I wanted to post and let you all know a little bit of our experience at Disney. We were there from 6/24-6/30 and stayed on the Club Level. We had room 7042 which gave us a view of the MK castle and bunk beds. It was truly the experience of a lifetime.
It's still hard to know where to begin, so let me just give you some random thoughts in bullet points. I apologize if some of these are not Wilderness Lodge specific.
- We took full advantage of the IPO prior to arriving. It was a huge burden lifted off of me to be able to contact someone with questions and to have them be able to do all of our reservations at the 180 day mark. They were able to accommodate several changes as well leading up to our trip.
- The Magic Express service was simply amazing. I'm still in awe of the logistics of WDW in general and the Magic Express in particular ran like clock work.
- The club level staff were all amazing. Kelly showed us to our room and was so friendly and helpful throughout our stay. At one point, they even let me use their computer to print off a touring plan when we made some modifications. One morning I went down to the desk and one of the CMs was dealing with a really obnoxious guest. The woman was rude and unreasonable. It was pretty clear that the only thing that would make her happy was getting money back. The CM was kind, patient, and solved her problem in a number of different ways.
- We used the WL child care service one evening. It was pricey, but my kids enjoyed their stay there. One note of caution, the meal they provided was not enough food for my daughter who was on an adult meal plan.
- The pool-side activities in the afternoon were awesome. My kids had a grand time. There is so much to do just at the resort that you could vacation there for 3 or 4 days and never go to a park and still have a wonderful time! We roasted marshmallows, watched the floating parade, and swam. They also show a movie on the beach each night!
- Speaking of swimming.....the pool is top notch. The life guards are attentive and well trained. Lots of towels available all day, so don't pack beach towels. The only negative was the lack of beach chairs. Some guests would obviously hoard the chairs which led to a shortage. We stuck to using one chair for our family when the pool was busy. I wish others would do the same. I'd like to see the staff be more proactive about keeping people from "saving" chairs that they are not using.
- Had two dinners and two breakfasts at Whispering Canyon. LOTS of food and pretty good as well. The breakfast in particular was outstanding. My wife and I had dinner at Artist Pointe one evening and while it was good, it didn't quite live up to the expectation I had built for it. That's probably more my fault than theirs.
- On our first evening at the resort, we were taking a stroll around the grounds to get our bearings and one of the CMs showed us an alligator that was right off the beach near the Teton Boat Rental! It was about a four footer! We never saw it again, but it was cool.
- I have read comments from time to time abut the WL rooms being small. While I have nothing to compare against at WDW resorts, I will say that we did not find the room to be small. We felt like we had plenty of space for all four of us throughout the week.
- Mousekeeping did a great job with the room. We tipped each day but we never got any towel animals. I hadn't mentioned this to the kids so they weren't disappointed, but I was a little upset that we didn't get even a single one despite a generous daily tip. Oh well, not a huge deal especially since they had the room clean every day.
- If you're planning a trip and have small kids, I cannot say enough how much the mid-day break meant for us. It was critical to the enjoyment of the parks and each other. I simply cannot imagine not coming back to the resort for a few hours each day to unwind and rest. I know that some will disagree with me on that, but it was exactly what my family needed every day. Plus, being able to come back to a place as wonderful as WL made it easy!
That's all I can think of at the moment. I've missed the thread so now I need to do some catching up. When we left, I was looking at this as a once in a lifetime trip, but now, I'm already looking at ways we can go back again next year! Please let me know if you have any questions!
I found this board to be very helpful when I was planning our first stay at WL last September. 
. You are so right about mid-day bresks! We arrive Friday morning. 
Can't wait to read your TR!
I'm being really cheap with my DVC points for this next trip .... staying AKV (standard view) and OKW. I love both of those resorts but WL is still my favorite .... it's just HOME! Yesterday I did add 3 nights at CSR (ap rate) at the beginning of my trip. 
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