK. My son loved it. It was chilly though. Maybe in the 50s until afternoon, when warmed to 60s. Had dinner at EPCOT at Coral Reef. My son loved the fish tank. The steak not so much. And he loved Turtle Talk.

Today back to MK. Had fun. My son finally met Pluto (kept missing him) and danced with Baloo in the afternoon street party (around 1 PM). He loves Tomorrow Land best. We stayed until 2-ish and then nappped at the Lodge. Dinner at EPCOT again--Le Cellier. He loved the steak there.

We like the resort. Haven't taken advantage of all the amenities because of being in the parks. Tomorrow is AK in the AM and then Lodge day. It may rain though. Seems like it will on Saturday (our last day) too. Our room assignment was OK. Not great... Woods View, south wing, facing the villas pool--which is being worked on, so there was construction noise when we tried to nap on Wed. Today was quiet. But nice view otherwise--a bit of the lake in the distance.

Oh, we will have extra cases of water. At least 1 (of 24). Let me know if anyone is arriving soon. Maybe they'll hold for you?

Edit: Weather -- low 80s on Tues, chilly high in mid 60s on Wed, and upper 70s today. Supposed to be upper 70s tomorrow/Sat with rain late tomorrow/Sat. Boo rain.

Nice of you to check-in and offer your water. Just curious if you added any room location requests to your reservation. Are you going to have a chance to have a resort day? I hope you have a safe trip home and enjoy the rest of your stay.

I just changed our March ressie to WL from CBR! Now to learn all about this beautiful resort!

Fantastic! Let us know if you have any questions

 

[Kathy Z]

I hope that his passing was peaceful and it's great that your family is so excited and your best friend will be joining you. I can't wait to hear how your trip is going…hint, hint... Makes a lot of sense to spend less money AND make your DS so happy to be staying on the monorail. WL will be there for a future visit. Tomorrow is the BIG day! If you get a chance, check-in with us In post #1, I have links to my TRs and GrandCalifornian has links to his in his signature. I apologize if I've left out other poster's WL TRs. How exciting! Hope you're having a great time! Yippee! Check-in with us if you get a free moment and ENJOY! You're going to love the OFC! I'll add you to the Log. Nice of you to check-in and offer your water. Just curious if you added any room location requests to your reservation. Are you going to have a chance to have a resort day? I hope you have a safe trip home and enjoy the rest of your stay. Fantastic! Let us know if you have any questions

Kook, I only have my iPhone here with me & I've had a hard time figuring how to post. I hope this works!

The Mediterrano wrap was delicious last night, along with a few of DH's fries. DGS's favorite attraction today was Splash M; we did it twice. The gingerbread House at G F is complete & opens tomorrow. We asked for roof top wishes & are scheduled for tonight but will most likely be rained out; we've had light rain on and off since 3 pm. Time to go check now.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Kook, I only have my iPhone here with me & I've had a hard time figuring how to post. I hope this works!

The Mediterrano wrap was delicious last night, along with a few of DH's fries. DGS's favorite attraction today was Splash M; we did it twice. The gingerbread House at G F is complete & opens tomorrow. We asked for roof top wishes & are scheduled for tonight but will most likely be rained out; we've had light rain on and off since 3 pm. Time to go check now.

If there isn't lightning, it should still be on. Hope you got to do it and thanks for posting from your iPhone, Kathy.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

If there isn't lightning, it should still be on. Hope you got to do it and thanks for posting from your iPhone, Kathy.

What is rooftop wishes??

 

[Kathy Z]

Rooftop Wishes is awesome! We were the only ones up there with Samuel, the C M who took us there.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I just changed our March ressie to WL from CBR! Now to learn all about this beautiful resort!

You won't regret that choice!!!!

 

[Kathy Z]

Forgot to add, the W L tree starts going up Mon. Night and will be finished Tuesday!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Rooftop Wishes is awesome! We were the only ones up there with Samuel, the C M who took us there.

How did you get up to the rooftop?

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

There is a door on the CL level.. We were flag family in 2004.. It was cool, but I didn't know they did a night wishes view

 

[bek]

The thread was dropping, so I have my Magic Bands for WL

And I'm 24 days away from arrival

 

[JnKinVA]

We're still 160 days out but so far we have made ADRs for Ohana character breakfast, Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch, Le Cellier for Dinner and Tusker House for breakfast. Still deciding on which night to do Yachtsman for steak

Keys to Kingdom tour and Backstage safari have been booked! Still need to book Dolphins in Depth and DiveQuest.

Oh and added another day at the parks.

Love looking at our itinerary and keep bugging my DH on what we want to do and when lol especially on our 'down' days which will be funfilled at WL (he really wants to do a fishing excursion)

 

[DPCummerbund]

Is anyone at WL right now?

The Hidden Springs Pool was supposed to reopen today. I'm curious as to whether any additions/renovations were done to the pool, but I'm especially interested to see what it looks like now that it's fenced in.

 

[Kathy Z]

How did you get up to the rooftop?

When we checked in on Thursday I asked if there would be any opportunity during our stay for us to have the roof top viewing of wishes. Our CM took about 5 minutes checking on it, saying he'd like to get it on a party night for the more festive display & lucky us - it worked out for our second night here. We were told to report to the conseirge (? spelling) desk 20 minutes before the fireworks began. When we reported as instructed neither of the girls working that counter even knew they did this but I explained how it was all arranged and one of them went in the back then come back out and told us Samuel would be right with us. Yes, he took us up to the 7th floor and from there we went through a door and up a flight of stairs to the 7 1/2th floor. From there we could still look down to the lobby below (the same distance as from the top of Splash Mtn to the bottom of the drop.) the was another door at that point to the outdoors leading up several stairs to the rooftop. It was awesome and only a few get to do it but thanks to this thread I knew to ask!!!

 

[Wood Nymph]

When we checked in on Thursday I asked if there would be any opportunity during our stay for us to have the roof top viewing of wishes. Our CM took about 5 minutes checking on it, saying he'd like to get it on a party night for the more festive display & lucky us - it worked out for our second night here. We were told to report to the conseirge (? spelling) desk 20 minutes before the fireworks began. When we reported as instructed neither of the girls working that counter even knew they did this but I explained how it was all arranged and one of them went in the back then come back out and told us Samuel would be right with us. Yes, he took us up to the 7th floor and from there we went through a door and up a flight of stairs to the 7 1/2th floor. From there we could still look down to the lobby below (the same distance as from the top of Splash Mtn to the bottom of the drop.) the was another door at that point to the outdoors leading up several stairs to the rooftop. It was awesome and only a few get to do it but thanks to this thread I knew to ask!!!

That sounds really nice. Is it only for guests staying club level or for any guests?

 

[sweetnjmom]

Nice of you to check-in and offer your water. Just curious if you added any room location requests to your reservation. Are you going to have a chance to have a resort day? I hope you have a safe trip home and enjoy the rest of your stay.

Hey there! Still here! We leave tomorrow... and we did manage a resort day yesterday--well, half a day, after a morning trip to Animal Kingdom which ended up being my 4-year-old son's favorite park. He LOVED the pool and *I* loved the hot tub!

Our room requests were simple (open balcony, quiet location and bed rails and step stool), and honestly we liked the location except for that first day when they were working on the villas' pool. The view is actually nice--the villas pool, the trees and a bit of the lake in the distance.

We really love this resort. Sadly our budget won't allow us to return for a few years (trying to pay off debt... so we need to be smart). But I'd definitely consider a return trip. We'll be sad to leave tomorrow.

And we were lucky... today was the only day it rained (last night a bit of a drizzle). But it cleared out in time for the afternoon parade at MK and the evening events! Most days were in the upper 70s--except for Wednesay when it was actually quite chilly (50s to 60s). But it was great for the Animal Kingdom! That park is usually sweltering!

 

[Holly Quinlan]

I'm so behind!! We were at Wilderness Lodge October 30th-November5th. We were originally booked at the Poly but were forced to switched when my DH job was threatened. I'm SOOOO happy we switched I'm trying to decide where we should stay when we go back in 2015 and cant get WL out of my mind I loved everything about it even when I was doing laundry lol. We checked in on the 30th and they had the room ready for us at 8am!! I was excited when I learned our room was on the 4th floor since I requested a lobby room but when we got upstairs I realized we didn't get our requested room because we were upgraded to a courtyard room just around the corner from the lobby so I figured it was the best of both worlds!!! The room was spotless and a mickey towel animal greeted us. We never waited longer than 10 minutes for a boat or bus and the lobby never appeared crowded. We got new towel animals almost everyday except 2 days in the middle. I had made tip envelopes for mousekeeping and they took them everyday except the 2 days in the middle loved the pool in the evening with the geyser and water pageant the distance. I guess there were 2 things I didn't care for #1 quick service food selection and #2 not staying longer!! Now on to plan the next trip and since it will be closer to December the wilderness lodge would be perfect!!!

 

[SingleMomToSophia]

I am SO EXCITED to be planning an official Disney Resort vacation!! The last three visits were at shades of green. Any advice on things to expect or things you loved at WL?? Hope I'm posting this in the right place . TIA!!!

 

[carolann210]

Would love to be added to the log...3/1-3/6 - first stay at VWL and DD's (3) first visit ever! Is it too early to start packing?

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Add us to the trip roll call! WLVillas (DVC)
September 21-26, 2014.